402 WISCONSIN STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
axe, which they all are in need of. It is not inappropriate, 
theij, that some space in your Report upon Agricultural Af¬ 
fairs shall be devoted to the lumber trade. 
The pineries of Wisconsin may be divided into four distinct 
sections. A large amount of lumber is manufactured in the 
Northwest part of' the State, which finds its way out through 
the Chippewa, the Black, the St. Croix, and other rivers flow¬ 
ing into the Mississippi. The “Wisconsin Pinery,” so called, 
lies along the Wisconsin river in the central part of the State. 
The lumber from that region also goes out mostly to the Missis¬ 
sippi market. The Wolf River Pinery lies in the valley of 
the Wolf and its tributaries. By the construction of new rail¬ 
roads, principally the Chicago and Northwestern, its lumber is 
now sent to the interior of the State upon the cars. The Green 
Bay Pinery includes all that region extending from Depere, 
seven miles up from the mouth of the Fox River, along both 
shores of the Bay northward to the upper waters of the Esca- 
nawba, which flows into Bay de Noquet, at the northern ex¬ 
tremity of Green Bay. I will speak only of this Pinery, be¬ 
cause it is the only one with which I am particularly familiar. 
Its lumbering points—that is, where mills are located—are 
at Depere and Green Bay city, on the Fox River; Big Suami- 
co, Pensaukee, Oconto, Peshtigo, Menomonee, Ford River 
and Cedar River, on the west shore; Bay de Noquet at the 
northern extremity of the Bay. Little Sturgeon Bay, Big 
Sturgeon Bay, on the east shore; and Chamber’s Island, in the 
Bay. The whole number of mills at these points is about 
forty; and they have a total sawing capacity of about 130,000,- 
000 feet per year. The depression in the lumber business for 
the past few years, however, has prevented a full business be¬ 
ing done, and their aggregate sawing, for several years past, 
has averaged about 80,000,000 feet per year. 
This is, as you see, an immense business. In prosperous 
times, when all the mills are running, from fifteen hundred to 
two thousand men are in active employment, sawing the lum¬ 
ber, rafting it, and floating it to the vessels. In the winter the 
