Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-04-09
CENSUS OF LIVE STOCK.

The live stock interests of the Unit
ed States are to be given special at
tetntion in the Twelfth Census. In
previous enumerailons the live stock
on farms and ranges have been enulne-
rated on the farm schedule. hut ali
rated on the sarm schedule. but all
other live stock have been disregard
ed. This limitation iterfered with the
correctness of the census figures and
resulted in misrepresentation of an i'm
portant element in national wealth. To
remove the difficulty Congress has pass
ed law, approved February /, 1900,
which allows the Director of the Gen.
sus to collect information concerning
the number and kinds of live stock not
on farms"
For this purpose a special schedule
has been prepared by the Census Office,
on which all live stock not on farms
or ranges are to be reported by the
barns or enclosures in which they are
kept. By combining the results OF this
schedule with those on the farm sched-
ule, the Office should obtain a full and
accurate picture of the live stock con-
ditions of the United States, June /,
1900.
This improvement will be Of value
not merely for itself, but because the
Department of Agriculture each year
makes an enumeration or estimate of
the number of live stock in the coun-
try, by correspondence with its thous-
ands of special agents scattered over
the United States. Now in January,
there are few young animals, and
prices of live stock are high. For both
reasons the average valuation per
head obtained by the Department of
Agriculture enumeration tends to ex-
coed the truth. On the other hand
that Department confines its attention
farm nd ranges, emitting live stock
in barns and enclosures. The latter
class are worth rather more on the
average per head than the former.
These two sources of error thus tend
to counterbalance.
The animals are to be classified by
age, somewhat as the people of the
United States, but of course with much
less detail. The special schedule class.
1fies the neat cattle into those under
one year and thos over one. The Sec
ond class is divided into steers, bulls
and cows, the steers being sub-divided
into those one and under two, two and
under three, and over three; the COWS
being classified into those one and un-
der two, and those over two, the latter
being subdivided into those kept for
milk and those not kept for milk.
Horses and mules are classified as
those under one, those one and under
two, and those over two. Sheep are
classified into those under one and over
one, with the distinction in the latter
class into ewes and rams and wethers.
The other classes of live stock, namely,
asses and burros, swine and goats, are
not classified by age.
The object of this grouping of live
stock is to furnish some basis for es-
timating the probable Increase of
horses, mules, cattle or sheep in the
near future. The widening of the in
quiry to include live stock not on farms
or ranges has the same end in view,
namely, to afford a survey of the whole
live stock interests of the country,
since animals are constantly passing
from the farms or ranges to the barns
or enclosures and back.
The following table derived from the
statistics of the Department of Agri-
culture shows the way in which the
number of live stock has been increas-
ing within the last two years:
Number of live stock on farms and
ranges.