452 



SORGHUM. 



ability o. plants to avail themselves of the supplies of fjod present in 

 the soil also differs as widely, it therefore happens that, while certain 

 crops suffer a falling off, others may be produced in their original 

 abundance. 



In the hope of throwing some light upon this question of exhaustion, 

 I have had recourse to the Annual Reports of the Department of Agri- 

 culture since the year 1861. Since then there has been, with but few 

 exceptions, annually published the average acreage yield of our prin- 

 cipal crops in the Xorthern States, and, since 1865, in the Southern 

 States. 



These annual average acreage yields of the principal crops have 

 been averaged for each state for the first half of the period, and for 

 the latter half of the period — i.e., for the Northern States, the average 

 acreage yield is given of each crop from 1862 to 1870, inclusive, and 

 from 1871 to 1880, inclusive; and for tlie Southern States, from 1866 

 to 1872, inclusive, and from 1873 to 1880, inclusive. 



These results are given in the table following; and, of course, cov- 

 ering so long a period of years, and so wide an extent of territory, local 

 or temporary inequalities would tend to disappear, and the general re- 

 sult would probably closely approximate to the truth : 



AVERAGE ACREAGE YIELD OF THE PRINCIPAL CROPS IN EACH STATE 



States. 



Maine 



New Hampshire 



Vermont 



Massachusetts . 

 Ehode Island . . . 



Couneeticut 



New York 



New Jersey. 



Pennsylvania . . . 



Delaware 



Maryland 



Virginia 



North Carolina. 



12.77 



13 70 



14 34 



15 14 

 10 33 

 10 40 

 10,29 

 18.21 

 16.94 



16 84 

 16 65 

 14 93 

 14,98 

 14.79 

 14 54 

 13.25 

 14 13 



11 70 



12 71 

 10 92 

 12 12 



8 51 

 8 51 

 7 n 

 7.15 



15 51 



16 15 

 15,40 



10 87 

 15 70 



17 1 

 14 82 

 15, 8( 

 17.40 

 14 



13 91 



14 60 



15 1 

 14 09 

 14 3' 



13 35 



18 88 



14 Of 

 lu.03 



11 72 

 12 



12 43 

 10 



9 47 



7 48 



8 52 



33 44 

 23 29 

 19.09 

 19 

 22 63 

 21 79 

 16 88 

 14 18 

 16 31 



'i5'3( 

 10 54 

 19 77 



18 3; 

 18 25 

 16 09 

 18 09 



18 5(; 



18 02 



19 50 

 19 

 19 95 

 14 04 

 15.90 

 17 

 15.70 



125 6 



108 



121 4 



114 2 



139 8 



133 5 



112 9 



]l4 8 



09 9 



90 9 



104 7 



88 6 



103 1 



82 5 



83 3 

 80 7 

 94 1 

 86,8 



84 5 

 83 2 



73 9 

 68 8 

 06 



74 

 87 

 86.0 



1801 



1834 



2002 



2004 



209' 



21S6 



2343 



2250 



2175 



2(01 



2484 



2344 



2510 



2372 



287 



2404 



2C80 



2342 



25' " 



2094 



2032 



2138 



215 



2412 



2/!34 



2002 



750 



510 



1353 

 766 

 1246 

 1268 

 1524 

 1166 



1329 



1356 

 918 

 959 

 991 



1150 

 979 



1272 

 440- 



P52 

 682 

 603 

 643 

 621 

 530 



