COST AND PROFITS OF RAISING WHEAT, ETC., IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE UNION. 241 
COST AND PROFITS OF RAISING WHEAT, 
INDIAN CORN, &c„ IN DIFFERENT PARTS 
* OF TRIE UNION. 
The question is often asked, how much does it 
cost to raise a bushel of wheat, or corn, in different 
parts of the United States, and how do the profits 
attending their culture compare with each other, 
&c. For the benefit of these persons, and all 
others, who are interested in this subject, we con¬ 
dense, from the last Report of the Commissioner of 
Patents, the following statements from gentlemen in 
different sections of the country, which, we trust, 
will afford the information desired :— 
Statement of Harvey Huntoon , of Unity , N. H. 
—In compliance with your request to procure ac¬ 
curate accounts of the cost of producing crops of 
wheat and Indian corn in the vicinity of my resi¬ 
dence, I herewith transmit my estimates of the 
same with a succession of hay crops until the 
ground again requires to be plowed for corn and 
wheat. 
Seed corn 4 bushel per acre, worth, . $0.50 
Interest on land, . . . . 1.50 
Plowing, . 3.00 
Planting, . . . , . 2.00 
Hoeing, . . . . . 2.00 
Harvesting, . . . , . 2.00 
Threshing, . . , . 1.00 
Manure,. 8.00 
Total cost, ... . . . $ 20.00 
Average crop forty bushels, worth 75 cents p 
bushel. 
Value of product, . . . . $30 
Cost, . 20 
Gain, . . . . . $10 
Wheat next year, two bushels per acre 
when prepared for sowing, worth, . $4 
Interest on land, ..... 2 
Plowing, ...... 2 
Harrowing, ...... 1 
Harvesting, ..... 5 
Threshing, ..... 2 
Manure, . . 7 
Cost, . $22.00 
Average worth, . . . . $1.34 
Value of 20 bushels, . . . 26.00 
Cost, .... . 22.00 
Gain per acre, . . . $4.00 
One ton of hay per acre annually for ten 
successive years, one fourth clover 
seed sown with the wheat, worth, $0.75 
Interest on land for ten years, . . 15.00 
Manure, . . . . . 9.00 
Harvesting, . . . . . 20.00 
Total cost, .... 10)44.75 
Cost per ton, .... $4.47 
Average worth per ton, . . 6.00 
Value of 10 tons, .... 60.00 
Cost, ...... 44.75 
Gain on hay, . . . . 15.25 
“ “ wheat, .... 4.80 
u “ corn, .... 10.00 
Gain per acre for twelve years, . $30.05 
If we deduct the value of the corn fodder which 
I estimate at four dollars, it will reduce the cost to 
forty cents per bushel 3 also the wheat straw is es* 
timated at two dollars, which would reduce the 
cost to one dollar per bushel. In preparing the 
ground for corn, about forty loads of manure to the 
acre are required to make a succession of good crops, 
whicn I estimate at fifty cents per load, and ex¬ 
pense of putting it upon the land at four dollars 
($24); therefore eight dollars of which is estimated 
for the corn, seven for wheat, and nine for the hay 
crop. By treating our poor soil in this way, it 
would probably produce good crops indefinitely. 
Statement of John C. Ambler , of Bethlem, Ct. — 
The Hon. T. Smith handed to me some time since 
a circular issued from the Patent Office, requesting 
information as to the cost of producing wheat and 
Indian corn, to which I should have sooner attend¬ 
ed, had I not mislaid the communication. 
Indian Corn. 
Preparing the ground for seed by manuring, plow¬ 
ing, &c., . . . . . $8.00 
Tending, gathering seed, . . .0.25 
Threshing, &c., . . . 7.00 
Interest on land, . . . .3.00 
50) $18.25 = 3 6 £ 
Number of bushels to the acre 50. Making the 
cost of raising a bushel of Indian corn, 3 62 cts. 
There is no wheat raised in this vicinity, and 
but little in the state. I can give no accurate 
information respecting it. 
Statement of A. Doubleday , of Binghampton , 
N. Y. —I will give you the result of my experience 
and observations respecting the cost of producing 
crops of wheat and Indian corn, in this vicinity. 
I estimate the value of our wheat lands, in a 
good state for a crop, at twenty dollars per acre. 
Interest on this at 6 per cent, . . $1.20 
Three plowings, . . . . 4.50 
Harrowing thoroughly, . . . 2.25 
One and a half bushels of seed and 
sowing, . . . . .I .60 
Harvesting with a cradle, . . .1.00 
Threshing and cleaning, . . . 2.00 
$12.63 
I estimate the average yield on good land, well 
tilled, at twent} 7- bushels per acre, making the cost 
sixty-three cents and a fraction per bushel. 
I have made no account of the value of the 
straw, nor of gathering the crop into the barn, nor 
of tending it while growing, because in stating the 
value of the land I suppose it to be well fenced, 
and that the crop will cost nothing in tending, and 
the straw for cattle fodder and for making manure, 
is worth more than barn room, cartage from the 
field, &c. 
The averge crop, agreeably to my statement may 
be greater than the yield of many fields, half tilled, 
