St. Charles Republican intelligencer. (St. Charles [Charles City], Iowa) 1856-1857, 1856-09-11
that must always in this country at
tend the counsels of the extremists.
Floyd County.

Floyd County is reckoncd one Of the
very best counties of Iowa and, say.
ing this, you say a good deal. The
Cedar River passes through the east.
ern and the Shell Rock River through
the western portions of the county
The valleys Of these rivers are not as
abrupt and deep as those of many
other streams in the State, nor are
their currents as, sluggish and impure
on the contrary, their waters run
swift and clear, and their banks are
for the most part clean and dry. The
slopes to these valleys arc gentle and
every where the land is well adapted
to smooth farming. The soil of Floyd
County cannot be excelled for its
strength and amazing fertility. This
is chiefly owing to the character of its
underlying limestone rock. Concern
ing this rock and it's everything soil,
Professor Owen, in his great Geologi-
cal work-got up under the direction
and patronage of Congress-makes
these highly flattering remarks:
Q "Along the course of our route
no symptoms were observed of important axes
of dislocation and disturbance. The surface is
comparatively level, the lodges of rocks lie low
and horizontal without any abrupt uplifts or
sudden faults as if beyond the sphere of active
action that has fissured and filled with metallic
matter the magnetism limestones lying to the
northeast nearer the Mississippi The (which
overies the sandstones of the coal measures is
OF that warm quick siliceous porous character
which rapidly advances vegetation but is apt
| to leave it in a parched condition during the
droughts of summer or autumn, while imme-
diately north Of the mouth of Mud Creek, the
stiff dark calcareous soil marking the transition
to the lmestones of Cedar Valley, appears
Though less forcing in its character than the
other, this soil is much richer and more rcten-
tive, storing up the successive acquisitions and
infiltrations from organic decomposition until
| the proportions Of GENE humus and organic
principles rise from ten sometimes to thirty per
! cent. For wheat and small grain generally
this soil is well adapted u. 5altam ~
Though the valley of Cedar River cannot
boast the dense forests of Indiana or Ohio yet
for provident people it contains timber suffi-
Gent for fuel, fencing and building purposes -
And the absence of continuous forests is well
repaid by the facility with which the settler in
the prairie can in a few years reduce an extern
sive farm to excellent order, aided as in these
level meadow lands he has an opportunity to
be in his sowing and harvesting operations by
labor saving machinery"
All of the government land in so
delightful region as this, is now of
course taken up, but there are large
tracts Of land in the hands of specula-
tors which can be bought on pretty
reasonable terms. What the County
wants most is actual farming resi-
dents and Industrious and intelligent
mechanics to develope these splendid
advantages and carve out their for
tunes therefrom. The prices of farms
in the County, somewhat improved,
range from IS to $2oper acre, accord
ing to locality and value of improve
ments Unimproved land is worth
from So to Sc according to location
and timber land from 81 TO $25 accord
ing to quality. r.,