16 TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY REPORT. 
The agricultural strides in the United States in the last forty 
years have been something remarkable. The last census shows 
that, by the use of machinery, the time for producing a bushel of 
wheat has declined from 4 hours and 34 minutes to 41 minutes, 
and the cost of human labor to produce this bushel from 3534 cents 
to 10% cents; that the human labor now required to produce a 
bushel of wheat is Io minutes, while in 1830 it was 3 hours and 3 
minutes, and that the cost of production has declined in that length 
of time from 1734 cents to 3% cents. 
In the earlier period it required 35%4 hours to prepare a ton of 
hay for market, and it has now been reduced to 11 hours 30 min- 
utes; while the cost of production has been reduced in that length 
of time from $3.06 to $1.29, and in the two operations, the mowing 
and curing of the grass, the time of human labor per ton has been 
reduced from 11 hours to 1 hour 39 minutes, and the cost from 
8314 cents to 16% cents. 
To summarize briefly this great saving, due to improved methods 
and machinery, it was found for the seven crops of the single year 
of 1899 that the following amounts were saved in the production 
of the following named crops: 
CORN i. 2 the eee aap odo oc h ae gate ee $523,276,642 
MAcleWnaee ited mien. We Pie tert aioe rote) as ees at 79,194,867 
(ator Re sie eee tee Phe eee ee tee eee 52,866,200 
Rye ice Ae wa nae | een ore eter te A, 1,408,950 
Batley Plo. a Pee ote meee kee eet: 7,323,480 
Whites potatoes since ta tae coe reer Peer 7,306,820 
ayers yA Es icun te a eee ee 10,034,868 
In other words, the total potential saving in the cost of human 
labor in these seven crops in the year of 1899, owing to the im- 
proved implements, machines and methods at the present time in 
the place of the old time manner of production, was $681,471,827 
for this one year. . 
The standing of the United States in the agricultural markets 
of the world has been greatly affected by this production as an 
exporting nation. She has advanced from the fourth place in the 
list of exporting nations to the head of the list. In 1870 England, 
Germany and France exceeded the United States in their exports. 
To-day our exportation of domestic products exceeds that of any 
other nation in the world, and is advancing at a rate which gives 
assurance that we shall maintain this proud position as the world’s 
