In 1849, Minnesota was organized into a territory, and the following
year, 1850, she had under cultivation 1,900 acres of land. In 1877, she
had 3,000,000 acres. In these twenty-seven years, during which the
breadth of her cultivated lands has increased over one thousand five
hundred fold, the quality and average quantity per acre of all the great
staple crops have been equally satisfactory, until we find her to-day,
taking the foremost place as an agricultural State.
To quote from the writings of the Hon. Pennock Pusey, than whom there is
no more upright gentleman nor one more qualified to deal with
statistics, we find that
"According to the census of 1870, the entire wheat product of New
England was sufficient to feed her own people only three weeks!
That of New York sufficient for her own consumption six months;
that of Pennsylvania, after feeding her own people, afforded no
surplus; while the surplus of Ohio was but 3,000,000 bushels for
that year, and for the past six years her wheat crop has fallen
below her own consumption. In the ten years ending in 1870, the
wheat crop of these States decreased 6,500,000 bushels.
"In the light of these facts, the achievements of Minnesota in
wheat growing, as well as her untaxed capacity for the continued
and increased production of that grain, assume a proud
pre-eminence."
This is not too high praise for Minnesota, when we find the great State
of Ohio for the last six years failing to raise sufficient wheat for her
own consumption, while Minnesota with but 2,232,988 acres under wheat,
has, after bountifully supplying her own population, exported in 1877
over fifteen million of bushels.
The important position which Minnesota is destined, in the near future,
to assume as a great contributor to the supply of the most important
article of food used by the human family, is well put forward by Mr.
Pusey in the paper we have already quoted from. He says:
"But a more practical as well as serious aspect of the subject
pertains to those social problems connected with supplies of bread.
The grave significance of the question involved is not susceptible
of concealment, when the fact is considered, that while the
consumption of wheat, as the choice food of the human race, is
rapidly extending, the capacity of wheat-growing regions for its
production is rapidly diminishing."
We will now give some extracts from the report of the late J. B.
Philips, Commissioner of Statistics. We select from his report with
great satisfaction, because he has been very careful to make his
calculations rather under than over the truth.