Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1889-10-16
Some Farm Statistics.

The Department of Agriculture has
just published an "Album of Agricul-
tural Statistics of the United States"
1t consists of sixteen charts, accom-
panied by descriptive letter press.
Each map or chart is an outline of the
United States. The first map shows
the proportionate area of land not yet
taken for farms. Such land occupies
most of the area west of the Missouri.
In the South the proportion is large,
and in the Eastern and Middle States
this area is greater in proportion than
in the Ohio Valley, which is the best oc
cupied farming section of the whole
country. Taking the country through
the farm lands comprise 2S9 acres in
every 1000, leaving I'll acres still I'M
touched. This will be news to that
very large number of pessimists who
believe that the available farm lands of
the United States are nearly ali occu-
pied. Of the 289 acres 1853 are i'm
proved or productive, 103 are wood
land, and thirty-three are still unpro-
three are capable OF producing crops of
some sort. This proportion Of wood
land is what is reported on farms, but
the statistician thinks the total area OF
forest, including that not on farms,
would be not far from 250 acres in ev-
erv LOCO.
The second chart shows the proper
ton of tillage lands. grass lands, wood
lands and unproductive lands, as COM
pared with farm area only. From it we
learn that in Utah wood lands form less
than per cent. of the farm area, while
in North Carolina they cover 81 per
cent. These are the two extremes.
The production of corn is shown in
10 h nd ,hor f
acres to the 1000 acres cultivated, and
the color is changed gradually down to
those having ten acres or less devoted
to corn. The average of the whole
United States is forty-one to the 1000;
or, in other words, over .O4 of the en-
tire cultivated land of the United States
is devoted to corn.
Another chart displays the distribu-
ton of wheat. The five states of Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota
have sixty-One acres out of every 1000.
The average of the United States is
twenty in every 1000 acres, or one
fifth of per cent.
Another chart shows the area devot-
ed to oats, and others to the remain
ing cereals.
There are also charts showing the
average production of wheat, corn and
oats for the last ten years. The aver
age yield ofcorn per acre this year is
24.2 bushels, which is elsewhere stated
to be below the average of the preced-
ing ten years. There is hint here
that better farming is needed. 1t GER
tainly is not complimentary to the
farmers Of the United States that the
average yield of one of the principal
crops is gradually becoming less. The
annual averages since 1880, with two
exceptions, have been lower than in
any of the preceding years.
A series of five maps show the value
of farm animals, the state average being
given from the estimates of ten sue
cessive years. The values, therefore,
are those upon farms, or the prices
paid to farmers, and not to dealers.
AS might have been expected, the
largest factor in difference in value is
breed Care and food are also impor-
tant factors and distance from market
is another circumstance which greatly
affects values.
The fourteenth chart shows the pro-
portion in the general population
of those directly or indirectly interested
In agriculture, as derived from the CEN
sus of 1880. This proportion was about
AZ per cent, which is per cent. less
than in 1870. In some of the states the
proportion reached SO per cent, and in
some was as low as per cent.
The fifteenth chart illustrates the
average value of the farm lands, show
ing range from $65.16 per acre down