Hartland Village (part 1 of 2)

Educational Histoet

board, employ teachers, etc., and for a secretary to record proceedings of the board, have immediate charge and supervision of the schools, and perform other specified duties. But few towns have as yet made trial of this system, although it is in successful operation in Pensylvania, Massachusetts, and some other states, and where fully and fairly tried in our own, has proved entirely satisfactory. It Is the general belief of our enlightened educational men that the plan has such merits as ought to secure its voluntary adoption by the people of the state.

In 1875 the legislature enacted that any town, incorporated village, or city, may establish and maintain not more than two free high schools, and provided for an annual appropriation of not to exceed $25,000, to refund one-half of the actual cost of instruction in such schools, but no school to draw in any one year more than $500. At the session of 1877 the benefits of the act were extended to such high schools already established as shall show by a proper report that they have confornied to the requirements of the law. If towns decline to establish such a school, one or more adjoining districts in the same have the privilege of doing so. The law has met with much favor. For the school year ending August 31, 1876 (the first year in which it was in operation), twenty such schools reported, and to these the sum of $7,466.50 was paid, being an average of $373-52 per School. For the year ending August 31, 1878, eighty-five schools reported and received a pro rata division of the maximum appropriation. The high school law was primarily designed to bring to rural neighborhoods the twofold advantages of (i) a higher instruction than the common district schools afford, and (2) a better class of teachers for these schools. It was anticipated, however, from the first that the immediate results of the law would be chiefly the improvement of existing graded schools in the larger villages and in cities.

School Officers. The school officers of Wisconsin are, a state superintendent of public instruction, sixty-four county superintendents, twenty-eight city superintendents, and a school board in each district, consisting of a director, treasurer, and clerk. The state and county superintendents hold office two years, the district officers three years. In each independent city there is a board of education, and the larger cities have each a city superintendent, who in some cases is also principal of the high school. He is appointed for one year. The county board of supervisors determine, within certain limits, the amount of money to be raised annually in each town and ward of their county for school purposes, levy an additional amount for the salary of the county superintendents, may authorize a special school tax, and may under certain circumstances determine that there shall be two superintendents for their county. The town board of supervisors have authority to form and alter school districts, to issue notice for first meeting, to form union districts for high school purposes, and appoint first boards for the same, to locate and establish school-house sites under certain circumstances, to extinguish districts that have neglected to maintain school for two years, and to dispose of the property of the same. The district clerks report annually to the town clerks, the town clerks to the county superintendents, and the county and city superintendents to the state superintendent, who in turn makes an annual report to the governor.

The state superintendent is authorized by law " to issue state certificates of high grade to teachers of eminent qualifications." Two grades of these are given, one unlimited, and the other good for five years. The examination is conducted by a board of three examiners, appointed annually by the state superintendent, and acting under rules and regulations prescribed by him.

The utility of public libraries as a part of the means of popular enlightenment, was early recognized in this state. The constitution, as seJt forth in 1848, required that a portion of the income of the school fund should be applied to the " purchase of suitable libraries and ap'paratus" for the common schools. The same year the legislature of the state, at its first session, enacted that as soon as this income should amount to $60,000 a year (afterwards changed to $30,000), each town superintendent might devote one tenth of the portion of this income received by his town annually, to town library purposes, the libraries thus formed to be distributed among the districts, in sections, and in rotation, once in three months. Districts were also empowered to raise money for library books. The operation of this discretionary and voluntary system was not successful. In ten years (1858) only about one third of the districts (1,121) had libraries,' embracing in all but 38,755 volumes, and the state superintendent, Hon. Lyman C. Draper, urged upon the legislature a better system, of " town libraries," and a state tax for their creation and maintenance. In 1857, the legislature enacted that ten per cent, of the yearly income of the school fund should be applied to the purchase of town school libraries, and that an annual tax of one tenth of one mill should be levied for the same purpose. The law was left incomplete, however, and in 1862, before the system had been perfected, the exigencies of the civil war led to the repeal of the law, and the library fund which had accumulated from the ten per cent, of the school fund income, and from the library tax, amounting in all to $88,784.78, was transferred to the general fund. This may be considered a debt to the educational interests of the slate that should be repaid. Meanwhile the single district library system languishes and yearly grows weaker. The re-enacting of a town library system, in which local effort and expenditure shall be stimulated and supplemented by State aid, has been recommended by the State Teachers' Association, and will, it is hoped, be secured, at no distant day, as a part of a complete town system of schools and of public education.

The act creating the office was passed at the first session of the state legislature, in 1848, The incumbents up to the present time have been as follows :

Name Of Incumbent. Duration Of Incumbency Educational History

Beloit College was founded in 1847, at Beloit, under the auspices of the Congregational and Presbyterian churches of Wisconsin and northern Illinois. In 1848, Rev. Joseph Emerson and Rev. J. J. Bushnell were appointed professors, and in 1849, Rev. A. L. Chapin was appointed president, and has continued such until the present time The institution has had a steady growth, has maintained a high standard of scholarship and done excellent work, both in its preparatory and college departments. Two hundred and thirty-six young men have graduated. Its. lands and buildings are valued at $78,000, and its endowments and funds amount to about $122,000.

Lawrence University, at Appleton, under the patronage of the Methodist church, was organized as a college in 1850, having been an " institute " or academy for three years previous, under the Rev. W. H. Sarhpson. The first president was Rev. Edward Cook ; the second, R. Z. Mason ; the present one is the Rev. George M. Steele, D. D. It is open to both sexes, and has graduated 130 young men, and 68 young women. It still maintains a preparatory department. It has been an institution of great benefit in a new region of country, in the northeastern part of the state. Receiving a liberal donation at the outset from the Hon. Amos A. Lawrence, of Boston, it has land and buildings valued at $47,000, at Appleton, and funds and endowments amounting to $60,000.

Milton College, an institution under the care of the Seventh Day Baptists, was opened as a college in 1867, having been conducted as an academy since 1844. Rev. W. C. Whitford, the president, was for many years the principal of the academy The institution has done much valuable work, particularly in preparing teachers for our public schools. The college has graduated 38 young men and women, having previously graduated 93 academic students. It has lands, buildings and endowments to the amount of about $50,000.

Ripon College, which was known till 1864 as Brockway College, was organized in 1853, at Ripon, and is supported by the Congregational church. Since its re-organization, in 1863, it has graduated 77 students (of both sexes) in the college courses, and has always maintained a large and flourishing preiparatory department. Under its present efficient head, the Rev. E. H. Merrell, A. M., it is meeting with continued success. Its property amounts to about $125,000.

Racine College was founded by the Episcopal Church, at Racine, in 1852, under the Rev. Roswell Park, D. D., as its first President. It was for a long time under the efficient administration of Rev. James De Koven, D. D., now deceased, who was succeeded by Rev. D. Stevens Parker. It maintains a large boys' school also, and a preparatory department. It was designed, in part, to train young men for the Nashotah Theological Seminary. It has property, including five buildings, to the amount of about ;g 180,000, and has graduated ninety-nine young men. Its principal work, in which it has had great success, is that of a boys' school, modeled somewhat after the English schools.

The Seminary of St. Francis of Sales, an ecclesiastical school, was established at St. Francis Station, near Milwaukee, chiefly by the combined efforts of two learned and zealous priests', the Rev. Michael Heiss, now bishop of La Crosse, and the Rev. Joseph Salzmann. It was opened in January, 1856, with Rev. M. Heiss as rector, and with 25 students. Rev. Joseph ; alzmann was rector from September, 1868, to the time of his death, January 17, 1874, since which time Rev. C. Wapelhorst has held the rectorship. The latter is now assisted by twelve professors, and the students number 267, of whom 105 are theologians, 31 students of philosophy, and the rest classical students.

Pio Nono College is a Roman Catholic institution, at St. Francis Station, in the immediate neighborhood of the Seminary of St. Francis. It was founded in 187 1, by Rev. Joseph Salzmann, * The statistics in this division were obtained in 1877. and are for the Drevious year.

who was the first rector. He was succeeded in r874 by the present rector, Rev. Thomas Bruener, vvho is assisted by a corps of seven professors. Besides the college proper, there is a normal department, in which, in addition to the education that qualifies for teaching in common and higher schools, particular attention is given to church music. There is also, under the same management, but in an adjoining building, an institution for the instruction of the deaf and dumb. The pupils in the latter, both boys and girls, numbering about 30, are taught to speak by sounds, and it is said with the best success.

An institution was organized in 1865, at Prairie du Chien, under the name of Prairie du Chien College, and under the care of J. T. Lovewell, as principal. In the course of two or three years it passed into the hands of the Roman Catholic church, and is now known as St. John's College. It has so far performed principally preparatory work.

Sinsinawa Mound College, a Roman Catholic institution, was founded in 1848, through the labors of Father Mazzuchelli, but after doing a successful work, was closed in 1863, and in 1867 the St. Clara academy was opened in the same buildings.

The Northwestern University, which is under the Lutheran church, was organized in 1865, at Watertown, under Rev. August F. Ernst, as president. It has graduated 21 young men, and has a preparatory department. Its property is valued at $50,000.

Galesville University was organized in 1859, under the patronage of the Methodist church at Galesville, in the northwest part of the state. The first president was the Rev. Samuel Fallows, since state superintendent. It has graduated ten young men and eight young women, its work hitherto having been mostly preparatory. It is now under the patronage of the Presbyterian denomination, with J. W. McLaury, A. M., as president: It has property valued at $30,000, and an endowment of about $50,000.

Carroll College was established at Waukesha, by the Presbyterian church, in 1846. Prof. J. W. Sterling, now of the state university, taught its primary classes that year. Under President John A. Savage, D.D., with an able corps of professors, it took a high rank and graduated classes ; but for several years past it has confined its work principally to academic studies. Under W. L. Rankin, A. M.,the present principal, the school is doing good service.

Wayland University was established as a college, by the Baptists, at Beaver Dam, in 1854, but never performed much college work. For three years past, it has been working under a new charter as an academy and preparatory school, and is now known as Wayland Institute.

In 1841, the Protestant Episcopal church established a mission in the wilds of Waukesha county, and, at an early day, steps were taken to establish in connection therewith an institution of learning. This was incorporated in 1847, by the name of Nashotah House. In 1852 the classical school was located at Racine, and Nashotah House became distinctively a theological seminary. It has an endowment of one professorship, the faculty and students being otherwise sustained by voluntary contributions. It has a faculty of five professors, with Rev. A. D. Cole, D.D., as president, buildings pleasantly situated, and has graduated 185 theological students.

Two institutions have been known under this designation. The Milwaukee Female College was founded in 1852, and ably conducted for several years, under the principalship of Miss Mary Mortimer, now deceased. It furnished an advanced grade of secondary instruction. The Wisconsin Female College, located at Fox Lake, was first incorporated in 1855, and re-organized in r863. It has never reached a collegiate course, is now known as Fox Lake Seminary, and admits both sexes. Rev. A. O. Wright, A. M., is the present principal.

The following institutions of academic grade, are now in operation : Albion Academy ; Benton Academy ; Big Foot Academy ; Elroy Seminary ; Fox Lake Seminary ; two German and English academies in Milwaukee ; Janesville Academy ; Kemper Hall, Kenosha ; Lake Geneva Seminary, Geneva; Lakeside Seminary, Oconomowoc; Marshall Academy, Marshall; Merrill Institute, Fond du Lac ; Milwaukee Academy ; Racine Academy ; River Falls Institute ; Rochester Seminary; St. Catherine's Academy, Racine; St. Clara Academy; Sinsinawa Mound ; St. Mary's Institute, Milwaukee ; Sharon Academy ; and Wayland Institute, Beaver Dam. Similar institutions formerly in operation but suspended or merged in other institutions, were : Allen's Grove Academy ; Appleton Collegiate Institute ; Baraboo Collegiate Institute; Beloit Female Seminary; Beloit Seminary; Brunson Institute, Mount Hope ; Evansville Seminary ; Janesville Academy (merged in the high school) ; Kilbourn Institute ; Lancaster Institute; Milton Academy ; Platteville Academy ; Southport Academy (Kenosha) ; Waterloo Academy ; Waukesha Seminary; Wesleyan Seminary, Eau Claire; and Patch Grove Academy. The most important of these were the Milton and Platteville Academies, the former merged in Milton College, the latter in the Platteville Normal School. Of the others, several were superseded by the establishment of public high schools in the same localities.

Schools of this character, aiming to furnish what is called a business education, exist in Milwaukee, Janesville, Madison, LaCrosse, Green Bay, Oshkosh and Fond du Lac. The oldest and largest is in Milwaukee, under the care of Prof. R. C. Spencer, and enrolls from two to three hundred students annually.

Agriculture

The trend of the earliest industries of a country, is the result of the circumstances under which those industries are developed. The attention of pioneers is confined to supplying the immediate wants of food, shelter, and clothing. Hence, the firs tsettlers of a country are farmers, miners, trappers, ,or fishermen, according as they can most readily secure the means of present sustenance for themselves and their families. In the early history of Wisconsin this law is well exemplified. The southern part of the state, consisting of alternations of prairie and timber, was first settled by farmers. As the country has developed, wealth accumulated, and means of transportation have been furnished, farming has ceased to be the sole interest. Manufactories have been built along the rivers, and the mining industry of the southwestern part of the state has grown to one of considerable importance. The shore of Lake Michigan was first mainly settled tied by fishermen, but the later growth of agriculture and manufactures has nearly overshadowed the fishing interest ; as has the production of lumber, in the north half of the state, eclipsed the trapping and fur interests of the first settlers. That the most important industry of Wisconsin is farming, may be seen from the following statistics of the occupation of the people as given by the United States census. Out of each one hundred inhabitants, of all occupations, 68 were farmers, in 1840; 52 in 1850; 54 in i860; 55 in 1870. The rapid growth of the agriculture of the state is illustrated by the increase in the number of acres of improved land in farms, and in the value of farms and of farm implements and machinery, as shown by the following table, compiled from the United States census :

Machinery

Farming, at the present time, is almost entirely confined to the south half of the state, the northern half being still largely covered by forests. A notable exception to this statement is found in the counties on the western border, which are well settled by farmers much farther north. The surface of the agricultural portion of the state is for the most part gently undulating, affording ready drainage, without being so abruptly broken as to render cultivation difficult. The soil is varied in character, and mostly very fertile. The southern portion of the state consists of undulating prairies of variable size - the largest being Rock prairie - alternating with oak openings. The prairies have the rich alluvial soil so characteristic of the western prairies, and are easily worked. The soil of the "openings " land is usually a sandy loam, readily tilled, fertile, but not as " strong " as soils having more clay. The proportion of timber to prairie increases passing north from the southern boundary of the state, and forests of maple, basswood and elm, replace, to some extent, the oak lands. In these localities, the soil is more clayey, is strong and fertile, not as easily tilled, and not as quickly exhausted as are the more sandy soils of the oak lands. In that portion of the state known geologically as the " driftless " region, the soil is invariably good where the surface rock is limestone. In some of the valleys, however, where the lime-rock has been removed by erosion, leaving the underlying sandstone as the surface rock, the soil is sandy and unproductive, except in those localities where a large amount of alluvial matter has been deposited by the streams. The soils of the pine lands of the north of the state, are generally sandy and but slightly fertile. However, where pine is replaced Ity maple, oak, birch, elm and basswood, the soil is "heavier " and very fertile, even to the shores of Lake Superior.

The same natural conditions that make Wisconsin an agricultural state, determined that during its earlier years the main interest should be grain-growing. The fertile prairies covering large portions of the southern part of the state had but to be plowed and sowed with grain to produce an abundant yield. From the raising of cereals the - pioneer farmer could get the quickest returns for his labor. Hence in 1850, two years after its admission to the Union, Wisconsin was the ninth state in order in the production of wheat, while in i860 this rank was raised to third, Illinois and Indiana only raising more. The true rank of the state is not shown by these figures. Were the number of inhabitants and the number of acres of land in actual cultivation taken into account in the comparison, the state would stand still higher in rank than is here indicated. There is the same struggle for existence, and the same desire for gain the world over, and hence the various phases of development of the same industry in different civilized countries is mainly the result of the widely varying economical conditions imposed upon that irdustry. Land is thoroughly cultivated in Europe, not because the Europeans have any inherent love for good cultivation, but because there land is scarce and costly, while labor is superabundant and cheap. In America, on the other hand, and especially in the newer states, land is abundant and cheap, while labor is scarce and costly. In its productive industries each country is alike economical in the use of the costly element in production, and more lavish in the use of that which is cheaper. Each is alike economically wise in following such a course when it is not carried to too great extremes. With each the end sought is the greatest return for the expenditure of a given amount of capital. In accordance with this law of economy, the early agriculture of Wisconsin was mere land-skimming. Good cultivation of the soil was never thought of The same land was planted successively to one crop, as long as it yielded enough to pay for cultivation. The economical principle above stated was carried to an extreme. Farming as then practiced was a quick method of land exhaustion. It was always taking out of the purse, and never putting in. No attention was paid to sustaining the soil's fertility. The only aim was to secure the largest crop for the smallest outlay of capital, without regard to the future. Manures were never used, and such as unavoidably accumulated was regarded as a great nuisance, often rendering necessary the removal of stables and outbuildings. Straw-stacks were invariably burned as the most convenient means of disposing of them. Wheat, the principal product, brought a low price, often not more than fifty cents a bushel, and had to be marketed by teams at some point from which it could be carried by water, as this was, at an early day, the only means of transportation. On account of the sparse settlement of the country, roads were poor, and the farmer, after raising and threshing his 'wheat, had to spend, with a team, from two to five days, marketing the few bushels that a team could draw. So that the farmer had every obstacle to contend with except cheap and very fertile land, that with the poorest of cultivation gave a comparatively abundant yield of grain. Better tillage, accompanied with the use of manures and other fertilizers, would not, upon the virgin soils, have added sufficiently to the yield to pay the cost of applying them. Hence, to the first farmers of the state, ^oar farming was the only profitable farming, and consequently the only goo^ farming, an agriculturo-economical paradox from which there was no escape. Notwithstanding the fact that farmers could economically follow no other system than that of land-exhaustion, as described, such a course was none the less injurious to the state, as it was undermining its foundation of future wealth, by destroying the fertility of the soil, that upon which the permanent wealth and prosperity of every agricultural community is first dependent. Besides this evil, and together with it, came the habit of loose and slovenly farming acquired by pioneers, which continued after the conditions making that method a necessity had passed away. With the rapid growth of the northwest came better home markets and increased facilities for transportation to foreign markets, bringing with them higher prices for all products of the farm. As a consequence of these better conditions, land in farms in the state increased rapidly in value, from $9.58 per acre in 1850, to $16.61 in i860, an increase of 62 per cent., while the total number of acres in farms increased during the same time from 2,976,658 acres to 7,893,587 acres, or 265 per cent. With this increase in the value of land, and the higher prices paid for grain, should have come an improved system of husbandry which would prevent the soil from deteriorating in fertility. This could have been accomplished either by returning tp the soil, in manures and fertilizers, those ingredients of which it was being rapidly drained by continued grain-growing, or by the adoption of a system of mixed husbandry, which should include the raising of stock and a judicious rotation of crops. Such a system is sure to come. Indeed, it is now slowly coming. Great progress upon the earlier methods of farming have already been made. But so radical and thorough a change in the habits of any class of people as that from the farming of pioneers to a rational method that will preserve the soil's fertility and pay for the labor it demands, requires many years for its full accomplishment. It will not even keep pace with changes in those economical conditions which favor it. In the rapid settlement of the northwestern states this change has come most rapidly with the replacement of the pioneer farmers by immigrants accustomed to better methods of culture. In such cases the pioneers usually '' go west ' ' again, to begin anew their frontier farming upon virgin soil, as their peculiar method of cultivation fails to give them a livelihood. In Wisconsin as rapid progress Is being made in the system of agriculture as, all things considered, could reasonably be expected. This change for the better has been quite rapid for the past ten years, and is gaining in velocity and momentum each year. It is partly the result of increased intelligence relating to farming, and partly the result of necessity caused by the unprofitableness of the old method.

The estimated value of all agricultural products of the state, including that of orchards, market gardens, and betterments, was, in 1870, as given in the census of that year, $79,072,967, which places Wisconsin twelfth in rank among the agricultural states of the Union.. In 1875, according to the " Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture," the value of the principal farm crops in this state was $58,957,050. According to this estimation the state ranks ninth in agricultu'-al importance. As has been before stated, Wisconsin is essentially a grain-growing state. This interest has been the principal one, not because the soil is better adapted to grain-growing than to general, stock, or dairy farming, but rather because this course, which was at an early day most immediately profitable, has been since persistently followed from force of habit, even after it had failed to be remunerative.

Buckwheat

From these statistics it will be seen that the increase in the production of grain was very rapid up to 1870, while since that time it has been very slight. This rapid increase in grain raising is first attributable to the ease with which this branch of farming was carried on upon the new and very rich soils of the state, while in the older states this branch of husbandry has been growing more difficult and expensive, and also to the fact that the war in our own country so increased the demand for grain from 1861 to 1866 as to make this course the most immediately profitable. But with the close of the war came a diminished demand. Farmers were slow to recognize this fact, and change the character of their productions to accord with the wants of the market, but rather continued to produce the cereals in excess of the demand. The chinch bug and an occasional poor season seriously injured the crops, leaving those who relied principally upon the production of grain Httle or nothing for their support. Hard times resulted from these poor crops. More wheat and corn was the farmer's usual remedy for hard times. So that more wheat and corn were planted. More crop failures with low prices brought harder times until gradually the farmers of the state have opened their eyes to the truth that they can succeed in other branches of agriculture than grain growing, and to the necessity of catering to the demands of the market. The value in 1869 of all farm products and betterments of the state was $79,072,967. There were raised of wheat the same year 25,606,344 bushels, which at $1.03 per bushel, the mean price reported by the Milwaukee board of trade, for No. 2 wheat (the leading grade), for the year ending July 31, 1870, amounts to $26,374,524, or one third the value of all agricultural products and betterments. The average production per acre, as estimated by the commissioner of agriculture, was 14 bushels. Hence there were 1,829,024 acres of land devoted to this one crop, nearly one third of all the improved land in the state. Of the wheat crop of 1869 24,375,435 bushels were spring wheat, and 1,230,909 bushels were winter wheat, which is 19.8 bushels of spring to i bushel of winter wheat. The latter is scarcely sown at all on the prairies, or upon light opening soils. In some of the timbered regions hardy varieties do well, but it is not a certain crop, as it is not able to withstand the winters, unless covered by snow or litter. It is not injured as seriously by the hard freezing, as by the alternate freezing and thawing of February and March.

The continued cropping of land with grain is a certain means of exhausting the soil of the phosphates, and of those nitrogenous compounds that are essential to the production of grain, and yet are present even in the most fertile soils in but small quantities. To the diminished yield, partly attributable to the overcropping of the land, and partially to poor seasons and chinch bugs, and to the decline in prices soon after the war, owing to an over production of wheat, may largely be attributed the hard times experienced by the grain growing farmers of Wisconsin from 1872 to 1877. The continued raising of wheat upon the same land, alternated, if any alternation occurred, with barley, oats, or corn, has produced its sure results. The lesson has cost the . farmers of the state dearly, but it has not been altogether lost. A better condition of affairs has already begun. Wheat is gradually losing its prestige as the farmers' sole dependence, while stock, dairy, and mixed farming are rapidly increasing. The number of bushels of wheat raised to each inhabitant in the state was in 1850 fourteen, in i860 twenty-three and eight tenths, in 1870 twenty-four, and in 1875 twenty and four tenths. These figures do not indicate a diminished productiveness of the state, but show, with the greatly increased production in other branches of husbandry, that farmers are changing their system to one more diversified and rational. Straw stacks are no longer burned, and manure heaps are not looked upon as altogether useless. Much more attention is now paid to the use of fertilizers. Clover with plaster is looked upon with constantly increasing favor, and there is a greater seeking for light upon the more difficult problems of a profitable agriculture

Corn is raised to a large extent, although Wisconsin has never ranked as high in corn, as in wheat growing. Sixteen states raised more corn in 1870 than this state, and in 1875, seventeen states raised more. Corn requires a rich, moist soil, with a long extended season of warm sunshine. While this crop can be raised with great ease in the larger portion of the state, it will always succeed better farther south, both on account of the longer summers and the greater amount of rainfall. According to the statistics of the commissioner of agriculture, the average yield per acre for a period of ten years, is about 30 bushels. Corn is an important crop in the economy of the farmer, as from it he obtains much food for his stock, and it is his principal dependence for fattening pork. On these accounts it will, without doubt, retain its place in the husbandry of the state, even when stock and dairy farming are followed to a much greater extent than at present. Barley is cultivated largely throughout the state, but five states produced more in 1870, than Wisconsin. The great quantity of beer brewed here, furnishes a good home market for this grain. Barley succeeds best in a rather moist climate, having a long growing season. The dry, short summers of Wisconsin, are not well adapted to its growth. Hence the average yield is but a medium one, and the quality of the grain is only fair. According to the returns furnished the commissioner of agriculture, the average yield for a period of ten years, is 22

Next to wheat, more bushels of oats are raised than of any other grain. Wisconsin was, in t86o, fifth in rank among the oat-growing states ; in 1870, sixth. The rich soils of the state raise an abundant crop of oats with but little labor, and hence their growth in large quantities is hot necessarily an indication of good husbandry. They will bear poor cultivation better than corn and are frequently grown upon land too weedy to produce that grain. It is 3i favorite grain for feeding, especially to horses. With the best farmers, oats are looked upon with less favor than corn, because it is apt to leave land well seeded with weeds which are difficult to exterminate. In the production of rye, Wisconsin ranked seventh in i860, and fourth in 1870, It is a much surer crop in this state than winter wheat, as it is less easily winter-killed when not protected by snow, than is that grain. Besides, it ripens so early as not to be seriously injured by drouth in summer, and succeeds well even upon the poorer soils. The average yield per acre is about 16 bushels.

But few hops were grown in Wisconsin, up to i860, when owing to an increased demand by the breweries c f the state, there was a gradual but healthful increase in hop culture. A few years later the advent of the hop louse, and other causes of failure at the east, so raised the price of hops as to make them a very profitable crop to grow. Many acres were planted in this state from 1863 to 1865, when the total product was valued at nearly $350,000. The success of those engaged in this new branch of farming, encouraged others to adopt it. The profits were large. Wheat growing had not for several years been remunerative, and in 1867 and 1868, the " hop fever " became an epidemic, almost a plague. The crop of Sauk county alone was estimated at over 4,000,000 pounds, worth over $2,000,000. The quality of the crop was excellent, the yield large, and the price unusually high. The secretary of the State Agricultural society says, in his report for that year, " Gases are numerous in which the first crop has paid for the land and all the improvements." To many farmershop raising appeared to offer a sure and speedy course to Wealth. But a change came quickly. The hop louse ruined the crop, and low prices caused by over production, aided in bringing ruin to many farmers. In 1867, the price of hops was from 40 to 55 cents per pound, while in 1869 it was from lo to 15 cents, some of poor quality selling as low as 3 cents. Many hop yards were plowed up during 1869 and 1870. The area under cultivation to this crop in 1875, was, according to the " Report of the Secretary of State," 10,932 acres.

The production of tobacco has greatly increased since i860, when there were raised in the state 87,340 pounds. In 1870, the product was 960,813 pounds. As is well known, the quality of tobacco grown in the northern states is greatly inferior for chewing and smoking, to that grown in the south, although varieties having a large, tough leaf, suitable" for cigar wrappers, do well here. The variety principally grown is the Connecticut seed leaf. Tobacco can only be grown Successfully on rich, fertile soils, and it is very exhausting to the land. Of the amount produced in 1870, there were raised in Rock county 645,408 pounds, and in Dane county, 229,568 pounds; the entire remaining portion of the state raised but 85,737 pounds. According to the report of the secretary of state, the whole number of acres planted to tobacco in 1875, was 3,296. Of this amount Rock county planted 1,676 acres, and Dane county, 1,454 acres, leaving for the remainder of the state but 166 acres. While the crop has been fairly productive and profitable, these statistics show that up to the present time tobacco-raising has been a merely local interest.

counties of Kenosha, Grant, Iowa and LaFayette. Of flax fibre, Kenosha county raised in 1869, nearly four fifths of the entire amount grown in the state, the total being 497,398 pounds. With the high price of labor and the low price of cotton now ruling, it is scarcely possible to make the raising of flax fibre profitable. Flax seed is raised to a small extent in the other counties men- tioned. The present price of oil makes this a fairly profitable crop. If farmers fully appreciated that in addition to the oil, the oil cake is of great value as a food for cattle and sheep, and also that the manure made by the animals eating it, is of three times the value of that made by ani- -mals fed upon corn, doubtless much more flax seed would be raised than is at present. American oil-cake finds a ready market in England, at prices which pay well for its exportation. If English farmers can afford to carry food for their stock so far, American farmers may well strive to ascertain if they can afford to allow the exportation of so valuable food. When greater attention is paid in our own country to the quality of the manure made by our stock, more oil-cake will be fed at home, and a much smaller proportion of that made here will be exported.

The amount of maple sugar produced diminishes as the settlement of the state increases, and is now scarcely sufficient in amount to be an item in the state's productions. The increase in the price of sugar from 1861 to 1868 caused many farmers to try sorghum raising. But the present low prices of this staple has caused an abandonment of the enterprise. Two attempts have been made in Wisconsin to manufacture beet-root sugar, the first at Fond du Lac in 1867 the second at Black Hawk, Sauk county, in 1870. The Fond du Lac company removed their works to California in 1869, not having been successful in their efforts. The Black Hawk company made, in 1871, more than 134,000 pounds of sugar, but have since abandoned the business. Both these failures may be attributed to several causes, first of which was the want of sufficient capital to build and carry on a factory sufficiently large to enable the work to be done economically ; secondly, the difficulty of sufficiently interesting farmers in the business to induce thenj to raise beets on so large a scale as to warrant the building of such a factory; and, thirdly, the high price of labor and the low price of sugar. The quality of beets raised was good, the polarization test showing in many instances as high as sixteen per cent, of sugar. The larger proportion of hay made in the state is from the natural meadows, the low lands or marshes, where wild grasses grow in abundance, and hay only costs the cutting and curing. Cultivated grasses do well "throughout the state, and " tame hay '' can be made as easily here as elsewhere. The limestone soils, where timber originally grew, are of the uplands, most natural to grass, and, consequently, furnish the richest meadows, and yield the best pasturage. Ye e only soils where grasses do not readily grow, are those which are so sandy and dry as to be nearly barrens. Clover grows throughout the state in the greatest luxuriance. There is occasionally a season so dry as to make " seeding down " a failure, and upon light soils clover, when not covered with snow, is apt to winter-kill. Yet it is gaining in favor with farmers, both on account of the valuable pasturage and hay it affords, and on account of its value as a soil renovator. In wheat-growing regions, clover is now recognized to be of the greatest value in a " rotation," on account of its ameliorating influence upon the soil. Throughout the stock and dairy regions, clover is depended upon to a large extent for pasturage, and to a less extent for hay.

There has been a growing interest in stock raising for the past ten years, although the increase has not been a rapid one. Many of the herds of pure-blood cattle in the state rank high for their great excellence. The improvement of horses has been less rapid than that of cattle, sheep, and swine ; yet this important branch of stock farming is improving each year. The most attention is given to the improvement of draught and farm horses, while roadsters and fast horses are not altogether neglected. There are now owned in the state a large number of horses of the heavier English and French breeds, which are imparting to their progeny their own characteristics of excellence, the effects of which are already visible in many of the older .regions of the state. Of the different breeds of cattle, the Short-horns, the Ayrshires, the Devons, and the Jerseys are well represented. The Short-horns have met with most favor with the general farmer, the grades of this breed being large, and possessing in a high degree the quiet habits and readiness to fatten, so characteristic of the full-bloods. Without doubt, the grade Short-horns will continue in the high favor in which they are now held, as stock-raising becomes a more important branch of the husbandry of the state. Of pure blood Short-horns there are many herds, some of which are of the very highest excellence. At the public sales of herds from this state, the prices have ranked high universally, and in a few cases have reached the highest of " fancy " prices, showing the estimate placed by professional breeders upon the herds of Wisconsin. The Ayrshires are increasing in numbers, and are held in high esteem by many dairymen. They are not yet, however, as generally disseminated over the state, as their great merit as a milking breed would warrant. The rapid growth of the dairy interest will doubtless increase their numbers greatly, at least as grades, in the dairying region. Of pure bred Devons and Jerseys, there are fewer than of the former breeds. The latter are principally kept in towns and cities to furnish milk for a single family. The following table shows the relative importance of stock raising in the state for the years mentioned. The figures are an additional proof to those already given, that the grain industry has held sway in Wisconsin to the detriment of other branches of farming, as well as to the state's greatest increase in wealth.

Head

The growth and present condition of sheep husbandry, compare much more favorably with the general development of the state than does that of cattle raising. In a large degree this may be accounted for by the impetus given to wool raising during our civil war by the scarcity of cotton, and the necessary substitution to a great extent, of woolen for cotton goods. This great demand for wool for manufacturing purposes produced a rapid rise in the price of this staple, making its production a very profitable branch of farming. With the close of the war came a lessened demand, and consequently lower prices. Yet at no time has the price of wool fallen below that at which it could be profitably produced. This is the more notably true when the value of sheep in keeping up the fertility and productiveness of land, is taken into account. The foregoing table shows the improvement in this branch of husbandry since 1850

Although many more sheep might profitably be kept in the state, the above figures show that the wool interest is fairly developed, and the average weight of fleece is an assurance of more than ordinarily good stock. The fine-wooled sheep and their grades predominate, although there are in the state some excellent stock of long-wools - mostly Cotswold - and of Southdowns.

Of all the agricultural interests of the state, no other has made as rapid growth during the last ten years, as has that of dairying. With the failure of hop-growing, began the growth 'J the factory system of butter and cheese making, and the downfall of the one was scarcely more rapid than has been the upbuilding of the other. The following statistics of the production of butter and cheese illustrate this rapid progress. It will be remembered that for the years 1850, i860, and 1870 the statistics are from ttie U. S. census, and hence include all the butter and cheese made in the state, while for the remaining years, only that made by factories and professional dairymen as reported to the secretary of the State Dairymen's Association, is included. It has been found impossible to obtain the statistics of butter, except for the census years.

Che. Se

The quality of Wisconsin dairy products is excellent, as may be judged by the fact that, at the Centennial Exhibition, Wisconsin cheese received twenty awards, a larger number than was given to any other state except New York, and for butter Wisconsin received five awards. No state received more, and only New York and Illinois received as many. Wisconsin received one award for each fourteen cheeses on exhibition No other state received so large a proportion. New York received the largest number of awards, viz., twenty-one, but only secured one award for each thirty cheeses on exhibition. The number of cheese and butter factories is increasing each year, and there is being made in the better grazing regions of the state, as rapid a transition from grain to dairy-farming as is consistent with a healthful growth. This interest, which is now an important one in the state's industrial economy, has before it a promising future, both in its qwn development, and in its indirect influence upon the improvement of the agriculture of the state.

The history of the earlier attempts in fruit raising in Wisconsin would be little more than a record of failures. The pioneers planted apple, peach, plum, and cherry trees, but they gathered little or no fruit. As was natural, they planted those varieties that were known to do well in the older states of the same latitude. Little was known of the climate, and there was no apparent reason why those varieties should not do well here. The first orchards died The same varieties were replanted, and again the orchards died. Gradually, through the costly school of experience, it was learned that the climate was different from that of the eastern states, and that to succeed here varieties of fruit must be such as were adapted to the peculiar climate of this state. These peculiarities are hot, and for the most part, dry summers, cold and dry winters. The dryness of the climate has been the greatest obstacle to success, as this is indirectly the cause of the great extremes of temperature experienced here. The summers are often so dry that the growth of the trees is not completed, and the wood sufficiently well ripened to enable it to withstand the rigors of winter. And the clear, dry atmosphere of winter allows the sun's rays to pass through it so unobstructedly as to warm the body of the tree upon the sunny side, above the freezing point, even though the temperature of the air is much lower. The alternate thawing and freezing ruptures the tender cells connecting the bark and wood, producing a complete separation of these parts, and often besides bursts the bark. The separation of bark and wood destroys the circulation of the sap upon that side of the tree, thus enfeebling the entire plant. The tree is not able to form new bark over the ruptured part, and a diseased spot results. Such a plant makes but a feeble growth of poorly ripened wood, and soon dies altogether. Besides the above cause, the extreme cold weather occasionally experienced will kill healthy trees of all varieties not extremely hardy. Notwithstanding these natural obstacles, a good degree of success has been attained in the raising of apples and grapes. This success has been the result of persevering effort upon the part of the horticulturists of the state, who have sought the causes of failure in order that they might be removed or avoided. It is thus by intelligent observation that the fruit growers have gained the experience which brings with it a creditable success. The first requisite to success is the planting of varieties sufficiently hardy to withstand our severe winters. This has been accomplished by selecting the hardiest of the old varieties, Snd by raising seedlings, having besides hardiness, qualities sufficiently valuable to make them worthy of cultivation. The second requisite to success is in the selection of a situation having suitable soil and exposure, and thirdly, proper care after planting. Among the hardy varieties of apples regarded with greatest favor are Tetofski, Red Astrachan, and Duchess of Oldenberg, all Russian varieties, and Fameuse from Canada. Besides these there are a few American varieties so hardy as to prove reliable in the south half of the state. Among these are a few seedlings that have originated in Wisconsin. Apple trees are less apt to be injured by the winter upon a site sloping to the northeast or north, where they are less directly exposed to the rays of the winter's sun. High ground is much better than low, and a good, strong, not too rich soil is best. Apples do better upon soils where timber originally grew than on the prairies^ and they are grown more easily along the border of Lake Michigan than in the interior of the state. Pears are raised to but a slight extent, as only a few of the hardiest varieties will succeed at all, and these only in favorable situations. Grapes are grown in great abundance, and in great perfection, although not of the more tender varieties. The Concord, on account of its hardiness and excellent bearing qualities, is cultivated most generally. Next to this comes the Delaware, while many other varieties, both excellent and prolific, are raised with great ease. The season is seldom too short to ripen the fruit well, and the only precaution necessary to protect the vines during the winter is a covering of earth or litter. Cranberries grow spontaneously upon many marshes in the interior of the state. Within a few years considerable attention has been given to improving these marshes, and to the cultivation of this most excellent fruit. Doubtless within a few years the cranberry crop will be an important one among the fruit productions of the state. All of the small fruits adapted to this latitude are cultivated in abundance, and very successfully, the yield being often times exceedingly large. Altogether, the horticultural interests of the state are improving, and there is a bright prospect that in the near future fruit growing will not be looked upon with the disfavor with which it has been regarded heretofore.

Of the associations for advancing the agricultural interests of the state, the first organized was the "State Agricultural Society." The earliest efforts to establish such an organization were made at Madison in December, 1846, during the session of the first constitutional convention -of the territory. A constitution was adopted, but nothing further was done. In February, 1849 another meeting was held in Madison, at which it was " Resolved, That in view of the great importance of agriculture in the west, it is expedient to form a state agricultural society in Wisconsin." Another constitution was adopted, and officers were elected, but no effectual organization resulted from this second attempt. " The " Wisconsin State Agricultural Society" - the present organization - had its inception in a meeting held at Madison, March 8, 1851, at which a committee was appointed to report a constitution and by-laws, and to nominate persons to fill the various offices of said society. At its organization, the society was composed of annual members, who paid one dollar dues each year, and of life members, who, upon the payment of ten dollars, were exempt from the annual contribution. The annual membership was afterward abolished, and in 1869 the fee constituting one a life member was raised to twenty dollars. The first annual fair of the society was held in Janesville, in October, 185 1 Fairs have been held annually since, except during the years 1861, 1862 and 1863. In 1851 premiums were paid to the amount of only $140, while at the present time they amount to nearly $10,000. In 1851 there were five life members. At the present time there are over seven hundred, representing all the various industries of the state. The fairs held under the auspices of this society have been of excellent character, and have been fruitful of good to aJl the industries of the state, but more especially to the farmers. The state has been generous m aid of this society, having furnished commodious rooms for its use in the capitol building, prmted the annual report of the secretary, a volume of about 500 pages, and donated annually, for many years, $2,000 toward its support. Besides its annual fairs, for the past five years there has been held an annual convention, under the auspices of this society, for the reading and discussing of papers upon topics of interest to farmers, and for a general interchange of ideas relating to farming. These conventions are held in high esteem by the better class of farmers, and have added greatly to the usefulness of the society. The " Wisconsin State Horticultural Society" was originally the "Wisconsin State Fruit Growers' Association," which was organized in December, 1853, at Whitewater. Its avowed object was "the collecting, arranging, and disseminatingfacts interesting to those engaged in the culture of fruits, and to embody for their use the results of the practice and experiments of fruit growers in all parts of the state." Exhibitions and conventions of the association were held annually up to i860, after which the society was disorganized, owing to the breaking out of the war of the rebellion A volume of " Transactions " was published by the association in 1855. In 1859 its transactions were published with those of the state agricultural society. From i860 to 186-5 *i° state horticultural association was in existence. In September of, the latter year the " Wisconsin Fruit Growers' Association " was reorganized as the " Wisconsin State Horticultural Society." The legislature had previously provided for the publication of the proceedings of such a society, in connection with those of the State Agricultural Society. The new society has held annual exhibitions, usually in connection with those of the State Agricultural Society, and annual conventions for the reading of papers upon, and the discussion of, horticultural subjects. In 1871 an act was passed by the legislature incorporating the society, and providing for thd separate printing of 2,000 copies annually of its transactions, of which there are now seven volumes. The most active, intelligent, and persevering of the horticulturists of the state are members of this association, and to their careful observation, to their enthusiasm and determined persistence in seeking means to overcome great natural difficulties, the state is largely indebted for the success already attained in horticulture. Besides these state associations, there are many local agricultural and horticultural societies, all of which have been useful in aiding the cause for which they were organized. Farmers' clubs and granges of the "Patrons of Husbandry" have also done much, both directly and indirectly, to promote the industrial interests of the state. By thej frequent meetings, at which discussions are held, views compared, and experiences related, much valuable intelligence is gained, thought is stimulated, and the profession of farming advanced. As agriculture, like all kindred professions, depends upon intelligence to direct its advancement, all means intended to stimulate thought among farmers will, if wisely directed, aid in advancing this most complex of all industries. To those above named, and to other like associations, is in a large degree to be attributed the present favorable condition of tlis agriculture of the state.

Wisconsin is yet, comparatively, a new State. It was mainly settled by men who had little moneyed capital. Markets were distant, and means of transportation poor. The early settlers had consequently to struggle for a livelihood in the face of the greatest difficulties. When these opposing circumstances are taken into account, and the improvement in methods of culture, and changes from grain to stock and dairy-farming that are now being made, are given their due weight, it must be acknowledged that the present condition of the agriculture of the state is excellent:, and that the future of this most important industry is rich in promise of a steady, healthful growth, toward a completer development of all the agricultural resources of the state.

Mineral Resources

The useful mineral materials that occur within the limits of the state of Wisconsin, come Under both of the two grand classes of such substances : the metallic ores, from which the metals ordinarily used in the arts are extracted ; and the non-metallic substances, which are used in the arts for the most part without any preliminary treatment, or at least undergo only a very , partial alteration before being utilized. Of the first class are found in Wisconsin the ores of lead, zinc, iron and copper, besides minute traces of the precious metals ; of the second class, the principal substances found s^xt brick-clay, kaolin, cement-rock, limestone for burning into quick-lime, limestone for flux, glass sand, peat and building stone.

Lead And Zinc

These metals are considered together because they are found occurring together in the same region and under exactly the same circumstances, being even obtained from the same openings. Lead has for many years been the most important metallic production of Wisconsin, and, together with zinc, whose ores have been utilized only since i860, still holds this prominent position, although the production is not so great as formerly. Small quantities of lead and zinc ores have been found in the crystalline (Archaean) rocks of the northern part of the state and in the copperbearing rocks of the Lake Superior country, but there are no indications at present that these regions will ever produce in quantity. All of the lead and zinc obtained in Wisconsin comes then from that portion of the southwestern part of the state which lies west of Sugar river and south of the nearly east and west ridge that forms the southern side of the valley of the Wisconsin, from the head of Sugar river westward. This district is commonly known in Wisconsin as the " Lead Region," and forms the larger part of the " Lead Region of the Upper Mississippi," which includes also smaller portions of Iowa and Illinois.

What European first became acquainted with the deposits of lead in the upper portion of valley of the Mississippi is a matter of some doubt. Charlevoix (Histoire de la Nouvelle France, III, 397, 398.) attributes the discovery to Nicolas Perrot, about 1692; and states that in 1721 the deposits still bore Perrot's name. Perrot himself, however, in the only one of his writings that remains, makes no mention of the matter. The itinerary of Le Sueur's voyage up the Mississippi, 1700-1701, given in La Harpe's History of Louisiana, which was written early in the rSth century, shows that the former found lead on the banks of the Mississippi, not far from the present soutkern boundary of Wisconsin, August 25, 1700. Captain Johathan Carver, 1766, found lead in abundance at the Blue Mounds, and found the Indians in all the country around in possession of masses of galena, which they had obtained as " float mineral," and which they were incapable of putting to any use. There is no evidence of any one mining before Julien Dubuque, who, 1788 to 1809, mined in the vicinity of the flourishing city which nowbears his name. After his death in 1809 nothing more was done until 1821, when the attention of American citizens was first drawn to the rich lead deposits of this region. By 1827, the mining had become quite general and has continued to the 'present time, the maximum production having been reached, however, between the years 1845 and 1847.

The following table, prepared by the late Moses Strong, shows the mineral production of southwestern Wisconsin for the years i860 to 1873 in pounds:

Blende

Until within the last decade the lead mines of the Mississippi valley, including now both the " Upper " and the " Lower " regions - the latter one of which lies wholly within the limits of the state of Missouri - have far eclipsed the rest of the United States in the production of lead, the district being in fact one of the most important of the lead districts in the world. Of late years, however, these mines are far surpassed in production by the " silver-lead " mines of Utah and other Rocky Mountain regions, which, though worked especially for their silver, produce incidentally a very large amount of lead. Nevertheless, the mines of the Mississippi valley will long continue to be a very important source of this metal. The lead ore of the Wisconsin lead region is of one kind only, the sulphide known as galena, or galenite. This ore, when free from mechanically mingled impurities, contains 86.6 per cent, of lead, the balance being sulphur. Small quantities of other lead ores are occasionally found in the uppermost portions of the deposits, having been produced by the oxidizing influence of the atmosphere. The chief one of these oxidation products is the earthy carbonate known as cerussite. Galena almost always contains some silver, commonly enough to pay for its extraction. The Wisconsin galenas, however, are unusually free from silver, of which they contain only the merest trace.

The zinc ores are of two kinds, the most abundant being the ferruginous sulphide, or the "black-jack " of the miners. The pure sulphide, sphalerite, contains 67 per cent, of zinc, but the iron-bearing variety, known minerallogically as marmatite, generally contains 10 per cent, or more of iron. A ferruginous variety of the carbonate, sviithsonite, also occurs in abundance, and is known to the miners as " dry-bone," the name being suggested by the peculiar structure of the ore.

Both lead and zinc ores occur in limited deposits in a series of limestone beds belonging to the Lower Silurian series. The lead region is underlaid by a nearly horizontal series of strata, with an aggregate thickness of 2,000 feet, which lie upon an irregular surface of ancient crystalline rocks (gneiss, granite, etc.). The names and order of succession of the several strata are indicated in the following scheme, the last named being the lowest in the series :

The first two of these layers, in the Wisconsin part of the lead region, are naet with only in a few isolated peaks and ridges. The prevailing surface rock is the Galena limestone, through which, however, the numerous streams cut in deep and narrow valleys which not unfrequently are carved all the way into the Lower Magnesian.

The lead and zinc ores are entirely confined to the Galena, Blue and Buff limestones, an aggregate vertical thickness of some 350 to 375 feet. The upper and lower strata of the series are entirely barren. Zinc ^and kad ores are found in the same kind of deposits, and often together; by far the larger part of the zinc ores, however, come from the Blue and Buff limestones, and the lowest layers of the Galena, whilst the lead ores, though obtained throughout the whole thickness of the mining ground, are especially abundant in the middle and upper layers of the Galena beds.

The ore deposits are of two general kinds, which may be distinguished as vertical crevicesj and flat crevices, the former being much the most common. The simplest form bf the vertical crevice is a narrow crack in the rock, having ,a width of a few inches, an extension laterally from a few yards to several hundred feet, and a vertical height of 20 to 40 feet, thinning out to nothing in all directions, and filled from side to side with highly crystalline, brilliant, large-surfaced galena, which has no accompanying metallic mineral, or gangue matter. Occasionally the vertical extension exceeds a hundred feet, and sometimes a number of these sheets are close together and can be mined as one. Much more commonly the vertical crevice shows irregular expansions, which are sometimes large caves, or openings in certain layers, the crevice between retaining its normal character, while in other cases the expansion affects the whole crevice, occasionally widening it throughout into one large opening. These openings are rarely entirely filled, and commonly contain a loose, disintegrated rock, in which the galena lies loose in large masses, though often adhering to the sides of the cavity in large stalactites, or in cubical crystals. The vertical crevices show a very distinct arrangement parallel with one another, there being two systems, which roughly trend east and west, and north and south. The east and west crevices are far the most abundant and most productive of ore. The veirtical crevices are confined nearly altogether to the upper and middle portions of the Galena, and are not productive of zinc ores. They are evidently merely the parallel joint cracks which affect every great rock formation, filled by chemical action with the lead ore. The crevices with openings have evidently been enlarged by the solvent power of atmospheric water carrying carbonic acid, and from the way in which the ore occurs loose in the cavities, it is evident that this solving action has often been subsequent to the first deposition of lead ore in the crevice.

The "flat crevices," " flat sheets," and "flat openings," are analogous to the deposits just described, but have, as indicated by the names, a horizontal position, being characteristic of certain layers, which have evidently been more susceptible to chemical action than others, the dissolving waters having, moreover, been directed along them by less pervious layers above and below. The flat openings differ from the vertical crevices also, in having associated with the galena much of either the black-jack or dry-bone zinc ores, or both, the galena not unfrequentiy being entirely wanting. Cleavable calcite also accompanies the ores in these openings in large quantities, and the same is true of the sulphide of iron, which is the variety known as marcasite. These materials have sometimes a symmetrical arrangement on the bottom and top of the opening, the central portion being empty. The flat openings characterize the Blue and Buff and lower Galena beds, and from them nearly all the zinc ore is obtained.

It is not possible, in the limits of this short papei, even . to mention the various mining districts. It may merely be said that the amount of galena raised from single crevices has often been several hundred thousand, or even over a million pounds, and that one of the principal mining districts is in the vicinity of Mineral Point, where there are two furnaces constantly engaged in smelting. Between the years 1862 and 1873, these two establishments have produced 23,903,260 pounds of metallic lead, or an average of 1,991,938 pounds, the maximum being, in 1869, 2,532,710 pounds, the minimum, in 1873, 1,518,888 pounds.

The zinc ores were formerly rejected as useless, and have only been utilized since i860. An attempt to smelt them at Mineral Point was not successful, because the amount needed of fuel and clay, both of which have to come from a distance, exceeding even the amount of ore used, caused a very heavy expense for transportation. The ores are therefore now taken altogether to LaSalle, Illinois, where they meet the fuel and clay, and the industry at that place has become a flourishing one. The amount of zinc ore in the Wisconsin lead region is, beyond doubt, veiy great, and will be a source of wealth for a long time to come.

Since the ores of zinc and lead in this region are confined to such a small thickness of strata greatly eroded by the atmospheric waters, the entire thickness having frequently been removed, it becomes a matter of great importance to know how much of the mining ground remains at every point throughout the district. The very excellent topographico-geological maps of the region, made by Mr. Moses Strong, and since published by the State in the Report of the Geological Survey, make this knowledge accessible to all.

Iron

Iron mining in Wisconsin is yet in its infancy, although some important deposits are producing a considerable quantity of ore. A number of blast furnaces have sprung up in the eastern part of the state, but these smelt Michigan ores almost entirely. Mach remains yet to be done in the way of exploration, for the most promising iron fields are in the heavily timbered and unsettled regions of the north part of the state, and are as yet imperfectly known. It appears probable, however, that iron ores will, in the near future, be the most important mineral production of Wisconsin. The several ores will be' noted in the order of their present importance.

The iron in these ores exists as an anhydrous sesquioxide, which is, however, in an earthy condition, and entirely without the brilliant metallic luster that characterizes the specular hematites. Pure hematite contains seventy per cent, of metallic iron, but the red hematites, as mined, are always so largely mingled with mechanical impurities that they rarely contain more than fifty per cent. The most important red hematite mined in Wisconsin is that known as the Clinton iron ore, the name coming from the formation in which the ore occurs. This formation is a member of the Upper Silurian series, and is named from a locality in Oneida county. New York, where it was first recognized. Associated with its rocks, which are limestones and shales, is constantly found a peculiar red hematite, which is so persistent in its characters, both physical and and chemical, that one familiar with it from any one locality can hardly fail to recognize it when coming from others. The iron produced from it is always "cold-short," on account of the large content of phosphorus; but, mingled with siliceous ores free from phosphorus, it yields always a most excellent foundry iron. It is mined at numerous points from New York to Tennessee, and at some points reaches a very great total thickness. In Wisconsin the Clinton rocks merge into the great Niagara lim estone series of the eastern part of the state, but at the bottom of the series, in a few places, the Clinton ore is found immediately overlying the Cincinnati shales. The most important locality is that known as Iron Ridge, on sections twelve and thirteen in the town of Hubbard, in Dodge county. Here a north-and-south ledge of Niagara limestone overlooks lower land to the west. Underneath, at the foot of the ridge, is the ore bed, fifteen to eighteen feet in thickness, coftsisting of horizontally bedded ore, in layers three to fourteen inches thick. The ore has a concretionary structure, being composed of lenticular grains, one twenty-fifth of an inch in diameter, but the top layer is without this structure, having a dark purplish color, and in places a slight metallic appearance. Much of the lower ore is somewhat hydrated. Three quarters of a mile north of Iron Ridge, at Mayville, there is a total thickness of as much as forty feet. According to Mr. E. T. Svyeet, the percentages of the several constituents of the Iron Ridge ore are as follows: iron peroxide, 66.38; carbonate of lime, 10.42; carbonate of magnesia, 2.79; silica, 4.72; alumina, 5.54; manganese'oxide, 0.44; sulphur, 0.23 ; phosphoric acid, 0.73; water, 8.75 = 100: metallic iron, 46.66.

Two small charcoal furnaces at Mayville and Iron Ridge smelt a considerable quantity of these ores alone, producing an iron very rich in phosphorus. An analysis of the Mayville pig iron, also by Mr. Sweet, shows the following composition: iron, 95.784 per cent; phosphorus, 1.675 : carbon, 0.849; silicon, 0.108 = 100.286. The average furnace yield of the ore is fortyfive per cent. By far the larger part of the ore, however, is sent away to mingle with other ores. It goes to Chicago, Joliet and Springfield, 111., St. Louis, Mo., Wyandotte and Jackson, Mich., and Appleton, Green Bay and Milwaukee, Wis. In 1872, the Iron Ridge mines yielded 82,371 tons. The Clinton ore is found at other places farther north along the outcrop of the base of the Niagara formation in Wisconsin, but no one of these appears to promise any great quantity of good ore. Red hematite is found at numerous places in Wisconsin, highly charging certain layers of the Potsdam sandstone series, the lowest one of the horizontal Wisconsin formations. In the eastern part of the town of -Westfield, Sauk county, the iron ore excludes the sandstone, forming an excellent ore. No developments have been made in this district, so that the size of the deposit is not definitely known.

These ores contain their iron as the hydrated, or brown, sesquioxide, which, when pure, has about sixty per cent, of the metal ; the ordinary brown hematites, however, seldom contain over forty per cent. Bog iron ore, a porous brown hematite that forms by deposition from the water of bogs, occurs somewhat widely scattered underneath the large marshes of Portage, Wood and Juneau counties. Very excellent bog ore, containing nearly 50 per cent, of iron, is found near Necedah, Juneau county, and near Grand Rapids, Wood county, but the amount obtainable is not definitely known. The Necedah ore contains: silica, 8.52 ; alumina, 377; iron peroxide, 71.40; manganese oxide, 0.27; lime, 0.58; magnesia, trace; phosphoric acid, 0.21; sulphur, 0.02; organic matter, 1.62; water, 13.46=99.85; metallic iron, 49.98 - according to Mr. E. T. Sweet's analysis. An ore from section 34, twp. 23, range 6 east, Wood county, yielded; to Mr. Oliver Matthews, silica, 4.81 ; alumina, i.oo; iron peroxide, 73.23 ; lime, o.ii, magnesia, 0.25; sulphuric acid, 0.07 ; phosphoric acid, o. 10 ; organic matter, 5.88; water,

Minerai. Kesoueces

Brown hematite, mingled with more or less red ore, occurs also in some quantity filling cracks and irregular cavities in certain portions of the Potsdam series in northwestern Sauk county and the adjoining portion of Richland. A small charcoal furnace has been in operation on this ore at Ironton, Sauk county, for a number of years, and recently another one has been erected at Cazenovia in the same district.

These are taken together here, because their geological occurrence is the same, the two ores occurring not only in the same group of rocks, but even intimately mingled with one another. These ores are not now produced in Wisconsin ; but it is quite probable that they may before many years become its principal mineral production. In magnetic iron ore, the iron is in the shape of the mineral magnetite, an oxide of iron containing 72 4 per cent of iron when pure, and this is the highest percentage of iron that any ore can ever have. Specular hematite is the same as red hematite, but is crystalline, has a bright, metallic luster, and a considerable hardness. As mined the richest magnetic and specular ores rarely run over 65 per cent., while in most regions where they are mined they commonly do not reach 50 per cent. The amount of rich ores of this kind in the northern peninsula of Michigan is So great, however, that an ore with less than 50 per cent, finds no sale; and the same must be true in the adjoining states. So largely does this matter of richness affect the value of an ore, that an owner of a mine of 45 per cent. " hard " ore in Wisconsin would find it cheaper to import and smelt Michigan 65 per cent, ore, than to smelt his own, even if his furnace and mine were side by side.

The specular and magnetic ores of Wisconsin occur in two districts - the Penokee iron district, ten to twenty miles' south of Lake Superior, in Bayfield, Ashland and Lincoln counties, and the Menomonee iron district, ijear the head waters of the Menomonee river, in township 40, ranges 17 and 18 east, Oconto county. Specular iron in veins and nests is found in small quantities with the quartz rocks of the Baraboo valley, Sauk county, and Necedah, Juneau county ; and very large quantities of a peculiar quartz-schist, charged with more or less of the magnetic and specular iron oxides, occur in the vicinity of Black River Falls, Jackson county ; but in none of these places is there any promise of the existence of valuable ore.

In the Penokee and Menomonee regions, the iron ores occur in a series of slaty and quartzose rocks known to geologists as the Haronian series. The rocks of these districts are really the extensions westward of a great rock series, which in the northern Michigan peninsula contains the rich iron ores that have made that region so famous. In position, this rock series may be likened to a great elongated parabola, the head of which is in the Marquette iron district and the two ends in the Penokee and Menomonee regions of Wisconsin. In all of its extent, this rock series holds great beds of lean magnetic and specular ores. These contain large quantities of quartz, which, from its great hardness, renders them very resistant to the action of atmospheric erosion. As a result, these lean ores are found forming high and bold ridges. Such ridges of lean ores have deceived many explorers, and not a few geologists. In the same rock series, for the most part occupying portions of a higher layer, are found, however, ores of extraordinary richness and purity, which, from their comparative softness, very rarely outcrop. The existence in quantity of these very rich ores in the Menomonee region has been definitely proven. One deposit, laid open during the Summer of 1877, shows a width of over 150 feet of first class specular ore ; and exceeding in size the greatest of the famous deposits of Michigan. In the Penokee region, however, though the indications are favorable, the existence of the richer ores is as yet an inference -only. The Penokee range itself is a wonderful development of lean ore, which forms a continuous belt several hundred feet in width and over thirty miles in length. Occasionally portions of this belt are richer than the rest, and become almost merchantable ores. The probability is, however, that the rich ores of this region will be found in the lower country immediately north of the Penokee range, where the rocks are buried beneath heavy accumulations of drift material.

The only copper ore at present raised in Wisconsin is obtained near Mineral Point, in the lead region of the southwestern part of the state, where small quantities of chalcopyrite, the yellow sulphide of copper and iron, are obtained from pockets and limited crevices in the Galena limestone. Copper pyrites is known to occur in this way throughout the lead region, but it does not appear that the quantity at any point is sufficient to warrant exploration.

Copper occurs also in the northernmost portions of Wisconsin, where it is found under altogether different circumstances. The great copper-bearing series of rocks of Keweenaw point and Isle Royale stretch southwestward into and entirely across the state of Wisconsin, in two parallel belts. One of these belts enters Wisconsin at the mouth of the Montreal river, and immediately leaving the shore of Lake Superior, crosses Ashland and Bayfield counties, and then widening greatly, occupies a large area in Douglas, St. Croix, Barron and Chippewa counties. The other belt forms the backbone of the Bayfield peninsula, and crosses the northern part of Douglas county, forming a bold ridge, to the Minnesota line. The rocks of this great series appear to be for the most part of igneous origin, but they are distinctly bedded, and even interstratified with sandstone, shales, and coarse boulder-conglomerate, the whole series having generally a tilted position. In veins crossing the rock-beds, and scattered also promiscuously through the layers of both conglomerates and igneous rocks, pure metallic copper in fine flakes is often found. Mining on a small scale has been attempted at numbers of points where the rivers flowing northward into Lake Superior make gorges across the rock series, but at none of them has sufficient work been done to prove or disprove the existence of copper in paying quantity.

Small traces of gold have been detected by the writer in quartz from the crystalline rocks of Clark county, but there is no probability that any quantity of this metal will ever be found in the state. Traces of silver have also been found in certain layers of the copper series in Ashland county. Judging from the occurrence of silver in the same series not far to the east in Michigan, it seems not improbable that this metal may be found also in Wisconsin.

These constitute a very important resource in Wisconsin. Extending inland for many miles fiom the shores of Lakes Michigan and Superior are stratified beds of clay of lacustrine origin, having been deposited by the lakes when greatly expanded beyond their present sizes. All of these clays are characterized by the presence of a large amount of carbonate of lime. Along Lake Superior they have not yet been utilized, but all through the belt of country bordering Lake Michigan they are dug and burned, fully 50,000,000 bricks being made annually in this region. A large proportion of these bricks are white or cream-colored, and these are widely known under the name of "Milwaukee brick," though by na means altogether made at Milwaukee. Others arc ordinary red brick. The difference between the light-colored and red bricks js ordinarily attributed to the greater amount of iron in the clay from which the latter are burned, but it has been shown by Mr. E. T, Sweet that the white bricks are burned from clay which often contains more iron than that from which the red bricks are made, but which also contains a very large amont of carbonate of lime. The following analyses show (i) the composition of the clay from which cream-colored brick are burned at Milwaukee, (2) the composition of a red-brick clay from near Madison, and (3) the composition of the unutilized clay from Ashland, Lake Superior. Nos. i and 2 are by Mr. E. T. Sweet, No. 3 by Professor W. W. Daniells :

At Milwaukee 24,000,000 cream-colored brick are made annually; at Racine, 3,500,000; at Appleton and Menasha, 1,800,000 each; at Neenah, 1,600,000; at Clifton, 1,700,000; at Waterloo, 1,600,000 ; and in smaller quantities at Jefferson, Ft. Atkinson, Edgerton, Whitewater, Geneva, Ozaukee, Sheboygan Falls, Manitowoc, Kewaunee, and other places. In most cases the cream-colored bricks are made from a bright-red clay, although occasionally the clay is lightcolored. At Whitewater and other places tile and pottery are also made from this clay.

Although these lacustrine clays are much the most important in Wisconsin, excellent brick clays are also found in the interior of the state. In numbers of places along the Yahara valley, in Dane county, an excellent stratified clay occurs. At Madison this is burned to a red brick ; at Stoughton and Oregon to a fine cream-colored brick. At Platteville, Lancaster, and other points in the southwestern part of the state, red bricks are made from clays found in the vicinity.

The word "kaolin*' is applied by geologists to a clay-like material which is used in making chinaware in this country and in Europe. The word is of Chinese origin, and is applied by the Chinese to the substance from which the famous porcelain of China is made. Its application to the European porce\a.[n-c/ay was made under the mistaken idea - one which has prevailed among scientists until very recently - that the Chinese material is the same as the European. This we now know to be an error, the Chinese and Japanese wares being both made altogether from a solid rock.

True kaolin, using the word in its European sense, is unlike other ordinary clays, in being the result of the disintegration of felspathic crystalline rocks "in place," that is without being removed from the place of its first formation. The base of kaolin is a mineral known as kaolinite, a compound of silica, alumina and water, which results from a change or decay of the felspar of felspar-bearing rocks. Felspar contains silica, alumina, and soda or potash, or both. By percolation through the rocks of surface water carrying carbonic acid, the potash and soda are removed and kaolinite results. Mingled with the kaolinite are, however, always the other ingredients of the rock, quartz, mica, etc., and also always some undecomposed, or only partly decomposed felspar. These foreign ingredients can all, however, be more or less perfectly removed by a system of levigation, when a pure white clay results, composed almost wholly of the scales of the mineral kaolinite. Prepared in this way the kaolin has a high value as a refractory njaterial, and for forming the base of fine porcelaih wares.

The crystalline rocks, which, by decomposition, would produce a kaolin, are widely spread over the northern part of Wisconsin ; but over the most of the region occupied by them there is no sign of the existence of kaolin, the softened rock having apparently been removed by glacial action. In a belt of country, however, which extends from Grand Rapids on the Wisconsin, westward to Black river, in Jackson county, the drift is insignificant or entirely absent; the glacial forces have not acted, and the crystalline rocks are, or once were, overlaid by sandstone, along whose line of junction with the underlying formation numerous water-courses have existed, the result being an unusual a,mount of disintegration. Here we find, in the beds of the Wisconsin, Yellow, and Black rivers, large exposures of crystalline rocks, which between the rivers are overlaid by sandstone. The crystalline rocks are in distinct layers, tilted at high angles, and in numerous places decomposed into a soft white kaolin. Inasmuch as these layers Strike across the country m long, straight lines, patches of kaolin are found ranging themselves into simikr lines. The kaolin patches are most abundant on the Wisconsin in the vicinity of the city of Grand Rapids, in Wood county. They vary greatly in size, one deposit even varying from a fraction of an inch to a number of feet in thickness. The kaolin varies, also, greatly in character, some .being quite impure and easily fusible from a large content of iron oxide or from partial decomposition only, while much of it is very pure and refractory. There is no doubt, however, that a large amount of kaolin exists in this region, and that by selection and levigation an excellent material may be obtained, which, by mingling with powdered quartz, may be made to yield a fire-brick of unusual refractoriness, and which may even be employed in making fine porcelain ware.

The following table gives the composition of the raw clay, the fine clay obtained from it by levigation, and the coarse residue from the same operation, the sample having been taken from the opening on the land of Mr. C. B. Garrison, section 5, town 22, range 6 east. Wood county :

Residue

Certain layers of the Lower Magnesian limestone, as at Ripon, and other points in the eastern part of the state, are known to produce a lime which has in some degree the hydraulic property, and the same is true of certain layers of the B'lue limestone of the Trenton group, in the southwestern part of the state ; the most valuable material of this kind, however, that is as yet known to exist in Wisconsin, is found near Milwaukee, and has become very recently somewhat widely known as the " Milwaukee " cement-rock. This rock belongs to the Hamilton formation, and is found near the Washington street bridge, at Brown Deer, on the lake shore at Whitefish bay, and at other points in the immediate vicinity of Milwaukee. The quantity attainable ia large, and a very elaborate series of tests by D. J. Whittemore, chief engineer of the Milwau. kee and St. Paul railroad, shows that the cement made from it exceeds all native and foreign cements in strength, except the famous English " Portland " cement. The following are three analyses of the rock from different points, and they show that it has a very constant composition :

Quick-lime is made from all of the great limestone formations of Wisconsin, but more is. burnt from the Lower Magnesian and Niagara formations, than from the others. The Lower Magnesian yields a very strong mortar, but the lime burned from it is not very white. It is burned largely in the region about Madison, one of the largest quarries being on the south line of section 33 of that town, where some 20,000 bushels are produced annually, in two kilns. The lime from this place has a considerable local reputation under the name of " Madison lime." The Trenton limestone is burned at a few points, but yields an inferior lime. The Galena is not very generally burned, but yields a better lime than the Trenton. In the region about Watertown and Whitewater, some 40,000 to 50,000 barrels are made annually from this formation.

The Niagara, however, is the great lime furnisher of the northwest. From its purity it is adapted to the making of a most admirable lime. It is burned on a large scale at numbers of points in the eastern part of the state, among which may be mentioned, Pellon's kilns, Pewaukee, where 12,000 barrels are made weekly and shipped to Chicago, Grand Haven, Des Moines, etc.; and Holick & Son's kilns, Racine, which yield 60,000 to 75,000 barrels annually. A total ot about 400,000 barrels is annually made from the Niagara formation in eastern Wisconsin.

The limestones of Wisconsin are rarely used as a flux, because of their prevalent magnesian, character. The stone from Schoonmaker's quarry, near Milwaukee, is used at the Bay View iron works, and is one of the few cases. There are certain layers, however, in the Trenton limestone, widely spread over the southern part of the state, which are non-magnesian, and frequently sufficiently free from earthy impurities to be used as a flux. These layers deserve the attention of the iron masters of the state.

Much of the St. Peter's sandstone is a purely siliceous, loose, white sand, well adapted to the making of glass. It is now being put to this use at points in the eastern part of the state.

Peat exists in large quantities and of good quality und'erneath the numerous marshes of the eastern and central parts of the state. Whether it can be utilized in the future as a fuel, will depend altogether upon the cost of its preparation, which will have to be very low in order that it may compete with superior fuels. As a fertilizer, peat has always a great value, and requires no "^reliminarv treatment.

All the rocky formations of Wisconsin are used in building, and even the briefest synopsis of the subject of the building stones of the state, would exceed the limits of this paper. A few of the more prominent kinds only are mentioned.

Granite occurs in protruding masses, and also grading into gneiss, in the northern portions of the state, at numerous points. In many places on the Wisconsin, Yellow, and Black rivers, and especially at Big Bull Falls, Yellow river, red granites of extraordinary beauty and value occur. These are not yet utilized, but will in the future have a high value.

The handsomest and most valuable sandstone found in Wisconsin, is that which extends along the shore of Lake Superior, from the Michigan to the Minnesota line, and which forms the basement rock of the Apostle islands. On one of these islands a very large quarry is opened, from which are taken masses of almost any size, of a very close-grained, uniform, dark brown stone, which has been shipped largely to Chicago and Milwaukee. At the latter place, the well known court house is built of this stone. An equally good stone can be obtained from the neighboring islands, and from points on the mainland. A very good white to brown, indurated sandstone is obtained from the middle portions of the Potsdam series, at Stevens Point, Portage county; near,Grand Rapids, Wood county; at Black River Falls, Jackson county; at Packwaiikee, Marquette county ; near Wautoma, Waushara county ; and at several points in the Baraboo valley, Sauk county. A good buff-colored, calcareous sandstone is quarried and used largely in the vicinity of Madison, from the uppermost layers of the Potsdam series.

All of the limestone formations of the state are quarried for building stone. A layer known locally as the " Mendota" limestone, included in the upper layers of the Potsdam series, yields a very evenly bedded, yellow, fine-grained rock, which is largely quarried along the valley of the lower Wisconsin, and also in the country about Madison. In the town of Westport, Danfe county, a handsome, fine-grained, cream-colored limestone is obtained from the Lower Magnesian. The Trenton limestone yields an evenly bedded, thin stone, which is frequently used for laying in wall. The Galena and Niagara are also utilized, and the latter is capable, in much of the eastern part of the state, of furnishing a durable, easily dressed, compact, white stone.

In preparing this paper, I have made use of Professor Whitney's " Metallic Wealth of the United States," and " Report on the Geology of the Lead Region;" of the advance sheets of Volume II of the Reports of the State Geological Survey, including Professor T. C. Chamberhn's Report on the Geology of Eastern Wisconsin, my own Report on the Geology of Central Wisconsin, and Mr. Strong's Report on the Geology of the Lead Region ; Mr. E. T. Sweet's account of the mineral exhibit of the state at the Centennial Exposition ; and of my unpublished reports on the geology of the counties bordering Lake Superior.