Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 19.djvu/777

UNITED STATES. In some instances there has been uncertainty as to whether range animals have been included or excluded. Thus, in the decade 1890-1900 the decrease shown for the number of cattle is thought to be mainly if not wholly apparent, and not real. It will be seen in the table that there has been a much more rapid increase in the number of horses and cattle than of swine and sheep. A comparison with the census figures of population will show that, with the exception of horses and mules, the increase in the numbers of live stock since 1850 has not kept pace with the increase in population. The following table shows the increase in live stock since 1850:

In this table will be observed the great predominance of the North Central division in the number of horses, cattle, and hogs, of sheep in the Western division, and of mules in the Southern. Prior to 1850 the prairie areas west of the Mississippi, and particularly the arid and semi-arid region, including the Cordilleras and a broad belt bounding it on the east, had not been generally utilized. Settlement thus far had been mainly in a wooded region in which there was little natural pasture well adapted to cattle, while swine, being more hardy, could shift for themselves in the forest. The South particularly was much better suited to hogs than to cattle; consequently hogs received much attention west of the Appalachians and in the South. Tennessee, which had the largest number in 1850, had more than the whole North Atlantic division, including as it does New York and Pennsylvania. There was in the latter region much pasture land, and cattle and sheep received considerable attention. As there were no forests to be removed in the West, and the pasture area increased, and the means of transportation opened up the grazing area of the trans-Mississippi region, cattle-raising became of relatively greater and greater importance. The increase in the use of machinery since 1850 has created a larger demand for horses and mules, which, however, has been somewhat checked since 1890 by electric transportation and the bicycle. Mules are increasing much more rapidly than horses in the South. A remarkable fact shown by the table is that in the South Atlantic division there has been, generally speaking, a retrogression in stock-raising. About 1850 cotton began to dominate the agricultural industry,

and thus resulted an actual decrease in the number of cattle, swine, and sheep. The same has been true of that portion of the South Central division which was productive in 1850, the increase shown for that division being due to the development of new territory in Texas, Indian Territory, and Oklahoma. A large part of this region is in the grazing and grain belt. Little was done prior to the beginning of the nineteenth century to improve the breeds. By the year 1900 the rate of improvement had become very rapid.

The most distinctive success attained in American horse-raising has been in the development of a new and superior breed of racehorses. American racers are now the best in the world. Vermont early became well known for the raising of driving horses, but the Blue-grass region of Kentucky now contains a large number of the most famous breeding farms of driving horses in America. (See article .) In 1895 there were 120,000 registered standard-bred trotters in the United States. From the trotting stock are bred roadsters and coach horses, the European breed of coach horse not being extensively bred in the country. The United States has not developed any new breeds of draught horses, but imports stock horses of this kind from Europe. The favorite breeds are the English draught, Clydesdale, and Percheron. On the whole, the United States is still far behind Great Britain and some other European countries in respect to the proportion which the number of its thoroughbred horses bears to the total number of horses. Until recently the American farmer was inclined to favor a horse for general purposes, but there is now a decided tendency to breed for special purposes—draught, roadsters, coach, racers, etc. The steady growth in the demand for horses prior to about 1890 resulted in the breeding of the low grade as well as the better class, a condition very much against the improvement of the breed. The decline in demand and depreciation in price between 1890 and 1895 checked the breeding of inferior animals, and since then the grade of horses has improved much faster than before.

The nineteenth century was well advanced before stock cattle from Europe had been imported to any considerable extent. Shorthorns were for several years imported in the