24 
and lighter gravelly soils occur in all portions covered by gray loams. 
The swamps, i. e., all poorly drained tracts stocked with Tamarack, 
Cedar, Spruce, or bare grass marshes and moss bogs and oceupying 
nearly 12 per cent of the area, have for the most part a clay bottom 
and furnish a good soil, especially suited to hay crops. For a fairly 
accurate account and map of the soils of this State see the ‘‘Settler’s 
Handbook of Northern Wisconsin,” by Prof. W. A. Henry, University 
of Wisconsin, Madison, 1895. 
Grouping the land from the farmer’s standpoint, it would appear that 
about 20 per cent of the area is good farm land, about 40 per cent 
medium, while nearly 40 per cent is either not fit at all or only doubt- 
fully suited to farming and should by all means be left to forest. In 
such a classification great divergence of opinion naturally prevails. 
Most estimates increase the good farm land proportion at the expense 
of the medium land, but we have preferred to adhere to the above con- 
servative classification. 
CLIMATE AND DRAINAGE. 
The climate is cold, the winters are long, spring is almost wanting, 
summers are short but warm, and the fall is long, cool, and delightful. 
To illustrate the climate it may be said that the Black Walnut and 
Hickories are wanting, while the timber Oaks, both White and Red 
Oaks, are replaced by Birch in all but the southern and southwestern 
part of this territory. Corn israised with difficulty except in the south 
and the drier western part, while fruit trees, even apples, do not prosper 
in the greater part of north Wisconsin. 
The precipitation over the State is about 32 inches per year, of which 
60 per cent falls in summer and autumn. 
The territory under consideration is well supplied with streams and 
has a far better drainage than is generally supposed. 
In this drainage the severai rivers share as follows: 
Per cent. 
Chippewa River (with Red Cedar at 6.2 per cent)-..----..-------.- <oe Os 
Wisconsin Rivers. {2s 2a Se ee a ae ee ee re ee 21.0 
StCroix: River 23. cs5 2538 Se See Sale eel i ee re a 13.7 
Wolf Rivet. 2c.23. 26624262 2 See es eee 7.4 
Black River: «.... 40 s.25.< i352 fst eys see yo eee ee ee eee 6.8 
Menominee River (Wisconsin’side) 2222 e ees eee e eee SSE goon 
Oconto River 22 ios ios Pe ee ee ee One eee 3.4 
Peshtigo. ‘River 2. 2325222. Se ee eee ae ee See ee 3.2 
Small rivers to Lake Superior... 22> 255-4 cose coo 2 eee 9.3 
Small] rivers directto Green Bay =-2 245-222 - eon ee 2 eee ee BS) 
Besides furnishing ample drainage, the basins of the Chippewa, Wis. 
consin, St. Croix, and Black rivers, which drain 70 per cent of the 
entire area, are covered with the most perfect network imaginable of 
small streams specially suited for purposes of driving timber. The 
rivers emptying into Green Bay also “drive” quite well, but have 
required more improvements, while those running into Lake Superior 
are largely unfit for driving. 
