No. 200.] 163 



in the stack costs us but one dollar per ton. Our worst season is late 

 in autumn ; the prairie grass then fails, and we are obliged to sow rye 

 or other grain for fall feed. One of the greatest difficulties in the 

 matter is our clayey soils ; there are other sections free from this ob- 

 jection in abundance, where wool can be raised to profit for 12| cents 

 per pound. 



Gen. Tallmadge — Are they not troubled with burrs ? 



Mr. R. — We are not, but in the southern part of the State, they 

 prove a great annoyance. 



Great losses are frequently sustained by over driving. Drivers 

 should never drive over 10 miles per day ; nine-tenths of the driving 

 is done after August, and not wishing to feed hay, they are turned out 

 on the prairies, where they are frequently found in a state of actual 

 starvation. 



Mr. Afflick said, in answer to the remark, that the wool market 

 might be glutted ; that Mr. Lawrence, of Boston, informed him a few 

 days since, \hat he would now purchase for five years in advance, at 

 present prices. 



An animated conversation here took place on the subject of silk 

 growing, in which several gentlemen from the South engaged. The 

 facts elicited were of great interest, and calculated to prove conclu- 

 sively the feasibility of the business, and the certainty of its progress, 

 and final triumph. 



Mr. James M. Crane, of Virginia, then arose, and called attention 

 to the great work of internal improvement going on in that Stale. A 

 complete revolution had taken place within a few years. A large 

 number of farmers have been moving from the North during the last 

 two or three years, who had introduced northern enterprise and skill, 

 which are rapidly diffusing themselves over the entire Stale converting 

 the worn out tobacco lands into beautiful gardens and fruitful fields. 

 We are mainly indebted to northern capital and enterprise for this 

 work of improvement. There are within my knowledge no less than 

 40 cotton factories in progress of erection, but it will be some time 

 ere they can be completed, on account of the difficulty in getting ma- 

 chinery. Lowell, Paterson, and Malteawan have now orders for 12 



