Stock raising in all its branches is generally followed, but this industry is far short of its possibilities. Some advantages the stock raiser enjoys in this State are an agreeable climate, an abundance of excellent food, easily produced, a long outdoor grazing season and a market in which the demand is always in excess of the supply. In short, as a stock-raising country, Tennessee has no superior and but few equals among the States of this Union. The blue grass section of the State has bred some of the fastest running and the finest harness horses in the world.
Agricultural Department.— The office of commissioner of agriculture of Tennessee was established 14 Dec. 1871. It was then known as the Bureau of Agriculture. W. H. Jackson was elected president and J. B. Killebrew secre tary. These men in 1874 issued a comprehen sive report of nearly 1,200 pages, with The Resources of Tennessee' as its title. The growth of the department has been steady and has become of supreme importance to the State, in view of the fact that of a population of 2,279, 000, 80 per cent are farmers and planters who more than ever before have become interested in scientific farming and farming not only as a means of livelihood but as a prosperous business.
The soils of Tennessee are well adapted to diversified farming and respond bountifully to modern methods. In fact, as an all-around crop-producing State Tennessee is not ex celled in any other region in the United States in the variety, profusion, character and quality of its farm products. Wonderful possibilities exist in the soils, climate, physical structure and drainage of the agricultural areas. Fre quent demonstrations of great crops are re ported to the Agricultural Department from each of the three grand divisions of the State, some times made on ordinary soils with ordinary cultivations, sometimes on the richest soils with intensive methods applied in the prepara tion of the land and the cultivation of the crop, exemplifying the versatility and capacity of such lands and the progress of their develop went.
There are three assistant commissioners of agriculture, who hold office by appointment of the commissioner, and whose work is under his direction. The appropriations by the State to cover the salaries and expenses of the various offices under the commissioner's direction ap proximate $35,000.
Scientific farming is making rapid strides in Tennessee, and the State's splendid citizenship has become fully awakened to the truism that "co-operation is essential to This is fully demonstrated at the farmers' institutes, one great meeting being held annually in each of the three grand divisions of the State Fast Tennessee in May, West Tennessee in tember and Middle Tennessee in has been truthfully said that there is a ((new born intelligence in even the most secluded rural districtszi; farmers who were averse to changing methods of agriculture which have prevailed for ages have awakened to the sense of isolation; they are discarding the old methods and adopting the new. In their homes
they are establishing new conditions, making them places not merely of shelter but of com fort and luxury. The tractor and the auto mobile are rapidly displacing the old-time im plements and the buggy. The annual value of farm products approximates $150,000,000; value of domestic animals, $107,000,000; value of all farm property, $614,000,000. It is worthy of note that every crop scheduled in the Federal census is grown to some extent in Tennessee.
Industries.—Although Tennessee has always been, and still is, essentially an agricultural State, the progress it has been making in man ufactures strongly indicates marked pre-emi nence in industries in the years to come. This pre-eminence would seem to be a necessary corollary to the development of its great natural resources; and it is to be noted that its present progress is along these lines. Approximately $175,000,000 is the capital invested in Tennessee manufacturing generally.
According to the census of 1909 the total number of industries in the State of Tennessee was 4,609, and of these 1,917 were represented by establishments making lumber and timber products. If to these be added the industries that use these products, such as car and car nage factories, approximately one-half of the manufacturing establishments of this State de pend upon the natural resources of timber. The inference naturally is that Tennessee is a well-wooded State, and such is the fact. Of the more than 26,000,000 acres in Tennessee, approx imately 15,000,000 are woodlands. Three coun ties have each more than 200,000 acres of virgin forests; and while much of the wooded area of the State is second and third growth, there is still an enormous quantity of virgin trees in the less accessible areas; so much as doubtless to furnish material for the manufacture of lumber and wood products for many years to come. Tennessee has $16,000,000 capital in vested in the timber business and 1,500,000 board feet are cut yearly.