Successful Initiatives 217 
     
    
   
   
    
     was to become a major industry. We should also mention the impor- 
     
     tance of the root crops like turnips and mangels (beets) that were 
     
     grown mainly as fodder. 
     
    

    
     Around 1940 the average Acadian farmer owned about sixty acres 
     
     of which approximately forty-five were cultivated: twenty acres in 
     
     clover and timothy, four in cultivated crops (turnips, mangels, corn), 
     
     sixteen in oats or mixed grains, and five in potatoes. The remaining 
     
     fifteen acres were left for pasture'®. 
     
    
   
   
    
     LIVESTOCK 
     
    
   
   
    
     Since the tractor constituted a luxury unsuitable for some types 
     
     of terrain, the horse still remained an important animal on Island 
     
     farms throughout this period. 
     
    

    
     The number of cattle increased between 1891 and 1901 when 
     
     dairy farming was subsidized by both governments. As in the past, 
     
     livestock improvement was recommended and the Farmers’ Institutes 
     
     attempted to comply. The number of sheep decreased considerably 
     
     compared to the previous period. The decline was attributed to the 
     
     advent of dairy farming. Efforts were made, however, to revive and 
     
     protect sheep raising. This resulted in the formation of the P.E.I. Sheep 
     
     Breeders Association in 1913''°. Sheep were raised just as much for 
     
     their wool as for their meat. With regard to pigs, there was little change 
     
     in the numbers in relation to the previous period. Poultry, on the 
     
     other hand, increased steadily and surpassed the value of swine and 
     
     sheep. Thus, in 1931, the proportional value of each category of 
     
     livestock was reported as follows: horses 44.6%, cattle 38.1%, poultry 
     
     7.6%, sheep 5.2%, swine 4.5%'°, 
     
    

    
     According to the farm economist, J.-Edmond Arsenault, around 
     
     1941 the average Acadian farmer owned 3 horses, 6 cows, 15 sheep, 
     
     6 pigs and 100 hens'”'. The more prosperous farmers had larger herds.