838 



manure, is far from being truly appreciated by our citizens. But the 

 time is rapidly approaching when this invaluable mineral will be no 

 longer despised because it is abundant, simple and cheap, and our State 

 will then find, in her numerous marl beds, one of the richest treasures 

 of which she is possessed. For a full account of the nature and uses of 

 this mineral, the reader is referred to page 94 of the^[_report of 1840, 

 and to previous reports. 



The character, applications, and value of the rocks with which 

 the above mentioned minerals are associated, together with other mat- 

 ters of practical interest, connected with the Geological structure of our 

 State, are so fully detailed iu the preceding pages and in previous re- 

 ports, that further allusion to them, in this place, is deemed unnecessa- 

 ry. 



From the foregoing facts, it cannot fail to be seen, that while the 

 soils sf our State are admirably adapted to the various purposes of ag- 

 riculture, and for the production of wheat — the most important product 

 of the soil — superior to those of any known portion of the Union, 

 Michigan possesses, also, within herself, all the mineral treasures that 

 are really requisite for sustaining and renovating her soil, for supplying 

 the wants of her homesteads, and for maintaining those branches of do- 

 mestic industry which are of the most importance to her people. Thus, 

 science discloses those treasures, buried in the earth, which art and in- 

 dustry may appropriate to increase the profits of labor. And though 

 the objects of science are general in their nature, and not confined by 

 the limits of districts or States, the legislator feels a peculiar interest in 

 having those resources developed by its aid, which may be turned to the 

 advantage of his rising commonwealth ; commerce, agriculture and the arts, 

 receive a stimulus by the new source of wealth and supply which it 

 opens to the wants of each. In this view, the study of Geology be- 

 comes one of the most universally useful that can occupy the attention 

 of practical men. 



In comparing the extent of our resources thus obtained, with the lit- 

 tle that was known concerning them a few years ago, we have reason to 

 feel satisfied with the prospect of future wealth and importance, which 

 it has opened to us. If, during the stirring times of an early settlement 

 80 lapid as has been that of our State, for the past five years, less interest 

 was excited by the development of our mineral resources than their im- 



