NEBRASKA. 



551 



wheat was 1,054,691 acres; the area under 

 corn, 1,124,709 acres; under oats, 173,058 

 acres; barley, 85,180 acres; meadow, 39,863 

 acres; flax, 8,215 acres ; millet, 6,554 acres; 

 rye, 8,537 acres; potatoes, 1,500 acres; hay, 

 1,378 acres. The number of horses returned 

 was 198,381, valued at $5,677,653 ; cattle, 675,- 



land, and $175,361 interest from invested funds, 

 etc. 



The Land Commissioner and the Attorney- 

 General presented a claim on behalf of the 

 State to the Department of the Interior at 

 Washington for indemnity for lands lost from 

 the sale of the Otoe and Pawnee reservations. 



will be added to the school lands by virtue of 

 the claim is 22,372 acres. The permanent 

 school fund, invested in registered county 

 bonds, United States 4 per cent, consols, and 

 other securities, has reached the sum of $639,- 

 086. 



The aggregate number of acres of land 

 owned by the State on the 30th of November, 

 1880, was as follows: 



Common-school lands 2,434,645-51 



University lands 45,039-93 



Normal lands 12,722-39 



Saline lands 13,285'00 



Penitentiary lands ... 676-71 



Agricultural College lands 89,452 78 



Internal improvement lands 480-00 



Total. 



244 head, value $5,966,855 ; mules and asses, The Interior Department has admitted the jus- 



20,032 head, value $693,630; sheep, 194,959, A: ' u - J --- rni -- -~ i!i - -** * - * 



value $237,430 ; hogs, 767,702, value $930,804. 

 The valuation of railroad property was $9,943,- 

 192 ; of telegraph property, $45,076. Other 

 items in the assessment-roll were carriages and 

 wagons, $1,148,379 ; merchandise on hand, $3,- 

 043,413; agricultural tools, $1,599,574; invest- 

 ments and improvements on real estate, $957,- 

 573; furniture, $974,834; property of corpora- 

 tions, $404,876 ; moneys of banks and brokers, 

 $413,465 ; of other persons, $571,544 ; credits 

 of banks, etc.. $139,972 ; of other persons, 

 $960,957 ; bonds, stocks, etc., $439,779 ; bridge 

 property, $264,845. 



The population of Nebraska, as shown by 

 the returns of the census supervisors, is 452,- 

 542 : the inhabitants in the counties north of 

 the Platte numbering 173,205; south of the 

 Platte, 279,337. The total population of Ne- 

 braska in 1855 was 4,494; in 1860, 28,841 ; in 

 1870, 122,933 ; in 1875, 246,200. The popula- 

 tion of the city of Lincoln has increased from 

 2,441 in 1870 to 13,697 in 1880. 



The aggregate number of persons of school 

 age in the State in 1880 was 143,343. The to- 

 tal attendance of the public schools in 1879 

 was 76,956 ; in 1880, 92,545. The number of 

 schoolhouses was increased from 2,112 in 1877 

 to 2,231 in 1878, 2,409 in 1879, and 2,700 in 

 1880. The valuation of school property was 

 $1,805,466 in 1878, $1,810,288 in 1879", and 

 $2,064,768 in 1880. There were 70 graded 

 schools in 1880. The average wages of male 

 teachers was $36.12; of female teachers, $31.- 

 92. The per capita cost of tuition computed 

 on the enrollment was $8.05 in 1877, $7.08 in 

 1878, $6.06 in 1879, and $5.93 in 1880. 



The number of acres of school lands remain- 

 ing unsold on November 30, 1878, was 1,025,- 

 556-78 ; the number of acres deeded during the 

 years 1879 and 1880, 7,991-60; leaving 1,017,- 

 565-18 acres of public lands still unsold. In 

 the unorganized counties, and counties having 

 no record of lands, there are estimated to be 

 889,720-33 acres of school lands; in unorgan- 

 ized territory belonging to the State, 527,360 

 acres. There were sold at public auction 11,- 

 741-22 acres in 1879 for $88,448, and 2,482-03 

 acres for $31,055 in 1880 ; and there were sold 

 to lessees at private sale 16,881 acres in 1880 

 for $122,008. There were leased in 1879 134,- 

 697 acres valued at $572,078, and in 1880 122,- 

 843 acres valued at $539,321. 



The amount paid in to the temporary school 

 fund during the two years was $543,506, of 

 which $143,905 was derived from the State 

 school-tax, $97,169 was interest on school land 

 sold, $127,071 receipts from leases of school 



The saline lands were donated to the State by 

 the General Government for the development 

 of salt-springs within the State, toward which 

 no steps have yet been taken by the Legislature. 



The General Assembly in 1879 appropriated 

 $50,000 from the general fund for the purpose 

 of defraying the expenses of the State Univer- 

 sity and the Agricultural Farm. As a special 

 fund had been created for these objects, the 

 Auditor refused to pay this appropriation from 

 the general fund. He was obliged to make the 

 payment by a mandamus issued by the Supreme 

 Court. The expenses of these institutions have 

 in this manner been paid out of that fund, and 

 the Governor recommends that the amounts 

 drawn be refunded from the temporary univer- 

 sity fund, when the collections for this fund 

 are sufficient for that purpose. The endow- 

 ment of the university from the lands donated 

 by the General Government will probably 

 make the institution ultimately very wealthy. 

 The students of the university come from all 

 parts of the State, and a good number of them 

 from other States. The State Normal School 

 at Peru is in a prosperous condition. The re- 

 ports show 275 scholars enrolled in 1880, and 

 90 graduates during the two years. 



The number of prisoners in the Penitentiary 

 at the close of the year was 266, of whom 11 

 were United States prisoners and 59 convicts 

 from Wyoming Territory. The effects of the 

 "good-time act" and of a humane system of 

 discipline have proved very salutary. Only three 

 have died in the two years. In the Insane 

 Hospital the number of patients has increased 

 from 122 in 1878 to 192 at the close of 1880. 

 The building has been enlarged. The number 

 of inmates in the Deaf and Dumb Institute on 

 the 30th of November was 75, an increase of 

 50 per cent, in the two years. Improvements 

 have been made, and a further enlargement is 



