140 RURAL NEW YORK 



'New York ranks first, in the thirteenth census re- 

 turns, in the production of hay and forage, potatoes, 

 vegetables, buckwheat, flowers and phmts, nursery 

 products, small-fruits, willows and teasel ; second in 

 orchard fruits and grapes, hops, maple sugar and 

 sirup and ginseng, and until very recently it was 

 third in dry beans. In the production of the grains 

 and cereals it ranks low, having long since given way 

 to the central states. In the last census period, the 

 chief change in its position has been a further de- 

 pression in rank in the production of cereals, and com- 

 plete loss of standing in the growing of sugar-beets, 

 while in the production of buckwheat it advanced 

 from second to first place. Acreage is a better mea- 

 sure of the relative production of crops than is yield, 

 particularly in making comparisons between differ- 

 ent regions and periods. Nearly 8,500,000 acres or 

 28 per cent of the entire area and 56.5 per cent of 

 tlie improved area are devoted to cultivated crops. 

 Tliree-fifths of this crop area or about 5,000,000 acres 

 is occupied by hay and forage crops, a little less than 

 one-third, 2,800,000 acres, by grains, cereals and seed 

 crops, one-twentieth or about 400,000 acres by po- 

 tatoes and vegetables, and one-fourteenth or about 

 000,000 acres by fruit and nursery crops. 



The total value of all crops including fruits and 

 flowers in 1909 was $209,000,000. In rank accord- 

 ing to value New York stood somewhat different 

 from the acreage relations. The value of farm crops 

 alone in 1909 was approximately $132,000,000. In 

 1918 it amounted to $281,000,000, though the acreage 



