ANNUAL EEPORT 
FOR THE YEAR 1868. 
His Excellency^ Lucius Fairchild, 
Governor of the State of Wisconsin : 
Sir rThe industry of Wisconsin, during the year past, has 
made more than wonted progress in nearly every department. 
Notwithstanding the increased attention given to stock- 
breeding, and the very remarkable growth of the hop business 
in many sections of the State, the area devoted to the staple 
cereal crops has also greatly increased. And although the 
season was in some respects especially unfavorable, the yield 
has been rather above than below the average of ordinary 
years. 
Corn, alone of the grain crops, appears to have suffered very 
materially from the drouth. 
The potatoe crop suffered from two causes—the potatoe 
bug, which proved a serious scourge in some localities, and 
the severe and protracted drouth of summer and early autumn. 
On the other hand, the season has been marked by the intro¬ 
duction of new varieties of this indispensable esculent that 
promise to be of great value. * 
The grass crop also suffered from the drouth and was con¬ 
sequently lighter than the averaga 
But, of all the crops grown, the hop has been the most un¬ 
fortunate. We gave the note of warning in our last report, 
in the hope that some farmers who were likely to engage in the 
business at too late a day to make it profitable, might be in¬ 
duced to turn their energies into some other channel, but we 
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