The Minnesota pioneer. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn. Territory) 1849-1855, 1850-05-23

Of organic matter aud tho lightness Of ,h
soil. Lands possessing this power in a con
siderable degree, readily absorb the dew il
dry weather, and in wet weather do not suf
fer the superf1uous rain 10 accumulate OF
the surface-nnd these qualities are accord
ingly especial characteristics of the lands O
| Minnesota. f..
Another view Of the producing capac.t,
Of the soil Of the Territory, is obtained b,
particular analysis of the principal rock.
whose decayed atoms compose it. The
magnestan limestone, for instance, contain.
from So to 40 per centum Of carbonate o
magnesia: on the average, from Is 10 40 PEI
cent, Of pure magnesiaj and by mere solu.
ton IN su'phurc acid, is capable of yielding
no less than 90 partsuf crystalized sul phate
Of magnesia, (epsom salts, and sixty parts
of gypsum or plaster (nnhydreas sulphate
OF lirne,) from every 200 parts OF the rock
The lime Of its composition, also, coming in
contact with the quartOze and granite sands
Of the soil, and assisted by the atmosphere
acts chemically upon them, dissolying out a
portion OF their silica, and setting free like
wise, in liberal quantities, potash and sod a !;
while the phosphates are furnished to the
soil by the decomposition of the marine
shells interspersed through all the lime
stones of the region, especially in the shell
or fossiliferous limestone.
Thns, it will be observed, that for ,rheat,
in which lime, the sill ate Of potass, and the
phospha,es, are mainly necessary; for oats,
which consumes so largely of potass, mag
nesia and lime, along with silica; for rye,
whose food is the Same as for wheat, but
with less line, more pOtass, and q smaller
amount Of the phospha,es; for corn, that
great feeder upon potass, soda, lime, mag
nesia and the phosphates; for hUckwheat, in
which lime, potass and silica are such heavy
ingredients; for all these and more, the soil
of the Territory, from its chemical cons,it-
ueDts, is apparently happily adapted
But climate, the lay Of the land. and the
manner in which it is tratered and drained,
are scarcely less important in securing prac-
tical results in cultivation. than the mere sb.
stract chemical elements of the soil. But
equally by the character of the first, as by
the nature of the last named requisites, the
farmer IN Minnesota is guaranteed success
ia his labors.
For, cold as il is in winter. i, is a dry cold, A.,
with but little wind, without any Of those
alternate fre.zings and thawings that are so
severe upon vegetation in fall and spring in
other portions Of the United States. The
first Frost, for instance, of the past fail Of
ls49, which inj ured tender garden vegeta-
ton, such as the cucumber, tomato, and
pumpkin vines was not until the 9th of Oc-
tober. A month before this, early in Sep
te,nIer, frosts bad entirely suspended garden
vegetation in the region of Southern Wis
consin and Northern Illinois, two and three
hundred miles farther south.
la the spring, the streams Of the Terrific
ry may be ice-bound later, and vegetation
slower TO begin than elsewhere. Yet, final
iy, when The bonds Of winter are unlOOsed
they are snapped suddenly, and ara not
again united. In other words, in The spring
Of Minnesota, there is little Of the transition
state-wnter ends and summer begins al
most at Once--vegetatiOn rI-hes forward
With n rnpiduy that soon makes up for lost
tIme-and farmers there suffer scarcely any
of those draw backs incident TO farming in
the older States, Orcasione,i by "wiDter lin
gering in the lap Of sprihg"-by the wealth
er at one period encouraging vegetation by
genial smiles, tn pu, forth it, SUMMER livery;
when at another, a tr-acherous frost comes,
n.pping and destroying its first hniidings.--
The weather of Minnesota, unlike this, is
ot n more decided character. 1t can be de-
pended upon. Ii is always one thing or the
other Ii is either hot or cold, and not both
N the same brenih. Farmers everywhere
VIII readily estimate the advantages of this
stnte Of things.
In describing the clay Of the land"
it may be most properly divided into
prai'ies, oak openings, and lake and
swamp meadors The two former are
high and undulating, and the latter low
and level. The pro,ries are much smaller
generally, than those farther south in
Illinois and Iowa; and the proportion of
oak and hard ,rood timber, scattered over
the surface of the land, is greater ::
while WATER is every where ptenig.--
Locations can nearly always be made so
as to secure a sutficiency of timber for
fencing and fuel. For building Cor even
tencing) purposes, the great Pineries
around the heads of the upper Missis-
sippi and St. CroiX rivers, furnish an in
exhaustible supply of heavy pine logs,
which arc foated down to saw-mills con-
venient to the farming country. and
there manufactured in lumber for home
or distant markets. In this feature alone,
a farmer settling in Minnesota would
have no slight advantage over the in
habitants of the States lying farther
south
In regard to ,eaier for farming purpo-
ses, few lands are more liberally supplied
with this element in all its purity. The
rivers of the Territory are for the most
part large navigable canals, affording
abundant facilities of inland navigation
and intercommunica alton.
But to her system Of Lakes, large and
small, irom those hundreds Of miles in
circumference to ponds 100 feet in di-
ameter-and to the springs flowing from
them, must the farmer in Minnesota prin-
cipally look for his homestead supply
These lakes dot the whole country
over, and hardly farm could be opened
on quarter Of section Of land any
where, that would not border on one of
these beautiful sheets Of water, or pas
ses within its precincts one or more of
the little ponds referred to.
The small as well as the large, are
filled with the purest, sweetest and most
wholesome of living water. Indeed,