Excerpt from Progress of Southern Agriculture: An Address Delivered by Charles W. Dabney, Jr., Assistant Secretary of Agriculture, Before the Farmers' Institute, Held Under the Auspices of the Virginia State Board of Agriculture, at Ashland, Va., June 2, 1896

Many new crops have been introduced which promise to bring in large revenues for their growers. Among them may be mentioned peanuts, which has assumed great importance as a field crop in Vir ginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida, and also as an article of export; and hops, recently introduced in North Carolina. Some old crops have received a wonderful extension and an importance that was entirely unexpected. There is no better illustration of the progress made in agriculture in the South than is shown in the results of rice culture in the State of Lou1s1ana Since 1860. Prior to that time South Carolina produced pounds, or two-thirds of the rice crop of the United States, the product of all the States being 000 pounds. The same year Louisiana's contribution to the crop amounted to only pounds. In 1893 Louisiana had not only far out stripped South Carolina as the leading rice-producing State, but lacked only a few million pounds of producing as much as the entire country in 1860, the total product of Louisiana that year having been 000 pounds.

With these handsome contributions from Louisiana the rice crop of the United States has been increased from pounds in 1860, the maximum under the old regime, to pounds in 1893.

In 1895, the total imports of rice into the United States, exclusive of rice flour and meal and broken rice, amounted to pounds. In View of the statements that are made as to the amount of land that may be brought under rice culture in Louisiana and Texas it is not unreasonable to conclude that within a few years the United States will be independent of other countries for its supply of this important arti cle of food.

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