260 aci iii b .l Manual 



DEVELOPMENT OF INDUSTRY 



The early agricultural products included grains and flax, sheep 

 and? cattle being kept on every farm. In the western part of the 

 county, where grain could be shipped down the Hudson, wheat 

 growing took the lead, and in 1835 over one-third of the grain 

 shipped from the state came from Dutchess County. The eastern 

 part of the county, lacking the advantages of river transportation, 

 developed along other agricultural lines. Grass being abundant, 

 livestock were largely raised and driven down the Harlem valley 

 to Xew York, seventy miles distant. According to the census of 

 1S40 the staple crops of the county were hay, oats, corn, rye, 

 wheat, buckwheat, barley, and potatoes. 



Following the building of railroads, which -admitted of quicker 

 transportation for western wheat and beef, there came a decrease 

 in the production of those commodities. In the eastern part of 

 the county sheep raising became prominent, and at -about 1870 

 the principal cash returns, besides that received from the produc- 

 tion of steers, w r as largely from sheep -and from the sale of butter. 

 Since that time the sheep business has decreased, partly due no 

 doubt to the decline in prices of wool, as well as to western com- 

 petition. At the present time dairying has become the principal 

 industry. Efficient methods of handling milk have been devel- 

 oped, thus making it possible to send milk to the New York 

 markets economically and insure its being received in good 

 condition. 



Fruit raising, particularly apples, is supplemental to dairying; 

 orchards are numerous, although many of them are small. Some 

 of the best fruit finds its way into the export trade. 



Violets: are successfully grown, especially in the vicinity of 

 Rhinebeck, and this locality has become widely known because of 

 the superiority of its product. 



The manufacture of implements and machinery used on the 

 farm are of importance in- the county. 



CLIMATE AND RAINFALL 

 Climatological records for Dutchess County are taken from the 

 station at Wappingers Falls, the elevation of which is 110' feet. 

 The present observer is Oscar R. Widmer. 



