The Republican journal., 1897-08-19

w
are closely watching the wheat and corn
markets and reasoning that the steady adj
vance in prices means nearby prosperity
for the farmers and all in any way de-
pendent upon that class, and while great
many farmers are congratulating them
selves upon the condition of these stan
dard crops and the current prices iol
tha,,, thn GREAT majority OF men, women
and nbildren who till the soil and depend
mon its products for suppoft are more
cnncarned about smaller things, whlch
occunv little space in the market quota
tionS do not figure as factors at tne STOCK
board. and are to great eA'en' snoisu
in considering the production OF the year
and the business prospects for the llhnieoi-
ate future.
Few of lis appreciate the Importance OF
these small things, which may be termed
the side products of the farm. We watch
the government and all other reliable re-
ports and inform ourselves as thoroughly
as possible regarding the prospect and
prices of the cotton, wool, wheat and corn
crop, not only here but in every part of
the world. We know very nearly what the
aggregate production of these was last
year, and is this year, in every country and
in every State We estimate closely what
the demand will be and, upon the data we
have, base our calculations for our own
business. But who knows anything def
mite regarding the amount OF value of the
apple crop, the peach crop, the berry crop
or the poultry and egg crop outside his own
immediate neighborhood, or the one in
which he gets his supplies. Who stops
to consider that five times as many people
are engaged in producing these small
crops as are occupied With wheat, corn,
cotton and wool growing, OF that the pros
perty of the country really depends quite
as much upon these little things as upon
the larger and more conspicuous rewards
of the husbandmans labors? Very few.
In the first place the unit of measure in
these lines is very small and the price Of
that unit inconsequential; and in the next
the production is so extensive and varied
and is the work of so many people, and
the methods and times of marketing are
such, that it is nearly impossible to OBJ
tam reliable statistics on the subject. \
quart OF berries, a basket of peaches,
dozen OF eggs or chicken are of small
consequence; the price OF either is but
few cents; and when, as is often the case,
they are peddled from house to house or
exchanged for manufactured goods at the
country stores, it is impossible to ascer
tain how much they amount to in the ag
gregate or how much they are sold for;
and in the older parts of the country
there is little or no attempt to secure even
an approximate estimate. In New Hamp
shire, for example, where every farm
grows berries, where every farmer wife
and children raise chickens aud eggs,
where even the road sides are lined with
apple trees, where small fruits and eggs
aud poultry pay the grocer, the black
smith and the tax collector, we can only
guess at the quantity or value of these
productions.
Once in ten years the census taker in
vites each farmer to guess concerning his
own business in these lines and notes
down his reply, but that is all. In some
of the western States more attention is
paid to the matter and the result is an ex-
hibit that is astonishing. Missouri and
Illinois rank high as grain growing States
and they have immense crops OF wheat
and corn this year, but the facts collected
show that the fruit crop of Missouri will
yield the growers more money than the
wheat crop of both States, or about
twenty million dollars. In six small
counties in southern Missouri a careful
census shows that here will be harvested
403, 600 barrels of apples worth $40, 900
and H., 100 bushels of peaches worth
SCOT, 600. This is but about a third of
the entire crop of the southern half Of the
State, which it is calculated will be
1,2l5, 900 barrels of apples ana 1. 237 800
bushels of peaches, worth 81 2S6, 80,
which is more than is obtained for any
other class of farm products grown in that
section. Nor is this ALL At least a hun
bred thousand dollars will be realized
from the grape crop and more than half a
million has already been received for
strawberries. In the counties referred to
not less than Sl26, 900 was paid out in
June to straw berry pickers and it will re-
Quire nearly five hundred thousand dol
lars to pay for gathering the fruit now on
the trees and bushes. All told, as we
have said, the fruit crop of the State
promises cash return of twenty million
! dollars. Another surprising showing
comes from Kansas, where the board of
agriculture figures the value of this year S
egg and poultry crop away up in the mil
, lions, or good deal more than enough to
pay the interest on all the Indebtedness of
all the people of the State.
We refer to these facts not because they
| are exceptional but because they illus
trate in striking manner the general prop
osition that the value of these odds and
ends of the farm reaches enormous pro
portions, far in excess of what we gener-
ally realize, and is one of the principal
factors in our material prosperity. 1t was
said of the women of France that they
paid the expense of the Franco Prussian
war and the indemnity exacted by the
Germans from the proceeds of their poul-
try yards, and if necessary the women and
children of the United States could pay
our national debt again and again from
the receipts from their chicken coops,
berry patches and orchards. Mirror and
Farmer.
Spooks in South Liberty.