Mineral Resources.— Although the mineral resources of the State are considerable, Wis consin ranks relatively low among the mineral producing States of the country. The chief mineral industries arc the mining of ores, such as iron, zinc and lead; the quarrying of stone, such as granite, sandstone and limestone; the digging of clay for making brick, tile, etc.; and the bottling of mineral waters. The most im portant mineral product is iron, Wisconsin ranking fifth among the ore-producing States of the Union in 1910. In lead and zinc pro duction Wisconsin ranks second among the States. She produces about one-twelfth of the zinc, one-fiftieth of the iron and one-hundredth of the lead of the entire country. Granite, staidstone and limestone comprise more than nine-tenths of the rock quarried in the State. Among the granite-producing States Wisconsin ranks fourth or fifth. There are extensive quarries of brown sandstone along the Lake Superior coast; formerly this was eagerly sought and widely marketed, but the change of stsle in recent years to light-colored stone has practically destroyed the market for the brown. Limestone quarries are numerous and widely distributed; tLe stone is little used for con structing buildings, but is of great value for making lime, for foundation and arch work and for use as crushed stone in road making Clays suitable for brick- and tile-making are widely distributed. In commercial value of mineral waters (about $1,000,000) Wisconsin ranks first among the States. By far the larg est part of its production comes from the springs of Waukesha. which long since attained a nation-wide reputation. In recent years the total reported value of all mineral produced in the State has been about $20,000,000 annually The actual value is, doubtless, considerahls higher, since because of their widespread dis tribution much clay and stone are utilized with no record ever made of their value.
Agriculture, Soils, etc.— The upper Mis sissippi Valley, to which Wisconsin belongs, IS a region of unusual fertility. In the southern and eastern parts of the State practically the whole area is farm land, ranking in productive ness and value with the best in the United States. In central Wisconsin is a sandy area of much lower productivity; while in norther Wisconsin there are several million acres still awaiting development, being swamp, cut-over, burnt-over and forest-covered land. As set only 60 per cent of the land is actually in farms; of this area, about 60 per cent, again. is devoted to tillage or the raising of hay Thus, about two-fifths only of the total land area is actually devoted to field crops. This ratio of improved land is less than half that of such States as Illinois and Iowa, but more than twice that of the United States as a whole. In the northern third of the State less than one-fourth of the land is in farms. In the middle third more than one-half is in farms; and in the southern third more than 90 per cent, The value and adaptability of the north ern section to high-grade farming operations has been thoroughly demonstrated, and in this portion of the State lies the greatest field for present and future development. The census of 1910 showed a total of 177,127 farms in the State, with an average size of 119 acres. Al most two-thirds of this number fell between the limits of 50 and 175 acres, while but 10,37E farms exceeded 260 acres. During the eight years ending with 1917 over 770,000 acres added to the State's area of cultivated crops. involving a considerable increase in the total number of farms. For reasons already puinted out this increase belongs chiefly to the northern half of the State.
The acreage of the leading crops of the State in 1917, as shown by the gobernment re port for December, was as follow: tame hay, 2,703,000; oats. 2,250,000; corn, 1,911,000; barley.
600,000; rye, 410, 000; potatoes, 307.000; tobacco. 48,300. The yield of these crops was respec tively: hay (all kinds), 5,022.000 tons; oats. 99,000,000 bushels; corn, 42,196,000 bushels barley, 19,200,000 bushels; rye. 7,583.000 bush els; potatoes, 35,000,000 bushels; wheat, 5.3.7. 000 bushels; tobacco, 45.885,000 pounds. The total value and the value per acre of each crop. based on the prices prevailing at the dose of the year, was as follows: hay, $79,300,000,, and $29.4l; oats, $65,340,000, and V9.04; corn. $68,780,(X)0, and $35.86; barley, and $.19.(sct; rye, $12$20.000. and $31 is:A•ers.
$31,500,000, and $102.60; wheat, $70 7(dt j $45.05; tobacco, $8,030,000, and $166.25. The estimated total value of all crops in 1917 was $367,000,000. This compares with a total value for the preceding year of $254,000,000, and an average annual value for the five-year period 1911-15 of $183,000,000.
The most striking agricultural development in Wisconsin in recent years has been that of the dairying industry. Within a generation a revolution has taken place in Wisconsin dairy ing as significant as any in the annals of agri culture. Until the early 70's Wisconsin butter was contemptuously quoted on the east ern exchanges as "western grease; while her cheese could be marketed only under the camou flage of eastern trade names. By persistent organization, education and agitation, Wisconsin dairymen have lifted the State to its present position of first rank in the country with re spect to this industry, supplying one-sixth of the nation's creamery butter and three-fifths of its cheese. In 1917 over 8,500,000,000 pounds of milk were produced, with an estimated farm value of $179,135,000, an increase of $69,000,000 over the year 1915. While there has been a steady increase in dairy products of all kinds in recent years the development of cheese mak ing has been particularly rapid; in the period 1909-15 the annual output of butter rose from 105,000,000 to 124,000,000 pounds; that of cheese from 144,000,000 to 234,000,000 pounds. On 1 January 1918 the estimated number of horses and mules in the State was 711,000, valued at $83,187,000; of milch cows, 1,785,000, valued at $133,875,000; of other cattle, 1,394,000, valued at $46,420,000; of sheep, 651,000, valued at $7,747,000; of swine, 2,019,000, valued at $45, 024,000. The estimated total value of all live stock was $316,253,000. Among minor agricul tural products Wisconsin is conspicuous for to bacco and cranberries. Both crops are highly localized, tobacco being raised in a few south central counties of the State (principally Dane) that have a limestone soil, and cranberries in a small group of west central counties that abound in swamps. Sugar-beet raising and the manufac ture of beet sugar have gained an important foothold in the State. Although it lies in the same latitude as the famous fruit belts of Mich igan, Ontario and New York, Wisconsin shares the fruit-raising advantages of these regions only to a limited extent. Those advantages con sist, aside from soil, chiefly in their proximity to the Great Lakes (bodies of water large enough to exercise a marked control over the temperature of the adjoining regions) and the fact that in this portion of the continent the prevailing winds are from the west. Since Wis consin lies to the west of the Great Lakes only those portions of the State in close proximity to Superior and Michigan enjoy the influence with respect to temperature with which Mich igan and these other noted regions are favored. Along the Michigan and Superior coast lines, however, particularly in the Door County Penin sula, fruit-raising has become an important in dustry with promise of marked development in the near future. The estimated value of the apple and cherry crops for 1917 was $4,277,000, a. compared with $2,048,000 in 1909.