AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE WEST 309 



North, Illinois, the leading agricultural state, in four years more 

 than trebled her number of sheep. Ohio, the leading wool state, 

 doubled hers. " No branch of business increased more rapidly 

 than the domestic wool trade"; it grew with "gigantic strides." 

 Everywhere the wool-growers were very energetic. Their conven- 

 tions, new associations, and jealous rivalry with the wool manu- 

 facturers over the tariff are characteristic features of the times. In 

 1865 the National Wool-growers' Association was formed. 



So far as crops and herds and flocks are concerned, the evi- 

 dences of great material prosperity in the West are unmistakable. 

 There was unusual activity in all branches of agriculture, and, on 

 the whole, unusually large crops and large herds and flocks. Other 

 factors, such as prices and freight rates, the growing use of agri- 

 cultural machinery, the prosperity of agricultural fairs, increase in 

 population, the occupation of new lands, and public agitation in 

 favor of increased transportation facilities furnished testimony to 

 the same effect. But in the very beginning of the war two con- 

 trary factors were very strong, the crash of the wildcat bariks 

 and high freight rates. 



Many banks in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana had, as the only 

 security of their circulating notes, the bonds of the border and 

 slave states. These bonds secession sent on a wild career of 

 decline, which grew worse and worse after the opening of actual 

 hostilities. Deprived in this way of the means of redeeming their 

 notes, many of the Western banks, especially the small ones in 

 the country, closed their doors ; and the bonds were sold at auction 

 for the benefit of the note-holders. If we say that, on the average, 

 these were sold for 80 cents on the dollar, which is a high 

 estimate, the loss to the people of Illinois, where the bank-note 

 circulation was ^12,000,000, was over $2,000,000. Eighty-nine 

 of the 1 10 banks of the state were ruined ; 39 in Wisconsin, 27 

 in Indiana. These failures of the small country banks fell heavily 

 on the farmers. 



The losses occasioned by high freight rates were just as wide- 

 spread as those due to poor banking. The enormous grain 

 shipments of 1 86 1 , accompanied by the closing of so many routes 

 seaward, the Mississippi River, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, 



