86 
AGEICULTURE. 
, 
Orchard Grass, Red Top, Millet, and Hungarian Grass are 
Red Clover is much less cultivated 
hay. 
all cultivated to some extent. 
than it should be ; its general introduction, if it ever takes place, 
will be one of the greatest improvements in the agriculture of our 
State. On the farm of the 
Hon. J. W. Harris, near Rocheport in Boone county, which has 
recently received the prize offered by the State Board of Agriculture 
Good pasturage abounds everywhere. 
for the best stock-farm in the State, and in many adjoining local- 
ities, Blue Grass fields are found equaling in luxuriance the famous 
pasture grounds of Kentucky. The White Clover—7Z. refens, often 
claims a place in blue grass pastures.. 
The manufacture of Butter and Cheese is increasing rapidly. At 
the St. Louis Fair of 1872, a premium was awarded for an immense 
cheese weighing one thousand pounds, manufactured in Worth 
County. The last Census computes—perhaps somewhat at random 
—the annual production of butter in Missouri at 14,455,825 
pounds, and the production of cheese at 204,090 pounds. 
Tue Potato—Solanum Tuberosum, I. This valuable esculent is 
ascertained to bea native of South America, and was first brought to 
Europe by colonists sent out by Sir WaLTER RALEIGH, when they 
As a healthy and 
nourishing article of human food, potatoes are inferior to no other 
returned from Virginia to England in 1¢86. 
edible plant grown, and their great productivity renders them of 
invaluable use to many demsely populated countries. It admits of 
demonstration that an acre of potatoes will feed double the number 
that can be fed from an acre of wheat and corn. The varieties of 
the potato are innumerable, and old sorts formerly esteemed in our 
markets, are constantly making way for newer kinds. The varieties 
of potato preferred at present are the Early Rose, for spring 
planting, and the Peach-blow, as a late keeping sort for winter use. 
Although potatoes raised in the latitude of Missouri are less farina- 
ceous than when grown under a cooler and more northern climate, 
their quality is good and their taste agreeable. The crop succeeds 
very well in Missouri, and an abundance is grown forhome con- 
sumption and even for exportation South. The potato rot or 
murrain, a disease due to the presence of a fungus called Peronas- 
pera infestans by scientists, which has been more than ever 
prevalent and destructive in Europe this year (1872) has never 
affected the crop to a perceptible extent in Missouri.. The Dory- 
phora decem-lineata, or Colorado potato-bug, a new and most 
noxious insect, has for two or three years past threatened the 
destruction of this favorite esculent; but what with the increase 
of its natural enemies, and the improved methods of warring 
against it, that have been made known through our State Entom- 
ological Reports, this insect is no longer dreaded as it formerly 
was. 
THe Sweet Potato—fomea batatas, belongs to the Morning- 
glory family, and is an adventive plant which owes its origin to 
the East Indies. It was used in England as a delicacy long 
before the introduction of the common potato, and its culture 
has been carried on in Europe for several centuries. The sweet 
potato succeeds best in a sandy loam of moderate fertility, and is 
one of the most reliable and profitable of our crops. It is grown in 
our State mainly for home use. 
MISCELLANEOUS Crops AND Propucts—Woo/.—The total pro- 
duction of all grades of this staple in 1870, was 3,649,390 pounds 
against 2,069,778 in 1860. The soil and climate of Missouri are 
peculiarly well adapted to the rearing of sheep, and with adequate 
and stringent protective enactments against predatory animals of 
the canine tribe, sheep-growing, as a branch of agronomic industry, 
can be made highly profitable. Money.—The culture of the 
honey-bee is remunerative, especially in localities lying in conve- 
nient proximity to vineyards and orchards of the choicer fruits, 
where these insects are enabled to collect an abundant supply of 
food—from the blossoms in spring, and from the sweetest and 
ripest peaches and grapes in summer and autumn. The annual 
production. of honey is estimated. at 1,156,444 pounds, and that of 
wax at 35,248 pounds. Sorghum or Chinese Sugar Cane.—This 
sacchariferous species of Millet attracted some attention, and its 
culture increased materially when the supply of Southern molasses 
was cut off during our late internecine troubles. It is still raised 
in considerable quantities for local consumption in several coun- 
The annual production increased from 776,101 gallons in 
Broom Corn, another variety 
ties. 
1860, to 1,730,171 gallons in 1870. 
of millet closely related to the former, is occasionally grown for 
the minufacture of brooms. Buckwheat, White Beans, Peas, Hops 
and a few other culmiferous and leguminous vegetables. which 
sometimes come within the designation of field-crops, are occasion- 
ally grown successfully in limited quantities, but they are not of 
sufficient consequence to receive more than a passing mention in 
this article. Garden Vegetables are an important article both of 
food and commerce. Peas, beans, turnips, onions, tomatoes, 
cabbage, and many other economic plants suited to our soils and 
climate, are found in our markets at all seasons. ‘The value of the 
produce of market-gardens is stated by the United States Census to 
be $406,655, a sum which is inaccurate and scarcely equal to the 
annual consumption of the single city of St. Louis. 
OrcHARD Propucrs.—Fruits of every kind and variety usual to 
the temperate zone, flourish under our parallel of latitude, and 
display their delicate luxuries upon our tables in great profusion. 
. The golden apple, the juicy pear, the downy-cheeked peach, attract 
by their beauty and delicious taste, and afford a healthful and 
important article of consumption and domestic economy. If 
properly managed, the cultivation of a fruitful orchard is one of 
the most remunerative, as well as delightful occupations of the 
whole range of agriculture. The soil of Missouri is favorable to 
the Apple, and it attains its highest perfection on our numerous 
bluffs and ridges of moderate elevation. The fruit matures during 
a long succession of months, and is found in our markets in 
abundance and at reasonable prices nearly all the year round. 
Apple orchards of greater or lesser size are met with in every part 
of the State, and the products are shipped East and West in con- 
siderable quantities in autumn and winter. 
Lhe Pear. In the cultivation of this fruit, a deep, well drained, 
moderately fertile soil, is indispensable to success. Our pears, 
while not so showy or highly colored as the varieties grown in 
California, surpass them in juiginess and delicate flavor. The 
most serious impediment to profitable pear culture is the fatal 
scourge known to pomologists as the Frozen Sap, or fire blight ; it 
prevails with more or less intensity throughout every State situated 
