35 



SORGHUM IN MORROW COUNTY, OHIO. 



Morroic County^ Ohio. — A very small amount of sorglium is raised in 

 this county compared witli tlie crop of a few years ago. The reasons 

 are, poor seed, carelessness in planting- and cultivating, and a disgust 

 among farmers for the poor, tarry molasses made for them. A "few 

 of us have tried to encourage the cultivation of this product by intro- 

 ducing machinery suitable for manufacturing. D. B. Neal, of this place, 

 has invented a series of pans, defecators, &c., so that a good commercial 

 article can be made with profit. The writer has molasses on hand of 

 his own make that will compare favorably- with the best of sirups. 



TEXAS CATTLE IN KANSAS. 



Cherokee Countyj Kans. — Immense droves of Texas cattle are arriving 

 in and passing through our county. They have lost eight per cent, ot' 

 the cattle on wintering them to J?inuarj" 1 ; cattle arrive poor and thin, 

 unused to cold climate, too wild to nurse, will not eat corn, and cannot 

 endure the severe weather. 



STATISTICS OF ADA COUNTY, IDAHO. 



Ada County, Idaho. — In referring to the records of the United States 

 Land Office, I find that only 137 homesteads and 428 pre-emption claims 

 have as yet been filed, (ninety per cent, of which are located in this 

 county,) but it may be safely estimated that over 200,000 acres have 

 been inclosed and are under cultivation in this county. 



Seven threshiug machines have been doing all the threshing in this 

 county during the season, and from the reports of their operations the 

 following figures will show the grain crop of 1809 : In Boise Valley, 207,784 

 bushels ; Weaver Valley, 15,000 bushels : in Payette Valley, 10,1)00— total, 

 232,784. This amount can be safely classified as follows : Three-eighths 

 wheat, two-eighths oats, two-eighths barley, and one-eighth rye. In giv- 

 ing the total value of the grain crop for 1809, I quote the average price 

 paid bv the mill owners at this place as follows: Wheat, 8,729 bushels, 

 at $2 25, $196,4115 oats, 58,190 bushels, at 90 cents, $52,376 40; bar- 

 ley, 58,196 bushels, at 81 20, $69,835; rve, 29,098 bushels, at $1 40, 

 $40,737 20— total, in coin rates, $559,359 60. 



The estimated yield per acre varies from eighteen to forty bushels, 

 depending a great deal on locations and opportunities for irrigation. 

 Had not the grasshoppers visited the country last season the crops would 

 have been at least one-third larger. In many instances the grain was 

 prematurely harvested, and in some instances it did not get its growth. 

 The soil and climate do not seem favorable for Indian corn, as but little 

 was raised last year, and that which I have examined bears no compari- 

 son with the corn raised in the Middle States. 



The potato crop averaged one hundred and twenty-five bushels per 

 acre, but as the supply by far exceeds the demand it is not looked npon 

 as worth close attention, and many acres are left in the ground for hogs 

 or feed for other stock, or j^laced in cellars, or covered np in the fields, 

 without an attempt to estimate the quantity. Mr. Clayton, a farmer on 

 Crane's Gulch near this city, informs me that he planted last season 

 three pounds of Early Eose, which yielded three hundred and tv»^euty-flve 

 pounds, and three hundred pounds Goodrich, yielding twelve thousand 

 pounds; also ninety-six sweet-potato plants, which yielded six hundred 

 pounds J he also informs me that he, in person, harvested a row of Good- 



