560 



MICHIGAN". 



15,240,000; Michigan, 15,170,000. The above- 

 named eleven States produced 211,250,000 

 bushels, or 73 per cent, of the wheat crop of 

 the whole country. The same Department esti- 

 mates the crop of Michigan in the year 1877 

 as follows: Acres, 1,250,857; bushels, 21,890,- 

 000 ; average yield per acre, 17"5 bushels. The 

 Michigan crop was exceeded in seven States, 

 viz. : Iowa, which produced 37,810,000 bush- 

 els ; Minnesota, 33,324,346; Illinois, 33,000,- 

 000; Ohio, 26,000,000; Indiana, 24,600,000; 

 California, 22,000,000 ; and Wisconsin, 22,000,- 

 000. These States produced nearly 61 per 

 cent, of the entire crop of the country in 1877. 

 The report of the State Department of Michi- 

 gan makes the production of this State materi- 

 ally greater. According to this authority, there 

 were 23,793,039 bushels of wheat raised in 

 Michigan in 1877, on 1,312,352 acres, an aver- 

 age of 18-11 bushels per acre. As compared 

 with 1876, this is an increase in acreage of 89,- 

 140, or 7'29 per cent. ; in bushels, of 6,907,- 

 860, or 40-91 per cent. ; and in average yield 

 per acre, of 4-37 bushels, or 31-8 per cent. Yet 

 the wheat crop in 1876 was larger both in acre- 

 age and in the total yield than that of any pre- 

 vious year of which there is record. In May, 

 1878, the number of acres in wheat was not 

 less than 1,523,841. The estimated yield was 

 about 28,000,000 bushels. " The unusual gen- 

 eral average per acre the past two years," says 

 the Secretary of State, " is doubtless largely 

 due to favorable seasons ; yet the yield of thirty 

 and forty bushels to the acre, which has been 

 by no means infrequent, must be at least in 

 some measure attributable to better modes of 

 culture, especially as upon other fields in the 

 same locality there was only the customary 

 yield of from ten to fifteen bushels per acre. 

 The large crops of our better farmers indicate 

 the capabilities of the soil, and warrant the 

 confidence of her people that Michigan should 

 stand first as a wheat-producing State. 1 ' Oak- 

 land heads the list of counties in the total 

 yield of wheat, and is followed in order by 

 Clinton, Washtenaw, Ionia, and Jackson, each 

 of which produced over 1,000,000 bushels. 

 Three counties, Calhoun, Livingston, and Kent, 

 produced over 900,000 bushels each ; two, 

 Genesee and Eaton, over 800,000 each; five, 

 Ingham, Shiawassee, St. Joseph, Barry, and 

 Lapeer, over 700,000 each; five, Kalamazoo, 

 Hillsdale, Lena wee, Allegan, and Cass, over 

 600,000 each ; and three, Berrien, Branch, and 

 Tuscola, over 500,000 each. These twenty- 

 three countries average nearly 830,000 bushels. 

 The average yield per acre ranges from 26-64 

 bushels in Ontonagon to 9 bushels in Ros- 

 common. The number of acres of wheat har- 

 vested in the south four tiers of counties was 

 1,158,803, or 88-30 per cent, of the acreage of 

 the entire State; and the number of bushels 

 was 20,788,062, or 87'37 per cent, of the total 

 yield. The proportion in these counties is 

 slightly less than in 1876, the acreage in that 

 year being 90-25 per cent, and the bushels 



91-73 per cent, of the whole crop. The aver- 

 age yield per acre ranges from 24'06 bushels 

 iu Shiawassee to 10-41 bushels in Kalamazoo. 

 The number of acres of Indian corn harvested 

 in 1877 was 732,946, of oats 431,629, and of 

 barley 48,539. The acreage of corn was 91,023 

 greater, of oats 10,271 less, and of barley 1,293 

 less than in 1876. The number of producers 

 of wheat, corn, oats, and barley, as reported 

 in 1878, was 100,980, against 93,768 reported in 

 1877. 



In 1878 there were produced in the State 

 1,885,884 barrels of salt, 1,125,230 tons of iron 

 ore, and 19,385 tons of ingot copper. Other 

 important productions of the State are lumber, 

 coal, plaster, and slate. 



The National Greenback party met in State 

 Convention at Grand Eapids June 5th, and nom- 

 inated Henry S. Smith for Governor, Lysander 

 Woodward for Lieuteuant-Governor, George 

 H. Bruce for Secretary of State, Herman Goe- 

 schel for Treasurer, and Levi Sparks for Au- 

 ditor. The following platform was adopted : 



1. The unconditional repeal of the so-called re- 

 sumption act. 



2. The issue of all paper money by the General 

 Government, the same to be a full legal tender for 

 all debts, public and private. 



3. That no more interest-bearing bonds of the 

 Government of any kind or class be issued ; that the 

 bonds now outstanding be paid as speedily as pos- 

 sible. 



4. The enactment of such laws as will protect the 

 industries of the nation, conferring the greatest good 

 upon the greatest number. 



5. That such legislation should be had, that the 

 number of hours of daily toil will be reduced, giving 

 the working class more leisure for mental improve- 

 ment and social enjoyment, thus rescuing them from 

 premature decay and death. 



6. That the coinage of silver be placed upon the 

 same footing as that of gold. 



7. We demand the repeal of the national bank- 

 ing law. 



8. We deprecate all efforts to redress wrong by 

 violation of law, and believe that through the bullot- 

 box alone we must look for justice. 



9. We demand that Government land be reserved 

 for actual settlers only. 



The Republican State Convention met in De- 

 troit June 13th, and was organized with ex- 

 Secretary Zachariah Chandler as permanent 

 President. The following nominations were 

 made : For Governor, Charles M. Croswell ; for 

 Lieutenant-Governor, Alonzo Sessions ; for Sec- 

 retary of State, William Jenney, Jr. ; for Treas- 

 urer, Benjamin D. Pritchard; for Auditor, W. 

 I. Lattimer ; for Land Commissioner, James M. 

 Nesmith ; for member of the State Board of 

 Education, George F. Edwards ; for Attorney- 

 General, Otto Kirchner; for Superintendent 

 of Pub-lie Instruction, H. S. Tarbell. The reso- 

 lutions adopted were as follows : 



The Republicans of Michigan, after twenty years 

 of unbroken control of the State government in all 

 its departments, invite the most rigid scrutiny into 

 the manner in which their great responsibilities have 

 been discharged, and they point with satisfaction 

 and pride to that faithful regard which has been 

 evinced by the State Administration for the happi- 

 ness and security of our citizens, the prosperity of 



