The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1902-08-19
NOTEWORTHY FACTS ABOUT NORTH
CAROLINA AGRICULTURE.

We are very much afraid CnaG pdrL-
~ because of the brevity of human
life and partly because of a common
aversion to statistics, our recent sum-
mary and review of the Census Re
port on North Carolina Agriculture,
has not been widely read. For it was
the longest editorial hat we have ever
prepared for The Progressive Farm
er, and we'll besprinkled with figures.
For the benefit of our friends who did
not read it, we wish to give in more
condensed form the more noteworthy
facts disclosed by the census tables.
They show, in the first place, that
we have about a quarter of a million
farms in North Carolina-224,637, to
be exact-with an average size of
1913 acres and an average value of
$866.54.
T~hree-fourths of the farmers are
white, one-fourth colored. Two-thirds
of the white farmers and one-third of
the eolored own all or a part of the
farms they operate.
The average white mans farm is
twice the size of the average Negroes.
The farms are continually being cut
up into smaller farms. Fifty years
ago the average size was S68 acres; it
is now 1O1.3 acres. There are now
less than 1000 farms that contain
more than 1000 acres.
In the last twenty years the mum
Der of cash tenants has more than
doubled, the number of share tenants
has increased IS per cent, and the
number of land-owning farmers 25.5
per cent.
Of the States stock values horses
and mules represent more than half.
On the whole, the stock-raising indus
try made no progress between 1890
and 1900. We have only half as many
sheep as ten years ago; 10000 less
meat cattle other than dairy cows"
and fewer hogs in proportion to pop
ulation. Dairying and poultry rails
ing, however, made some progress,
there being an increase of 10000 COWS,
and a reported gain of 60 per cent in
milk product and % per cent in but
ter product; u egg production also
increased so per cent.
A comparison with the census of
1850 shows that we have five times as
many mules and asses; less than 10
per cent more horses; about 5 per cent
more dairy cattle, and one-sixth less
of other neat cattle; only about one
third as many sheep, and about two
thirds as many swine.
Tho poultry and eggs raised in 1899
were worth $4,5OO,OOO, three-ffths of
this amount representing poultry,
two-ffths eggs.
Of the total value of our 1899 crops,
cotton represented o~ne-fourth, corn
~one-fourth, tobacco about one-eighth.
There are 100000 cotton farmers
who plant 100000 acres to the crop;
$4,000 tobacco farmers and 100000
acres devoted to the production of the
weed.
The counties planting the largest
cotton crops are Mecklenburg, Robe
son, Wake, Union, Johnston, Arson,
Halifax, Wayne. Cleveland and Edge
combe, ranking in the order named.
The counties that produce most to-
bacco are Pitt, Rockingham, Nash,
Wilson, Stokes, Granville, Franklin,
Caswell, Greene, and Person counties,
in this order.
Two-thirds of the peanut acreage is
in the counties of BERTHE, Halifax,
Northampton, Hartford, Martin, and
Edgecombe, ranking in the order
named.
Three-fourths of Strawberries
are raised in the four adjoining coun-
ties of Duplin, Fender, Sampson and
Wayne.
Beaufort, Brunswick, Camden,
Hyde, Pasquotank, Perquimans and
Tyrrell, grow t~hree-fourths of our rice
product.
The report says: "Moore, Burke
and Guilford counties reported about
one-eighth of the peach trees, and
Wilkes, Buncombe, Surry, Guilford
and Haywood reported about one-sixtE
of the apple trees"
Compared with 1889 we produced il
1899
35 per cent more cotton;
$50 per cent more tobacco;