Agriculture forms the leading pursuit.
The branches, in the order of importance, are grain raising, stock growing, dairying, and wool growing. Fruit is extensively cultivated, and is rapidly becoming one of the most important agricultural products. The direct branch of the N. Y. Central R. R. between Syracuse and Rochester extends, along the course of the canal, through Savannah, Galen, Lyons, Arcadia, Palmyra, and Macedon. The earliest white inhabitants were hunters and trappers. From 1790 to 1794, colonies came in from R. I., Long Island, and Maryland.