AGRICULTURE. 



year 1862 and fit its close, were as follows: 

 flour, Jan. 1, 1862, $5.40 to $8.25 per barrel; 

 Dec, 81, $6.05 to $10. Wheat, Jan. 1, $1.26 

 to $1.62 J- per bushel; Dec. 31, $1.30 to $1.75. 

 Corn, Jan., 65 to 68 cts. per bushel ; Dec., 83 to 

 95 cts. Rye, Jan., 82 to 85 cts. ; Dec., 90 to $1.02. 

 Barley, Jan., 67 to 80 cts. per bushel ; Dec., 

 $1.33 to $1.55. The prices of other agricultural 

 products showed a still greater appreciation. 

 Cotton, as was to be expected, rose from 32 to 

 84 cts. in Jan., to 68 to 72^ cts. in Dec. Rice, 

 $6.75 to $7.75 per cwt. in Jan., was $9 per cwt. 

 in Dec. Potatoes, $1.38 to $2.25 per bbl. in 

 Jan., were $1.60 to $3 in Dec. Butter, which 

 ranged from 11 to 21 cts. in Jan., was from 16 

 to 26 in Dec. Mess pork, $11.75 to $12.37 per 

 bbl. in Jan., was $14.62 to $14.75 in Dec. 



Three measures, enacted by Congress in the 

 session of 1861-'2, had an important bearing 

 upon agriculture. The first was the establish- 

 ment of a distinct department or bureau of 

 agriculture, which had hitherto been attached 

 to the Patent Office. Isaac Newton, Esq., of 

 Pennsylvania, was appointed the commissioner 

 of the new department. Second, the passage of 

 the Homestead bill, designed to encourage the 

 development of the new lands of the "West by 

 actual settlers, who should, on certain con- 

 ditions of loyalty and actual improvement of 

 the lands for a term of three years, become the 

 proprietors in fee simple of a small farm, by 

 paying only the register's fee, was in effect a law 

 for the promotion of agriculture, to which sim- 

 ilar enactments on the part of some of tho 

 newer States also contributed; and third, the 

 " Agricultural College Act," by which there 

 were granted to each State 30,000 acres of land 

 at the minimum price of $1.25 per acre, for each 

 senator and representative they might have 

 in Congress, according to the apportionment 

 under the census of 1860, to constitute an en- 

 dowment for at least one college, in which, 

 without excluding classical or other scientific 

 studies, instruction should be given in agricul- 

 ture and the principles of the mechanic arts. Ten 

 per cent, of the proceeds of the lands so granted 

 might be used for the purchase of a farm or 

 farms for practical instruction in agriculture, but 

 no portion of it could be expended for buildings 

 or furniture ; and the remainder of the proceeds 

 should constitute a permanent and inviolable 

 fund, to be invested in stocks at not less than 

 5 per cent, (to be made good by the State if 

 lost), the interest whereof should be applied to 

 the teaching of " such branches of learning as 

 are related to agriculture and the mechanic 

 arts, in such manner ^as the legislatures of the 

 States may respectively prescribe, in order to 

 promote the liberal and practical education of 

 the industrial classes in the several pursuits and 

 professions of life." The several States, in or- 

 der to avail themselves of the benefits of this 

 act, must signify their acceptance of it within 

 two years from its passage. 



The establishment of the " Agricultural De- 

 partment " seems thus far to have been of much 



less advantage to the agricultural interests of 

 the country than its framers had expected. The 

 "propagating garden," established at Washing- 

 ton many years since by the Patent Office, is 

 indeed maintained; and large quantities of 

 seeds are distributed through the members of 

 Congress to their constituents; but no effort 

 has yet been made or proposed to obtain 

 reports of the condition or prospects of the 

 crops, analyses of soils and plants, or to ascer- 

 tain the meteorology or climatic peculiarities 

 of different sections of the country, the adapta- 

 tions of their soil or temperature to different 

 classes, species, or varieties of plants. The in- 

 vestigation of the grasses, cereals, and root 

 crops most serviceable and profitable for each 

 section, and the introduction of useful plants 

 and fruits of other countries, or the develop- 

 ment under favorable circumstances of some 

 of the wild plants and fruits, are also objects 

 properly coming within the scope of such a de- 

 partment, but as yet they have received little 

 or no attention. 



The encouragement of the immigration of 

 practical agriculturists by means of "Home- 

 stead " acts, has been tried successfully in other 

 countries less eligibly situated, and bids fair to 

 produce good results here. Texas, before com- 

 ing into the Union, had largely increased her 

 population by land grants, and Missouri and 

 Michigan have both offered State lands in small 

 quantities to actual settlers, either entirely free 

 or at a nominal price. 



The "Agricultural College Act" cannot fail of 

 effecting much good. The necessity of scien- 

 tific instruction in agriculture has long been 

 felt by many of the more intelligent tillers of 

 the soil ; and while some have sought instruc- 

 tion in the great agricultural schools of Ger- 

 many and France, others have attempted to 

 effect the establishment of such schools in this 

 country, and with some success. The scientific 

 schools attached to Harvard, Dartmouth, and 

 Yale colleges, each provide for instruction in 

 some of the branches of agricultural science, 

 and have proved of great advantage to the in- 

 telligent practical farmers who have availed 

 themselves of the course ; neither of these, 

 however, has an experimental farm, and for the 

 want of which they have been compelled to 

 confine themselves to theoretical instruction. 



The State of Michigan was the first to estab- 

 lish an agricultural college, having appropri- 

 ated $50,000 for the purpose in 1855, and pur- 

 chased a tract of 7,000 acres of land near Lan- 

 sing, upon which were erected buildings for 

 the institution. In 1857 the Legislature ap- 

 propriated a further sum of $40,000, and in 

 May, 1857, the first class was admitted. For 

 some cause the college has within the past 

 two years suspended operations. It is now un- 

 der the care of the State Board of Agriculture. 

 An agricultural college was incorporated in 

 New York in 1853, but no means were pro- 

 vided for its support. In 1855 a subscription 

 was commenced, and an act passed the Legis- 



