THE GENESEE FARMER. 



SOS 



wheat crop has maintained itself so well ; and the 

 fact that it has done so, against both Western com- 

 petition and insect depredators, is something to be 



proud of rather than to mourn over. — 



And what does the decrease in the wheat crop for 

 the last ten years, amount to? In bushels it is 

 4,440,399— in dollars and cents probably a little 

 short of $5,000,000. Now the increase in the an- 

 nual value of the produce of our market gardens, 

 alone, is about $3,400,000 ; add increase in potatoes, 

 rating them at-20 cents a bushel, and, in these two 

 items alone, we have made up the loss in our 

 growth of wheat with five or six hundred thousand 

 dollars over! But every other kiud of grain than 

 wheat has increased; against a loss-of 4£ million 

 bushels of wheat, we have a gain of over 2 million 

 bushels of Indian corn, 8A. millions of oats, and over 

 2 millions in rye, barley, peas and beans. 



Our Live Stock is valued at $103,856,296 in 

 1860, against $73,570,499 in 1850, an increase of 

 $=30,285,797. This is equivalent to a capiial invest- 

 ed in Live Stock by our farmers averaging $722 for 

 every 100 acres of improved land in 1860, against 

 $593 for every 100 acres of improved land ten 

 years before. The estimate of Mr. Thomas (see 

 above reference to Rural Affairs) was $1,010 per 

 100 acres as the necessary investment for Live 

 Stock, and the English estimates run all the way 

 from £2 to £6 per acre, or from one to three thou- 

 sand dollars per 100 acres. — — — Our Milch 

 cows have increased in number more than one- 

 fifth; working oxen and other cattle, as well as 

 sheep aild swine, have fallen off, but the value of 

 animals slaughtered has nevertheless increased fully 

 one-sixth, and our production of Butter has been 

 enlarged almost 30 per cent. The quantity of 

 cheese made, shows a small decline. Taking the 

 equivalent in cheese and butter, and comparing the 

 total production with the reported number of milch 

 cows in the State, we have 103.4 lbs. of Butter a. 

 the average production per cow in 1850 against 

 106.1 lbs. in 1860— a small change, but, such as it 

 is, in the right direction. 



Is the Character of our Stock Improving ?— 

 We think the Census returns afford ample proof of 

 a gratifying change in this direction— a change 

 showing that where we have discarded in number, 

 we have advanced in quality. While the total 

 number of livestock of all kinds is returned at only 

 6,006,494, in 1860, against 6,797,109 in 1850— a 

 decline of nearly 800,000 head, or more than 10 per 

 cent., the value is reported as aggregating a sum 40 

 per cent, greater than ten years ago. Throwing 

 the horses out of the calculation, we have 5,501,206 

 cattle, sheep and swine in 1860, against 6^349J32 

 in 1850, or a reduction of over 13 per cent. ; 'but 

 the account with them stands as follows : 



Value of Animals Slaughtered, 1860 $15841418 



do. do. do. 1850 18!573,983 



Increase « 2 267 435 



Value of Butter at say 15 cts. per lb., 1S60." $15 464' 591 ' 

 do. do. do. 1850.. 11,964914 



Increase S.4W.677 



In other words, take cattle, sheep and swine alto- 

 gether, and they yield us a dollar a head all around 

 better than ten years ago, and an aggregate five 

 millions and a half of dollars greater, while we 

 have nearly a million of them less to look after. 

 It there is any reliance whatever to be placed on 

 our Census returns, and even allowing that in some 

 unaccountable way the census-takers of 1860 may 

 have been animated by a spirit of exaggeration 

 which did not influence their predecessors in 1850 

 we cannot yet avoid the conclusion that our breed- 

 ers of improved stock have done a vast work for 

 the Agriculture of New York during the decade 

 just concluded. 



As an illustration in detail, of the facts repre- 

 sented above in gross, take the sheep: We deduct 

 above for a diminished yield of wool, but the fi-mres 

 prove that it is now a much better yield per^head 

 than in 1850. The number of sheep reported, young 

 and old together, in that year, was 3,453,241, yield- 

 ing 10,071,301 pounds of wool, or an average per 

 head of 2.91 pounds. In 1860, there was a total of 

 2,617,855 sheep, and a yield of 9,454,473 pounds of 

 wool, an average per head of 8.61 pounds ; and a 

 comparison of these figures shows what is almost a 

 remarkable coincidence, between the ratio of de- 

 creasing numbers and increasing weight of fleece— 

 the sheep showing a decrease of 24 per cent, in 

 number, and the wool an increase of 24 per cent 

 in weight, per head. Thus while the number of 

 sheep has fallen off about one-fourth, the actual 

 yield of wool only exhibits a reduction of something- 

 less than one-sixteenth. ' *" 



We derive the foregoing conclusions from the 

 abstracts of the Census returns of this State (Agri- 

 cultural) to be published in the forthcoming Vol- 

 ume of the Transactions of the State Ag. Society. 

 Col. Johnson has prepared to accompany them the 

 table quoted below, showing an 



Increase in tliefolloiting aggregates and productions sincel850 

 Improved acres of land, Increase in 10 years 1 Q79 407 



gash value of farms, do. " ;* 24 SJ.m 



Increase in Meat anU Butter obtained «<; t,;7 110 



Contra— Decrease in Wool grown, 616,828 »>•"•»"« 



lbs., say at 40 cents to give a lib- 

 eral valuation , $246,781 



Decrease in Cheese, 1,193,126 lbs., 



say at 6 cents ' 71 537 



Decrease in Wool and Cheese....!... 318 318 

 Net increased Annual Eevenue from the Live Stock of ' 



tne8tate $5,448,794 



Value of farm implements, do. 



Horses, number of, do. 



Asses and mules, number of, do". 



Milch cows, do. do. 



Value of live stock, do! 



Eye, bushels, do" 

 Indian com, bushels, do. 



Oats, bushels, do! 



Tobacco, lbs., do! 



Cotton, lbs., do! 



Peas and beans, bushels, do! 



Irish potatoes, bushels, do. 



Sweet potatoes, bushels, do! 



Barley, bush Is, do. 



Buckwheat, bushels, do. 



Orchard products, do! 



Wine, gallons, do. 

 Market gardens, value products, do 



Butter, lbs.. do. 



Clover seed, bushels, do! 



Hops, lbs., do 



Flax, lbs., do. 



Maple sugar, lbs., do. 



Molasses, gallons, do. 



Molasses, sorghum, gallons, do. 



Beeswax and honey, lbs., do. 



Value of animals slaughtered, do. 



Population, do. 



$248,796,951 



$7,081,769 



56,721 



590 



192.310 



$80,285,7y7 



63S,7"2 



2,202,648 



8,622,319 



5,681,393 



2S0 



867,698 



11,049,(527 



1,895 



601, 6u8 



1,942,350 



$2,064,430 



52,232 



$8,881,596 



23,331,185 



18,710 



7,119,248 



573,899 



45s,974 



55,312 



265 



734,230 



$2,267,438 



783,384 



, Decrease of ths /allotting productimis sine* 1850. 



Working oxen, number 07 sn7 



Othercattle, do WtSk 



Snetp, do a v . 9 o» 



Swine, do ■•• JrS'o?? 



Wheat, bushels [ ^ ".'.'.'.'".'.'.'. 444T/ 899 



Wool, lbs. 61 6S9S 



Cheese, lbs 1198125 



Hay, tons 'iS'Sm 



Grasa seed,;bu8hel« !!!.'!".'! Um 



