Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1884-02-14
Curiosities OF Statistics

The compendium of the eensus Of
1880 furnishes the data for obtaining
! some curious facts relating to agricult-
ure. In that year there were i, Dos. gO7
farms, ranging IN size from three acres
to LOU and upward: $50 of these
farms had each 1000 acres and over
The farms of the country averaged Ia
acres In size, seventy-one acres improved
and sixty three acres unimproved lands.
VI the whole number OF farms one
quarter were from fifty to 100 acres
each, and two-fifths Of them were from
100 to 800 acres in size. These farms
We're valued at twice as much a. the
railroads of the country. The average
value of the farms, including lands,
fences, and buildings, was -, 545. Tie
average amount spent upon each farm
for fences and repairing fences was less
than 81 for each farm. The average
value OF the products of each sold.
consumed, and on hand for the az
1879 was only $3.50. The value o. J,
agricultural implement and macl ~
owned and IN use that year av L
only Sl0D eaeh. The average ya,ne
live stock was 1916 each.
At the time OF taking the first e.ns,.s.
in 1880, seven-eights of the PEG 50 q
| Massachusetts We're Ell gagged ii aafcul
ure, but in 1880 less than one-eles e,ifh
of them were occupied with that in,ias-
| try. In the great States of New York
and Pennsylvania less than onr-foufth
| OF the persons in all occupations are
| engaged IN farming, and iii Illinois, the
greatest agricultural State of the coun-
try, less than one-half of the people are
engaged in agriculture. In Massachu-
sets six times as many people are
engaged in manufacturing as in farm
ing.
Let us observe what our farms and
farmers are annually producing for
| every man, woman and child of the
countrys population. The year 1880
| produced for each person thirty bushels
| OF corn, nine bushels of wheat, eight
| bushels of oats, one bushel of barley.
| two-fifths of bushel of rye, one-tsnth
OF bale of cotton, three pounds OF
wool, two-thirds of ton of hay, half
pound of hops, two pounds of rice, ten
pounds of tobacco, three and a half
| bushels of Irish potatoes and half a
bushel of sweet potatoes.
Of animals there was one hog for
every person, one horse for every five
persons, one mule for every twenty
eight persons, one mich COW for every
four persons and two sheep for every
three persons There were fifteen and
half pounds of butter and a half
pound Of cheese made for each person,
and the cows averaged sixty-two and
half pounds of butter each for the year.
Although our farm products seem i'm
mense IN amount it is an astonishing
| fact that if every acre of Illinois was
devoted to wheat for one year. and the
average yield should be the moderate
amount of fifteen bushels to the acre,
the crop would exceed in amount the
entire wheat crop of the country for
last year. If the State of Missouri was
wholly planted with corn, and should
give moderate yield of forty bushels
to the acre, the aggregate would equal
the entire corn crop of the country for
the year $780, The State of Kans 8
alone can raise beef enough to feed the
present population Of the country.
! When we have ten times our present
population, and when all our lands are
as well cultivated as the valley of the
Nile, the aggregates of the farm prod
ucts will be expressed in figures diff
cult to comprehend. Agriculture is
becoming chemistry, and husbandry is
becoming mechanics, so that one good
man to-day can do as much work upon
farm as four men did fifty years ago.
Inter Ocean.