OCTOBER

October continued warm and wet, a condition that prevailed nearly throughout the entire State, with a little frost here and there, so that corn ripened naturally during part of this month, but the weather did not afford favorable conditions for seeding wheat, that up to this time had not been sowed. Not only did the corn ripen, but the rains and the warm weather prevailing for so extended a period caused the growth of a second crop of grass, which was so luxuriant that, in some places in late September and early October, a second crop of hay was made, or such pasture was furnished that early Fall feeding was not necessary and in this way many farmers were able to supply the deficiency in the hay crop resulting from unfavorable conditions in June and July.

NOVEMBER.

The month of November remained mild from a week to ten days and more at a time in the southern and eastern sections of the State, so that pasturing could be continued and outdoor work was possible. The winter wheat was short on account of the late sowing, and had it not been for the mild weather of October, November and December, the prospects for a good wheat crop for 1912 would not have been as promising as they now are.

DECEMBER

The month of December was extremely mild, and for warmth exceeded all records since 1891. The rainfall for the district exceeded, by 10.18 inches, the normal, and amounted to 51.35 inches, and was exceeded only twice in forty years. This occurred regardless of the fact that there was a deficiency of rainfall during the first seven months of the year and all the excess fell after the middle of August except in a few of the western sections of the State.

This extended discussion of weather conditions of the year seemed necessary and is given in order that the following crop estimates from the United States Crop Reporter and those compiled from the census. of 1910 may be fully understood.

PRINCIPAL FARM CROPS FOR 1911

BARLEY

Seven thousand acres were sown with barley in Pennsylvania in 1911, yielding, according to the Crop Reporter, 175,000 bushels, worth December 1, $114,000.00. The census of 1910 gives an acreage of 7,625 acres for 1909 with a yield of 136,239 bushels, worth $91,000. There has been little increase in the acreage of barley in this State for a number of years, for which there seems little or no reason except that possibly the value of the crop is not understood. This cereal should be raised in the thinner soils of the southwestern section of the State, especially when climatic conditions are such that oats cannot be sown

in March or early April, for with such conditions barley, being more able to endure hot and dry weather, will usually do better than oats.

BUCKWHEAT

Of the 17,549,000 bushels of buckwheat raised in the United States, Pennsylvania raised 6,373,000 bushels, or 36.31 per cent. The State had a larger acreage in 1911 than any state in the Union, and according to the census of 1910, with an acreage of 292,728 acres, which is about 6,000 acres greater than that of New York, her closest competitor, she had a yield of 4,797,350 bushels, worth $3,262,000. This is a crop that can be introduced into a rotation in the thinner soils when one of the winter crops fail, such as hay or wheat, as was the case with wheat and hay this year. Where there was hay or wheat worth cutting for forage, these could have been harvested early, the ground put in proper condition and sown with buckwheat, and the buckwheat harvested and the ground again sown with wheat or rye. Or, what might have been a still better plan, grass seed could have been sown with the buckwheat, and after the buckwheat was harvested the grass sod would have been there and in good condition for the following year.

CORN

Pennsylvania had a reported acreage of 1,435,000 acres of corn in 1911, and in the census of 1910 an acreage of 1,380,671 acres for the year 1909; giving a reported yield for 1911 of 63,858,000 bushels and for the year 1909, which was the crop taken by the census, a yield of 41,494,237 bushels. This represents an increase in two years of 22,363,763 bushels, which is no doubt correct, for, as I have already indicated in the report on weather conditions, there was a sufficient rainfall during the corn growing season, July and August, except in limited areas of the State, to make such an increase possible.

At the midwinter fair of the three agricultural organizations of the State, the State Livestock Breeders' Association, the State Dairy Union and the State Horticultural Society, held at Duquesne Garden, Pittsburg, January 15th to the 19th, 1912, the annual corn show, awarded prizes for the best ten exhibits of ten ears each of Yellow Dent Corn and the best ten exhibits of ten ears of White Cap Yellow Dent, six prizes for the best exhibits of ten ears of White Dent, eight prizes for the best eight exhibits of ninety day varieties, eight prizes for the best eight exhibits of ten ears of southeastern Pennsylvania varieties, and ten prizes for the best ten exhibits of ten ears of flint varieties. Awards were also given to Granges for Grange exhibits and to individuals for the best half-bushel of corn, for the champion ten ears, for the largest and longest ears, and for the champion ear. Several Congressmen awarded prizes of ten dollars for the best exhibits from their Congressional Districts. These corn exhibits and the awarding of prizes have created a wide spread interest in the State in corn growing and have stimulated the public educational agencies of a number of counties to organize boys' corn growing clubs to have an annual display where prizes are awarded for meritorious work. At a number of Farmers' Institutes, movements were started during the last season to organize corn growing

contests among farmers and farmers' boys' associations. A number of applications have come to this Department for information along these lines of work and these have been referred to experts who will give the necessary information and assistance. It has been demonstrated that southeastern Pennsylvania has a definite type of corn and that in this section of the State with this type developed, a larger quantity of corn can be raised to the acre than in any other section of the State, or the United States. For this reason as well as for many others, this type of .corn should be developed by the farmers in this section, for it must be done within the limits of southeastern Pennsylvania, and the farmers are the persons to do

it.

OATS

With dry weather, as already referred to, during March, April and May and the intense heat of June and early July, which embraces the entire season during which oats is grown, the average yield was four bushels above the average of the United States. In former reports as well as through other agencies of this Department, such as the Farmers' Institutes, this Department has urged that the growing of oats should be increased, especially in the central and northern sections of the State, where it is more difficult to grow corn. Oats grows within a short season, and after it the soil can be sown with wheat, rye or winter vetch and rye, a forage crop that will grow when few others will. According to the Crop Reporter for the year, the yield amounted to 31,720,000 bushels from an acreage of 1,121,000 acres, making an average of 28.5 bushels per acre, as against 28,172,686 bushels given by the census for the year 1909.

RYE

According to the Crop Reporter, 285,000 acres were sown with rye in Pennsylvania in 1911, yielding 4.304,000 bushels, while the acreage, according to the census reports for the year 1909, amounted to 272,560 acres, with a yield of 3,406,603 bushels.

WHEAT

One million two hundred and eighty-nine thousand acres were sown with wheat in 1911 yielding 17,402,000 bushels, a decrease from the yield of 1910 according to the Crop Reporter of nearly ten million bushels, and 4,162,479 bushels less than the census report for the year 1909. This means that Pennsylvania will have to import ten million bushels of wheat for the years 1911 and 1912 to feed her people. The reason for this decrease in yield is largely due to the depredations of the Hessian fly and to the dry weather of May and June and early July. If the farmers of the State would arrange their farming in such a way that there would be no volunteer wheat after harvest and would not sow until after the 25th of September, I feel that there would be little trouble with the Hessian fly, and in this way they could raise sufficient wheat to feed the people of our State and save ten million dollars for themselves and the State.

HAY AND OTHER FORAGE CROPS

Hay and other forage crops are, as usual, this year again the most valuable farm crops of the State. With an acreage, according to the Crop Reporter, of 3,148,000 acres, which is about 64,000 acres less than that of 1910, and with a decrease in yield on account of the dry weather during the growing season, the crop which amounts to 3,148,000 tons, or a ton per acre, is worth $62,960,000, or only $3,535,000 less than the crop of 1910 which was 1,285,000 tons larger than the crop of 1911.

The census of 1910 gives an acreage of all forage crops for the year 1909 of 3,088,105, with a yield of 3,677,307 tons valued at $35,623,573.00. It must be remembered here that the yield of hay in 1909 was less than that of any year from 1899 to 1909, so that the census report gives less than a normal crop for the State.

POTATOES

According to the Crop Reporter, 270,000 acres were planted with potatoes in 1911, yielding 15,120,000 bushels, valued at $14,062,000, or $1.478,000.00 more than the 24,200,000 bushel crop of 1910. This increase in value was due to the decrease in yield on account of the dry season of 1911. The census report of 1910 gives an acreage for 1909 of 262,013 acres and a yield of 21,740,611 bushels, valued at $14,131,000.00, or only $69,000.00 more than the crop of 1911.

The crop of 1911 of 15,120,000 bushels would furnish for the 7,665,111 people of the State 1.97 bushels per individual, about onehalf the amount consumed, which does not take into consideration the seed potatoes needed for planting the crop of 1912 which will approximately mean 2,000,000 bushels more. From this it is evident that the State will expend from $8,000,000.00 to $10,000,000.00 for potatoes during the years 1911 and 1912.

This Department has issued a bulletin on potato raising, giving definite instruction for seed selection, cutting, planting, cultivating and spraying potatoes, which has been tried by many farmers of the State and found to be correct in methods recommended, which is available for all who desire copies as long as the issue lasts.

TOBACCO

The tobacco crop for 1911 amounted to 65,320,000 pounds from 46,000 acres, or at the rate of 1,420 pounds per acre, worth $6,205,400.00, or at the rate of $135.00 per acre; the most valuable, per acre crop, in the State. The census for 1910 gives an acreage for 1909 of 41,742, with a yield of 46,164,800 pounds, or an average yield of 1,106 pounds per acre as against 1,420 pounds per acre in 1911.

ANIMAL, DAIRY AND FRUIT EXHIBITS AT THE MIDWINTER FAIR HELD AT DUQUESNE GARDEN, PITTSBURG, PA. The corn exhibits at this midwinter exposition have already been referred to and commented on, and for this reason it would only be right to commend the fruit and dairy displays, but a more gratifying reason both to this Department and the State is the magnificence

of the displays, especially the apple display which, according to the expressions of the judges and visitors from other states, has not been excelled, if equalled, by the apple display both for the number of varieties and excellence by any state in the Union. Prizes were awarded for excellence of fruit and exhibition, for single barrel exhibits, three barrel exhibits, single box, five box and twenty-five box exhibits; also for single plate and five plate exhibits. The following varieties in single box exhibits were awarded prizes both for excellence of fruit and exhibition: The Baldwin, the Ben Davis, Grimes Golden, Hubbartston, Jonathan, Northern Spy, Rambo, Smoke-house, Stayman, Summer Rambo, Tompkins King, Wagner, Winter Banana, York Imperial, York Stripe, American Blush and Wolf River. Five box collections of Grimes, Stayman, York Imperial and Ben Davis were also awarded prizes. Prizes were also awarded for from one to five plate exhibits for the following varieties: Arkansas, Baldwin, Ben Davis, Gano, Grimes Golden, Hubbardston, Rhode Island Greening, Jonathan, Northern Spy, Stayman, Rambo, Tompkins King, Twenty Ounce, Wagner, Wealthy, Yellow Bellflower, York Imperial, York Stripe and Smoke-house.

The following list gives an idea of the number of varieties of apples that can be successfully grown in Pennsylvania and of such a type as to merit prizes: Arkansas, Northern Spy, Rambo, Rhode Island Greening, Smoke-house, Stayman, Summer Rambo, Tompkins King, Twenty Ounce, Wagner, Wealthy, Winter Banana, Wolf River, Yellow Bellflower, Yellow Transparent, York Imperial and York Stripe.

Awards were also made for certified milk, market cream and market milk by the Pennsylvania Dairy Union.

STATISTICS FROM CENSUS OF 1910 THAT WERE NOT AVAILABLE FOR REPORT OF 1910

The land area of Pennsylvania is approximately 28,692,480 acres. Of this area, 18,586,832 acres, or 64.8 per cent., are included in farms. Of the farm acreage, 12,673,519 acres, or 68.2 per cent., are reported as improved land, representing 44.2 per cent. of the total land area of the State. The total acreage of farm land decreased 784,183 acres, or 4 per cent. during the last decade, and the acreage of improved land decreased 535,664 acres, or 4.1 per cent. As the acreage of improved land and the total acreage of farm land showed practically the same relative decreases between 1900 and 1910, the percentage of improved land has remained stationery during the decade.

PROGRESS DURING THE DECADE 1900 TO 1910

The following table summarizes for the State the more significant facts relating to population and land area, the number, value, and acreage of farms, and the value of all other farm property in 1910 and 1900: