The patron of husbandry. (Columbus, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1881-11-19
The Greatest Crop Of 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 pro-
ducts involves the greatest amount
of the worlds capital? It is said
by the Hay Reporter that hay leads
the rest, ard the items that enter
into the account as sisted are some
what startling. Cotton and tea are
local crops, while hay is produced
every where the world over, and the
hay crop greatly outweighs either
of the other two. The aggregate
reported value of all farm products
in the United States FOR 1870 was
81 .44z,536,o5S; but as this includes
additions to stocks, ''bettermHnts,"
etc, It was probably too high then,
but the census Of 1880 will no doubt
show even larger figures. Now
the hay crop for t87o1that is, the
grass dried and cured for use or
sold, is reported at over 27,ooo,ooo
tons. This, at half the selling price
in The large cities, would amount to
$4O5, 5000 o, and is far greater than
the aggregate home value Of the
cotton crop or any other crop. But
the cured hay is but portion of
the grass crop. The other portion
is used on the ground, and it requires
considera BILE calculation to get at
the value so used, even in the rough
est way.
In the first place, live stock, in
Guiding horned:cattle, horses, sheep,
swine, etc, to the value Of 81, 5z5,-
600, 900, were fed from it that year.
Averaging the lives of these at FIVE
years. we have one fifth of that
um as representing the grass fed
to them in 1910, viz: $3o5,ooo,ooo
next, we find the value of the ami
mails slaughtered for food in that
year to be $3o9,ooo,ooo; and as this
is annual product, the whole of il
viii, for the present, be credited to
the grass crop; next, we find that
the butter crop of 1870 was 5o4,-
100000 pounds, which, as the low
average of twenty-five cents
amounts to $I2S,ooo,ooo, and this
goes TO the credit of grass; next, we
have z25, ooo,ooo gallons of milk.
which, averaged at the low est
mate OF ten cents per gallon, adds
&25, OOO, 900 more to the credit OF
the grass crop; then we have Ioo,-
900, 900 pounds of wool at twenty
FIVE cents a pound, adding SIS, $780,
900 more, and finally, $4,000. ooc
pounds of cheese at ten cents, add
ing over S5,ooO,ooO TO the total Oh
these credits to the grass crop Of
1870, which aggregates 1897, 900,
900.
Now, let US add the value of the
ebay" crop as given above-Viz
$Ao5, 900, ooo-and we have CRANE
total for ebay" and the products O
grass consumed on the grounc
amounting TO 1892, ooo, 900. Thi.
is, Of course, subject to deduction
as the meat, butter, milk, cheese, and
wool producing ANIMALS consume
! otUSI JtcN Dco bSS tdSS anu nay
! To make am pile allowance for this
we deduct the entire value of tht
corn and eats srops-of 1870, essima
ted at $2To, ooo, 900 and This leave:
a remainder of 1852, 600, 900 10 b.
credited TO the hay and grass croE
| Of that year, when the reported ag
/ gregate of ali farm products wa
$2,447, SIS, 658. If our estimates
MAKE even the toughest approach t.
accuracy, the value of that crol
was two fifths of the aggregat,
value of all farm products, ant
| hence we may infer that two-fifth
Of the capital then invested in agri
cultural pursuits was devoted t
the grass crop and this in the Uni
ted States equals in round mum
hers) 81, SIS, ooo,oo From thes
! figures the deduction is palpabl
that King Cotton is uncrowne'
and ethIoaed.-Ex.
/ ~ 0i;uar XNandalI Holnns in