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The lead mines of the northeast, of which Dubuque is the centre, are contin- 
uous of those of Wisconsin, and are being extensively and profitably worked. 
Zine occurs in the fissures along with the lead, and copper is also found in this 
region and along the Cedar river. Iron ore exists in considerable quantities, 
but is not much worked. Many portions of the State are underlaid with lime- 
stone, and building stone of several varieties exists, the Annamosa quarries, of 
Jones county, ranking among the best in the State. Gypsum also appears in 
limited quantities, and peat abounds in a number of counties, one bed in Sac 
county containing over 300 acres, from three to nine feet in thickness. 
The great distinguishing feature of lowa, however, is her vast and diversified 
prairies, and their characteristic peculiarity, the absence of timber. These natural 
meadows are covered with a rich coat of wild grass, forming excellent pasturage, 
and are not infrequently interspersed with hazel thickets and sassafras shrubs, 
and in the season of flowers are decorated with a brilliant garniture of honey- 
suckles, jessamines, wild roses and violets. 'Three-fourths of the county, per- 
haps, is ‘of this description, yet so happily and conveniently are the streams 
and timber arranged that nature appears to have made an effort to distribute 
them in the most desirable commingling. The soil of the State is generally 
excellent, and probably no State in the Union has a less proportion of inferior 
land; and her agricultural capabilities may be inferred from the fact that in 1866 
she grew one-tenth of the wheat, and about one-sixteenth of the Indian corn 
produced in the country, being exceeded by but two States, Illinois and Wiscon- 
sin, in the former, and four States, Illinois, Indiana, Obio, and Kentucky, in the 
latter. 
4. Corn, wheat, oats, and hay, are the great staples of Iowa, being grown to 
a greater or less extent in every county in the State, with the addition of rye, 
barley, buckwheat, tobacco, &c., in limited quantities. The corn crop of 1866 
reached over 52,000,000 of bushels, with an acreage of upwards of 1,600,000, the 
crop being valued at about $23,000,000, or an average of between $14 and $15. 
per acre gross. The wheat crop of the same year reached nearly 16,000,000 
bushels upon something less than 1,000,000 acres, the crop being estimated at 
about $22,000,000, or an average of about $22 to the acre, gross product. The 
wheat crop is the principal market product, other crops being largely worked up 
at home and sent abroad in more condensed form, as beef, pork, wool, &c. Our 
Cherokee correspondent says 
Rye is not much raised, but is a profitable crop. Potatoes are also productive and much 
depended upon, and sugar cane is cultivated to some extent. 
Hop raising is attracting considerable attention in some counties, and in Jack- 
son and Jones they are reported as successfully and profitably grown; in Sioux 
they grow wild in abundance, and as large and good as any that are cultivated. 
In Jones county several cheese factories have been established the past year, 
and dairying is becoming a prominent branch. 
Our correspondents estimate the net profits of wheat culture at an average of 
$7 to $10 per acre. Our Sioux reporter says: 
We have raised as high as 50 bushels of wheat to the acre; a field of 10 acres yielding 
500 bushels of clean merchantable wheat. 
Our Monona reporter writes: . 
Our main dependence is our immense crop of wild grass for pasture and hay used in rearing 
cattle, horses, and sheep. Corn and oats not unfrequently yield 75 bushels per acre, and in 
1866 many fields of wheat all over our county yielded from 40 to 45 bushels per acre. Cattle, 
horses, and sheep, and all our crops have, for years in succession, commanded high prices. 
From Marion our reporter writes as follows : 
With many in this county wheat culture is a specialty, while others give much attention 
to grazing; but corn is king here, and is generally fed to hogs and cattle, and, indeed, to 
anything that will eat it. This crop is easily produced at the rate of 40 to 50 bushels per 
acre, and is often so managed as to produce 80 to 120 bushels per acre. I have repeatedly, 
in this county and in Polk county, had a yield of 110 to 113 bushels to the acre at a cost of 
