108 REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE 
thirty per cent; but of those living in cities forty per cent; from 18 
to 1880 the increase in population was sixty per cent, but of those 
living in cities, 123 per cent. Nearly one-fourth of all our people live | 
in cities, and since then the number has vastly increased, and I think © 
relatively so. We see then that agriculturally the consumers are ie 
increasing far more rapidly than the producers. % 
Second. The number of farms in the United States has nearly doubled 
(ninety-six per cent increase) from 1860 to 1880, while the average _ 
acreage in the farms has diminished during this same period thirty- — fF: 
three per cent; both facts of very great significance as evidence that 
the area of arable land was diminished relative to the increase in the ‘NN 
number of those who desire to engage in agriculture. 
Third. While the area in farms increased from 1860 to 1880 ‘hase 
two per cent, the improved land in farms increased seventy-five per 
cent, showing that increase of tiilable lands was mainly secured by 
improving lands already occupied. ; fa 
Fourth. While the improvements of lands has gone on rapidly, the 
farms have been growing steadily smaller, the improved lands in farms 
having fallen off from 1860 to 1880 eleven per cent, while the unim- 
proved land on farms diminished forty-seven per cent. 
Fifth. And to this I call your particular attention in connection with 
this so-called overproduction. The statistician of the department of 
agriculture, in a recent report, after an extended investigation of the 
subject of agriculture exports, says: “It appears that the proportion - 
of all agricultural products exported is about ten per cent, or, exclu- 
sive of cotton and tobacco, five per cent.” ; 
Now of our agricultural products exported there are four only 
which constitute nearly ninety-two per cent of the total value of exports, — 
z.: Corn, wheat, meats and cotton, but even including these, we i! 
consume in this country ninety per cent of the products of our a 
agriculture. 
Sixth. I have taken the statistics of production of ourleading crops 
during the years 1866 to 1886 both inclusive, and, dividing this into — 
three periods of seven years each,I find that during the second ~ 
period the total crop production increased practically the same upon ~ 
the average with the increase in acreage devoted to these crops over 
the average and yield of the first period. The increase in acreage 
averaged thirty-five per cent and that of crops thirty-three per cent 
more during the second than during the first period. 
But during the third period the average increase in acreage was 
forty-five per cent while the average increase of crops was but thirty- 
five per cent, thus showing a falling off in average acreage produ a 
