522 WISCONSIN AGRICULTURE. 



five years will not elapse before some of our sons, who would be 

 first in their great calling, will be crossing over to Michigan to 

 her already promising institution, to avail themselves of that 

 knowledge, which, for want of a proper foresight and enterprize, 

 has not been secured and provided for them at home. Let us 

 not, from our supineness now at the proper time, be thus depend- 

 ent then. 



The law of the last session of the Legislature, passed in con- 

 formity with a request in our last annual report, for the collec- 

 tion, on the part of the several town Assessors, of Agricultural 

 and Mineral statistics, seems to have been but partially com- 

 plied with, and consequently the report of the Secretary of State 

 on that subject is necessarily incomplete and somewhat imperfect- 

 Still, what there is of it is highly valuable, and shows conclu- 

 sively how valuable a perfect work of the kind would be ; show- 

 ing at once, and annually, the exact agricultural, mineral, and 

 business condition and production of each county in the State . 

 It is almost as valuable information to the observant and intel- 

 ligent citizen, as are the merchant's account books to him, in the 

 way of explaining and telling him how his matters stand. 



The law is of indispensable value, and with some slight 

 amendments, which will be duly and seasonably presented by 

 its friends, will undoubtedly remain a fixed feature upon our 

 statute books. 



As in our last year's report, we again call attention to the 

 policy and necessity of some law for the protection and encour- 

 agement of sheep husbandry and wool growing, which would 

 necessarily involve a law for the restricting and thinning out 

 of dogs, which, (as is natural in new countries), have become a 

 great nuisance and drawback upon our annual incomes and 

 aggregate receipts from this important and natural source of 

 prosperity. It is confidently believed that some judicious law 

 might be enacted that would, in due time, abate the evil without 

 much growling^ and eventuate in substituting numerous flocks of 

 fine wooled sheep, with their yearly golden fleeces and fat, savory 

 mutton, in place of our present larking cur-dog population. Such 

 an exchange is, in the opinion of the undersigned, devoutly to 

 be wished and earnestly prayed for. 



