COLLEGE AND STATE 



crops have received the study that is re- 

 quired to enable the grower to get the most 

 from them. There is always a tendency to 

 study local crops and specialties, to the 

 relative exclusion of the great underlying 

 staples. I cite hay and pasture, live-stock, 

 forests, and fish as examples. 



Grass is the fundamental crop of the 

 state, as it is of most of the northern 

 states. Of the 15,599,986 acres of improved 

 land in farms in New York, 5,154,965 are in 

 hay and forage, and 4,366,683 acres are in 

 all other crops. The remainder, 6,078,338, is 

 probably mostly in pasture. The improved 

 farm land is, therefore, approximately 



One-third in hay 



One-third in pasture 



One-third in all other crops. 

 The value of the grass crop is no less strik- 

 ing. The hay crop is worth as much as all 

 the dairy products. It is worth nearly as 

 much as all other crops combined. It is 

 worth over five times as much as all the 

 orchard products. We have no estimate of 

 the values of pastures, but the hay and 

 pasture crops are undoubtedly worth more 

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