The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1877-08-31
cannon and large force. The telegram con-
3cludes: Tomorrow we shall bring up our
siege guns and renew the struggle. We hope
to be successful"
MINNESOTA CROPS.
Report or tho C0mmissi oner OF statistics.
OFFICE OF SECRETARY OF STATE,
BUREAU OF STATISTICS
Srr Il

/ & Z i 4 s + s (
To Editors of Minnesota: Ef
am required by law to prepare for,
and furnish to, the newspapers of this State
the returns Of certain crops and acreage hav-
ing immediate interest to the producers in ad-
vance to the publication of my annual report,
and not later than the third Monday of July.
BY the same act the township assessors are
required to transmit to the auditors of the sew
eral counties their returns by the first Monday
of July, and the auditors are also required to
transmit an abstract of such returns to this
Bureau on the second Monday of July. and
each and every auditor and assessor falling
therein shall be subjected to a fine of fifty
dollars.
Inasmuch as several counties marked with
q in the following tables have not vet re-
ported through their auditors to this bureau,
and very large proportion Of the whole
number did not DO SO until within the past ten
days and then in many instances very incom-
pletely, owing to the omission of townships
altogether, and neglect to add up and prove
their tables, which defects and omission have
labored to cure and supply, twill be seen that
it was simply impossible to furnish you with
the subioin ed information at the time speci-
fed. s@E
The assessors of the towns of Verona and
Clark in Faribault county, and of Paynesville
and Sank Centre in Stearns county, have
made no returns, therefore those counties, SO
far as these tables are concerned, do not show
all they might.
The object of this advance publication be-
ing to remove prejudices and objections of
the producing classes, based upon the belief
that this information has hitherto been ccest
slble to them only after their desire and need
OF it had passed, it was matter of deep re
greet to my accomplished predecessor that
scarcely newspaper in the State outside of
the city of st. Paul. published the tables he
prepared last September -
It is to be hoped that if the publication en-
tire of the following table is too great a tax
upon your time and space YOU will at least
interest of your readers and locality
The tables have been enlarged SO as to in
clude the crops and acreage of barley,potatoes
and cultivated hay. The market for these
products is often largely local, and the intelli-
gent farmer can see at a glance comparison
OF the years 1876 and 1877, and draw his own
conclusions as to the scarcity or superabund-
ance of these crops in his local market
AS there are yetliving persons who complain
OF compulsory vaccination and education, it
need surprise no one that many of our asses
SOrS, and even some Of our auditors, give very
little attention to their duties in the collection
and preparation of the statistics of our State
Instances have been given me of their meeting
ignorance with ignorance, and prejudice with
prejudice, in their official intercourse with the
farmers. y ...
This is alluded to now and here for the DUR
pose of calling attention to the fact that the
assessor is to the institutions of the State what
subsoil is to the cultivated acres-the source of
their vigor and enduring value, and he should
be chosen with at least as much care as one
would exercise in choosing land.
1t has been the custom of my predecessors
to volunteer at this time an estimate of the
total yield of wheat. This I may do later in the
season if it seems necessary or advisable, when
the actual results of the harvest are at hand.
It is sufficientto say now that there is already
secured beyond the reach of disaster
such a harvest as should make it pleasure
rather than a duty, for the people
of this State to deluge with ( gifts Of
food, seed, and clothing, those thrice unfortu-
nate residents of districts, ravaged for the
last time as we all now trust and believe, by
the terrible locust. =
The wheat crop of 1876 averages, it will be
seen, 64-lOO bushels per acre, or fraction
over one bushel more than was estimated by
my predecessor last September. This crop
was failure without a parallel in the history
OF Minnesota, yet our failure compares favor
ably with the average good crops of Illinois,
which is estimated at bushels; of Iowa, in a
series of seven years. which is given at 10 3O-1O0
bushels; of Ohio in series of eleven years, as
shown by her reports, which was 10 $500
bushels per acre. .--,s d. .a- s.~agsaa :,:sss
T. NJ. METCALF,
t Commissioner of Statistics
I. v'HA"' e...: ).