No. 85.] 361 



stone quarries, which abound in this county, and throughout this re- 

 gion of country. 



The principal products are wheat, oats, corn, and potatoes, with 

 beef, pork, butter and cheese; also, among articles of export and 

 trade, may be reckoned, wool, hemp, tobacco and barley. Silk and 

 honey are easily produced. Apples, and all kinds of fruits usually 

 found in this latitude, flourish here, and will soon be plenty. These 

 products are marketed' east and south, at Chicago and other lake 

 towns, or at Galena, St. Louis and other river towns. Rock river, 

 however, is the natural outlet for the productions of this country, 

 and will be used in connexion with the Mississippi in trading, even 

 with New-York, Boston, and other eastern cities. Transportation by 

 the rivers, in carrying on eastern trade, has many advantages over 

 that by way of the lakes and eastern canals. 



The kinds of cultivation, modified perhaps a little by circumstan- 

 ces, are the same here, as in the eastern and middle States, from which 

 most of the population emigrated. Our settlers brought with them 

 their sentiments, skill, science, and refinement ; in short, their habits 

 social, moral and intellectual. And thus our fields, so recently under 

 the dominion of savages, are tilled, enriched and adorned with the 

 agriculture of many ages of civilization and improvement. The far- 

 mers of this county have received much aid from the study of agri- 

 cultural publications. In their houses, may be found volumes of our 

 own " Prairie Farmer," " The Cultivator," " Central New-York 

 Farmer," the " Genesee Farmer," " American Agriculturist," and 

 other excellent agricultural papers. 



The favorite breeds of horses, are those of the Duroc and Messen- 

 ger stock, and the Morgan horse. Best breeds of cattle in this coun- 

 ty, Durhams ; particularly those known as the " Clay Durham" — 

 from stock imported by Hon. Henry Clay. Also the Devonshires 

 are excellent, and much admired here. Choice specimens of these 

 breeds are owned in the county, and have been exhibited in large 

 numbers at cattle shows. Berkshire, Byfield, Irish Graziers, and 

 other excellent breeds of swine, have been well represented at our 

 fairs. Crosses of the Berkshire and Byfield have the preference. 

 This country is peculiarly adapted to the raising of sheep, and the 

 purest Merinos, Bakewells and Leicestershires, are owned in the 

 county. Merinos and their crosses have the preference. 



The cattle are mostly fattened on the prairies ; the grass of which 

 is much better for this purpose, than clover and timothy. Cattle are 

 often fit for the butcher as early as June or July, and as fat as stall 

 fed in September and October, by feeding on the rich and ample pas- 

 turage of the natural meadows every where abounding in this region. 



Swine are usually fattened on corn ; occasionally the farmers avail 

 themselves of the acorns, walnuts, and other mast common in the 

 forests. 



The agricultural implements generally used here, resemble those of 

 New-York and New-England. The plows are differently constructed. 



