152 Agricultural Manual 



The first immigration was by the way of Oneida Lake and river 

 and from the south by the way of Cayuga Lake. In 179G a state 

 road extending from Whitestown to Geneva by way of Auburn 

 was cut through. In 1S00 the Cayuga bridge was built; the new 

 route speedily became the great highway of western immigration, 

 and the population steadily and rapidly increased. After the 

 close of the Revolution a great impulse was given to its growth 

 by the completion of the Erie Canal. In 1815 Auburn was the 

 largest village in central or western New York; Rochester and 

 Syracuse had not then been incorporated as villages, and Buffalo 

 had been reduced to ashes. 



At about 1840 the production of silk by convicts in Auburn 

 prison was attempted and for some years promised to be a success- 

 ful employment. Tt was found, however, that the quality of the 

 product of prison labor could not be maintained and the experi- 

 ment was abandoned. 



DEVELOPMENT OF INDUSTRY 



The whole county is well adapted either to the raising of grain 

 or to pasturage. Cayuga County may be called principally a hay- 

 and grain-producing area, although special crops are raised to a 

 considerable extent. Although wheat was for years the principal 

 crop, it was for a time largely replaced by other grains. Accord- 

 ing to the 1918 census, however, Cayuga stands fifth in the pro- 

 duction of winter wheat. It is grown generally in the county 

 with the exception of the southeastern part. The principal wheat 

 area is a large strip extending from the northern part of the 

 countv south on the west side of Owasco Lake to the southern 

 boundary. 



The 1918 census placed this county at the head in the produc- 

 tion of buckwheat and barley. These crops are produced prin- 

 cipally in the southern part in the towns of Scipio, Ledyard, 

 Venice, and Genoa. Niles also produces considerable barley. 



Corn is grown generally throughout the county. The areas 

 producing the largest amount lie in the northern and central parts, 

 including the towns of Conquest, Brutus, Mentz, Montezuma, and 

 Throop, and in the southern part, including Ledyard, Venice, and 

 Genoa. The oat crop is very important, an area of heavy pro- 



