People's Pilot, Volume 3, Number 46, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 May 1894 — FARM WEALTH. [ARTICLE]

FARM WEALTH.

Some Interesting Statistics from the Census Reports. Washington, May 2.—The returns of the Census bureau furnish some interesting statistics regarding farm wealth in the United States, from which the following extracts are made: Ohio stands at the head of the list of states fo>- having the largest number of farms, 251,430; Illinois comes second, with 240,681; Missouri third, with 238,043; Texas fourth, with 228.126; New York fifth, with 226,223; lowa sixth, with 201,903, and Kansas seventh, with 166,617. In the amount of area under cultivation, however, Illinois comes first, with 25.669.06 J acres; lowa second, with 2’>,428.899; then Kansas, with 22,303,301; Texas. 20,746,215; Missouri, 19.792,313; Ohio, 18,338,824. and New York, 16,389,380 acres. The returns furnish a surprise in respect to the amount of unimproved farm land In the eastern and southern states as compared with those of the west and northwest It is a very remarkable thing that less than half the farm land in Maine and New Hampshire Is under cultivation, while in Massachusetts 1,341,258 acres are uncultivated and only 1,656,021 acres are cultivated. Taking the entire north Atlantic states, from Maine to Pennsylvania, the total area of farm lands is 62,743,525 acres, of which nearly one-third is idle, while in the middle and northwestern states—that is, from Ohio to Dakota in one direction and to Kansas in the other—the proportion of uncultivated land is very much smaller. In none of the states in that section does the uncultivated area bear so great a proportion to the cultivated as in New England. In the south Atlantic states there are 100.090,000 acres of land in farms, of which 42.0j0.009 acres are cultivated and 53,000.0J9 acres idle. Delaware aud Maryland have very little waste land, but in Virginia there are 1.000,(DO acres less of improved than of unimproved. In West Virginia the proportion is about the same. In North Carolina the unimproved property is double the area of the improved. In South Carolina of a total area of 13,000.000 acres 5,00J,000 are improved and 8,000,000 unim proved. In Georgia of a total of 25,000,(XXJ acres 9,500,000 acres are improved and 15.500,000 unimproved. A similar proportion exists in Florida. In Illinois there are ; 0,00J,000 acres of farming lands, of which 4,000,000 acres are idle. There is a much larger proportion of unimproved land in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana than there is in Texas', which will surprise people. This indicates that immigrants should go east and south instead of west hereafter. Illinois stands at the head of the list in the value of her farm property, which amounts to 41,262,876,587. Ohio comes second with, a valuation of 41,050,031,838; New York third with 1968,127.286; Pennsylvania fourth with 8922,. 240,233, and lowa fifth with 1857,851,022. But ■when you come to fancy farming and tine equipment in the way of implements and machinery New York state leads the list, with Pennsylvania second, lowa third, Illinois fourth, Ohio fifth, and then Michigan, Indiana, Missouri, Wisconsin, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Idaho and California, in order. The farming lands in Illinois are worth more than all tho south Atlantic states from Delaware to Florida and all the Rocky mountain and Pacific coast states combined. They are worth nearly as much as all the southern central states combined. Including Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas The farmers of Illinois have more money invested in farming implements and machinery than all the south Atlantic states and all the Rocky mountain and Pacific coast states combined In the value of farm products Illinois stands firs’, 8184,769,013; New York second, 8161.593,009; then lowa, $159,347,814; Ohio, $133 - 232,438, and Pennsylvania, 8121,328,348.