THIRD ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART XII. 725 



Montgomery county last year was, we believe, up to an average so far 

 as agricultural conditions were concerned. Small grains, except on 

 flooded lands, were of a good yield and quality. Some few pieces of corn 

 was damaged by the frost, still the crop as a whole was very good. Hay 

 was a fair yield and potatoes extra good. Pastures were never better 

 than last summer and fall. 



MUSCATINE COUNTY. 



W. 11. Shipman. 



Fair held at West Liberty, August 19 to 22, 1902. 



The attendance and receipts of the fair were both good, and had the 

 rain not interfered with the meeting early in the week it would have 

 been the banner year. 



The exhibits were all good. While some of the grains and farm and 

 garden products were slightly below the average, the whole was very 

 good. We had a good showing in the beef herds in the cattle departments 

 but the exhibit of dairy stock was light. Swine and sheep departments 

 were both well filled. There was an extra good showing of draft horses, 

 and a fair showing in the road classes. 



Corn was a light crop and considerable of it soft. The prospect in 

 July was never better, but the crop was kept from maturing by the rains of 

 the summer. Small grains would have yielded well had it not been for 

 the wet weather which interfered with thrashing. 



A great deal of attention is paid to stock raising, and a great deal of 

 pure bred stuff is produced. 



MUSCATINE COUNTY. 



E. R. King. 



The excessive rains of the summer did a great amount of damage to 

 small grain in shock, causing it to sprout and rot. That which was well 

 stacked was little damaged. Straw ranges all the way from good to 

 worthless. 



The yield of small grains as reported from the different sections was 

 about as follows: Spring wheat, eighteen bushels per acre; winter wheat, 

 thirty-six bushels; oats, forty bushels. Corn yielded about fifty bushels 

 per acre, with twenty per cent of the corn soft. There was an increase of 

 five per cent in the acreage of corn last year over that of the year before, 

 and a corresponding decrease in the acreage of hay land. The latter crop 

 went a ton and a half to the acre and the second crop one half ton. Early 

 potatoes yielded 100 bushels per acre while late ones yielded about one- 

 half that. 



