m 
WISCONSIN STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
The wheat grown both upon the gravelly soil of the kettles and upon the 
,clay land of the eastern towns is of fine quality, and generally yields well, 
having been heretofore the farmers chief dependence. The crop in the 
year 1869 amounted to 570,000 bushels. The amount of oats, corn, rye and 
barley together, would double this sum. Green peas are grown considera¬ 
bly here, of which near 40,000 bushels were exported during the past year, 
chiefly to St. Louis and Philadelphia, where after a certain preparation they 
. are canned and sold for green (unripe) peas. The peculiar cultivation of 
this variety consists in cutting at the right time, and curing so as to pre¬ 
serve the green color, which, if lost by exposure to the sun, cannot be re¬ 
stored. If of good quality, they will often bring nearly double the price of 
ordinary field peas. 
The dairy and stock raising business is beginning to take the lead in 
•some localities, and will eventually be the chief business of most farmers. 
"The native grasses, June grass and white clover, flourish without seeding, 
-often covering the ground with a thick coat which, by a system of top¬ 
-dressing, will make superior pasture for a generation without being dis¬ 
turbed by the plow. The chief dependence for hay is timothy and red top 
-. on the low land, and timothy and red clover on the higher ground, the latter 
voften freezes out, and the native grasses are inclined to occupy the place. 
The stock of cattle is mostly the native, frequently graded with Durham, 
.Devon or Ayrshire, while a few of pure blood may be found. The products 
•sof the dairy are 700,000 pounds of butter, finding a market at home, at Chi- 
fcago and New York; 815,009 pounds of cheese. The cheese was made 
. from about 900 cows, at an average of 350 pounds to the cow, an average 
.thought to be sufficiently low, as the milk from the best native cows will 
make from 400 to 600 pounds of cheese in 200 days. The fifteen or sixteen 
cheese factories are owned by men of enterprise and intelligence. They 
are yearly extending their business, and their facilities for manufacturing a 
, superior article, which they intend shall compete with the finest products 
of the country. Already some of the best cheese arriving at Chicago is 
from this county. 
The history of fruit-growing is one of discouragement and loss to the 
, first settlers; although the small fruits grew readily, apples, pears and 
plums were often a failure. This was owing in part to the rigor of the cli¬ 
mate ; to the raw, uncultivated condition of the soil; to the bark lice, that 
threatened at one time to destroy the apple trees; to want of knowledge in 
cultivating; but especially to want of varieties adapted to the climate. 
These several difficulties have been mainly overcome, and the fruit interest 
is. becoming one of the most attractive features of farm life. Our nursery¬ 
men, after repeated experiments and failures have at length been able to 
select about thirty varieties of apples adapted to the climate. Although 
many farmers have neglected the planting of fruit trees, yet the entire 
amount of apples .raised the last year would exceed 30,000 bushels. 
