tain township officers, with a large fund sufficient to afford three months, at least, of education in the year, free of cost to the pupils. To this may be added a normal school; three departments are organized in the university, viz.: -science and arts, medicine, agricultural and mechanical art, including natural history, chemistry, &c. &c. The following statistics are brought down to December, 31, 1851. Disbursements of the state for the University since 1837... School Fund invested, (annually increasing from sale of lands,). $286,928 ing in Lake Erie, and in the fall of the year proceeding northwards, when they are caught, salted, and barrelled. Some twenty other species of good eatable fish frequent the lakes, and every year the pursuit of them becomes of greater The export, commercial importance. annually, of all sorts, is estimated at $300,000. A grant of land has lately been made by the federal government for the construction of a canal at the Sault Ste. Marie, to connect Lakes Huron and Superior. It is intended to be $811,000 large enough for the deepest vessels, and will probably be finished in two years. 115,165 For several years the topographical 97,158 Corps of the United States army (at present under the command of Captain John N.Macomb) have been employed in surveying the Lakes, and have completed them to the west of Mackinaw. maps are monuments of great skill, perseverance, and ability, and will compare well with any executed under the direction of European governments. 3,307 143,222 .$154,469 A mill tax is annually levied to purchase books for these libraries. Both the university and primary schools own large tracts of land, the proceeds of which, as sold, are funded. The university is located at Ann Arbor, the normal school at Ypsilanti, and both possess handsome, substantial, and convenient buildings. A good library and museum belong to the university. Besides these, there are forty academies, theological institutions, literary societies, &c., incorporated by act of the legislature, and a number of private seminaries not so incorporated. There exists a general plank-road law, and such roads are now made, or being made, in all directions. There is a rail-road in the south, commencing at Toledo, O., and Monroe, Mn., both on Lake Erie, and running partly through Michigan, partly through Indiana, to Chicago. It connects with the Ohio rail-roads, and these with the New-York Southern Rail-road. It was commenced by the state, but is now owned by a New-York company. There is no finished canal in the state. The fisheries on the Upper and Lower Lakes are of great importance, those for catching trout and white-fish* especially. The white-fish are migratory, liv * Trout. Salmo amethystes (Mn.); white fish, Corregonus albus (Les). Besides these, the most valuable are, pickerel, Lucioperca Americana; pike, Esoz reticulatus; muskelonge, E. estor; catfish, Timelodus catus; herring, Hyodon tergisus; sturgeon, Sturio maculosus, (growing to six or seven feet long,) and siskowit, a species of salmon. A marked peculiarity of most of the Lake fish is the quantity of fat, resembling that of quadrupeds, which they contain-entirely different from the salt-water fish. While their flavor differs from that of the latter, it is much more delicate and richer than that of river fish. The brook trout is found in abundance in the Lake Superior country. Eels are unknown. The The following tables are taken from the state census of 1850, and Mr. Lanman's History of Michigan: 87,273.....175,000....212,267....304,280....400,000 Bushels of wheat.... 1,014,896 2,157,108.4.739.299 Swine Horses .... 153,375.1,645.756 14,059.. 30,144.. 52,305 89,610.. 185,190. 210,968 109,096.. 295,890.. 152,541 22,684.. 99,618.. 610,563 490.. 433.. 190.. 730 TABLE SHOWING VARIOUS STATISTICS OF MICHIGAN FOR THE YEAR 1850. Various Statistics-Meteorological Register-Climate, &c. 491 Besides these, large qantities of barrel staves and heads are annually exported, and the flour barrels and fish barrels consume a large quantity of timber, which leaves the state for ever. The Army Meteorological Register, (Washington, D. C., 1851,) affords the following data regarding the cli mate: .... આ રે Fort Mackinac.... 7....40.37....20.08....36.69....61.33....43.39.... 90....-23.... 97.57.... W. ....Fair 17.64. .37.39....61.79....42.47 ....450 51' 00" 30....114.39....N.W.... Cloudy....29.588....460 29′ 55" .102.88....S. W....Fair Fair ....38.516....42° 51' 00" ....28.300....420 19′ 18" Cloudy.... ....41° 50' 00" ....46.243....310 30' 00" 43.22. 67.44....48.02.... 96. 5.... 95.00.... S. ....Fair 4....46.18....25.56....45.06....66.96....47.16... 94....-22....109.00.... N. .... Fort Jesup, Louis.12....65.81....49.79....66.94....80.84....65.32....100.... Chicago, Ill...... 8.... 81.58.... N. .... Fair Detroit...... Dearborn Arsenal, 1....49.21....30.73....51.43....66.21....48.50....100. The climate of Michigan is hotter in summer, and averages milder in winter, than would be expected from its position. Detroit being in lat. 42° 19′ 18′′, and longitude 82° 58'; but its almost insular position, and the large bodies of water which surround it, produce a marked effect. There is much less snow, and the winters are shorter and more irregu. lar than in the same latitude in Western New-York. The western coast appears to have a colder climate and more snow than the eastern, probably owing to the unwooded prairies of Wisconsin, and the prevailing winter winds being west and northwest. Froin an early period, a periodical rise and fall of water in the lakes has been observed. Formerly the notion prevailed that this was owing to a tide which ebbed and flowed each seven years; but more modern observations attribute it to "a successive series of cold and moist years, and a series of warm and dry ones, mutually following each other"; and considering that a surface of 248,755 square miles of land, besides that of the lakes, drains into the St. Lawrence, this is probably the true explanation. But correct meteorological observations have not yet been made for a sufficient length of time to decide the question. Taken altogether, Michigan enjoys an unusually dry and agreeable climate. On the Detroit River, winter rarely sets in before the end of December, and is passed by the beginning to the end of March. Instances have occurred during the last fifteen years, when the ground could be plowed, and steamboats have passed from Detroit to Buffalo, every month in the year. The spring is the most unpleasant and changeable season. The falls are usually very beautiful, dry and cloudless. It is, however, remarked by old residents, that a decided change in the length and severity of the springs has taken place during the last half dozen years. The same belief (whether just or unjust) is entertained in New-York and Pennsylvania. As regards health, Michigan will compare favorably with any other western state. Till very lately, the only serious diseases known were ague, generally of a mild character, and lung fever (bilious inflammation of lungs) in winter. Main line of the Mich. South. Road ..........131 86 Branches.... Total miles 66 Northern Ind. Road...113) 71 .315 244 in.. Once or twice, congestive fever has The length of roads of the companies proved epidemic in a few localities; is as follows: and, occasionally, on the lake shore, black tongue, with other forms of erysipelas, appears in winter and spring. The diseases of the Eastern states seem, however, to be gradually creeping in; and in Detroit, we have cases of small-pox, scarlet fever, and pulmonary consumption; but all forms of disease are generally light. Apparently, consumption is complicated with disorders of the liver. All kinds of domestic animals suffer from biliary derangement, but scarcely to as great an extent as formerly. After deducting the cash and other property on hand, the present actual investments in the construction and equipment of the 315 miles of road is about six millions of dollars. This is less than $20,000 per mile-a cost not exceeding one-third to one-half the cost of similar works in New-York and the Eastern states. The Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Rail-road Companies have is sued a report, says the Buffalo Courier, Michigan, it is believed, was the of the business of the road during the first state to pass a homestead exemp last six months. The Northern Indiana tion law, and to abolish capital punRoad was opened for use through its ishment; and among the first to relinentire length, June, 1852, thus furnish- quish the old and barbarous system of ing, in connection with the Michigan locking up debtors in prison. The first Southern-Rail-road, a direct communi- is said to have been originated by a cation from Chicago to Lake Erie, at farmer. It was ridiculed and opposed Monroe and Toledo. Since the first but is now adopted by a majority of of July, the entire line has been opera- the states. ted as one road. The gross earnings for the six months ending December 31, were: $592,187 00 385,700 16 $206,486 84 The income account, on the first day of January, 1853, stood as follows: 1852-Balance of income acc't, July, 1852.. 'Gross earnings for six months, as per the preceding statement Less expenses, interest, &c .... 1853-Jan. 1. Balance to credit to this account.. Balance of income account Leaving to credit of income ac count. $49,614 70 592,187 00 $256,101 54 had evidently been worked very ex The copper mines of Lake Superior tensively in very remote periods. These ancient works are of great magnitude, and are found extending over a wide space. Mr. C. Whittlesey (Smith's Annals of Science, vol. 1, No. 2,) believed these miners to have been the "race of the mounds" which occupied the state of Ohio, at a very remote period, and from whom descended the Aztecs, the ancestors of the Mexicans. The present race of Indians appear to have been entirely ignorant of the art of m ning, and even of the very existence of the old workings. The copper in the present day is found in masses, some loose, weighing over six tons; in veins of various thickness; and in ores mixed with rock. The mines are generally worked by shafts, till a vein is hit, when it is followed, the copper cut out with chisels, and raised to the surface. The following table shows $131,131 02 the condition of the mines in 1850. The amount of mineral sent to market has since largely increased, and copper smelting works have been established 34,357 86 near Detroit. Large quantities, however, are exported to Boston and Pitts $96,773 16 burgh. Copper Mines-Commerce of Lakes Erie, Huron, Michigan, &c. 493 Some eight or extensive operations. The present condition (February, 1853) of the mines, is spoken of as highly favorable. "Cliff mine continues to produce masses of nearly pure copper of from one to eighty tons. This mine pays a net profit of about $18,000 per month. In the Hill Mine there are at present two masses of pure copper, each exposed more than twenty feet in depth, and are from six to thirty inches thick. Their length is unknown. In the Copper Fall Mine, there is a vein two and a half feet wide, one large mass, and the entire vein thoroughly filled with the native copper. In Dana Mine, the ten fathomed level produces small pieces, barrel, and stamp ore. North Western Mine is producing more mass copper than it has at any previous time, and a large amount of barrel and stamp copper. Native Copper Mine has produced several tons of small mass, barrel, and stamp copper. Isle Royale Mine, of Portage Lake, continues to produce masses from 1500 lbs. downwards. At the North West Mine they are opening and extending their work preparatory to at $6,000. Judging by the present, the future destiny of Michigan is ordained to be prosperous. The climate compels activity of mind and body; nature has bestowed everything that industry can require, and lying midway between the Great West and the Atlantic Ocean, produce and merchandise to a vast extent must pass through and round the state. We conclude with the motto of the republic: "Si quæris peninsulam amœnam, circumspice."" We are indebted to the politeness of Mr. HYDE, collector of the customs at the port of Detroit, for the following statistics for the year 1852, which he caused to be prepared at our request: *This is in addition to 100 tons of stoves, valued Of sail vessels under twenty tons, no account is kept, and the outstanding tonnage can only be guessed at. The register of outstanding tonnage of steam vessels exhibits a much larger amount than is given above; but many of the vessels still retained on the register are known to be lost or out of service. The actual existing tonnage in service is given in the above table. Duties collected during the year 1852, $30,055 92. Lake trade of the United States (from the Patent Office report, 1850-1Agricul." p. 531.) The following table affords a good idea of the magnitude of a portion of the internal trade of the United States. The aggregate valuation of our lake trade for the year 1850 (imports and exports) amounts to the large sum of $186,484,905; or more, by $40,000,000, than the whole foreign export trade of the 40,362.80 ART. XI.-COMMERCIAL PROGRESS, HOME AND FOREIGN. [THE great activity which has lately been given to the iron interests, and its important results upon the construction of our public works, will recommend the following paper, which we adopt from the Rail-road Journal, to the attention of our readers :] IRON TRADE OF THE UNITED STATES, PAST AND PRESENT-PROGRESS OF GOLD PRODUCTIONLINE OF STEAMERS FROM VIRGINIA TO ANTWERP-LAKE IMPORTS FOR 1852-COMMERCE OF HAVANA THE FISHERIES-STEAMBOATS IN THE UNITED STATES-FINANCES OF THE UNITED STATES. The most important commercial movement of the day, is probably the great and rapid advance in the market value of iron manufactures, throughout Great Britain. The improvement was so sudden, so unexpected, and has been car ried on with so much vigor, that consumers in all parts of the world were un |