The Davenport gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Scott Co., Iowa) 1841-185?, 1850-03-07
[Fron, The Dollar Newspaper Htiioda. ]
LETTER FIR IN IOWA.

Having been . subscT lber and reader OF tn
'tDollar Newspaper for the last four years, ant
having read many articles during the period tha
were both interesting and Instructive, especially
those under the agricultural head, and having re.
ceived valuable information respecting the local
advantages Of different sections OF the Union, the
nature Of soils and their PRODUCTIONS, propose
10 add nv mite to the usefulness Of that depart
ment ofthe paper for the benefit Of whom it may
/ concern.
Many are famili,r with the early history OF To-
wa, and Of Rock Island; il being thr home ofthe
noted Indian Chief, Black Hawk, and the soil for
which he bafiled as late as 1892. What change
few years have made! Where stood but yesterday
few wigwams, tenanted by Indians, now cities
rise, and eighteen thousand freemen furrow up
the hunting grounds Of The savage. Where the
solitary canoe rnff,ed the smooth and crystalled
waters OF the Mississippi, now thirty majestic
lsielmezs~-iaden with the products Of the fertile
Iairies, ply both night and day its clear and rapid
current.
The town Of Davenport is situated Immediate
ly at the foot ofthe Uppsr Rapids, and commands
water power equal 10 Lowell A better site
Tor a Town ton.d not Be desired. The ground
gradu lIy ascends from the Mississippi three
fourths Of mile back, with an elevation avera-
ging four feet to the square, or block, until II
strikes the foot Of a bluff, which gradually rises
some seventy feet above the lower plain. uron
this elevation las been erected college and sew
er handsome dwellings. After gaining the snu1
init, one unbloken sheet of table. land extends be-
fore You in every direction. At distance the
eye detects change in the suriace; vast rolling
prairie is visible, which seems to rise and fall as
the waves oil the ocean; and still beyond, beneath
the horizon, appears the dark tops Of the groves,
resembling the granite ledges of a distant coast.
Beneath you, al the base Of the bluffs, the beautiful
town Of Davenport, with its gardens and vile,
shaded streets appears, backed by the Father Of
waters.
The first farm was opened 10 Scott county in
1885, and the first house erected in Davenport IN
1896 The dwellings VIII compare will, those OF
any Delaware or North River village. In the
town there are seven churches, Jail, court house,
and one medical college The colleges are in
furnishing condition, and bid lair TO he useful as
they are an ornament TO Iowa. The professor'o o!
both institutions are ienorted as being energetic
and competent. In le4Q 6oar was imported into
Davenport, but the two extensive steam mills.
recently erected in the town, have exported e'gh-
teen thousand barrels Of -four since the first OF
July last. The healthy location of Davenport,
the abundance OF game of the prairies, and sal-
mon, bass and pike of The river, have made It
quite resort for the sporting community; tor
those that wisI, TO retire Eom the more southern
towns during The summer months.
The agricultural products Of Scott county have
doubled within the last tweuty-fonr months, and
man, extensiv. farms of 100 10 500 acres are now
opening. II reqnires from twelve to "a months
oni, to bring prairie farm INFO as good state o'
cultivation as farms in the East that have been
cleared, grubbed, lined and manured for len years.
have had some experience on p"nr farm n
Chester county, Pa. and have al-o improved prai-
rie land it, Iowa, and estimate that can fence,
b. eak and harvest the FIRST crop rom one hundred
acres OF Mid or ney ground in Iowa. with less
oahn han fnrtV n lasd -, nm.
syivania or New Jersey, and be better paid for
my investment and labor: aud that which will
apply TO Iowa lands will equally appl, TO linois
aud Wisconsin. Manure is seldom used here by
the iarmers not one in fifty ever move il from the
| stock yard; but am satisfied, from observation;
that il greatly benefits even the richest soil, es-
pecially laid intended for timothy.
The cradle, sickle and fail are done away with,
or are hardly knownin Scott and Clinton counties;
the reaper and header is in every field, and as
common az the cradle in Pennsylvania; the
threshes follows the reaper, and in many instan'
ces the wheat never goes into the stack. but from
the fields into the mill or warehouse. Horse pow
er is used 10 reap and thresh, and It would De im-
possible for tho.e that have from two TO >ix hum
dred of wheat to harvest, to save il all with
out machinery, as a sufficient number OF men
cannot be procured. new reaper has been in
vented BY a citizen Of Scott county, that cuts
rakes and deposites, the grain in wagons in atten
dance for that purpose, and by which II is re
moved 10 the thrcsher The average quantity o
wheat per acre in Scott and Clinton counties Il
twenty -three bushels, though some know aveI-
age higher The average Yield OF corn is seventy
five bushels per acre. Oats, barley, buck wheat
poIatoes and onions yield abundan.iy: the sol
and climate is considered better adapted to the las
named article than any other section Of the Union
From three 10 five hundred bushels are the gen.
eral Weld per acre. They are not cultivated from
sets or shoots, as in the East, but the seed are
sown broadcast, like wheat, and with but little
labor grow 10 an incredible size. One hand car
attend six o. eight acres. Some farmers in this
vicinity raised and shipped four Thousand bushels
last season. f7emp, Hax, timothy and miiiet Dc
we'll. Coal OF good quality exists in abundance
in both Scott and Rock Island counties. Some
twenty mines are now worked with slcc ccea& Ant
profit The i1exhausfibIe forests OF pine and cy-
press OF Wisconsin, Minnesota and N"rthern lows
furnish the prairie country with cheap and so'
perior article O lumber. The timber OF the groves
and river bottoms, together with coal, furnish I
supply Of fuel f@A' ~
As my object inwriting is, if possible, to bene'
fit sbme one at least Of the human family, woalt
inquire Of you, whether many Of the young mer
that walk your streets day alter day, year aftel
year, willing TO labor, could they but procure Il
and also the young farmer that tolls amongst tnt
granite knobs OF New England and Chestnut h'iI'
OF 1eUuSytv1uIds WOuiu uOt ~ Wei .nenS wy
selves both wealthy and happy by leaving tne
crowded city and barren lands, and move to the
fertile and healthy valley Of the Upper Mississip,
p, where they can, with moderate industry and
economy, be ihe possessors Of good farms within
forty-eght months after their arrival; and won't
not some hundreds Of the young women tha'
throng your intelligence offices, benefit their con,
dtion BY coming West, where they can get goot
wages and comfortable homes! There is grea
scarcity OF females both in the villages and coun
try. The average wages Of females Is 81 81 Pc
week. Laboring men receive 81 per day - =
to 81 SO Is paid on farms during harvest. Me
chaDics receive 81 SO to ~. There Is no de-
mand for clerks Or super in,endents, &c., &c.-
Land OF the first quality can be procnredin Scott
Muscatine, Clinton and other counties IN Iowa a
81 25 to 90 per acre; and improved farms car
be purchased well located, and convenient q
market and the river, from 50 to SIS per acre
depending on situation and improvements. iwH