THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



491 



26,542,443 pounds, and V^iiij;iiiia only 14,157,- 

 S41 |)ouiids, or about 11,000 hogsheads of tobac- 

 co. Turn to the senate document, page 10, and 

 you will find the number of pounds of tobacco 

 returned I'rom Virifinia 74,157,841 pounds accord- 

 ing to the marshals' returns ; but an error of up- 

 wards of 3,000,000 lbs. omitted has been detected, 

 which have to be added to the marshals' numbers. 



Having made an error to the extent of 60,000,- 

 000, X. then proceeds to base his calculations 

 upon the remaining 14,000,000. The fact is the 

 58,000 hogsheads inspected in Virginia in 1840 

 corresponds with sufficient accuracy, to (he 77,- 

 000,000 pounds returned by the apsistant marshals. 

 The corrected returns show 77,187,845 lbs. which 

 on an average of 1300 lbs. to the hogshead are 

 exclusive of York county from which no returns 

 had been received, equal to 59,375 hhds. 345 lbs. 

 In the senate document no additions were made 

 because of the inability at that time to include 

 North Carolina, Kentucky, Michigan, and the 

 Territories. 



X. has attempted to show his skill in figures and 



Upon examining the returns of Permsylvania 

 and comparing the marshal's with the assistant 

 schedules, it was discovered that the marshal had 

 set down by mistake the quantity oif sugar in the 

 adjoining column of cocouns. This has been 

 corrected and the quantity of silk cocoons report- 

 ed by the assistants is (bund to be 7262.^ lbs. for 

 east and west Pennsylvania. The astonishment 

 of X. is expressed, at what he deems the incredi- 

 b'e amount of hay produced, aggregate 9,641,225 

 tons. He asks is this probable? or possible? 

 The truth is, 10 millions is lar below the amount 

 produced in the United States. If the amount did 

 not exceed 10 millions of tons how should we be 

 able to leed our 40 millions of domestic animalf, 

 horses, neat cattle and sheep? The 4 millions of 

 horses consume more than half the amount, and 

 we can inlbrm X. if he be not aware of the fact, 

 that a different winter provision is made for the 

 cattle of the states he has quoted, than is provided 

 in the pine lands of Eastern Virginia or JNorlh 

 Carolina. 



It is a matter of sufficient notoriety that besides 



as a statistical writer, and very properly commences supporting their own animals through their long 



with simple addition. He takes the column ot 

 "pounds of tobacco gathered" and gives as the sum 

 total ol his labors, 78,070,803 pounds. Be pleased, 

 Mr. Editor, to run over the addition yourselfj and 

 see whether our addition or that of X. be correct, 

 We assert that the total should be 138,070,806 

 pounds, and as we differ 60,000,000, it may be 

 worth your while to see who is right. We en- 

 close you a copy of the document lor the purpose. 



If after this specimen of the fitness of X. to 

 make statistical calculations for the public eye, he 

 be still desirous of enlightening his countrymen 

 upon the subject of tobacco, we will inlbrm him, 

 that in addition to the 138,070,806 pounds reported 

 in Sen. Doc. 219, Kentucky has returned 53,- 

 998,090 lbs. Michigan 1,602 pounds and Norih 

 Carolina 16,773,359 pounds. In the returns Ironi 

 Virginia an error has been detected of 3,030,004 

 pounds, which amount is to be placed to ihe credit 

 of Virginia, making a total of211, 873,861 pounds 

 of tobacco returned by the assistant marshals. 



Notwithstanding that in the Senate Document, 

 a note was appended, see pages 11 and 12, to the 

 effect, that, " some of the marshals have returned 

 pounds of ginned cotton, others in the seed, and 

 that in the printed document the discrimination 

 will be made," X. has thought proper to assume 

 thai the 10,767,451 lbs. of cotton are equal to 

 30,000 bales, or more than double her (Virginia's) 

 actual product. 



As soon as it was ascertained at the depart- 

 ment of slate that the marshals had returned cot- 

 ton differently, some as ginned cotton, and others 

 m the seed, a circular was addressed to the re- 

 spective marshals in the cotton growing states, call- 

 ing for information upon the subject. The result 

 has been, that the cotton returned from Virginia 

 in the seed, upon being reduced to ginned cotton 

 is equivalent to 3,504,795 lbs. and from North 

 Carolina to 14,841,783 lbs. the sum of which 

 divided by 400 lor each bale will give 45,866 bales 

 the product of Virginia and North Carolina. It 

 is unnecessary to follow the gentleman through 

 the remainder of his cotton statistics, as they will 

 only prove to be bags of wind instead of bales of 

 cotton, he having estimated 400 lbs. of seed cot- 

 ton, equally with ginned cotton to the bale— a 

 thing unheard of before. 



winters, large quantities of pressed hay are 

 shipped annually from the eastern states to the 

 southern ports. The wonder of this extraordinary 

 commentator upon what he deems an extraor- 

 dinary document is greatly increased upon finding 

 sugar reported among the products of New York, 

 and becomes to the eage conclusion that they are 

 pounds of sugar " on paper." Is this writer on 

 the statistics of his country to be informed, and 

 leurn (or the first time, that such a tree as the 

 sugar maple exists, and that vast supplies of sugar 

 are obtained from that source in the mountain 

 regions of his own state? Well, sir, we can tell 

 him that Viginia produced in 1839, according to 

 the returns of the marshals, 1,530,541 lbs. of ma- 

 ple sugar, an amount which may be almost inde- 

 finitely increased if Virginia chooses to put (brih 

 her energies. If New York should have availed 

 herself of that gill of Providence to the extent of 

 10 millions, it is only a reproach to our people, 

 that they have not been equally indusiriou.-^, 

 possessing the same means and (iiciiities. 



When ihe extracts Irom the agricultural statis- 

 tics were sent lo the senate, a note explained at 

 the (bot of the tabular statement, why North Ca- 

 rolina was not included ; see note, page 8, " the 

 aggregate not yet made." In other words the 

 marshal had not summed up the total of the coun- 

 ties in his district, and time was not allowed to do 

 it in the department. This affords grounds for a 

 sneer that, " Louisiana is Ihe only state in the 

 table which produces any considerable quantity of 

 pitch, far, turpentine and rosin, say 12,233 barrels. 

 We presume," says X., " they are produced from 

 some other tree than ihe pine;" and with this 

 (act (the omission of North Carolina) belbre his 

 eves, he ventures to give the "Total o( the 

 United States, 31,689 barrels." 



Do twenty-three states consiiiule the union, 

 Mr. X.? And if so, when did North Carolina 

 cease to be one of the number ? The fact is, up- 

 on summing up the returns of North Carolina, we 

 find reported 593,451 barrels of tar, pitch, turpen- 

 tine and rosin. Nearly twenty limes the amount 

 assumed by X., (or his total of the United States. 



X. having thus noticed what he is pleased lo 

 term our " most egregious errors," he is pleased 



