New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1851-03-05
| o w A.
Growth of DavenpOrt-Pro1ts Of Farming on
the Prairies-DO. ut the East.


Growth of Davenport-ProGts Of Farming on
the Prairies-DO. Mt the East.
Correspondence OF The Tribune.
DAVENPORT Iowa, Wednesday, Jan. %.
Davenport is situated at the foot of the Upper
Rapids of the Mississippi, near Rock Island and
has water.power equal to any in the United
States. A better site for a town could not be
desired. The ground gradually ascends from the
river for half mile, with an elevation averaging
FIVE feet to the square until it strikes the foot Of
hill, gradually rising seventy feet above the lower
plain. This town has now twenty-five hundred
inhabitants, and four steam mills. A large foun.
dry will be built here in the Spring. The first
house was erected in 1886. The buildings will
compare with those of most any eastern village.
Nearly all are of brick. We now have seven
churches, two seminaries, one College, three pub.
lie and five private schools.
In 1s40 flour was brought to Davenport, but
the two large steam mills recently built here
have exported twenty five thousand barrels Of
-four since last August.
The Agricultural products of Scott County have
doubled within the last three years. and are still
rapidly increasing. 1t requires but one year to
bring prairie farm under cultivation. There are
now about seven hundred farms opened within
ten miles of Davenport. The average quantity
of grain to the is-of Spring Wheat 20
bushels; Winter, do 30 Barley 40; Bush Oats
so Corn, 60; Potatoes, goo; Onions, 200.
Stone Coal, of good quality, is found here ia
abundance 1t costs at the banks 81 per tuni in
Davenport 50.
Lumber per thousand-Pine S12; Oak, $40;
Shingles So; Brick, o.
Wages: Day 'laborers 81 per day; Carpenters,
slli Bricklayers, 81. Other mechanics in pro-
portion
Public Land of the best quality may still be
had within eight miles of Davenport.
A heavy capital is not required In Iowa to
make an industrious man comfortably independ
ent, and eventually rich.
l will now give you the cost of opening
80 acres OF land at 81 % per 90
Fencing $50 rods at 20 cts per rod SS6 90
Breaking up 80 acres at - per loo 10
Making total ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 90
First crop at present prices, estimated as
30 acres in Winter Wheat at 10 per %
so Corn $50 ....... $40 %
10 Potatoes .@5O ......l,OOO 90
Total ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 90
Tale all your farm cost you from that..... $50 90
And there remain. 90
There is your years WORK and farm clear. If
YOU can beat that in the State of New York, just
let me know. The above figures may be relied on
In two years from this time, we can go from
this place to New York City, in two days, all the
way by Rail Road. We shall commence work in
the spring on the road from Rock Island, opposite
Davenport 10 Chicago.
One of the results that must follow the opening
of these Railroads must be obvious TO every far
mer Eastern lands must come down, and w es-
tern lands must 60 up The Eastern Farmer
cannot pay from $40 to 500. per acre for land
and compete with Western lands that averages
about ST. per acre, improved, and yields az
least ethird more to the acre and with one nan
.balohor XOurs JACOR Al. ELDRIDGE.
Remarks.
Nh Eldridge is good hand at CIPHER
iDg-we trust that he is equally good at
farming; but he must calculate a little
closer than the above. In his estimate OF
the cost of breaking up, fencing and cult
waiting Prairie farm in his section, we find
no allowance for Seed, which, for forty acres
of Wheat and ten of Potatoes, is no small
item. Nor do we find any allowance tor
the cost of cultivating, harvesting and
marketing the 1000 bushels of Wheat,
1900 bushels of Corn, and 1900 bushels
of Potatoes which he literally allows his
newly broken Prairie to produce. We sup
pose he means that the owner could SOW,
plant, guard, harvest and market all this
himself in the course Of. a year. We will
not say he could not, but we 'ciH say that
he must work faithfully and step about
rather lively to do it, and he wosld want
at least enc good team 1--WE think two) TO
help him, and that the cost of such team,
with wagons, implements Of culture, &c.
should have been included in his estimate.
We will also remark that if Wheat brings
20 cents per bushel and Potatoes fifty at
Davenport, while the average yield of the
latter on newly broken Prairie is 200
bushels per acre, the men who buy them
pay quite as much as they are worth.
In all this we intend no Disagreement
of the Prairie region of the West, and
especially Of the Upper Mississippi. 1t is
a beautiful, fertile, bountiful region, and