Page:The Irish land acts; a short sketch of their history and development.djvu/19

11 over 30 per cent., while the number of cattle increased by over 60 per cent., and sheep and swine increased over 88 per cent, and 35 per cent, respectively. The number of milch cows in 1854 represented 43 per cent, of the horned cattle in the country. In 1911, they were 32 per cent., and in number 1,565,418. As the total number of horned cattle in Ireland in 1911 was 4,711,720, it is evident that the rearing of stores and fattening constitute the most considerable part of the cattle industry. A very large proportion of the cattle exported to Great Britain are stores. In 1911 the numbers were 269,527 fat cattle to 390,041 stores. This export trade in stores enables English and Scotch farmers to devote their land to the production of food for fattening the cattle brought from Ireland. At the same time, this trade in young stock is a considerable drain on Irish land, taking much out of the soil without any corresponding return.

Ireland at present occupies a position of great advantage in having almost a monopoly in the supplying of store cattle to the English and Scotch farmers, but the position is one of considerable danger. Should the restrictions on the import of live stock from Canada and the Argentine Republic be removed, as doubtless they would be, were it shown that the introduction of disease was no longer to be feared, a serious blow would be struck at the prosperity of the Irish cattle industry, and new economic conditions would have to be faced. Such a consideration would point to the desirability of resting the agricultural industry of the country on a wider and sounder basis than the mere breeding of cattle. It shows the necessity for advisory and fostering bodies such as the Department of Agriculture and the Congested Districts Board, which help to develop and encourage a variety of suitable industries, and so prevent the people from keeping too many of their eggs in one basket, an error frequently disastrous to nations as well as to individuals. It must also be remembered that often a larger return, both in the number and value of the animals, can be obtained from stock-rearing in conjunction with tillage, than by a sole dependence on natural pasture. Scotch and English farmers have proved this, and it is one of the great advantages claimed for a system of mixed farming in other countries. It appears that, while the area under meadow and pasture in Ireland is over eleven times the similar area in Belgium, the number of our cattle is only three times greater. This remarkable difference is explained' by the "small farming" system carried on in Belgium, which enables a much larger number of cattle to be raised per acre, under a system of tillage and house-feeding, than is possible by field grazing alone.