1893 - State Library Information Center

UNITED STATES CENSUS, 1890. 15The statistics of New Jersey agriculture as returned at theeleventh IT. S. census, so far as available, are also given below indetail. These are the usual data of farm acreage and farmvalues in 1890, as well as of farm products in 1889. The tableof " miscellaneous crops for 1889 " is particularly of interest, notfor results shown, but the contrary, apparently indicating thefailure of the State bounty legislation of 1880 so far as itspresent fruits are concerned. In that year the Legislature ofNew Jersey authorized the payment of bounties for flax strawgrown in this State and for flax fibre produced therefrom; alsofor sugar sorghum-cane raised here and for sugar manufacturedtherefrom. Under this legislation there were paid from theState Treasury $5,000 for 1,445,250 pounds of flax straw, grownmostly in Hunterdon county, and the same amount for 142,858pounds of cleaned fibre, up to the end of the year 1882; and tothe end of 1885, for 31,128.97 tons of sorghum cane, raisedmostly in Cape May county, $31,128.97, and for 1,259,535 poundsof sugar manufactured at the then existing Rio Grande SugarWorks, $12,594.85; that is, the total expended in behalf of promotingthe cultivation of fibrous plants was $10,000, and toencourage the production of sugar, $43,723.82.The 1890 census returns, as per tables of miscellaneous crops,show only 2 acres of flax planted, producing 8 bushels of Reed,of 6 acres devoted to sorghum, producing 281 gallons of molasses,and the production of 210 pounds of maple sugar and 134gallonH of maple molasses. In 1879 there were reported to the1880 census: flax seed, 5,283 bushels; straw, 6,108 tons, andfibre, 40,710 pounds. In that year there were also produced1,261 gallons of sorghum molasses, and 2,496 pounds of maplesugar and 334 gallons of maple molasses.ftThe total estimated value of farm productions decreased duringthe decade from .$29,650,756 to. $28,997,349, or $653,407—less than 3 per cent. The fall in these values was more noticeablein some counties than in others, while in a few there wasactually an increase, to a greater or less extent, notably in Gloucester,Burlington, Sussex and Mercer, which are largely agricultural.Apparently this increase, as well as the prevention ofa more marked decrease elsewhere, was due to the gain in livestock and its productions, especially of milch cows and milk.