valuable for their timber. The winters vary in this latitude. Plowing was done every month during the winter of 1881-2, as there was but a light snow fall. This did not occur, however, during the winter of 1882-3. The winter was of longer duration, and plowing began in the later part of April.

Good primary schools are found in every township, while the union or graded schools of the towns are very fine. The high schools at Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti are among the best preparatory schools in the west. Agriculture and manufacturing are the principal industries, creating a fair demand for labor at wages ranging from $15 to $25 per month with board, on farms, and from $1 to $1.50 per day in the factories. The Michigan Central, Toledo, Ann Arbor and Grand Trunk, Detroit, Hillsdale and Southwestern, Lake Shore and Michigan Southern (Jackson branch), Detroit, Lansing and Northern, and the Wabash railroads traverse the county, affording the best of shipping facilities.

WAYNE COUNTY.

Wayne county was organized before the act of Congress was passed establishing a government for Michigan Territory. By the treaty of peace between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United States, by which their independence was acknowledged in 1783, Michigan, which had formed a part of Canada, became a part of the United States. But for various reasons the English Government still retained possession of the fort at Detroit, and for all practical purposes Michigan was treated as a part of Canada until after Jay's treaty in 1794.

On the 18th of August, 1796, while Michigan formed a part of the Northwest Territory and the seat of government was at Chilicothe in Ohio, Hon. Winthrop Sargeant, then acting as governor of the Northwest Territory during the temporary absence of General St. Clair, who was then governor, issued letters patent under the great seal of the territory, establishing the county of Wayne. The boundary of the new county as defined by Acting Governor Sargeant was as follows:

"Beginning at the mouth of the Cuyahoga river, upon Lake Erie, and with the said river to the portage between it and the Tuscarawa branch of the Muskingum, thence down the said branch to the forks at the carrying place above Fort Laurens, thence by a west line to the eastern boundary of Hamilton county (which is a due north line from the lower Shawnese town upon the Scioto river), thence by a line west northerly to the southern part of the portage between the miamis of the Ohio and St. Mary's river, thence by a line also west northerly to the southwestern part of the portage between the Wabash and the miamis of Lake Erie where Fort Wayne now stands, thence by a line west northerly to the most southern part of Lake Michigan, thence along the western shores of the same to the northwest part thereof (including the lands lying upon the streams emptying into the said lake), thence by a due north line to the territorial boundary in Lake Superior, and with the said boundary through Lakes Huron, St. Clair, and Erie to the mouth of the Cuyahoga river, the place of beginning."

It will be seen from this description that Acting Governor Sargeant was not very well acquainted with the territory which he incorporated into the new county. Even at this day it would be somewhat difficult to draw a map of Wayne county as then established. It comprised a considerable portion of the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and nearly all of Michigan. The county seat was established at Detroit, which, amid all the numerous changes, still retains its position.

After the establishment of the Territory of Michigan by an act of congress, passed January 11, 1805, Detroit became the capital of the new Territory, and remained so during the entire existence of the Territory and afterwards of the State until 1846.

Wayne county still retains a very important position in the State of Michigan. Instead of having nearly 200,000 square miles, it has gradually diminished until now it has only about 1,000. Instead of covering the whole State with a large proportion of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin, it is now bounded on the north by the counties of Oakland and Macomb, on the east by Lake St. Clair and the River Detroit, on the south by the county of Monroe, and on the west by the county of Washtenaw. It still, however, retains its relative importance. It ranks first in population, in commerce, and manufactures. Its industries are largely mechanical, although the county proper comprises a fine agricultural region, covered with valuable farms. Detroit, which for so many years was the seat of the fur trade with the Indians, has become one of the greatest railroad and manufacturing centers of the west, and the progressive spirit of its inhabitants, its great population and wealth, make it worthy of its position as the commercial metropolis of the great State of Michigan.

WEXFORD COUNTY.

Wexford county was organized in 1869. It is bounded on the north by Grand Traverse, on the east by Missaukee, on the south by Osceola and Lake, and on the west by Manistee. It has an area of 612 square miles, and had a population in 1880 of 6,815. Cadillac, a growing city of 2,700 inhabitants, is the county seat.

The surface of the country is greatly diversified, varying from gently rolling to decidedly hilly ranges, which constitute the divide between the waters of Manistee river and the basin of Clam lake and Clam river. The county is well watered by the Manistee and Clam rivers and their numerous tributaries. Clam lake, situated in the southeastern portion of the county, is a beautiful sheet of water, several miles in length, and its northern shores are lined with large saw-mills, which produce a vast amount of timber annually. But little swamp land can be found in the county. Excellent water powers, many of which are in use, are found in the northern townships. The general character of the soil is a sandy loam. The northern and central townships have a clay subsoil in many localities. On the pine lands the soil is generally sandy, yet where pine and hard wood are mixed the soil is a heavy clay loam. Along the streams the prevailing timber is pine, cedar, hemlock, birch, and ash; the hilly and more rolling portions are timbered with beech, maple, elm, basswood, etc. Wheat, rye, oats, barley, hay, potatoes, clover, and all sorts of root crops grow successfully in this county. Fruit has not received as much attention as the climate and soil will warrant, yet wherever the Eardier varieties have been planted the results have been attended with marked success. The surplus productions of the county are consumed by the local lumbering camps.

The cost of clearing will average from $15 to $20 per acre, with fair wood markets along the line of the railroad. About 1,000 acres of government, 310 acres of State swamp, 3,400 acres of primary school, 24,560 acres of Agricultural college, and 92,426 acres of Grand Rapids and Indiana railroad lands, were subject to entry May 1st, 1883. Large tracts of unimproved land, with good soil, and within easy reach of markets, are for sale at prices ranging from $4 to $12 per acre. Plenty of "stump lands" desirable for farming purposes can be had at a low figure. Improved farms are proportionately higher. A State road, running north and south, bisects the county, crossing the Manistee river at Sherman; another State road connects Manton with Sherman. The local highways are uniformly good. The seasons are well defined. Snow falls in November to an average depth of 30 inches, and the ground seldom freezes. Potatoes are kept in the ground all winter. Plowing begins by the last of April.

The school districts are numerous, and every effort is made to sustain good schools, Lumbering is as yet the principal industry. Portable mills are being stationed at different points to work up the hard wood timber, and large quantities of posts, poles, and ties are gotten out every year. Labor is always in good demand, wages averaging $22 per month with board. The Grand Rapids and Indiana railroad traverses the county from north to south, and a branch of the Chicago and West Michigan will eventually reach Cadillac from the southwest.

Every inducement is held out to the energetic settler with small means to make his home in this county. Lands are cheap, the soil is good, the privileges of schools and churches are unexcelled by any of the new counties, and the climate is a very desirable one. Within the next ten years vast changes may be looked for in this rapidly developing section.

COMMISSIONER OF IMMIGRATION.

In his inaugural message to the Michigan Legislature at the beginning of its biennial session in January, 1881, Governor Jerome used the following language:

"There are millions of acres of good farming lands in this State unoccupied. The building of the lines of railroad traversing the entire length of the lower peninsula north and south, together with the east and west roads lately completed, and the prospective completion at an early day of the Detroit, Mackinac and Marquette railroad, has opened and will open to easy access a vast extent of unoccupied farming lands. The influx of settlers upon these lands would add largely to the productive wealth and taxable resources of the State. Through the potent influences of the proper agencies, emigrants have been taken beyond Michigan, and great States have been built up west of us, and this largely by judicious systems of making known their advantages. No State or Territory east or west has advantages superior to those of Michigan. To secure our share of the emigrants now landing upon the shores of the United States, and of the surplus population of the eastern States, we should make known our resources, so rich, numerous, and varied our fertile lands now in market at moderate prices, our admirable school system, and the many attractions offered to the emigrant who desires not only good soil and a healthy climate, but good markets, good government and pleasant social relations, which are assured by the general character and traditions of Michigan society."

In accordance with these suggestions the Legislature in June following passed a law authorizing the appointment of a Commissioner of Immigration, to act under the advice and direction of the Governor, "for the purpose," as declared by its terms, "of encouraging immigration to Michigan from the other States and from the counties of Europe." The obvious intent of this enactment was that its objects should be rought by giving wider publicity to the resources and characteristics of the State, and the direct methods which are employed in carrying it into effect are the diffusion of reliable information, the stimulation of inquiries among the people of "other States and countries," the acquisition through personal acquaintance and correspondence of facilities for prompt and intelligent replies, and direct intercourse or communication with parties seeking new fields of labor and enterprise. There is no design to solicit colonization for the sake merely of enlarging the number of inhabitants. What the State invites is men who will add to its industry, increase its resources, develop its soil, and take an interest in its prosperity, and this class are most effectively addressed through their intelligence and sense of thrift. Fortunately, the strongest claims that can be advanced in behalf of Michigan are contained in a simple statement of facts.

It is in pursuance of the will of the Legislature that this pamphlet is published. It has been prepared with scrupulous care to avoid mistakes or exaggerations, and it goes to the public with a full sense of the responsibility involved in the fact that it is issued under the sanction of the State. The figures which have been employed in its compilation have been taken from official sources, or have been furnished by recognized authorities, and the statements it contains are believed to be reliable. It is intended principally as an exposition of the general resources and characteristics of Michigan, and will serve, it is hoped, to elicit inquiries for more minute information. In the furtherance of its work it is thought the office may also become useful in promoting a better knowledge among our citizens of the wealth and possibilities of their own State. If this knowledge shall be sufficient to satisfy young men of limited means, belonging to our own families in the older counties, that there are opportunities for them here in Michigan more promising than the attractions, seen through the

enchantments of distance, in the States and Territories of the remote and unsettled West, it will serve a double purpose. It is certainly true that in all the essentials of a healthy, comfortable, and prosperous home no State or territory can offer to selfhelpful and industrious manhood more substantial advantages than this.

The cooperation of citizens in all parts of the State, especially of those living in its newer counties, is respectively desired. Notes of information concerning the various sections will be carefully gathered and classified. The office cannot of course discriminate in favor of local or separate interests, but it will be glad to furnish inquirers any authentic intelligence of a public character that may come into its possession; and in this work known individuals who are interested in the development of the State may render valuable assistance.

The procuring of employment and the selection of localities are not included among the duties or functions of the office. It will do all in its power to enable persons to form an intelligent judgment concerning the general features and characteristics of each county, by answering questions regarding them, and it especially recommends that individuals or colonies proposing to become residents of Michigan shall make personal inspection before deciding upon a settlement or purchase, or employ a trusted and competent agent of their own choosing to do so. "The soil of the State," said one of the professors of the State Agricultural College, in an address before a Farmers' Institute a few years ago, "often passes by abrupt transitions from one kind to a very different kind. No prudent man desiring a given kind of soil will buy a farm unseen, but will carefully examine it to see if it be the kind he seeks. For one kind of farming he desires a strong clay, for another he wants a quick and warm sand. The great variety of soils found in our State seems to show that nature designed it for a widely diversified industry." There are lands also in the State which will not repay the labors of the agriculturist. There is no county which does not contain some poor soil, and none, in which agriculture has been tested, which will not produce some good crops. There is no transaction in life that more imperatively demands the exercise of individual judgment than the selection of a home. In his retiring message to the legislature at the beginning of its biennial session in January 1883, Gov. Jerome, alluded to the work of the Commissioner of Immigration, in the following language :

"In my opening message to the legislature of 1881 I invited attention to the large 'number of acres of unoccupied lands which were open to settlement and cultivation, and asked authority to appoint a Commissioner of Immigration and an appropriation to carry his work into execution. Both were promptly granted, the appointment of a most efficient officer was made, and it is believed to be largely through the work of the office thus established that upwards of 50,000 settlers have been added to the agricultural class of our population during the past year. The most important agency in this lapor has been the publication and distribution of the pamphlet entitled 'Michigan and its Resources,' about 37,000 copies of which have gone abroad through the United States and Europe, together with more than 7,000 copies of pamphlets in which its substance was translated into the languages of Germany and Holland.

"The wealth of the State has been materially augmented by this action, and the sales of its unoccupied farming lands exceed in quantity those of any former year. This office, during the 18 months of its existence, has greatly broadened and deepened the public appreciation of the resources of Michigan. It has diffused through other communities and countries a more accurate knowledge of the greatness of the State than ever before existed, thus holding out attractions of the most substantial character to the best class of seekers after new homes. No less important has been its work in impressing upon the people of Michigan the realities of the development in which they have shared and whose benefits they are enjoying. The keeping within the States by this means of many citizens who were inclined to look elsewhere for places of permanent settlement has been one of the especially valuable results of the Commissioner's labors. The plan of this office contemplates making a central bureau of information concerning Michigan and its great interests, whose publications shall keep fully abreast with the growth of the commonwealth, and whose constantly augmenting

stores of information shall be accessible at all times not merely to the new comer, but to citizens of every class. Properly administered, it cannot fail to yield results of great value to the State."

In his inaugural message, delivered on the same day as the above, Gov. Begole referred to the department as follows:

"The Commissioner of Immigration is by law under the direction of the Governor, and the expenditures of his office are under the Governor's control. I am satisfied that the office, as managed, is a success, and justifies its creation by the legislature. It has not only secured a large number of intelligent emigrants from other States, but its valuable array of facts and figures, wisely distributed throughout the State, is eminently calculated to convince our enterprising and ambitious young people that Michigan is undoubtedly the least desirable State in the Union from which to emigrate."

Copies of this pamphlet will be sent on application to those who are seeking information concerning the character and resources of the State, and those who receive it having friends to whom they may desire to impart similar intelligence are invited to furnish this office with the names and postoffice addresses of such persons.

Inquiries, written or verbal, will receive prompt attention if directed to the Commissioner of Immigration, Detroit, Michigan.