65 



-^'as a little less than 4 bnsliels per acre. In 1809, immediately after 

 harvesting the wheat, he sowed cow-fteas at the rate of 2 bushels per 

 4icre. Early in October he turned the resultiug crop under with a deep 

 furrow. A few weeks later he sowed on this pea-sod wiieat, harrowing 

 it in carefully. He harvested 9 bushels per acre. He repeated the 

 same process in 1870, and realized 17 J bushels per acre ; and again in 

 1871, followed by a yield of 27 bushels per acre ; and again in 1872, with 

 a promise at the time of reporting of 40 bushels per acre. Throughout 

 this experiment, covering five years, no fertilizer except the cow-pea 

 was applied. 



Production of iron and steel in the United States. — The fol- 

 lowing facts are condensed from a report of the secretary of the 

 American Iron and Steel Association, made at its late annual meet- 

 ing. The number of furnaces in the country, not counting abandoned 

 and projected, is 636. Of these, 41 were completed and put in blast in 1872, 

 and 42 in 1873. These 83 increased the furnace capacity of the country 

 fully one-fourth. The ascertained and estimated numbers of net tons of 

 iron and steel produced in the United States in 1872 and 1873 respect- 

 ively were : 



1872. 1873. 



Iron and steel rails 941,992 850,000 



Other rolled and hammered iron ♦. 1,000,000 980,000 



Forges and bloomeries 58, 000 50, 000 



Cast steel 32,000 28,000 



Bessemer steel 110,500 140,000 



Pig-iron 2,830,070 2,695,434 



Pig-iron is now made in twenty-two States, and the estimated annual 

 cai^acity of all the furnaces for producing it is 4,371,277 net tons. Six- 

 teen States manufacture iron and steel rails,' and of the aggregate 

 Pennsylvania produces 44^ per cent.; Ohio ranks second, and Illinois 

 third ; these two States having exchanged ranks since 1872. New York 

 holds the fourth place. On the 17th of September, the day before the 

 financial crisis, the quoted prices of raw and manufactured iron were as 

 follows : American Bessemer rails, $120 ; iron rails, $75 ; No. 1 pig-iron 

 at Philadelphia, $12; merchant bars at Pittsburgh, 3^ cents; English 

 iron rails at New York, $65, gold ; the prices asked November 1 were, 

 for Bessemer rails at mill, $110; iron rails at mill, $68; best No. 1 

 anthracite pig-iron at Philadelphia, $36; merchant bars at Pittsburgh, 

 3 cents : English iron rails at New York, $60, gold. It is estimated 

 that fully one-third of the 636 furnaces above named were blown out by 

 the 1st of November, and that one-half would be by the end of the 

 month. 



Effects of cold in fattening. — A producer of pork in Muskingum 

 County, Ohio, who has made an experiment with hogs, with a view to 

 ascertain how far cold retards the rate of fattening, reports the follow- 

 ing results : Carefully weighing the hogs fed, and the corn fed to them, 

 and estimating pork at four cents per pound, he found that what he fed 

 out during the first week in October returned (in pork) 80 cents per 

 bushel ; the first week in November, 60 cents ; the third week 40 ; the 

 fourth week in November and the month of December, 25 ; the first 

 half of January, 5; the last half, 0. In the October week of the ex- 

 periment the weather was pleasant and warm. It gradually grew colder 

 till the latter part of November, from which time it remained about 

 stationary till the 1st of January, after which it ran down to zero, and 

 below in the latter ])art of the month. The hogs were well sheltered ia 

 a good pen with plank floor. 

 5 A 



