thereof. Dr. Troost seems to have carried on his work with great thoroughness and ability. His reports were made to the legislature and they take up considerable space in the public documents. So distinguished was Dr. Troost in his day that a study of his life and work has been made recently by Dr. L. C. Glenn, Professor of Geology in Vanderbilt University.

Considering the tremendous obstacles Tennessee had to contend with, the development of mining and manufacturing in this period was very creditable. There is every reason to believe that the state with its efficient system of railroads nearing completion was on the eve of great industrial progress. The people had planned wisely and had worked zealously and intelligently, and were now for the first time in their history in a position to begin the real development of their rich resources. The arm of the government was the most powerful factor in this great preparatory work. Of course the development of mining and manufacturing was wholly dependent on the development of the internal improvement system. The chief purpose of the government in its great activity in the interest of internal improvements was to make mining and manufacturing on a large scale possible. Without the generous support and the intelligent co-operation of the government, little could have been done in Tennessee before 1860 in developing internal improvements. That impulse given by the government has exerted a great influence ever since.

The amount of capital invested in manufacturing per capita free population, in 1860, in Southern and

The general economic conditions of the South and West were similar, since both sections devoted most of their energies to agriculture. This table shows that manufacturing in the South was developing very much as it was developing in the West. The theory that slavery prevented the development of manufacturing in the slave states is not sustained by the facts of history.

CHAPTER XXI

PROGRESS IN AGRICULTURE

Agriculture, of course, was the chief industry of Tennessee before the Civil War; and the state government from the beginning showed an intelligent interest in the development of the agricultural resources. The early "pure food laws" were passed largely in the interest of agriculture. "I observe," said Governor Roane in 1801, in his message to the legislature, "with pleasure that our domestic manufactories have considerably increased, and yet a large surplus of provisions and raw materials remain for exportation. If houses of inspection shall be early established under the proper regulation and conducted by persons suitably qualified for the task, the credit of those articles in foreign markets will be enhanced, a spring will be added to industry, and we shall soon become a wealthy people." The articles here referred to were doubtless largely the products of the farm, as flour, pork, lard, etc. The legislature in 1801 responded to the request of Governor Roane, and passed the law desired in the interest of the development of Tennessee resources.

It is interesting to read the opinions of Governor Roane in the light of the rigid inspections now required by the laws.

From a report of a select committee of the legislature, in 1853, we get the following:

In making this report the committee stated: "The committee are well satisfied the estimates are in every instance too small." This was before Tennessee had a single railroad, and, of course, the means of transportation were very poor.

In 1854, the legislature passed an act to establish a state agricultural bureau, with county and district societies subordinate thereto. The bureau was organized in 1854, and county societies had been chartered in seventeen counties in 1855. "Division Fairs," says Governor Johnson in his message to the legislature, "will this year (1855-6) be held in each division of the state, and the Biennial State Fair is now in progress near Nashville."

In 1856, the act referred to was amended, and the sum of $200 was appropriated to each county for premiums, on condition that the county would raise $300 as capital stock. By this act the sum of $500 was appropriated for premiums at the State Fair, and the sum of $1,000 was appropriated to each division of the state for purchasing movable fixtures for fairs. The state issued bonds for $30,000 for the purpose of buying fair grounds at Nashville.

The Agricultural Bureau was to pay the interest on these bonds. The sum of $10,000 was appropriated to each division of the state to buy fair grounds.

The report of fairs and county societies for 1854-5 is published in the Senate Journal for this year and it covers three hundred and forty-eight pages in this journal. A number of addresses on subjects pertaining to agriculture are printed in the reports of this time.

The very remarkable progress in agriculture in Tennessee is indicated by the great increase in the cash value of farms from 1850 to 1860. Other things being equal the increase in the value of farms for any short period is a good test of the development of agriculture for that period. In 1850, the cash valuation of farms in Tennessee was $97,851,212. In 1860, the cash valuation of farms had increased to $271,358,985. The cash valuation of farms of the six New England states in 1850 was $372,458,543; in 1860, $476,303,837. So the increase in the cash valuation of farms was much greater in Tennessee from 1850 to 1860 than it was in all six of the New England states combined, and the cash valuation of farms in Tennessee in 1860 was nearly two-thirds of the cash valuation of farms in all the six New England states combined. There were but five states in the Union that had a greater increase in the valuation of farms from 1850 to 1860 than Tennessee, and all of them had a larger population than Tennessee,