growth of all the hardy fruits, and all sorts of market garden products, should take a prominent place. With a rich soil, thrifty people, and a grand market which extends to the northern peninsula, there is no doubt but this is destined to be a wonderful country. KENT. It has been said by people accustomed to judge of such matters that Grand Rapids, the capital of Kent county, is better supplied with a variety of fresh vegetables and fruits than any city east or west. The display of horticultural products all along through the season is certainly a credit to the skill of the people engaged in horticulture in that region. Large peach orchards within twelve miles of the city are in full bearing this year (1881), even although the entire crop of the country is very meager. The State Horticultural Society had its beginning here, and its successful record is largely due to the people of this locality, who have contributed freely of their time and means to its upbuilding. IONIA AND MONTCALM. Lying east of Kent are the counties of Ionia and Montcalm. In the former are scattered some of the most enthusiastic fruit-growers in this State. Situated too far from the lake to be immediately influenced by it, still upon the hights of ground even peach culture is successfully prosecuted. It is true of the latter county that its northern limit is about the boundary of the successful culture of the less hardy varieties in the interior of the State; but a large population settling to the north furnishes an admirable market near at hand for all the surplus fruit of Montcalm. OCEANA, MASON, MANISTEE, BENZIE. These four counties lie along the Michigan shore next north of Muskegon. Each has its lake harbor, and, although less developed than any of the counties before named, still the growing of fruit has become a leading industry in many locations. The finest plums in the world are grown here. Intelligent growers are awakening to the possibilities of this region, and great fruit farms are being planted. A glance at the map will suffice to show that portions of Oceana and Mason counties extend well out into the lake, giving a water protection even when the wind is directly north or south. In Manistee and Benzie the fact is especially to be noted that the soil is calcareous in its nature, and the country abounds in pure springs from which the celebrated grayling are taken in abundance. Pure water, clear air, and rich soil, with a delightful climate, make this a famous region. The Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad taps Lake Michigan at Ludington, in Mason county; the Chicago & West Michigan line reaches to Pentwater, in Oceana, and will soon be extended farther north. GRAND TRAVERSE. The "Grand Traverse region" includes more than a county; by the term we mean the country about the large bay of that name. The waters of the great lake, the depth of the bay, and the large area of inland water tributary to the bay, render the climate of this country peculiarly mild. Favorable locations are absolutely protected from extremes of temperature. The bay is from six hundred to one thousand two hundred feet in depth, and acts as an immense refrigerator in spring, keeping back vegetation and fruit buds until all danger of frosts is over; and, after becoming warmed up through the summer, acts as a huge warming-pan in preventing early fall frosts. The surface about northern Lake Michigan, Grand Traverse Bay, and the deep inland lakes, descends rapidly toward the water, affording ready and rapid atmospheric drainage. The soil is composed of glacial drift, abounding in all the elements of plant growth, and has perfect natural underdrainage. A layer of clay is usually within reach of tree roots, giving a good "bottom" for pear culture. By water this country has cheap freights to all lake ports and to Europe. The large fruits Grand Traverse the plums, which Apples, pears, plums, and cherries are the fruits for this region. are noted for their exceptionally fine flavor and keeping qualities. pears and cherries are famous in the great markets of the West, and are superb, rarely can reach the large markets for they have become so popular on the route. The climate of this region is very healthful, and malarial diseases are scarcely known except as they are imported. The landscapes are of unsurpassed beauty, and although now through the direct communication of the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad it is a very popular summer resort, it is destined to become much more than this-a region of lovely, permanent homes. THE EASTERN SHORE. The eastern shore northward from Bay county to Cheboygan is a country in which all the superior varieties of apples, pears, plums and cherries succeed. The fact that so large a territory toward the interior receives its supplies from these shore counties gives a valuable market near at hand for all the products of the farm, the garden, and the orchard. Thrifty, cultured people are settling in this region, and are developing its natural resources very rapidly. FRUIT TRAINS. [The Chicago and West Michigan railroad runs a fruit train between Holland, in Ottawa county, and Chicago, during the season of shipments, affording conveniences for fruit-growers at every point from which consignments are forwarded. Between the 1st of June and the 31st of December, 1880, there were shipped from 25 stations situated in the counties of Ottawa, Allegan, Van Buren, and Berrien, 124,502 half bushel packages of berries, 401,483 half bushel packages of grapes and peaches, and 57,405 barrels of apples.] HORTICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS. The State Horticultural Society was organized in 1870, and is in a flourishing condition. Ten volumes of the transactions of this society have been published by the State, and it is largely due to the work of this society, and the liberality of the State in support of this work, that horticultural pursuits have been given such an impetus in Michigan. The State society is composed largely of auxiliary associations, which have sprung up in various places and do special locality work. MICHIGAN FOR HOMES. Any country that is especially adapted to horticultural pursuits is a good region in which to build a home; for the advantages which together render a region fit for successful fruit-growing are those which one asks for when he seeks a place in which to settle for life. The products of horticulture are the most delightful accompaniment of a home, and in the development of some branch of horticulture, no matter what the principal occupation may be, one gets a wholesome satisfaction that softens the years and renders life more enjoyable. Michigan presents to the home-seeker a great many advantages that appeal at once to the practical good sense of those who are seeking a place in which to build up a home. A recapitulation of these advantages may be given very briefly as follows: Michigan is practically free from debt; her public institutions are her pride, and her educational system is commended by the best educators in the country. The agricultural advantages for mixed husbandry are of the very best; the climate is not equaled by any northern State; the air is clear, the water pure, and the variations in temperature comparatively slight. The landscapes are beautiful, and a wide range of fruits, plants, flowers, and trees that form the accompaniments of a well-embellished home, can be grown successfully. Delightful resorts are near at hand everywhere; and a refined and intelligent people make up her present population. Michigan has a motto upon her coat of arms-Si quæris peninsulam amœnam circumspice: If you wish to see a beautiful peninsula, look about you. That is no flaming advertisement of exaggerated proportions, but is a simple introduction to those who enter our borders, the apparently complimentary language of which is found by every visitor to be a truthful statement. The old, derisive songs that told of ague, marshes, rattlesnakes, and wolverines as the natural products of Michigan are not sung any more; and none visit the peninsular State who do not go away with pleasant accounts of her climate, soil, productions, and people. ACREAGE OF ORCHARDS AND SALES OF FRUIT IN 1882. The following statistics show the acreage of orchards in 1882 and the sales of fruits in 1881. They show that the growers in sixty-two counties had apples to sell in addition to those used in home consumption. The entire sales of the State in that year are given as 2,885,976 bushels, and the acreage of the apple orchards as 232,605.* The apples of this State rank among the best fruit productions of the country for flavor and texture; some of them are unsurpassed in any market in the world. Peaches were sold in forty-three counties to the extent of 106,850 bushels, leaving large supplies for family use.t The peach orchards of the State were reported as covering 13,679 acres. Sales of grapes for market purposes were returned at 3,043,694 pounds, and the growth of these was distributed through fifty-five counties. In other fruits, of which the largest consumption is usually in their domestic use, viz.: cherries, plums, currants, and berries, the sales were reported at 147,853 bushels, the product, but much below the total product, of sixty-seven counties. The special report (No. 36) of the Department of Agriculture in 1881, which gave the statistics of grape culture and wine production in the United States, showed the Michigan product of 1880 in these figures: Area of vineyards, acres. 2,266 62,831 $75,617 The December meeting of the State Horticultural Society was held in 1882 at Flint, in Genesee county. Papers were read by President Lyon and others, which contained interesting statistics and other information relative to the fruit production of the State, and fully confirmed the opinion, so universally prevalent, that Michigan is the first fruit State in the Union. At the December meeting of the State Horticultural Society which was held in 1881 at South Haven, in Van Buren county, a paper was read by C. J. Monroe of that town which showed that the fruit shipments from that port during the season of 1881 amounted to over 235,000 packages of peaches, 18,000 barrels of apples, 33,000 baskets of grapes, and 8,000 cases of berries. Taking the fruit checks paid by the bank of which he is cashier as a basis, Mr. Monroe estimated that the amount received for these shipments was not less than $180,000. The acreage devoted to peaches and small fruits in that vicinity is about 1,200, and, as $150,000 was realized from these sources, it appears that the average yield of each acre was in excess of $125 in value. *The sales for 1880 reached 4,834,936 bushels. The sale of peaches for 1880 was 413,418 bushels. TOPOGRAPHY OF THE STATE. The For purposes of description the Lower Peninsula of Michigan may be divided by east and west parallel lines into three grand divisions, to be known as the Southern, Middle, and Northern. These divisions are purely arbitrary and for convenience, and are not suggested by the conformation of the country or by any natural lines. Southern division, embracing four tiers of counties, comprises the oldest and most developed section of the State, and its rural portions are devoted entirely to agriculture. The Middle division embraces the next three tiers of counties, and comprises what is generally known as the principal pine lumber region of the State. Where the native forests have been cleared away the country is rapidly developing agricultural resources, while lumbering enterprises are advancing northward. The Northern division is the newest and least settled portion of the peninsula, being, in great part, unimproved. The Upper Peninsula may, in like manner, be separated into three divisions by a line drawn due southward from Marquette bay to Green bay, and by a line drawn from the head of L'Anse bay to the head of Montreal river where it becomes the western boundary of the State. The Eastern division is principally agricultural and is mostly in a state of nature. The Middle division is conspicuous for its resources of iron which yield already enormous products. The western division includes what is known as the Mineral Range, and is famous for its copper mines, besides possessing valuable agricultural lands. SOUTHERN DIVISION OF THE LOWER PENINSULA. Entering upon a more detailed description it may be said that the Southern division embraces the counties of Monroe, Lenawee, Hillsdale, Branch, St. Joseph, Cass, Berrien, Van Buren, Kalamazoo, Calhoun, Jackson, Washtenaw, Wayne, Macomb, Oakland, Livingston, Ingham, Eaton, Barry, Allegan, Ottawa, Kent, Ionia, Clinton, Shiawassee, Genesee, Lapeer, and St. Clair. There are no mountains or considerable elevations in this region. The face of the country is nevertheless broken and gracefully undulating. It will be observed by consulting a map that this division is mainly drained into Lake Michigan. The watershed is considerably to the eastward of a line equally dividing this region. The Grand, the Kalamazoo, and the St. Joseph, which are among the largest rivers in the State, all have their sources eastward of a central dividing line and all flow westward into Lake Michigan. The streams which flow eastward are the Raisin, Huron, Rouge, Clinton, and Black. These are small rivers and drain a comparatively limited extent of country./ The divide is a tolerably well-defined line extending almost parallel with the easterly line of this section of the State and embracing the county of Hillsdale, western Lenawee, eastern Jackson and Livingston, western Oakland and eastern Genesee. Its elevation above Lake Michigan is 400 to 600 feet. There are hills in western Lenawee and eastern Hillsdale 550 to 600 feet above Lake Michigan. The summit of the divide is somewhat irregular in its course and is a broad, rolling plateau, originally oak openings. Eastward the land falls rapidly away to the flat, level country which borders on the lakes and their connecting straits. This embraces the counties of Monroe, Wayne, Macomb, and St. Clair. There are indications that the shore of the waters was at one period some 20 miles inland from its present location, and that the counties named were the bed of the lake when the remaining portion of this region was dry land. The soil is rich alluvium and the original timber was very heavy oak, elm, beech, etc. Westward of the divide the land falls away more gradually to within 20 or 30 miles of the lake. The elevation of all this central region is 200 to 400 feet above Lake Michigan. The country is diversified with hill and dale, with rich grass valleys along the streams and, for the most part, was densely covered with hard-wood forests. The Saginaw Valley touches the northeastern portion of this division. The Shiawassee river, which is a tributary of the Saginaw, traverses Shiawassee county, and the Flint in like manner crosses Genesee. In these regions there is a perceptible falling away from the altitude of the divide to the much lower level which characterizes the whole Saginaw Valley. On these streams and in north Lapeer and St. Clair pine makes its appearance. MIDDLE DIVISION OF THE LOWER PENINSULA. The Middle division is composed of the counties of Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Gratiot, Montcalm, Muskegon, Oceana, Newaygo, Mecosta, Isabella, Midland, Bay, Gladwin, Clare, Osceola, Lake, and Mason. This comprises the great valleys of the Saginaw and the Muskegon. The Saginaw, with its large tributaries, the Tittabawassee, Cass, Shiawassee, and their branches, drains the counties of Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Midland, Gladwin, and a large part of Gratiot, Isabella, and Clare. In this division the watershed is very much nearer to Lake Michigan than it is in the Southern division. It traverses in a northerly direction the counties of Montcalm, Isabella, and Clare. Its altitude is about 300 feet above Lake Michigan. The valley of the Saginaw, which includes its tributaries, is the lowest portion of the State. East Saginaw is but 8 feet above Lake Michigan; Midland, on the Tittabawassee, but 20 feet, and Vassar, on the Cass, but 45 feet. These streams are, therefore, somewhat sluggish and afford no water power. They are mainly used for logging purposes and have floated immense numbers of pine logs to the mills situated thereon. The valley of the Muskegon is somewhat more elevated than the region east of the watershed; the streams are more rapid and, in some localities, furnish excellent water power. The Huron Peninsula has a watershed of its own, eastward, however, of a central dividing line. Several small streams flow into Lake Huron, and Black river, a considerable stream heretofore mentioned in connection with the Southern division, traverses a large part of Sanilac county before it enters St. Clair. Cass river has its sources on the divide and there are a goodly number of small streams which flow directly into Saginaw bay. The central portion of this peninsula is an élevated plateau, rising some 400 feet in Sanilac and Tuscola counties and extending into a range of hills in the southern part of Huron. This region was at one time heavily timbered, but is now given up mostly to agriculture. The characteristic timber of all the Saginaw and Muskegon regions was pine, though this was mixed with hardwood in many localities, while in others there were extensive tracts of oak, sugar maple, beech, hickory, etc. The soil is very fertile and is adapted to grazing and to all the cereals which are grown so successfully in the southern parts of the State. The vicinity of Saginaw bay is the great salt manufacturing region of the State. NORTHERN DIVISION OF THE LOWER PENINSULA. The Northern division comprises the counties of Iosco, Ogemaw, Roscommon, Missaukee, Wexford, Manistee, Benzie, Leelanaw, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Crawford, Oscoda, Alcona, Alpena, Montmorency, Otsego, Antrim, Charlevoix, Presque Isle, Cheboygan and Emmet. In this section is found the highest land in the Lower |