Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-12-08


tho total value has never been
eoualed. The crop of 92,o00,O00 bush
els has a farm value of about s47,000,-
600.
Rye has the low production of 81
0on. 900 bushels. but the value S26 900. =
900, is 1872 per cent. above the five
year average.
The sugar beet crop. which for sew
eral years remained close to 0,ee0, :
0e0 in value nas risen 10 more than
s24.060.080 this year. an increase Of 2331ss
per cent. above the five-year average
This is crop TO the establishment
and growth Of which the Department
of Agriculture has directed some Of
its best efforts.
No other crop exhibits such a high
increase of value over the five-year
average as the hop crop does. 1t is
40 per cent. This is because the price
of hops, which has usually been 10 to
20 cents a pound, has risen to IS cents.
Consequently the crop value has be-
come $15.500,000. The production, on the
other hand, has fallen Off Is per cent.
from the fiYe-y ear average. Nearly
one fourth of the worlds exports Of
hops go from this country, and little
over one-fourth of the worlds crop is
produced here.
Rice is one of the five crops that
have a production above the fVe-yeac
average, but the amonnt. although n
little over LOCO DOC, 200 pounds. has
been exceeded twice.
The buckwheat crop has been ex-
ceeded in production by only two
crops since the sixties, and the value
By no year subsequent To that decade.
As a sort Of measure Of the years
performance in agriculture, the bush
els OF the cereals are added together
and compared with totals Of former
years The total for this year, 4,522,-
ono 900, is "a per cent. below the five
while it indicates that The agricuf-
tnral year of 1911 was below par. il
is far from indicating any degree Of
calamity. il the great cotton crop NJ
taken into account, the total crop pro-
duction is below the average in less
degree than The cereals suggest"
Although sugar making belongs TO
manufacturing, il is asserted that
cane and beet production can best be
treated through the sugar made from
them. The Secretary says: Il am
eratifiod to see that the beet-sugar
tonnage reaches the figure Of nearly
600 900 short tons. It indicates that
we can make our own sugar" This Is
the largest amount ever made in this
country by about So.en0 tons and is
a per cent above the live-Tear aver
age. The value has, of course, scared
and amounts TO about 500 GOO, 600, in
GLIDING value II pulp, the highest
previous waite .teing about $50. 100000
for 1868
Tho cane-sugar production of 1911
is estimated to be about 3S0,0oo short
tons Of raw sugar. or 5I5 per cent
above the five-year average, with a
value of about S45 Ba9 roo, or IS per
cent over the ffve-year average.
Both kinds of sugar combined, the
production equals about $4,000 short
tons, or about &5oO0 tons more than
the record production of 1909. The
| factory value Of this sugar and the
beet pulp which is used for feeding
purposes. is about sls5. 00O. 900. or about
s4i 600, ono more than the record value.
The year 1911 was a poor one for
record breaking crops. since the list
IIfiibtS OILY tOttpU dfIu sugar BeeIS.
Apart from these two crops, not .
crop reaches a place that is next to
the highest production of former
years: corn and rice win third place.
and buckwheat third place since the
sixties: the total Of all cereals occu-
pies fifth place, and the other crops
are farther down the scale.
The tale is reversed when the value
of the crops are considered. The crops
that have won first place make a
formida BILE list in spite OF the fact that
they have previous very high values TO
exceed. The list is corn. barley, rye,
buckwheat (since the sixties,./ pota
toes, hops, faXseed, sugar beets Cor
beet sugar., and cane sugar. No other
crop reached second place in order of
value in comparison With other years
but the total value of all cereals and
of all crops did. The crops that reach
third place are hay, cotton and to-
hacco. Wheat is fourth in value and
has been exceeded in this respect in
three years.
The erops of this year compare with
the average of the previous five years
more favorahly than they do with sin
gle wears when results We're highest.
In the list of crops that had pro-
duetion above the five-year average
are cotton. rice. huckwheat beet SUI
gar and cane sugar,
In value Of crops the five-year aver
age was overtopped by corr cotton.
hay. oats, barley. potatoes. buckwheat,
rye. faxseed, hops, and beet and cane
sugar.
Economic Results of Cold Storage.
Feeling that there should be more
knowledge of the cold storage of
foods, the Secretary caused the first
investigation of the economic features
of cold storage to be made during this
year. Information was obtained on
schedules filled out by warehousemen.
1t may not be generally understood
that cold-storage warehousemen who
do a public business rent space to the
owners of commodities; in private
warehouses, such as are owned and
used by the meat packers. the COM
modities stored are owned by the pro-
prietors Many of the warehousemen
made their reports after weeks OF
laborious efforts, and with very few
executions their DISPOSITION was to