St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1899-08-05
FARMER AND PLANTER.
IMPROVED CONDITIONS.
Farmers Within the Last
Few Years.

culture, says:
"Within the last two or three years
1 have noticed a mark change of feel
ing among farmers. There is less conn
planning and more interest in farm:
operations. Methods are Improving;
careful experiments are being made
with fertilizers; improvement in th.
breed and care of farm cnimals is aE.-
parent; farmers are paying their debts,
and if not able to pay in full can easily
secure extension at lower rates OF in-
terest. They are also more careful
about contracting debts; they are inn
proving their buildings and home sur
roundings, and in many ways are man
ifesting . more hopeful feeling than
prevailed a short time ago. do not
wish to discuss the causes that have
brought about this change; I simply
desire to show the facts and answer
briefly some of the writer's who make
a business of trying to discourage far
mers and checking any disposition on
their part to take more hopeful view
of the future.
Compare the two years of 1895 and
1898 with regard to the value, acreage
and average value of the principal
crops and the number and average
value of farm animals, and we find
that the corn crop increased In value
from $544,9s5,534 in 1895 to $552 2,O23.-
<2s in 1s93-over $S.OOO,OOO. The wheat
crop increased in value from $751;
0as ,9as to sS92, 20. 800; the cat crop an
creased in value $23,OO0,OOO; and the
cotton crop increased in value from
S293, ,35s.ss6 to ss19.291,412, the latter
figures being for 1885,. The value ct
the great farm crops of corn, wheat.
cats, rye, barley, hay, buckwheat. po-
tatoes and cotton increased from $1s-
100, 1922 ,536 in 1895 to Sl,s6s, ,537 ,114 in
1893.
''It is not merely in the total value
of the crop tina! there mas been an In
crease, bat in notable instances there
has been an increase in the farm or
primary market value per unit Of
measure. In the case Of wheat, for
example, the farm value increased
from 500 cents bushel in 1925 to $50
cents in 1898; q bushel of oats, an the
average, increased in value froM 1S.0
cents to 25.5 cents; rye increased from
40 to 46.3 cents: barley increased
from 1871 to 41.3 cents; buckwheat in
creased from 45.2 to 500 cents; while
the prominent crop of potatoes had
an increase of value a bushel from
26.6 cents to Ala cents. 1t is true that
on account of immense cver-prOduc-
ton, the price of cotton declined con-
siderably within. the period. and that
corn had the slight fall of one-half
cent bushel. but it Is general fact,
as the figures show, that the farmer Is
better off in the profit Of his crop, ~
we'll as in the aggregate of its pro-
duction, within the period under con-
sideratiOn.
"With regard to farm animals, the
raising of which is 50 important to the
farmer, there has been distinct im-
provement since 1895 in most cases.
On January 1, 1896. the aggregate val
ue of horses, mules mich cows. oxen,
and other cattle, sheep and swine, was
s: ,727, ,926, ,OS4, which was increased 70
81 ,997 ,O1O, ,4O7 on January l, 1899. Here
is an increase Of over $269, ,OOO. 900 with
in three years.
I'm order to demonstrate beyond
doubt that the increase in the aggrc-
gate value is not due to increase Of
average values are computed,
the result showing that horses in
creased in value per head from $33.O7
to $37.40; milk COWS, from $22.s0 to
$29.66, oxen and other cattle, from
1855 to $22.79; and sheep from $1.70
to $2.75. The average vllue Of mules
has slightly decreased and that Of
swine only q few cents, vet it is true
that the value of farm animals has
shown q marked advance since 1895,
both in the aggregate and individual
ly.
''It thusappearst that theincrease in
value of these products of the farm
over that of 1895 reaches The enormous
sum of nearly $500, 900. .O0a-not . very
6iscouraging fact for The farmers. Ev-
cry practical farmer will notice thar
the figures representing values Of
farm products are very conservative,
below the actual amount
received by them when they market
their crops."-Farm and Fireside.