ever, revived in the last decade of the century,
amounting in 1900 to three times that of 1890.
There were large increases in the area devoted
to oats and rye respectively during each of
the last two decades of the nineteenth century;
rye, however, is of only minor importance.
Grasses cut for hay are chiefly wild, salt, or
prairie grasses, but millet, alfalfa, and other
cultivated grasses are also grown. Potatoes and
other vegetable crops are extensively grown. In
the last decade of the past century a rapid
increase was made in the cultivation of sugar
beets, the census of 1900 reporting a total of 8662
acres devoted to them. The growing of orchard
fruits is mainly confined to the southeastern part
of the State. Between 1890 and 1900 the number
of fruit trees increased from 1,840,704 to 6,240,118,
considerably over half of this number being
apple trees.
The acreage of the principal farm crops for
the census years indicated is as follows:
CROP
1900
1890
Corn
7,335,187
5,480,279
Wheat
2,538,949
798,855
Oats
1,924,827
1,503,515
Rye
178,920
81,372
Barley
92,098
82,590
Hay and forage
2,823,652
2,462,245
Potatoes
79,901
106,722
Stock-Raising. Every decade since the
settlement of the State has witnessed an increase in
the number of every variety of domestic animals.
In general, the increase was greatest during the
ten years from 1880 to 1890. The most
noteworthy gain in the last decade of the
century was that made in the number of cattle
other than dairy cows, amounting to 62.7 per
cent. In the census year 1900, $4,137,000 was
realized from the sale of dairy products, and
the value of the product consumed on farms was
nearly as great. In the same year only three
States exceeded Nebraska in the number of swine
reported.
The following table gives the number of the
principal species of domestic animals for the
years indicated:
1900
1890
Dairy cows
512,544
505,045
Other cattle
2,663,699
1,637,552
Horses
795,318
626,789
Mules and asses
55,856
46,512
Sheep
335,950
209,243
Swine
4,128,000
3,815,647
Manufactures. In manufacturing Nebraska
is one of the least developed States. In 1900
there were 24,461 wage-earners, or only 2.3 per
cent. of the total population, engaged in
manufactures. The State's industries, have developed
almost wholly since 1880. In the two decades
beginning with that year the number of
wage-earners more than quintupled, and the value of
products ($143,990,000 in 1900) increased over
eleven fold. The lack of cheap fuel has been a
serious handicap, but the development of coal
fields in adjoining States is helping to overcome
this obstacle. The advantages of cheap
transportation are afforded by the Missouri
River, and Omaha in particular has unusual
railroad facilities. As yet the industries are
limited mainly to those manufactures that are
based upon agricultural and stock-raising
products. Thus four industries—viz. slaughtering
and meat-packing, and the manufacture of malt
liquors, flour and grist-mill products, and cheese,
butter, and condensed milk—yielded 89.6 per cent.
of the total value for the nine leading industries
given in the table below. The value of the
products of the slaughtering industry alone was
nearly equal to that of all other industries
combined. The rapid growth of the industry
began in 1884, and South Omaha, as a slaughtering
centre, is surpassed only by Kansas City and
Chicago. The factory production of butter has developed
wholly since 1881. Other leading industries
are printing and publishing, and car and other
railroad shop construction, the manufacture of
saddlery and harness, brick and tile, and lumber
and planing mill products. The last two suffered
a decrease during the last decade of the century.
South Omaha and Omaha are the only large
manufacturing centres. The following table shows the
relative importance of the leading industries, and
their development during the decade 1890-1900:
INDUSTRIES
Year
Number of establishments
Average number wage-earners
Value of products, including custom work and repairing
Total for selected industries for State
1900
1,520
13,386
$92,372,460
1890
1,045
10,467
42,260,093
Increase, 1890 to 1900
......
475
2,919
50,112,367
Per cent. of increase
......
45.5
27.9
118
Per cent. of total of all industries in the State
1900
28.1
54.7
64
1890
34.7
51.2
45
Slaughtering and meat-packing, wholesale
1900
8
6,083
71,018,339
1890
6
1,863
24,026,876
Cheese, butter, and condensed milk, factory product
