18 
STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
taken, at an early day, to insure a more thorough collection of 
statistics calculated to illustrate the condition and progress of 
our industry in all its departments. This is a matter that can¬ 
not longer be neglected without serious detriment to the public 
interests. 
NATURAL RESOURCES OF WISCONSIN. 
A proper discussion of the natural resources of a State 
involves a consideration of its geographical position and climate, 
the character of its geological formations, mineral deposits and 
soils, and of its natural products generally, whether mineral, 
vegetable or animal. It will be apparent that a subject so vast 
in extent, and so comprehensive, can only be treated in a very 
concise and general way within the limits of this Report. 
GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINE. 
Geographically considered, Wisconsin is one of the most 
highly favored of the States. Her northern and eastern bor¬ 
ders are washed by great lakes, which connect directly with the 
Atlantic seaboard, and offer to her the commerce of the East 
and of the Old World; the greatest of rivers forms her west¬ 
ern boundary, and opens to her the inter-state trade of the 
South, the trade of the Indies, and of all foreign countries more 
naturally accessible through the Gulf; while numerous naviga¬ 
ble streams water her fertile lands, and connect the more cen¬ 
tral portions of the State with those great natural highways of 
transportation and travel. The entire area of the State is fifty- 
four thousand square miles, exclusive of Lakes Superior and 
Michigan. 
The surface is marked by no elevations which can, with pro¬ 
priety, be called mountainous, though the elevation of a large 
central area is considerably over a thousand feet above the 
level of the sea. Lake Michigan is 578, Lake Superior 627 
feet above the ocean level; while the Mississippi at Prairie du 
Chien and at the mouth of the St. Croix, is 25 and 50 feet 
higher than these lakes, respectively. The greatest elevation 
consists of what is known as the Penokie Iron Range—a de- 
