Old Mackinaw; Or, The Fortress of the Lakes and its Surroundings

by W. P. Strickland

In former years the prices of grain in the United States were controlled by the European markets, and consequently the grain trade of the Western States was governed by the produce merchants in the Atlantic ports, but lately the whole order of things seems to have been reversed, as breadstuffs of every kind were dearer in the Western than in the Eastern markets. There were several reasons for this anomaly. On account of the ravages of insects, and other causes which we have alluded to, farmers were induced to place very little reliance on the wheat crop, and many were driven into other branches of husbandry, and in some places wheat became scarce. Add to this the rapid increase of the population which created a local demand for all kinds of food, and caused immense quantities of breadstuffs to be required in places where a few years before there was no market for anything. The rapid and extraordinary growth of Detroit and all the Western cities, and the formation of new settlements, created a home market for Western produce, for the population of cities being consumers of the fruits of the land, instead of producers, have always a wonderful effect on the markets of their localities, and the pioneers in the forest or prairie must for a time depend on the older settlements for subsistence.

From a defective system of agriculture the soil of the old States has been deteriorating for several years. In Massachusetts the hay crop declined twelve per cent. from 1840 to 1850, notwithstanding the addition of 90,000 acres of mowing lands and the grain crop depreciated 6000 bushels, although no less than 6000 acres had been added to the tillage lands of that State.

In 1840 the wheat crop of New York was about twelve and a quarter millions of bushels, and only nine millions in 1850, a decrease of 25 per cent., while the Indian corn in the same State increased during the same period from about ten to twenty millions of bushels. The harvest of 1859, found several parts of the country entirely destitute of flour, and the farmers with a fixed and firm determination never again to allow themselves to run out of the staff of life.

The number and capacity of the flouring mills have increased considerably since 1853, so that it is probable that there are at present more than three hundred of them at work in the State, and the number of hands employed by them cannot be much less than twelve hundred. It is probable that they are now capable of manufacturing 1,25,000 barrels of flour annually, and this quantity would require 5,625,000 bushels of wheat. Add to this the large quantity of seed required for sowing an increased breadth of land, and the portion of the crop kept for domestic use, and the result will be sufficient to explain the reason why so little wheat has been exported from Michigan this season. There are about 50,000 families in this State who depend on agriculture for subsistence; all of these had suffered more or less inconvenience from failure of the wheat crop, and the high price of flour for the last few years, and it is no wonder that they should endeavor to secure a full supply of wheat or flour of the produce of the late harvest, and a very large portion of the crop was disposed of in this way.

Since the Reciprocity Treaty came into operation, there has been considerable exportation of flour from Detroit to Canada on account of the repeated failures of the wheat crop in that country, and thus a new market for Michigan produce has been opened near home.

Some of these sources of demand are trifling when standing alone, but the aggregate makes a very large amount. It is considered that about half the produce of the wheat crop still remains in the hands of the farmers and may be expected to reach the market gradually.

Michigan wants woolen and cotton, and various other factories to provide employment for the over-crowded population of her cities and villages, and to open a market for all her produce. The farmers of Great Britain and Ireland could not pay the high rents and taxes which are imposed on them, were it not for their proximity to the great manufacturing cities of England. The cotton factories of Manchester, the woolen factories of Leeds and Huddersfield, the hardware works of Birmingham and Sheffield, and the potteries of Staffordshire, employ hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children, who consume the fruits of the soil, and create a steady demand for the farmer's stock and grain. All these manufactures were fostered by protective laws until they had attained a magnitude and importance which enabled them to protect themselves by the wealth of their proprietors and the excellence of their products. Large cities always afford a market for farm produce, and on this account exert a very beneficial influence on agriculture. The population of London is about two and a half millions, and they are possessed of so much wealth, and are so fastidious in their requirements, that almost every part of the world contributes to supply them with the necessaries or luxuries of life. The rapid growth of the cities of Michigan afford a home market for the fruits of the the soil. A great deal of land in the old settlements of this State has been exhausted by a too frequent repetition of the wheat crop, and is now being employed as pasture for sheep and cattle. After remaining in grass for a few years, this land will be in excellent condition for producing wheat, especially when fertilized with that plentiful supply of barn-yard dung which the raising of stock always produces.

There are some varieties of wheat which are much better suited to the climate and soil of Michigan than others, as they are in a great measure able to withstand the combined attacks of wheat insects and the various diseases to which the plant is liable. These are now fast supplanting the worn out grain, and as every malady has its cure or preventive, it is probable that the introduction of the best kind of seeds, the alternation between grass and tillage, and the supply of rich manure which the raising of stock creates will have a very great tendency to improve the wheat crop of this State.

It is remarkable fact although the wheat crop has rather declined in the majority of States, the corn crop has steadily increased in all of them. Thus in 1840, the entire corn crop of the United States amounted to 400,000,000 of bushels; in 1850 it was nearly 600,000,000, of bushels. The crop of 1855 was between 7 and 800,000,000 and that of 1858 was fully 800,000,000 of bushels. Taking into consideration the large breath of land planted in 1859 and the damage by frost, we might with safety set down the crop as amounting to 800,000,000 bushels.

Last year our importations from Indiana were large, but since the new crop came in, that State has been shipping largely toward the Ohio river, and we get comparatively little. The immense distilleries of Cincinnati consume a very large quantity of corn annually, and Indiana is beginning to find a good market in that quarter. The demand for Michigan corn is always active on account of its excellent milling qualities, and on this account it generally sells from wagons as high, or a shade higher than the outside figure for Western corn from store. The corn crop of Illinois has been much injured by the frosts of June and July, and on this account the receipts in Chicago up to this date have been much lighter than usual. The European potato crop has been greatly damaged by rot, and it is probable that a large export of corn will take place from this country in order to supply a deficiency occasioned by this failure. It is said that several New York capitalists have gone west and purchased corn and provisions, storing them up until next spring, anticipating at that time a considerable advance in price. The generality of farmers have sorted their corn carefully this year and used up the unripe and inferior part for feeding hogs and cattle: there is a large quantity of very good corn in the country, which will no doubt command a good price in the spring.