STATISTICS MISCELLANEOUS. 799 



Reports of director and treasurer of West Virginia Station, 1891 ( West Vir- 

 ginia Sta. Rpt. 1891, pp. 4-20).— The texts of the Hatch Act of March 2, 1887, of the 

 State act accepting appropriations from the United States Government for the 

 establishment and maintenance of an agricultural experiment station, and of State 

 legislation relative to commercial fertilizer inspection are given, together with 

 remarks on the plan of the station organization and work, and a financial statement 

 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1891. 



Ontario agricultural statistics, 1896 (Ontario Bureau Ind. Rpt. 1S96, pp. 1-155). — 

 This gives the acreage and classification of the assessed farm lands of each of the 

 counties of Ontario in 1895 and 1896; acreage under pasture for the 5 years ending 

 1896; acreage under crops for each of the years 1892 to 1896, and the average for the 

 15 years 1882 to 1896; yield in bushels of the different farm crops for 1895 and 1896 

 and the average yield for the 15 years ending with 1896; extracts from remarks of 

 correspondents on crop and live stock conditions during 1896; data showing the 

 acreage in gardens, vineyards, and orchards and the number of trees of bearing age, 

 and the yield of apples in 1895 and 1896; statistics on the weather noted elsewhere 

 (see p. 731); live stock, dairy, and apiary statistics, with the name and post-office 

 address of the secretary of each cheese factory in the Province; value of farm prop- 

 erty, live stock, and farm crops for each of the 15 years 1882 to 1896; and the rate 

 of wages paid farm laborers by the year and by the month with and without board 

 for each of the years 1892 to 1896 and the average for the 15 years ending with 1896. 



There is an almost regular decrease in the value of farm lands for the past 14 

 years, the decrease in 1896 being $15,470,202 over the preceding year, and $97,324,745 

 over the year 1883; the total value of all farm property, including buildings, imple- 

 ments, and live stock has also decreased since 1883, being more than $51,000,000 less 

 than at that time. The rate of wages paid farm laborers in general shows a constant 

 decline, each year's average being less than the previous year and less than the aver- 

 age for the preceding 15 years. 



Farm statistics of Michigan, 1896-97 {Rpt. Sec. State Michigan, 1896-97, pp. 

 XLIX, 123). — This gives the acreage and yield of farm and orchard crops, and the 

 number and kinds of farm animals in the State in 1897, together with the number of 

 sheep and the wool production of 1896. 



Agricultural improvements at the Meerut demonstration farm in 1896 (Agr. 

 Ledger (Agr. ser., Xo. 17), 1896, Xo. IS, pp. 5). 



Report of the superintendent of farmers' institutes of the Province of Ontario 

 1896-"97, F. W. Hodsox (j>p. XL, App.pp. 240). — A review of the work of the year 

 with lists of officers, meetings, speakers, subjects, etc. ; data showing membership of 

 local farmers' institutes, meetings held, attendance, cash receipts and expenditures, 

 etc. ; and an appendix containing reprints of 93 selected papers read at different 

 institutes duriug the season. The summarized statement of the author shows that 

 3,277 addresses on agricultural topics were delivered during the year, and that 659 

 meetings were held, with a total attendance of 125,127 persons. 



Dates and places of farmers' institutes in Pennsylvania for the season of 

 1897-'98 (Pennsylvania Dept. Agr. Bui. 25, pp. 8). 



Experiment station work — I (U.S. Dept. Agr. Farmers' Bui. 56, pp.31). — This is 

 the first of a series of brief popular bulletins based upon the work of the agricul- 

 tural experiment stations, the object of which is to show some features of the prog- 

 ress of agricultural investigation on its practical side. The following topics are 

 briefly treated : Good vs. poor cows, corn vs. wheat, effect of rations richer and poorer 

 in protein, forage crops for pigs, Robertson silage mixture, alfalfa, effect of ferti- 

 lizers on the proportion of grain to straw or stover, comparative fertilizing value of 

 different phosphates, the harmful effects on soils of the continued use of muriate of 

 potash, recent progress in tho study of irrigation, potato scab, and barnyard manure. 

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