The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1910-01-06
CROP ESTIMATE
state Historian Robinson Thinks Fed.
eral Government is Away on"
ON states Corn Yield.

To the Editor OF the Republican:
My attention has been called to
your comparison between the gov-
eminent crop estimates for South
Dakota and those made by this de-
partment and to your remark about
the discrepancy in the corn estimates.
Twenty one million bushels does
seem like a pretty wide difference.
You will Of course understand that
q crop estimate, eve made by q
farm to farm canvass, IL but . mere
approximation. AMI when made. ca Is
done by the government, and by this
department from year to year. with
out a canvass. 1t becomes more and
more a guess. 40 distance from the
last. census tntervenes.
I am assisted in my estimates by
about SIX hundred replies to q thous-
and inquiries / send out each year.
These are from farmers. machinery
men and bankers; in addition I make
q personal inspection Of the fields.
From such sources / secure the data
upon which my approximation IL bas-
ed, I think the governments sources
are something less than mine.
I I'M convinced the government
places our wheat estimates too high
and the corn too low; that Is the gov
does not take account of the
revolution in our agricultural meth
DDS by which a very large area of
the state has practically abandoned
wheat culture and given up the acre
age to corn. l placed the corn crop
this year at 86.000.0O0 bushels after,
in almost every instance. scaling the
estimates Of my correspondents.
Personally I feel very certain the
census next spring will show We pro-
sduced In 1909 more than one hun
dred million BUSHES Of corn. I shall
await the result Of the census with
confidence that It viii more than son
shrm my estimate.
Ny confidence in the Approximate
accuracy OF my estimates L. based
largely upon my success in estimating
the wheat crop. That = the only
crop on which we can get an absolute
check. By the distribution Of wheat
we car ascertain to within q small
per cent Of error what the crop really
amounted to in bushels. but as much
of the other crops are consumed in
feeding stock such a check is impos-
sible. While I have on two occas-
ions made objectionable mistakes In
the wheat production. yet for q per-
iod Of " years my aggregates
came within a half million per year
Of the actual crop. II I have been rel
atively as successful with my other
approximations. It is perhaps as
much as could be expected.
In this connection let me call your
attention to another wide discrep-
ancy between the government and
myself. That pertains to the hay
crop. The government credits us
with only . little over 100000 tons
while I claim 3.350.00o tons. This is
due to the fact the government per-
sistently refuses to take account Of
the wild hay made by u people.
According to the federal census Of
1900 we made at that early date 3.
043.00O tons Of wild hay and by the
state census Of 1905 we made in.
1904 2.157.OOO Of wild hay and 629,-
900 Of tame hay or a total Of 1885,
900 tons. There has been a mani
fest increase in the amount Of both
wild and tame hay harvested since
1904.
Doane Robinson,
Superintendent Of the Department
of History.
Pierre. s. D. Dec. 80. 1909.
Saved at Deaths Door.
A ~ 49, - - - W.[