1006 



ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 



Off. DOf 



"lOTiil value of farm prodaets" for 1899 exceeds that for 1889 by 

 $86,567,252, or 71.3 per cent.; but a part of this gain is doubtless due 

 to a n!ore detailed enumeration in 1900 than in 1890. 



TJie "eross farm income" is obtained by deductino; from the total 

 value of farm products the value of the products fed to live stock on 

 the farms of the producers. In 1899 the reported value of products 

 fed vwas |57,043,770, leaving .'3;150,S51,830 as the gross farm income 

 for that year. The ratio which this amount bears to the "total 

 value of farm property" is referred to in this bulletin as the "per- 

 centage of gross income upon investment." For Pennsylvania, in 

 1899, it was 14.3 per cent. 



As no reports of expenditures for taxes, interest, insurance, feed 

 for stock, and similar items* have been obtained by any census, no 

 statement of net farm income can be given. 



The statistics presented in this bulletin will be treated in greater 

 detail in the report on agriculture in the United States. The present 

 publication is designed to present a summarized advance statement 

 for Pennsylvania. 



Yery respectfully, 



L. G. POWERS, 

 Chief Statistician for Agriculture. 



GENERAL STATISTICS. 



Pennsylvania has a total land area of 44,985 square miles, or 28,- 

 790,400 acres, of which 19,371,014 acres, or 67.3 per cent., are included 

 in farms. 



The surface of Pennsylvania is greatly varied, but is everywhere 

 more or less hilly. The western part, occupying about one-fourth of 

 the area of the State, is a broad i»lateau, whose rolling surface is 

 broken by occasional ranges of hills, and deeply furrowed by water 

 courses. The southeastern portion, extending from the DehiAvare 

 river to the Blue Ridge, is for the most part undulating and ad- 

 mirably adapted to the production of cereals. 



Between these two sections, extending across the State from 

 southwest to northeast, is a mountainous region, composed of the 

 mountain chains which constitute the Appalachian system. The 

 elevation of the greater part of these mountains is not more than 

 2,000 feet. They are intersected by numerous valleys, often of con- 

 siderable length and breadth, but sometimes narrow and deep. The 

 State is very well watered, and the soil, except in the mountains, 

 is everywhere fertile, and even where least adapted to agriculture, 

 is suitable for grazing purposes. 



