New-York daily tribune., 1856-04-26
hIyEEsOTA-sOH AND CLIMATE.
Correspondence Of Tbs v. Y. Tnbsas.
x......-<.. T.-t.

climate Of tie new land Agriculture is the bass
of oil trade, and is to great extent dependant
upon the character of the soil To euioy the ifui,s
of il, or any other business, good health is highly
mporsnt-bence the importance Of these t"o
questions These questions | propose now to
answer in a manner that all persons may under
stsLd snd rely upon.
And fr.t. Of the soil. Being part OF the great
Nissis.ipIi Valley, il il rich. of course. Still Il
diferf from that of most Of the Western states.
While il is full as rich Winconsln or llinois, Il
is far warner and quicker Ii contains more sand than
tie prairie soil of the est generally etDOt 80 much
but II at steel plOws are necessary. The SOL oil
the in mediate valleys of the Mississippi ana the
Miuuesota Rivers, for 40 o, 80 miles back. gen.
erslly rests upon the lower magnetism Limestone
Which may be seen Gaping all the bluffs along the
Mississippi, from the mouth Of the Wlsconsn 70
Fort Smelling. Below this is sandstone and then
again magnetism limestone of another formation
Tie soil formed by the decomposition of this rock
is very warm and fertile. The land, for ten or
twelve miles back from the Mississippi, ls very
bufy or broken too much so tor farms. NumeI-
Gus valleys sre formed among these bluffs, through
which the streams run TO the river, and these are
even more fertile than the prairles in thelr rear.
For vegetables, / have never seen their equal.
They sre beautifully watered with the finest OF
.nrinos ard trout brooke OF course farms IN
these valleys are and always will be very choice,
and Of greater value than those on the prslrles
Owen in lis Geological Survey page jOZ), says;
a. The soil of the valleys is a rich dsrh. sandy
" l0am and that Of the slopes but little inferior;
even on the ridges, where it is derived from the
" decCmpositon Of the lower magnetism lime
stone. the soil is good and lies well for farming
purposes" An analysis Of this rock by Owen
(rsge 4e4) gives nearly 60 parts carbonate OF lime
and about 80 carbonate of magnesia. / he DIP OF
the rock is TO the south. so that as you 90 north
the sandstone comes nearer 10, and finally becomes
the surface rock in many places; hence northern
Minn, sofa is more sandy and less fertile. Stlil,
in the vicinity of Red Lake and Turtle River which
is near 4-7 north latitude. Owen states page 32i J
that he saw "potatOes far superior in flavor aud
size to any he had ever seen in the Ohio Valley:
"sud turnips and beets produced abundantly with
little attentions ard that corn can be cultivated
with az little or less labor than in the Middle
Estates" As an instance of what the soil viii
do will here state that on the 29th and 3th days
Of May last, 1 planted the Ohio dent corn, and
that it Iipened fully several weeks before we Rad
any frost Ii vas planted on sod, and grew from
tn to fifteen feet high, and bore first rate. Mel
ous, and all similar products, yield enor-
mously. A neiehbor of nine raised one squash
which weighed 22l4 pounds, and measured
seven feet and four inches in circum-
ference Another raised fat turnip which
weighed twenty-One pounds. These remarks ap-
ply more particularly TO Southern Minnesota, by
which is meant that portion lying south and west
Of Lake Pepin. The land between the limestone
ranges of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers is
drift formation, with rich prairie soil and sub
soil from six to ten feet deep, below which is gen
erally found white ssnd. The surface is quite
rolling and is abundanty watered with springs
and creeks. For farming purposes 1t is decidedly
superior TO the rich praries of Illinois or WiscOn
sin. and is only equaled by Northern Iowa. which
is similar in its formation 1t is, generally speak
ing prairie cOuntry but the prairies are smaller,
more rolling and better supplied with both water
and timber than those of Illinois. There are some
exceedi ely fine bodies Of timber in the interior,
generally on or near the streams.
The climate Of Mime sofa is in every respect
superior. There are several reasons why 1t should
be So, some of which Will mention. In the first
place there is a total absence Of marsh, which so
ills the Western States with feyers and ague.
Sec, ndy the surface OF the land is elevated about
four hundred feet above Lake Michigan, which
Gives il high, dry atmosphere: and then it is out
of the influence OF those damp, chilly winds which
prevail in the vicinity Of the Great Lakes. Add 10
this III. abundance and purity OF its springs it gives
To Minnesota all the elements of an exceedingly
healthy climate For cOnsumptives 1t is cODsd
cred highly beneficial, and in the case OF my OWN
family | know II t. he so. In The OHIO CHltiratOr
| recently noticed statement that sheep and wool
can be grown 10 Northern Iowa and Southern Min
nesOta, at twerty per cent. more Prout than IN
Ohio. and the reason given is the dryness and
purity of the atmosphere. The Winters of course
are cold, but never damp. Snow covers the
ground in December and remains till March,
almost without a thaw. There is no rain or sleet
during the entire Winter, aud the sun shines bril-
liantly almost the whole DAY time. 1t is the
bright. keen Winter of New England, without il
rains, thaws or sleet. man leaving home with
a slei.h need not fear of being caught on bare
ground at any time during the Winter.
Owen (page 22l), speaking of the elevated dis
trct of Western Wisconsin, ssys:
This elevation of tie sandy region contributes
very much toward modifying the climate of the agr-
cultural district bordering on the Mississippi The
~avs of tie sun act Cnerg6caly IN elevated than
il low regions and a. the direct influence of the sun
is necessary to the termination and perfection Of veg
etat.on and especially OF wheat and other yraln the
soil cf the high limestone districts Is peculiarly favorable
10 the growth Of such grains The genera y clear GHf
drV state of tie atmosphere III midsummer secures them
from blight and mdew.
Tbese remarks apply with even more force
to the country west of tie Mississippi. In short
| do not know Of another State in the Union
which off RS as great lucements to the emigrant
in respect to soil and ciimste, SIS Southern Mime
sofa. Here, as everywhere else, the past Win
ter has been on unusually severe one. The ther-
uometer showed 30 below zero as our coolest,
while at St Paul il was 10 Still, the continuous
sunshine had so great modifying influence on the
weather that one never knew il was SO cold un
less be happened to look at the thermometer. Al
though the settlers were bat uy provided with
houses and other comforts, there has been but
little suffering on account of the wtather-less,
from all account. than has been experienced in
Kansas. W. {. ID.
We gladly publish, SO far as we can make room,
the letters of our Western friends gloriying their