436 
WISCONSIN STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
Manitowoc, on the moutli of Manitowoc river, is the only city in the 
county. It contains 5,168 inhabitants, 4 public and a number of private 
and parochial schools, 11 churches, 4 newspapers (2 English and 2 Ger¬ 
man), 6 tanneries, 3 flouring mills, and a great number of other manufac¬ 
turing establishments. Two Rivers is an incorporated village, with 1,365 
inhabitants, one public school of high standing, several churches and large 
manufacturing establishments. 
The county contains 33,369 inhabitants, according to the census of 1870, 
being an increase of 10,953 since the census of 1860. The value of the 
agricultural products is estimated at $1,450,271; that of manufactured pro¬ 
ducts at $1,561,579, a total of $3,011,850. 
MARATHON COUNTY. 
BY B. RINGLE, WAUSAU. 
Marathon is the largest county in the state. It is one hundred and twenty 
miles in length, and 54 in width, and contains about 4,000,000 acres of land. 
The Wisconsin river runs through the centre of the county from north to 
south, and with its numerous tributaries affords abundant and reliable wa¬ 
ter power. 
The first white settlers of the county were lumbermen, who came here 
about the year 1840. Farmers first began to settle in this county about the 
year 1856, and since then there has been a steady increase of our farming 
population. The county now contains about 7,000 inhabitants, two-thirds 
of whom are German. 
The chief occupation of our people is agriculture and lumbering. The 
timber along the streams is principally pine and hemlock, and on the high 
lands or ridges, sugar maple, oak, elm, basswood, ironwood, butternut, ash 
and bircli.. The soil of the county is very rich, and well adapted for agri¬ 
cultural purposes. It is generally heavy loam, resting on clay, and covered 
with vegetable mould. Grain of every variety is grown here, especially 
wheat, rye, oats and barley, with success, while potatoes and all root crops 
are cultivated in large quantities. All kinds of garden vegetables that can 
be raised in the state grow luxuriantly here. The average crop of wheat is 
from twenty to thirty bushels per acre, though as high as fifty bushels 
have been raised. Oats yield as high as seventy bushels per acre, and of 
the best quality, often weighing as high as forty-six pounds to the bushel. 
Potatoes yield from 400 to 600 bushels per acre. 
An agricultural society was organized in this county three years ago, and 
has held annual fairs with great success. The exhibition of products, stock 
and manufactured articles were very creditable, both in quantity and quality . 
Although agriculture in this county is too new to be in the highest state o f 
