PRESIDENT'S REPORT. To the General Assembly of the State of Ohio: I regret that in communicating to the Legislature the condition of the agriculture of the State, I cannot make a more favorable report. But the two last years have been so unfavorable to the prospects of the farmer in the production of his crops, followed as they have been by the late sudden and extraordinary revulsion in the financial world, that it is cause of gratitude that they are not followed by general disaster and ruin. The drought of 1856 was so severe and long continued as to cut short all our productions, (an unusual occurrence where the crops and their periods of maturing are so diversified, as in this State,) which has been followed by the destruction of our greatest staple, Indian Corn, which though promising a large yield has been so seriously injured by the severe frosts of autumn, and the extreme wet weather, which has succeeded, as not only to render a very large portion of it unmerchantable, but to cause great quantities of it to rot in the fields, and very serious apprehensions are entertained that the injury is so great as to cause a deficiency of seed for the coming crop. The drought of 1854 was perhaps more severe than that of 1856, but, it was at a time when the wars in Europe created a demand for our productions at higher prices, and was followed by a year of abundant harvests, which also met with remunerating prices, and the farmer might with some propriety look forward to the sale of his crops to relieve him from the embarrassment which the failure of the previous year occasioned. The returns of the township assessors since 1850, furnishing a condensed view of the production of our great agricultural staples, Wheat and Indian Corn, are annexed, and are worthy of consideration: From this it will be seen that the average production of wheat per acre is about 13 bushels, and of corn 34 bushels, and that there has been a gradual diminution of the amount of land cultivated in wheat and an increase in the amount cultivated in corn, suggesting that in a large portion of the State corn is considered a more certain crop and less liable to fluctuation in price, and the fact is apparent that the average product per acre of wheat is diminishing, to remedy which, should be the earnest consideration of the farmer. An efficient system of drainage is suggested as a remedy; hitherto our efforts in this line have been confined to draining overflowed or swamp lands, by open ditches, but all our upland clay soils would, if properly underdrained, be better prepared to withstand the extremes of either wet or drought, and thus produce better crops. Having referred to the returns of the assessors as furnishing valuable statistical information, permit me to suggest that it is highly important that the information they furnish should be obtained and published at a much earlier period. The returns for 1856 have been but recently published, whilst the crop has long since been consumed, and a large part of that of 1857 sent forward to market. If it were possible to furnish the information by the 1st of January in each year, of the products of the past year, the farmer would be apprized of the state of the market, and be on an equality with the produce dealer. The crops of grass and oats, the past year were very good, and that of potatoes remarkably fine. The value of our dairy products according to the national census, in 1840, was $1,848,869, and in 1850, 34,449,379 pounds of butter, and 20,819,542 pounds of cheese were made in the State. The high prices which animal food of all kinds has brought (and is likely to bring for some time to come) has made stock growing a very remunerative branch of our farming, and taking into consideration the facilities which it affords for fertilizing the soil perhaps the most profitable. Ohio ranks in this branch as in grain growing, among the first in the Union, and it is gratifying to record that the strenuous efforts made by her farmers to improve the quality of their stock have been highly suc cessful. In 1856 we shipped to New York 43,501 head of cattle for beef. It is highly probable that a large number of these were forced on that market by the great scarcity of food, as in 1857, with a better price, we sent forward but 30,001. Wool is another of our staple productions; the number of sheep in 1857 being 3,215,639, valued at $5,357,275. I respectfully renew the recommendations of my predecessors for the protection of this interest by the imposition of a tax on dogs. Considerable attention has been given the past year to the cultivation of a new plant (Sorghum), and although the season was not the most favorable for its production, it has been well ascertained that syrup of a good quality may be cheaply made from it, its value as a sugar producing plant is still doubtful. During the last harvest a trial of Reaping and Mowing Machines took place, under the direction of the Board, at Hamilton, at which sixteen machines were fully tested, all of which showed their capacity for harvesting grain and grass by horse power. The report of the awarding com mittee will be found among the papers herewith submitted, to which I refer for full details. I should do injustice to the feelings of all the members of the Boarddid I not embrace this opportunity of tendering to the members of that committee the thanks of the Board for the faithful and efficient manner in which they discharged their duties. The eighth annual fair was held at Cincinnati, on the 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th days of September, 1857, and was attended by a very large concourse of exhibitors and spectators. The amount of premiums offered amounted to six thousand dollars, besides 500 medals and diplomas, which were so distributed as to encourage every improvement connected with agriculture and the mechanical arts. Fencing is a great tax on farmers, and is annually increasing as the supply of timber suitable for the purpose is diminishing. The estimate may appear large to those who have not investigated the subject but I am convinced that eighty millions of dollars is under rather, than above the actual amount invested in this State, in fences on farms. When Ohio was comparatively a wilderness, whose range was the great pasture ground of all the stock, there may have been some propriety in enacting that unless a crop was well protected the owner could not recover damages for its destruction. Now the wilderness has given way to productive fields, and there is no longer a necessity for compelling all the inhabitants of a township to fence against the stock of a single individual who may be so reckless of his own interest or his neighbor's rights as to turn it on the highway. If he chooses to grow stock he should be required to fence in, instead of requiring the neighbors to fence it out. So urgent has this matter become that in many portions of the State it has been attempted to substitute hedges-but so long as the law of inclosures remains as it is, their success is not very probable. To make a good hedge it should be frequently closely trimmed at which times it affords a very slight protection to the crop enclosed. I deem it my duty to call the attention of the Legislature to the discriminations, made in the rates of freight charged by many of railroad companies of the State, on produce passing over their roads, as one which, exercised as it has been for some time past, deserves the serious attention of those whose duty it is to protect the rights and interests of the people of Ohio. The difference in the tariffs of through and local freight, is so great that it operates as a discrimination against the produce of this State, and in favor of those of our neighboring States, Kentucky and Indiana. Thus, when cattle could be shipped from Cincinnati to Buffalo, N. Y., for $75 per car, the price from Columbus was $80 per car. I have been imformed that the same discrimination has been made on other articles of produce, and in some instances shippers have proposed to pay freight on their produce from Cincinnati and ship from points nearer, to the place of destination, and been refused. One of my predecessors justly characterized this as "a tremendous power by which not only the price of produce in different places might be affected, but the value of lands enhanced or depressed, at the will of those having the control of these corporations. I beg leave to refer to the report of the Treasurer of the Board for a detailed statement of the receipts and expenditures, and to that of the Corresponding Secretary for an abstract of the proceedings of the several county societies, as well as a general view of the condition of agriculture throughout the State. Respectfully submitted, A. WADDLE, |