Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 19.djvu/775

UNITED STATES. increased from 115,000,000 pounds in 1898 to 331,000,000 in 1902. Of this last amount, which was only a little short of the consumption of the country, Louisiana and Texas together produced over 90 per cent. In 1900 there were 315,344 acres in rice, of which 201,685 were in Louisiana.

. Other varieties of cereals than those mentioned flourish, but have not become favorites as in some other countries. Barley is rarely grown throughout the greater part of the country. The United States produces only one-ninth of the barley crop of the world and is exceeded by three of the European countries. Barley is most important in California, where it is used as a stock-food substitute for corn. The other States in which it is most grown are Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and the Dakotas. Its total acreage increased from 1,997,727 in 1880 to 4,470,190 in 1900. Rye, the chief staple in some of the European countries, is wholly unimportant in the United States. Its production is greatest in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and other Northern States. Its acreage in 1880 was 1,842,233, and in 1900, 2,054,292 acres. Pennsylvania and New York produce over five-eighths of the total buckwheat for the country, the area devoted to it in 1900 being 807,060 acres. Kaffir corn is found adaptable to the semi-arid regions and is grown most abundantly in western Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. There were 19,900 acres of it cultivated in 1900.

. Almost every American farmer is a gardener to the extent that he endeavors to raise vegetables for family consumption. Gardening on a larger scale than this is determined principally by the question of soil and climate and convenience to market. Market-gardening is therefore a greatly localized industry, and is most common in proximity to the large centres of population. In the census year 1900, New Jersey and Rhode Island devoted over 11 per cent. of their improved land to the cultivation of vegetables. Massachusetts ranking next with 7 per cent. devoted to vegetables. Of the total value of all crops the vegetable product of Rhode Island amounted to thirty-four and nine-tenths per cent., then in order followed New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maine, Florida, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, and New York. The value of the vegetable crop in the last named State amounted to 18.1 per cent. The supply of the early market at these centres must be from the South, and hence garden farming has developed extensively at favored points along the Atlantic coast down to Florida, this region not only possessing an advantageous climate and soil, but also cheap water transportation to its markets.

. The most extensively grown and most valuable of the vegetables are potatoes, yet the production is small as compared with that of Europe, or even Germany alone. The area devoted to them is greatest in the Northern States; indeed, there is a tendency for them to localize in the northern tier of States. Between 1889 and 1899 the five States, Maine, New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, increased their area devoted to potatoes 35.9 per cent., whereas in Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Kentucky, and Tennessee there were decreases ranging from 20.1 per cent, to 26.7 per cent. About one-third of the comparatively small Southern product is shipped

North to supply the early market. Of vastly greater importance in the South are sweet potatoes, but these in turn are scarcely raised at all in the extreme Northern States. This crop is the second most important of the vegetables. The total area in Irish potatoes in 1900 was 2,938,778 acres, and in sweet potatoes 537,312 acres.

. In recent years there has been an enormous increase in the production of miscellaneous vegetables. This has been partially due to the development of the canning industry, and the consequent greater consumption of vegetables out of their season. This is especially true of sweet corn and tomatoes, the production of which has attained large proportions in some States, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York being in the lead. In 1900 the total value of canned vegetables was $29,368,158, of which over three-quarters consisted of tomatoes and corn. Of other varieties of vegetables the most important are watermelons, which are grown most extensively in the South, Georgia and Texas having the largest acreage. Muskmelons are less restricted as to locality. Cabbages and onions are generally grown. New York leading in their production. The United States contrasts strikingly with Great Britain and some other European countries in that turnips do not figure prominently among the vegetable crops. The census of 1900 reported 2,115,570 acres under miscellaneous vegetables.

. The most remarkable development of any phase of American agriculture in the decade 1890-1900 was made in fruit culture. This industry almost doubled in magnitude in that period. The number of orchard trees, for instance, increased from 193,452,588 to 367,104,694 (not including sub-tropical varieties). Most varieties of temperate zone fruits are grown in every State. The use of refrigerator cars has made it possible to transport fruits long distances, and thus all parts of the country have the advantage of the general market. However, climatic differences tend to localize. From the following table it will be seen that the apple has a decided primacy among American fruits:

Although it is grown throughout the country, the apple receives most attention in the North Central group of States and New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. The region of greatest development during the years 1890-1900 included Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, and Arkansas. Missouri more than doubled its number of trees, and it is much in advance of all other States. The southwest corner of the State, and the adjacent region of Arkansas and Kansas, have become famous for the production of this fruit. Peaches require a more moderate climate, and consequently are most important in the South. In Georgia and some other Southern States the raising of peaches to supply the early Northern market is a