of finding suitable accommodations for his increasing num- It was only thirty-five years ago that the United States had a population of only one-half what it has today, and a man need not necessarily be a very old man who can well remember when our population was only one-fourth what it is today. Men living today will, and even you and I may, see today's population of the United States doubled. In speaking of population I refer to continental United States and not to Porto Rico, the Philippines, or any of the recently acquired territories. At the expiration of every ten-year period the census bureau totals up our population and finds that we have added approximately 20 per cent. America's Greatest Problem. It can readily be seen how rapidly we are approaching that condition foreseen by those who are giving thought to the matter. It is not a matter of looking forward and providing for coming generations the problem is flatly up to us of today; it is a problem of providing for ourselves and our children who are with us now. There is no greater problem before the American people at the present moment, and nothing plays a more important part in this great problem than the matter of the feed supply for our domestic animals, for the feeding of live stock, with the exception of work animals, is but the process of transforming materials unsuitable for direct consumption by man into human food-meat, dairy products, eggs, poultry, etc. The American Beef Packers' Association recently held a meeting in Chicago and appropriated $500,000.00 for a fund to be used in an educational campaign to increase the interest in the raising of beef cattle in this country. The high cost of beef is purely the result of the demand overtaking the supply; it is not the result of exorbitant profits on the part of the packers nor the cornering of the market. Spread every cent of profit which the beef packers of this country make in the course of a year over the total number of pounds of meat consumed, credit that profit to the consumer instead of the packer, and there will hardly be a noticeable reduction in the cost per pound of Porter-house or of chuck. There can be but one cause for the rapid and constant decrease in the raising of beef cattle and that is that our lands are now occupied by the small farmer, who is more profitably engaged in raising other crops for human consumption; that there is a limit to the price which the consumer can pay for meat; that the price of grain and feed stuffs has become too high to make it profitable to feed beef cattle. Dairy Industry Growing. While beef cattle are decreasing the dairy industry is rapidly growing. More human nutriment can be raised on an acre of ground, through the medium of a dairy cow, than by any other means. The dairy industry began in our Eastern states and is rapidly traveling westward, occupying land which had previously been used in raising grain and beef cattle. So rapidly has the western development of the dairy industry progressed that I am reliably informed that the State of Wisconsin now stands first in the number of dairy cows of all the states of the Union, having replaced the great state of New York in the position which everyone thought it would always occupy. Iowa now stands third in dairy cows and Minnesota fourth, and even Kansas has almost half as many dairy cows of the State of New York. It is only a matter of twenty-five to thirty years ago that the farmers of Kansas found little or no market for their corn, realizing only a matter of 10 or 12 cents a bushel, and they found it more economical to use corn for fuel than to buy coal. So great and rapid has been the development of this country, so enormous has been its increase in population, that today those same Kansas farmers-the same identical men who burned their corn for fuel, or sold it for 10 or 12 cents a bushel-have during the year 1913 sold their corn, the product of the largest crop this country ever raised, for as high as 75 cents a bushel at Kansas City. It is a noteworthy fact in this connection that Kansas, which formerly found its market for corn and oats in the East and Southeast, in recent years has virtually shipped no corn East and very little Southeast, the development of the West and Southwest causing a directly opposite movement of the grain from this Western territory. Regardless of whether it is a year of plenty, like the crop year, 1912-1913, or a year of drought and partial failure like the present one, prices for our cereal crops will continue to climb to higher levels. At the end of the bumper crop year, 1912-1913, the year the United States raised the largest crops of corn, oats, barley and hay ever known, No. 3 corn sold as high as 78 cents per bushel, Chicago, and even higher at Kansas City. Statistics show only 15 per cent of the corn raised leaves the county in which it is grown. The Real Conserver. We of the present day have and must further devise, ways and means of conserving our food supplies and to check this upward ten dency of prices. Every by-product material and every material which contains feeding value must be conserved and utilized. Every material containing feed value has its proper and economical use. the advancement of knowledge of scientific feeding comes constantly increasing appreciation of the by-product materials. There is hardly one of the now well recognized by-product feed materials but what has passed through a period of suspicion, criticism and condemnation. If a cow got the garget or a horse the colic, it was the new feed and not the manner in which the new feed had been used that was at fault; however, one by one these materials have emerged from the cloud of suspicion and their uses and abuses have become better known, and hardly one of them but what is constantly reaching a higher and higher level of prices. With the knowledge of feeding standards began the real feed industry in the United States. Manufacturers, realizing that their byproduct materials were intrinsically worth more than they were realizing, and in most instances far more than the natural grains from which they were produced, began installing machinery for grinding, drying and putting them into merchantable condition. Here, also, began the mixed feed industry which has grown and developed into one of the greatest industries of the country. There seems to be no question of doubt but what the manufacture of mixed balanced rations has done more to moderate the cost of feeding stuffs, and, consequently, the cost of human food, than any other influence. Without the influence of the mixed feed manufacturer, it is difficult to estimate where the cost of grain and animal feeds would have grown in recent years. The mixed feed manufacturer has been the real conserver of our feed resources; he has gathered together by-product materials, none of which in themselves constitutes a feedable balanced ration; and assembled them at strategic points and produced balanced rations. of the highest type, containing all of the necessary nutritive elements. Balanced Rations Now Fed. Because of the wide use of by-product materials and the better understanding of balanced rations, there is hardly a feeder of today but what is either using a mixture of his own, or using one of the ready-mixed balanced rations. The desirablity of using a mixed ration compounded from a large number of materials is now generally recognized. When a breeder desires to fit his stock for show purposes or desires to accomplish something extraordinary from his feeding operations, he endeavors to use as great a variety of feed materials as he can obtain, often using as high as ten different ingredients. It is generally recognized that an animal thrives better with a variety in his diet, just as is the case with a human being. That the mixed feed manufacturer is occupying a position which is fundamentally and economically correct is certain. Few feeders have the knowledge, the time or the machinery in which to assemble, balance, grind or mix their rations. The farm labor problem is most acute, and if this mixing and blending can be done for the farmer, much has been accomplished. The economy of production in this item, just as in practically every other article which the farmer or any other consumer has to buy, lies in the large strategically located factory, with skilled and well posted buyers, mechanics, chemists, etc., whose knowledge of market conditions in the buying, whose knowledge of the science of compounding, and whose low cost of production because of large volume, make it possible to produce and deliver goods to the consumer more cheaply than he can possibly do the same work in an unscientific, imperfect and small way for himself. We are making great progress in the utilization of our by-product materials. Thousands and hundreds of thousands of tons of materials which formerly went to waste are now being transformed into human food. As our necessities become greater, many other materials now going to waste will be utilized. The development of the feed industry will be the greatest aid in solving the problem of the food supply for the untold millions of the future. FALL AND WINTER MANAGEMENT OF THE BREEDING FLOCK. BY J. W. HAMMOND, Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station, Wooster, Ohio. Observation of the flocks of the state strongly impress upon one the need, in many cases, not only for the breeding of better class of sheep, but for better methods of feeding and management. While the following paragraphs are not intended as an exhaustive treatise on sheep feeding, it is hoped that they may convey a few helpful suggestions regarding the management of the breeding flock, at least to the less experienced flock owners. Fall Feeding. The object of the shepherd in the fall should be to get the flock in proper condition for breeding and to get it in good flesh before the beginning of winter. The flock that goes into winter quarters in good condition will require less feed and will cause less worry on the part of the shepherd than will the flock that is in a weakened condition due to insufficient feeding in the fall. The feeding of the ewes in the fall also has its effect on the size, thrift and uniformity of the lamb crop the following spring. While it is not desirable to have the ewes extremely fat at breeding time, it is quite generally conceded by shepherds that they are more likely to breed if they are in fair flesh. Also, if the ewes are put into uniformily good condition before breeding time, they will breed more nearly at the same time, resulting in a more uniform crop of lambs. Pasturing in the Fall. A quite common mistake is the failure to provide good pasture for the breeding ewes in the fall. Unless a good piece of bluegrass has been reserved, it is a good practice to sow a piece of rape so that it will be ready to pasture a few weeks prior to breeding time. There is a common belief among English shepherds that such green feeds at breeding time "flush" the system, which tends to bring the ewes into heat earlier and more nearly at the same time, and to produce a larger percentage of twins. Clover or alfalfa pasture should be used sparingly at breeding time, as it is the opinion of many shepherds that such "lush" feeds result in a failure to breed. Another common mistake is to allow the flock to remain on bluegrass pastures so late in the fall as to work injury both to the flock and to the pasture. The bluegrass should be allowed to make sufficient growth in the fall to protect it during the winter. Rape and rye furnish an abundance of fall feed and are excellent crops with which to supplement bluegrass pasture. Rye may be conveniently grown in connection with silage corn by sowing it in the corn at last cultivation or by delaying seeding until the corn is cut. In a favorable season it will furnish a large amount of pasture not only in the fall but in the following spring before it becomes necessary to plow the land for the next crop. From three to four weeks before the beginning of the breeding season the ewes should receive from one-fourth to one-third lb. of grain per head daily, the amount depending on their size and condition. This grain ration may well consist of four or five parts of corn to one part of pea size oilmeal or equal parts of corn and oats if oats are not too high in price. During the fall and early winter, while the sheep are still on pasture, they should be kept inside during cold rains. Aside from the resulting discomfort and lack of thrift on the part of the sheep, it requires a large amount of feed to furnish sufficient heat to evaporate the water absorbed by the fleece during exposure to cold rains or snows. |