roi.. XV. vo. 3n. 



AND It R T I C U L T V R A L R E Ci 1 S T E H 



i8l 



VIAIIKS ON TIIK ACiKlCUI/rUKAI. STA- 

 TISTICS. 



) coniioxiuii «'-iili the f»ri';;iiiiii; TabiiUr View, 

 decini'd mipurtant tu add annic gciiornl rcinnrk:! 



sfcrcncc to ihecrop* of ]64\, and also particii- 

 relatin; to tlio various arlicloii cniimeratod, 

 thr> prospects of tlio country willi regard to 



I for years to come. 



his tabular vienr han been prepared from tbc 

 118 statistics taken in 18-40, upon tlie aj^riciiltii- 

 roductii of the year 18;t"J as the basis. 'J'hoao 

 been carefully compBreil and estimated by a 

 rious examination and condensing of a great 

 Jer of agricultural papers, reports, &-c. through- 

 he Union, together witli such other infonna- 

 as could bo obtained by recourse to individu- 

 from every srcliun ot the country. It is 

 Ted to be as correct as nith the present data 

 )e reached, althongli, could the entire atlen- 

 f a competent person be devoted to the pro- 

 on of on annual register, to be formed by 

 ting, comparing, and classifying the various 

 of intelligence, and conducting un extensive 

 spondonce with reference to this subject, an 

 nt of statistical and other information rcla- 

 to the ngricukurnl products of our countiy | 

 be furnushed, which would be exceedingly ' 

 ble to tiie whole nation, and a hundred fold 

 than repay nil the expenditure for accom- 

 ng Uie object 'J'lie statistics professedly de- | 

 from ihe census, which have been published 

 g the past yetr in various papers and journals, 

 ry incorrect, as any one can assure himself 

 niparing them with the recapitulation just 

 from the census bureau, by direction of the 

 tary of State. They were probably copied 

 ie rclurn.i of the marshals of the Uistrict.s, 

 they hud been suitably compared and cor- 



e estimates of the foregoing Tabular View 



lubtlcss more closely accurate with regard to 



portions of the country than others. The 



rous aoricultural societies in some of the 



I, with the reports and journals devoted to 



ranch of industry, afford a means of forming 



in estimate ls is not to be found in others. 



6 of this description, giving a continued re- 



f the crops, improvements in seeds, and means 



ture, and direction of labor, are more to be 



on in this matter than the mere political or 



ercial journal.'', as they cannot be suspected, 



<#iese latter, of any design of forestalling or 



ts'ise influencing the market, by their weekly 



«onth;v report of the crops. Portions, too, of 



islnsus statistics have probably been more ac- 



jrMly taken than others. In assuming Ihem as 



sis, rel'crence most also be had to the Bniiiial 



se of our population, equal to from ;300,000 



,000, and in some of the States reaching as 



r s 10 pir cent., as estimated by the ten years 



the year 1H40, and also to the diversion 



)r fniin the works of internal improvement 



on by the States, in consequence of which 



nsumcr has become the producer of agricul- 



ducts, the prices of articles raised, &c., with 



riou.-) other causes which might occasion an 



se or a decrease in the products of each 



and the sum total of agricultural supply. 



nieiiient reference, iho census return, total 



population of each State, and also the esti- 



population according to annual increase, 



are added to the tabic, in separate column?, besidu 

 each other. 



Tliu crops of Ity.l, on which the rcmms stslis- 

 lies are founded, were, as appears froui the notices 

 of that year, very abundant in relation to nearly 

 every product throughout the whole country ; in- 

 deed, unusually so, compared with the years pre- 

 ceiling. Tobacco niiiy be con^iidercd un exception ; 

 it is described to have been generally a short crop. 

 The crops of the succeeding year are likewise 

 charaiteri/.ed as abundant. Tho (.uccess which 

 had atlended industry in 18'<'>, stimulated many to 

 outer upon a larger cultivation of the various arti- 

 cles produced, whilo the stagnation of other bran- 

 ches of business drew to the same puisuit a new 

 addition to the laboring force of the population. i 

 Similar irnuses operated also to a considerable 

 extent the past year. In 1841, the season may be! 

 said to have been less favorable in many respect^ , 

 than in the two preceding ones ; but the increase ! 

 of the laboring h>rce, and the amount of soil-culli-j 

 vatcd, render tho aggregate somewhat larger. Had 1 

 the season been equally favorable, wo might proba-i 

 biy have rated the increase considerably higher, as i 

 tlie annual average increase of the grains, with po- 

 tatoes, according to the a-nnual increase of our 

 population, is about 30 millions of bushels. Por- 

 tions of the country suffered much from a long 

 drought during the last summer, which affected un- 

 favorably the crops more particularly liable to fee! 

 its influence, especially grain, corn and potatoes. 

 In other parts, also, various changes of the weather 

 in the summer and autumn, lessened the amount of 

 their staple products below what might have been 

 gathered, had the season proved favorable. Still, 

 there has bi'en n<i decisive failure, on the whole, 

 in any State, se as to render importation necessary, 

 without tho means of payment in some equivalent 

 domestic product, as has been the case in some for- 

 mer years, when large importations were made to 

 supply tho deticiency, at cash prices. In the year 

 1837, not less than 3,921,259 bushels of wheat 

 were imported into tho United States. We have 

 now a large surplus of this and other agricultural 

 products for exportation, were a market opened to 

 receive them. 



A glance at the specific crops is all that can be 

 given. Some notice of this kind seems necessary, 

 and may be highly useful to those who wish to 

 embrace, in a narrow compass, the results of the 

 agricultural industry of our country : — 



H'heat. — This is one of the great staple products 

 of several States, the soil of which seems, by a 

 happy combination, to be peculiarly fitted for iLs 

 culture. Silicioua earth, as well as lime, appears 

 to form a requisite of the soil to adapt it for rais- 

 ing wheat to the greatest advantage, and the want 

 of this has hr.en suggested as a reason for its not 

 proving so successful of cultivation in some por- 

 tions of our country. Of the great wheat-growing 

 States, during the past year, it may be remarked 

 that, in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and 

 the Southern Stntes, this crop seems not to have 

 repaid so increased an harvest as was promised 

 early in the season. Large quantities of seed 

 were sown, and the expectation was deemed war- 

 ranted of an unu.siially iihundant increase. But 

 the appearance of the chinch bug and other clu es 

 de.stroyed these hopes. Of all the States Ohio 

 stands foremost in the production of wheaL About 

 one sixth of the whole amount of the wheal crop 

 of the country is raised by this State. 



The value of this crop in our country is so uni- 



versally lolt, thai Its imporlanro will bo at once ac- 

 knowledged. Tho whole oggreguto oniouni of 

 wheat rni-icd >» ! > 1 ,1 >-i2,ll57 hushelH, which is nearly 

 equal to that of CJrent nritnin, the wheat crop of 

 which does not annually cxcood IOO,000,UO<I bash- 

 els. 



Biirlcy. — Comparatively little of this grain la 

 rMi:!ed In Ibis country, with tho exception of New 

 York. Maine, Ohio, P>'niisylv«nia, Michigan, 

 Massachusetts, New llampshire, and Illinois, rank 

 next 08 producers of this crop As it in raised 

 principally to supply malt for tho brewery, and 

 small quantities of it only are used for the food of 

 animals, or for bread, no great increase in this pro- 

 duct is to be onticipated. Tho crop of 1841 ap- 

 pears to huvc been Komewhat loss than tho usual- 

 one in proportion to the populotion. 



Outs. — This grain in several of tho States )■ 

 evidently deemed an important object of cultiva- 

 tion, and lr\rge quantities of it are annually pro- 

 duced. As compared with wheat, it has tho pre- 

 cedence in all of them, with the exception of 

 .M.iine, Maryland, Ohio and Georgia. New York 

 takes the lead in the amount raised. Then fol- 



s very cfosely, Pennsylvania; then Ohio, Vir- 

 ginia, Indiana, Tennessee, and Kentucky. It is a 

 lavori.te crop, too, in the New Kngland States. The 

 crop of oots in 1841, is believed to liavc been 

 somewhat below a full one, hnd may therefore be 

 considered as not having been so successful as 

 some others, although large quantitii'S of the seed 

 were sown in the Stales where they are most 

 abundantly cultivated. 



Rye. — This species of grain is mostly confined 

 to a few States. The proportion which it bears to 

 the other grains is probably greater in the New 

 Kngland States than in any other section of our 

 conntry. There it likewise, to some extent, forms 

 an article of food for the people. Pennsylvania, 

 New York, New Jersey, Virjjinia, Kentucky, Ohio, 

 and Connecticut, may Ijo ranked as the chief pro-- 

 diicers of this crop; at leas, tiiese are omong the 

 States where it bears the ^-eattst relative propor- 

 tion to t-he other Important crops. In 1841, it ex- 

 perienced, in some di'gree, similar vicissitudes wit|i 

 the other grains, and must likewise be estimated 

 as below the increased crop which a more favora- 

 ble season would probably have produced. The 

 product of this crop is extensively used in many 

 [)art8 of our country for distillation, although the 

 quantity thus applied has probably materially les- 

 sened within the few years past, and will doubtless 

 hereafter undergo a still greater reduction. 



Buchwheat. — This must be reckoned among the 

 crops of minor interest in our country. With tho 

 exception of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jer- 

 sey, Ohio, Connecticut, Virginia, Vermont, Michi- 

 gan and New Hampshire, very little attention 

 seems to bo gifen to the cAlti.re of this grain. In 

 Kngland, it is principally' cultivated that it may be 

 cut in a green state as fodder for cnttle, and the 

 seed is u.sed to feed pou''ry. In this country it is 

 also applied in a similar manner ; and is soinetimea 

 plowed in, as a means of enriching the soil. To 

 a limited extent, tho grain is further used as an 

 article of food. The crop of 1841 may be consid- 

 ered as, on the whole, above an average one. This 

 may in part be attributed to the fjct that when 

 some of the other and e.irlier crops failed, resort 

 was had to buckwheat, as a later crop, more exten- 

 sively than is usual. It is a happy feature in the 

 ! adaptation of our climate, that the vari'^iies of pro- 

 ' ducts are so great as to enable the agriculturist 



