may be considered one of the important features of modern agriculture.
Veterinary Science. Commensurate with and contributory to the advance in animal husbandry has been the progress in veterinary science. Among beneficial economic measures made possible by veterinary schools have been the inspection by government officials of meat animals and meat and dairy products for both home consumption and export, the quarantine against contagious diseases, and extensive investigation of diseases not hitherto understood. The successful treatment of milk fever in cows by simple, harmless processes has become a great boon to dairymen everywhere. The tuberculin test as a means of detecting tuberculosis in cattle has been perhaps the most valuable discovery of recent years. “Texas” or “Spanish” fever is no longer the dreaded disease it formerly was, and immunity is had by inoculation and by immersion in crude petroleum or other dips.
Stock Feeding. All breeds of domesticated animals have been greatly improved in the past century, and the methods of feeding and care have kept pace with the advancement in other lines. Much earlier maturity in meat-producing animals is one of the great improvements attained, as by it increased profits are derived, the feeding period is comparatively shortened, and the investment can be turned oftener. It has been fully demonstrated, too, that far greater gains for given quantities of feed are made in the earlier stages of an animal’s growth. Early finishing obviously has many advantages over the former practice of fattening meat animals when several years old. Feeding standards for the various farm animals have been computed that show the quantities and combinations of the different feedstuffs for rations containing the proper proportions of essential compounds, such as protein, carbohydrates and fat. Experiments to identify the digestible nutrients of the different feeds and test their effects when used have resulted in practically determining the food requirements of all kinds of farm live stock under normal conditions. Tables of such feeding standards have been conveniently arranged, and the various rations cover such a wide diversity of feedstuffs that they meet all ordinary farm situations and enable the farmer to form the most advantageous combinations, from the viewpoints of both cost and efficiency. Many farmers have regarded Indian corn as an all-sufficient grain, and, probably because of its abundance and ease of production, it has been difficult to persuade them otherwise. While its low cost of production and high feeding value make it the leading meat-making feed on American farms, its value is greatly enhanced by the use with it of other elements in which it is lacking. Corn has an excess of carbonaceous matter in proportion to the protein compounds, and the tables of feeding standards point out, among other things, how and with what it may be most advantageously associated to make the properly balanced ration. The study of animal nutrition has resulted in most valuable developments for the farmer and stock-raiser.
Stock Breeding. Wonderful advancement has been made in the breeding of horses, and one of the marvels in horse speed was the performance in 1906 of the harness horse, Dan Patch, when he paced a mile in a minute and fifty-five seconds. The different breeds of swine have been greatly improved, and something of the importance of the swine industry of the United States may be noted from the fact that about two-fifths of the world’s hog supply is produced in the United States, and about six-sevenths of this is from the Mississippi Valley, where the corn is most extensively raised. The various breeds of cattle have likewise been greatly improved for their specific uses, as evidenced by the increased milk flow from dairy cows, and in the superior flesh-forming and fattening propensities of the beef breeds. The live-stock industry has increased greatly in importance in the last half century, and the value of the various kinds on hand in the United States January 1, 1910 amounted to $5,138,486,000, divided as follows: Horses, $2,276,363,000; mules $494,095,000; milch cows, $780,308,000; other cattle, $917,453,000; sheep, $233,664,000; and hogs, $436,603,000.
Agricultural Chemistry and Seed Selection. Progress in agricultural chemistry is assisting to a constantly widening development in agriculture. It has taught the composition of soils, whereby their adaptability to certain crops is shown; of the composition of plants, thus determining their relative values in compounding food rations of greatest excellence at minimum cost. It has also tended to the development of new crops, and improved in various ways those already staple. Great strides have been made in beneficially changing the chemical properties of plants, especially in recent years. Plants, like animals, can be modified and improved by selection and breeding, and this is a work now employing the minds of many of our foremost agricultural authorities. For example, corn can be improved in its physical characteristics by the selection of seed according to certain standard requirements, and by planting seed tested by chemical analyses the chemical composition of its progeny can be changed at will, as to a high- or low-protein, or oil content, or other constituent, as desired. The significance of this is readily apparent from the facts stated regarding the feeding standards, as a corn richer in protein would be correspondingly more valuable as a feed for growing animals; high-oil corn would be of
