THE UNITED STATES CENSUS OF 1870. 297 



acres, or more accurately, 4,992,000 acres, while the number 

 of acres embraced in the census is only 2,730,283, a discrep- 

 ancy of over 2,260,000 acres, altogether too large to be 

 accounted for on any other supposition than a failure to find 

 a large number of farms, a fact which appears also plainly 

 enough on a comparison with the official returns of this 

 Commonwealth." 



I stated also that "so far as a few items are concerned, we 

 have a still better means of comparison, for the assessors, in 

 May, 1870, returned the number of cows taxed in the State 

 as 161,185, and in May, 1871, as 162,782, while the census 

 of 1870, taken at the same time, the different sets of officials 

 often crossing each other's track, returns only 114,771, — a 

 discrepancy of very nearly 50,000, which can be accounted 

 for in no other way than on the supposition that a large num- 

 ber of farms were entirely overlooked. Again, the assessors, 

 in 1870, return the number of horses as 107,198, and in 1871 

 as 112,782, while the United States census of 1870 returns 

 only 41,039. Now, if it be said, in explanation, that the 

 number given in the census includes only horses kept on 

 farms, it does not help the matter any ; for the census states 

 the number of horses not on farms as only 45,227, making the 

 total number in the State 86,266 only, still leaving a discrep- 

 ancy of 26,516 on the large number of farms whose statistics 

 are not included in the census, having been entirely over- 

 looked. Moreover, these gross discrepancies run all through 

 the agricultural productions, as given in the census returns of 

 this Commonwealth." 



These Tacts were stated simply from the figures printed and 

 circulated in this State and all over the country. They were 

 stated without blaming anybody, without even criticising any- 

 body, and without the slightest reference to the superintendent 

 of the census, and simply as a matter of duty to correct the 

 false impressions that had gained currency in all parts of the 

 country, purporting to be based on the census of 1870. 



I allude to the subject in this connection, to call attention 

 to the state census of 1875, prepared under the direction of 

 Col. Carroll D. Wright, Chief of the Bureau of Statistics of 

 Labor, which has just been issued, and to say that it com- 

 pletely sustains the position I maintained in the report already 



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