THE STALK CKOP. 175 



yielding so large a return in proportion to the land 

 and labor employed. 



COST OF PRODUCING- CORN-FORAGE. The cost of 

 raising this forage has been variously estimated, bnt 

 is in nearly all cases remarkably low, in consequence 

 of the large amount per acre compared with the labor 

 required to produce it. 



Mr. S. "W. Hall, of Elmira, K Y., who obtained 

 thirty tons from an acre, estimated the entire expense 

 of the acre at thirty dollars, which brings the cost of a 

 single ton down to one dollar. Mr. J. Gr. Webb, of 

 Oneida County, found the expense per acre to be a 

 little over eleven dollars for a yield of twenty-five 

 tons, which makes the cost per ton less than half a 

 dollar. The latter estimate, if entirely accurate, is 

 doubtless an exceptional case. 



The average cost of this crop throughout the coun- 

 try will probably range from one and a half to two 

 dollars per ton ; and of the cured fodder from two to 

 four dollars per ton. At these figures, any farmer, 

 who understands how to turn his stalks to a good ac- 

 count, must find them exceedingly profitable. 



ESTIMATED YALUE OF THE STALK CROP. In view 

 of the increasing extent and acknowledged import- 

 ance of this crop, it would be interesting and instruc- 

 tive to know the annual amount and value of it for the 

 whole country. Although the census returns do not en- 

 lighten us on this point, we can still form a proximate 

 estimate from other data that will perhaps be suffi- 

 ciently accurate for a general view of the subject. 



The total product of Indian corn in 1860 was 



