USA > Pennsylvania > Pennsylvania, colonial and federal : a history, 1608-1903, Volume Three > Part 33
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Pennsylvania Colonial and Federal
saw the establishment of a similar organization in South Caro- lina, to be followed by one in New York in 1791 and one in Massachusetts in 1792. But even under such impetus as was felt under the work of this early society, progress was slow for many years, excepting in the immediate vicinity of Philadelphia. Reading matter on agricultural subjects was scarce and what there was attracted little attention from the average farmer of the period. Manuring was ridiculed in Chester county down to near the Revolutionary period and there was very little lime used be- fore that time-a fertilizer that became in later years of great importance to the State. The early settlers placed little confi- dence in what they termed "book farming," a sentiment that remained to some extent to years within the memory of living persons. Stock on farms continued, partly through necessity perhaps, to be poorly-housed in winter and inadequately fed. Meadow production was confined almost wholly to natural grass growth; there was little clover before the Revolution, and no timothy. The introduction of the horse rake, and later of the thresher and the mowing machine was a slow process.
But in the course of time all of these untoward conditions passed away. The society before named continued its beneficent work in spreading intelligence and encouragement. A meeting of the members was held February 7, 1786 (the second year of its existence), in Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia, with eighteen persons present. It was there agreed to present a gold medal to Colonel George Morgan of New Jersey, for "having the best farm yard the society has information of." This was the first medal presented by the society, and it seems they had to go over into the neighboring State to find a worthy recipient. On No- vember 7 of that year another meeting was held, at which "was exhibited a drill plough just from England that cost £19." As new counties were formed other agricultural societies were organ- ized in other parts of the State, stimulating farmers by offering premiums upon their products, and creating more earnest effort
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towards improvement in all directions. Agricultural literature, in the form of newspapers, periodicals, and books gradually came within the reach of all, and the more progressive men in every community studied and bettered their condition in the ratio that they adopted improvements.
Penn's petition of 1680 asked for land within certain limits in some directions, but wanted it "to extend northward as far as plantable." If this seems like a rather extravagant demand, and if Penn under his treaties with the Indians obtained a magnificent domain, he, on the other hand, sold his lands for low prices and adopted a policy in general that was most encouraging to immi- gration and his colony flourished from the first. Lands obtained under the treaty of 1768 were offered at £5 per 100 acres, with one penny per annum quit rent. Some of the rich coal lands of the State were sold at this price. Partly in consequence of these favorable terms, most of the very early farms were large in area, many of them including 500 acres or more. Germans, Swedes, Scotch-Irish, and immigrants from other European countries, as well as from England, hastened over to take advantage of the low prices of the rich lands of eastern Pennsylvania. Before the lapse of half a century after settlement began, agriculture was a prosperous industry in eastern Pennsylvania, notwithstanding all of the untoward conditions that have been described; and in the western parts of the State where the land was best adapted to tillage, nothing prevented a corresponding degree of prosperity except the difficulties attending transportation of grain and other products.
So great was the influx of immigrants from the distracted sections of Europe that the colony was alarmed at the prospect, and even in England fears were expressed that Pennsylvania would become a colony of foreigners. The German element, thrifty and industrious as they were, did not escape the feeling of jealousy that existed in 1720 and during some years later to such an extent that the matter received the attention of the Assembly.
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Pennsylvania Colonial and Federal
The cereal crops that were produced in the eastern part of the State from the beginning down to 1800 were, as a rule, large and profitable. It is recorded, for example, that "the years 1751 and 1752 have been so fruitful in wheat and other grain that men in wanton carelessness sought to waste the supply; for the precious wheat, which might have supplied many poor, they used to fatten hogs, which afterwards they consumed in their sumptuousness. Besides, distilleries were erected everywhere, and thus the great blessing was turned into strong drink, which gave rise to much disorder." (German Chron. Ephrat., 190.) In all tillable parts of the State in early years distilleries were numerous ; they offered about the only method of disposing of surplus grains that insured any adequate return.
The years of plenty just mentioned were followed by a period of scarcity. Indian depredations in 1755-6, and again in 1763, partially paralyzed agriculture; many families were driven from their homes, and large fields of crops were neglected or destroyed. During the period of the old French and Indian wars Pennsyl- vania supplied a large part of the subsistence for General Brad- dock's troops and the Virginia riflemen, and by 1776 the State had become second in agriculture and commercial wealth, with a population of 380,000.
Progress towards the western part of the State was slow, as far as applies to agricultural operations. It was fifty years after the first settlement before pioneers were dwelling on the banks of the Susquehanna, a hundred miles in the interior. As early as 1690, Penn had contemplated the founding of another great city on this river. In his letter proposing this enterprise he men- tioned "the known goodness of the soyll and scituation of the land, which is high and not mountainous." Reports of product- ive soil and land that could be had farther west for almost nothing were, as they always have been, sufficient inducement to attract the hardy and adventurous pioneer into new regions, even in the face of danger and deprivation. The thrifty Scotch-Irish immi-
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grants pushed on into the regions of the Susquehanna and the Juniata and laid the foundations of later prosperity, while con- siderable progress was made upon the arable lands in the Pitts- burg region and along the streams of the remote western part. Some light is thrown upon the conditions in this section of the State by the records. In 1785, soon after the Indian title to lands in the northwestern part of the State was extinguished, explorers and surveyors were sent out by the Supreme Executive Council to survey lands which were to be donated to the troops of the Pennsylvania line in the army. Among these explorers was Gen- eral William Irvine, from whose report we quote. He said he "began about four miles from Fort Pitt, east of which for five or six miles the land is pretty level, well watered with small springs and of tolerable quality ; but from thence to the Allegheny river, which is about twenty-five miles due east, there is no land worth mentioning fit for cultivation ; all between the Venango Path and the Allegheny there is very little land fit for cultivation, as it is a continued chain of high barren mountains, except small breaches for Creeks and Rivulets to disembogue themselves into the River." He proceeded eastward and wrote: "From Flat Rock to Sandy Creek by Hutchins & Snell, called Lycomie, is about twenty-four miles ; on the first twelve there are a considerable quantity of tolerable level land, though much broken with large stony flats." This was all heavily timbered. From Sandy Creek to French Creek, seven or eight miles, he reported "no part is by any means fit for cultivation." He traveled over about 150 miles in locating these so-called "donation lands," a large part of which he reported as unfit for cultivation. The present condition of many parts of that region must greatly modify these statements.
In 1799 Thomas Hill made a horseback journey from New Brunswick, N. J., to Lycoming county, in the record of which are found a few glimpses of agricultural conditions at the close of that century. In Raritan county he reported the grass production as good, and the average of crops (cereals) as twenty bushels to
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Pennsylvania Colonial and Federal
the acre on the east side and twelve bushels on the west side. At Phillipsburg and East Town ( Easton) he found limestone land "very indifferent," with an average product of twelve bushels, to which he added, "red clover and pretty good lots." Hay, he said, averaged one and a half tons. On a part of his journey he reported finding the settlers "all Germans ;- the most early rising, hard working people I ever saw." On his third day of travel he re- corded : "This country has been settled with Germans about fifty years. I hope to be soon through with them." He complained of the food they gave him, which doubtless accounts for his desire to "be soon through with them." He found no crops "equal to the Raritan" (valley). The Northumberland region he reported as only fairly good. After crossing the Alleghanies the bottom lands, according to the traveler's statement, were rich and pro- ductive, and "covered with immense white pines, sugar maple, beech and birch." He speaks of John Hill's, on the "south side of Loyalsock," and adds, "For six miles from this spot, that is, three each way, there cannot well be more than seven farmers, a miller, and blacksmith, say nine." This indicates the progress that settlement had made in that region a century ago. He thought there would never be sufficient settlement there "to sup- port a school teacher." (See Pa. Mag., vol. xiv., pp. 189-98.)
The war of the Revolution seriously interfered with agricul- tural operations in all of the colonies. In 1779 there was a real scarcity of food products in Pennsylvania; prices of all grains were very high, and the currency, depreciated almost to worth- lessness as a purchasing medium, gave little relief to the people if they had it at hand. After the close of the great conflict the change in these conditions was rapid and gratifying. In 1790 the population of the State had reached 434,370, and there were scat- tered settlements in nearly all of the remotest parts of the Com- monwealth. The western section was attracting more and more attention as desirable for agriculture. Washington, Allegheny, Beaver, Fayette, and Indiana counties were reported as particu-
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larly well adapted to the growth of cereals, while in Mercer, Craw- ford, and some other counties were found superior grazing lands. The Juniata valley had become celebrated for its wheat produc- tion. It is recorded that one farmer in one season had a crop of 1,000 bushels. In 1790 it is said that 150,000 bushels of wheat were brought down the Susquehanna, passing through Middle- town for Philadelphia, a large part of which was grown in the Juniata valley. At that time flour was being shipped up the Susquehanna for Northumberland settlers. All waterways were used for transportation purposes where possible, in early times, for the roads were bad and during part of every year were prac- tically impassable for heavy loads. Freightage by team was con- sequently very costly, a fact that for many years was a great ob- stacle in the way of agricultural progress in the western part of the State. In 1794 wagon freight from Philadelphia to Pittsburg was from $5 to $10 per 100 pounds, a rate that was almost pro- hibitive on many commodities. Salt then sold in Pittsburg for $5 per bushel. Freight on a barrel of flour from Pittsburg to Philadelphia was nearly as much as the value of the flour. This product could not be shipped north from that point in very early years, for fear of Indian depredation, although it was many times attempted. Some flour was sent southward by water, a farmer building his own ark, which he loaded with his own product and that of some of his neighbors and floated it down to New Orleans. Wheat was so plentiful in western Pennsylvania and the market so poor, that it was customary to feed it to cattle, while rye, corn, and barley had almost no value whatever as food for man or beast. These conditions were what led to the building of the scores of small distilleries of early times. The later construction of canals and railroads equalized all of these disadvantages with the advan- tages of more fortunately situated sections.
With the opening of the last century the population of Penn- sylvania reached 602,365, a gain of nearly 170,000 on the preced- ing decade. The efforts of the Society for the Promotion of
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Agriculture, before mentioned, and those of the other early organ- izations of this and other States, had taught the farmers many salutary lessons in the details of their occupation and also had in- culcated among them a sentiment of self-reliance which was of great benefit to them during the blockade period preceding the, war of 1812, which latter did not seriously affect their interests.
In 1810 the population of the State was 810,091. In that year it is recorded that there were ground in Pennsylvania mills 4,024,640 bushels of wheat, besides which there were large ship- ments of the unground grain to other sections. In 1809 the Lan- caster county millers produced 99,000 barrels of flour, and North- umberland, 160 miles north of Philadelphia, produced 105,000 barrels; it should, however, be remembered that those counties were larger then than at the present time.
The war of 1812 somewhat checked immigration, as well as all material interests, but in 1820 the population had increased to 1,047,507, and the farmers of the State had begun to profit by the improved facilities for reaching markets with their products. Fertilizers were rapidly coming into use and limestone had begun to be quarried in Lancaster county and burned into lime to spread upon land. In later years every farm in that section showed the effects of this fertilizer. Orchards and nurseries were numerous in the older settled parts and fruits were plentiful. As early as 1801 Robert Caldwell advertised in the "Northumberland Ga- zette" that he had a "nursery of young apple trees now fit for planting out, of excellent kinds ;" his price was 6d. each for three- year-old trees.
In 1830 the State population was 1,348,233, a gain of 301,726 in ten years. Farm products of all kinds increased in like ratio and the whole State was on a high tide of prosperity. Even the memorable financial troubles of 1837-40, which were so disastrous in many parts of the country, retarded the production of cereals and the increase of population in this State but little. It is re- corded of the decade from 1830 to 1840 that "every material
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interest of the State was thoroughly developed as far as it was in the power of the people and the State government to do so. (Re- port of Internal Affairs, 1874-5, p. 41, part III. )
In 18440 there were nearly 9,000,000 acres of land under a fair state of cultivation. The succeeding decade to 1850 saw contin- ued advancement in all agricultural conditions. In the year just named there were in the State 127,577 farms averaging 117 acres each. The production of corn reached 19,835,214 bushels. To- bacco was becoming an important product, nearly 1,000,000 pounds
Western Entrance to York, Pennsylvania
From Day's Historical Collections
being grown : this quantity had increased to 3, 181,586 pounds in 1860. A large part of this came from Lancaster county, but after 1860 the industry spread to York, Berks, and Cumberland coun- ties. In 1860 there were 10,463.296 acres of land under cultiva- tion in the State, nearly one-half the acreage of the whole State. There were then 156,000 farmers, who produced of wheat 13,042,165 bushels; 28,196,821 of corn; 530,714 of barley ; 2,245,413 tons of hay ; 58,653,511 pounds of butter ; 2,508,556 pounds of cheese, and 4,752,522 pounds of wool.
The period of the great Civil war was at hand, which was to create a revolution in every department of industry. Pennsyl- vania sent to the war not less than 100,000 men from its agricul- tural element. Laborers became scarce and many farms were left in the care of agents. Prices of all kinds of land produce rose
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rapidly, and farm hands demanded from $3.50 to $4.00 per day in harvest time and $35 to $40 per month by the year. Mean- while a meeting was held in 1851 and steps were taken towards organizing a State Agricultural Society. The purpose was ef- fected through action of the State legislature in the same year, and the first fair was held at Harrisburg in October.
The increase in cultivated acreage from 1860 to 1870 was 1,052,669 acres and the population rose to 3,521,951. At the close of the decade ( 1869) the production of wheat was 3,899,967 bushels ; oats. 36,478,585 bushels ; corn, 34.702,006 bushels; rye, 3,557,641 bushels ; barley, 529,562 bushels ; buckwheat, 2,532, 173 bushels ; potatoes, 12,889,367 bushels ; hay, 2,848,219 tons; but- ter, 60,834,641 pounds ; cheese, 1,045,209 pounds ; wool, 6,561,723 pounds ; tobacco, 3,467,539 pounds. The State College, opened in 1859, was contributing effectively to the prosperity of the agri- cultural interests, as noticed a little further on. The decade clos- ing with 1880 showed a gain in the aggregate cultivated acreage from 5,980,000 acres to 6,354.750 acres. The production of wheat for 1880 was 21,750,000 bushels on an acreage of 1,261,500; corn, 43,750,000 bushels, acreage 1,261,500; oats, 32,250,000 bushels, acreage 1, 156,000; potatoes, 9, 125,000, acreage 151,750; buckwheat, 2,812,000, acreage 172,250; hay, 2,450,000 tons, acreage 2,550,000 ; tobacco, 38,750,000 pounds, acreage 26,670; (of this latter product, Lancaster county produced 16,000,000 pounds ). From 1871 to 1880 the number of horses in the State increased from 546, 100 to 616,750, and the number of cows from 788.900 to 851,750.
Meanwhile, in 1876, steps were taken for the organization of the existing State Board of Agriculture, a department that has since been of inestimable value to the farmer. A bill was read in the legislature on January 24 of the year named "to establish a State Board of Agriculture," which, with some amendment, was passed in the following April. The board comprised five ex- officio members, headed by the Governor; six members to be ap-
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pointed by the Governor, and twenty-six members to be elected by the county agricultural societies throughout the State. The report of the secretary for the first year is of deep interest to all persons interested in the agriculture of the Commonwealth and may be referred to for details. He said that there were then only five States in the Union where agriculture was so diversified as in Pennsylvania. With a large city at either end of the State and a great manufacturing district between them, the farmers find a ready market for all their products. The average size of farms at that time was a little over 100 acres. Most of the farms were owned by their occupants. In the eastern and southern parts most of the grain, excepting wheat, was being fed on the farms. Along the railroads from forty to fifty miles from Philadelphia, milk was the principal product. Farther away from the city cows were still numerous and highly fed, but butter took the place of milk as the chief product of the dairy. Corn was an important crop, but not nearly to the extent or profit of some of the other cereals. The important subjects of the promotion of forestry, horticulture, botany, the value of fertilizers, veterinary science, destructive insects, the raising of poultry, the beet sugar industry, adulteration of various commodities, fish culture, improvement of roads, etc., have received and are receiving attention from this department to the great benefit of the farmer at large. Kindred associations or institutions that now contribute to the spread of agricultural knowledge and the promotion of reforms are the De- partment of Forestry, separately described in another part of this work; the State Dairymen's Association ; the State Horticultural Association, which has been in existence about forty years; the local Farmers' Institutes, which were inaugurated by an act of 1889 and are now held annually in many parts of the State; the. State Live Stock Sanitary Board, established by an act of 1895, etc.
Since the close of the Civil war, and especially within the last fifteen or twenty years, the farmers of Pennsylvania, in common with those of most other sections of the country, have felt the de-
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pressing effects of the necessary transition from the abnormally high prices and general expansion of the war period to the condi- tions prevailing at the present time. It has been shown by in- vestigation that the value of farms in this State since 1880 has diminished to the amount of $567,000,000. The following figures will show the changes in prices of several principal farm products from 1850 to 1890:
1850
1860
1870
1880
1890
Flour
$5.45
$5.65
$4.50
$4.75
$4.35
Wheat
1.25
1.32
1.28
1.48
.90
Corn
.61
.74
.85
.62
.42
Oats
.42
.44
.55
.47
.29
These figures are suggestive, and, taken in connection with other well known causes, have aided in producing the existing feeling among a large class of farmers, that the occupation is no longer a very desirable one. Others who are more optimistic as to the agricultural future of the State have not despaired and hold up to their brethren the other side of the picture, which relates to the prices now paid by the farmer for tools, clothing and food as compared with those of former days. The report of the State Board of Agriculture for 1890 has a paper upon "Farm Values," in which it is noted that in 1870 a mowing machine cost $125, which could be bought in 1880 for $75 to $90, while in 1890 a good single mower could be bought for $45 to $50. All rates of transportation have fallen as well as those articles making up the needed supplies of the farmer ; but while these are in a measure a source of encouragement, the fact of the great reduction in farm values remains. As a whole, however, the State of Pennsylvania, as a general agricultural district, stands well up towards the front among the Eastern States, a fact that can be amply proven by reference to current reports and to the latest census returns.
The State Agricultural College .- At the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania State Agricultural Society held January 18,
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1853, a report was made on the advantages of an agricultural - school. The subject was discussed and a resolution was finally adopted calling a State convention of the friends of agriculture to promote the matter. This convention met in March, 1853, and there a committee was appointed to continue the undertaking. In accordance with recommendations of this committee made at a later date, an act was approved by the legislature, April 13, 1854, establishing the school. The institution was to be placed under
Carbondale Churches in 1840
From an old print
the general control of a board of trustees "composed of the presi- dents of the county agricultural societies and the president and vice-president of the State agricultural society." A second char- ter was issued under date of February 22, 1855, in which the board was constituted of thirteen members, four of whom were ex-officio officers-the Governor of the State, Secretary of State, President of the State Agricultural Society and the Principal of the college.
After much investigation the site for the institution was chosen in Centre county, very near the geographical center of the State, in a locality noted for its beautiful scenery, fertile soil, and pure water. In May, 1856, a contract was made for the erection of a building, but the west wing only was ready for use in Febru-
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ary, 1859, and the remainder in December, 1863. The first title of the institution was "The Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania." In 1862 it was changed to "The Agricultural School of Pennsyl- vania," and in 1874 it was given its present title, "The Pennsyl- vania State College." The conditions of the Congressional land grant of 1862 were accepted by the State, and the land scrip was sold, the proceeds of which have since constituted the larger part of the income of the college. Under the provisions of what is known as the Hatch act of Congress, of March, 1887, the Experi- ment Station was organized as a department of the college and so remains to the present time. One hundred acres of the farm were set off for the use of the Experiment Station, sixty of which are utilized as a demonstration of a model farm, with an office and laboratory building 42 by 59 feet, two stories high ; in this are the director's office, business office, dairy husbandry office, library and reading room, agriculturist's office, chemist's office, chemical laboratory, photographing room, etc. Since the establishment of the Experiment Station, which has been of such immense practical benefit to the agriculturists of the State, although the institution is not wholly agricultural in its purposes, it still aims to give spe- cial and paramount importance to that field of work, both theo- retical and experimental. Having proportionately increased its other subjects and courses of study and its illustrative equipment, it is at the same time able to impart knowledge of the various sciences in such manner as to show their application to the more important industries, and to combine with every branch of instruc- tion actual practice in the shop, the field and the laboratory. As at present organized the college is governed by the board of trus- tees, from whom is selected an advisory committee of five persons, including the president of the college, George W. Atherton, LL. D. H. P. Armsby, Ph. D., is secretary of this committee. The list of officers and assistants includes sixteen persons, and the faculty and instructors, twenty-seven persons. All phases of practical and scientific agriculture are taught, with physics, me-
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