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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



of detail, by which its minute parts might be judiciously 

 distributed over so large an area as the American 

 Union presents, and embracing so many pursuits. 

 A department or bureau on such a basis would mate- 

 rially reduce the cost of taking the decennial census 

 besides furnishing materials for authenticating its most 

 valuable results ; and the people would thus be enabled 

 to get some actual knowledge of the progress, resources, 

 and annual wealth of the country. 



In the absence of these collective official data, we are 

 left to glean from various commercial channels the 

 figures calculated to afford any indications of the con- 

 dition of the agriculture of the States. 



Agriculture has made wonderful progress everywhere 

 in the last quarter of a century, and especially in the 

 United States. The Americans are now not only pro- 

 ducing grain enough to supply their own rapidly- 

 increasing population, but have millions of bushels to 

 spare. In the fen years between 1840 and 1850 the annual 

 aggregate wheat crop of the United States was increased 

 from 84,000,000 to 100,000,000 bushels, an advance 

 of nearly 20 per cent. ; but in 1855 it had furl her in- 

 creased to 165,000,000 bushels — a larger ratio still. 



In the new States the wheat crop is greatly on the in- 

 crease, owing to the virgin soil of the country, and the 

 large tracts of land which are annually cleared or 

 broken up and brought under cultivation. In the 

 middle States, where a favourable soil has been sup- 

 ported by careful tillage and suitable manures, the 

 wheat crop his held its ground. But in the older 

 States wheat production may be said to be rapidly on 

 the decline. Climate, in the north-eastern States, and 

 careless culture, with a general disregard of the wants 

 of the soil, are among the most active causes for this 

 decline. 



Europe can no longer, under the increasing demand 

 for comforts by the million, supply tlieir food- wants; 

 and an annual balance has therefore to be drawn 

 from the countries across the Atlantic. The additional 

 work to be performed by the United States long since 

 exceeded the labouring force at her disposal; and a 

 triumph of intellect over physical exertion was finally 

 achieved by the inventive genius of the nation. Sowing, 

 reaping, thrashing, and mowing machines have, ac- 

 cording to the American journals, turned already, in 

 the United States, a million of hands from the labours 

 of the field and the barn to other kinds of employment, 

 which, though necessary, would otherwise have been 

 left undone. The entire value of the work produced 

 by this million, while the newly-created machinery 

 prepares the materials for their sustenance, is a clear 

 annual gain to the country and to society at large. 



la the invention and construction of labour-saving 

 machinery to farming purposes consists the progress of 

 the middle of this nineteenth century in agriculture ; 

 and, wonderful as the results appear, we stand as yet 

 only upon the threshold of the new era of reform and 

 improvement. 



The United States may be divided into four charac- 

 teristic geographical sections : 1. The large southern 

 and south-western section, engaged extensively in the 



cultivation of the great staples of cotton, sugar, and 

 rice, with Indian-corn as the principal element of sub- 

 sistence. 2. The southern and south-western section, 

 engaged principally in the cultivation of grain, tobacco, 

 and hemp, and the rearing of live stock, in which slave 

 labour is employed to a considerable extent, though not 

 upon so large a scale as in the first section. 3. The large 

 northern and north-western section, engaged very ex- 

 tensively in growing all kinds of grain, hay, root-crops, 

 and other agricultural products of less value. 4. The 

 eastern section, where manufacturing and mechanical 

 arts form leading branches of indutry in most of the 

 States, combined with agricultural products (consumed 

 almost exclusively at home), with dairy husbandry, and 

 fishing and navigation followed in most of them. 



The value of the bread^uffs and provisions exported 

 from the United States has progressed as follows : — 

 1845,16,743,421 dollars; 1850, 26,051,373 dollars; 

 1854, 65,901,240 dollars. 



The aggregate domestic exports of the country, 

 which in 1821 were under 65,000,000 dollars, were in 

 1849 131,710,081 dollars, and in 1856 260,438,051 

 dollars; while in 1834 they had been even twelve mil- 

 lion dollars higher. 



We have data from Washington, before us, which, 

 though not very accurate, gives probably a tolerably 

 close estimate of the agricultural produce of the United 

 States in 1855. From these it would appear that the 

 crop of Indian-corn was about 600,000,000 bushels, 

 valued at 300,000,000 dollars; the crop of wheat, 

 165,000,000 bushels, valued at 247,500,000 dollars. 



The oat crop, 170,000,000 bushels, valued at 68 

 million dollars, and potatoes, 110,000,000 bushels, 

 worth 41^ millions dollars. The cotton crop was es- 

 timated at 136 million dollars, while the hay and fodder 

 crop was equal to 160 million dollars. The aggregate 

 of the vegetable products was valued at upwards of 

 £271,000,000 sterling, and the domestic animals and 

 their products at 186J- million pounds more, showing 

 that the agricultural resources of the country are of 

 vast extent and magnitude. From the single port of 

 Chicago alone the grain [and flour exports to Europe 

 are enormous. The shipments in 1855 were equal to 

 16,633,813 bushels, and in 1856 to 21,583,221 bushels, 

 while the general receipts of grain have gone on in- 

 creasing until that city has become the largest grain 

 depot in the world. In 1854, 15,804,423 bushels were 

 received there; in 1855,20,487,973 bushels; and in 

 1856,24,674,824 bushels, a steady annual increase of 20 

 to 30 per cent. The whole shipments from the United 

 States to England in the year ending June 30, 1856, 

 were 8,269,001 bushels of wheat, and 6,704,105 bushels 

 of Indian corn, which was not equal to the collective 

 shipments to diScrent places from the single port of 

 Chicago. 



The British province of Canada is keeping pace with 

 the United States in its grain produce. The wheat crop 

 has increased by some 12,000,000 bushels in five years ; 

 and last year 9,391,531 barrels of flour were exported, 

 against 6,413,428 barrels in the previous year. 



