LETTEE VIII. 



Average Prices of Agricultural Produce in Illinois. Cost of Labour. Cost of In- 

 dian Corn in England. Cost at which Pork may be raised by it. Profit of 

 Farming in Illinois. Detailed Example. Lands of Illinois Central Railway. 

 Advantages of their Position. The Company's Terms of Sale for Cash or 

 Credit. Exemption from State Taxes till paid for. Comparison between 

 Farming in England and owning Land in Illinois. Capital necessary to start 

 one Farmer in England sufficient for four Land Owners in Illinois. Profits of 

 Sheep Farming. Lands farther "West only apparently cheaper. Great Oppor- 

 tunity for Farm Labourers of Character and Skill. Farming by Shares. 

 Facility for investing Money in Land. Even the Labourer can so invest his 

 Savings from Time to Time. Prospects of Emigrants from Towns. 



WHAT are the profits of farming on the prairie lands of Illinois ? 

 That is the question of interest to the agricultural readers of 

 this little book. 



The average prices of wheat and Indian corn in Chicago, 

 since 1850, and those of beef, pork, cheese, and butter, since 

 1854, have been : 



8. d. 



Wheat, per bushel, 39 



Indian corn, 18 



Beef, per Ib 2 



Pork, 02 



Cheese, 04 



Butter, 08 



These prices may be reckoned, on an average, as about one 

 half the value of the same articles in England. If the cost of 

 production in the two countries were nearly the same, the value 



