DIGEST OF STATE EEPORTS. 509 



Black mustard ia a crop that delights in a saudy soil, aud leaves a lar^^c amouut of 

 leaves and stalks to enrich it. All of this refuse should be allowed to rot on the sur- 

 face, or be buried iu the soil -uhile green. Fctt crops, ^Thentho modes of handling are 

 understood, yield more profit. Mustard-seed is brouf^ht to market as mustard-llour, 

 or manufactured into table oil, iu the production of which it rivals the rape, olive, and 

 almond. Mustard seeds itself, aud the land only requires ■working with a cultivator 

 or harrow each spring as a iireparation for the crop. When required for other crops, 

 the land is easily cleared by turning under the green plants, or by cultivating corn. 

 The soil would increase in quality by continued croppiugs of mustard, as it does not 

 exhaust the salts. 



Hemp is another crop vrhich yields a very large amount of leaves, chafl", roots, and 

 stems. If the leaves are left in rotting, and the shives are returned to the ground, 

 they will be sufiicieut to maintain the fertility, and the soil will never depreciate while 

 cultivated with hemp. If there is sufficient humus in the soil to force the crop, return- 

 ing the refuse afterward is all the soil requires. Hemp-fiber is almost pure carbon, aud 

 the seeds arc not allowed to mature when fiber is the object of the ci'op ; therefore, 

 as it takes the smallest portion of salts from the soil, it exhausts the soil less than any 

 other cultivated crop. Its true value is less understood than any crop grown bj' our 

 farmers. It is safe to estimate that for liber it will produce from $75 to $100 i)er 

 acre, and for seed from $5U to i^To. There is no doubt of the possibility of growing and 

 maturing hemp iu Wisconsin of better fiber than farther south. The seeds may be sown 

 in the fall, too late to sprout, or at the earliest possible i>eriod in the spring, on lauds 

 ])repared in the fall. The young plants, unlike tlax, are not destroyed by spring frosts. 

 When grown for fiber hemp kills all other plants, as it covers and shades the entire 

 sui-face. For seed it must be grown iu drills, and cultivated iu its early growth. The 

 yield is as high as 40 bushels of seed to the acre. Unlike ordinary farm-crops, it pre- 

 fers the same tract of land from year to year, if its refuse is left on the ground. 



The writer states tliat the single-flowered or opium poppy is another 

 crop which thrives on these lauds. The great value of this crop consists 

 in the very large crop of seeds — from 20 to 40 bushels of CO pounds to 

 the acre — which are gathered by cutting oflt' the b^flls, so that all the 

 leaves and stalks are left on the ground to enrich it. An important fact 

 to bo borne iu mind is that mustard, hemp, and the opium-poppy will 

 yield abundant crops on soils too thin for even the production of grass. 

 Such sandy lands as naturally grow only the most noxious weeds will 

 produce these crops in abundance; and for the amount of vegetable 

 matter they will yield, iu the form of tap-roots, leaves, and stems, in a 

 very few yeiu-s they will convert drifting sands into a soil capable of 

 yielding good crops of clover, grass, and grain. 



The same Avriter contributes a paper on hemp culture. He regards 

 the climate and soil of Wisconsin as peculiarly adapted to the growth 

 of this staple, and gives directions for its planting, cultivation, aud the 

 preparation of its fiber for market. As the annual reports of this 

 Department contain all necessary information on these points, we refer 

 only to what Mr. Knapp says, as to the profits of hemp culture : 



Rough-dressed lint, as it comes from the break, has sold at Saint Louis during thi; 

 spring of 1872 at $70, common ; $80, good ; $90, prime ; $92 to $100, strictly prime to 

 choice ; $175 to $180, dressed ; good hackled tow at $80 per bale of 500 pounds. Tliese 

 prices make the lint worth 14, 16, 18, and 35 cents per pound, respectively. New York 

 quotations are still higher. Land which will yield 50 bushels of corn, or 12 of wheat, 

 •will produce a thousand pounds of undressed lint iier acre. The average crop in Ken- 

 tucky and Missouri has been from 800 to 1,000 pounds of dew-rotted lint per acre. 

 Wisconsin ought to give as large a yield. Eaised for seed, its yield is from ".0 to 45 

 bushels per acre, worth $1.50 per bushel or more, aud the coarse lint from the seed- 

 straw is worth $60 a bale, which will more than pay the cost of cultivation. Thus it 

 will readily be seen that but few crops will surjiass it in profit. Last year alarmer 

 near Kankakee, Illinois, was paid $100 for the hemp-straw which grew on an acre of 

 land, after it had been rotted on the grouiul where it grew. 



Mr. David Williams contributes a paper containing some valuable 

 statistics as to the cost of building and the keeping iu repair of fences. 

 As available timber for fencing diminishes, the importance of this ques- 

 tion assumes a rapidly increasing interest. Mr. Williams says : 



