Muscatine journal. [volume] (Bloomington, Iowa) 1849-185?, 1853-10-28

rs our n, may form an idea Of the genera
appearance of central Iowa, we venture t,
describe it.
At n rough estimate, { o.thirds Of low.
is prairie, and the balance timbered land
inte~spersed ut convenient intervals. Tn,
prairics are mostly level, though in som,
places they are quite undulating, an,
sloughs, which serve rs drains, are occa.
sionally found. The prairie land is covered
with heavy grass and a great variety Of
wild flo 'ers, the grass averaging from on,
foot to five feet in height. In the sloughs
and marshes it grows the most luxuriant-
on the more rolling land, sr nrsely-thoug l
sufficiently thick to cover the ground en-.
tircly. These prairies furnish. ..unboundcd
pasturnge for stock in summer time, and the
grass when cut and cured in the usual way,
makes excellent hay for winter. The trav.
eler along our roads will find prairie and
timber land at rather irregular intervals
varying from one to twenty, and even more,
mics, though we never travelled more than
twcnty-four miles over one continuous prai
rie. -
In fall and winter, during dry weather,
the sky is illuminated every night by fires
on the prniries. To the unaccustomcd eve,
this is grand spectacle. If the FIRE is to
the northward, it may easily be mistaken
for the aurora borealis, so brilliant and ma
jestic does it appear. On the prairie, when
brisk wind is blowing, the fire travels
through the grass with Astonishing speed,
frequently leaping roads, and destroying
fences and stacks Of, grain, in its course.
Fencing material is the principal difficulty
to the settlement and cultivation Of prairie
lands. T;mbered land is considered much
more valuable than the prairie, though the
latter has generally richer soil, and is
moro easily cultivated. Sod fences have
been tried and proved but imperfect enclo-
sares, and now tho experiment Of Usage
orange hedging is being tried and will proba-
bly, prove successful. Some wire fences
have also been constructed, and done very
well. ~
The FIRST step towards cultivnting prairie
land is called "breakinz."s This is done
with four or five yokes of oxen attached to
a strong, heavy pillow. The sod, when up
turned, is allowed to ssrot" one year, and
can thereafter be easily plowed with COM
mon plow-team. Sometimes corn is planted
in newly broken field, the grains being
into crevices made 10y an axe or
some other similar implement, which pro-
duces what is called "sod crop" This is
inferior in quality to crops produced when
the sod is fairly .rottcd. ~. sa.
There are no stones to be gathered from
our fields and piled in fence corners as in the
east. The soil, after the first year of cul-
tivation, is very loose and easily plowed. it
will yield from eighteen to twenty 1--we
bushels of wheat to the acre, and from
70 sixty bushels Of corn. Oats,
barley, rye, buck wheat, Aaxseed, potatoes,
onions, &C., &c., also grow luxuriantly.a +
The soil Of the timbered land is about
the same. The timber does not grow very
thickly together only at certain places
mostly along water courses. The timber
land is composed mostly of what is, termed
'sbarrens.' These are sparsty growing
oack trees with grass beneath, growing as
rs on the prairies. 4 The timber
gradually diminishes in size as you APP
pronch the prairie, ut the edge Of which
'sscrub oaks' are usually alone to be seen.
white oak is the most universal species
of timber. Black and red oak are also
found. They grow on an average to the
height of about fifty feet. Hickory, ash,
elm, linn, cottonwood, maple, walnut, To-
Gust, cherry, &c., grow in certain locali-
ties. Beach trees are rarely met with. The
sugar tree is found occasionally near water
courses. urs5 80 gttg, .gf6 .,.
We shall resume this subject at a future
time, and speak mt length of the spontane-
BUS productions of the soil of Iowa. If
~ The Muscatine Journal suggests the construc-
ion of adirsct road from Poston and WaInu Groves
be latter In this county 10 that city so that tho far
ners there can convey their produce to Muscatine
Perhaps they will do it-more than once.-r Darex :
'or Gaxdtc. 3l3r e#fS fa&f78 5zTBi
Our suggestion could not be alluded to BY
he Gazette only in the above sneering man
Ter. The facts are on our side. We stated
hat the farmers at the above places desired J.
'hoica of markets. We were told by them
hat Burrows 4 Prettyman had the Daven-
'ort market under their entire control, and
or want of competition the. farmers were,
literally swindled. In Muscatine there are
wo large Touring mills, capable of grinding
II the wheat that may be brought to market,
Consequently, MS we need ship none of the !
aw material, we do and can afford to give
etter prices. NO babe7g 90 h0nyas9
DiaAsrsR-A barge loaded with 5000 bushels of
heat, all the property # n ,ssrs. Mckinney Adams,
quawka, was sunk ty running against snag, near
'allcs, few days ago. Only about 800 sacks of
h~.k -a.. .avoA t.. ona - s,a aft ,aF