No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 459 



I have been asked by a number of my friends and fellow-farmers, 

 \Vbat have you new to pi*esent to tbe Board this year on the feed 

 question? This is a hard question to answer, as this has been a 

 year where a majority of the large firms and manufacturers ship- 

 ping feeds into Pennsylvania have put forth their best efforts to 

 coDiply with our law. The weed seed question has been the one 

 that has given us the most trouble. A number of manufacturers 

 who placed weed seeds in their molasses feed have removed the 

 same. We waged a strenuous warfare on the manufacturers of 

 chicken feeds. They were placing on our markets a chicken feed 

 that contains a large amount of whole weed seeds. This was con- 

 trary to our law. The Secretary ordered prosecution and we secured 

 conviction in all cases. 



I present to you a sample of a certain chicken feed which has 

 a large sale in our markets and which contained large quantities of 

 weed seeds. I present to you a second sample that we found was 

 composed of good cereals. This is a good lesson and will show you 

 what good effe-ct our law is when properly enforced. We find that 

 the great trouble has been in the past with our own people. They 

 do not take time to look into these subjects, and in place of buying 

 good red wheat, good clean oats, buckwheat and corn to feed their 

 chickens, which they can buy at a fair market value, they will go 

 to the store and bu^- a feed that has been compounded or mixed 

 by some firm in the far West and pay a price ranging from two to 

 two and one-half cents a pound or from forty to fifty dollars per 

 ton. , 



Here is what a member of the Board of Trade of St. Louis says 

 in regard to these persons who come to attend the Board and buy 

 grains to compound chicken feeds: "There are a dozen buyer* 

 there every day for chicken feed, wheat, corn and oats so badly 

 damaged they cannot use it for any other purpose." 



Pennsylvania is a great agricultural state and has great possi- 

 bilities, if she could have her sons and daughters engaged in agri- 

 cultural pursuits ; but they go to towns and cities to make their for- 

 tunes and leave the old farm. How many of them succeed we cannot 

 toll, nor can we tell how many fail, but in our visit to Pittsburg 

 last week, the cry of the rich was to return to the farm, and if our 

 young people could understand the conditions that exist in the cities, 

 this table might be of some benefit to them. If you will take the 

 time to read this table when this report is published, you will find 

 that it contains some very encouraging data in regard to the aver- 

 age production of Pennsylvania. I would call your attention to a 

 few of the cereals: 



We will take barley. We find that the average production in' the 

 United States is 21 bushels, and that Pennsylvania produces 25 

 bushels, or an increase of four bushels. 



Shelled corn. United States, 23.9 bushels; Pennsylvania, 44.5 

 bushels. Oats, United States, 24.4 bushels; Pennsylvania, 28.3 

 bushels. (Leaf) Tobacco, United States, 893,7 pounds per acre; 

 Pennsylvania, 1,420 pounds per acre. In summing up the value per 

 acre of barley, buckwheat, corn, hay, oats, potatoes, tobacco and 

 wheat, we find the average money value per acre in the United 



