The National tribune., 1907-12-05
THE YEAR IN AGRICULTURE.

selling will be under strict regulation
THE YEAR IN AGRICULTURE.
The Agricultural Department throws
a good many bouquets at itself in the
report of the Secretary for 1907. It
must be admitted that these bouquets
are deserved, and that the Department
has done years work which is highly
commendable. The first claim is that
the introduction of durum wheat has
, realized to the country more than the
entire cost of the Department of Agri-
culture. The. Department introduced this
wheat in the years 1899 and 1902, at a
cost of $4,000. This years crop is
worth s30,000,000, or more than twice
the annual expense of the Department,
and of the 100000 acres devoted to
the production of the wheat very much
was formerly considered worthless bar
rens.
! The beet-sugar industry has made
such steady and large growth as to
assure its having become a permanent
industry. In Is years the production
of refined sugar has risen from 13,460
short tons in 1892 to 10000 tons in
1907. Lands on which the sugar beet
will do well have been constantly in
creasing in value.
Alfalfa is another crop with which
the Department has had much to do,
and it estimates that its value for the
present year is 500, 100000
| Irrigation has developed until there
are now 100000 acres under this
system, with the crops for this year
valued at S175,G00,000. Next year at
present prices the value of the crops
will reach s25e,000,000.
The Secretary says what must give
hope and confidence to returning pros
perity, that while the corn crop this
| year is not SO large as that of 1907, its
value is 26 per cent above the average
value of the previous five years, and
chat eight similar crops would pay for
duplicating all the railroads in the
country, with their equipments and
costly terminals.
/ The cotton crop competes with that
of hay for the second place in value
1t will be worth somewhere between
s650,O00,000 and S675,000,000, and win
be the most valuable cotton crop ever
raised in this country.
The wheat crop is 625,576,000 BUSH
els, only five per cent less than the
average of the five preceding years,
while the value will reach over $780,
| 100000, or five and a half per cent
higher than the average
The oat crop is 10 per cent below the
average. but its value is 26 per cent
above, and will bring the farmers $780,
600, 900
There will be 292,427,OOO bushels of
| potatoes. or two per cent above the
average, with value Of 100000, 900,
or 26 per cent above the average.
The tobacco crop shows the worst,
for since it is II per cent below the
average, its value is only six per cent
above the average.
! The most astonishing advance is in
reached 963, 100000 pounds, or 50 per
cent above the average. 1t will bring
on the farm $19,500, 900, or SO per cent
above the average. We now export
more rice than we import, owing to the
finer varieties which the Department
has introduced into this country.
Some interesting comparisons are
made. For example, owing to the short
ness OF. the season, every day had to be
| counted, and those that favored the
production of corn were each worth
20,000,000 bushels of corn. good day
for cotton paid the ccTlntry 10000, 900
pounds of lint, while = good wheat day
gave 100000 bushels, with 1000, 600
pounds of tobacco, 100000 bushels of
potatoes and 100000 pounds of beet
sugar. Therefore, every good growing
day was worth $50, 1000 900 to the farm
er and to the country.
The value of the farm products for
the year reached the incomprehensible
sum of $7,412, 100000, or 10 per cent
more than the total for 1906 1t is far
more than that of any previous year in
the history Of the country The farm
ers produced enough to pay the whole
cost of the civil war, or more than the
total National wealth according to the
census of 1850. This was then given
as $7,135, $50, 228, or $3OS to every man.
woman and child in the United States