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Fayette, Tex.—Up to 303° north latitude we have as fine a sugar-growing region and 
¢limate as could be desired, and now that cheaper modes of manufacture are brought 
to notice, through the introduction of sorghum, small planters and men of limited 
means can turn their attention to this staple profitably. 
Clark, Miss.—Much might be accomplished by an association of planters of each town- 
ship, or of the whole county, to be called the “Experimental Association,” offering pre- 
miums to any member of the association that should, by an experiment on a given 
amount of land, produce the largest crop of wheat, rye, oats, barley, grasses, or any 
other kind of crops not generally grown in the county. Such a course would lead to a 
discovery of such untried crops as would yield well, the kind of land suited for such 
productions, fertilizers, &c. 
Henry, Mo.—In 1868 many thousand acres of wheat were sown in this county, the 
seed costing $2.50 per bushel. The crop gave splendid promise in May, but rainy 
weather set in May 26, continuing to July 4, keeping the straw green about fifteen 
days after the ordinary time of harvest. This cut the crop down to an average yield 
of about 17 bushels, while not less than 30 bushels was confidently expected. The 
crop was sold at from 70 cents to $1 per bushel. It was claimed that the price realized 
only paid for the outside, or hired labor, and the farmer received no compensation for 
his labor or use of land. In 1870, 1871, and 1872 it has again been tried, with loss, in 
almost every instance caused principally by the attacks of chinch-bugs, and the price has 
improved but very little. Low prices must continue so long as railroads continue to 
charge double rates west of the Mississippi, as compared with the East. 
MIDDLE-MEN AND MONOPOLIES. 
Middie-men, although not producers, are necessary and useful in their le- 
gitimate sphere; but they become, when using their facilities for combina- 
tion to depress prices of products in first hands, a terrible scourge, often 
taking, for a small service, more than half the market-value of a com- 
modity, and leaving for the producer less than the cost of production. 
This evil was treated fully in the annual report of 1870, but a glimpse 
of it as it exists in 1873 is given from our returns: 
Middlesex, Mass.—The discouragement of farmers arises from the presence of middle- 
men, who absorb an undue proportion of the profits. As society is at present con- 
structed, these seem a permanent evil, for farmers cannot combine over a sufficient 
ex'ent of territory, or for a long enough time, to influence the markets. The milk-pro- 
ducers have made the attempt, and the effect has been to extend the areaof competition. 
The wholesale-men buy milk at remote stations on the railroads, where the cost of rais- ° 
ing it is less than here, and thus force the price; and railroads carry for them under 
- contract, and will not take individual cans at the same rates for our producers. When 
hay is $35 per ton, and land and taxes correspondingly high, even six cents a quart, 
with average cows, will constitute a loss. When land is low in value, and hay $8 or 
$10 per ton, 3 cents a quart for milk may give a profit to the producers. Thus—aver- 
age yield per cow, 1,300 quarts, at 6 cents per quart, is $78. The cow eats the equiva- 
lent of three tons of hay a year, at $35 per ton, $105. Loss, $27. Again, 1,300 quarts, 
at 3 cents, $39; 3 tons of hay a year, at $10 per ton, cost $30, leaving a profit of $9. 
However, the farmer nearer the market, and subject to a greater competition, necessa- 
rily keeps a lot of dairy cows far above the average, and this theoretical difference 
would not hold. The effect of this competition has already forced the sale of dairy 
stock in some neighboring towns, and a change in the system of farming. 
Sussex, N. J.—Another cause of discouragement among farmers is the way they are 
robbed by middle-men. For example: the farmer does all the hard work in seeding 
the land, gathering the hay, pasturing, foddering, and stabling the cows, and in milk- 
ing them and delivering the milk at the railway-station. He gets for this, on an 
average, between 3 and 4 cents per quart, while the parties to whom he sells, with but 
little trouble, dispose of it at 10 cents per quart. The farmer remains a poor man, or 
only makes a comfortable living, while the other realizes a fortune in a very few years. 
Again, the milk delivered at the depot does not all reach New York, as thirsty laborers 
and railroad employés regard the cans as public property, and the loss from short 
measure is charged to the farmer, who also has returned to him as “sour” what the 
New York man may be unable to dispose of in summer when milk is plenty. : 
Richland, Ohio.—The capital causes of discouragement are found in the rings, cliques, 
and combinations among speculators and middle-men, from the buyer on the street, np 
through the entire chain of harpies, to the gigantic railroad monopoly ; the last men- 
tioued of which nothing less than the strong arm of Government can_suecessfully 
grapple with. From the pea-nut boy at the street-corner, up through all the varied 
