The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1858-07-18
(, AGRICULTURE IN TIE NORTH RETRO,
GRESSITE. :. B 5, ..,s
From the Pbiladelphla rennsylvanian.I

From the Philadelphia Fennsy vanianl ~
The Ledger expresses the opinion that the ayoe idea
of public concerning that superabundance of
harvests which feeds the world is all noonshine The
Ledger thinks that it is oontrdcted by the experience of
the hast eight years; that in fact have found il
much we could do to feed ourselves that prices Of
food have up inordnatey and that the general
which inflated prices helped TO produce scarcity
and to direct labor from agriculture to speculative asen
ture and railroad building, largely increasing consump
ton and reducing production We fully concur in these
views, which have repeatedly urged upon our read
ers and 1t is OF the highest Importance that they should
receive serious and practical consideration Ii Is
grievous mistake to suppose that agriculture has made
such an immense progress with that ahead of
all mankind in this respect and that ii is supplied with
capital ana labor ia manner to render the immediate
opening Of fields OF activity and investment the
most pressing necessity OF the moment We have gained
great proficiency it is true, and surpass all other
tons in the construction and manipulation Of labor
saving machinery and agricultural implements But
this denotes progress in the mechanical arts not in a
culture proper IL shows the wants of the latter only
without furnishing measure OF its efficiency. The in
creasing yiod per of cultivated lands an evidence
of agricultural progress anu in this respect England and
France have lett behind every yielding there
than double what it produces with But this advan
age is than counterbaanced by immense album
of cheap and natural fertile soil still increasing
production remains after ali the criterion of agricultural
progress Applying this test, find that the South
not the North has advanced BY far the largest portion
of domestic exports are OF southern growth. The
principal articles of the staple of northern exports
wheat -four rye, oats and other small grain and pulse
amounto IN value in 1856 to SAT 100 000 while cotton
alone figured with SIPS 600 600 Official statistics show
that while production the southern States has steadily
increased hes in the NORTH relatively to the growth of
population, diminished considerably. Such, at least
the cse during the period from ls40 to 1850, may
be seen from the following comparison g4l a
lsg- ifs5t q 1870. 1850
Population IL ,ooo,ooO,) Population 20 900 ooo)
.rs ~ Production. Production.
Potatoes 10000 coo bushels, Ioa 900, 600 bushels
VIZ Wheat 10000 @. lae sss 90 90.
Oats i2s one y,. 900 900 Az, DO TAG 4ss 100000 do
Cattle 1900, coo hsas $4,000, 900 headsI
These data show in many instances in rye, pota-
toes absolutein Others, Us in wheat cattle, &C.,
relative diminution. IT. for example, agricultural pro-
duce had kept pace with the growth of the population
we ought to have produced in 1850 us 900 bushels
Of wheat There is, then, in this article relative fall
ing off Of 5000 600 bushels, about oneseventh of
the total production ia rye there is falling off of TO-
500 900 bushels, e-third in oats, % 900 900
bushels one-seventh potatoes AZ 900 900 bushels
Or nefoufth OF the total production, &c. There Is
good to believe that the causes which produced
this retrogressive movement continued in operation from
1850 to the present time From 1850 to the late nan
cia crisis speculation did not abae On the contrary
it ran wilder than ever, gaining speed and mo-
mentum all the time, until the crash occurred Rail
road enterprise absorbed larger amount of capital and
labor than before and when, from 1910 1850,
the value of provisions and produce extraordinarily
in the home market its rise from the latter year to the
revulaion greater still in ropotion and at
this moment it is very high considering the decline of
valuables and especially of wages which through
out the Northwest have come down to rs, and
low as so cents day All this it to u.s. goes far
to sustain the assertion that the agencies which caused
the retrogresson of northern agriculture from 1910
1850 remained active up to the financial revulsion and
even this day The revusion has checked speculation
but not yet directed capital and labor in the chan
nels where they most needed. Every pursuit
that Of tile farmcr, Is overstocled Fruit vegetables
meat and dairy products command prices that beyond
the means of the mass of working-peope. The equi-
bu Of business is disturbed, and only be restored
by capital and labor largely engaging in the various
branches of agriculture Such is the lesson ncucated by
the financial revulsion lte 'A. ~