hone connection.[54] This method of cattle-growing has improved the
business in every way. The cattle are better kept; the loss by winter
killing is very small; the "long-horn" cattle have given place to the
best breeds of "meaters," which are heavier, and mature more quickly.

[Illustration: _Copyright, 1901, by Detroit Photographic Co._

ON A TEXAS CATTLE RANCH]

The success of stock-growing in this region is largely a question of
climate. The sparse rainfall permits the growth of several species of
grass that retain nutrition and vitality after turning brown under the
fierce summer heat. Ordinary turf-grass will not live in this region,
nor will it retain its nutrition after turning brown if rain falls upon
it. The native grass is not materially affected by a shower or two; it
is fairly good fodder even when buried under the winter's snow. The
existence of this industry, therefore, turns on a very delicate climatic
balance.

Of the beef grown in the United States the export product is derived
mainly from this region. Nearly four hundred thousand animals are
shipped alive; about three hundred million pounds of fresh beef are
shipped to the Atlantic seaboard in refrigerator-cars and then
transferred to refrigerator-steamships. Two-thirds of the cattle and
fresh beef exported are shipped from New York and Boston.

Upward of one hundred and fifty million pounds of canned and pickled
beef are also exported. All but a very small part of this product is
consumed in Great Britain, France, and Germany. The cattle are collected
for transportation at various stations and sidings along the railways
that traverse this region. _Cheyenne_ is one of the largest
cattle-markets in the world.

Wool has become a very valuable product, and the sheep grown in this
region number about one-half the total in the United States. The growing
of macaroni-wheat is extending to lands that fail to produce crops of
ordinary wheat.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

In what ways does the basin of the Great Lakes facilitate the commerce
of the United States?

How has the topography of the Mississippi Valley affected the evolution
of farming-machinery?

Why are shippers willing in many cases to pay an all-rail rate on wheat
sent to the Atlantic seaboard, nearly three times as great as the lake
and canal rates?

The acre-product of wheat in the United States is about twelve bushels;
in western Europe it varies from twenty-five to more than forty