36 
WISCONSIN STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
debt of gratitude which it is hardly probable that they will 
ever realize. 
"Whatever the causes, it is a most gratifying fact that Wis¬ 
consin is rapidly taking rank among the first fruit-growing 
States. 
The following statistical statement, derived from the census 
returns of 1850, 1860 and 1870, will show the ratio of pro¬ 
gress made in this direction: 
Value of orchard products in 1850. $4, 828 
. Value of orchard products in I860. 78,090 
Value of orchard products in 1865, (state census). 38G, 363 
Value of orchard products in 1870. 819,268 
The horticultural interest is one that appeals directly to 
every citizen, and which, owfing to the peculiar difficulties 
that attend its advancement should be liberally fostered by the 
state. 
DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 
The rearing of domestic animals, whether for the shambles, 
for the products they annually yield, or for farm work, is one 
of the most agreeable, as it is also one of the most profitable 
departments of husbandry. 
To the western farmer it is profitable in three important 
ways: 
First, if the farm upon which such animals are to be raised 
should be contiguous to any of those extensive areas of lands 
unoccupied by settlers, and yet abounding in rich pasturage 
for the farmer’s flocks and herds, which in all the newer 
regions are interspersed among the improved farms, the stock- 
grower will be able to realize large returns with but little 
expenditure of money. 
Secondly, if this should not be the case, and the farmer 
should have to rely exclusively upon the products of his own 
farm, still he will be the gainer by condensing such bulky 
materials as hay, corn-fodder, corn, ruta bagas and carrots, at 
a long distance from the best markets, into the more compact 
and portable forms of beef, pork, butter, cheese and wool. 
