Port Royal commercial and Beaufort County Republican. [volume] (Port Royal, S.C.) 1873-1874, 1873-11-06
The Greatest Crop. Of the World.

A question widely discussed involves
the relative value of the wheat, cotton,
tea and hay crops of the world. Which
of these products employs the greatest
amount of the worlds capital2 1t is
said that hay leads the rest, and the
items that enter into the account as
stated are somewhat startling, and will
make a Grapser's hair stand on end.
Cotton and tea are local crops, while
hay is produced everywhere the world
over, and thus the hay crop greatly out
weighs either OF the other two. The
aggregate reported value of ali farm
products for 1870 was so, Az, ,53S, ,658;
but as this includes additions to stocks,
"betterments," &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 q, ,000, =
600 tons. This at half the selling price in
the large cities, would amount to S405,
000, 900, ard is far greater than the ag-
grogate home-valae of the cotton crop
or any other crop. But the cured ebay"
is but a portion Of the grass crop. The
other portion is used on the ground,
and it requires considerable calculation
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, 900, were fed
from it that year. Averaging the lives of
these at FIVE years We have one-ffth Of
that sum as representing the grass fed
to them in 1870, namely: S305, 600, 900;
next we find the value of the animals
slaughtered for food in that year to be
S309, 900, 900, and as this is an annual
product, the whole of it will for the pres
ent be credited to the grass crop; next
we find that the butter crop of 1870 was
514, 600, 900 pounds, which at the low
average of 25 cents, amounts to S128,-
600, 900, and this goes to the credit of
grass; next we have 235, 600, 900 gallons
of milk, which, averaged at the low es-
innate of 10 cents per gallon, adds $685.
600, 900 more to the credit of the grass
crop; then we have 100, 600, 900 pounds
OF wool at % cents q pound, adding
$25, 100000 more; and, finally, So, ,000,-
600 pounds of cheese at 10 cents, add
ing over So, ,000, 600 to the total of these
credits to the grass crop of 1870, which
aggregates 1887, 100000.
Now let us add the value of the ebay"
crop as given above-viz. $405, 900, 600
and we have grand total for "hay ;"
and the products of grass consumed on
the ground amounting to 81, ,292, 900, ,000l
This is, OF course, subject to the 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
1910, 900, 600 and this leaves q remain
der of 81, ,0S2, 900, 900 to be credited to
the hay and grass-crop of that year,
when the reported aggregate of all farm
products was 81, Al, ,53S, 65S. If our es-
Inmates make even the toughest ap-
proach to accuracy, the value OF that
crop was two-ffths of the aggregate
value of the farm products, and hence
we may infer that two-6fths of the capi.
tai then invested in agricultural pur-
suits was devoted to the grass-crop, and
this in the United States equals Cin
round numbers) 81, 575, 600, 900. From
these figures the dedu' ton is palpable
that King Cotton is uncrowned and de-
throned, and we may be forced to admit
that all "Aesh" and all else is hay, if
not "grass. ."-Menarhis appeal