ask, that with such a lavish expenditure of censure on lawyers themselves, those who encourage them into iniquity, and sustain them in it, are unscathed? What has the community to say to those who stimulate the cupidity of the profession by undue arts? Is it not just to take up the lash now and scourge away awhile upon them? Will the community forbear the punishment?

STATISTICAL VIEW OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.

PART II.

SOIL AND PRODUCTIONS.

The soil of the State of Illinois is essentially fertile, and her agricultural resources almost boundless. When her entire surface is reduced into judicious cultivation, she will make a larger return, acre for acre, than probably any similar extent of territory on the continent. We have seen that her surface is divided into two principal parts-the prairies and the alluvions of the river bottoms. And what are these prairies but alluvial deposites, varying in fertility as the waters which once covered them have left greater or smaller quantities of vegetable decomposition at one point or another? It is unnecessary for our present purposes to enter into an examination of the theories of the formation of the prairies and alluvions, to prove that they do or do not arise from the same causes; it is enough for our present purposes to know that the constituents or properties of both are the same, or very nearly so. That the prairies were originally covered with water is perfectly evident; and a depth of water over them was attained, remarks Mr. Schoolcraft, "adequate to the deposition of those successive strata of small pebblestones, sand, clay, fine, rich loams, and carbonaceous moulds, of which they are composed. Mr. S. continues:

"On the breaking away of the obstruction which kept the waters upon the prairies, the waters would recede gradually into those channels in which it is now drained off, sinking lower and lower as the force of the current carried before it new portions of the yielding rock. The margins of these drains would remain covered with water until a comparatively recent period, and acquire further deposits of alluvial matter. These new deposites would be highly favorable to the after-growth of forest trees; while the intermediate table lands, being first exposed to the sun, would soon be covered

with a luxuriant growth of grasses and various herbage, that would attract from adjoining regions the innumerable herds of graminivorous animals which formerly inhabited the country. The effect of these immense herds of animals feeding upon the nascent plains would be to trample down vegetation and prevent the growth of large forest trees-a result that may be supposed to have been still further promoted by their annual exposure to fire. This hypothesis derives additional weight from an attentive consideration of the mineral character of alluvial deposits forming the surface of prairies, in which we often observe fine, hard, and compacted layers of earth, similar to those which are found at the bottom of mill-ponds where the water has long been stagnant," &c.

Who can estimate, then, the agricultural wealth of a region with so fine a climate, so well watered, and whose entire surface is mould, or an admixture of the debris of rocks, clay, sand, or gravel, with animal and vegetable remains?

The State contains 35,459,260 acres of land-of which 12,037,412 acres are included in farms, but only 5,039,545 acres are improved; yet Illinois is the tenth State in this respect. The States having a larger quantity of improved land are

Of these 12 037,412 acres of land included in farms, 879,049 acres of improved land and 1,487,182 acres of unimproved land lie in the counties bordering on the Mississippi; 183,815 acres of improved land and 287,657 acres of unimproved land in the Rock River counties; 942,656 acres of improved and 1,027,509 acres of unimproved in the Illinois river counties; 317,166 acres of improved and 338,086 acres of unimproved lie in the Sangamon river counties; 288,005 acres of improved and 332,345 acres of unimproved land lie in the Fox river counties; 255,223 acres of improved and 468,526 acres of unimproved in the Kaskaskia river counties; 64,019 acres of improved and 171,707 acres of unimproved land lie in the Ohio river counties; 178,149 acres of improved and 317,773 acres of unimproved land lie in the Wabash river counties; and in the Little Wabash river counties, and in the Kankakee, there are 142,335 acres of improved land and 240,952 acres of unimproved land--that is

to say, 3,298,012 acres of this improved land is genuine alluvion, or very nearly so, and 1,741,533 may be regarded as prairie of all descriptions-wet, dry, flat, and rolling.

About six-sevenths, or 30,451,715 acres of land in the State are out of cultivation, and 23,421,848 are "wild" lands, not included in farms.

The number of farms in 1850 was 76,208, making an average of 66 acres of cultivated land to each farm. Their cash value was $96,133,290 and the cash value of farming implements and machinery was $6,495,561. If the whole State was reduced to cultivation under the present imperfect system, the cash value of farms would be a little short of $673,000,000, and the value of farming implements and machinery would be $44,808,927. It is fair to presume, however, that these figures will be greatly increased when the entire State is actually under cultivation. The bringing together of so large a population, their separation into different pursuits, the improved means of cultivation, and the increased demand for the products of the soil, will place the price of land, the value of agricultural implements, and the productive wealth of the State, far beyond the results of our calculations upon the actual figures of 1850; so that $673,000,000 can be regarded only as a distant approximation towards the value of the real estate in Illinois when her population shall be, instead of 851,470, between 5,950,000 and 6,000,000, or seven times the present value of the real estate, is but the merest approximation to what it will be when the present population is sevenfold greater.

These calculations do not pretend to verge towards even speculative accuracy. No account has been taken of the land occupied by roads, streets, parks, rivers, lake, creeks, &c., or by churches, cemeteries, public edifices, &c.; nor of the extraordinary increase that occurs in short periods in prosperous cities and towns-such an increase as occurred, for instance, in the city of Chicago from 1839 to 1853. In 1839, property in Chicago, valued at $1,829,420, was valued in 1853 at $22,929,937, an aggregate increase of nearly 1,400

per cent.

It is a matter of regret that fuller and more accurate information cannot be obtained as to the geological formation and character of the State. At present there is no source from whence it may be derived. We will proceed, then, to examine rapidly, with the imperfect information at our command, the natural resources of the State, and commence with her mineral wealth.

Marble, lime, and sandstone are found, one or the other in

every county; secondary limestone forms the basis of the rocks in the whole northern portion of the State. At Athens, in Dupage county, fine quarries of milk-white limestone, closely resembling marble, and capable of a high polish, have been found, and from which many of the most beautiful edifices in Chicago have been constructed within the last two years. This stone will ultimately constitute the chief material, where it can be procured with tolerable convenience, for all of our fine public and private edifices, particularly in our cities, and will render them remarkable for the permanence, elegance, and beauty of their structures. Near the city of Chicago a singular stone has been discovered of a dark grey color, a species of marble, with a granulated fracture, from which there is a constant exudation of bituminous matter, which does not, however, injure its value for architectural purposes. The Second Presbyterian church, in Chicago, is built of it; and is greatly admired for its antique and venerable appearance.

If lime should ever become an important element in our husbandry, or valuable for export, vast quantities may be procured in a large proportion of the counties. Recently, kilns have been built, and large supplies have been furnished Chicago from the west bank of the Des Plaines river. Sandstone suitable for building purposes exists in large quantities in the southern counties. When excavated and exposed to the air, it hardens, and is preferred to limestone for many structures.

There are quarries of fine marble in Randolph, quartz crystals in Gallatin and the adjacent counties, and plaster of Paris (gypsum) in St. Clair. But generally much more importance is attached to metallic minerals than to any others; and in this department, though Illinois has no mines of gold or silver, she possesses others of far greater value. There are two hilly regions in the State, one in the northwestern portion of the State, east of Galena, the other in southern Illinois, in the counties of Union, Johnson, Pope, Hardin, Gallatin, and Williamson, which seems to be an extension of the hilly region embraced upon and between the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers. These two regions constitute the metallic mineral regions par excellence.

In Hardin county lead mines have been worked for some years, but not so profitably as in other sections of the State, owing to the great hardness of the ore, which is due to the presence of silver and zinc. Lead is encountered in vast quantities in the northwestern part of the State. From the year 1822, when the mines were first worked scientifically, to

1835 the yield had been 70,420,357 pounds. As much as 13,000,000 pounds had been smelted in a single year. In 1854, 3,145,613 pounds were received from the Galena region. in the city of Chicago. Much of this ore yields 75 per cent.

of the metal.

Iron is one of the greatest productions of the State, and its value cannot be over-estimated. It enters, Colton well says, "into every man's wants, and into his constant use, and no man can do without it in a variety of forms. It constitutes the most prominent necessity of war, of peace, of agriculture, of manufactures, of commerce, and, it may be said, of every pursuit of life. It enters even into the finest embellishments of the arts. Time, that most momentous of all movements, carrying with it the destinies of all nations, cannot be accurately measured in its progress without it."

In 1850 the capital invested in the manufacture of pig iron was $65,000, and 5,500 tons of the ore were consumed. In the manufacture of cast iron $260,400 were invested, and 4,918 tons of pig iron and 50 tons of old metal were consumed. The total capital invested in the manufacture of iron was $325,400; the value of raw material, coal, &c., consumed was $197,830; the annual cost of labor $153,264, and the value of the products $511,385.

In the northern counties, particularly at the mouth of Plumb creek, and of several smaller streams, large quantities of copper have been discovered. Small quantities have also been found in the southwestern counties, in the bluffs of the Mississippi, and on the Big Muddy river.

Zinc has been found in considerable quantities in several localities, and small quantities of silver in the county of St. Clair.

Fluate of lime has been discovered in the vicinity of Shawneetown, and buhrstone near the junction of the rivers Mississippi and Illinois.

There are a number of salt springs in southern Illinois. The Ohio saline, near Shawneetown, was once extensively worked. A bushel of salt was obtained from between 250 and 300 gallons of the brine. The springs have been neglected in latter years, but we are not advised as to the facts which caused their general abandonment, except that we know it was from no failure in the quantity or quality of the water. Twenty years ago the Ohio Saline produced 200,000 bushels of salt, the minimum price of which, as established by law, was $1 25 per bushel. Probably the sale of the springs by the State, the repeal of the tariff of minimum price and the active competition from the salt works of the