The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1870-03-03

Letter from the cs~.i--ioner.

Letter from the oMisshoner-
In response to q resolution of the House
of Representatives instrucfing the Commis-
sionef of Agriculture 10 furnish certain IN
FORMATION representing his department,
General Capron has submitted the follow
ing letter giving the facts required;
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
W.saINGroN. ID. c., Jan. 81. 1906
Hon. james g. Blaine,
Sneaker House Of Representatives.:
SIR: Ihave the honor to acknowledge the
receipt of the following resolution OF The
House of Representatives. bearing date JAN
%, 1870.
Resolved. That with the view to deyel-
oping the agricultural resources OF the Uni
ted States and of introducing into this
country the cultivation of plants yielding
materials valuable in the arts and manufac-
lures. the Commissioners be instructed 70 In
form the House of the extent and value OF
the imports of foreign commodities suscep-
tible of production within the limits of this
country. as plants used tor dye-stuffs, medi-
icines, food products, and for textile and
fibrous material, and for other economic
purposes"
suggestive of new industries agricultural
and mechanical. by which the teeining mil
lions of our future population shall earn
their bread and enhance the national wealth.
and for which we have millions of acres of
suitable lands in climates exactly adapted TO
such productions
When the productions of a county or Dis
trict are limited TO one or two market crops,
there must of necessity recur seasons when
the profit desired is reduced TO minimum,
and consequently pecuniary loss Is sustain
ed. A large extent of land was last year
placed under cotton cultivation. The price
Of the staple was high and its profits large.
| A continuance of this increase of area, and
the consequent neglect of subordinate crops
| will eventually, aud possibly very soon. re-
/ duce the value and destroy the profit of the
| main production, and advance ruinously
/ the price of essential, though neglected. mi
nor productions.
The culture of wheat furnishes an Illus
| trarion precisely parallel. The price of
bushel of wheat in Minnesota is to-day little
more than the cost of pound of butter. be-
cause wheat fields have been undny enlarg-
| ed. while cattle have been neglected. So
long as the production is not in excess Of
home consumption all goes well, but whel
reckless cropping year after year upon the
the same land swells the product Deyord
that point and large surplus is thrown up
on the foreign markets in direct competition
with the cheap labor of other countries, the
price falls below the cost of production, ano
the farmer IN list suffer two-fold loSs-of q
depletion of his land and his year of toll.
Then arises a necessity. in a country SC
broad and fertile, for the culture of the
greatest possible variety of useful plants
lest suffering and loss be the result of to-
tai or partial want of market for produce
| of one alone. To diminish these oscillations
In market values, and to place our farming
community above the risks arising from the
cause, propose more extended cultivation
of certain plants. and the Introduction Ot
others not yet tried. Such efforts are not
only eminently within the province ( thi:
department. but are the distinct require
ments of its charter. and it is made its pecu-
liar function to watch vigilantly over the
progress of American agriculture, and tC
divert the rural labor into channels which
may prove more profitable to private enter
prise and more productive of national
wealth.
The offset to the diminished value of Al
excessive production of cotton a greater
breadth of land should be devoted to the SUI
gar cane coffee, rice, and various fruits. es-
pecially grapes suited to wine making. In
place of the almost exclusive yield of grain
in many sections, the sugar beet and other
roots should divide the occupation of the
land.
There is but little variety in our agricul-
tural production, and the soil, even under
continual ordinary maauring loses its pro-
ductive capacity by the loss OF one class of
mineral food. The cultivation. of another
article on the land may yield profitable re-
turn and at the same time the soil is recov-
ering its equilibrium of II neral elements.
For some time past the great object which
this department has had in view has been to
point out TO the farmers OF the country the
pressing necessity OF diversity of agriculLu-
raj labor. The great extent of our territory
its variety of soil, climate, and capability
all point to the want of, and the benefit de-
rivable from, varied cultivation. Our peo-
pie are apt TO carry with them. to new To-
calities whether they migrate, the same plans
and processes of culture which they profit
ably pursued under very different climates
and to overlook the material barriers TO prof
liable growth which nature has rigidly sci
ity exists over an extent of country suscep-
tible of great variety OF vegetable growth
One of the great uses of this department is
TO lead the way in this progressive agricul-
ture, not only by pointing out new plants
!. for introduction and test; but also by ex-
perimenting extensively to ascertain what
species may profitably be cultivated in GER
tain sections where climate or other condi-
tons are favorable. To carry this aim into
, successful practice. system of exchange Of
seeds has been adopted with various parts
of the world, by which it has obtained many
valuable plants and seeds, natives of inter
tropical and south temperate zones. These
seeds have been planted in our conservato-
ries with the view of ascertaiuing within
what limits OF the country they may bt
profitably grown in open ground. Such ex-
: periments involved time and expenditure
but they may be essential to the educating
of our people up to the necessity for cnlti-
walton varied according TO the natural influ-
ences of climate and latitude.
The iute-plant (corchOrus,) tea and coffee
and cinchOna can be grown in the United
States. The cultivation of the latter should
not be left to private enterpris &c at first. but
ought to be conducted on plantations by the
government until a large number of healthy
and accIimated plants are obtained for dis
tribution. The value of these four plant,
, if produced within our borders. is shown by
the tables to be over $40 100000. / do no
! say that we can at this moment supercedt
by our own production foreign tea and cof.
fee, but if we cannot it is solely due to tht
cost eff labor, and not to climatic incapable
ity.
Sugar is one of those products which for
tunately can be made from one end of oul
country to the other, either from the can,
: or beet, and the value of this article of com
merce is annually increasing, the importa
lions for the year ending June 30. 1869
reaching $72,39S320, gold value. The cul
tivation of beet sugar Is in no way exhaust
ing, but on the con .rary, beneficial in ro-
f tation, and valuable as aid of other indus
tries.
: Prominent among the substances which
: may be grown and made to constitute a new
product of industry are the various dye
stuffS, which yield either coloring matter OF
tannin. Such are the sumac trees and mad
: der plants. the present imports of which
are at very high figure, as may be seen by
reference to the tables and the statement:
already made. The climate of many of the
Southern aud all of the middle States is well
adapted TO the growth of these plants, and
they should be introduced at once into ouI
ordinary lists of crops. In addition to hemp
and jute (already mentioned, and Of as great
importance, as this growth will be easy and
, profltable,) there are many species of the
nettle, and allied tribes, which have fbres
remarkably strong and fine, and the growth
of which may be well suited to certain sec
tons. The China Grass, or Ramie, which
mas been grown to some extent in Texas
Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia
South Carolina and Florida, are examples OF