AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[March, 
72 
An Important Enterprise—The Co-opera¬ 
tion of all our Headers Asked. 
Tlie project detailed below is one of general 
interest, not only to each of our readers, but to 
the whole country, and we ask special attention 
to the subject. It is well known that in this 
country we have no public system of gathering 
from year to year, and at different times in the 
year, the statistics of the condition and probable 
yield of our growing crops. This work should 
be done by the General Government, but at 
present it is not, nor is it likely to be for a year 
or two at least. When, for example, the wheat 
harvest approaches, there is the utmost uncer¬ 
tainty, not only as to the relative amount sown, 
but also in regard to the condition of the growing 
crop. Shrewd speculators, who have on hand a 
large stock of old grain, often circulate newspa¬ 
per reports to the effect that owing to bad 
weather, insects, small breadth, etc., there will 
not be half a crop gathered. On the other 
hand, as the harvest begins, another class in¬ 
tending to become grain buyers, are interested 
in magnifying the yield for the purpose of de¬ 
pressing prices. Thus, not only the producers, 
but many dealers themselves, are in a. state of 
doubt and uncertainty, Some farmers, influ¬ 
enced by one class of reports, hasten to sell 
their grain at any'price they can first get. 
Others, seeing more of the other kind of re¬ 
ports, hold on tenaciously, hoping that, owing 
to the reported poor yield, they will realize 
higher prices than their neighbors. In short, 
there is such an entire absence of reliable statis¬ 
tics that all are in a state of doubt and uncer¬ 
tainty, and none more so than the non-commer¬ 
cial producers. This state of things we pro¬ 
pose to try to remedy, to a small degree at 
least, if we can secure the aid and co-operation 
of our readers, in the following manner: 
1. Let the readers of the Agriculturist in every 
town counsel together, and select some man 
who may be relied upon for good judgment, and 
general ability to estimate with some degree of 
accuracy in regard to the leading crops, wheat, 
corn, etc., (a), what is the amount of surface 
sown or planted, as compared with previous 
years; and (&), the prospect at any date. Wherever 
there is a Farmers’ Club, let the Club choose the 
reporter. Let it be understood by him that he 
is desired to keep on the look-out, and be able 
to respond to all questions as to the prospect of 
the crops. Where any subscriber stands alone, 
and can get no one to cooperate with him, let 
him volunteer to act himself, and the very fact 
that his report is to go out to the country will 
lead him to be observant and make inquiries. 
2. Let the name of such persons be forwarded 
to the Editor of the Agriculturist without delay. 
3. To every such person we will send out a 
sheet of blank forms , to be filled up with a brief 
summary of the amount and condition of the 
leading crops of the different kinds. The blanks 
will be so arranged as to require very little writ¬ 
ing in filling up, and therefore involve but little 
labor aside from that required to be well in¬ 
formed as to the condition of the crops. 
4. One of these blanks to be filled up at 
given dates, say May 10, June 10, July 10, and 
August 10, and forwarded to this Office. 
5. These reports will be published in tabular 
form in the Agriculturist , either in full or in a 
well digested summary. 
It will be seen at a glance, that such a system 
of reports will be of immense value, not only to 
the country at large, but to every man who 
has produce to sell. Suppose that only five 
hundred or one thousand such reports should 
be gathered and published; yet, if they come 
from different parts of the country, it is evident 
that they will give at least an approximation to 
the average of the whole country. The reports 
should embrace a neighborhood, and not merely 
the reporter’s own crops, for their condition may 
depend upon his own good or bad husbandry. 
Such is the plan we propose. It will involve 
much labor and expense on our part, but we 
shall cheerfully undertake it, if our readers will 
so far co-operate as to present us with the 
names of reliable men upon whom we can call 
for the desired information. 
Please act upon it at once. We desire only 
one name at. a Post-office. When there are seve¬ 
ral subscribers at any office, and this is general¬ 
ly. the case, let those who first happen to meet, 
talk the subject over, and in conjunction with 
others, select the man, and then some one send 
us his name and address. When there is but 
one subscriber, let him talk over the matter with 
his neighbors who are not subscribers, and 
among them agree upon some one to act as re¬ 
porter. It is not at all essential that' the report¬ 
er be a subscriber. What we desire is, the best 
man to fill up the blanks and return them to us. 
On receiving his name, we will enter it among 
those to whom blanks will be. forwarded, with 
instructions how to make up the report. Since 
“ what is everybody’s business is nobody’s busi¬ 
ness,” will the reader of this please make this 
matter one of his own affairs to be first looked 
after. ; It needs no argument to show that such 
a system of reports will be valuable to every 
farmer, and that, since every other interest de¬ 
pends mainly upon the prosperity of agriculture, 
(as we clearly demonstrated last year,) all classes 
will be interested in getting the earliest and most 
reliable reports of the general condition of the 
incoming crops of the country. 
Farmers’ Prospects—What of the Future ? 
Could we spare the room, it would be pleasant 
to publish extracts from numerous letters which 
speak in strong terms of the articles on the market 
prospects, published in the American Agriculturist 
during the past eight or ten months. These 
statements voluntarily made, indicate that this 
journal has saved to its readers, in a single 
year, vastly more than it has cost the country 
during the whole twenty years of its existence. 
Multitudes speak of having realized ten to thirty 
cents per bushel more for their grain, than they 
would have received, had they not been in¬ 
duced to withhold their produce from market 
at a time when prices were at the lowest ebb, 
and when men’s minds were filled with fearful 
forebodings. So much for the past. The object 
of many of the letters referred to is, to draw 
out some definite prognostication from us for 
the coming year. But here we find ourselves 
very much in the dark, for the time being. We 
will, however, offer some general suggestions: 
1st. The deficiency in Europe is not yet sup¬ 
plied, and will not be fully met for months to 
come. In short, if every bushel of wheat that 
can possibly be spared throughout our country, 
be gathered up and sent to the seabord before 
the first of next June, England and France will 
take it all, and ask for more. The foreign 
stock of breadstuff's is rapidly decreasing, and 
we look for very large orders as soon as they can 
be filled on the opening of inland navigation. 
2d. The present indications are, that after 
the next harvest the foreign demand upon us 
will be very small, if it do not entirely cease for 
a time. Last Autumn the season for sowing 
winter grain was very fine, both in Great Britain 
and on the Continent, and especially in the 
former, and the breadth sown was greatly above 
the average. Up to the date of our latest foreign 
reports, the winter weather had, on the whole, 
been favorable. Unless, therefore, the spring 
weather should chance to turn out very badly, so 
much so as to injure the winter grain, and inter¬ 
fere with the sowing of spring wheat and other 
spring grains, we can not look for much for¬ 
eign help in our grain markets after June. 
3d. In this country it is yet too soon to hazard 
even a “ guess,” as some of our readers ask 
us to do. The breadth sown last Autumn was 
not much, if any, above the average. It was 
generally got into the ground in good condition, 
however. Thus far the Winter has not been the 
most favorable. There has been too little snow 
to protect wheat well, and it has still to run the 
gauntlet of the warm days and freezing nights of 
March and early April. Wheat will stand the 
most intense steady frost far better than the ex¬ 
pansions and contractions of the wet soil pro¬ 
duced by cold nights and warm days. The 
weather from May 1 to harvest, insects, and dry 
weather at the time of gathering, may make half 
difference in the yield. All these circumstances 
taken into account, we shall hardly look for 
more than an average crop at best. And more¬ 
over, the fact that we had so large a yield in 
1861, is rather against a similar yield in 1862, 
judging from the ordinary course of Nature. 
3d. To counterbalance, in part, the expected 
cessation of a foreign demand, we shall have the 
fact that the country will be entirely drained of 
old stocks of grain—probably more so than at 
any harvest for several years past. This, of it¬ 
self, will have a favorable effect upon prices, and 
should the yield turn out below an average, 
prices will be likely to rule high. One practi¬ 
cal conclusion to be drawn from the above 
statement is, that farmers should prepare to sow 
a large breadth of Spring wheat. 
4th. Much will depend upon the course of the 
war, and thfi financial policy adopted by Con¬ 
gress. We look for the termination of the war 
within a very brief period. It may extend into 
the Summer, and perhaps into Autumn, but this 
is scarcely probable. The restoration of peace 
will be likely to be followed by a sudden spring 
in all business operations, activity in manufac¬ 
tures, and high prices for all lands of farm pro¬ 
duce. A collapse will, perhaps, or probably, 
follow, and it behooves farmers, at least, “ to 
make hay while the sun shines.” If the country 
be flooded with a large amount of Treasury 
Notes, the price of everything will go up in 
proportion to the relative amount of circulating 
medium. It will be a good time for farmers to 
pay off their debts, and to avoid contracting 
new ones to be paid at a less favorable period. 
The most practical advice we can now give to 
farmers is, to prepare for the largest possible 
Spring planting and sowing; to save and use 
all the manure that can by any means be made 
available, and be ready for whatever may come. 
Do not be carried away by speculation, however 
high the current may run. Continue to practice 
the lessons of economy learned during the past 
dark period. Get the land and store debts paid 
off. Be content with present possessions, and 
not run into debt for more acres. Look into and 
develop the farm lying under that you notv 
cultivate, which is already yours in fee simole. 
