Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1913-01-11
CENSUS BUREAU ISSUES Bull
NLETIN BASED ON RETURNS
MADE IN 1910.
COVERS ALL CROPS.
Cereals Make up Three -fourths Of the
Growing Crop-Dairy Stock, PouI.
try, Sheep and Slaughtered
Animals Numerous.

| department of commerce and labor. II
was prepared under the supervision OF
John Lee Coulter, expert special agent
for agriculture.
The returns for live stock products
obtained at the census of 1870 like
those for crops, relate to the activities
of the calendar year 1909. 1t is impos-
sible to give total representing the
annual production of live stock prod
utcs for the reason that the total value
Of products from the business Of rails
ing domestic animals for use sale, or
| slaughter can not be calculated from
the census returns.
Dairy Products.
The number of farms in Iowa report
! ing dairy cows on April Is, 1910, was
202,539, but only 179,S47 reported dairy
products in 1909. That there should be
| this difference is not surprising. Doubt
| less some farmers who had dairy cows
| in 1910 had none in 1909, while other
farmers neglected to give information
for the preceding year. or were unable
| to do so, perhaps because the farm was
then in other hands. Dairy products in
general are somewhat less accurately
| reported than the principal crops. This
! is particularly the case as regards the
quantity Of milk produced. The number
| Of farms which made any report Of
milk produced during 1909 was 130.796
|
Der reporting dairy products). and the
! number of dairy cows on such farms on
i April Is, 1910, was $4,000. The amount
! of milk reported was 318,955,000 gall
Ions: assuming that there were the
same number Of cows in 1900 as in
1910, this would represent an average
| Of 34S gallons per COW. In considering
borne in mind that the quantity Of
milk reported is probably deficient and
that the distinction between dairy and
other cows is not always strictly OBJ
served in the census returns.
BY reason of the incompleteness Of
the returns for milk produced. the CEN
sus bureau has made no attempt to de-
termine the total value of dairy pro-
ducts for 1909. For convenience par
tial total has been presented, compris-
| ing the reported value Of milk, cream.
and butter fat sold and the reported
value Of butter and cheese made,
whether for home consumption or for
sale. The total thus obtained for 1909
is $31, 1877 900, which may be defined as
the total value Of dairy products ex-
elusive of milk and cream used on the
farms producing. -, ls.ft p a.",E
Only about one sixth of the milk re-
ported by Iowa farmers In 1909 was
sold as such. Comparatively large
quantities of milk and cream were sold
on the butter-fat basis. The butter
made on farms In 1909 was valued at
$9,061 900.
Wool.
The total number of sheep Of shear
ing age in Iowa on April Is, 1910. was
10000, representing an increase of II
per cent, as compared with the number
on June I, 1900 (658,000). The approxi-
mate production Of wool during 1909
was $4,000 fleeces. Weighing 5,485,000
pounds, and valued at $1,414,O00. OF
these totals about one-fifth represents
estimates. The number of fleeces pro-
duced in 1909 was per cent greater
than in 1899. The average weight per
fleece in 1909 was rs pounds, as COM
pared with I pounds in 1899 and the
average value per pound was 26 cents,
as compared with 20 cents in 1899.
Poultry Products.
The total number Of fowls on Iowa
farms on April Is, 1910, was 23,4s3,000.
OF the 204,635 farms reporting fowls,
1925 did not report any eggs produced
in 1909, and 1886 did not report any
Of eggs actually reported for the year
1909 was 103,274.000 dozens, valued at
$1S,O99,000. According to the twelfth
census reports the production Of eggs
in 1899 was 99.622,000 dozens. the value
being $10,017,O00. The latter figures.
however, are somewhat in excess of the
actual returns at that census, because
they include estimates made to cover
those cases where the schedules re-
ported fowls on hand without reporting
the production of eggs. In order to
make the returns for 1909 comparable
with those published for 1899, similar
estimates have been made, the meth
DDS of estimate and the justification
therefor being substantially. the same
as in the case Of wool. The total pro- /
duction Of eggs in 1909, including these
valued at $19,236.0OO The total produc-
ton of poultry in 1909, including esti-
mates made on the same basis as for
Eggs, was 100000 fowls, valued at /
Animals Sold or Slaughtered.
The total value of domestic animals
n Iowa sold during the year was $685.
1000 and that Of animals slaughter
I'd on farms $10,147.000, making an ag-
sregate of $21s,216,O0O. This total how
ever, involves considerable duplication
'esulting from the resale or slaughter
# animals which had been purchased ,
~ tn. farmers during the same year.
The value of the cattle Gncluding
,alves) sold during 1903 represented
somewhat more than two-fifths Of the
otal value Of all animals sold, and the
,alue Of swine sold represented about
wo-fifths.
The census of 1900 called for the re-
.eipts from the sale Of all domestic
lnimals raised on farms reporting and
he total value Of those slaughtered
Turing 1899, which amounted, respect
vely, to $113,079.000 and $S,449,000.
The item Of sales is not closely COM
parable with that for 1909, when the
inquiry covered all sales whether Of
lnimals raised on the farms reporting
n elsewhere. 1t is believed, however,
hat in many cases the returns for 1893
llso included receipts from sales of
lnimals not actually raised on the
arms reporting.
Crops. |
The total value Of crops in Iowa I'M
800 was $314,666, 900. OF this amount,
1913 per cent was contributed by crops
or which the acreage as we'll as the
,alue was reported, the remainder con-
;isting of the value Of by-products
straw, garden and grass seeds, etc0
derived from the same land as other
,rops reported, or Of orchard fruits.
nuts. forest products, and the like. The
combined acreage Of crops for which
acreage was reported was 20.374,925.I