The Palatka news and advertiser. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1908-19??, 1915-02-12
MORE LIVE STOCK NOW
y THAN A YEAR AGO.
government Statistics Con-
tradict Report of Umpire
cedented Increase in
Prices.

formation collected by the Depart
ment of Agriculture shows that all
classes of live stock in the United
States are increasing in numbers.
Thus the real facts contradict, abso-
lutely, sensational reports that prices
for meat and shoes would rise to I'M
precedented figures in the immediate
future. 1t has even been said that
Government statistician predicted
meat at so cents pound and shoes at
$40 pair within the next two years
Such prediction, the real Govern
ment statisticians say, Is quite unWar-
ranted.
On January /, for example the
number of beef cattle showed an in
crease of ga per cent over the num-
Der a year ago, and an actual in
crease of 1,212,OO0 head. Hitherto
the number of beef cattle in the Unit
ed States has declined steadily since
1910. There are also more mich
cows in the country than last year, the
increase being 2.5 per cent, or in num-
bers 525, 900. Swine, however, show
ed the greatest increase of all classes
SO per cent. On January /, 1914.
there were only 58,933,000 swine in
the country; on January l, 1915, Ga
$4,000. This is accounted for by
the fact that the production of swine
can be increased more rapidly than
that of other classes of live stock and
consequently an enlarged demand can
be met more readily.
The prediction of 50-cent meat and
$40 shoes was accompanied by the
10 olnnn b1c ia K
en- from America nearly 100000
horses altogether in the United
. States, the drain on account OF the
war is scarcely alarming.
1t is, in fact, pointed out by Gov,
eminent statisticians that the market
value of farm horses has actually de-
clined to such an extent that the av
erage is now about So head less thar
year ago. This decline is most no
ticeable in the cotton States and II
those States which make business OF
breeding horses for sale in other sec
tons. Mules have declined ever
more than horses, their value being
now S11.50 per head less than veal
ago. The explanation is to be founC
in the South, which is the great mar
ket for mules. An improvement il
this respect will do much to restore
the demand for horses, so that Gov
eminent specialists, while ridiculine
the notion of horse famine, are con
WINGED that farmers will find it prof
table to use good work mares fol
breeding more stock.
AS for hides, the situation is not Sc
clear, but even here there has beer
much gross exaggeration. From
two-ffths to less than one-half of the
leather used in this country is i'm
ported, about 25 per cent of the for
eign hides coming from Argentine
rs per cent from Canada, II per cent
from Mexico, 8 IL per cent from Eu,
ropean Russia, and 7 IL per cent
from France, Since the outbreak OF
the war importations have shown
certain falling off, those for Septem
Der, 1914, for example, being only 54,.
100000 pounds, instead of 45,0OO,OOC
pounds the year previous. There is
little reason to suppose that this de
crease will be permanent or of sutfi.
Gent Importance to create any rea
scarcity. Since the great bulk Of
the imported hides comes from com
tries that are not at war, shipments
are not interfered with in any way
and the only new factor to be con.
sidered is the possibility of an in
creased demand by the warning coun'
tries.
1t is believed, however, that the
United States is now in better con-
dition to face such situation thar
for years past. The tide, it seems
has turned. Instead of live stock
steadily decreasing year after year
this year for the first time, as has
been said, all classes show an appre-
cable increase. Including horses
mules, mich cows, beef cattle, sheep
and swine, there were on January l
1915, 7,712,OOO more farm animals ir
the United States than on January l
1914. The increase in the total value
was $78,024,000, or 1.3 per cent. II
is quite true that this increase is not
yet proportional to the increase in
population, which is approximately 2
per cent; bat the fact that there is an
increase, that the tide seems definitely
to have turned, is regarded as suf-
ficient answer to alarming eXaggera-
tions and misleading figures.