Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1899-09-07
Be A BIG CORN CROP.
Yield Will Approximate Two and
Half Million Bushels.
CONDITIONS IDEAL UNTIL LATELY.
The Eight sSurplus,' States All Show
an Increase Over 1s9s-Kansas
Leads With Total of 34O,-
100000 Bushels.

Il ASoo-sAsssA~SD
Leads With Total of 34O,.
100000 Bushels.
Bushels.
Corn crop for 1899 (esti-
| mated) 49,. ........-. 2,30S,O0O,OOO
Crop of 1898 Government
4 Report 49,. ..........1, 1924, 1874 $50
Previous high record
(1s96) ..... -. .2,2s3, s75, 165
Average for ID years. 800. 1,s15, 100000
Eight banner states, 1899. 1,725, 100000
Kansas for 1899 (estimated) s4o,o0o,00O
Nebraska for 1899 (esti-
mated) 49,. ....... -. 310,000,000
Iowa for 1899 (estimated).. 260,Oo0,000
Illinois for 1899 (estimated) 23o,ooO,0oO
Missouri for 1899 (estimat-
ed ......... .......... 1so,ooo,ooo
Indiana for 1899 (estimat-
ed) ....... ........... 150,OOO,OOO
Texas for 1899 (estimated) 135,ooo,ooo
Ohio for 1899 (estimated).. 110,000,000
All previous high records probably
will be broken by the corn crop pro-
I
duction of the United States of 1899.
Only an accident can prevent it. A
canvass of the eight states which raise
the bulk of the corn of the United
States warrants an estimate above that
of 1896, which heretofore has been the
record, and there is much in the adj
vices received to justify prediction
that the crop will approximate $780,
100000 bushels.
The first corn crop of the country to
reach in round numbers 2,O00,000,00O
/ bushels was that of 1885. Including
the crop now to be harvested, only
nine crops of 2,000.000,000 bushels or
over have been produced. .i
| The high temperature prevailing
throughout the corn belt" and the
prolonged drought have aroused cob
siderable interest among railway peo-
| pie, wholesale merchants, and grain
commission men as to the real position
of the corn crop. Conditions at the
time of planting were not at all favor
able. A great deal had to be replant-
| ed, in some cases several times, and
the crop during the early growing Pc
Rod was unusually uneven. The late
spring and early summer weather was,
however, of the forcing kind, with
abundant moisture, and the crop made
up for early delay. 1t then came to be
generally recognized that, barring ac-
cident, the greatest crop on record
would be produced.
4 Ideal TO Middle of August.
4 The growing and maturing weather
has been almost ideal, at least until
within the last two weeks The SUM
mer has passed without the usual
corn crop scares. There have been few
1 complaints of hot winds and as few Of
ravages by insects. Some damage was
done by severe wind storms few
weeks ago, but they were by no means
general. There is always a disposition
to overestimate a large crop and to un-
derestimate small one, but the most
conservative have felt justified in plac-
| ing the 1899 crop prospect at above
4 2,0O0,0 100000 bushels. In the August
government report there appeared de-
tailed estimates based on the yield per-
centages of each state made by the
i Trade Bulletin. These estimates sug-
|gested a total crop of 2,13S,244, 900
bushels. They were considered ultra
conservative by people in touch with
the western situation, and in the sur
plus corn states particularly it was be-
i lieved that the acreage had been un-
derestimated.
While corn is raised over great part
of the country. the bulk of the crop is
produced in what are popularity known
as the seven surplus states of Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, To-
wa and Nebraska. These states are
supposed to have produced in 1898
about 1,200,000,0O0 bushels and fully as
much in the previous year. Produc-
ton has been gradually increasing in
the northwest, where wheat-growing
until recently has monopolized atten-
i ton. 1t was also increased materially
in the south. Texas, for example. pro
duced in 1898 about one-twentieth of
the crop of the entire country, and
compared favorably in yield with four
of the surplus states"
Depends on Surplus states.
| In making up crop estimates for the
year it will be patent that any materi-
al variation from full crop basis of
4 2,ooO,ooo,Oo0 bushels will depend on the
Weld in the surplus states and Texas.
/ Figures From Eight states.
1 The correspondence from the "sur-
4 plus states" and Texas warrant the fol-
lowing estimates of yield with the
same comparisons with the govern
ment returned by states for 1893:
States. Bushels, 1899. Bushels. 1898
Ohio ......... 11o,ooO,Ooo 102, 1928, 439
Indiana >. 150,0oo,oo0 29,154,572
Illinois ...... 23O,OOO,OOO 199,959,s1O
Missouri ..... 190,00o,o0o 154,731, 4s6
Kansas 34O,000,000 132,s42, O4S
Iowa 1900. 260,000,000 254,999,S50
i Nebraska .... 310,0o0,0O0 15S,754,666
4 Texas ........ 135,0oo,OO0 1o5, 336,7oO
Totals ..1.725,ooo,ooo 1926, eo7, 571
i These estimates indicate cror IN