Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-11-29
WILSON MAKES HIS REPORT
Annual stat6mest Of ofseoretary Of Asricul-
ture Shows Work Of Department,
AMERICAN FARMER HAS PROSPEROUS YEAR
value of Crops OF United states In
croases beyond Comprehension
and Yield strains Facilities
for transportation.

annual report, takes occasion to indicate
the position Of the producer from the soil
! I'm the development OF the country. He
reports him as making progress IN the
sciences and arts OF agriculture, aided by
the researches OF the Department and Of
! the experiment stations. and states that
the time Of the man and the yield OF the
acre become more responsive as more iU-
perative demands are made upon them
A summary follows:
Tho laws made by congress at it's lsst
session, to be executed by the department
have required and received special ateu-
ton. Tho meat law is being enforced, ana
inspection Is now made In over 1000 houses.
Not less than 1900 experts have been added
to the inspection force. Rules have beeu
prepared for the execution Of the pure tood
law. Good has followed the operation OF
the law for the determination OF the cattle
fever tick IN some OF the southern stet"s
In dealing with the gypsy and broWn-tsil
moths in New England imported parasites
have been successfully established. A be-
/ ginning has been made In the method OF
tv,ctA. inlus the grading of grain, and the
law providing for the humane treatment OF
live stock In transit is receiving careful
attention.
Er...--,ed VnIue OF Farm Products.
! The economic revolution in the art ana
science Of agriculture continued during
1870, with tremendous results on the ma
tinues to rush forward beyond compreheu-
sion; crops are straining the freight carry
ing ability Of the railroads; and the
farmer alive to the Importance of the
place that he occupies in the nation offers
this yearly account of himself TO the peo-
ple The secretarv prcn1lses that the fe-
ures presented in his review of the years
full production are advence estimates pre-
lininary to those to be made later by the
department.. Estimates are made for COM
parison with every detail presented by the
census. The farm products of the year
have a farm value OF very nearly s6.@Go00.
goo. nearly %0o,OO0O0o above the value Of
1865 and exceeding by over s2,OOO,000O0O the
figures for the last census.
value OF Leading Crops.
Corn remains by far the most valuable
crop, estimated at 81, l00OO00OQ. Next comes
;hc cotton crop, which including sceq,
should be worth 70 the growers nearly
S6i0,0CoCC0 The value OF hay, which Is
third in order approaches $500, eco
Wheat the fourth crop, may be worth
si5O.0o0,oO0; oats, S9OoO01cC0; potatoes. $50,
0N0O0p. Barley, with a value of S65O00,O00.
shows a gain of p per cent IN production
in the past seven years, The tobacco crop
VIII be worth about S5aGooN9' A remark-
able development Is that of the sugar beet.
now the ninth crop in value. The produc-
tion in 1905 is placed at si5.O00 long tons,
! valued at s3i,O0.o0 Seven years ago the
! value Of this crop was S7OOa0OO. The value
of all kinds OF sugar, syrup and nlolasscs
aggregates s75.OOo00O.
! ..NpOrts exceed All Former Years.
The farm stlll overshadows the mill, the
factory, and the workshop IN providing
exports, and with his surplus beyond the.
nations need the farmer has loaded the
tleet5 OF oceans. For the fiscal year ended
Juue 90, 1906 this surplus has been eX-
ported TO the value of S076,oeO0OQ the lar-
gest amount cvrav reached by agricultural
( exports for THIS or any other country, nnd
exceeding the export value Of 1901,
proriobsiy the tccoId year. Among cnlet
exports cotton maintalns a long lead, with
a value OF S4OO.OO0O00. The packing house
products exported amounted 20 value Of
$20i, ,0O0OCO
Imports of Farm Products.
The imports of agricultural products con-
sist mainly OF the same articles year after
year and reached their highest value in
is06-Sj54 O00.OO0 These included packing
lasses SsGOQ0,OO; coffee, SI3.O00,OOD; silk, S4 e
10000; vegetable fibers. S5O,OO0.O00 wool, SO
Goa co., tobacco S22.0O0O00; fruits. Szl,OOO0J;
tea. Sl400c,OC0. In forest products, lSb
shows an import value exceeding SoC0OQ0o'
against total value Of exports OF similar
products amounting to $U,O0O'W1
Agriculture More Scientific.
The mighty production OF the farmer for
one-third Of a century has come out OF an
agriculture having many faults. yet thu
course of agriculture ir this country, un-
Justification Pioneers, poor and In debt,
have no capital. even if they nave iSnowl-
edge. They must have buildings. ma
chinery and live stock even at the expense
{ Of the soil. Moreover, millions Of acres of
fresh land have been coming into produc-
tion faster than domestic consumption re-
quircd, A more scientific agriculture Wouln
lave raised crops In excess OF the demands
but. when consumption demands aud prices
sustain, the farmer will respond, tor the
doors OF knowledge and example are open
ing wider 10 him. No miracle would be
required TO double or even treble the pro-
duction of cotton per acre. The corn crop
can be increased by one-half per acre
q within one-fourth OF n century and yet
without reaching the limit and the SAM
may be said of wheat and many other
: crops. One-fOurth Of the dairy cows OF
e. the country do not pay for their Iced ano
more than one-half of them pay no profit
=, The egg production per hen VIII be in
creased bv az least a dozen a year within
il rot ton NH q
e tell double that increase. If the hens Oi
this year had each laid dozen eggs morf
= than they did. the increased value Of this
Z production would have possibly aggre
p gated SO.0JO,O00. The Farmer VIII not fai
s. the nation il the nation docs not fail the
farmer. He needs education TO open The
. powers OF the soil now hidden from him
The sork of the department has already
< had results valued q hundreds Of millions
of dollars annually and yet has barely
crossed the Threshold Of its mission Of
c discovery and education. Cooperating tC
tnc same ends are the experiment station;
Ia every state and territory, agriculture
colleges. farmers institutes and many eN
$ ceilent agricultural publications and books
ImpraN emcnt In Farmers Condition
Cotton planters are now out Of thei
, former bondage 70 future maintenance an
J in the middle west there has been "a con
version OF a million az icultural debtors
. paying high rates Of interest, into tiuau
cially independent farmers, debt-tree an,
offering their savings 10 the banks at a
small a rate OF interest as per cent
Farmers are using their new capital L
abolish the waste places or the land an
along many lines of improved production
j. Formerly there was an abundance OF farr
d labor and a scarcity Of farm capital. NOV
= these conditions are reversed; labor
'i scarce and capital abundant.
e 4 new dignity has come 10 agltcultur
d. along with it's economic strength, and 10
the abundance the Creator has enables
T. the farmer 10 supply, for the stability o
p the national agriculture. for the comfort
n, ing prospect Of potent future. the peo
pie are ready to Join In day OF reveren
e and Joyous thanksgiving.
D. II IL no little grauhcatiOn to the hes
"a of the Department Of Agriculture in Dre
senting this picture Of the farmers plac
= in the economy Of the country and pictuT
IS ing the posi- bilties Of his future to realiz
that his department has had an impOrian
share i'm producing the farmers n~esen
2 prosperity, and must II intelleently an
J." generously administered play an importan
- part On developing his future. With tha
reflection tho secretary proceeds 20 revie1
in some detail the work OF tho variou
g channels through which the departucu
performs its functions.
Grain Standa rdizatiOn.
The department holds that some syster
OF Standardization is necessary ar a hrs
Is step toward securing uniformity OF grai
p grading. Congress al its last session au
with a view to eventually bringing abou
n this Standardization. Two labora torio
l- have been esta bished, one az BaItimor
and the other at New Orleans where
thorough study IN the present system q
do rr+iII ha