only demanded as wealth and pride require compliance with the edicts of fashion.

Duration of Life.

Although Michigan has not yet done all that is necessary to secure the highest degree of health for her inhabitants, the average duration of life appears greater than in Great Britain, The following table is compiled from two sources. In the first column the figures are taken from the "Carlisle Table of Mortality," extensively used by insurance companies, the most complete we can command, showing the average duration of life of persons in England, after the ages stated; and the second column is compiled from "Statistics of Michigan," pages xcii-iii-iv-v, compiled from United States census by Dr. H. B. Baker, Secretary of the Board of Health, compiler of the census, etc.

Table showing the average duration of life, after the ages named.

AGE. IN ENGLAND. IN MICHIGAN. AGE. IN ENGLAND. IN MICHIGAN.

From this table it seems that the average duration of life after every age, except the age of ninety-five, is greater in Michigan than in England, and at that age the average is equal, while subsequent figures show that a person at the age of 104

in England, is not more likely to live six months than a man at 112 is in Michigan.

Extent of Land.

The number of acres of land in the two peninsulas of Michigan may be stated in even figures at thirty-five million. According to the U. S. Census of 1870, five million acres are under actual cultivation, and five million more included in farms, but still unimproved. The estimated cash value of these farms is three hundred and ninety-eight million dollars, and the annual products are worth about eighty-two million dollars. About ten million acres more are owned by individuals who pay taxes on them, so that there yet remain fifteen million acres of land, owned by the United States, by the State, or by railroad companies, subject to entry as homestead lands, or at moderate prices and on accommodating terms, or reserved as mineral lands.

Progress of Settlement.

The following tables, compiled from the United States Census for the years named, by Dr. H. B. Baker, show how rapidly the lands of Michigan are being subdued and made into farms:

Average Size of

Farms in acres
of land, improv-
ed and unim-

proved.

Under 3.

8 to 10.

10 to 20.

NUMBER OF FARMS CONTAINING THE NUMBER OF ACRES

OF IMPROVED LAND STATED BELOW.

CHARACTER OF ENGLISH AGRICULTURAL LABORERS.

Because, at the commencement of this article, we referred to one of the unfortunate weaknesses of English agricultural laborers, the tendency to spend time and money in the alehouse or village inn, it must not be inferred that, as a class, they are addicted to the vice of intemperance more than any other class in Great Britain. Such an inference would be unjust to the class we desire to benefit by this paper. The use of malt liquor, as a beverage, so prevalent in agricultural districts, although a source of much evil, socially and politically, will not compare with the use of distilled liquors in cities and towns in the production of squalid misery, pauperism, and crime. Your average agricultural laborer of England, although slow in his movements and not quick of comprehension, possesses qualities for the performance of his duties as a practical agriculturist which render him invaluable on a farm. There are at present in Michigan, very few fair specimens of the English agricultural laborer, and therefore it is not easy to impress upon the minds of Michigan farmers the importance of securing their laborers from England. Some idea of the character under consideration can however be arrived at by considering:

I.-His Physical Strength.

No class of men can be found with such firm muscular development, full chests, and healthy, vigorous frames. There may be larger men than those of some of the eastern and southern counties, but in Yorkshire, even in size, the laborer will challenge comparison with any on the face of the globe.

II-His Perseverance.

The patient, plodding perseverance of the English agricultural laborer is proverbial. He does nothing from mere impulse, but he works steadily, quietly, and perseveringly until the day's work is done, and he leisurely returns to his home. He can not be hurried, but he will do far more work and do it much more completely than a man of more impul

sive temperament. It is plodding perseverance that tells on farm work.

III-His Love of Home.

The love of home.

This is a strong characteristic in the English laborer, and is a principal reason why so few leave their native land and emigrate to America. It is a passion which holds them during their whole lives to the parish in which they were born, seldom removing to any other portion of the county, or to any other county. This peculiarity, in a measure, accounts for the local distinctions in the dialect of each county which are kept up from generation to generation.

Desirable for Michigan.

The English agricultural laborer, then, is a strong, steady, pcrsevering man; his sense of honor and his honesty are unquestionable, and were he placed in circumstances where his children would secure a proper education, he would become the progenitor of an intelligent as well as useful class of citizens.

Why He Lacks Intelligence.

There are many reasons why the agricultural laborer of England is not as intelligent as the mechanic of the same country. The perpetual labor to which he is necessarily subject, to keep his family from want and destitution, dulls his intellect, and circumscribes his mental power. It is the natural tendency of excessive physical labor, always, to blunt the intellect, and inasmuch as the peasantry of England have been practically excluded from the privileges of schools for many generations, it is not wonderful that so few can read or write, or that, as a class, so few powerful intellects are found among them. That the institutions of Michigan would have a good effect on the English laborer and his family, we have ample proof.

How an English Laborer Succeeded in Michigan. One instance, of many, we will relate:

Mr. Thomas Petty is a Yorkshireman, who can neither read nor write. About the year 1867, he came to Spring Lake, Ottawa county, and purchased, in connection with an English mechanic, who furnished a few hundred dollars, a piece of wild land on the north side of what was known as 66 Hammond's Bayou," an arm of the beautiful Spring Lake. The most valuable timber had been taken off, and the laud was consequently purchased at a moderate price. Mr. Petty went to work, cleared it of stumps and grubs, and planted several thousand peach trees, grapevines, and some other fruits. These he has since attended to almost exclusively himself, only hiring help for a few weeks at the busy season. The site was well selected, having a fine elevation, with a gradual slope to the lake. His orchard and vineyard now rivals and even excels in productiveness and culture numerous orchards and vineyards of that noted fruit region, although nearly all the other fruit-g -growers are men of education as well as culture, and have studied the books industriously on all theories of orchard and vineyard management.

A Premium Orchard and Vineyard.

Mr. Petty has taken first premiums at the Horticultural fairs for his fruit, and on his vineyard and orchard, in comparison with the vineyards and orchards of similar age in that region, where the competition is quite sharp. It is not probable that twenty thousand dollars would tempt Mr. Petty to part with his place. During a recent interview, Mr. Petty stated that so abundant was his annual production of grapes, be should consider his vineyard profitable if he only realized three cents a pound for his crop. And the appearance of the vines, laden with fruit, fully justified his remark.

Here is an instance where a man, without even the rudiments of even an elementary education, comes from the bleak