1790
1800 5,641
1810 24,520
1820 147,178
1830 343,031
1840 685,866
1850 851,470
1860 1,711,951
1870 2,539,891
1880 3,077,871
1890 3,826,352
1900 4,821,550
1910 5,638,591
_Cattle and Cattle Feeding_[3]
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?"[4]
"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 $35, and of
oxen and other cattle, it was $28.04, while the average value of milk
cows in Iowa was only $31.75, and of other cattle $26.00. 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.
----+--------------+-------------+----------------+-----------------
| Milch Cows | Work Oxen | Other Cattle | Total
Year|-------+------+------+------+---------+------+---------+-------
| No. |Inc. %| No. |Inc. %| No. |Inc. %| No. | Inc. %
----+-------+------+------+------+---------+------+---------+-------
1850|294,671| |76,156| | 541,209| | 912,036|
| | | | | | | |
1860|522,634| 77.3 |90,380| 18.6 | 970,799| 79.4|1,583,813| 73.6
| | | | | | | |
1870|640,321| 22.5 |19,766|-78.1 |1,055,499| 8.7|1,715,586| 8.3
| | | | | | | |
1880|865,913| 35.2 | 3,346|-83.0 |1,515,063| 43.5|2,384,322| 38.9
| | | | | | | |
1883|716,102|-17.3 | | |1,253,765| -17.2|1,969,867| -17.4
| | | | | | | |
1884|919,404| 17.7 | | |1,471,191| 17.3|2,390,595| 21.3
----+-------+------+------+------+---------+------+---------+-------