: 
528 - REPORT OF TUE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 
The estimated corn area harvested for grain is 72,392,720 acres; 
product, 1,456,161,000 bushels; value, $646,106,770. 
The preliminary report of winter wheat area indicated a decrease 
of about 2 per cent. The later estimates made the decline still less, 
scarcely more than 1 per cent. The spring wheat area showed a 
much larger increase, making the total area in wheat 37,641,783 
against 36,806,184, or an increase of over 2 per cent. on the entire 
acreage. 
The condition of winter wheat in June was fairly good upon a 
large portion of the breadth, and suffered little reduction up to the 
time of harvest. The injury from the Hessian fly was slight, though 
its presence was indicated locally in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Vir- 
ginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Ili- 
nois. Ina few small districts serious losses from these pests are re- 
ported. 
In June the depredations of chinch-bugs began to be serious in 
the winter wheat of Maryland and Virginia, and in the spring wheat 
of southeastern Minnesota. In some districts in northern [linois 
spring wheat was nearly destroyed by them. The losses of wheat 
have this year been due to insects much more than to drought. 
The crop as harvested, of both winter and spring wheat, makes an 
average of slightly over 12.1 bushels per acre, which is precisely the 
average of eight years past. The winter wheat averages 12.1 bush- 
els, and the spring wheat 12.2 bushels, both slightly lower than in 
1886. 
The relative yields of the principal spring-wheat districts compare 
with last year as follows: 
Years. | Wisconsin, | Minnesota, Dakota. | Iowa. | Nebraska. 
awe | 
Ihsclto.p ponue SOA OOnO OCo0 SoC URRODO UMM GonOnoeCOGIaOS 11.5 14.0 | 11.5 | 12.2 11.0 
eth SeeooscnneduraneadeaunsocuCduoUDUdoD Hd emnDs 10.3 11.6 | 14.3} 10.0 10.1 
| 
The most manifest difference is the reversal of conditions in Min- 
nesota and Dakota, caused by the destructive presence of chinch- 
bugs and drought in southeastern Minnesota this year, and the com- 
parative exemption from both evils in Dakota. The comparison of 
averages of condition of these States the Ist of August, 1886 and 
1887, just before the harvest, shows an expectation which foreshad- 
ows substantially the result as given in the above yields: 
Years. waconsi Minnesota.} Dakota. | Iowa. “Nebraska, 
| 
TEGO 53 God Jooadan dongs 605 54508 eo0AsaIoNboPoBSDeae 73 80 62 97 2 
is ey) poLe Sen dio absdBdaon boss rnuaoop reac aobeadonsa 73 74 88 72 17 
The September report of condition when harvested, in 1886, raised 
80 to 87 in Minnesota and increased 73 to 78 for Wisconsin, show- 
ing a better result than had been expected in those States. The 
whole course of the season’s conditions has this year been favorable 
to Dakota wheat, and comparatively unfavorable to that of the re-_ 
mainder of the spring-wheat district, a part of Minnesota especially. 
The yield of the remaining cereals has been nearly an average the 
present year, as in the case of wheat. 
