Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1892-11-26
FIGURES FOR FARMERS.
Secretary Rusk Submits His An
nual Report,
Facts Which Are Considered Encourag-
ing to Tillers Of the Soil.

ing to Tillers of the Soil.
The report of the Secretary of Agricul.
ture has been submitted to the President.
The report begins with comparison of the
export trade'of the past fiscal year with that
Of former years and emphasizes the fact
that of the more than Il, 900, 0o0, 900 repre-
eenting the exports Of our domestic pro-
ducts for the past year nearly 80 per cent.
consisted Of agricultural products, thus not
only making the United States the creditor
of the world for sum exceeding SO, o00, 900
the excess Of our exports over imports
but relieving our home markets from a sur
Plus product which would otherwise have
reduced prices to a point below cost Of
production. For large share in bringing
about the conditions which have made these
gratifying results possible the secretary
claims credit for h S department.
In regard to imports. he finds encourage
ment for the farmers in the fact that IN
spite OF an aggregate increase. there is re-
duction in the proportion of imports consist
ing of products which compete with our
American agricul ure, for willis in the fiscal
year ended in 1889, 81 per celt. OF the i'm
ports were competing, only A per cent. of
our Imports for the past fiscal year did SO
compete. He nevertheless regards the inn
ports, competing with the products of our
own SOIL as still far too great He instances
$40, coo coo, 100 worth of animal products $67-
900, 900 worth os fibers S27, 900, 00J worth Of
hides, $50, 900 900 worth of fruits and wines,
as articles Of this kind and cites the imports
Of raw silk, amounting TO $25 coo 600 yearly,
as an instance Of products imported, which
could with proper encouragement, be pro-
81 ~, aft- try Ia
these figures TO indicate the main ultimate
object OF the work of the department which
he defines in brief as ''the closest study of
all themarkets abroad which may be reached
by cur own agricultural products, accom-
panied by persistent and intelligent efforts
10 extend them and the substitution in our
own markets of homegrown for foreign
products"
Since his last report, prohibitions against
American pork pro iucts have been with
drawn in all countries where they existed
and Az, co., 600 pounds of inspected pork,
which without inspection, could not have
had a market abroad, have been exported.
Referring to hi, proclamation OF September
rs, declaring the country free from pleuro-
pneumonia, be emphasizes the precautions
taken before til L proclamation was issued
and the thoroughly satisfactory grounds eK-
isting for this declaration Of our immunity
from that d s7ase. Reviewing the regula-
tons fer the cont oil and prevention Of
Texas fever, he concludes with the declara-
ton that they shave saved sthree times as
much money 10 cattle-growers yearly as is
required to run the whole department.
DE says onr inspection laws have restored
the confidence of foreigners in the healthful-
ness of our cattle. Live cattle exports in
1889 amounted to 205,to0 head, whereas in
1852 we exported 1914, 900 at an increase in
value averaging s. per head. A compari-
son Of Chicago pnarkef nuOtatipnS for SaN-
TENDER 1892, with September 1880 shows al
increase in the value of cattle sold amount
ing to from "A 10 SIS per head, according to
weight. On the aggl egat on of cattle sold
IN single year this would amount to 40
000, 000
The secretary says of the work of his In
dian corn agent in Germany that many diff
6culties att-n led the Introduction of new
food heretofo! generally regarded in Eu-
rope as not suitab for human consump-
ton A IN 1ed corn and rye bread was found
necessary to secure keeping qualities in
country where ali bread is made and sold by
the bskeries, an corn grinding machines
purchased in America, is now in use in sew
eral mills in that country; one result is the
maintenance of the price Of corn in the face
of largely increased exports, conditions
which have heretofore always accompanied
q great dep eciation ill price. The corn ex-
ports for 1899, the only year in which they
nave eQua ed tnOSe q the present year,
brought the price down to fraction under
~ cents a bushel at port OF Shipment
against a fraction over IS cents per bushel
this year, a difference aggregating, on the
exports OF the past fiscal year, not less than
SO coo 000
Secretary Rusk notes the reduction of the
cotton area in this country as a movement
in the right direction. He says one of the
gratifying features of or agricultural in
dustry during the past year has been the
marked reduction in the cotton erea through
out the cotton states In connection with
this subject attention is called 10 the great
Increase which has taken PLACE of late wears
In imports Of raw cotton, imports which but
a few years ago were hardly known. Dur
ing Il past fiscal wear raw cotton was i'm
porte Il e. of duty to the amount of So 2l5.-
BOB IS against 81. s25 Goa for the wear pre-
vious ana 81, 1872. 72S for the fiscal wear end
ing in 1880
s'The most of our imported cotton comes
from E.ypt and is demanded hy manufac
turers on account Of the peculiar character.
istics which it posse. ses. and which are not
TO be f uud in lone q own cottons. Some
imports of cotton are also made from Peru
ana the entire supply of Peruvian cotton
inn orted finds its way. not INTO the cotton
factories, nut into the manufactures of
wooden 20 jds its character being such as to
make it sp cially available for mixing with
WOODEN 70, ds ~ i bout detection
With refei euce to cereals he attributes the
exc 4ssive anticipatious formed regarding The
price Tor wheat throughout the crop wear of
1891 to failure to appreciate the changed con-
ditons now surrounding the production and
marketing of the worlds wheat c,oD "Tak-
ing the world throughout. the fat crops, " he
says 'nore than equaled the lean crops Of
1891, 50 that there was actually more wheat
grown in that year than in 1S9J - Even The
pxpnrts from Russia yybsra fauira avistad