CORN. The subject of Indian corn is exten sively treated on pages 613 to 617. The area planted in 1887 was increased more than 2,000, 000 acres over that of the previous year, or nearly 78,000,000 acres. The disastrous season of drought reduced this acreage to 72,398,720 acres. It also reduced the yield to twenty bushels per acre. Yet the actual value per acre was greater than since 1884. Thus we see that it is not always the greatest yield that gives the most money to the farmer. The following table will show the status of the crop and development from 1880 to 1887 : bushels, or a ten per cent. increase. The con stantly increasing area planted keeps the price from increasing; nevertheless, the man who con verts his corn into meat, milk, butter and cheese, is the wise man, for only in very bad years can money be made in selling corn. So far as export goes, the amount is so insignificant in compar ison to the total yield—about one per cent.—that
it will at once be seen, that the legitimate use for the crop is for feeding purposes. The table beL low shows the total acres, bushels and values of Indian corn for 1887 by States, as well as the grand totals : 18,614,067 acres. The table below will give the figures for 1880 to 1885, namely: The United States Statistician, Mr. Dodge, says in relation to the crops, that, " with a steady increase of area, amounting to about 20 per cent. since 1879, the product of this year is the small est of the series, excepting only that of 1881. It is less by 9.9 per cent. than the average for the period. This average product of eight years is 16.6 per cent. larger than that of the ten years preceding." (See also pages 613-617.)