253 



using our own superior grain. In the one case, injustice is done by re- 

 fusing us the credit to which the productions of our State entitle us ; 

 and in the other, great injury is, or will be the result of affixing Michi- 

 gan brands to an inferior article grown elsewhere. The latter course can- 

 not be too much reprobated, and if persisted in, our millers will find 

 that wheat will stand relatively much higher in the market than flour, 

 which would, of course, operate hard upon them. 



It is matter of congratulation that abundant crops and good prices 

 have reheved the farming community from embaiTassments, which, a 

 few years since, weighed heavily upon them, and prevented the full 

 development of those resources which Nature has placed within their 

 reach. 



Having attained this prosperous independence, the intelligent peo- 

 ple of our beautiful and fertile Peninsula, will stop at nothing short of 

 the highest excellence in agriculture. Of the coarse grains, very little 

 is raised, except for home consumption ; and we find of oats and corn, 

 only about 30,000 bushels. Foi-merly, almost the only thing deemed 

 woithy of attention was the culture of wheat, but it has been found 

 that equal or greater profits may be derived from wool, consequently 

 much care is now bestowed upon it. We have no accurate data for 

 the year 1853, but estimate the amount purchased here, or arriving 

 by other means, about equal to the receipts by the Central Railroad, 

 which were 900,000 lbs. The average price was a httle more than 50 

 cts. per lb. — considerably above that of years past. The large niunber 

 of imported sheep, and others arriving, speak well for the entei-prise and 

 foresight of the people. 



NAVIGATIOK, SHIPPING, &C. 



The season of navigation for this yeai* was unusually long, and the 

 weather for the most pail favorable. Our river during the winter of 

 '52-'63 was never obstructed by ice, and access to the western ports of 

 Lake Erie was obtained as early as the 3d of March, and continued 

 \mtil after December 15th, a period of nine months and a half. The 

 numerous breaks and interruptions of the Erie Canal, together with the 

 low price of grain, made the eastward shipments during the early part 

 of the season very light ; but as the prices soon advanced, the fall busi- 

 ness was much gi-eater than usual, and the aggregate for the year also 



