Year: 1877

am required by law to prepare for,
and furnish to, the newspapers Of this State
the returns OF certain crops and acreage hav-
ing immediate interest to the producers in ad-
vance to the publication of my annual report,
and not later than the third Monday of Juiy'


By the same act the township assessors arc
required to transmit to the auditors of the sew
eral counties their returns by the first Monday
Of July, and the auditors are also required to
transmit an abstract of such returns to this
Bureau on the second Monday of July, and
each and every auditor and assessor failing
therein shall be subjected to q fine Of fifty
dollars.


Inasmuch as several counties marked with
in the following tables have not yet re-
ported through their auditors to this bureau,
and very large proportion Of the whole
number did not do so until within the past ten
days and then in many instances very incom-
pletely, owing to the omission of townships
altogether, and neglect to add up and prove
their tables, which defects and omission fhavc
labored to cure and supply, it will be seen that
it was simply impossible to furnish you with
the subioined information at the time speci-
fed.


The assessors Of the towns of Verona and
Clark in Faribault county, and of Paynesvi]le
and Sauk Centre in Stearns county. have
made no returns, therefore those counties, so
far as these tables are concerned, do not show
all they might.


The object of this advance publication be-
ing to remove prejudices and objections of
the producing classes, based upon the belief
that this information has hitherto been acces-
sible to them only after their desire and need
Of it had passed, it was q matter of deep re-
gret to my accomplished predecessor that
the city Of St. Paul, published the tables he
prepared last September.


1t is to be hoped that if the publication en-
tire Of the following table is TOO great tax
upon your time and space YOU will at least
condcnse from them 50 much as relates to the
interest of your readers and locality.


. The tables have been enlarged go as to In.
cludc the crops and acreage Of barley,potatoes
and cultivated hay. The market for these
products is often largely local, and the intelli-
gent farmer can see. at q glance a comparison
ofthe years 1876 and 1877, and draw his own
conclusions as to the scarcity or superabund.
ance Of these crops in his local market.


AS there are yetliying persons who complain
Of compulsory vaccination and education, it
need surprise no one that many of our asses
sors, and even some Of our auditors, give very
little attention to their duties in the collection
and preparation of the statistics Of our State.
Instances have been given me Of their meeting
ignorance with ignorance, and prejudice with
prejudice, in their official intercourse with the
farmers.


This is alluded to now and here for the pur-
pose of calling attention to the fact that the
assessor is to the institutions Of the State what
subsoil is to the cultivated acrcs-the source Of
their vigor and enduring value, and he should
be chosen with at least as muck care as one
would exercise in choosing land.


1t has been the custom of my predecessors
to volunteer at this time an estimate of the
total yield of wheat. This may do later in the
season if 1t seems necessary or advisable, when
the actual results Of the harvest are at hand.
1t is sufficientto say now that there is already
secured beyond the reach of disaster
such harvest as should make it q pleasure
rather than duty, for the people
Of this State to 5de1uge with gifts .Fof
food, seed, and clothing, those thrice unfortu-
nate residents Of districts, ravagcd for the
last time, as we all now trust and believe. by
the terrible locust. I, t,....5 s.5,. ,x,.it =.


The wheat crop Of 1875 averages, Il will be
seen, 8 64-100 bushels per acre, or a fraction
over one bushel more than was estimated by
my predecessor last September. This crop
was failure without a parallel in the history
Of Minnesota, yet our failure compares favor.
ably with the average good crops Of Illinois,
which is estimated at bushels; of Iowa, III q
series of seven years which is given at 10 30 100
bushels; OF Ohio in series Of eleven years, as