New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1858-03-30

The eensus taken for 1850 sho~s Indian Corn, eur
native grain. 70 be the great staple Of the co1ntry
yielding at that time Sx Hundred Millions OF bushes,
vssued at Three Hundred Millions Of Dollar; more
han the combined value OF the three next staples,
Wheat, Cotton and Hay. Thi. crop Is grown iron
OR Northern 10 our s. uthern limit and affords bet
tilsce In no State has refrigerated. Is incrsass
from 1910 10 1850 30 per cent while the ncresse
of population was but - per cent The crop for 1879
was estms,ed At $40 millions Of bu.be.s-nssriy
Sopbe the crop Of 1910. As u oistiogu shed Amer'-
can Agriculturst ha. remarked Il may De sai vi our
Indian Corn as has been said Of the TGrnip CfopOf
Epglsud that lis failure for three successive years
would nearly bankrup, the ns;ion.
A frod for men and animals, /. is alike important.
To- il we owe much Of our Beef The greater part Of
our Pork. and comparatively small quantity Coz
.uued in the manufacture OF Malt and Spuruors
Liquors Amt rican Corn Mesl is genera,y ussa 70
the West Indies, aod II Is being gradaaiy in'tv-.ee
in Europe. TIE Prussian Government mas hsu,asea
experimental inquiries 10 us value and mode Oh
The Wheat Crop from 1870 10 1850 increased cn,y
II per cent. In New. England, the cultivation during
that time declined 70 per cent. l., .nguisbes IN New
York il nearly stationary IN the Middle states, ons
increasing largely in the Northwestern S.s'es. IN
cago which abou; twenty years ags imported hour
and me fer her own consumption s now the greatest
primary grain market In the world, riyaling o iessa
and Galatz. Dantzc and ST. Petersburg, ana her
brands of -four are recognized throushou. Europe.
In NewYork, the Wheat crop from 1870 TO INV de-
creased nearly 100 per cent.
OF our exports Of Breadsuffs, Whea, Is the largest
item. In 1850 the proportion was $p,VooW wonn
of Wheat to only g. 600 coo Of Indian Corn,
Our exports Of Breadstuts Of late years ksve SIN
gularly varied. In lsi7, owing to the Irish Famine
they rose to eos 600 0O0 They fell In 1913 To 81 Co.,
co., and in 1852 TO s coo COO, rising again in ls4 TO
s65,OOO 600; sinking the next year to ssoo'V"' AMI
The average export price of Flour, as ascertaiaed
by the Secretary Of the Treasury for those yesr does
not explain these fluctuations. The prize 10 So2 vas
81 "a; in 1853 s. 60; 1854 q IS; in 1885, $40. They
were probably owing in part to fuctuanons 10 The
home supply, well rs in the foreign demand, Adu-
| enced somewhat by the European and Eastern wars
Ii is most desirable that the causes OF such huctrs
lions should be accurately aeertanea as they tend
10 excite doubts regard b. the certainty Of sgricul
tural profits: and the element of uncertainty with
prudent men naturally discoursges and deter.
There are several topics deserving careful attention
in connection with the subject one, the rapid intro
ducton Of laborsaving agricultural implements, over
corong in part chief difficulty in the high price Of
labor and the spread Of agricultural science BY the
aid of the Patent Office, and State, County AID Town
Societies and Clubs.
Another of an opposite character and yet more inn
portance the gradual deterioration of the soil going
on steadily in the older States and commencing IN tho
new reducing the average Of crops TO the acre Tar
below the average on the soil of Earope, which has
been cultivated for centuries or Wheat the average
in New-Yok, Ohio and Indiana is II bushels to tina
acre. while in England il Is 81, in Flanders rs and in
turc is shown by occasional crops of ~ in England 30
in New-York, and las reported q at San Jose IN Cali
foInia.
The returns oftbe census 10 indicate diminu
ton in the proportion Of the population engaged 10
Agriculture and the next should determine this
point with accuracy.
The tables of mortality should show tho average
of human life in the towns and in the country 1t
might tend with the masses TO lessen the attractive
ness Of crowded streets the rural districts.
In Surrey, England, the average duration OF life
is IS year, while in Man chester and Liverpool, u
only IS years A table at Dorchester, Mass, made
the average life of farmers, - years; Of merchants,
81, and Of mechanics, %. The proportion OF male
births in TIE rural distcts found to be 80 cent
more than in the cities
All these points may be so elaborated and verified
by the tables of the census that its returns shall tseeh
not simply lessons in political economy, but lessons
of daily duty especially with reference to the trans
mssion of the soil to our children with lie fertility IN
| impaired.
The subject concerns the whole country-it is at
tracing The attention Of scientific and practical ns
| in every State and or less from every state
Goyerrmen and suggestions from the Society for the
Improvement Of the schedules for the approaching
Federal census, will doubtless be received with
| thanks and carefully considered.