Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1881-12-01
The Greatest Cron 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 involves the
greatest amount of the worlds capital
1t is sad by the Hay Reporter that hay
leads the rest, and the items that enter
into the account IS stated are some.
what startling. Cotton and tea are
local crops, while hay is produced
everywhere the world over, and the
hay crop generally outweighs either of
the two. The aggregate reported value
of all farm products in the United
States for 1870 was $2,447,538,658; but
as this includes additions to stocks. "bet-
terments," etc, it was probably too
high then, but the census of 1880 will
no doubt show even larger figures.
Now the hay crop for 187O-that is.
the grass dried and cured for use or
sold, is reported at over 27,000,OOO
tons. This, at half the selling price
in the large cities, would amount to
$4U5,OOO,OOO, and is far greater than
the aggregate home value of the cotton
crop or any other crop. But the "cured"
hay 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, includ-
ing horned cattle, horses, sheep, swine.
etc, to the value of $1,525. 900. 900.
were fed from it that year. Ayerag
ing the lives of these at five years. we
have one-6fth of that sum as repre-
senting the grass fed to them in 1870.
viz: 1905. 100000; next, we find the
value of the animals slaughtered for
food in that year to be $309,00O,0OO;
and as this is annual product, the whole
of it will, for the present, be credited
to the grass crop; next, we find that
the butter crop of 1870 was $4,000
600 pounds, which at the low average
of twenty-five cents amounts to $685.
100000; and this goes to the credit of
grass; next, we have 225,000.OOO gal
Ions of milk, which, averaging al the
low estimate of ten cents per gallon,
adds $25, 100000 more to the credit of
the grass crop; then we have 100000
QUO pounds of wool at twenty-five
cents apound. adding $25,000,00O more.
and finally 100000 pounds of cheese
at ten cents, adding over $5,OO0,OOO to
the total of these credits to the grass
crop of 1870, which aggregates $685.
100000
Now, let us add the value of the
"hay' crop as given above-viz: $405,-
OOO,O00-and we have grand total
for shay" and the products of grass
consumed on the ground amounting
to 81, 1921 100000. This is, of course.
subject to deduction, as the meat, but
ter, milk, cheese, and wool-producing
animals consume other food besides
grass and hay. To make ample allow
ance for this we deduct the entire
value of the corn and oat crops of 1870.
estimated at $270,000,000, and this
leaves a remainder of 81 ,0S2, GOO, 900 to
be credited to the hay and grass crop
OF that year, when the reported aggre-
gate of all farm products was $2.447.-
52o,65S. If our estimates make even
the toughest approach to accuracy. the
value OF that crop was two-fifths of the
aggregate value of all farm products
and hence we may infer that two-fiftbs
of the capital then invested in the apri-
cultural pursuits was devoted to the
grass crop and this in the United
States equals (in round numbers) a.
575.OOO.000. From these figures the
deduction is palpable that King Cotton
is uncrowned and dethrvned.