The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-11-13
Total crop, fallow and
grass. northumberland.

T. ------- -----
*An error discovered since the returns for 1890
we're published shows this to be too much by $50
acres. Consequently the real increase in 1891 is
fNot including Ireland.
IT will be seen that there ia a decrease in
every grain crop, and in nearly every crop
of other kinds. This applies even to hay.
OF the total for clovers and temporary
grasses z, 1888, $50 aores were for hay in 1890
and 1881, $50 acres in 1891, showing q de-
permanent pasture 6, 248. 352 acres were for
hay in 1890. and 5,973, 757 acres in 1891,
showing a decrease Of 274, 595 acres. The
net decrease In arabic land, which includes
the area under clovers and temporary
grasses (grown in rotation with grain and
other cropsl, is 31s, go acres. and this is all
swallowed up in permanent pasture, to-
gether with the apparent increase of 1885,
718 acres in the total area undo crops, fall
low and grass. / say, apparent increase
because the statistioian OF the board of
agriculture intimates, that it may be partly
due to a more exact distinction between
pasture and mountain or heath land, "
none of the latter being included in the
total cultivated area unless by error. Spe-
cial efforts were made this year to prevent
such an error, but, of course, the line be-
tween hill cravings and barren mountain
land 10 rather a fine one.
This conversion OF arabic land to perma-
nent pasture has been going or almost con-
stantly for the last twenty years. The av-
erage Acreage Of the grain crops in the fivc
years 1871-75, was IL, 543, 577 acres and now
it is reduced to 9,433.5O9 acres. while the
corresponding figures for green crops are
b,O73,S43 n 4,51O,643 acres. Under these
two heads we have a decrease of 2,663, 26S
acres, but this ia not all, for this area Of
permanent pasture in Great Britain alone
has increased bv very nearly 1000, 600 acres
since 1871. The figures for Ireland are not
precise on this point, as permanent and
temporary pastures were nos distinguished
in the early returns.
The change referred to is un~questionably
. sign of agricultural depression, and it was
especially SO whom our live stock were not
increasing. In recent years, however, con-
siderable additions have been made to our
horses. cattle, sheep and pigs, and never a
may be seen from the following figures:
LIVE STOCK IN THE UNITED KINGDOM.
Horses on farms........ 1.98t,91l 2,026, ITO
""...... 10.1s9,sls 1~1,S4s.6s6
q I ' ss5osS s sSs$ ~ yss
The decrease in pigs, after four years of
steady increase, is only in Ireland and tho
small islands, as in q eat Britain there il
an increase of 115, 164. Horses, cattle and
sheep have constantly increased since 1883.
The additions since that year have been
co,4oo HorseS' l,V'o,ooo eattio, 4,oSO,2I1 Rneep
and 457, 121 pigs.
Another contribution to the agricultural
records of 1891 is Sir John Lawes' annual
estimate of the wheat crop, published to-
day. Thu noted agricultural chemist and
experimentalist bases his estimate upon the
returns Of his trial pieces of land, which,
under different treatment. have just grown
the forty-eighth wheat crop in succession.
In this connection let me pause a moment
to notice a wonderful result. A good deal
is said about the exhaustion OF the virgin
soils of the United States by continuous
cropping with wheat. Now Sir John Lawes
has grown wheat annually ON one little
piece Of land without any manure for forty
eight years., and this year he has 1872 bush
els an acre upon it. while last year ho had
1925 bushels. This shows how fertility
may be kept up, or kept from wasting. ex-
cept very slowly, indeed, where land is
carefully titled and kept perfectly free from
Where fourteen tons of farmyard manure
have been applied every year the yield is
forty-eight and one-half bushels an acre,
and where artificial manure Of different
kinds have been applied the range is from
forty to forty-two and one-eighth bushels.
The mean yield Of all, including the land
which has not had any manure for the
whole period of cropping, Ia thirty-four and
thre6-eighthS bushels, as compared with
and three-fourths bushels MS
the average yield for the thirty mine years
ending with 1890. Here we see that 1891 is
Il productive year; but it must not be as
summed that the whole of the United King
dom has come up to the Rothamsted stand
ard. Until last year Sir John Lawos nj
ways took his mean yield az indicating ths
average for the whole kingdom, but last
year it was over thirty-seven bushels an
acre. and no knew that was too much for
tho kingdom, SO he put the national yield
at thirty-one bushels, which was
almost exactly what the official eati-
mate afterward came to. This year he
estimates tho crop of the kingdom at thirty
an acre. at which quantity ! also
estimated it in Eradstrset's before harvest.
But much damage has been done TO crops
by our terribly wet harvest and by buster
ing winds, 30 that / should not put the
yield 10 high now, at any rate for market
abba whent. However, sir John NAV prove
nenr the mark after all, as thete is very
great variation this year in the results of
threshing. He makes the total crop about
10000, 900 bushels, and, deducting for seed,
he leaves about 81. 100000 bushels for CON
sumption. The population for tho middle
OF the current cereal year Is put At 3S,034,-
GLE, md tho consumption, including tina
little wheat given to live stock, but not
seed, ut six bushsla q head, or y little over
21p 0nA nm buahela. Henca ha GOnaludea |