THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



425 



Rye. 

 Bushels. 

 1857.... 169,400.., 

 1856.... 1,285,500 .. 

 1855 .... 632,300 .. 



Barley. Oats. 



Bushele. Bushels. 



1,727,200 2,900,300 



2,082,800 6,060,800 



1,674,400 4,537,000 



Statement of receipts at Montreal, from the lake and river dis- 

 tricts, by canal and river and Grand Trunk Railroad : — 

 Flour. Wheat, Corn. 



Barrels. Bushels. Bushels. 



1857.... 637,000 1,708,900 383,100 



1856.... 712,000 1,546,300 637,900 



The supplies at tidewater and at Montreal are chiefly fur- 

 nished by Chicago and Milwaukie, and the other ports of 

 Lake Michigan ; the quantity supplied by Detroit and Canada 

 West being comparatively trifling. The whole surplus of the 

 eastern section does not, however, find its way to these two 

 points, but the numerous railroads from Lake Erie and Lake 

 Ontario share to some extent in the distribution on the At- 

 lantic seaboard. The total eastern grain movement from 

 Chicago and other ports may be summed up thus — 



1857. Other 



Flour. Wheat. Corn. Grain. 

 Received at Barrels. Bushels. Bushels. Bushele. 

 Western terminus, 

 Baltimore and 



Ohio Railroad..426,801. . — .. — .. 256,183 

 Western terminus, 

 Pensylvauian 



Central 351,011.. — .. — .. 206,793 



Dunkirk 354,072.. 93,443.. 114,052.. — 



Buflfalo 925,411.. 8,383,815.. 5,720,413.. 1.321,406 



Su8pen8ionBridgel80,194.. 148,138,. — . .. — 



Oswego 101,363.. 5,353,026.. 2,003,992.. 370,249 



Ogdensburg 361,578.. 598,523.. 517,076.. 14,740 



Cape Vincent.... 60,472.. 477,375.. 40,537.. 49,408 

 Montreal 637,052.. 1,708,965.. 383,162.. 38,165 



Total eastwards 3,397,954 16,763,285 8,779,832 2,256,944 

 The aggregate Western grain movement, east and south, so 

 far as it can be ascertained, amounts therefore to some sixty 

 million bushels. 



1857. Other 



Flour. Wheat. Corn. Grain. 



Barrels. Bushels. Bushels, Bushels, 



Eastward, , , . 3,397,954. . 16,763,285. . 8,779,832. . 2,256,944 



Southward.. .1,893,400.. 2,589,400.. 1,533,100.. — 



Total move- 

 ment .... 5,291,354 19,352,685 10,512,932 2,256,944 

 If, in connexion with these general statements of the move- 

 ment of produce east and south, wc take the special cases of 

 the trade of St. Louis and Chicago, it will be easy to arrive at 

 Bsmething like a comprehensive idea of the character of western 

 trade, and to estimate, with something like exactness, the par- 

 ticular transit course which ultimately that trade must take. 



St. Louis, as has been already stated, is situated on the Mis- 

 sissippi river, about midway between the confluence of the 

 Ohio and the confluence of the Missouri. The junction of the 

 last-named river is only a short distance higher up, and St. 

 Louis forms therefore the natural connecting link between the 

 country watered by the Missouri and its tributaries, and New 

 York and New Orleans. The merchant at Council Blufl's does 

 not generally buy dry goods, or groceries, or hardware on 

 the eastern or southern seaboard, but almost invariably at 

 St. Louis ; and the Missouri river merchant, or agriculturist, 

 seldom thinks of sending grain or produce elsewhere. For 

 many years to come this will continue to be the case, as St. 

 Louis, unlike other growing western cities, has not wasted an 

 undue proportion of its income in speculative, unproductive, 

 purchases of land, but has given to business its first and 

 greatest care. 



In 1855 and 1856 (no later account published) the grain re- 

 ceipts at St. Louis from the Missouri river were as follows : — 

 1855. 1856, 



Flour barrels 6,120 4,745 



Wheat sacks 129,920 232,731 



, barrels 498 822 



Corn sacks 14,487 7,574 



Oats „ 1,409 5,331 



A short distance higher up the Mississippi than the con- 



fluence of the Missouri, the Illinois river opens up to the St. 

 Louis trade perhaps the most fertile and best cultivated portion 

 of Illinois; ai.d between the lUinoia-river towns and St. 

 Louis there are numerous well-appointed steamers for the con- 

 veyance of freight and passengers. The steam-boat distance 

 from St. Louis to the head of the Illinois river is two hundred 

 and twenty-six miles, and the canal distance from the head of 

 the Illinois river to Chicago is one hundred miles ; and St. 

 Louis has therefore the control of rather more than two-thirds 

 of the navigation between the Mississippi and the head of the 

 Lake Michigan, at Chicago. Due consideration has not hi- 

 therto been given to this advantage which St. Louis has in the 

 diversion of Illinois produce from its Chicago rival. St. Louis 

 is situated to drain the produce of two-thirds of the interior 

 of Illinois, not by canal boat drawn by horses, but by river 

 steamers ; and Chicago is situated to drain only one hundred 

 miles of the same district, and that by horse canal, which every 

 now and then gives way, and temporarily puts a stop to busi- 

 ness operations. In 1855 and 1856 (no later account pub- 

 lished) the grain receipts at St. Louis, from the Illinois river, 

 were as follows : — 1855. 1856. 



Flour barrels 51,188 45,755 



Wheat sacks 698,336 594,434 



„ barrels 13,152 2,044 



Com sacks 956,351 210,376 



Oats „ 389,705 152,623 



Beyond the confluence of the Illinois river the Mississippi 

 stretches north to the neighbourhood of the Red River and 

 Lake Superior, and receives the waters of numerous tributaries. 

 Produce grown on the borders of the Upper Mississippi, above 

 the confluence of the Illinois, cannot in the nature of things 

 be moved cheaper than upon the river in the direction of St, 

 Louis, and St. Louis stands thus in precisely the same relation 

 to the Upper Mississippi as it does to the Illinois river and 

 the Missouri, Should the Mississippi become connected with 

 the Red River and the Saskatchewan, still the moat available 

 and cheapest route for the British settlers to move produce to 

 the seaboard would be by the Mississippi river to St, Louis ; 

 and should the Mississippi become connected with Lake Su- 

 perior no distributing influence would be introduced, as mere 

 distance would be outweighed by considerations of another 

 kind, which will be adverted to hereafter. In 1855 and 1856 

 (no later account published) the grain receipts at St. Louis 

 from the Upper Mississippi were as follows : — 



1855. 1856. 



Flour barrels 273,378 227,361 



Wheat sacks 878,997 863,336 



„ barrels 1,956 436 



Corn sacks 336,727 245,328 



Oats „ 557,932 298,879 



Besides being most favourably situated for receiving sup- 

 plies of produce by the Missouri, from the interior of Illinois, 

 by the Illinois river, and from the Upper Mississippi by the 

 river of that name, St. Louis is also as favourably situated, 

 with respect to railroads, as any other western city. The St. 

 Louis, Alton, and Chicago Railroad is laid down in the vicinity 

 of the Illincia river, from Chicago to St. Louis ; the Terre 

 Haute and Alton Railroad, fr"m the Wabash, across the State 

 of Illinois, to the same point; and the Ohio and Mississippi 

 Railroad, in the same direction, from the same river, but lower 

 down. These railroads intersect the Illinois Central, both the 

 branch and trunk lines, and connect with all the railroads of 

 Illinois, and thereby give to St. Louis the control of the pro- 

 duce of Illinois. On the other hand, the Pacific and the North 

 Missouri Railroads give promise, at no remote period, to bring 

 forward large supplies of produce from the interior of Missouri 

 and the contiguous States. These contiguous States are yet 

 in infancy, scarcely producing beyond their own wants ; and a 

 few years must intervene before their yield attracts much 

 notice. The following were the grain receipts at St. Louis 

 from these difi'erent railroads for the year ending Decem- 

 ber, 1857 :— 

 Railroad receipts ov Flour at St. Louis, 1857. 



Barrels, 



By Chicago and Alton Railroad 9,900 



„ Terre Haute and Alton do 38,700 



„ Ohio and Mississippi do 21,600 



„ Pacific do 5,800 



„ North Pacific do 4,700 



80,700 



Sacks. 



2,500 



32,700 



17,800 



