110 



Illixois. — De Kalh : Great increase in labor-saving machinery. Franklin: More gen- 

 eral rotation of crOps. Cass : Improved machinery, culture, and economy. Ogle : Im- 

 proved machinery; wind-mills for watering stock. Ejn»ffham: Rotation of crops; feed 

 more produce on the farm. Crawford : Rotation and better tillage, liodc Island : Bet- 

 ter tillage. Henderson: Improved implements. Tazewell: Better stock and seed; 

 more grass-crops. Putnam: Increased attention to rotation. Henri/: Increased associa- 

 tion of farmers ; better machinery. Ford : Mr. Sullivaut farms 40,000 acres on an im- 

 proved tenant-system with good results. Tenants pay a rent of two-fifths of their pro- 

 duce. His own farming is excellent. Clarke : Improved machinery and more careful 

 plowing, putting in of seed in a better manner, the greater extension or more general 

 use of clover, a more careful economy in the application of manures, and a general inter- 

 est manifested by farmers as to the best and most approved modes of agriculture. Hanm 

 cock : A marked tendency toward the improvement of stock is manifested ; also more 

 attention to fertilization ; clovering, manuring, and rotation of crops. Saint Clair : Bet- 

 ter tillage. Boone : An inclination to raise more stock and less grain, thereby saving 

 considerably for hired help. Monroe: It isseeuin the increased number of good machines, 

 in soiling, clovering, and manuring ; iu the increasing quantity and quality of the differ- 

 ent crops. White : Better implements ; more clovering. Sangamon : The proper prepar- 

 ation of food for cattle, and the erection of suitable accommodations for poultry, and the 

 introduction of improved breeds. Mason : This was originally known as a corn-producing 

 county only, but it is observed that where corn had been planted on stubble-tinfothy or clo- 

 ver ground (the latter the best) there has been from 20 to 40 per cent, gain in the crop of 

 'corn, both in yield and quality. Edwards : Better farm-houses, barns, and shelter 

 for all kinds of stock, that are being erected ; also better market facilities. Wayne : 

 More attention generally paid to rotation of crops, proper cultivation, and more care- 

 ful about going into debt than heretofore. McLean : Working more themselves, and 

 hiring less help ; another indication is the increased subscriptions to agricultural 

 newspapers. Menard: Increased care in the saving, preparation, and application of 

 manure, and in alternating crops of grain and grass. Piandolph : More attention to ro- 

 tation of crops, using more clover-seed, plowing in swards in last of July and first of 

 August ; the use of improved implements, whereby one man can perform the labor of 

 two. Fayette: Gradual increase of machinery. Clinton: Better shelter for stock; 

 more economy ; improved implements. Carroll : Better breeds of live stock, unusual 

 experiments at rotation, better implements. Piatt : Better tillage and tools. Vermil- 

 lion : Better machinery and processes of culture. Richland : More general use of ma- 

 chinery. Pope: More thorough culture ; better tools. Marion: Very little. Hancock: 

 Marked improvement in live stock, also in fertilizers, but not nnach of increased science 

 or skill. Winnebago: More stock fed; more grass and clover; better implements. 

 Livingston : Farmers working more themselves. Mercer : Progress constant, but grad- 

 ual. 



WiscoxsiN — Lafayette : Better tillage and increased yields per acre ; better imple- 

 ments and greater economy in management. Washington : More clovering, with satis- 

 factory results. Pierce: General improvement iu circumstances of farmers. Milwau- 

 kee : Most of the farmers foreigners ; no improvements. Fond-du-Lac : Greater economy 

 and more association. Dodge : Clovering, soiling and sheltering animals ; more careful 

 observation of results. Kewanee : Great improvement in machinery, culture, and 

 economy. Juneau : None. Jefferson : More stock-raising, dairying, cheese-factories, 

 farmers' clubs, &c. Jackson : Smaller farms, more profitable culture. Columbia : Great 

 improvement in machinery and skill. Dane: Great improvement in live-stock, less 

 grain-growing, more intelligent treatment of economical questions, more farmers' clubs. 

 Dodge: Sowing clover, plaster and salt with small grain, providing comfortable quar- 

 ters for all kinds of stock, cutting clover for hay early, and plowing in the after or 

 late crop for purjioses of fertilization, careful noting of results following experimental 

 operations. Douglas : A spirit and evidence of a closer, better, and more thorough 

 cultivation of small tracts, rather than a skimming over of large tracts. Cultivators 

 are begiuing to avail themselves of the advantages of deep plowing, good ditches for 

 draining, and the free use of manures. Calumet: Improved machinery, deep jilowing, 

 green m.anuring, underground drainage ; also the evidences of advancement in the in- 

 telligence and skill, in the more general prosperity of our farming population, their in- 

 creased crops, and superior grades of stock. Vernon : More attention is paid to the 

 raising of stock, and seeding in of clover and grass ; the necessity of preserving the fer- 

 tility of the soil is beginning to dawn upon the minds of our farmers. Wood : None. 

 Green : The introduction of agricultural machinery, and the ability of the farmer to 

 make proper use of it ; the use of horse-power in the cutting of wood. 



JSliNXEsoTA. — Houston : The cost of the harvest, owing to high prices of labor and 

 harvesting-machines, &o., is the principal drawback to the profit of grain-raising here ; 

 we have been paying $200 for a machine that could be manufactured for probably $120. 

 Some farmers fail to raise oats and corn enough to feed their stock. Last spring Isold 

 1,200 bushels of corn, mostly to farmers. Isanti: There is aery of hard times when, 

 by a judicious outlay for machinery, a saving of at least one-half paid for labor might 



