REPORT OF THE STATISTICIAN. 



349 



CATS. 



The increase in the area of oats, taking the average of five years in 

 comparison with that of ton preceding, is hirge, heiug 53 per cent. It 

 is an advance proportionally larger than that of any other cereal. The 

 reasons are apparent. Heretofore the product ot oats has breu little 

 more than one-fourth as much as of corn ; the climate renders noce.-isai> 

 a large proportion of oats in the ration of horses, as corn is (piite too 

 heating, in summer especially. It is gradually coming into extensive 

 use for human food, and oatmeal begins to figure in the exportiS of grain. 

 Its cultivation is less costly than that of corn. Another cause ma\ be 

 fairly assumed, and proven if questioned, that of the increased weigiit 

 and value of the grain due to extensive and continued selection and in- 

 troduction of heavy oats from ]S^ol^yay, Sweden, Poland, and Scotkind 

 by the Department of Agriculture. In the South there is an unreported 

 area of oats used for winter pasture. It is a practice quite general to 

 pasture for a time in winter the fields intended for harvesting in spring 

 or early summer, in the low latitudes. 



The yield, like that of corn, is lower for the last five years, 26.6 in- 

 stead of 28.4 bushels, in consecjuence of comparatively poor harvests in 

 1880 and 1881. The two periods are thus compared : 



Calendar years. 



Total pro- 

 duction. 



Total area 

 of crop. 



Total value I ^^^f^e 



^..J""^ yi^ld per 

 acre. 



1880 



1881 



1882 



1883 



1884 



Total 



Annual average 



Annual average for proced 

 ing ten yeArs 



liu^hels. Acre*. 



417, 8Ji5,380 16.187,977 



41C, -{81, 000 j 16, S31, GOO 



488, 2. 0, 010 is, 494, 091 



571. 30J, 400 •JO, 324, 062 



583,028,000 21,300.917 



$150, 243, 565 

 193, 198, 970 

 182. 878, 022 

 187,040,204 

 101, 528, 470 



2, -177, 547, 390 93, 140, 147 ] 874, 9«<9, 291 



OeriiU. 

 36.0 

 40.4 

 37.5 

 83.0 

 28.0 



BxuhtU. 

 25.8 

 24.7 

 26.4 

 28.1 

 27.4 



$9 28 

 11 48 

 9 64 



9 27 

 7 58 



49.'), 5119,^78 18,028,029 1 174, 997, 858 ■ 35. 3 j 26. 6 j 



9 39 



314, 441, 178 11, 070, 822 111, 075, 223 



35.3 



2&4 



10 03 



RYE. 



This crop is a small one, scarcely' 1 per ceut. of the cereals of the 

 United States, yet it is increa.sing, having nearly doubled in fifteen 

 years. It is used mainly by the German population, for the black bread 

 of the Fatherland, and to some extent in New England in the produc- 

 tion of what is known elsewhere as the -' Boston brown bread," a mixt- 

 ure of rye and corn-meal. Its use for spirits is very limited in the 

 manufacture of rye whisky. The increase in production over the pre- 

 ceding jieriod of ten years is about 43 i)er cent., while the increase in 

 aggregate value is but o5 per cent. The statement follows: 



Calendar rears. 



Total pro- 

 duction. 



Total area Total value l^iTjfll^er 

 of crop. of crop. ^^1^ 



acru. 



1880. 

 1881. 

 1882. 

 1R83. 

 1884. 



Bv^hels. 

 21.540,829 

 20, 704, 950 

 29, 900, 037 

 28, 058, 583 

 28, 640, 000 



Acres. 



1, 707. 019 

 1,789, 100 



2, 227. SS9 

 2, 3!4, 754 

 2,313,903 



$18, 504, 500 

 19,327,415 

 18.439,191 



10, 300, 503 



11. 857, 040 



Cents. 

 75.0 

 93.3 

 01.5 

 58.0 

 52.0 



Bushels. 

 13.9 

 11.6 

 13.4 

 12.1 

 12.2 



$10 50 

 10 80 

 8 28 

 7 Ot 

 34 



Total ' 131,904,399 10,443.323 ; 87,488,712 



