SOLON ROBINSON, 1843 375 



Although we can raise our crops with far less labor 

 and expense than you have shown that you can do, there 

 are but few articles that we can compete with you in 

 your market. The expense of hauling in wagons over a 

 long road, or rather over a long distance void of roads, 

 except such as nature has provided ready made, and the 

 long lake and canal transportation, is a bar to almost all 

 kinds of our produce except wheat. But there is one 

 other product fast coming into fashion here, that we can 

 compete with you, and that is wool : unless our wild and 

 almost insane free trade advocates, shall finally succeed 

 in making this country, as far as all manufactures are 

 concerned, a dependant colony of Great Britain. The 

 prairie region possesses such cheap facilities for wool 

 growing, and the cost of transportation so comparatively 

 small when compared with the value, that you cannot 

 possibly afford to raise wool at the same price, where 

 you manure your land at such an expense as you have 

 stated, or even a tythe of that sum, taking into account 

 an interest of $3 to $6 an acre upon the cost of your 

 land. Here, summer pasturage will cost the attendance 

 of the shepherd and salt used — nothing more — and the 

 winter keeping I can hire done with all proper attention 

 and feed, for 25 cents a head. The great difficulty in the 

 way of western farming, which will continue to increase 

 with the increased productions of grain, will be the cost 

 of transportation to an eastern market; and unless the 

 raising of wool, flax, hemp, silk, and other light articles 

 of value, shall be added to our products, you will grow 

 rich with your expensive manuring system, while we 

 shall barely "hold on," without materially improving our 

 condition of happiness, and undoubtedly our land must 

 deteriorate in fertility. If, and that if is often in the 

 way — if we could ship beef in the late fall or early win- 

 ter months, we could win your gold for quantity, and 

 golden opinions for quality, for we could well afford to 

 sell the best article for two cents a pound. 



26—60109 



