476 AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



corn iu the ear. Ground and coolied feed will make more pork for the 

 amount of corn consumed than if fed in its raw state, or in the ear. 



7th. Upon the subject of disease among hogs, and its cure, but little 

 interest was manifested, although reports came iuof the prevalence of 

 disease and destruction of many hogs during the year. 



IOWA. 



The report of the secretary of the Iowa State Agricultural Society for 

 the year 1871 contains a vast amount of statistical information, show- 

 ing the x)rogress of agricultural and other productive industries of the 

 State, the business transactions of the society, the list of premiums offer- 

 ed and awarded at the State fair for this year, reports from various com- 

 mittees and special experimenters, besides essays on dairying, fencing 

 in Iowa, feeding hogs, on farm stock, draining, cheese- making, &c. 

 There are also appended to the report the proceedings of the second an- 

 nual niQieting of the Iowa Bee-keepers' Association, and the proceedings 

 of the Eastern Iowa Horticultural Society. 



The report shows, first, an increase of the average of the cereals, with 

 improved quality and increased quantity of corn, wheat, oats, and bar- 

 ley ; second, marked improvement in farm stock, and a perceptibly 

 growing attention to sheep; third, greater success and faith in the cul- 

 ture of sorghum ; fourth, a gratifying tendency to a more varied sys- 

 tem of husbandry ; fifth, more systematic utilization of fertilizers ; sixth, 

 an improvement in the varieties, and the best crop of tame grasses har- 

 vested for several years ; and, seventh, a marked degree of advance- 

 ment in all the departments of taste and refinement, exhibited in fruits, 

 flowers, and the ornamentation of farms and homes. 



The corn crop for this year was enormous. Estimating the area cul- 

 tivated at 2,500,000 acres, or nearly one-fourth of all the land in culti- 

 vation in the State, and the yield at 40 bushels per acre, and the entire 

 product will be 100,000,000 bushels. This increase in the production of 

 corn brought with it a proportionate increase in hogs, cattle, and other 

 farm stock, the greatest increase, however, being observable in the in- 

 creased number and quality of hogs. 



There has also been a large increase in the number of sheep reared 

 and pounds of wool produced. Taking the returns of the last census 

 as a basis, the secretary estimates the number of sheep within the State 

 at one and a half millions, and the shipments of wool at nearly or quite 

 5,000,000 of pounds. The shipments from ascertained sources reached 

 3,074,674 pounds. As in many other States, dogs continue their depre- 

 dations, and many valuable flocks are continually being decimated by 

 their nocturnal visits. In 1854 the number of dogs within the State 

 was given at 86,060 ; in 1860 the number had increased to 125,207, and 

 in 1868 to 147,623. The number has greatly increased since and is now 

 estimated at 170,250. Laws passed with a view to their extermination, 

 by the imposition of a heavy tax, remain unexecuted. 



Increasing interest is manifested in the cultivation of sorghum. 

 Thirty-four counties report a crop averaging from 100 to 300 gallons per 

 acre. The yield of syrup from the crop of 1870 was 2,079,480 gallons, 

 and that of sugar 16,500 pounds. The yield of syrup for this year, 

 based upon returns already received, is estimated at 3,500,500 gallons, 

 with a corresponding increase in the production of sugar. Mr. William 

 Smay, of Story County, was awarded a i^remium by the society for the 

 largest yield of syrup per acre. He planted one acre and forty-four 

 rods of the Otaheitan variety, and one hundred and forty-four rods of 



