450 BLACKHAWK COUNTY, IOWA. 



head of navigation on the Cedar river, and reached by the 

 Iowa Division of the Illinois Central and the Burlington, Cedar 

 Rapids & Northern railways. I entered my first eighty acres 

 in the year 1856, and broke my first land in 1860. In 1861 I 

 made several additions to my farm of land varying in price 

 from $5 to $'20 per acre. This gave me in all 345 acres of roll- 

 ing prairie land, of a black loam with a clay sub-soil. 



When my land was new, wheat was our best paying crop. 

 For .the first fourteen years I raised it with good success. I 

 raised an annual average crop on my farm of sixty-three and 

 one-eighth acres, averaging twenty-two and one-half bushels per 

 acre. The average price per bushel during the time was $1.12^. 

 The lowest price that I received per bushel was fifty cents for 

 wheat that got wet in threshing. The highest price per bushel 

 I received was $2.25. This was the war price. I raise princi- 

 pally Scotch Fyfe, also some Tea and Michigan White varieties. 

 I commence to drill as soon as I can after the 20th of March. 

 The following are the figures arrived at, per acre : 



COST OF RAISING WHEAT. 



Interest on investments, - _ - $3.00 



Plowing one acre, ----- 1.00 



Seed and extra cleaning, - _ _ 2.00 



Drilling, .20 



Dragging and rolling, - _ _ .35 



Cutting, ------ .50 



Binding and shocking, . - _ .75 



Stacking, - - - - - - .75 



Threshing, 10 cents per bushel, - - 2.25 



Hauling six miles to market, - - - .67 



Total, ------ $11.47 



Proceeds, 22^ bushel, at $1.12^ per bushel, $25.31 

 Straw, 1.00 



Total, - - - - . ^ . $26.31 

 Net proceeds=$14.84. 

 For tlie last seven years, however, the ci'op has fallen 

 off on average amount raised, and also in quality, except for the 



