2090 Farm Bureau Circular No. 5 



fane each produce annually more fruit than is grown in the far-famed 

 Hood River Valley. 



During the season of 191 2, there were shipped from Niagara County 

 over the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad and the Inter- 

 national Railroad more than 5822 carloads of apples and 1494 carloads of 

 peaches and plums, making a total of 7316 carloads of apples, peaches, 

 and plums. To this must be added many carloads of apples, peaches, 

 pears, plums, cherries, and grapes that were shipped by express in small 

 lots and sold either in the markets of Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Lockport, 

 and North Tonawanda or to Canadian dealers and shipped by boat or 

 delivered via Suspension Bridge. The amount of fruit handled in this 

 way can only be estimated, but it is undoubtedly great. 



While fruit gro%ving is conceded to be the most important agricultural 

 industry of the county, the value of the cereals, the hay, and the forage 

 produced nearly 'equals that of the fruits. It has been stated that in 1840 

 the leading crops in their order were wheat, potatoes, oats, com, barley, 

 buckwheat, peas, beans, and flax; and that grain farming was the mainstay 

 of the farmers as late as 1880. 



At present, judging by the acreage devoted to each, the leading field 

 crops in order are hay, oats, wheat, com, potatoes, beans, buckwheat, 

 rye, and barley. 



From the standpoint of acreage, hay stands first with its 67,500 acres, 

 yielding 82,500 tons. Every year one-fifth of the farm area of the county 

 is bearing a hay crop. 



For more than the first half of the last century, wheat was the principal 

 crop sold, the number of bushels of wheat exceeding that of orchard 

 fruits. In 1870 the census reported 961,303 bushels of wheat grown in 

 this county, the greatest number ever reported. In the last thirty years, 

 the acreage devoted to wheat has decreased from 46,500 acres to 26,500 

 acres, and the yield from 866,531 bushels to 577,082 bushels. However, 

 the yield per acre has increased from 18 bushels to 21 bushels. 



Oats are raised chiefly for feed. As the ntmiber of horses required 

 has increased, the oat crop has been increased to feed them. 



Barley reached the height of its production in 1880 with 22,700 acres, 

 yielding 495,000 bushels. From that time it has declined steadily and 

 rapidly, until now there are only between one and two thousand acres 

 sown to barley in a year. 



Com is raised for feed, and for that reason the amount produced from 

 year to year has been very uniform. Its production has not fallen off 

 as has the production of wheat and barley. 



In 1840 potatoes were the second crop in importance in the county. 

 The yield was 288,692 bushels. This crop has continued to be an impor- 

 tant one, and its increase in acreage and yield has been steady, imtil 

 now there are about seven thousand acres devoted to potato growing. 



In number of acres planted, beans follow potatoes closely. The pro- 

 duction of this crop has increased slowly in the last fifty years. 



About one thousand or more acres are devoted to the production of 

 rye and buckwheat, respectively. 



Table 5 gives the acreage and the yield of these general crops for Niagara 

 County, together with the average yield for New York State : 



