88 



■and supplemeuts lier hay-crops with corn-fodder, pea-vines, straw, &c. 

 In North Carolina crab-grass hay is added to the other materials ; 89 

 per cent, of the corn-crop is consumed at home. South Carolina adds 

 to the miscellaneous list turnips, cotton-seed, rice-straw, rice-bran, 

 &c. In this South Atlantic coast region the tendency to allow inferior 

 classes of animals to shift for themselves daring tbe winter-season is 

 more observable in the lower latitudes. Florida also uses a miscel- 

 laneous list of semi-tropical materials to supplement hay and corn. The 

 Gulf States generally use the same class of feed as Florida. Work- 

 animals appear to be generally fed upon grain, but to other classes it is, 

 as a general thing, given sparingly if at all. 



Tennessee uses 86 per cent.; West Virginia, 92 per cent. ; Kentucky, 

 87 per cent. In addition to hay and corn, these States use large 

 quantities of corn-fodder, Hungarian-grass, straw, millet, &c. A more 

 copious grain-feeding is practiced than in the States farther South. 

 Work-animals, fattening-cattle, and milch-cows receive the most of this 

 nourishment, but stock-cattle and sheep are also fed in many places. 



So far as indicated by the counties reporting — for it is not given as 

 the exact average for the entire crop of the State — Ohio feeds 82 per 

 cent, of her corn-crop in counties where it is grown ; Michigan, 89 per' 

 cent.; Indiana, 80 per cent. ; Illinois, 73 per cent. ; Wisconsin, 91 per cent. 

 The hay-crop is supplemented by about the same materials as in the 

 Eastern States within the same parallel. There is the same difference also 

 in the liberality with which grain is dealt to different classes of animals; 

 tlie tendency is toward a more rational and generous diet. 



West of the Mississipi)i, Minnesota consumes at home 98 per cent, of 

 her corn ; Iowa, 75 per cent. ; Missouri, 92 per cent.; Kansas and Nebras- 

 ka, 93 per cent. In the two States last named this statement should be 

 taken of average years. The grasshopper devastations last year mate- 

 rially reduced the crop. They almost entirely absorbed the surplus. 

 In the older- settled parts of this region the tendency is to feed more 

 grain to stock of all kinds, while in the newer settlements the traditional 

 I)ioneer policy of partial starvation still prevails. 



On the Pacific coast the volunteer crops of grain furnish a very nutri- 

 tive forage when mowed and cured as hay. Corn is not a very abun- 

 dant crop in that region, and hence but a small quantity finds its way to 

 market. In some cases barley is used to fatten hogs. In some parts of 

 Oregon hay is only given to poor cows, those in better condition being 

 able to forage for themselves. A few counties in the Territories provide 

 grain for live stock ; others utilize straw, fodder, and other vegetable 

 matter, but in most of our reports it is stated that animals are turned 

 upon the range to shift for themselves during winter. 



Cost of wiNTERiNa. — Horses : In New England the cost of win- 

 tering horses is greatest in Khode Island. This fact may be explained 

 by the proximity of the agricultural regions to the town and city mar- 

 kets. The farmers in this State obtained higher prices for hay and corn 

 during the last year than in any other State in the Union; hay there 

 averaged $24,66 per ton ; corn $1.18 per bushel, and oats 73 cents. The 

 averages of States were as follows: Maine, 837; New Hampshire, $37; 

 Vermont, $38; Massachusetts, $45; Ehode Island, $48; Connecticut, 

 $45. 



These figures are made from the averages of counties reporting, with 

 due reference to the prices of feeding-material in those and in the re- 

 maining counties. 



In the Middle States the maximum cost of wintering horses, $48 



