Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1839-09-13

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fertile states OF the valley, besides the. i'm
mense unexpiored regions, perhaps equally
fertile upon the tributaries. and about the
sources Of the Missouri and the Mississippi.
One of the reflections which forced itself
upon my mind in travelling through little
oftbe wesl, and having before my eyes from
day to day. proofs OF lis extraordinary feriiIi-
ty,and Of little labor which il requires to
procure a rebundance OF food, was, that
these immense regions were intended and
reserved chiefly for the millenium. The
land is far too good for man, with those in
dolent and deprived propensiies in full
strength, by which he has been hitherto gov
erned
What then is the actual condition Of a
farmer, who goes out with moderate means
from Massachusetts or New Hampshire, and
settlers down upon good section Of land.
wood and prairie, in IIlinois2 The FIRST
thing is 10 plough il which, if he does
not happen yet TO have a sufficient team Of
his own, he can hire done for two dollars
and half or three dollars an acre II he
wants TO get a crop OF corn the first sum-
mer, he has only TO follow the plough, and
drop the seed Into every third furrow. to.
give him from fifteen 10 t,cenfy-fre bushels
The acre, without going into The field again
I'LL harvest time, saw a great deal Of corn,
as ! passed along, thus springing up between
the burrows. The ploughing however,
must be delayed till the grass is quite green,
otherwise il viii turn and spring up through
the sod, and you viii loose your labor. The
breaking up requires three or four strong
oxen, and is done in this wise. The beam
of the plough is framed into an axle, and
so guaged as to cut a furrow about eighteen
inches wide and four inches deep. The
wheel that runs in the furrow is four inches
larger in diameter than the other, so as 10
keep The bottom Of the plough perfectly fiat.
Thus prepared and once put in motion, it
requires no one to hold 1t, except where the
sward is very deep and tough. noticed
one plough at least. going without hands,
and never saw handsomer furrow cul ia
my life II takes about two years for the
turf TO become thoroughly pulverized, and
then the land is TILED with as much ease as
ii Il had been under cultivation hundred
years. One man. with two horses, will take
care Of forty acres Of corn. as il requires no
hoelng, and if the season is favorable it will
yield 1000 bushels. With this he can
faiten great many swine, besides feeding
a large stock Of cattle through the. winter.
Wheat and all other grains may be raised
with about the same ease
The open prairies serve him both for
pasturaee and moving. and the less be owns
the better because large tracts will for a
long time remain in common field, which
he can have the use Of, without paying taxes.
"A friend Of mine has planted himself
down on the margin ofone OF these prairies,
where. as he told me, he could ialien FIVE
hundred or five thousand cattle If he had
them The young prairie grass is said 10
be exceedingly nutIicious; and | am sure
never saw cattle look finer in any Of our.
white clover pastures
Now from this brief statement il must be
obvious 10 every one, that farmer hvora-
bly, located 1.-THE west can support his fam
ily by one half or one third Of The labor
which II would cost him in New England,
and what will the majority do with SO much
spare time2 Is italI likely tina, they will
be as virtuous as happy, or even as thriving.
as ithey were upon a poorer. soil, and had
% work every day? Suppose our Puritan
lathers had found the inexhaustible bottoms
of Illinois, instead OF the sands of Cape Cod,
and the iron bound shores Of Massachusetts
Bay, when they first landed on this comm
enl2 Who would ever have heard Of New
England as she is, and Of her hardy and
eente.rprsing sons every where. both on the
land and ocean
This brings me back 10 the thought al
ready thrown out, that the wise and beneii-
cent Creator intended TO reserve the deep
and almost boundless fertility OF The west.
chiefly for the millennium. when The high
moral and religious principles of vast pop