In 1860 the "value of aiiimals slaughtered or sold for slaughter " ap- 

 pears in the census as $213,618,692. In 1880 the value of meate of all 

 kinds is excluded from the tabulations of farm returns, because they are 

 obtained by special expert investigation and not by the regular enu- 

 merators. As the actual value of meats in 1880 was three to four 

 times as much, 800,000,000, the absence of this item makes a wide dif- 

 ference in the comparison. The poultry product in 1860 was $50,000,- 

 000; in 1880 it was $150,000,000. 



PRODUCTION IN 1860 and 1880 COMPARED. 



The enlargement of production since 1860, from the increase of agri- 

 cultural machinery, from the stimulus to home consumption by ex- 

 tension of manufactures and greater ability to consume largely 

 through high wages of labor, is a wonder to Americans as well as to 

 the world at large, and from some of the statements made on this floor 

 it would seem to be unknown to several participants in this discussion. 



The increase in farms and farm areas from 1860 to 1880 is as follows: 



Production was increased in far greater ratio than farms or acreage. 

 Corn advanced from a product of 838,792,742 to 1,754,591,676, or 109 

 per cent.; wheat, from 173, 104, 924 to 459,483,137 bushels, or 165 per 

 cent.; all cereals taken together, from 1,239,039,439 to 2,697,580,229 

 bushels, or 118 per cent. Cotton, in 1860, had reached an unprece- 

 dented production with a rapidity that had been phenomenal. The 

 crop of 1859 amounted to 4,669,770 bales. Though its cultivation 

 almost ceased for four years, it had risen to 5,761,252 bales in 1879, and 

 to 6, 949, 756 in 1882. 



Fifty years ago 60 per cent, of our agricultural exports was cotton. 

 Now, while it is nine times as much in value, it constitutes only a 

 third of the values of agricultural exports. In the same time the in- 

 crease in value of meat and breadstufis has been thirty-fold. The ex- 

 ports of cotton were very heavy in 1859-' 60, amounting to $191,806,555 

 in value, but in 1883 the value was $247, 328, 721, though the consump- 

 tion of cotton in American manufactories was enlarged in still greater 

 proportion, from 422,704,975 to 750,343,981 pounds, with very rapid 

 increase since 1880. In the same period the increase of exports of agri- 

 cultural products was from $256,560,972 to $619,269,449. 



The product of wool is four times as much as in 1860 (it was 241,- 

 000,000 pounds in 1880), of improved quality, making the strongest 

 and most durable cloth of any manufacturing country in the world, and 

 needing no admixture of foreign wools. In 1860 we imported half the 

 woolen goods consumed, in cloth and in wool. Now we produce about 

 four-fifths of the consumption, and the small proportion imported is 

 largely carpet wools of too low a grade for civilized agriculture to pro- 

 duce. It is true that there is a small quantity of superfine wool intro- 

 duced, ours being principally of medium fineness. 



The production of meat has been enlarged beyond the increase of 

 numbers of cattle, or the increment of population to be fed. Eecent 



