American Agriculture. 
431 
Take the barley crops as an illustration. In Western New York 
20 bushels per acre, weighing 48 lbs. per bushel, is a good average. 
It probably will not average more than this the present year. And 
yet we have had rather an unusually favorable season; so favor¬ 
able indeed, that the maltsters expect to get barley at a low figurey 
say 75 cent, per bushel. 
Now I feel safe in saying that on well-drained, well-prepared 
and properly enriched soil, our climate is capable of giving us an 
average yield of 40 bushels of barley per acre; and I think the 
average price of six-rowed barley is fully $1 per bushel. 
I have said that 20 bushels is a fair average crop; and this is 
taking good and bad crops together. There are many crops which 
yield 30 bushels, and, consequently, there must be many that are 
not over 10 bushels. But we will take 15 bushels as the average 
crop of a rather indifferent farmer. He sows two bushels, and will 
be very apt to leave two bushels on the ground in harvesting the 
crop, and so, after deducting seeds and scatterings in harvesting, 
he has 11 bushels to sell, which, at 75 cents is $8.25 per acre. 
The good farmer has 40 bushels. He sows two bushels, and we 
will reckon that he loses two bushels of scatterings, though a good 
crop does not scatter half as much as a poor crop. This leaves 36 
bushels, which, at 75 cents, is $27 per acre, or over three times a& 
much as from the poor crop; and this, mark you, is in a good 
season. 
Now, how is it in what we call a bad season, that is, in a season 
unfavorable for the^ growth of barley on ordinary land ? 
In such a season, we have hundreds of farmers whose barley crops 
will not be over 12 bushels per acre, Deducting, as before, 2 
bushels for seed and 2 bushels for scatterings, we have 8 bushels of 
merchantable barley, of rather an inferior quality, weighing, per¬ 
haps, 46 lbs. to the bushel. 
Owing to the unfavorable season, barley will be likely to bring 
$1.50 per bushel. The net returns from such a crop, therefore, 
will be (8 bushels of 46 lbs.) at $1.50 per bushel of 48 lbs., 
$11.50. 
The good farmer, on well-drained, well-prepared, and properly 
enricBed land, will have, say 36 bushels per acre of 48 lbs. per 
bushel. Deducting 2 bushels for seed and 2 bushels for scatterings 
we have for sale 32 bushels at $1.50 per bushel, or $48 p,er acre. 
