Chart V. Showing the acreage and yield of Indian corn, wheat, and oats in the United States, 1862-1897. Pages 84-87.
CHART NO 5.
Acreage and yield of corn, wheat and oats, 1862 to 1897, in the United States
Description.—This chart is intended to show the fluctuations from year to year in acres devoted to the three staple crops, together with fluctuations in the corresponding years in yield of each. Figures on the right show the number of millions of acres. Figures on the left give millions of bushels. Continuous lines show the acreage. Dotted lines show the yield. For convenience of comparison, the line of increasing population is added. The [pg 086] broken lines indicate what might have been the consumption of each of these staples within our own country, if the people had used throughout all the years as much of each as during the five years of plenty from 1888 to 1892. Lines marked 1 tell the story for corn; those marked 2 for wheat; and those marked 3 for oats. In comparing the number of acres as given on the right with the number of bushels as given on the left, it will be seen that an average yield of corn is assumed to be 25 bushels per acre; an average yield of wheat, 12 bushels; and an average yield of oats, 28 bushels. The variations of the dotted lines above or below the continuous line show whether the yield was greater or less than these averages. The average assumed is evidently too high for the oats.
Explanation.—Several important facts are shown. First, there has evidently been a very great increase in the amount of these staple crops in proportion to the population, with a recent tendency toward reduction. Second, all three have exceeded the needs for domestic consumption, and at the same time; while it is evident that the rate of consumption in the early years could not have been equal to that of recent years. This appears very striking with reference to corn. An explanation of the increased consumption of corn may be found in its larger use for fattening pork and beef for export as well as for domestic consumption. It has also entered quite largely, through improved manufacture of meals, starches and syrups, into table use. The consumption of oats is known to have greatly increased in its use for breakfast food. The per capita consumption of wheat, while slightly increased in some quarters through the cheapening of flour, has been diminished by the larger use of corn and oats, and a far greater variety of table food. Quite probably, however, the data as to corn raising in the first few years of this period are not complete. The years of the war made such statistics difficult to obtain. The difficulty with reference to wheat raising was by no means as great, since the wheat raising regions were more directly accessible. Third, the seasons of abundance and those of poor crops can easily be seen. It is evident that while the three crops are not always poor together, they are too frequently so to balance each other in [pg 087] meeting the risks of farmers. Fourth, it appears that the fluctuations in yield are much greater in late years. This is accounted for by the greatly increased proportion of lands cultivated upon the plains of the western states and subject to greater fluctuations of climate. It will be noticed that the acreage frequently falls off in the years showing inferior yield. This shows that sowing and planting have frequently been affected by unpropitious weather. In fact, wheat fields have frequently been plowed up in the spring and not counted in return of acreage. Reductions in the acreage of wheat, however, appear frequently succeeding an immense crop. This indicates the effect of low prices. Fifth, the bearing of the total product upon the prices of these staples, while suggested by the greatly increased amount, will be more clearly seen by reference to Chart No. [6].
Chart VI. Fluctuations in prices of wheat, Indian corn and oats in New York, 1878-1898. Pages 87-91.