INTBODFCTION. 17 



above that of former years, and has been slowly, and 

 with some fluctuation, gaining ground for nearly half 

 a century. It must also be admitted, and is entitled 

 to be considered, that notwithstanding this low rate 

 of production, the aggregate amounts of our various 

 crops have risen to proportions truly amazing, and 

 have, as already stated, contributed immensely to the 

 growth and power of the country. 



But after all these admissions, though in looking 

 at the grand aggregates, we find them, in comparison 

 with former years, steadily advancing, and though we 

 find the broad result to be national development and 

 prosperity beyond that of any other people, still the 

 inquiry arises, and forces itself upon the mind, "What 

 would have been, or rather, what might not have 

 been accomplished, with a larger average yield? 

 What other, and higher, and more incredible results 

 might not have been achieved, had the ratio of pro- 

 duction been fifty bushels per acre for corn, with a 

 corresponding increase for all other crops ? 



Now, to every cultivator of the soil this question 

 of acreable product is one of no little moment ; and 

 he has already gone far toward solving it, when he 

 has committed his grain to the ground in the spring. 

 It i indeed a serious question, not only to himself but 

 to the community as well, whether he shall gather 

 twenty bushels from an acre or one hundred and fifty, 

 or what intermediate number he shall reach between 

 these extremes. One thing at least is certain : in the 

 present state of intelligence, with the existing facili- 

 ties and recently improved methods of culture, no 



