Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-10-29
AGRICULTURAL.
N TIER PREPARED SPECIALLY FOR
TIE "REcoRD UNION"
western Agriculture Transportation
Question = Machine and Man
Power In Production.

farther east, who had an ambition to migrate
to the West and become part of that great
far-off country, fixed their eyes and their
aims on Ohio, and the Western Reserve was
then broad enough to accommodate them all.
The emigrants from the Eastern States were
then content to settle in the western portions
of New York and Pennsylvania, and seldom
got further west than Ohio and Michigan.
A few native-born and few immigrants,
who had had few years life on the border
of civilization, and had become injured to
backWoods life, were FESTIVE under the
pressure Of settlements growing up about
them in these then way-out west States, ana
were moving further west and settling along
the eastern half of Illinois, and now and
then some more venturous spirits had settled
as far west as Iowa and Wisconsin but the
great West to the multitude had its boundary
in Ohio. The great product in all the West
was then corn, with potatoes and vegetables
enough for home consumption. A cow
and few pigs accompanied most OF the pio-
neer families. but no general stock-raising on
large scale had been engaged in. At that
time but very little of the products of the
great West found their way east beyond the
States in which they were raised The idea
of exporting wheat or corn from the western
country to Europe had hardly been dreamed
of. The demand for such products had
hardly assumed noticeable proportions, and
the conveniences of transportation were not
= IL cf tho raOt1Irpmanf9 nj the C0uQ-
try, No one then was far. seeing enough to
look forty years ahead and behold the reali-
ties of the present. Ohio is now nearly the
center of the country in population, and Is
away down East when the agriculture of the
country is taken into consideration.
The agriculture of the West has now spread
itself over the whole country, to the Pacific
ocean, and compared to any other portion OF
the world, the products OF Western agriculture
are simply enormous. The wheat crop OF the
western and southwestern States bordering
on the Mississippi river, with their natural
and inexpensive outlet to the sea, is
nearly half that produced in the whole
United States. The corn crop of these States
is more than half of the entire product OF the
country, and the cotton crop Is considerably
over one.third of the whole cotton produced.
In 1870 Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri,
Wisconsin, Kentucky. Tennessee, Arkansas,
Louisiana and Mississippi produced OF wheat
ISL, 799. ISL bushels. This was 40 rs per cent.
of the entire wheat raised in the whole coun-
try. The same States in 1880 produced 49,
591, 1O3 being 406l per cent. of the whole
crop. In 1870 the corn crop of these States
was 700 9i4, 549 bushels, being 54.4 per cent.
of the corn crop Of the whole country OF that
year, while the corn crop of the same States
for 1880 amounted to 1,754, 449, 4S5 bushels,
and 047 per cent of the crop of the whole
United States. The same States in 1870 pro-
duced BOIL, 996 bales of cotton, being A 70
per cent. of the cotton of the country. while
the cotton produced by them for 1880 was
$500, 900 bales, and 81. 20 per cent of the en-
tire cotton produced. This shows an increase
in these ten States in ten years. of wheat 81,
$50, POP bushels, of corn 647 ,024, loo bushels,
and ], 073, 929 bales of cotton. The per cent. of
increase of wheat was Al GA of corn, l56,
and of cotton 20 Ga. With such record of
the increase of agriculture in the West for
the past ten years, we are prepared to wit
ness q much larger increase for the ten years
to come /; first, because the States named
above are not up to their maximum OF pro
duction, if they have reached to 90 per cent.
of it; and second, because there never was
a time when the population of the coun-
try was SO rapidly increasing as at
present. With the natural increase of
the population and the influx of immigra-
ton, we may expect that an area of new
country will be settled up and brought under
cultivation equal or greater within the next
ten years than has been settled and newly
cultivated in any twenty years of the past.
In 1870 the States above named had popu-
lation of IL, SOS, AL, and in 1880 the popula-
tation had increased to Is, 03S, 800, being an
increase of 1896 per cent.-equal to 17.97
per cent. of the entire population OF the
,hola in fha last.namcd
From their location the States named are
directly interested in the Mississippi route to
the sea, and are able, as will be seen, to
bring an important share of the influence of
the country upon the opening up and main
tanning the commercial Importance of this
great river. All the States bordering the
tributaries of the Mississippi are to greater
or less extent interested in the same great
question. Thus the entire country embraced
in the Mississippi Valley is interested in this
one point and in due time its influence will
be concentrated in favor of this great COM
mercial highway TO the sea. Nor are the
Pacific States and the intervening Territories
disinterested in this question. Formerly our
interest with the other side of the continent
was concentrated almost exclusively In the
Northern Atlantic seaboard States. Our
commercial relations were direct with these
States, and only indirectly did we have any
interest in the States of the Mississippi Valley
or the great West. Our agricultural inter
ests seemed almost to antagonize the agrl-
cultural interests of the West, inasmuch as
our principal agricultural export (wheat) was
in common with that of these States, and
we had no common interest 10 route to
market The building of the Southern Pacific
Railroad is changing our relations with the
great West and of the Atlantic slope very
materially. We are now, like those States
situated on the tributaries of the Mississippi,
materially interested in the open and easy
navigation of that river. We will not want
the river to float our produce on, but we will
want to take advantage of the facilities the
easy navigation to the Gulf will bring in the
way Of transportation from the Gulf across
the Atlantic to Europe. From Ohio, then,
to the Pacific Ocean the interests of the
present and future whole people is and
will be unit in favor of the I'M
provement of the navigation of the
Father of Waters. Upon this subject the
agriculture of the West. the entire West, Is
one. To carry the future agricultural products
of this vast country to the Atlantic seabeard
hundred railroads will be needed where one
is required now, and these roads would cover
an area of country capable of producing
very. large amount of products and sustaining
q large population. By an estimate it is
ascertained that a saving of only two cents
per cwt. on the present staple crops of the
West to the Atlantic seaboard would yield
to the producers:
On wheat annually ...............s2,2 $40, ~
On corn. II, SsS, zoe
On cotton. Observation-Disclosures. $50, lis
Total saving annually sl4 35S, $50
If the annual saving on the present staples
would be equal to this large sum at two cents
on cwt. exported, what would be that
saving twenty years hence when the product
shall be enhanced, as it will be, by ratio of
increase in the future as in the past?
Machine and Man Power in Production
The census exhibits some curious and i'm
portant facts, and none more interesting than
the increased production of wheat over the
increase in population of the United States.
In 1S49 the entire wheat product of the coun.
try was 100, Ass, 94 bushels, or 4.3S bushels
T. a. IL