This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1902 Excerpt: ...I could see from the train when passing across the State, Michigan is mostly flat and low-lying, the soil is chiefly alluvial, and a good deal of it appeared to be very rich and much resembling our fens. In fact, it is said that nearly one-seventh of the State consists of swamp or " muck-land." Michigan is more or less ...
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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1902 Excerpt: ...I could see from the train when passing across the State, Michigan is mostly flat and low-lying, the soil is chiefly alluvial, and a good deal of it appeared to be very rich and much resembling our fens. In fact, it is said that nearly one-seventh of the State consists of swamp or " muck-land." Michigan is more or less surrounded by lakes, so the climate is somewhat modified in consequence. A good deal of the country is still uncleared, but that which was under cultivation was growing good crops. Truck-farming is very extensively carried on in some districts; the neighbourhood of Kalamazoo, which was originally swamp, and not at all unlike portions of Holland, is occupied by a colony of Dutch market gardeners, who drained the country and converted it into a most fertile region, which is now famous for the immense quantities of celery which it produces. Sugar beet growing has rapidly extended of recent years, and at the present time nearly 100,000 acres of land are devoted to this crop. CHAPTER X. Chicago.--The Centre of the Live Stock Trade of America. Stock Yards and Canning Houses. Chicago is one of the most wonderful cities in the world; in 1830, a small village of 100 inhabitants; at the present time the second largest city in America, with a population approaching 2,000,000. It is the great railway centre of America, and the volume of its trade is enormous. It is situated in the midst of what is perhaps the largest and richest agricultural district in the world; to the agriculturists it is interesting on this account, and because of its enormous trade in grain, live stock and packed meat, which follow naturally from its situation, and for its manufactories of agricultural implements and machinery. The Union Stock-Yards, and the huge packing-h...
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