The New York herald., 1875-10-25
Growth Of the Empire State
The Erie Canal.
THE WONDERFUL WESTERN HEGIRA.
The Michigan Fever" Forty
Years Ago.
FOUR MILLIONS OF NEW WORKERS IN 1870.

were little over four acres OF cultivated and 10 each
inhabtant. The amount Of land Of all kinds in the
% 3o7 142 In 1925 and in 1895 the
items were noted in the state onumerations with the
addition OF to the domestic animals In ls40 by
the federal census the number OF horses mules, cat
tie sheep and swine. and the value of poultry were
ascertancd, and also the bushels OF wheat, rye oats
barley buckwhcat corn and potatocs; the pounds Of
wool, hops, sugar and bceswax; the tons
Of hay hemp and fax, the gallons OF wine
made, tho cords OF wood sold the value OF the pro
ducts Of dairies orchards and market gardens; the
number Of men employed and the capital invested in
nurseries This was the arst attempt TO give anything
ike the statistics Of agriculture in the Empire State
The State census OF lS45 elaborated the inquiries
to embrace, besides the above, sown of wheat,
oats, rye barley, buckwheat, corn, potatoes peas,
beans, turnips and flax the number OF cows MIXED
1908, 44O) and the pounds OF butter and cheese.
In 1850 the national census reported the value OF
farms, farming implements and stock, the bushels of
faxsced, the pounds OF hops, tobacco aud honey,
pounds Of silk cocoons and number OF working
Finally, in 1865, the state authorities undertook "A
comprehensive schedule and from that date may
depend upon toorable uncss and accuracy in the
tstics OF the most important branch OF human indus
try The return made for 1854 year exceptional
for drought, insects worms, blight, ter-kilng,
rust hail frost woodland res-most of the grains
turned lWo-lnlTu OF tnree-quaIter crops.
In 1865 still further taken and very elab-
crate returns were collected; and this is true Of the
census just taken 1875, the results of which
nicely tied up with official tape in the Secrctarys office
at Albany, to be kept until their value gone and then
printed for the benefit OF dealers in paper stock.
Between these State enumeratons the fedora
censuses Of 1860 and 1870; not elaborate those
taken by the State, bat fully as accurate And upon
these figures taken at intervals Of i've years and going
back with reasonable funess only twenty-five years we
must depend for our knowledge Of the progress and
changes OF farming in the State. For half a century
we have had State Agricultural Society. II is and
long has been composed Of carload Of old ogcs who
meet twice year, descant the shape Of pears the
favor OF grapes the quality of domestic wine tho
anatomy Of potato bugs; but, for information on agr
culture and its ups and downs might well depend
on tho astrological Almanac"
BUREAU STATISTICS.
Much fun is made in quarters OF the Agricul-
tural Bureau at Washington. Doubtless Is not all
that It should or that ii will bo But New York has
no reason to gib.. She has not even shadow Of
system for collecting information agricultural affairs
The demands Of their pockets compelled business
to establish banking and insurance departments
and the motive in the form Of taxation impelled
the toerably accurate school records but il any ono
desires to know tho density OF ignorance agricui
change He viii find that no man there has than
general idea of the crops and probable products and
what little knowledge they have is gathered from the
enterprise of agricultural journals and the monthly re-
ports OF the Agricultural Department at Washington
We sorely need and ought Immediately to have bu
reau OF statistics under State pay and authority
manned by careful and capable men; bureau that
should take cognzancc of every fact likely to interest
even the smallest class of citizens. When shall we
have it9
STATE
The first after tho formation OF the federal
government, taken in 1890, gave New York popua-
ton OF $40 100 Of which the city had 81 133 and Al
bany city and county 75,736 Beyond Little Falls,
westward and north Of Albany and west OF the Cats
kill Mountains all was wilderness. Pioneers who ven
tured as far as whero Utica and Syracuse now stand
bade everlasting arewes and hoped TO see civ
zation again. New York the fifth State in popu-
lation, ranging thus:-Virgna, Pennsylvania North
Carolina, Massachusetts,, New York. Within the next
ten years jumped along from $40, 40 people to
5S9,05l, increase OF than seventy three per
cent, bringing the State up to No. 3 in rank Yer
mont part OF which then claimed by New York
increased in rather greater proportion Tho next de-
cade showed 900 0l9 people for New York increase
Of nearly per cent making her rank No -
Another ten years gave us, in 1920 1872 Ill inhab
State No. in rank Since that PERIOD now more than
half century New York has borne the proud title OF
"The Empire State"
The early settlers were exclusively from New Eng
land or rather from Massachusetts, Rhode Island and
Connecticut which then comprised about all there was
OF New England They brought New England energy
and enterprise to leaven the slow Low Dutch element
and soon pushed along the Mohawk Valley into tho
then boundless West around the little lakes in what
was aftcrward called the "Gcneseo country" All this
part Of the had been gobbed up by pacntsm as
thoy were caed-that is, immense purchases made by
companies single men, chief among which were the
Holland company, association OF capitalists in Hol-
and who 1893 took up 5000 900 acres in the coun-
ties west OF and including Gonesee. In the same SCUM
ties Phelps Gorham, in l7ss had secured 2 800 600
acres others got 900 600 These great land
lords troublesome to settlers and compelled the
payment OF large prices for land that ought to have
been open TO all at government rates. However
the settlers found by far the best region the
known for growing wheat, which was the
main reliance for food for the raising Of which the
limestone region stretching from 0nondaga to Lake
Erie was ordained by nature The country rapidly
settled, and grain growing as rapidly developed La
1920 the twenty counties west Of 0nondaga and Broome
md population OF 342 Ill Twenty years later they
had ri, 9s7-a growth OF liz per cent while the re-
mainder of tho state texcuding the city, grew only
about sixty five per cent
A REMARXABLR EMIGRATION
The rapid growth above alluded to would have been
absolutely astonishing but for remarkable nterrup
tlon that carried or hundreds of thousands OF the
younger men and women Of the northern and
western part OF tho State This known as
the Michigan lcvern just about the time the choera
and Mormonism broke out with vrueuce General
Cass and other great andhodcrs In the then Territory OF
Michigan flooded the land with stories of the wealth OF
that country; the rich and easily cultivated prares,
the genial aud saubrlous climate the freedom Oh habits
and all the bats that would allure adventurous The
result wild epidemic, perfect craze to "go west
and buy farm The gold emigration 70 Caliorhla
was something like It, but did not carry on hall as many
victims Nothing heard OF from 1872 until
the great panic of 1886 but Michigan Michigan y
In Northern New York the excitement wonderful,
and the emigration enormous. Even the lyric muse
caught the fever and here are some verses OF homely
ballad that was sung at huskng bees and log.rolings
long before political singing was thought of -
You have your state Of Yarmouth
But what OF all of that
BE sure the girls pretty,
Tho cattle worry fat.
But who among her mountains
IA clouds and would