Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1902-08-07

IneY OpcEutcs
Washington, July 30.-Missouris
agricultural development in the ten
between 1890 and 1900 was III
tie short of marvellous, according TO
a special Missouri bulletin issued by
the census bureau to-day. This bulle-
tin shows that the total value OF
farm products for 1899 was $219 1885,
$40, an increase of 99.S per cent. over
1889. So great is the per cent. of in
crease that the census bulletin offers
In explanation "a part of this gain
is doubtless due to a more detailed
enumeration in 1900 than in $780,"
But even accepting that explanation
and making a liberal allowance for it,
Missouri's gain for the decade was
greater than that of any of the old
er states in the Union.
The record of rapid development
and increase in wealth is shown in
every department of the agricultural
industry. There were 2s4,SS3 farms
reported on June /, 1900, a gain of 20
per cent. over 1890, with a gain of 10
per cent. in acreage. The total value
of farm property in Missouri in 1900,
including improvements and machin-
cry, was $1,033, 121, 1892, an increase OF
Bill per cent. in ten years, and an in
crease of ITO per cent. since 1880.
There are buildings and improve
ments on 275,634 of the 2S4,SS6 farms
of the state. The farms contain 49,
997,s73 acres of improved land and
%, 600, O43 u~nimproved. The lands are
valued at $685. 0,723; the buildings
at $14s, sos, 49O; implements and ma
chinery at $2s,6o2, $50, and the live
stock at $16O, $40, 900. The gross in
come of Missouri's farms for 1899,
not counting products fed to live
stock, was $161,344,310. During the
year the Missouri farmers paid &c.
S03,610 for labor and $o70,630 for fer.
tilizers. The report shows that the
value of farms has increased in every
county in the state, the average value
of the Missouri farm in 1900 being $2,-
D63.
Of the farmers of the state 9S.3 per
cent. are white and IL colored. Of the
white farmers COL per cent. own all
or a part of the farms they operate;
300 per cent. operate farms owned
by others. For colored farmers the
corresponding percentages are 53.i
and 46.3. The number of cash tenants
exceed that of share tenants in g
number of counties where the farms
are more extensively cultivated ant
more valuable than elsewhere. They
are chiefly situated near the principa
cities, and are generally north of the
Missouri river. The wealth produced
by Missouri farms in 1899 was drawn
from the following sources: Hay ant
grain, $3.50, 269,603; live stock, $61S,
72o,30S; dairy products, $27,66o,2 Oo;
vegetables, $~16,254,1ss; fruit, $s,421,
1862; cotton, $2,9O4, 796; flowers ant
plants, $1,OS8,436; nursery products
$S72,14O; tobacco, $500, 14O; sugar
$197,575; miscellaneous, SIG, 1877 41
total, $1,O33, 121, 1897.
In dairy products the hen beat tn
cow by a good margin, the sales o
eggs and poultry a~ggregating $17,s $40
632, as against $15,042, 160 for milk
butter and cheese.
The value of animals sold and AM
mails slaughtered on farms for TIL
year 1899 was $63,7s4,6ss, or 39.5 pc
cent. of the gross farm income. Atcf
ison county is first in amount O
sales, reporting $1,4O7, 1913 received b
1910 farmers from the sale of liv
animals, and seven other counties G
the state report sales amounting t
more than a million dollars each.
The states production of the leat
ing cereals for 1899 was as follows
Corn, POS, S44 $40 bushels, valued q
$61,246,3O5; wheat, 23,O72, 76s bushels
valued at $13, 2O,012; oats, $2O,545,35
bushels, valued at $4,669,1 1856.
Of the farmers of the state 1880
or AZ per cent, report orchard fruit
in 1900. Since 1890 there has been
large general increase throughout tt
state in the number of fruit trees. Al
pie trees increased 1859 per cent
peach trees 1879 per cent, aprict
trees 159 per cent, and cherry tree
7S.4 per cent. There are more tina
six times the number of pear trees r
ported in 1890, and nearly five tint
as many plum and prune trees. IT
largest gains in the number of app
and peach trees have been in Il
southern part of the state. Of g
fruit trees in 1900, 75.2 per cent. we
apple trees, Ill per cent. peach tree
rs per cent. plum and prune trees, 2
per cent. pear trees, as per cent. che
ry trees, 3 per cent. apricot and u
classified fruit trees.
In 1899, 4,691 farmers devoted /.
area of 1886 acres to the productit
OF cotton, an average of 81 acres p
farm. From this land was obtain
12,s65,944 pounds of cotton, an ave
age of 2,743 pounds per farm and 2
pounds per acre. The total value
this crop, including the value Of Il
cotton seed, was $904,25s, an avera,
of $1s9.B per farm, and 1888 p
acre. The counties which devoted t
largest area to cotton are Dunkli
Pemiscot, %Stoddard, New Madrid a,
Ozark, ranking in the order name
and reporting 91.2 per cent. Of t
total acreage
The total expenditure for labor
farms in 1899 was 50, 300, 310, an G
erage Of 1874 per farm. The avera
expenditure was $7s7 for nurseri,
! $4H for florists establishments,
for fruit farms, $63 for vegetal
farms, $54 for dairy farms, $2s +