The number of horses reported on Loudoun farms in 1900 comprised 797 colts under 1 year old; 1,048 horses 1 and under 2 years, and 7,722 horses 2 years and over. The numbers not on farms were, for the three classes named, 22, 13, and 684, respectively. There was, therefore, a total for Loudoun County of 8,406 work horses, and 1,880 too young for work, making a grand total of 10,286 horses, of which 93 per cent were on farms and 7 per cent in barns and inclosures elsewhere.
Only two counties of Virginia, i. e., Augusta and Rockingham, reported more horses than Loudoun, and the last-named County led all in number of colts.
The total number of mules of all ages in the County in 1900 was 109.
Sheep, Goats, and Swine.
There were reported in Loudoun June 1, 1900, 31,092 sheep, of which 15,319 were lambs under one year, 15,040 ewes one year and over, and 733 rams and wethers one year and over. All but 0.2 per cent of that number were on farms.
Loudoun headed the list of Virginia counties in number of lambs under one year and ranked second in number of ewes one year and over.
The total number of goats of all ages in Loudoun June 1, 1900, was 20.
The total number of swine of all ages June 1, 1900, was 17,351, of which 15,554, or 89.6 per cent, were on farms and 1,797, or 10.4 per cent, in barns and inclosures elsewhere.
Domestic Wool.
Tazewell headed the list of Virginia counties in 1900 in both number and weight of fleeces shorn, and was followed by Loudoun with a total of 15,893 fleeces, weighing, unwashed, 87,410 pounds. Almost double this amount in pounds was sheared in the fall of 1879 and spring of 1880.
Poultry and Bees.
The total value of all the poultry raised on Loudoun farms in 1899 was $114,313, an average value per farm of $58.68.
The number of chickens three months old and over, including guinea fowls, on farms in Loudoun County June 1, 1900, was 132,627; turkeys, 7,218; ducks, 2,171, and geese, 1,036.
The total value of all poultry on hand, including the value of all young chicks unreported, as well as that of the older fowls, was $58,276, an average of $29.92 per farm reporting.
Shenandoah was the banner county of Virginia in egg production, reporting 1,159,000 dozens; Rockingham ranked second, with 1,150,500 dozens, and Loudoun third, with 771,780 dozens, the fourth highest competitor, Augusta county, lacking 60,580 dozens of this last number.
Of Virginia counties at the last census Loudoun ranked third in the number of chickens on farms, third in number of turkeys, third in value of poultry products in 1899, and second in value of poultry on hand June 1, 1900.
There were in the County June 1, 1900, 2,225 swarms of bees, valued at $6,428. They produced the same year 24,970 pounds of honey and 1,110 pounds of wax.