News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1901-07-31
The DAMAGE to Corn.


west and southwest has been over
estimated, partly for speculative pur-
poses. But an investigation con-
Quoted by The New York Journal of
Commerce leads that newspaper to
this conclusion:
There is every reason for believing
that the early reports of damage to
the corn crop by drouth have not
been exaggerated. On the contrary,
it is quite evident that the situation
is very much worse than at first re-
ported, and that now much OF the in
jury is beyond repair.
The region of worst damage lies
within an irregular circle of about 600
miles in diameter, with st. Joseph,
Mo-, as anapproximate centre. There
has been considerable damage else
where from drouth, but this investi-
cation has been strictly confined to
the region of greatest damage in the
states of Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa
and Missouri. These four states last
year produced over forty per cent of
the corn crop as follows:
Bushels
Iowa ........... ................... no, S0JiOOO
Nebraska ........ ...........,...... 2lO,4o l.OOD
MISSOURI .......... lou, 1O,OOO
Kansas lb5, SIOOOU
United States crop............... 2,105, 102 900
The Journal of Commerce recently
telegraphed the following question to
a large number of bank presidents in
the region where the drOuth has been
most severe: kindly wire your
opinion of percentage of damage to
corn and live stock by drouth in your
vicinity" The replies in detail are
published by The Journal of Com
merce, and they make a melancholy
showing. The general situation is
summed up in an editorial article
which says:
"The estimates of damage to corn
by the drouth, which will be found in
this paper, make very dismalreading.
They are made by men, bankers, who
have the maximum reason for know
ing what the facts are, combined with
the minimum interest to wrap their
judgement one way or the other. In
Kansas one optimist puts the loss on
corn in his section at Onl " twenty-five
per cent, few put it at fifty per cent,
most of them put it at seventy-fve
per cent and all the way from that to
absolute failure. Kansas has suffer
ed in short hay crop and the drying
up of the pastures. Wheat straw was
worth $S ton several days ago on
account of the failure of hay. Cattle
are being forced to sale at very low
prices because farmers have neither
forage nor water for them. Yester-
day mornings papers mentioned
that the number of cattle received at
Kansas Cityyards the day before ran
some 5000 above the record for a
day on account of the eagerness of
Kansas farmers to get the stock off
their hands. In some parts of Kan
sas there has not yet been loss on
cattle, but in many the losses already
incurred are estimated at all the way
from quarter to half.
In the other states losses are not
so appalling, but they are serious
enough. In Iowa there has been little
loss on live stock, yet the estimates
of damage to corn are generally a
quarter or a third, sometimes less,
oftener more. Two estimates put the
loss at sixty FER cent, one at seventy
five and one at total. In Missouri
there has been heavy loss on live
stock, the amount being estimated
several times at fifty per cent, and
most OF the estimates of loss on corn
are a good deal over ont-1alt. Sew
eral of them are total. In Nebraska
damage to cattle is rare Damage
to corn is estimated at all the way
from fifteen to eighty per cent, with
the larger number OF estimates lean
ing toward the worst reports.
There is still room to hope that
prompt and copious rains would
greatly reduce the loss, but it is i'm
possible to resist the conclusion that
very much of the damage is now be-
You'd remedy and that within the af
fected region the loss may consider
ably exceed 300,000,O00 bushels of
corn. There has been some damage
to corn, outside Of this region, but it
is indeterminate, and there have been
losses to some of the other cereals
and to live stock within this region.
but the information isnot full enough
yet to warrent an estimate of the
amount"
Corn, as we all know, is the great
est of our cereal crops. The FIVE prin-
cipal yields in the order of value last
year were as follows:
Corn....$751, 100000 Bu.....2,1O5, 1O2 900
Hay. 445 ,53S, 900 Tons. 5O.11O, 9O6
Wheat. 1913 ,575,0O0 Blu .......522 229 600
Cotton. 305 467,00O Bales...... II 1889 600
OATS. POS 100000 Bu.......SO9, 1875 900
The four states most exposed to
damage from drouth are Kansas,
Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska. The
yield of corn in those states last year
was S60,S71,000 bushels, good
average. A decrease of 100000, 900
bushels this year would make the
output far below the average 1t
would also reduce the general av, lge
of the United States. Deducted fro n
the yield of 1900, it would leave over
1,S00,000,000, tu, which would be
the smallest output since 1894. But
with decreased yield prices might
no plativnlv hiuhpr on that tho 20