60 America's Crop Heritage

 ARGUMENTS FOR DIVERSIFICATION

 The House of Representatives passed a resolution in 1870
requesting Capron to submit a report on the extent and value
of foreign imports which might conceivably be produced in this
country. From this report the House hoped to find foreign crops
which would give diversity to American agriculture and lead to a
fuller employment of labor and land. Diversification of agriculture
was sorely needed, and it was closely identified in Capron's mind
 TABLE 2
 DISTRIBUTION OF MAJOR CROP SEEDS BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 1868-89

 Miscellan-
 Year Vegetables Flowers Tobacco Turnips eous*
 No. of No. of No. of No. of No. of
 packages packages packages packages packages
1868 ........... 430,511 90,871 23,680 4,876 9,733
1869........... 196,024 37,352 20,607 6,478 4,447
1870 ........... 233,577 41,725 30,258 7,808 5,578
1871 ........... 365,933 183,259 18,560 ........... 16,691
1872 ........... 477,662 196,809 31,664 ........... 21,283
1873........... 617,564 227,296 24,595 ........... 29,173
1874 ........... 778,319 332,881 25,696 ........... 34,510
1875........... 1,654,058 337,960 56,053 ........... 30,442
1876 ........... 983,974 372,088 64,107 ........... 32,188
1877........... 1,811,100 302,395 45,398 ........... 36,282
1878 ........... 669,334 201,597 57,155 ........... 74,958
1879 ........... 1,270,372 71,280 36,673 ........... 64,830
1880 ........... ......... .......... ....... ........... ......t
1881 ........... 1,325,922 135,269 115,199 ........... 54,715
1882........... 1,651,704 179,452 83,215 70,700 89,399
1883........... 1,884,514 233,440 76,232 86,148 60,801
1884........... 2,351,535 563,638 114,671 425,858 65,993
1885........... 2,989,655 764,950 168,295 554,732 94,506
1886............ 3,268,434 337,436 132,057 419,431 63,323
1887........... 3,609,748 394,137 100,191 375,473 57,230
1888........... 3,642,018 383,446 123,477 431,497 50,992

 Includes such crops as herbs, opium poppy, tree seeds, grasses and sorghums.
 t No figures are available for 1880.
 Complete figures for seed distributions prior to 1868 are not given in the USDA
Reports. Figures for cereals and textiles for this period are given in TABLE 3.

with plant introduction as the means of achievement. Large sur-
pluses of staple crops, caused by overproduction, brought sharp
reductions in the prices producers received. The continued plant-
ing of a single staple crop robbed soils of their fertility. Diversity
would permit planning for rotation and more continuous employ-
ment of agricultural labor. "The great extent of our territory,"
Capron argued, "its variety of soil, climate, and capability, all