The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1873-10-09
The ercarest Crop in The World.

A question widely discussed in .
wolves the relative value Of the wheat, /
cotton, tea, and hay crops of the
world. Which OF these products em-
ploy the greatest amount Of the
worlds capital? It is said that hay
leads the rest, and the items that en-
ter into the account as stated are
somewhat startling, and will make n
Changers hair stand on end. Cotton
and tea are local crops, while hay is
produced everywhere the world over,
and thus the nay crop greatly out
weighs either of the other two. The
aggregate reported value of all farm
products fOr $50 was 3, AZ, ,53S, ,52S;
but as this includes additions TO stocks
"betferments," &C., it is probably too
high. Now the hay crop for that
year-that is the grass dried and
cured for use, or solids reported at
over 27 900, 900 tons. This, at half the
selling price in the large cities, would
amount to S405, ,000, 900, and is far
greater than the aggregate home
value OF the cotton crop or any other
crop. But the ''curedn hay is but a
portion of the grass crop. The other
! portion Is used on the ground,
and it requires considerable ca.eula-
/ ton to get at the value so used, even
in the toughest way. In the first
place, live stock, including horned
cattle, horses, sheep, swine, &C., to
the value OF 81, ,525, 900, 600, were fed
! from it that year. Averaging the
lives of these at five years, we have
one-fifth of that sum as representing
the grass fed to them in 1870, viz. !:
S305, ,O00, 600; next we find the value
of the animals slaughtered for food in
that year to be $500, 200, 600, and as
this is an annual product, the whole
of it will for the present be credited to
the grass crop; next we find that the
butter crop of 1870 was 5l4 600, 600
pounds, which at the low average of
25 cents. amounts to S12S, 900, 600, and
this goes to the credit of grass; next
we have 235, 100000 gallons of milk,
which, averaged at the low estimate
of 10 cents per gallon, adds S25, ,O00, 900
more to the credit of the grass crop
then we have 100000, 900 pounds OF
wool at % cents pound, adding S25,-
0O0, 900 more; and finally, 50, ,000, 900
pounds of cheese at 10 cents, adding
over $1,000, 900 to the total of these
credits to the grass crop of 1870, which
| aggregates SSS7, 100000 Now let US
add to the value of the shay" crop as
given ebove-viz.: S405, 900, ,000-and
we have o grand total for "hay" and
the products of grass consumed on
the ground, amounting to 81 ,292, ,O00,-
0O0l This is, of course, subject to de-
duction, as the meat, butter, milk,
cheese, and wool producing animals
consume other food besides grass and
hay. To make ample allowance for
this, we deduct the entire value of the
corn and oat-crops of 1870, estimated
at S270, 900, and this leaves a re-
!. mainder of 81 ,0S2, 600, 900 to be credit
ed to the hay and grass-crop of tina
! year, when the reported aggregate o
! all farm products was S2,447, ,53S, ,65S
of our estimates make even the slight
, est approach to accuracy, the value
! of that crop was two-fifths of the ag
! gregate value of all farm products
, and hence we may infer that two
fifths of the capital then invested il
, agricultural pursuits was devoted t.
: the grass-crop, and this in the United
States equals lin round numbers) 81,
/ 575, 100000. From these figures TIN
deduction is palpable that King Cot
, ton is uncrowned and dethroned, ant
l we may be forced to admit that al
! ''fesh" and all else is hay, if no
! "grass."