CDE eS ee are a A . 
$2.04 cr » > ¥" Yes ate MET = rd s oe “ 
BME RT 5S yy ids 
i 
Be. , (| ) REPORT OF ‘Th STATISTICIAN. | 549. 
producing considerably more than. nine-tenths of all. Even in this 
region the industry is now beginning to decline, and the-causes given - 
~by correspondents are the same.as have caused its virtual abandon- 
ment farther east. Many returns from Iowa and Wisconsin agree 
that under existing conditions it is not a profitable crop, being very - 
hard on any but fresh soil, and the seed alone not paying for its 
growth. 
‘In connection with the above estimate for 1887, a table has been 
compiled from returns of State boards of agriculture or assessors’ 
returns for the flax States, showing, in comparison with the census 
returns for 1879, the acreage and product of seed in 1885 and 1886 
_. and the estimated acreage of the present year. The Department does ' 
not hesitate to say that it believes these State returns generally too 
low—on the whole perhaps 10 per cent. below the truth—on account 
of the almost universal tendency of assessors to underrate both acre- 
~ age and product. 
Bushels State returns. 
of seed | 
States. (census | | oo | 
returns), |... oo- | Dushels o ~ Bushels of = 
1879. Acres, 1885 | seed, 1885. Acres, 1886. seed, 1886. Acres, 1887. 
° | : 
ROME. cS Soe a ctelesapces bs 593, 217 16, 680 | 5 BE) Cl Bee C| Once eo Goch bcacns. 
ARMIAMAe fos kcet Bie thes 2S 1,419,172 | 21,97 | 161,681 | 18, 268 153, 128 14, 000 
LINEA OS ea SS OS a 1, 8i2, 438 | 21,744 | 198, 823 | 13, 231 117,593 10, 184 
WIREONISIDN A (2000 eh as 2 wei Se BAC; 104 eee eee: 8S, 219 | UY (UG) Oneal CREME rr once 
MPRA RODE oc, ai. hs de ole Sets. s  < 9B G89) |S. Boe <ttein ett 2, 246, O77 | 204,147 | 1,508,771 170, 225 
LGN 2 Aol Re Go ee a es, ae 1,511,131 | 303,708 | 2,663,073 | 291,560 | 2,332,480 271, 161 
GRISEA Ge as wnt. ophte oo ch Sule oie 513,616 |, 122,199 | 819, 949 | 37, 904 879, 040 132, 580 
ISLET CEES Sas Se eee 77, 805 65, 728 COPE 54 Sos cc RAS clas ae wean ae eee ee 2 
IHREN eect e st dacaioe oe kts | 26, 757 364,823 | 2,916,983 549,189 | 3,844, 323 366, 126 
I u 
Chicago, Saint Louis, and Milwaukee are the great flaxseed markets 
and our correspondents generally speak of their products as going di- 
rectly or indirectly to these great marts. Thereare scattered through 
the producing region numbers of local oil-mills, which take a por- 
tion of the crop without the expense of long shipments, but the bulk 
of the crop finally reaches some of the great central markets. In 
Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois mills which formerly consumed a consid- 
erable portion of the local grown seed have been compelled to go out 
of the business on account of the refusal of farmers to grow it for 
them, and for others yet running it is only grown by cultivators to 
whom the mill-men lend the seed for sowing, the planters taking too 
little interest to preserve their own seed. 
The receipts and shipments of seed in the three principal Western 
markets for a series of years is thus shown: 
Chicago. Milwaukee. Saint Louis. 
Year. 
Receipts. |Shipments.| Receipts. |Shipments.| Receipts. | Shipments. 
Bushels. Bushels. Bushels. Bushels. Bushels. Bushels. 
Pest OM cc ene ee 4,923,091 | 4,332,047 | 1,104,663 944, 637 | . 1,260, 727 656, 952 
7 (3.022 aie OE nn GRRE Be Ae oe ha 3,079,285 | 3,003,591 911,816 800, 218 384, 434 342, 672 
[Sh LES eae, eee ome See ee 3,679,530 | 3,083,812 | 1,207,499 | 1,044, 159 536, 009 141,377 
is theaeig  e Se On EOeEE chee 6, 770, 657 5, 567, 526 2, 280, 855 2, 183, 750 436, 105 102, 77 
os SOG, SS 1 Pie 7,092,573 | 6,692,590 | 2,298,952 | 2,217, 429 366, 202 57, 234 
