188 



19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 east." This included tlie present county of Kenosha, 

 which was set off as a separate county in 1850, and by which Racine was cur- 

 tailed of nearly one-half her oiiginal proportions. As now constituted, Racine 

 county includes the full townships numbered 3 and 4 north, of ranges 19, 20, 

 21 and 22 east, and fractional townships 3 and 4 of range 23, bordering Lake 

 Michigan on the east — together with the four northern tiers of sections in town- 

 ship 2 of range 19. These boundaries give the county a superfices, by survey, 

 not far from 218,500 acres — or, say 340 square miles. 



Proportion of Land occupied as Farms. — Of the aggregate of 218,500 

 acres, I may safely assume, from the data to which I have had access, (the census 

 returns of 1850, and statistical information from other sources) that 150,000 

 acres are owned or occupied as farms in this county — about 120,000 of which is 

 improved, and say 30,000 in wood-lots and unimproved prairie; leaving 68,500 

 acres of unoccupied and non-resident lands, including lakes, ponds, marshes, &c. 

 And assuming that the present population of our county is 16,500 souls, (it was 

 about 15,000 eighteen months ago — in June 1850) 9,500 of whom are engaged 

 in farming operations; and assigning six persons to a family, it will follow that 

 1583 families are engaged in agricultural pursuits in this county. 



Extent of the Agricultural Interest. — Of these 9,500 people, wlio com- 

 prise the 1583 families connected with farming in this county, there are doubt- 

 less 3,000 (say an average of two to each family of six persons) who are out- 

 door operatives in performing the requisite labor on the farms ; and they will 

 accomplish an amount of labor equal to something like 250 days work each, 

 within the 365 days of the year. Now if we estimate their services at an average 

 of 70 cents per day, it will show that the sum of $525,000 — over half a miUion — 

 is expended annually in the county for farm-labor alone ! Ten dollars per acre 

 would be a moderate average of the value of the 150,000 acres occupied as 

 farms; this will give an aggregate value for the land, of $1,500,000. By the 

 census returns in June 1850, agricultural implements, farming tools and machines, 

 were put down at not far from $130,000; add for increase dui-ing the eighteen 

 months that have elapsed since, say $40,000, and we have an aggregate for that 

 item of $170,000. Besides these, the Stock indispensable on a farm — including 

 working horses and oxen, cows, hog-s, sheep, beef, and stock cattle, &c. — forms 

 no inconsiderable item in the requisite expenditure for the successful prosecution 

 of that all-important industrial pursuit; the census makes this expenditure more 

 than $300,000, for 1850 — say, at this time, (18 months later) $350,000. 

 Allowing $300 to each farm, for dwellings, barns, out-buildings, (fee. and we have 

 $474,900 for this item. It will hence appear, that the total investment in the 

 operations of farming in Racine county, is at least $3,019,900 — over three mil- 

 lions of dollars ,' 



