514 



NORTH DAKOTA. 



age valuation per mile, $5,000, against $3,300 in 

 1897. The directors of the Great Northern Rail- 

 road voted an increase of 1 per cent, in the divi- 

 dends of the road, thus making 7 per cent, per an- 

 num instead of 6 per cent, as in 1897. The increase 

 of total income during the year was $7,114,501, and 

 in net earnings $3,904 972. The total increase in 

 earnings of the Northern Pacific for the year was 

 $4.667,531. 



Insurance. The report of 41 fire and fire and 

 marine insurance companies doing business in the 

 State gave the amount of risks written during the 

 year as $24,840,517.76; premiums received, $491,- 

 330.38; losses incurred. $466,649.60; losses paid, 

 $326,382.41 ; total admitted assets. $174.988,607.74; 

 total liabilities, not including capital, $85,794,- 

 418.66; total income, $92.606,923.50; total expend- 

 itures, $79,800,520.82. 



The 14 life insurance companies reported the 

 number of policies issued during the year as 1,252 ; 

 amount, $2,129,502 ; total premiums received, $338,- 

 422.59 ; losses incurred. $65,187.35 ; total admitted 

 assets, $1,022.897,643.68; total liabilities, except 

 capital, $873,760,699.44 ; total dividends paid, $420,- 

 750. The total amount written by the assessment 

 life insurance companies for the year was $924,- 

 030.50 ; total losses incurred, $29,000 ; losses paid, 

 $22,200 ; total assets, $8,992,750.87 ; total liabilities, 

 $2,738,142.09. The amount of risks written by the 

 accident, fidelity, and other liability companies was 

 $3,407,947.48 ; total admitted assets, $72,218,557.43 ; 

 total receipts, $14,433,845.42 ; total disbursements, 

 $13,308,122.38. 



Education. The total number of children in 

 the State for whom appropriation of school tuition 

 was made was 76,651 ; total number of school- 

 houses, 2,304 ; number of teachers employed, 3,637 : 

 warrants issued for school purposes, $1,385,934.17; 

 total valuation of school property in the State, 

 $2,132,738.91. The permanent school fund of 

 $1,000,000 is invested in bonds and other securities, 

 the interest of which is quarterly apportioned to 

 the different school districts of the State. The 

 Burleigh County Summer School, as provided by 

 the Department of Public Instruction, began Aug. 

 8 and remained in session till Aug. 28, with great 

 benefit to the teachers of the State. 



The number of well-equipped boarding schools 

 reported by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs 

 was 147 ; if day schools, about the same ; total 

 number of pupils, 23,952 ; increase in average at- 

 tendance of Government schools, 1,238 ; decrease in 

 sectarian and public schools, 301 ; allowance per 

 capita of contract schools, $10. 



State Institutions. The biennial report of the 

 trustees and officers of the Hospitals for the Insane 

 detailed the unsatisfactory working of the law 

 passed by the Legislature authorizing the issuing 

 of $40,000 in bonds to be guaranteed by the lands 

 of the institution. The lands were sold at a good 

 premium, but the sale was found to be unconstitu- 

 tional. The board urged the Legislature to make 

 provision for building funds, and recommended the 

 erection of a cold-storage building to cost $1,000, 

 and also the purchase of the 25 acres of land which 

 have been rented hitherto for raising vegetables. 

 The amount appropriated for the period March 1, 

 1897, to June 30,1898, was $38,835.52; estimate.! 

 appropriation for the next biennial term, $112,500. 

 The superintendent reported that the overcrowded 

 condition of the institution was a great drawback 

 to the welfare of the patients. The report showed 

 the average population to be 336; the cost of keep- 

 ing each patient per week, $3.34 ; number of pa- 

 tients admitted in the last two years, 225; dis- 

 charged, 140; died, 68; number admitted of foreign 

 birth, 143; natives, 67; nativity unknown. 15. 



The number of prisoners in the Penitentiary 

 April 6, 1897, was 105; number on April 6, 1898, 

 138; on May 16, 143, or within 17 of the entire 

 capacity of the cell house. The barn on the grounds 

 was destroyed by fire Oct. 9, with a total loss on 

 building and contents of $3,000. The amount of 

 insurance was $2,000. A warden's residence has 

 been built with the $3,000 appropriated by the 

 Legislature of 1897, and a part of the yard wall has 

 been erected. The receipts for the biennial period 

 were $7,114.05, all of which have been expended. 

 The average monthly number of officers and em- 

 ployees was 25; of prisoners, 119; number of 

 prisoners received in 1897-'98, 152 ; actual citixen 

 residents, 68 ; non-residents, 84 ; temperate, 39; in- 

 temperate, 113; use tobacco, 126; convict popula- 

 tion, June 30, 139. 



The eighth annual report of the Agricultural 

 College gave the three principal subjects of research 

 by the department of science as waters, soils, and 

 fodders. The experiments with well waters re- 

 vealed a large amount of solid matter, and in sev- 

 eral instances kidney trouble of a serious nature 

 was traced directly to the use of the water. The 

 experiments with sugar beets, by 36 farmers who 

 were chosen to make the tests, were unsuccessful 

 because of the unfavorable season, and the experi- 

 ments will be continued another year. The station 

 has experimented with 105 varieties of wheat in the 

 past five years. It has secured the best results from 

 Experiment Station Fife, which for four years has 

 yielded 22 bushels to the jicre. Red Fife and 774 

 Glyndon have averaged nearly the same. The dairy 

 department received 100,776 pounds of milk in the 

 year; 60,557 pounds of cream, containing 14,877 

 pounds of butter fat, for which was received $2,- 

 597.24. 



By a large number of field and laboratory tests 

 the chemist of the college has succeeded in finding 

 a substance in formalin which will kill the smut 

 spores without doing any injury to the germinating 

 powers of the grain. The chemist declares that 1 

 pound of formalin to 50 pounds of water sprinkled 

 thoroughly over the grain piled upon the floor of 

 the barn in such a way that every grain is wet, will 

 prevent the smut. When properly treated, oats 

 take up about 24 gallons of water per bushel and 

 wheat about 1 gallon. 



The report of the university shows that $127.120 

 will be needed for permanent improvements during 

 the ensuing two years, and $11.506.21 for deficiency 

 on account of repairs and salaries. The industrial 

 school at Ellendale has sold bonds to the extent of 

 $14.700, the proceeds to be used in erecting a build- 

 ing the foundation of which has been completed. 



The School of Forestry has not yet begun active 

 operations. The number of pupils enrolled in the 

 School for the Deaf was 50, an increase of 3 over 

 1897 and of 16 over any other previous year. 



Agriculture and Labor. The result of investi 

 gation by the Department of Agriculture shows, 

 that the "people of the State have paid off several 

 million dollars of mortgaged debts during tin- 

 year. On Jan. 14 an inquiry was sent to the regis- 

 ter of deeds of each county, and the report from 1<> 

 counties gave the total amount of liquidation of 

 chattel mortgages as $1,042.347, a net gain over 

 1897 of $292.244. The total expense to the offic.> 

 of Commissioner of Agriculture for publishing th>! 

 annual proclamation of the free-storage and wool- 

 market days was $193.25, and thousands of dollar* 

 are saved to the wool growers by reason thereof. 

 The number of sheep sheared in 1897 was 2:54.541 ; 

 number of pounds of wool clipped, 1,382,230. Ther> 

 were 919,493 tons of prairie hay cut during thJ 

 year. The 67 flouring mills of the State are fur- 

 nished with the most approved machinery and ap- 



