The Republican journal., 1904-04-28
and the West from which we quote
the opening paragraph:

SaAO OPSAsh6 ResAes6 AesPH'
Crops average better here than in the
garden states of the central west. So
much has been said about the mex
haustible fertility of the west, COM
pared to the "wOrn OUT condition of
eastern lands, that New England farm
ers generally believe their yields per
acre average much less than do the
crops of their western brothers. As a
matter of fact, the yield per acre of
New England's three great staples, po-
tatoes, corn and oats, compares most
favorably with the crop producing
power of the west.
These astounding facts are officially
shown in the Homestead by charts
which we are unable to reproduce.
Illinois, Indiana and Iowa are taken as
representative of the most fertile Sec
lions of the west, and the average yield
! for these three States compared with
the mean for New England. The
average yield of potatoes per acre
throughout New England annually for
the five years $780, 1908, inclusive, is III
bushels, compared to only IS bushels
for these best States of the west. The
highest annual average for the five
year period of any western State is
Illinois, So bushels, while Names five
year average is AS, or nearly twice as
much. The lowest mean in the east is
Massachusetts,, 90 bushels, as the five
year average. The potato chart shows
that the crop varied in both sections
from year to year; and that this crop is
much more certain in the east than in
the west. On the oat crop the ad-
vantage is decidedly with New Eng
land. Her yield per acre averages 80
bushels-two bushels per acre more
than the western crop. 1t has been
assumed by many that New England
cannot compete with the west in rails
ing corn; but that conclusion is shown
to be erroneous by the corn chart in
the Homestead. This reveals a sur
prising condition, for the average yield
of the three greatest corn States of the
west for the past five years shows only
50 bushels per acre, while New Eng
land comes up smiling with SO bushels.
In the first two years of this period
the western average considerably sur
passed the eastern; in 1901, New Eng
land corn yielded almost twice as much
per acre as the western crop, but in the
two succeeding years production was
about the same in both sections.
l While it may be said that it costs
more to raise crops in the east than in
the west the Homestead finds no facts
to substantiate such a conclusion, and
, says:
On the contrary, the comparatively
high price of western land and the rela-
lively low value of eastern farms, al
most offsets the alleged greater fertility
of western land. Our farmers use ma
nures and fertilizers much more than
is done in the west, though they would
be surprised at the extent to which
plant food is being artiticially supplied
to many western farms. If we put
little more money into manures and
fertilizers than is done at the west, we
are nearer to market, and get better
price for our crops or their equivalent.
The intelligent New England farmer,
one year with another, can make more
actual net profit per acre on his pota
toes than is the case in the west He
can utilize his corn, grain and corn fod-
der in such way as to get a larger
profit on this crop than does the west
ern farmer. We believe also that the
same is true of oats. 1t is certainly
true of many minor crops, fresh fruits
and vegetables.