BUREAU OF STATISTICS. 711 



Missouri, North Dakota, and California. For the United States the 

 gain was G.3 per cent for the mean of tlie ten years 1S9G-1905 over 

 that of the previous ten years; for the mean of the four years 1906- 

 1909 the gain over that of tlie previous ten years was 9.G ])er cent. 



Tobacco production in the United States increased 3.4 per cent 

 from 1866-1875 to 1876-1885, Virginia and North Carolina being 

 conspicuous States that did not participate. In the following decade 

 there was a decline of 2 per cent in production per acre in the United 

 States, followed by an increase of 5.2 per cent in the decade 1896- 

 1905, the only conspicuous States that suffered a decline being Con- 

 necticut and New York. The mean production per acre of the four 

 years 1906-1909 is an increase of 9.7 per cent over that of the pre- 

 ceding ten years. 



During two of the four years, 1906-1909, the cotton production 



Eer acre was light because of adverse weather and the boll weevil, 

 ut in spite of that the mean of these four years is 0.3 per cent above 

 that of the ten years 1896-1905, which was the decade that exceeded 

 each of the three preceding decades in production per acre. The 

 only cotton States which in this decade did not improve over the 

 mean of 1886-1895 were Florida, Texas, and Arkansas; for the 

 United States the gain was 3.8 per cent. 



Potato production per acre in the United States declined sharply 

 from 1866-1875 to 1886-1895, after which there was a marked 

 increase during 1896-1905, followed by another increase during 

 1906-1909 to a higher average production per acre than is disclosed 

 by any ten-year mean as far back as the records extend, to 1866. 

 Every potato State gained in production per acre in 1896-1905 over 

 the previous decade except North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Ala- 

 bama, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and New ]^Icxico. The gain for 

 the United States was 15.3 per cent and the mean of the following 

 four years is 15.5 per cent higher than that of the preceding ten years. 



Hay stood higher in mean production per acre in 1896-1905 than 

 in any of the preceding three decades. The gain over the decade 

 1886-1895 was 22 per cent, to which all States and Territories con- 

 tributed except Florida. A similar sort of statement applies to 

 oats, the percentage of increase of production per acre for the mean 

 of 1896-1005 being 15.6 per cent over that of the preceding ten years, 

 the States that tlid not have an increase being few — Missouri, Kan- 

 sas, and Oregon. 



Again, for barley and r3^e a similar history appears. For barley the 

 mean prodiu-tion per acre in 1896-1905 increased 11.1 per cent over 

 the mean of the preceding ten years, the only States that had a 

 decline being New Hampshire, Missouri, and Connecticut. For rye 

 the percentage of increase was 21.3, and the only State that did not 

 participate was California. Both barley and rye gained in mean 

 production jx-r acre in the four 3'ears 1906-1909. 



After thirty years of decadence, l)ackwheat all but regained its 

 mean production per acre in 1896-1905; and afterwards gained 6.6 

 per cent on Ihc previous decade in 1906-1909, tlicrebv reaching the 

 hi^iest production per acre in the records of this Bureau. 



The general trend of the mean production per acre was a declining 

 one during the two decades 1876-1885 and 1 886-1 S95 for corn, oats, 

 rye. and potatoes; it declined in the first decade and slightly increased 

 in the second in the case of barley, buckwheat, and cotton; it 



