[15] Bureau of Animal Industry Report of 1885-86.
[16] The Breeder's Gazette, July 16, 1913.
His son, John T. Alexander, of Alexander, Ward & Co., commission men of Chicago, has been prominent in the cattle interests during the last 40 years.
[17] The Breeder's Gazette, July 16, 1913.
[18] The Breeder's Gazette. Aug. 6, 1913.
[19] This information was given by his grandson, Mr. B. F. Harris.
[20] Story of Tom Ponting's Life.
IV. THE RANGE INDUSTRY
"In the ante-bellum period, central Illinois was a vast blue grass pasture. The people were breeding many cattle, but not enough to supply the steady increasing demand for stockers and feeders. Cattle feeders made good the deficiency in the local production by heavy drafts on Missouri, Kansas, Texas, and other sections of the trans-Mississippi region. The subsequent reign of King Corn was then barely in the incubating stage. Grass was the beef maker's principal reliance.