By H. B. Winters, Deputy Commissioner of Agriculture
The State of New York now owns 41 farms. Twenty of these are connected with the charitable institutions, 14 with the State hospitals and 7 with the prisons.
The total area of these farms is 22,981 acres, divided as follows:
| Charitable institutions | 9,690 acres |
| State hospitals | 10,587 acres |
| Prisons | 2,704 acres |
The acreage per capita of population, which is a very important item, is as follows:
| Charitable farms | .81 acres |
| Hospital farms | .29 acres |
| Prison farms | .45 acres |
The total farm investment is $2,331,285.00. The total profits for the year ending September 30, 1912, were $305,006. The total profits for the year ending September 30, 1910, were $202,826. This shows a gain of $102,180 in 1912 over 1910.
The rate of profit made by the farms as a whole, in the year ending September 30, 1912, was 13.1 per cent. The rate of profit made by all the farms for the year ending September 30, 1910, was 9.4 per cent. The greatest rate of profit made by any form increased from 23.2 per cent. to 37.5 per cent. during this period.
The State has 30 profitable farms and 2 farms that are losing money. It should be noted that the 2 farms which were losing money two years ago are now making a profit. One of the farms that lost money last year is a new place, which is not yet under good headway; the other farm is considering moving to a new location.
These figures are certainly very gratifying and they prove that farming at our institutions is very profitable to the State of New York. This splendid increase shows what interest in farm work has done. It shows that this land is a most valuable investment to the State of New York, both from a financial standpoint and for the general good of the inmates of the institutions.