548 



MISSISSIPPI. 



been published. The State University at Ox- 

 ford, which celebrates its twenty-fifth anniver- 

 sary in June, 1873, is in a tolerably flourishing 

 condition, and has 280 students. The trustees 

 provided in June for the organization of an 

 Agricultural Department by establishing the 

 proper professorships, and choosing a superin- 

 tendent of the farm. The Alcorn University 

 was opened on the 7th of February, and be- 

 fore the end of the year had 117 students. 

 The Oakland College property, situated about 

 five miles east of Kodney, on the Mississippi 

 River, was purchased for its use at a cost of 

 $40,000. It consists of 240 acres of good 

 land, with fine brick buildings, capable of ac- 

 commodating 500 students. An Agricultural 

 Department has been established there also, 

 and it is proposed to give special prominence 

 to industrial training. 



The Governor has purchased with the pro- 

 ceeds of the sale of land-scrip, granted by 

 Congress for the benefit of agricultural col- 

 leges, $190,000 of State bonds, and deposited 

 them in the Treasury for the benefit of the 

 Agricultural Departments of the Oxford and 

 the Alcorn Universities. 



Under the act of the last Legislature for the 

 " regulation, control, and support of the peni- 

 tentiary," a full corps of prison officials was 

 promptly appointed, and entered upon their 

 duties on the 3d of May. Under the new 

 management not only has the State been re- 

 lieved of an annual expense of about 30,000, 

 but, up to the 30th of November, $1,350.62 had 

 been paid into the public Treasury. The num- 

 ber of convicts in the penitentiary, from May 

 3d to November 30th, was 331, of whom 19 

 were discharged, 35 were pardoned, 28 es- 

 caped, and 38 died, leaving 211 at the latter 

 date. Since then 48 have been admitted. On 

 account of the limited capacity of the prison, 

 it has been found necessary to employ the con- 

 victs outside of its walls, on contract and 

 otherwise, but measures have been set on foot 

 for the construction of new buildings, with 

 workshops, etc., in which the inmates may be 

 employed directly for the State. For this 

 purpose 500 acres of land have been purchased 

 four and a half miles north of Jackson, on the 

 New Orleans, Jackson & Great Northern Kail- 

 road, and plans and specifications for the new 

 buildings were ready for submission to the 

 Legislature of 1873. 



The Insane Asylum has been enlarged by 

 the construction of two wings, and will now 

 accommodate 300 patients. There are State 

 Hospitals at Vicksburg and Natchez, into 

 which the sick and insane are received indis- 

 discriminately. The Legislature made no ap- 

 propriations for these institutions at its last 

 session, but they have nevertheless continued 

 their work. At the Vicksburg Hospital 1,234 

 patients were treated during the year, and a 

 debt amounting to $19,924.77 had been in- 

 curred. At Natchez 204 patients were re- 

 ceived, and $7,911.03 of debt incurred. 



The enrolled militia of the State numbers 

 30,000, but from this enrolment only four 

 regiments have been organized and equipped. 



The fourth Annual Fair of the Planter's, Man- 

 ufacturers' and Mechanics' Association of tin- 

 State of Mississippi was held in November, and 

 continued six days. The expenses of the ex- 

 hibition, including premiums paid to exhibitors, 

 amounted to $6,597.15, and there was a very 

 creditable display of the products of the State. 



According to the census of 1870, of the to- 

 tal population (581,206), ten years old and 

 over, there were engaged in all classes of oc- 

 cupations, 318,850 persons, of whom 232,349 

 were males and 86,501 females. There wore 

 engaged in agriculture, 259,199, including 193,- 

 725 males and 65,474 females ; in professional 

 and personal services 40,522, including 20,430 

 males and 20,092 females ; in trade and trans- 

 portation, 9,148, including 9,076 males and 72 

 females ; in manufactures and mechanical and 

 mining industries, 9, 981, including 9,118 males 

 and 863 females. 



The State contained 4,209,146 acres of im- 

 proved land, 7,959,384 of woodland, and 952,- 

 583 of other unimproved land. The cash 

 value of farms was $81,716,576, of farming- 

 implements and machinery, $4,456,633; total 

 amount of wages paid during the year, includ- 

 ing value of board, $10,326,794; total (esti- 

 mated) value of all farm-productions, including 

 betterments and additions to stock, $73,137,- 

 953; orchard-products, $71,018; produce of 

 market-gardens, $61,735 ;. forest-products, 39,- 

 975 ; value of home manufactures, $505,298 ; of 

 animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, 

 $4,090,818; of all live-stock, $29,940,238. 

 There were 90,221 horses, 85,886 mules and 

 asses, 173,899 milch-cows, 58,146 working- 

 oxen, 269,030 other cattle, 232,732 sheep, and 

 814,381 swine. The chief productions were: 

 66,638 bushels of spring, and 207,841 of winter, 

 wheat, 14,852 of rye, 15,637,316 of Indian-corn, 

 414,586 of oats, 3,973 of barley, 1,619 of buck- 

 wheat, 374,627 pounds of rice, 61,012 of to- 

 bacco, 288.285 of wool, 564,938 bales of cotton, 

 176,417 bushels of peas and beans, 214,189 of 

 Irish, and 1,743,432 of sweet, potatoes, 3,055 

 gallons of wine, 2,613,521 pounds of butter, 

 3,099 of cheese,!7,052 gallons of milk sold,8,3& 

 tons of hay, 67,509 gallons of sorghum, and 

 152,164 of cane,' molasses, 199,581 pounds of 

 honey, and 9,390 of wax. 



The total number of manufacturing estab- 

 lishments was 1,731, using 384 steam-engines 

 of 10,019 horse-power, and 225 water-wheels 

 of 2,453 horse-power, and employing 5,94: 

 hands, of whom 5,500 were males above six 

 teen, 191 females above fifteen, and 250 youth. 



The total amount of capital invested was 

 $4,501,714; wages paid during the year, 

 $1,547,428; value of materials consumed, 

 $4,364,206; and of products, $8,154,758. 



The whole number of newspapers and pen 

 odicals was 111, having an aggregate circula- 

 tion of 71,868, and issuing annually 4,703,33< 



