Eaton weekly Democrat. [volume] (Eaton, Ohio) 1866-1875, 1870-02-24
1870 On tbe Farm

Gold is about fifteen per cent. low
er now than it was at the beginning
of 1869. Wheat has suffered NOR
than corresponding decline. A yea
ago, No. Spring was worth $1.13 a
Chicago row, the same sells at 78c
Oats have fallen about five cents
bushel from last year. In rye, tn,
decline is from $1.12 to &C., Barley
too, has fallen more than 100 pc
cent. Hay has gone down from 50
to 10. On the other hand, in oneim
portant crop there has been q rise
corn being five cents busheI highel
quoted two cents per pound highel
at the West than It was last year
but in New YORK 1t is cent or twC
lower. 80 ffie E tsf
Cotton is very much higher thar
it was a year ago, and the Commits
sioner thinkc that the crop VII
amount to three million bales, 4Ol
pounds each. Beef, Is on an aver
age, a cent-per pound cheaper. Or
the whole, the review, though mo-
exhilarating, gives no cause for de
preston or anxiety In our farm
houses. Grain has ruled very high
ever since the war, and this fall Il
due to three causes-the steady de
cline in gold, the entire absorption
of the disbanded armies in peaceful
industry, and the large number o.
reapers made and sold. Mccormick
has accomplished more for grain.
growing than any agricultural in.
ventor for any crop, and so much
can be done By the horse that on the
level lands Of the West, grain grow,
ing has been greatly stimulated.
bushels more of wheat in '69 than in
'68, and seventeen million bushels
more than in 80 while OF corn she
received six million more bushels In
1862 than last year. Say what the
agricultural writers may, there il nc
Likelihood that any words will ar.
rest the westward roll OF the wheat
crop. Twenty years ago, the wheat
product OF New YOrk and Pennsyl.
vanla was four and five bushels pei
head to the population ;now ,itls two
and a half.
Thevalue Of the grainproduct OF ftht
New England States is $3.50 to each
person. In Kansas, 1t Is $40. In
the prairie States, on an average 1t il
$60. 1T Is OF no use TO mutfny against
such figures +; they indicate q mighty
natural law, drift that must contin-
ne till migration has equalized In
some measure the value OF lands In
this country. Oliver Dalrymple OF
Minnesota, although wheat is below
dollar, proposes to devote 1000 OF
his acres TO that crop, for his land
did not cost him over $50 an acre.
But George Geddes of Syracuse
whose farm is worth 5000 an acre,
and Is as good q grain farm as there
In hnI fr.k l. - L.. -
rection of vegetables and fruits.
The inference to which the results
Of 1869 force as Is this If railroads
and the nearness of cities have Civ
en- Eastern lands an enhanced value.
It is not for grain growing. Wheat
VIII not make them pay six per cent
interest. Some crop must be sought
which calls for closer economy OF
space, freer use OF mnnures, and
q more shrewd handling Ia the
markets. Another deduction is
sound; That he who produces meat
runs smaller risks, keeps his land In
better heart, and saves more money
than the average grain farmer. As
ldxury increases, people consume
more well-fattened flesh. Beef In
the Few York markets Is about the
last article to succun1b to the gener-
al pressure. In fact, good KEN
tueky and Ohio three-year-oIds sell
about as well to-day as they did
when wheat was 81. There was a
very moderate down grade in July
and August, when the grass-feds
came in; but IL has required 10 cent?
20 drive first class animal out of
the yards during most of the past
year, and to-day IL requires IL cents.
these figures: that he who confines
his Iabors mainly to articles ofprfme
and universal necessity suffers less
in the long run than the farmer who
runs his land to such crops as dam
age rather than support society. For
Instance neither the barley that
makes ale and beer, the hop that
gives them flavor nor tobacco, has
been pecuniary success this year.
Oats bave been a profitable crop (,
wheat pays reasonably well and
thousands of, fat cattle have been
sold at from 500 to $120 q head.
The farm products that have given
least disappointment are such fruits
as the peach, the pear, the apple, and
the cranberry.
Great advance has been made in
the facilities for disposing OF q large
crop of peaches. A few years ago,
the arrival OF So carloads made such
a glut that hundreds of baskets were
thrown to the fishes. This year,
trains of 175 cars In a day did not
the market. The price of
good table apples is nearly the same
year after year, whether wheat rs up
or down, and the prices OF cider and
good cider vinegar steadlly advance.
With the exception OF the etrawber-
ry there is little danger OF loss on
any of the small fruits, and all the
vegetables of the market garden are
profitable when rightly handled.
In conclusion, we say to the pro-
ducers of milk, cheese and flesh.
Your house stands strong: the. in
crease of population, the growth of
foreign demand, and the more expen-
sive habits of the opulent class, in
sure you a firm and remunerative
Grain growers must re-
member that SO many will SOW less
and furnish a scant crop in 1870 that
scarcity alone is likely to prevent a
'urther decline.
For years, we have heard the
that the small fruit busi-
less Will be overdone and the nu-
nerous orchards and vineyards Will
not pay the labor of harvesting.
Facts do not warrant the statement.
Grapes bring more per pound than
hey did when we had not ten acres
IF vineyard in any State of the Un-
on. Fine large strawberries still
nearly fifty cents quart,
.hough millions of small, sandy ber-
.ies do not sell for ten.
When few thousand bushels Of
wild cranberries were brought to OBJ
Icure markets, they were q slow sale
1t a dollar. Now, the product of
three or four Thousand carefully
planted acres sells in New York and