6 



SorgJuim. — This crop is still cultivated iu all except the New England 

 States, New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Louisiana, Oregon, and Cali- 

 fornia. It is grown merely for its sirup, and more largely iu the "West 

 than elsewhere. The yield per acre is generally about the same as in 

 1873, the average number of gallons per acre being thus reported in the 

 following States: 



States. 



North Carolina 



Georgia 



Tennessee 



Kentucky 



73 



states. 



Ohio.... 

 Imli.iua 

 Illinois . 

 Iowa . . . 



78 

 89 

 92 

 110 



Buckwheat same as last year, nearly 9,000,000 bushels. 

 For further details of these and other crops, the reader is referred to 

 the tables in this number. 



PRICES OF FARM- CROPS. 



Corn. — The price of corn in this country is governed by the quantity 

 grown, the abundance or scarcity of other feeding-material having a 

 slight modifying influence. The foreign demand, averaging between 1 

 and 2 per cent., and reaching in recent years 3 per cent., is too small to 

 be a disturbing element in the market. The commercial assertion, that 

 the foreign value of an exported article fixes its home-price, while par- 

 tially true of wheat, fails almost utterly in its application to corn. So 

 we usually see the lowest prices of corn when we have the largest pro- 

 ducts ; but an average crop of wheat, with larger foreign crops, may 

 bring lower prices than a more i^rolific one with deficient harvest 

 abroad. A reference to the records of estimated production and cur- 

 rent prices in past years illustrates this truth, and at the same time 

 attests the accuracy of the records. The quantity produced and aver- 

 age prices of recent years are as follows : 



In 1868, 906,000,000 bushels, valued at 63 cents per bushel. 



In 1869, 874,000,000 bushels, valued at 75 cents per bushel. 



In 1870, 1,094,000,000 bushels, valued at 54 cents per bushel. 



Iu 1871, 991,000,000 bushels, valued at 48 cents per bushel. 



In 1872, 1,092,000,000 bushels, valued at 39 cents per bushel. 



In 1873, 932,000,000 bushels, valued at 48 cents per bushel. 



In 1874, 854,000,000 bushels, valued at 65 cents per bushel. 



The price in 1873 would have been at least 10 per cent, higher than 

 in 1871, but for the effect of the monetary panic on prices generally. 

 The price at the close of 1872 was 15 cents lower than in 1870, partly 

 from gradual decline in prices and in part because the surplus of old 

 corn was much smaller in the latter year, the combined product of 

 1869-'70 being 1,968,000,000 bushels; of 1871-'72, 2,083,000,000 bushels; 

 a difference of 115,000,000 bushels. At the present time, a season of 

 continued monetary depression, the average price is 65 cents, 10 cents 

 less than in 1869, when the crop was 20,000,000 bushels greater. In 

 1871, a medium crop, with a large surplus of the immense product of 

 1870, and a tendency to lower values generally, caused a reduction of 5 

 cents per bushel. 



The crops of 1809 and 1874 are the shoitest for many years, and the 

 prices naturally the highest. 



