﻿C4 
  Seventh 
  Annual 
  Repout 
  of 
  the 
  

  

  The 
  pursuit 
  of 
  agriculture 
  in 
  ISTew 
  York 
  State 
  is 
  not 
  as 
  profit- 
  

   able 
  as 
  it 
  was 
  from 
  1860 
  to 
  1873, 
  but 
  conditions 
  are 
  improving 
  

   and 
  it 
  looks 
  to 
  me 
  as 
  though 
  the 
  year 
  1899 
  will 
  be 
  more 
  profitable 
  

   for 
  the 
  farmers 
  of 
  New 
  York 
  State 
  than 
  the 
  preceding 
  years. 
  

  

  From 
  18G0 
  to 
  1873 
  all 
  farm 
  products 
  brought 
  extremely 
  high 
  

   prices, 
  on 
  account 
  of 
  the 
  great 
  demand 
  caused 
  by 
  the 
  War 
  of 
  the 
  

   Rebellion. 
  Farm 
  products 
  bringing 
  high 
  prices 
  made 
  the 
  value 
  of 
  

   lands 
  high 
  and 
  farms 
  were 
  sold 
  at 
  high 
  prices. 
  Many 
  of 
  them 
  

   were 
  bought 
  on 
  time 
  and 
  mortgaged. 
  After 
  the 
  close 
  of 
  the 
  war 
  

   the 
  demand 
  for 
  farm 
  products 
  gradually 
  grew 
  less, 
  prices 
  became 
  

   less 
  and 
  the 
  price 
  of 
  land 
  shrank 
  accordingly, 
  so 
  that 
  many 
  of 
  

   the 
  farmers 
  of 
  the 
  State 
  of 
  New 
  York 
  who 
  had 
  bought 
  lands 
  and 
  

   mortgaged 
  them 
  lost 
  them 
  by 
  shrinkage 
  of 
  value. 
  

  

  The 
  main 
  causes 
  for 
  the 
  cheapening 
  of 
  the 
  value 
  of 
  products 
  

   were 
  the 
  increased 
  supply 
  of 
  cereals, 
  coming 
  from 
  the 
  rapid 
  de- 
  

   velopment 
  of 
  new 
  territory 
  and 
  the 
  extension 
  of 
  railroad 
  facili- 
  

   ties, 
  reaching 
  into 
  the 
  newly 
  opened 
  territory, 
  and 
  the 
  greatly 
  re- 
  

   duced 
  rates 
  of 
  transportation 
  of 
  which 
  that 
  new 
  territory 
  received 
  

   the 
  benefit, 
  and 
  of 
  which 
  New 
  York 
  State 
  has 
  been 
  deprived, 
  and 
  

   the 
  lack 
  of 
  demand 
  for 
  these 
  products 
  by 
  non-producers 
  and 
  con- 
  

   sumers 
  becoming 
  producers 
  and 
  ceasing 
  to 
  be 
  consumers 
  on 
  the 
  

   market. 
  

  

  To 
  illustrate 
  how 
  rapidly 
  the 
  western 
  territory 
  was 
  developed, 
  

   I 
  call 
  attention 
  to 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  reports 
  from 
  the 
  National 
  Govern- 
  

   ment 
  show 
  that 
  the 
  original 
  area 
  of 
  land 
  belonging 
  to 
  the 
  people 
  at 
  

   large 
  was 
  1,815,504,147 
  acres, 
  of 
  which 
  806,532,362 
  acres 
  has 
  

   been 
  alienated. 
  For 
  the 
  year 
  1897, 
  the 
  following 
  is 
  a 
  table 
  show- 
  

   ing 
  the 
  rate 
  of 
  transfer 
  to 
  private 
  ownership, 
  viz. 
  : 
  

  

  A 
  cres. 
  

  

  To 
  1884 
  591,987,814 
  

  

  To 
  1884 
  26,834,042 
  

  

  To 
  1885 
  20,113,663 
  

  

  To 
  1886 
  20,991,967 
  

  

  To 
  1887 
  25,111,401 
  

  

  To 
  1888 
  24,160,785 
  

  

  