AGRICULTURE. 



in Kentucky, where there was a falling off of 

 about 13 per cent. The amount planted was 

 not quite as large as usual in some of the to- 

 bacco-producing States, in consequence of the 

 apprehension of a tax upon the unmanufactured 

 leaf. 



The Potato crop is slightly above the yield 

 of the preceding year. The rot prevailed to 

 some extent, but not sufficiently to excite serious 

 fears in regard to the crop. 



The Sorghum crop, now becoming a very im- 

 portant product in the West and South, where 

 the syrup or molasses has, to a large extent, 

 taken the place of the molasses from the sugar 

 cane, was, owing to the lateness of the frosts, 

 gathered in excellent condition, and the yield 

 was, as a whole, very satisfactory. 



The Buckwheat crop was also a trifle larger 

 than the crop of 1864, and of excellent quality. 

 The crop of Hops was poor, being in many dis- 

 tricts, especially in Central New York (which 

 produces about nine-tenths of the entire amount 

 raised), seriously injured by the lice, which for 

 the last three years have made great havoc with 

 the hop yards. The ravages of these insects 

 during the year 1865, were singular in their 

 character. Yards which the previous season 

 had been so thoroughly ruined by them that 

 the hop-growers had been tempted to root up 

 the plants and cultivate other crops, were this 

 year entirely free from the pest, and those 

 which had escaped the previous year were sub- 

 jected to its ravages. The crop of 1865 was 

 probably about 7,000,000 pounds against 10,- 

 991,996, in 1864. 



The Root crops were never better than in 

 1865. The yield was more than ten per cent, 

 in advance of 1864, though that had been a 

 remarkable year. 



The larger autumnal fruits, apples, pears, 

 quinces, &c., were very abundant in the States 

 bordering upon the great lakes in Central and 

 Western New York, Ohio, Michigan, Wiscon- 

 sin, Iowa, and Northern Indiana and. Illinois ; 

 but in New England, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, 

 and the region bordering on the Ohio Eiver, 

 the crop was almost a total failure. In New 

 England, the drought, severe and long continued, 

 prevented their coming to maturity; in the 

 central district, especially along the Ohio River 

 and its tributaries, the severe frosts of the 

 winter of 1863-'64 had killed the taproot of the 

 apple trees, and probably rendered them per- 

 manently barren. 



Peaches were very abundant in Delaware, 

 Nc\v Jersey, and Pennsylvania, but there 

 were very few in the region bordering on the 

 lakes. 



Of the small fruits, strawberries of the later 

 varieties were abundant, while the early sorts 

 were in small quantity and not of the usual 

 quality. The other summer fruits were in about 

 the same quantity. 



The Grape crop suffered severely in the States 

 on the Atlantic coast, and those bordering on 

 the Ohio River, from rot, the result of the very 



wet weather of June and July. In the region 

 lying in the vicinity of the lakes and in the 

 belt visited by the trade winds, as California, 

 Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska, 

 the crop was excellent both in quality and 

 quantity. 



The Wool crop has been constantly increas- 

 ing in magnitude during the last five years. 

 The attention of many agriculturists has bee 

 turned toward the raising of sheep, which has 

 been rendered extraordinarily profitable both 

 by the large demand for wool and its conse- 

 quent high price, and the increasing use of 

 mutton for the table. In 1860, the whole num- 

 ber of sheep in the United States, according to 

 the census, was 22,471,275, and in the twenty- 

 three States and territories, from which alone 

 during the war returns could be obtained, 

 15,104,272. In 1864, the number of sheep in 

 these States had risen to 24,346,391, and in 

 1865, to 28,647,269. In 1860, the wool-clip of 

 the whole United States was 60,264,913 pounds, 

 and of the twenty three States already named, 

 47,900,862 pounds. In 1864, owing not only 

 to the great increase in the number of sheep, 

 but to the improvement in the breeds, it was 

 97,385,564 pounds, or more than double the 

 yield of 1860 ; in 1865, it had further increased 

 to 114,589,076 pounds, and is still rapidly on 

 the increase, as it should be, for the demand 

 for wool still causes a considerable importation 

 from Great Britain and Canada as well as from 

 Germany, the South of Europe, South Africa, 

 and South America. California will probably 

 soon supply the grade of wool hitherto im- 

 ported from South America. The importation 

 of 1864 was in round numbers 75,000,000 

 pounds. Owing to the increased tariff on for- 

 eign wools the importation of 1865 would 

 probably not much exceed 30,000,000 pounds, 

 but there is very little of this which might 

 not be grown to advantage on our own ter- 

 ritory. 



The PorTc crop was, in the number of hogs 

 slaughtered, about ten per cent, below that of 

 1864, but the hogs were much better fattened 

 though generally of smaller size than the pre 

 vious year. The number of hogs packed in 

 the winter of 1863-'64, is stated by the Cin- 

 cinnati Price Current as 3,328,884 ; in the 

 winter of 1864-'65, as 2,422,779; while the 

 number for the winter of 1865-'66 is estimated 

 at 2,180,000. 



With the exception of sheep, and milch 

 cows,* all classes of live stock have materially 

 diminished during the war. The following 

 tables show this conclusively, while they also 

 give the present valuation and the average 

 price of each description of stock. The dimi- 

 nution of number, is of course due to the extra- 

 ordinary demand for horses and mules for 

 army purposes, and for beef and pork for com- 

 missary supplies. 



* Taking the whole country through, these, too, have prob- 

 ably diminished, though they have nearly or quite held theti 

 own In the loyal States east of the Kocky Mountains. 



