Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/369

NEBRASKA. revived in the last decade of the century, amounting in 1900 to three times that of 1890. There were large increases in the area devoted to oats and rye respectively during each of the last two decades of the nineteenth century; rye, however, is of only minor importance. Grasses cut for hay are chiefly wild, salt, or prairie grasses, but millet, alfalfa, and other cultivated grasses are also grown. Potatoes and other vegetable crops are extensively grown. In the last decade of the past century a rapid increase was made in the cultivation of sugar beets, the census of 1900 reporting a total of 8662 acres devoted to them. The growing of orchard fruits is mainly confined to the southeastern part of the State. Between 1890 and 1900 the number of fruit trees increased from 1,840,704 to 6,240,118, considerably over half of this number being apple trees.

The acreage of the principal farm crops for the census years indicated is as follows:

. Every decade since the settlement of the State has witnessed an increase in the number of every variety of domestic animals. In general, the increase was greatest during the ten years from 1880 to 1890. The most noteworthy gain in the last decade of the century was that made in the number of cattle other than dairy cows, amounting to 62.7 per cent. In the census year 1900, $4,137,000 was realized from the sale of dairy products, and the value of the product consumed on farms was nearly as great. In the same year only three States exceeded Nebraska in the number of swine reported.

The following table gives the number of the principal species of domestic animals for the years indicated:

. In manufacturing Nebraska is one of the least developed States. In 1900 there were 24,461 wage-earners, or only 2.3 per cent. of the total population, engaged in manufactures. The State's industries, have developed almost wholly since 1880. In the two decades beginning with that year the number of wage-earners more than quintupled, and the value of products ($143,990,000 in 1900) increased over eleven fold. The lack of cheap fuel has been a serious handicap, but the development of coal fields in adjoining States is helping to overcome this obstacle. The advantages of cheap transportation are afforded by the Missouri River, and Omaha in particular has unusual railroad facilities. As yet the industries are limited mainly to those manufactures that are based upon agricultural and stock-raising products. Thus four industries—viz. slaughtering and meat-packing, and the manufacture of malt liquors, flour and grist-mill products, and cheese, butter, and condensed milk—yielded 89.6 per cent. of the total value for the nine leading industries given in the table below. The value of the products of the slaughtering industry alone was nearly equal to that of all other industries combined. The rapid growth of the industry began in 1884, and South Omaha, as a slaughtering centre, is surpassed only by Kansas City and Chicago. The factory production of butter has developed wholly since 1881. Other leading industries are printing and publishing, and car and other railroad shop construction, the manufacture of saddlery and harness, brick and tile, and lumber and planing mill products. The last two suffered a decrease during the last decade of the century. South Omaha and Omaha are the only large manufacturing centres. The following table shows the relative importance of the leading industries, and their development during the decade 1890-1900: