The Wichita city eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1872-1883, 1877-01-11
State Agricultural Reports.

There are now thirty-eight States in
the American Union. Some twenty-one
of these, we believe, have published
what may he called Agricultural Re-
ports. These are California, Connec-
ticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,
Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts,, Michi-
gan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hamp-
shire, @ New jersey. New York, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennes-
see, Vermont and Wisconsin.
These are of very diverse merit, both
as to Typography and matter. Their
aims and scope are as differentas their
merit. One confines itself to the dry
details of the proceedings of the Board
and the awards of premiums, while
another reports the proceedings of
Farmers Conventions and the analy-
ses of an experiment station.
In the matter of Typography, New
England is far ahead. The reports of
Maine, Massachusetts aud Connecti-
cut, on paper such as no Illinois State
contractor ever furnished, aud in a
type clearer than any of our state
printers have ever set up, look like
rich relations alongside the volumes
from Illinois and Indiana. Curiously
enough we must 60 to the far western
Kansas for job Of work at all COM
parable TO that Of eastern reports.
The most costly series and one of the
most meritorious is that of New York.
The volumes are not as pretty as they
might be, but they contain exhaustive
reports, finely illustrated, of country
surveys, trials of implements, cattle
diseases, etc. Those of Massachusetts,
Connecticut and Maine, though not
illustrated, are valuable from the abi-
ity of the men whose writings and say
ings are found in them.
Among our western reports those of
Kansas are easily first. The last report
of its Board OF Agriculture is Won
derful exhibit in a most taking form
Of the geography, geology, production,
etc., of the State. We wish all our
State Legislatures and State Boards
could order and do so good work. The
reports of Michigan and Wisconsin
are creditable, and we believe, though
with less knowledge, those of Iowa.
Next to Kansas, however, and hardly
behind any in the excellence of mechan-
zeal execution, we must place those OF
Ohio.
Some of these series of reports now
make formidable array of volumes.
New York, we think, has issued some
So volumes, commencing about 1s4l.
Ohio %, Indiana %, Massachusetts %,
Maine 10, Connecticut 9, Illinois 10.
Wisconsin y, Missouri IL.
The States without reports, so far
as we know, are Alabama, Arkansas,
Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Kentucky,
Louisiana, Maryland. Minnesota, Mis-
sissippi, Nevada. North Carolina,
Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Vir-
ginia, West Virginia. Kentucky has
now State Commissioner OF Agricnl
ture, and perhaps should be taken out
of this list. But it is discreditable
that so large number remain in which
no State action has been taken in the
direction of State aid in the dissent
nation of agricultural knowledge. We
hope the time is uot far off when the
more enlightened farmers III these
States will move in the matter and Sc
cure the formation of organizations to
promote agriculture. With the excep-
ton of Georgia, which has now an ex-
cellent department of agriculture, the
southernmost States seem to entirely
lack anything of the kind and Ten
nessee, Kentucky, and Missouri are
the only other States south of Mason
& Dixon's line that have given the SUBJ
ject due attention.-Prdirie Farmer.