USA > Wisconsin > Jefferson County > The history of Jefferson county, Wisconsin, containing biographical sketches > Part 23
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154
HISTORY OF WISCONSIN.
favor it. In the rapid settlement of the northwestern states this change has come most rapidly with the replacement of the pioneer farmers by immigrants accustomed to better methods of culture. In such cases the pioneers usually "go west " again, to begin anew their frontier farming upon virgin soil, as their peculiar method of cultivation fails to give them a livelihood. In Wis- consin as rapid progress is being made in the system of agriculture as, all things considered, could reasonably be expected. This change for the better has been quite rapid for the past ten years, and is gaining in velocity and momentum each year. It is partly the result of increased intelligence relating to farming, and partly the result of necessity caused by the unprofitableness of the old method.
The estimated value of all agricultural products of the state, including that of orchards, market gardens, and betterments, was, in 1870, as given in the census of that year, $79,072,967, which places Wisconsin twelfth in rank among the agricultural states of the Union. In 1875, according to the " Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture," the value of the principal farm crops in this state was $58,957,050. According to this estimation the state ranks ninth in agri- cultural importance. As has been before stated, Wisconsin is essentially a grain-growing state. This interest has been the principal one, not because the soil is better adapted to grain-growing than to general, stock, or dairy farming, but rather because this course, which was at an early day most immediately profitable, has been since persistently followed from force of habit, even after it had failed to be remunerative.
The following table shows the bushels of the different grains raised in the state for the years indicated :
YEAR.
WHEAT.
RYE.
CORN.
OATS.
BARLEY.
BUCK- WHEAT.
IS50
IS60
4,286,131 15.657,458 25,606,344 25,200,000
SI,253 SSS,544 1,325,294 1,340,000
I,9SS.979 7,517,300 15,033,988 15,200,000
3,414,672 11,059,260 20, 180,016 26,600,000
209,672 707,307 1,645,019 2,200,000
79,878 38,987
ISTO
1875*
408,897 275,000
From these statistics it will be seen that the increase in the production of grain was very rapid up to 1870, while since that time it has been very slight. This rapid increase in grain raising is first attributable to the ease with which this branch of farming was carried on upon the new and very rich soils of the state, while in the older states this branch of husbandry has been growing more difficult and expensive, and also to the fact that the war in our own country so increased the demand for grain from 1861 to 1866 as to make this course the most immediately profitable. But with the close of the war came a diminished demand. Farmers were slow to recognize this fact, and change the character of their productions to accord with the wants of the market, but rather continued to produce the cereals in excess of the demand. The chinch bug and an occasional poor season seriously injured the crops, leaving those who relied princi- pally upon the production of grain little or nothing for their support. Hard times resulted from these poor crops. More wheat and corn was the farmer's usual remedy for hard times. So that more wheat and corn were planted. More crop failures with low prices brought harder times, until gradually the farmers of the state have opened their eyes to the truth that they can succeed in other branches of agriculture than grain growing, and to the necessity of catering to the
*Estimated in report of commissioner of agriculture.
155
AGRICULTURE.
demands of the market. The value in 1869 of all farm products and betterments of the state was $79,072,967. There were raised of wheat the same year 25,606,344 bushels, which at $1.03 per bushel, the mean price reported by the Milwaukee board of trade, for No. 2 wheat (the lead- ing grade), for the year ending July 31, 1870, amounts to $26,374,524, or one third the value of all agricultural products and betterments. The average production per acre, as estimated by the commissioner of agriculture, was 14 bushels. Hence there were 1,829,024 aeres of land devoted to this one erop, nearly one third of all the improved land in the state. Of the wheat erop of 1869 24,375,435 bushels were spring wheat, and 1,230,909 bushels were winter wheat, which is 19.8 bushels of spring to 1 bushel of winter wheat. The latter is scarcely sown at all on the prairies, or upon light opening soils. In some of the timbered regions hardy varieties do well, but it is not a certain erop, as it is not able to withstand the winters, unless covered by snow or litter. It is not injured as seriously by the hard freezing, as by the alternate freezing and thawing of Feb- ruary and March.
The continued eropping of land with grain is a certain means of exhausting the soil of the phosphates, and of those nitrogenous compounds that are essential to the production of grain, and yet are present even in the most fertile soils in but small quantities. To the diminished yield, partly attributable to the overcropping of the land, and partially to poor seasons and chinch bugs, and to the decline in prices soon after the war, owing to an over production of wheat, may largely be attributed the hard times experienced by the grain growing farmers of Wisconsin from 1872 to 1877. The continued raising of wheat upon the same land, alternated, if any alternation occurred, with barley, oats, or corn, has produced its sure results. The lesson has cost the farmers of the state dearly, but it has not been altogether lost. A better condition of affairs has. already begun. Wheat is gradually losing its prestige as the farmers' sole dependence, while stock, dairy, and mixed farming are rapidly increasing. The number of bushels of wheat raised to each inhabitant in the state was in 1850 fourteen, in 1860 twenty-three and eight tenths, in 1870 twenty-four, and in 1875 twenty and four tenths. These figures do not indicate a dimin- ished productiveness of the state, but show, with the greatly increased production in other branches of husbandry, that farmers are changing their system to one more diversified and rational. Straw staeks are no longer burned, and manure heaps are not looked upon as altogether useless. Much more attention is now paid to the use of fertilizers. Clover with plaster is looked upon with constantly increasing favor, and there is a greater seeking for light upon the more difficult problems of a profitable agriculture
Corn is raised to a large extent, although Wisconsin has never ranked as high in eorn, as in wheat growing. Sixteen states raised more corn in 1870 than this state, and in 1875, seventeen states raised more. Corn requires a rich, moist soil, with a long extended season of warm sun- shine. While this erop can be raised with great ease in the larger portion of the state, it will always succeed better farther south, both on account of the longer summers and the greater amount of rainfall. According to the statistics of the commissioner of agriculture, the average yield per aere for a period of ten years, is about 30 bushels. Corn is an important crop in the economy of the farmer, as from it he obtains much food for his stock, and it is his principal dependence for fattening pork. On these accounts it will, without doubt, retain its place in the husbandry of the state, even when stock and dairy farming are followed to a much greater extent than at present. Barley is cultivated largely throughout the state, but five states produced more in 1870, than Wisconsin. The great quantity of beer brewed here, furnishes a good home market for this grain. Barley succeeds best in a rather moist elimate, having a long growing season. The dry, short summers of Wisconsin, are not well adapted to its growth. Hence the average
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156
HISTORY OF WISCONSIN.
yield is but a medium one, and the quality of the grain is only fair. According to the returns furnished the commissioner of agriculture, the average yield for a period of ten years, is 22 bushels per acre.
Next to wheat, more bushels of oats are raised than of any other grain. Wisconsin was, in 1860, fifth in rank among the oat-growing states ; in 1870, sixth. The rich soils of the state raise an abundant crop of oats with but little labor, and hence their growth in large quantities is not necessarily an indication of good husbandry. They will bear poor cultivation better than corn, and are frequently grown upon land too weedy to produce that grain. It is a favorite grain for feeding, especially to horses. With the best farmers, oats are looked upon with less favor than corn, because it is apt to leave land well seeded with weeds which are difficult to exterminate. In the production of rye, Wisconsin ranked seventh in 1860, and fourth in 1870. It is a much surer crop in this state than winter wheat, as it is less easily winter-killed when not protected by snow, than is that grain. Besides, it ripens so early as not to be seriously injured by drouth in summer, and succeeds well even upon the poorer soils. The average yield per acre is about 16 bushels.
But few hops were grown in Wisconsin, up to 1860, when owing to an increased demand by the breweries of the state, there was a gradual but healthful increase in hop culture. A few years later the advent of the hop louse, and other causes of failure at the east, so raised the price of hops as to make them a very profitable crop to grow. Many acres were planted in this state from 1863 to 1865, when the total product was valued at nearly $350,000. The success of those engaged in this new branch of farming, encouraged others to adopt it. The profits were large. Wheat growing had not for several years been remunerative, and in 1867 and 1868, the " hop fever " became an epidemic, almost a plague. The crop of Sauk county alone was estimated at over 4,000,000 pounds, worth over $2,000,000. The quality of the crop was excellent, the yield large, and the price unusually high. The secretary of the State Agricultural society says, in his report for that year. " Cases are numerous in which the first crop has paid for the land and all the improvements." To many farmers hop raising appeared to offer a sure and speedy course to wealth. But a change came quickly. The hop louse ruined the crop, and low prices caused by over production, aided in bringing ruin to many farmers. In 1867, the price of hops was from 40 to 55 cents per pound, while in 1869 it was from to to 15 cents, some of poor quality selling as low. as 3 cents. Many hop yards were plowed up during 1869 and 1870. The area under cultivation to this crop in 1875, was, according to the " Report of the Secretary of State," 10,932 acres.
The production of tobacco has greatly increased since 1860, when there were raised in the state 87,340 pounds. In 1870, the product was 960,813 pounds. As is well known, the quality of tobacco grown in the northern states is greatly inferior for chewing and smoking, to that grown in the south, although varieties having a large, tough leaf, suitable for cigar wrappers, do well here. The variety principally grown is the Connecticut seed leaf. Tobacco can only be grown successfully on rich, fertile soils, and it is very exhausting to the land. Of the amount produced in 1870, there were raised in Rock county 645,408 pounds, and in Dane county, 229,568 pounds ; the entire remaining portion of the state raised but 85.737 pounds. According to the report of the secretary of state, the whole number of acres planted to tobacco in 1875, was 3,296. Of this amount Rock county planted 1,676 acres, and Dane county, 1,454 acres, leaving for the remain- der of the state but 166 acres. While the crop has been fairly productive and profitable, these statistics show that up to the present time tobacco-raising has been a merely local interest.
The production of flax is another merely local industry, it being confined principally to the
157
AGRICULTURE.
counties of Kenosha, Grant, Iowa and LaFayette. Of flax fibre, Kenosha county raised in 1869, nearly four fifths of the entire amount grown in the state, the total being 497,398 pounds. With the high price of labor and the low price of cotton now ruling, it is scarcely possible to make the raising of flax fibre profitable. Flax seed is raised to a small extent in the other counties men- tioned. The present price of oil makes this a fairly profitable crop. If farmers fully appreciated that in addition to the oil, the oil cake is of great value as a food for cattle and sheep, and also that the manure made by the animals eating it, is of three times the value of that made by ani- mals fed upon corn, doubtless much more flax seed would be raised than is at present. Ameri- can oil-cake finds a ready market in England, at prices which pay well for its exportation. English farmers can afford to carry food for their stock so far, American farmers may well strive to ascertain if they can afford to allow the exportation of so valuable food. When greater atten- tion is paid in our own country to the quality of the manure made by our stock, more oil-cake will be fed at home, and a much smaller proportion of that made here will be exported.
The amount of maple sugar produced diminishes as the settlement of the state increases, and is now scarcely sufficient in amount to be an item in the state's productions. The increase in the price of sugar from 1861 to 1868 caused many farmers to try sorghum raising. But the present low prices of this staple has caused an abandonment of the enterprise. Two attempts have been made in Wisconsin to manufacture beet-root sugar, the first at Fond du Lac in 1867 the second at Black Hawk, Sauk county, in 1870. The Fond du Lac company removed their works to California in 1869, not having been successful in their efforts. The Black Hawk com- pany made, in 1871, more than 134,000 pounds of sugar, but have since abandoned the business. Both these failures may be attributed to several causes, first of which was the want of sufficient capital to build and carry on a factory sufficiently large to enable the work to be done economi- cally ; secondly, the difficulty of sufficiently interesting farmers in the business to induce them to raise beets on so large a scale as to warrant the building of such a factory; and, thirdly, the high price of labor and the low price of sugar. The quality of beets raised was good, the polarization test showing in many instances as high as sixteen per cent. of sugar. The larger proportion of hay made in the state is from the natural meadows, the low lands or marshes, where wild grasses grow in abundance, and hay only costs the cutting and curing. Cultivated grasses do well throughout the state, and " tame hay " can be made as easily here as elsewhere The limestone soils, where timber originally grew, are of the uplands, most natural to grass, and, consequently, furnish the richest meadows, and yield the best pasturage. Ye e only soils where grasses do not readily grow, are those which are so sandy and dry as to be nearly barrens. Clover grows throughout the state in the greatest luxuriance. There is occasionally a season so dry as to make " seeding down " a failure, and upon light soils clover, when not covered with snow, is apt to win- ter-kill. Yet it is gaining in favor with farmers, both on account of the valuable pasturage and hay it affords, and on account of its value as a soil renovator. In wheat-growing regions, clover is now recognized to be of the greatest value in a " rotation," on account of its ameliorating influence upon the soil. Throughout the stock and dairy regions, clover is depended upon to a large extent for pasturage, and to a less extent for hay.
There has been a growing interest in stock raising for the past ten years, although the increase has not been a rapid one. Many of the herds of pure-blood cattle in the state rank high for their great excellence. The improvement of horses has been less rapid than that of cattle, sheep, and swine; yet this important branch of stock farming is improving each year. The most attention is given to the improvement of draught and farm horses, while roadsters and fast horses are not altogether neglected. There are now owned in the state a large number of horses of the heavier English and French breeds, which are imparting to their progeny their own characteristics
158
HISTORY OF WISCONSIN.
of excellence, the effects of which are already visible in many of the older regions of the state. Of the different breeds of cattle, the Short-horns, the Ayrshires, the Devons, and the Jerseys are well represented. The Short-horns have met with most favor with the general farmer, the grades of this breed being large, and possessing in a high degree the quiet habits and readiness to fat- ten, so characteristic of the full-bloods. Without doubt, the grade Short-horns will continue in the high favor in which they are now held, as stock-raising becomes a more important branch of the husbandry of the state. Of pure blood Short-horns there are many herds, some of which are of the very highest excellence. At the public sales of herds from this state, the prices have ranked high universally, and in a few cases have reached the highest of "fancy " prices, showing the estimate placed by professional breeders upon the herds of Wisconsin. The Ayr- shires are increasing in numbers, and are held in high esteem by many dairymen. They are not yet, however, as generally disseminated over the state, as their great merit as a milking breed would warrant. The rapid growth of the dairy interest will doubtless increase their numbers greatly, at least as grades, in the dairying region. Of pure bred Devons and Jerseys, there are fewer than of the former breeds. The latter are principally kept in towns and cities to furnish milk for a single family. The following table shows the relative importance of stock raising in the state for the years mentioned. The figures are an additional proof to those already given, that the grain industry has held sway in Wisconsin to the detriment of other branches of farming, as well as to the state's greatest increase in wealth.
YEAR.
WHOLE NUM- BER OF NEAT CATTLE.
NO. TO EACH 100 ACRES OF WHOLE NUM- IMPROVED BER OF SHEEP. LAND.
NUMBER TO EACH 100 OF ACRES IMPROVED LAND.
POUNDS OF WOOL PRO- DUCED.
POUNDS OF WOOL PER HEAD.
1850
183,433
17
124, 896
12
2.03
1860
521,860
332,954
9
253,963 1.011,933
3.04
1870
693,294
12
1,069,282
IS
3.82
IS75*
922.900
II
1,162,800
4,090,670 (?)
(?)
* Estimated in report of commissioner of agriculture.
The growth and present condition of sheep husbandry, compare much more favorably with the general development of the state than does that of cattle raising. In a large degree this may be accounted for by the impetus given to wool raising during our civil war by the scarcity of cotton, and the necessary substitution to a great extent, of woolen for cotton goods. This great demand for wool for manufacturing purposes produced a rapid rise in the price of this staple, making its production a very profitable branch of farming. With the close of the war came a lessened demand, and consequently lower prices. Yet at no time has the price of wool fallen below that at which it could be profitably produced. This is the more notably true when the value of sheep in keeping up the fertility and productiveness of land, is taken into account. The foregoing table shows the improvement in this branch of husbandry since 1850
Although many more sheep might profitably be kept in the state, the above figures show that the wool interest is fairly developed, and the average weight of fleece is an assurance of more than ordinarily good stock. The fine-wooled sheep and their grades predominate, although there are in the state some excellent stock of long-wools-mostly Cotswold-and of South- downs.
Of all the agricultural interests of the state, no other has made as rapid growth during the last ten years, as has that of dairying. With the failure of hop-growing, began the growth of the factory system of butter and cheese making, and the downfall of the one was scarcely more rapid than has been the upbuilding of the other. The following statistics of the production of butter and cheese illustrate this rapid progress. It will be remembered that for the years 1850,
1
159
AGRICULTURE.
1860, and 18;o the statistics are from the U. S. census, and hence include all the butter and cheese made in the state, while for the remaining years, only that made by factories and pro- fessional dairymen as reported to the secretary of the State Dairymen's Association, is included. It has been found impossible to obtain the statistics of butter, except for the census years.
YEAR.
BUTTER.
CHEESE.
Ibs.
lbs.
IS50
3,633,750
400,283
IS60
13,611,328
1,104.300
ISTO
22,473 036
1,591,798
IS74
13,000,000
IS75
15,000,000
IS76
17,000,000
The quality of Wisconsin dairy products is excellent, as may be judged by the fact that, at the Centennial Exhibition, Wisconsin cheese received twenty awards, a larger number than was given to any other state except New York, and for butter Wisconsin received five awards. No state received more, and only New York and Illinois received as many. Wisconsin received one award for each fourteen cheeses on exhibition No other state received so large a proportion. New York received the largest number of awards, viz., twenty-one, but only secured one award for each thirty cheeses on exhibition. The number of cheese and butter factories is increasing each year, and there is being made in the better grazing regions of the state, as rapid a transition from grain to dairy-farming as is consistent with a healthful growth. This interest, which is now an important one in the state's industrial economy, has before it a promising future, both in its own development, and in its indirect influence upon the improvement of the agriculture of the state.
The history of the earlier attempts in fruit raising in Wisconsin would be little more than a record of failures. The pioneers planted apple, peach, plum, and cherry trees, but they gathered little or no fruit. As was natural, they planted those varieties that were known to do well in the older states of the same latitude. Little was known of the climate, and there was no apparent reason why those varieties should not do well here. The first orchards died The same varie- ties were replanted, and again the orchards died. Gradually, through the costly school of experience, it was learned that the climate was different from that of the eastern states, and that to succeed here varieties of fruit must be such as were adapted to the peculiar climate of this state. These peculiarities are hot, and for the most part, dry summers, cold and dry winters. The dryness of the climate has been the greatest obstacle to success, as this is indirectly the cause of the great extremes of temperature experienced here. The summers are often so dry that the growth of the trees is not completed, and the wood sufficiently well ripened to enable it to with- stand the rigors of winter. And the clear, dry atmosphere of winter allows the sun's rays to pass through it so unobstructedly as to warm the body of the tree upon the sunny side, above the freezing point, even though the temperature of the air is much lower. The alternate thawing and freezing ruptures the tender cells connecting the bark and wood, producing a complete sepa- ration of these parts, and often besides bursts the bark. The separation of bark and wood destroys the circulation of the sap upon that side of the tree, thus enfeebling the entire plant. The tree is not able to form new bark over the ruptured part, and a diseased spot results. Such a plant makes but a feeble growth of poorly ripened wood, and soon dies
160
HISTORY OF WISCONSIN.
altogether. Besides the above cause, the extreme cold weather occasionally experienced will kill healthy trees of all varieties not extremely hardy. Notwithstanding these natural obstacles, a good degree of success has been attained in the raising of apples and grapes. This success has been the result of persevering effort upon the part of the horticulturists of the state, who have sought the causes of failure in order that they might be removed or avoided. It is thus by intel- ligent observation that the fruit growers have gained the experience which brings with it a. creditable success. The first requisite to success is the planting of varieties sufficiently hardy to withstand our severe winters. This has been accomplished by selecting the hardiest of the old varieties, and by raising seedlings, having besides hardiness, qualities sufficiently valuable to. make them worthy of cultivation. The second requisite to success is in the selection of a situa- tion having suitable soil and exposure, and thirdly, proper care after planting. Among the hardy varieties of apples regarded with greatest favor are Tetofski, Red Astrachan, and Duchess of Oldenberg, all Russian varieties, and Fameuse from Canada. Besides these there are a few American varieties so hardy as to prove reliable in the south half of the state. Among these are a few seedlings that have originated in Wisconsin. Apple trees are less apt to be injured by the winter upon a site sloping to the northeast or north, where they are less directly exposed to
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