Excerpt from Valley of the Upper Wabash, Indiana: With Hints on Its Agricultural Advantages; Plan of a Dwelling, Estimates of Cultivation, and Notices of Labor-Saving Machines NO better description of the actual condition of the northwestern States can be found than that furnished in a late report from the Committee of Ways Means to the Legislature of New York While Considering the benefits to be derived from the enlarge ment of the Erie canal, and the enormous results 'to be expected from it as a thoroughfare for the immense products of the west, the author of that report (s. B. Ruggles, presents the following graphic sketch of the present wealth and approaching greatness of that portion of our Union. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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American agriculture changed radically between 1820 and 1870. In turning slowly from subsistence to commercial farming, farmers on the average doubled the portion of their production places on the market, and thereby laid the foundations for today's highly productive agricultural industry. But the modern system was by no means inevitable. It evolved slowly through an intricate process in which innovative and imitative entrepreneurs were the key instruments.