é LIBRARY 
MONTHLY REPORT. NEW YORK 
BOTANICAL 
GARDEN 
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 
Statistical Division, January 31, 1876. 
Sir: I herewith submit a digest of January returns of the compara- 
tive numbers and home prices of farm- animals in the several States, 
with the respective rate of yield and current prices in December of the 
principal farm-products of last season. I include, also, material from 
the chemist, microscopic observations, and minor facts in statistics and 
agriculture. 
J. R. DODGE, 
Statistician. 
Hon. FREDERICK WATTS, 
Commissioner. 
DIGEST OF MONTHLY RETURNS. 
The present report contains digests of the returns made in January 
of the present year of comparative numbers and prices of farm-animals; ' 
- and also of the returns of the yield per acre and prices of farm-products. 
These returns, in connection with the previous returns of quantity of 
farm-products, form the basis, when carefully combined and analyzed, 
of the estimates of the year, which are published in the annual volume. 
COMPARATIVE NUMBERS AND PRICES OF FARM-ANIMALS. 
NuMBERS.—The numbers of farm-animals, as indicated by the esti- 
mates of correspondents, are not keeping pace with the advance of the 
country in population. Horses appear to have made the greatest in- 
crease, amounting to about 3 per cent.; cows are more numerous by 1 
or 2 per cent., while other descriptions of cattle have not increased. 
Sheep are found in larger numbers only in the more western States, the 
aggregate being little larger than that of last year. Swine appear to 
have decreased about 8 per cent. This may be correct, as no stock of 
the farm is so subject to rapid fluctuations in numbers, very few being 
kept more than two years, and quite a large and increasing proportion 
~ of pigs being killed before a year old. The States showing the largest 
_increase in cattle are Nebraska, Oregon, Minnesota, Louisiana, Iowa, no 
others having more than 3 per cent. advance. Minnesota, California, 
® Oregon, and Arkansas have the largest percentages of milch-cows. 
“Nebraska shows the largest proportion of horses, in comparison with 
=> last year’s record, followed by Oregon, Texas, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, 
West Virginia, and North Carolina. The largest increase in sheep is 
~- in Kansas, Nebraska, Florida, Texas, Minnesota, and Oregon. 
PRICES.—The prices of horses of all ages appear to have retrograded 
very generally during the year. The only exceptions are Texas, Kansas, 
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