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HISTORY OF THE BEEF CATTLE INDUSTRY IN ILLINOIS

FRANK WEBSTER FARLEY

THESIS

FOR THE

DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE

IN AGRICULTURE

THE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

May 22, 1915

THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT THE THESIS PREPARED UNDER MY SUPERVISION BY

~Herbert W. Mumford~ HEAD OF DEPARTMENT OF Animal Husbandry

INDEX

HISTORY OF THE BEEF CATTLE INDUSTRY IN THE STATE OF ILLINOIS

"As a whole, the surface of the State of Illinois is nearly level. The prairie regions which cover a large part of the state are only slightly rolling, except in those places where streams have worn valleys. These are shallow in the eastern and the northern parts of the state, deepening gradually as the great rivers are approached. Nearly all the waters of Illinois find their way to the Mississippi river. Along this river, as also along the larger streams of the state, the lands are cut into abrupt bluffs or sharp spurs which, nearing the sources of the streams, gradually become softened into rounded hillocks, sinking at last into the low banks. Through such waterways as these form, flow streams usually gentle in current, often sluggish, and sometimes becoming even stagnant. Over a large part of the state, ponds and "sloughs", or marshes, formerly abounded. In these the water was renewed only by the rains that fell occasionally. Under hot suns these ponds, having neither inlet nor outlet, quickly became foul, particularly where stock resorted to them to drink and cool themselves, as they did almost universally throughout the state a few years ago, and do even now in some parts.

"For years such ponds furnished the principal, almost the only, water supply for stock in large areas of this state. The constant use of such impure water greatly injured the quality of the milk and butter of cows, and doubtless had a baneful effect upon the health of the animals that drank the foul water and those who used the milk and butter.

"With the drainage of the land and the introduction of a pure supply of water, came the disappearance of certain diseases of cattle and of human beings, particularly the so-called milk sickness and kindred maladies, and a marked improvement in the flavor and keeping qualities of milk and butter. Although the change thus far has been great, there are yet districts in which there has been little improvement in the conditions of the land, of the water supply, or of the people. Stock are still compelled to depend, for their water supply, upon streams and pools that almost invariably become stagnant in the warm and dry days of the latter part of summer each year."

Inquiries addressed to hundreds of intelligent and careful observers, nearly all of whom were practical stockmen, elicited information showing the following:

Number of District Chief Source of Water Counties Supply

Central Northern Wells chief source; Counties springs, streams, and tiles used to a considerable extent.

Northeast Counties Streams, wells, and springs used about equally.

Eastern Counties Wells chiefly; streams next; ponds and tile drains follow in the order named; nine instances of springs.

Central Counties Forty-nine districts report wells; forty report streams; thirty-five tile drains; twenty-five ponds; twenty-four springs.

Western Counties Wells and tile drains equal; springs next; ponds in a few instances.

Southeast and Southwest Counties A like condition: ponds, streams, and springs.

"From all parts of the state, correspondents wrote that the ponds and streams become stagnant in the warm months of summer, a few making exception of those years in which rainfall has been heavy during the summer months. Stagnant water is found more generally in the southern than in the northern part of Illinois; chiefly, perhaps, because the cultivation and drainage of the land has not become almost universal as it has in the northern districts."

In several counties artesian wells afford a most copious supply of water of good quality. In Iroquois and other eastern counties, such wells have been bored to a depth of from 150 to 200 feet and obtained an unfailing flow of water impregnated with minerals. Stock show a strong liking for such water after becoming accustomed to its use, and it is the belief of those who have had opportunity for observing the effects of its continued use, that this mineral water serves to keep the animals free from disorders which formerly prevailed in that region. This seems to be especially apparent in regard to malarial disorders.

About 1820, the State of Illinois was being rapidly settled by people from the eastern states. Prior to this time, very few white settlements had been made in the state. These early pioneers, drawn from the population of the eastern states, were composed of almost all nationalities. They pushed their way across the mountains of Pennsylvania and Virginia in crude wagons, drawn by oxen, bringing with them their household goods and a few milk cows. They came into Illinois, built new homes, and laid out new fields on the broad, unsettled prairies.

Beginning with the year of 1800, when there were only a few people in the state, the population has increased very rapidly, as is shown by the following statistics, taken from the United States Census Report :

Year Population

When Illinois was first settled, almost the whole of the middle and the northern parts of the state were covered with a rank growth of native grasses, which furnished an ample supply and variety of forage of fair quality. "In the southern districts were heavy forests, but in the central and northern sections were but few groves or other timber growths to afford shelter to stock." The prairie grasses that grew in the central and northern districts were usually devastated by fire during the fall. However, the general fencing and cultivation of the land put a stop to the burning of these dead grasses of the prairies, and soon groves of oaks sprang up and covered many uncultivated spots. The leaves which stayed on these trees throughout the winter until spring, furnished valuable shelter to stock from the raw winter winds.

At the beginning of the settlement of Illinois, very little attention was given to the cattle interest. The pioneer settlers, however, had brought a few milk cows with them from the eastern states, but these cows were kept for milk only, no thought being given to beef production. After a few years, a few pure bred cattle were brought in, at which time some attention was given to beef, as well as to milk production, not for the beef produced, however, but principally to give a ready market for their grain crops.

The practice of raising beef cattle to market grain continued from then until near the end of the nineteenth century, when cattle feeding was no longer profitable as a grain market, and the question was: "How much beef can be produced from a bushel of corn?"

"Despite the seemingly adverse character of the climate, Illinois has been, for some time, little, if any, behind other leading states of the Union in stock growing. In 1850, this state stood sixth in milk cows, and seventh in work oxen and other cattle. In 1860, it was tenth in work oxen, fifth in milk cows, and second in other cattle. In 1870, it was twenty-sixth in work oxen, fourth in milk cows, and second in the supply of other cattle. In 1880, it stood thirty-sixth in work oxen, second in milk cows, and third in other cattle. Iowa then had 240,280 and Texas had 1,812,860 more cattle than Illinois.

"The average value of milk cows in Illinois in 1884 was , and of oxen and other cattle, it was .04, while the average value of milk cows in Iowa was only .75, and of other cattle .00. The blood of the Shorthorns was used more largely than that of any other breed in the improvement of the cattle of the state. The first, and for some years, the only representatives of pure races of cattle in this state were Shorthorns, and to this date they exceed all other breeds in number."

The growth of the cattle interest in the State of Illinois, from 1850 to 1884, inclusive, is shown by the following statistics, taken from the United States Census Reports. The first figures of close accuracy on the number of cattle in the state were those gotten in 1850.

FOOTNOTES:

Report of the Bureau of Animal Industry, 1885, p. 362.

United States Census Report and interviews with old settlers.

Report of Bureau of Animal Industry, 1885, p. 365.

Bureau of Animal Industry, 1885, p. 365-66

"When the farms of Illinois were first put into cultivation, the attention of the farmers was almost entirely devoted to grain raising. Wheat was cash and was the only product of the farm that could be sold for ready money. The virgin soils of the state gave to the pioneer large crop yields, but constant cropping soon began to tell on the soil and each year the crop yield became lighter. This depletion of the fertility of the soil by continuous cropping, together with a need for a near market for the grain crops, soon gave stimulus to an idea that cattle feeding would help restore the fertility of the soil and, at the same time, market the grain at home." From this time on, the production of beef in this state has been one of the most important phases of agriculture. In the southern part of the state, however, which was settled largely by French, and where the predominating cattle continued to be the mongrel bred stock, little attention was given to cattle feeding. These people turned their cattle out on the luxuriant grass and relied upon the meat and milk produced in that way.

"In the evolution or development of beef production that followed in Illinois and other corn-belt states, there has been two distinct stages, and it is now entering upon the third stage. The first stage was that in which cattle were fed to market corn, and also to increase the fertility of the soil, which was being depleted by the continuous cropping. The second stage was that in which the ranges had been broken up and the object was not to raise cattle to market corn but to raise corn to make beef." The third stage, or that upon which the industry is now entering, is that of baby beef making.

Seventy or eighty years ago, and for several years afterward, cattle were bred and fed, not primarily for beef production, but to market corn. The farmers of those days were accustomed to say: "I'll make my corn walk to market," or "I'll condense my freight," or "I'll grow packages in which I can condense my corn and put in the hay and pastures as well." Statisticians figured that about six tons of corn could be put into one ton of pork, about ten tons into one ton of beef, and from twenty to twenty-five tons into one ton of butter. There were very few railroads in the state at that time and farmers were forced to haul their corn and wheat thirty and forty miles to reach a station. And while freight rates were extortionately high on corn and wheat in proportion to their cash value, railroads were racing with each other to get the livestock trade. They gave passes, rebates, and quick service, and many other things to get the patronage of the cattle feeders and shippers. The country roads in Illinois were bad, the bridges were few and poor, and the farmers, therefore, soon came to realize that their corn must walk to market if it gave them any profit.

"The growing of the so-called packages in which to condense freight, and thereby sell corn to a better advantage, was an easy matter in those days. In the newer sections, away from the main lines of railroads, there was much open prairie land, which was covered with luxuriant grass. Cattle could be herded on this free grass on the prairies at a dollar a head from May to October, and then stalk fields could be had for ten cents an acre. Usually these stalk fields contained from twenty cents to thirty cents worth of corn per acre. The only expensive months for feeding were March and April, when either clover, timothy, or prairie hay had to be fed. The cost in the summer was only about twenty cents a month per head, in the winter about thirty-three cents. The total cost of growing a package was about .00."

The cattle herders in those days made contracts with the large operators to graze so many cattle at so much per head during the grazing season. The usual price for the entire season was from .00 to .50 per head. These cattle ranged from three to seven years old by the time they were ready for market and sold for about .00 per head.

An instance of the cattle herding industry, as it may be termed, is related by Mr. C. W. Yapp, now of Urbana, Illinois, who was one of the early herders in that country near Mahomet:

About 1855, at 13 years of age, Mr. Yapp began herding cattle for the then large cattle feeders of that part of the country. In the early spring of 1860, he started from Mahomet with a bunch of 12 cattle, to meet a large drove that was coming up from the southern part of the state. These cattle were native stock which had been collected over the state. The entire bunch numbering around 900, were driven to Drummer's Grove, near Gibson City. There they were branded and herded on the open prairie during the spring and summer. In the fall, they were returned to the lots of the large feeders, where they were fed out during the winter. The feed during the winter consisted mostly of shocked corn.

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