AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
135 
and such-like inventions, which, we are happy to 
say, are fast coming into use. And to town’s 
people so cheaply is the article now afforded, and 
orought to their own doors by the ice companies, 
,hat no house-keeper can afford to be without it. 
- » « >■ ■■■ ■ 
The Weather. 
(This article, written by an associate editor residing in 
Western New-York, say 100 miles north of this city, is 
.early applicable hereabouts, though we had a shorter 
■cold term” in the latter part of February, than the one 
.escribed by our associate.) 
This is an old topic to put in print, but the past 
Winter, and present Spring, thus far, have been 
so remarkable for mildness, beauty, and salubrity, 
that they are well worthy to be upon record. 
An Autumn of uncommon rain, wind, and discom¬ 
fort, both for man and beast, terminated late in 
November by one of the most remarkable snow¬ 
storms, and sharp frosts succeeding, within our re¬ 
collection. After a fortnight of this premature 
Winter, the weather gradually softened, the snow 
all disappeared, and a mild December—half of it 
Indian Summer—succeeded. January came in 
with a delightful haze, the ground was still open 
for plowing, the air very dry and genial. February 
opened in the same delicious tone for the first few 
days, but altera week, gentle snows fell over the 
unfrozen ground, making fine sleighing, and a 
month of the best “getting about” for farmers 
within our recollection. It was perfect. The 
ponds and streams closed thoroughly up. The 
ice crop—now a staple of absolute necessity of 
commerce with our Northern States, as well as of 
family consumption with most housekeepers—be¬ 
came secure. The woods were perfectly acces¬ 
sible by the ice bridges over sloughs, streams, 
and swamps, and every appliable thing and beast 
which could aid in man’s labor, was employed to 
the best possible account. So lasted a month in¬ 
to early March. Then it gradually thawed, the 
snow melting gently away without severe fresh¬ 
ets, or damage, and the mild Spring sun shone 
down upon us as lavishly as the smile of a mother 
on a recovering child. 
In our Central States, by the middle of the 
month the plows were merrily turning up the earth 
for the early seeds, and by the first of April, even 
as far North as Montreal, the roads were dry, and 
the ground settled. Two degrees to the North of 
this, young cattle were turned out of their stables 
with well filled mangers before them, on the thir¬ 
tieth day of March, and refused to come back, 
□referring to forage on the long withered grass 
with which the previously growing season had 
clothed the pastures in unwonted abundance. The 
weather has been, for most of the time, genial 
and balmy—wonderfully free from its boisterous, 
fitful habits in March, and early in April. On the 
average, our Spring crops go into the grounds 
this year a month earlier than last, and in much 
better condition. Then the land was clammy and 
wet; now, warm and dry. The farm stock 
throughout the country has wintered full fifty per 
cent better than last year, and on much less fod¬ 
der. The forage of 1856 was light, the succeeding 
Winter and Spring remarkably severe and pro¬ 
tracted, exhausting all the forage, which got up to 
famine prices, and every straw of it was consum¬ 
ed. Last year forage crops were abundant, and 
the past Winter so favorable, that, in the aggre¬ 
gate. millions of tons of hay and other forage, lie 
unexpended in the barns and stacks of our farm¬ 
ers. 
We knew a farmer in Western New-York who 
had to buy several tons of hay a year ago at 
twenty-five or thirty dollars a ton, to eke out the 
seasoc fo r his large stoc k of cattle and sheep, 
and now after maturing in fine condition a larger 
stock than then, he has over a hundred tons of 
good fodder in his barn, cut from the same land 
that his lessened stock of the previous year 
nearly starved on. And so it is, more or less, all 
over the country. Truly may our husbandmen 
rejoice in the fulness of their mows, their bins and 
their cribs, as well as feel a pride in the thrift of 
their herds and flocks now teeming with their annu¬ 
al increase, and the charming prospects for another 
season of bounty, and, we trust, of healthfulness. 
“But,” says the discontented man, “prices are 
low.” No matter ; it is time they were low; yet 
not so low as we have seen them within ten years 
past, when our farmers were happy, contented, 
and thriving. High prices have ruled for a few 
years past, we know—and they have been too 
high for the healthv action of our people. Our 
farmers have gone into mad speculations, bought 
too much land, built too many fine houses, got too 
many carriages, and their families have followed 
suit, each in their own individual line, and things 
have gone wrong generally. Now they can quit 
traveling on the railroads, stay at home, go to work 
and get steady again. No danger, either, that prices 
will not be good, and paying prices before the 
year is out. We have had a grand financial spree, 
and are now getting sober. No wonder a head¬ 
ache or two has followed. 
But we are getting into the economics. We be¬ 
gan about the.weather, and, as very natural, have 
wandered into something else. We close by con¬ 
gratulating our farmers on the abundant promise 
of the coming season, and expect them to employ 
it to the best advantage. 
-— m ^ P 1 -►-«■■- 
Statistics of American Agriculture. 
The importance of collecting early and com¬ 
plete official returns of the crops, stock, &c., of 
American Agriculture, is beginning to be felt. In 
Great Britain, the wheat crop, for example, is 
scarcely harvested, before official returns of the 
entire yield are gathered and spread before the 
country. This saves much uncertainty as to pro¬ 
bable prices and is undoubtedly of inestimable 
value to producers, however it may effect the in¬ 
terests of dealers who speculate mainly upon the 
doubt and uncertainty as to the actual yield in 
any year. Something equivalent to the system 
of annual statistic tables recently put in operation 
in Great Britain, will, we hope, be soon introduced 
here. At present we have only imperfect tables 
gathered once in ten years, and published in the 
decennial census reports. But even these are 
still imperfect, and we are happy to second any 
effort to render them more valuable. The “ Amer¬ 
ican Geographical and Statistical Society ” of this 
city is agitating the question, as will be seen by 
the following proceedings at a recent meeting for 
organizing an “ Agricultural Section.” 
John Jay, Esq., was chosen chairman of this 
section, and read the opening paper, taking for his 
subject: “ The Pre-eminence of Agriculture as 
the leading National interest of the United States, 
and the increased importance it is to derive from 
the growing demand for bread for Western 
Europe.” We can give but an outline of the re¬ 
marks.* Various facts were quoted to indicate a 
future increase of that demand, not only in Eng¬ 
land, but in France, Belgium, Holland, and the 
German States. The food question is evidently 
recognized bv the European Governments as the 
great economic and commercial question of the 
age, and as one that is invested in times of scar¬ 
* Since writinrr tne aDove, we learn that this address, 
with some aditional matter, is to be published by A. O. 
Moore: in a hand-book of some 150 pages. 25 cents in 
paper, or 50 cents pound. 
city, with marked political significance. The ca¬ 
pacity of the United States to become the grain 
producers of the world, is apparent from the 
breadth of her arable land, the small density oi 
her population, the intelligence of her farmers, the 
expanding influences of her institutions, and her 
commanding central position. 
Agriculture is destined not simply to furnish 
the bulk of our exports, but to exert an all impor¬ 
tant influence upon our national strength in de¬ 
veloping the industrial and moral qualities of our 
people, and its future statistics may develop laws 
that will assist us to solve moral and economic 
questions, that have puzzled the statesmen and 
philanthropists of both hemispheres. 
The returns of the census for 1840 and 1850, 
disclose with tolerable accuracy the leading fea¬ 
tures of our agriculture, the amount of land occu¬ 
pied, improved and unimproved, the breadth of 
land devoted to the several crops, the annual val¬ 
ue of each crop, the average of crops to the acre, 
the number of farms, their average size, the aver¬ 
age value of land in each State, &c. They show 
Indian Corn, our native grain, to be by far our 
largest staple, exceeding in value what, cotton and 
hay combined. This crop (corn) has doubled since 
1840, and yielded the last year more than eight- 
hundred millions of bushels, worth Four hundred 
Millions of Dollrrs. Wheat comes next and con¬ 
stitutes of breadstuff's our largest export. 
The apparent deterioration of the soil as shown 
by the decreasing average of crops to the acre, the 
average of wheat in New-York, Ohio and Indiana 
being 12 bushels, while in England it is 21, and in 
Scotland 30; the average duration of life in towns 
and in the rural districts with a. reference to the 
fact that in Surrey, England, it is 45 years, and in 
Manchester and Liverpool only 25, and the in¬ 
creasing proportion of our population who are re¬ 
linquishing agricultural pursuits for trade were 
referred to as interesting topics which might be so 
elaborated and verified by the next Census, that 
its returns should teach us not only lessons «rt 
political economy hut of daily duty. The sub 
ject was one that concerned the whole country 
and suggestions for the improvement of the agri¬ 
cultural schedules would doubtless be cordially 
welcomed at Washing'on. 
On the conclusion of the paper, Hon. Geo. Fojy 
som, made some remarks concluding with the fol¬ 
lowing resolutions which were supported by Mr. 
Pierrepont and Dr. Adamson, and adopted: 
“ Resolved that in the opinion of this Society the 
increasing magnitude of the Agricultural interest 
in the United States renders it a matter of N*a 
tional importance that the Agricultural Schedules, 
for the census of 1860, should be made as com¬ 
plete as possible, with the view of marking accu¬ 
rately its progress, its capabilities and the profits 
of Agricultural labor ; and with the further view 
of discovering where, and to what extent, the 
arable soil of the country is deteriorating in fer¬ 
tility, under existing modes of cultivation. 
Resolved, that the agricultural section of this 
body be instructed to invite suggestions from 
gentlemen throughout the Union, in regard to the 
topics that should be embraced in the NewSched 
ules. 
On motion of Mr. Barney, it was further 
Resolved, that the Governors of the several 
States be advised by the Chairman of the Agri¬ 
cultural Section of the foregoing resolutions, and 
be respectfully requested to present to the Socie¬ 
ty, for preservation in their library, a copy of the 
last State census and any other official documents 
bearing upon its Agricultural Statistics.” 
After some further conversation in which Mr. 
Folsom and Mr. Dinsmore took part, and a vote 
of thanks to Mr. Jay, for his address, notice was 
given that a meeting of the Agricultural Section 
would presently he called, for “working purposes,” 
and that gentlemen wishing to join would please 
send their names to the Chairman. 
