The author reported that at the time of writing, virtually all of the 600 residents of the village of New Glarus and most of the residents of the township were themselves Swiss immigrants or children of Swiss immigrants, and they normally spoke Swiss German among themselves. He estimated there were about 8,000 Swiss in Green county, and the neighboring county of Dane also had a large Swiss element. He goes on to discuss economic conditions in Glarus, Switzerland in the 1840s, and tells the story of the creation of the colony in Green county that became New Glarus.