Review of Agriculture in 1849 from Beers History of Warren County, Ohio
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The History of Warren County, Ohio

AGRICULTURE OF WARREN COUNTY IN 1849

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Transcription contributed by Martie Callihan 28 December 2004

Sources:
The History of Warren County Ohio
Part III. The History of Warren County by Josiah Morrow
Chapter VI. General Progress
(Chicago, IL: W. H. Beers Co, 1882; reprint, Mt. Vernon, IN: Windmill Publications, 1992)

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The following is the first general review of the agriculture of the county known to have been made. It was prepared by William R. Collett, Esq., an intelligent farmer, soon after his election as the first Secretary of the County Agricultural Society, in 1849, as a report to the State Board of Agriculture, and is in the form of answers to inquiries by the Secretary of the State Board:

1. Principal Crops.—Corn, wheat, rye, oats, potatoes, clover seed.
2. Wheat.—The usual average product of wheat per acre in this county is from twelve to fifteen bushels. The most approved varieties are Mediterranean, golden straw or Kentucky rock, blue stem, and red-chaff bearded; of these, the Mediterranean is the heaviest, often weighing from sixty-two to sixty-four pounds per bushel, but it Is considered inferior to the others for flour, on account of the dark color of its husk or bran.

This variety also ripens earlier than either of the others; the golden straw ripens next. Hitherto the Mediterranean has escaped injury from winter-killing as well, if not better than any other kind—has been less injured by the fly, and has never been affected by mat until the present season. The crop is most liable to injury from rust. The past season all varieties suffered from this cause, and the whole crop of the county is not over half the usual average yield. The most effective manner of preventing rust is to sow a variety that ripens early.

Early sowing, deep covering, and a ridge or uneven and rough surface are considered the best guards against winter-killing. Our farmers used formerly to be satisfied if they had all their wheat in by the 10th of October. Now, many sow in August, and nearly all are done before the 30th of September.

The Mediterranean having suffered but little the past season from rust, and having, notwithstanding the general failure of all the other varieties from this cause, yielded above the usual average of the county, has become a great favorite. Probably one-half of all the wheat sown the present autumn is of this kind. I have cultivated it the past three years, and it has never yielded me less than twenty bushels per acre, nor weighed less than sixty pounds per bushel. The rye complexion of its kernel, and the weakness of its straw, are

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Job Mullin
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real objections to this variety, but both may be partly obviated by cutting as soon as the grain is out of the milky stage.

3. Corn.—The usual average yield per acre is forty-five bushels. The crop, this year, has been generally estimated from five to ten bushels below the average, but so far as gathered has exceeded the expectation of the farmer, and will approach very nearly to an average yield.

Our farmers generally plant what they call the "large yellow," and "large white " corn, having no other generally received distinctive names for the different varieties. There is more yellow corn raised than white. As a whole, the yellow corn ripens earlier, and is more sound and more weighty. The white will yield more to the acre, and is preferred by our housewives for meal. I suppose the aggregate amount grown in the county is about 2,150,000 bushels, and its value $537,500.

4. Oats,— The usual average yield, about twenty-five bushels. A little less the past year. Aggregate of the county is probably 35,000 bushels.

5. Rye and Barley.—Very little rye grown; not so much as formerly. Usual product per acre about eighteen bushels. Winter barley yields from twenty-five to thirty bushels per acre; spring barley half less. Usual price in the nearest market about 60 cents per bushel. The amount sown is yearly increasing.

6. Grass and Hay.—The grasses most approved for meadow, are timothy, and a mixture of timothy and clover—the former for horses—the latter for cattle and sheep. For pasture, a mixture of timothy and clover is usually sown; but herd's grass and orchard grass are beginning to be used. Timothy is usually worth $4 to $6, and yields one and one-half tons per acre.

7. Root crops.—Potatoes usually yield from eighty to one hundred bushels per acre. Neshanocks have generally been preferred, but rot badly, and I think are not so good for the table as formerly. I have tried cutting off the tops and application of salt as a remedy for rot, without any apparent effect. Early planting is preferred.

8. Fruit.—The fruit of our county is pretty good; but our farmers exercise too little care and judgment in selecting such kinds as are really good, and adapted to our soil and climate. On the whole there is a gradual improvement.

9. Seeds.— Have no data from which to make any accurate statement. Clover seed is, to a small extent, an article of export. Timothy is not produced beyond the home demand. Very little flax grown.

10. Dairy Products.—There is a growing attention to the production of milk and butter for the Cincinnati market. Very little cheese made. No means of ascertaining the amount of butter manufactured. The native cows generally preferred for the dairy.

11. Sheep and Wool.—the books of the Auditor show that there are 28,634 sheep in the county; these would yield at least 3 1/2 pounds of wool per head (washed on the sheep's back), worth 25 cents per pound. Total value, $28,262. Decrease in two years, 2,127 head. Merinos preferred—considered hardier than Saxony sheep—fleece heavier. Quality improving. Dogs destructive.

12. Pork.—41,717 hogs were returned for taxation this year; estimating these to average 240 pounds when slaughtered, and to be worth 2 1/4 cents per pound, the whole would weigh 10,012,080 pounds, and the total value is $275,832. Our farmers generally feed late, and I have put the average, perhaps, too low. We think our stock as good as, if not better, than that of any other county or State. We have for more than thirty years had what is now called the " Old Warren County stock," which is generally thought to be a mixture of the China and Russia breeds, and on this have crossed the Berkshire, Irish Grazier, and Chester County (Penn.) White.

13. Beef.—No means of ascertaining the facts inquired after under this head. Some few individuals, and also the Society of Shakers in this county, have for several years given especial attention to this branch of business, and find it profitable; and our farmers are slowly learning that it is more profitable, and quite as easy to raise a good animal as it is a poor one. Durhams are preferred.

14. Horses and Mules.—l suppose about 2,000 horses are annually produced in our county, and that about 1,200 are exported. The average value of horses at three years old is about $60.

15. Implements.—Threshing machines have been in use many years, and new kinds with separator and fans attached have recently been introduced and approved. Rollers are coming into more general use. A few are experimenting with wheat drills, and sub-soil plows are beginning to be inquired for, though few have been introduced.

16. Other Improvements,—Have heard of no experiments in the renovation or enrichment of soils, but there is, manifestly, increased attention paid to rotation of crops, clovering, and preserving and applying barn-yard manure. Under-draining has, within a few years, been resorted to by several of our enterprising farmers for the recovery of their wet lands, and with encouraging results. How this can be done most thoroughly, most permanently, and, at the same time, most cheaply, is beginning to be an important question with many of us, and I hope that by another year we can give our quota of facts having a bearing upon these points.

As a strong evidence of progress and prospective improvement, I have the satisfaction

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of reporting under this head, that we have just now organized a county agricultural society, with most flattering prospects of the general co-operation of our fanning population.

17. Mills, etc.—There are thirty-two flouring mills, some of them large; forty-eight saw-mills; four woolen factories; two paper mills; four distilleries; one oil mill.

The greater part of our surplus production reaches the Cincinnati market, which is about thirty miles distant from the center of our county. Part is conveyed by the Little Miami Railroad, which passes through the east and southeast portions of the county, and part goes by the Miami Canal, which cuts the northwest portion of it; not a little also is transported thither by wagons, over turnpike roads. Recently, corn has been shipped northward by canal, and a few live fat hogs have been sent by railroad to Boston. Our wool is mostly sold or traded to our dry goods merchants, who ship it to Philadelphia.


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