Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1854-02-13
HOMES N WISCONSIN.

py, following with our replies. He clo-
ses by requesting that we ''answer cam
didly, for it is no light matter. for man
to pull up stakes and move SO far west. !"
We would not dare misrepresent in the
face of our readers here it weuld be an
unforgiving offence before all. We COM
mence with the first inquiry, emitting
replies to such others as we answered
substantially before:
"How does the land in Wisconsin
compare, in respect to quality, with our
lands in Ohio?'
Our acquaintance with lands in Ohio
only extends TO Fairfield, Licking, Mus
kingum and Perry Counties; SO we ire
not sowell prepared for drawing COMPARE
sons. We have no fiat elm lands like
those of the first two Counties, nor have
we any similar 10 the beach timber lands
Of the other. We have no rock, known
in Ohio, as "negro heads" Lime rock
Is far more abundant here, and north of
The Wisconsin river there is plenty Of
sand stone, though Of crumbly and in
ferior quality. We have the genuine blue
limestone, said TO be the best building
material in existence. Yours is the VEL
low limestone, in clumsy boulders. We
describe the rock because the quality of
soil may always be determined by the
kind of rock contained in a country
the formation and material of both de-.
pending on like elements; and clos e
judge of land will look to the one as
much as 10 the other to arrive at conclu-
sions. We have remarked also, that
what we say of Wisconsin must be ui1-
derstood as applying only 10 the lead re-
gaon, embraced in the three south-w
ern Counties Of the State-there being
no other similar lands in all the west.
You infer that we have loomy soil,
strongly impregnated with lime. and
clayey lime basis, and you Judge correct
~. So far as fertility is concerned, the
subsoil to an unknown depth, i. Just as
good for vegetation as the top ill.,
some think it is better for wheat, be-
cause it is more compact. Our land
wears we'll; it seems TO have a strong
constitution, so 10 speak, and having a
bottom, none of its virtues are lost by
drainage. Your Ohio lands are either
high and thin soiled, or low, marshy and
deep soiled; while our high and low
lands have deep soil uniformly, but
never do you find here any marshy or
bottomless places, for as we said before,
there are no lakes nor swamps in this
region.
what effect have extensive droughts
and rainy seasons upon your crops ?''
Here we must beg leave 10 claim for
Wisconsin decided advantage over a.
ny other region of country in the Union:
dEoughts, however long their continu-
ance, seem 10 neither lower our springs
nor exhaust the earth's moisture the
SOIL seems 10 attract water enough from
the almost here 10 keep up its equilbri-
um Of moisture. We have known a
drought TO continhe over seventy DAYS
in the heart Of summer, and yet crops
suffered not so much as TO cause farmers
TO want rain for their corn, or complain
that their gardens needed a shower
The fact is, we do not have over half as
much rain here as you have east and
south of Lake Michigan, as shown from
the rain-gange registry from this fact,
we have more suitable days for out door
labor here than elsewhere. Again, in
wet weather, our fields and roads dry
in surprisingly short time. We are
often asked why our roads dry up so
quick, and why. ploughing may be done
Immediately after heauy rain, but the
wherefore is as unaeeountable as the
drought phenomena, SO we fail TO give
or know the reason. There must be
some peculiar chemical affnities, com
bina;ions or other cause OF action a,
work in our atmosphere never yet inves-
tigated. There are theories formed, but
none that we dare give, for none seem
TO be agreed upon, by common consent
even.
"Would yours be called a damp, or
dry climate ?"
Dry, most unquestionably /; it differs
herein very widely from that of Eng
land, where they have fogs and dense
atmosphere, rendering the view of OBJ
jects obscure at short distance. We
do not remember to have seen over one
fog year for the last eight years. The
atmosphere presents no appearance of
dampness, yet the night dews are hea-
Wy, almost dripping from the caves of
our houses sometimes. You seldom see
those thin vapors, or embryo clouds fly
ing low in the sky, that you are accus-
toned TO see in Ohio; and during our
winters, most Of the DAYS are clear and