Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1844-11-22
MISCELLANEOUS.
The Prairie Country,

Charles w. Denison, Editor Of the Sheet An
Choir, has been writing series of interesting let
ters to the editor of the Boston Chronicle, from
the West We give one below in relation to the
Praires:
"On arriving at Milwaukee and stopping for
night at the excellent American Temperance
House, passed directly by stage to the Rock Riv-
err Valley. This route led me through Eagle, Du
Lack, Rock and other prair eS -through Prairie |
vile, Milton, GAINESVILLE, and Beloit-comprsing
one of the best sections of WISCONSIN. | have
room and time to draw but few Of the features
of what saw Of the praries.
/. Their ertent Imagine to yourselves gentle
men, all the city of Boston entire space like
the mall, and the adjoining country around for
sixty miles in circumference Of the same charaC-
ter, destitute of tree, or shrub, or stone Of the
smallest Sze-skirted, on the whole outer edge
with large oaks, and mounds rising on mounds
along the sky-covered in every part by great
variety of flowers, embracing many unknown in
any other part Of the earth, the shooting star, the
nloccasin plant the bIue-be presenting in rich
relief her colOrS of crimson, purple and gOId-the
deep green foliage of the oak openings tringing
this vast garden as with a natural hedge, tree from
tangled bushes, and smooth in the shade car
pet-iellS of grain uNbrOken by stump or soil
iary rock, waving with Hundreds of acres Of the
golden rrop--auI you will begin to have some
faint idea Of these praries in the spring aud sum-
mcr OF the yenr.
g Their richness. 1t is impossible to give an
adequate description on this point. The richness
oflhe praireS only he Judged of by its effects.
! have two vials of the soil with me, which | in
tend to analy ze-one, taken from the surface of
an unploughed, unnHnured opeHing; the other,
from an adjoining prairie, out of hole some foot
and half deep My first impressions are that the
specimens contain magnesia, su phur and lime, IN
large quantities. | saw one ded OH Rock prairie
OF 500 acres that will ayerl - thirty bushels to
a htIsb lls 'Ip tnK f,H
Milton, in Rock county, has produced 100000
bushels of wheat the present year. 1t is eStlnat
ed that the arrival of wheat III Milwaukee will
average $500 bushels day, and that the crop of
the territory will be from one to two million bush
els. A great steamer is atthIs moment freight
ed for the east with 10, 900 bushes-equa to three
hundred tons Of bread stufs Corn, potatoes, and
other grains and roots, grow in equal abundance.
The potatoes are, without exception, the largest
and finest have ever seen. The beets, and other
excellent vegetables enormous. Many Of the
potatoes are so white and mealy that, when well
boiled, they have the appearance of the finest -four
1t is no uncommon thing to see a potatO-nOW "be
not lathIesS, but believing"-a quarter of yard
long, and weighing three pounds! This will do
to begin with; but in my opinion the most rapidly
profitable business Of WISCONSIN will be raising
sheep and fruit.
s. Game. The prairies, small lakes and rivers,
abound with fowl and fsh-such as geese, ducks,
chickens, trout and pickere gentleman took
me through an opening in the rear Of a plantation
of one of my relatives, to lake, having on it at
the time at least 1000 wild fowl of different kinds
The deer, singuarly enough, are passing away
with the Indians. They would probably be less
hunted, and find more to eat, if they remained in
the vicinage Of civilization. The prairie hens re-
main, attracted by the cultivated fields, and are
increasing. Their meat is more compact and ten
der than that of the domestic hen. The cattle are
the latest, although of common breed at present.