Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 24.djvu/657

Rh 617 even worn surface of these underlying formations. In places it is upwards of 1000 feet deep. Being an open-textured water-bearing formation, dipping south-eastward and south-westward from the central axis of the State, and embracing and being overlaid by im pervious beds, it furnishes many fine-flowing wells to the districts bordering Lake Michigan and the Mississippi. Some of its beds supply excellent building material, though in general it is not sufficiently firm. The Potsdam sandstone forms a broad irregular crescentic belt, sweeping around the southern border of the Archaean nucleus. It also skirts the northern side in the Lake Superior basin. Overlying the Potsdam sandstone is a stratum of impure Magnesian Limestone, ranging from 50 to 250 feet in thickness. It forms the surface rock in an irregular ragged belt, stretching from the St Croix southward along the Mississippi, and south-easterly to the south-central part of the State, and thence north-easterly to the upper peninsula of Michigan. Small quantities of the ores of lead, iron, and copper are found in it, and certain portions furnish an excel lent building stone. Overlying this, the Lower Magnesian Lime stone, is an irregular stratum of nearly pure sandstone (St Peter s), ranging from a few feet to upwards of 200 feet in thickness. It is composed of nearly pure grains of quartz, and from the absence of cementing material generally crumbles with case, though in excep tional places it is sufficiently hard to be used as a building-stone. Being porous and gently dipping between impervious beds, it sup plies some of the finest artesian fountains in the State. Its purer portions afford sand. Upon the St Peter s sandstone rests a series of limestone beds, the lower part of which is known as Trenton, the upper as Galena. Their united thickness varies considerably, averaging about 250 feet. In the south-western part of the State they have yielded large quantities of lead and zinc ores, and some copper. The formation occupies a small area in the north-west of the State, a large area in the south-west, and a belt stretching from south to north through the valleys of Rock river and Green Bay. Overlying the above limestones is a stratum of about 200 feet in thickness, composed of clay, earthy, ami calcareous shales (Hudson River). This is a soft formation and easily eroded, and hence occupies little area at the surface. It forms a narrow north- and-south belt on the eastern margin of the Green Bay and Rock river valley. It has little economic value. At a few points on the surface of these shales there are accumulations of a peculiar Oolitic iron ore (Clinton), popularly known as &quot;seed&quot; or &quot;shot ore,&quot; from its concretionary structure. Its highest development is at Iron Ridge in Dodge county, where its thickness ranges from 15 to 25 feet. It is a soft ore, lying in regular horizontal beds, is quarried with great ease, and yields about 45 per cent, of metallic iron. The next formation is a thick limestone stratum (Niagara), rang ing from 400 to 800 feet. The different portions vary greatly in texture and purity, some being very fine-grained, others of admir able granular texture, and others uneven, cavernous, or full of chert nodules. It furnishes excellent building rock, and quicklime of high quality. The formation occupies a broad tract adjacent to Lake Michigan, reaching from the southern line of the State to the head of the Green Bay peninsula. It also caps the elevated mounds in the south-west of the State. The Lower Helderberg limestone, which attains great thickness farther east, is barely (indeed, some what doubtfully) represented in the State by some thin shaly beds of limestone found north of Milwaukee. The remainder of the normal Silurian beds and the Lower Devonian formations are not represented in the State, but just north of Milwaukee is a small area of limestone which represents the Hamilton period (Middle Devonian), a portion of which possesses hydraulic properties of a high degree of excellence, and is the basis of an important industry. From the middle of the Devonian age until the ice incursion of the Glacial period, Wisconsin appears to have been a land surface, subjected to erosion, which developed the hills and valleys that diversify its surface, except as they were modified by the invading ice. As previously indicated, the ice of the Glacial period over rode the northern and eastern portions of the State, while it left about one-fifth of the State in the south-west untouched. The paths of the invading ice were determined by the great valleys of Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, and Green Bay, aided by the divert ing influence of the intervening heights. There appear to have been two important invasions, the earlier covering the larger area, while the later exhibited the more forceful action. There were also minor episodes of glacial advance and retreat. Both spread out an irregular sheet of mixed rock debris, partly derived from the old decomposed surface, and partly produced by the grinding action of the glaciers themselves. The underlying rock was smoothed, scratched, and polished, and in some moderate measure filed down by the overriding ice. A remarkable chain of hills formed about the edge of the ice (the Kettle moraine) constitutes an interesting feature topographically and geologically. It forms a part of an extensive series of terminal moraines that stretch from the Atlantic to the Saskatchewan. Soils. The soils of the State are varied. Those of the drift- bearing region are derived from the heterogeneous mixture of pre- glacial soils and glacial grindings, and constitute for the greater part loamy clays and sandy loams of a high degree of fertility and permanence. In the south-west a considerable portion of the soils are derived from the decomposition of the underlying limestone, and are highly fertile and easily tilled. In the central portion there is a considerable area underlaid by the Potsdam sandstone, from which sandy soils, of relatively low fertility, have been derived. Vegetation. The greater part of the State was originally covered by forest, but in the south and west considerable areas of prairies were found interspersed with woodlands. The prevalent trees of this region are the oaks, poplars, hickories, and their usual associ ates. Along the eastern border of the State, except at the very south, is an extensive tract of heavy timber, in which maple, elm, ash, and their usual associates predominate. Towards the north the pines, hemlocks, and spruces come in. The north part of the State was originally covered by an almost unbroken forest, com posed of groves of pine, of hard wood, and of a promiscuous mixture of species embracing both conifers and deciduous trees. This constitutes the great lumber region of Wisconsin. Climate. Lying between 42^ and 47 N. lat., and near the centre of the continent, Wisconsin has a typical temperate con tinental climate. Its summers are warm, and diversified by short rains and clear skies ; its winters are somewhat severe but rela tively dry and stimulating, and are less chilly than more humid atmospheres at similar or even higher temperatures. The average rainfall is about 30 inches. The mean summer temperature varies from about 70 3 in the south to about 60 in the north ; the mean winter temperature varies from about 25 in the south to about 15 in the extreme north. The great lakes produce a marked effect on the seasonal temperature of the State, elevating it in winter and depressing it in summer, so that the summer isotherms run from the north-west to south-east, forced south by the cooling influence of the lakes ; while those of the winter run from south-west to north-east, forced north by their warming influence. As a result, productions requiring a high summer temperature flourish in the south-western and central portions of the State, but are precarious in the vicinity of the lakes, while fruits and crops requiring milder winters and more equable temperatures can be produced near the lakes, but are uncertain away from them. (T. C. C. ) Population. In 1840 Wisconsin Territory had a population of 30,945. The accompanying table exhibits the population from 1850 to 1880. The State census of 1885 gives the number as 1,563,423. The Federal census of 1880 showed 1,309,618 whites, 2702 coloured, and 3161 Indians. The foreign -born popula tion numbered 405,425, or 30 81 per cent, of the whole, of whom 184,328 came from the German empire, 66,284 from the Scandinavian countries, and 78,057 from Great Britain and Ireland. Cities. In 1885 Milwaukee had a population of 158,509; Osh- kosh, 22,064; La Crosse, 21,740; Eau Claire, 21,668; Racine, 19,636; Fond du Lac, 12,726; Madison (the State capital), 12,064; Sheboygan, 11,727 ; Appleton, 10,927 ; and Janesville, 9941. Agriculture. By the United States census of 1880 Wisconsin had 134,322 farms, embracing 15,353,118 acres, of which 9,162,528 acres were improved land. Of these farms 122,163 were cultivated by the owners and 12,159 were rented. The State census of 1S85 estimates the total number of persons engaged in agriculture at 332,500, and the value of farms and agricultural products at $568,187,288. The produce is estimated approximately as fol lows : wheat, 21,000,000 bushels; Indian corn, 37,700,000; oats, 43,000,000 ; barley, 11,500,000 ; rye, 2,100,000; potatoes, 11,700,000 ; hay, 2,300,000 tons ; sorghum, 599,000 gallons ; apples, 1,671,000 bushels; berries, 71,000 bushels. 29,500 acres of tobacco produced nearly 29,595,000 ft (this is in demand for cigar wrappers). Of cheese nearly 33,480,000 ft were produced, and of butter 36,240,000 ft. There were in 1886 about 389,000 horses, 1,256,000 cattle, 6700 mules and asses, 917,000 sheep and lambs, and 777,000 swine. Manufactures, iL-c. Large water-powers are found, chiefly on the Fox, Wisconsin, and Chippewa rivers. In 1885 the value of real estate and machinery used in manufacturing was over $38,000,000 ; stock and fixtures over $24,000,000 ; value of manufacturing estab lishments and their products, $193,700,000. There were about 58,500 men employed. The lumber, shingles, and lath manufactured amounted to $27, 11 3,000 ; milling (including all flour manufactured from cereals), $19,870,000 ; wooden articles, $13,719,000 ; iron products and manufactured articles of iron, $10,300,000; beer, more than 1,445,000 barrels, valued at $9,081,000 (over 75 per cent, of this coming from the great brewing city of Milwaukee) ; manu factured articles of leather, $8,629,000; waggons, carriages, and sleighs, $4,678,000 ; paper, $2,804,000 ; woollen fabrics, $613,000 : cotton fabrics, $556,000. The census of 1880 valued the slaughter- XXIV. 78 Population. Density per Square Mile. Total. Males. Females. mo I860 1870 1880 305,391 775,881 1,054,670 1,315,497 104,716 407,449 544,886 680,069 140,675 3(58,432 509,784 635,428 5-61 14-25 19-37 24-16