The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1901-01-01
THE couNTRY,s GRAIN CROPS.
Figures From the Report OF the statfs-
ticfan.

Washington. December s7.-The sta
ture estimates the United States wheat
crop OF 1900 at 81. 80 sos bushels. the
area actually harvested being =. ie5. 3s5
acres and the average yield per acre
l22s bushels. The production Of winter
wheat is estimated at $50. os5. 4as BUSH
els. aEd that OF spring wheat at IT,
eo4. Geo bushels. the area actually har-
vested being IS .2S5.S 50. acres in the
former case and 1s.sss.i ass acres in the
latter The winter wheat acreage to-
tally abandoned in Ohio. Michigan. In
diana and Illinis is finally placed at s.
Sc. 7ST acres, n the spring wheat acre
age totally abandoned in North Dako-
Ia, n South Dakota at I.7s3. Is. acres.
The extraordinarily rapid rate at which
n winter wheat acreage OF Nebraska
is gaining upon the spring wheat acre
age OF that state has necessitated a
special investigation OF the relative
extent to- which the two varie-
ties were grown during the past year.
The result OF the Investigation is that
while no change is called for in the
total wheat figures of the state. $50. 575
acres have been added to the winter
h column at the expense OF the
spring variety.
The newly seeded area OF winter
wheat is estimated at 80. 2S2. 564 acres.
While this acreage is slightly greater
than that sown IN the fall OF 1898 as
estimated at the time. IL Is coo. 654 acres
less than the area that was actually
sown. the discrepancy being due To that
remarkably rapid development OF win
ter wheat growing in Nebraska with
which. as above stated. the department
reports had failed to keep pace.
A comparison of the newly seeded
acreage with that OF h fall OF 1899
shows that OF the eleven states and ter
ritories that sowed 1.oo0. 900 acres or up
ward with winter wheat one year ago.
Pennsylvania, Missouri. Kansas. Cali
fornia and oklahoma report an in
crease amounting to 81. 703 acres. and
Ohio, Michigan. Indiana, Illinois. Texas
and Tennessee a decrease of 1,7S0. Is1
acres.
The average condition OF the growing
crop on December LIST was 97.1 per cent.
OF the normal. There are man COM
plants Of the Hessian fly. but the low
condition figures reported from Ohio.
Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee So,
S0.S7 and "a respectively are fully offset
by the exceptionally high condition re-
ported from Kansas, Missouri. Califor-
MIA, Oklahoma and other states, I'm all
Of which it is above normal.
The production of corn I'm 1900 is es-
timated at 2.105. 102. sic bushels: oats
500. 125, 1863 bushels; barely IS. 915. s33:
y %, 1895, 927 bushels: b~uckwheat o.
566, 966 bushels; Potatoes 2l0. 926. ss7
bushels and hay so. 40, 906 tons.
The area from which these crops were
gather d was as follows in acres: Corr
SO, 800, 1872. oats 81. 1854, 795. barley 2,s94.-
2S2, rye 1891. 326, b~uckwheat S37. $50. po-
\ tatoes 2,611 ,054, and hay SO, 1S2. $50. The
corn crop of 1900 was one of the four
largest ever gathered, while the oats
crop has only once been exceeded. OR
the other hand the barley and rye crops
are the smallest. with one exception. In
each case since 1887; the buckwheat
crop is the smallest since 1888. and the
hay crop the smallest. with one excep-
ton, since 1888.