, 1859-03-31
Prairie Farming in the West


Pralrle Farming Id the Nesl'
By JAMES CARD, N r,
A''e?5 4'as { Eas ILL., r f;; f9 lHa as Cor"
| LETTER I.
I1ltnots--Erftat Or TIE Rtrh E:alf<g Of HE
Epptr nfs3fssfppt-t;AfraEo--.fs W"snd<r-
| f3t Prosrtst-E9tto OF the a5ntr Or 1Iii-
nofs on q kfn< at 200 %nfi<s--Stffers Irom
Observation-Disclosures.
It WAS night when VIC reached the first limit
of the Great Prairie country, for glimpse Of
which, through the darkness, strore anxious
ly but in vain, during the last hour Of the jour
ney to Chicago.
had now reached the ncw capital Of "thut
Western World" m Washington described it,
which Penn prophcsicd would yet make eIo-
rious country. The Valley Of the Mississippi
above Cairo, comprising on its eastern banks
Illinois and Wisconsin, and on the west Mis-
sour, Iowa and Minnesota, embraces probutly
the greatest tract If fertile land On the surface
ofthe globe, ID total extent It exceeds Euy-
land and France together, with the kingdom Of
the Two sic'4ies thrSwn into the bargain-it is
more than equal to Prussia and the whole Ans
trian enpire-esen Spain and Turkey combined
would require the territory Of the Ionian Islands
| to place them On 4 par with It. And this vast
territory is not only intcrsected by numerous
lines Of railroad. which give it direct access to
Montreal, New York aud Philadelphia, but on
| the north By mcans Of the lakes and the ST.
Lawrence, and on the south BY the Mississippi
! River, it POSSESSES u continuous water comuu~
| nlcaton with the Atlantic.
Nothing eau illustrate uorc forcibly the vast
| natural abundance aud resources of this splendid
| Chicago. An Indian villnse in ls2o, this place
lias become great city with upwards Of 12''e
| people, with wharves md Eranarlcs for miles
| along the river canal which opens into Lake
Michigan, and streets, public buildings, church
Us, and private dwellings, that may yic with
cipa! streets are equal in size and architectural
elegance to the new row of fine buildings which
leads from Canon street intu st. Paurs Church
! Yard There are numerous stands for hackney
| coaches, and various lines Of umnibuscs ply
along the streets. And Chicago is actually 1lle
| center Of more miles Of railway, completed and
in operation, than London. Yet it is only
| twenty years since the first shipment Of some
forty bags Of wheat IVES nude from it. LII l>37
| its exports amounted tu about l"ft bushels Of
grain, in lsi7 they had reached 2..43,~" BUSH
| els and in ISL upward Of s,H'n','rw bushels.
Chicago and all its wealth iu Fact i property
created by the profits arising in the mere tsats-
| ference trun hand to hand Of the surplus pro-
ducc Of but small part Of this wonderful GULL
| try. 1.oukinS to iliinuiS alone, Of which Chica-
70 is the commercial capital and outlet, this sur
plus, great though it is, is capable If being in
creased tcnfotd, only tnc-tentfl Of the fertile
lands of this State are beliered to be yet brought
| nntler cultivation.
Before examining particular localities in tho
Statc, was anxious to obtain as it were birds
eye view Of the country such gcncralinlprcs-
sion Of its surface rs would enable mt to, seltct
points for special inspection. ! therefore first
traycrscd the entire State Oh tho line Of the IIli
| nois Central Kaiway, from northeast to sontA,
and from south to northwest, II tntal distance
Of about 7rt' miles. Tic Stale If Illinois ex-
tends from 3; to A. So north latitude being
thus nearly the same length as England, but
further south, and on the same parallel with
Spain and Italy. THIS first journey occupied
| three days. thu last day Of september, and the
| first aud second Of October.
! Immediately after leaving Chicago we cutter
on The prairie. which, near Lake Michigan, and
for the first twenty miles, is low and wet, better
! suited for pasture nnl dairying than tho
cultivation nf corn. The country then bcgins
t. rise, and it, the next twenty miles the surface
| becomes DRY anu untlulating; the soil black
mould, varyingin depth from twelve to thirty
| Inches, and Resting I'll clay, Or mixture Ut
clay and gravel From this point the kanka-
kce river, the first large strcam ne cross, The
prairie is series Of ou. aud gentle undulations,
less abrupt tlan the cllulk downs Of England,
but otherwise resembling them in general form
and sweep. The character IF the soil is very
uniform, and the face Of the wide open country
is sparscly cottcd with farm houses Where
tile prairie is unbroken. it is covered with lonE
course waviug grass, from three tn fur fcei
lA'gh; and III the lsollnws the grass is hsEi.
TO hide completely any cattle that may he graz
| ing there, Kcfore react,iug kankakce I'VE pass
| through Il settlement If >pv French Canadians
which has been growing for the last fifteen years
Each settler has about torty acres, and their
farms are laid out alon:, parallel roads ut right
angles to the railway They exhibit signs Of
careful cultivation aud tin village and church
Ut the coluns are prettily situated near the
woods OH the river side.
The tuwn Of kankakce is finely situated on
the river. 5I miles south Of Chicago. Though
there WAS not Il house here five wears ago, 1lt.
! population already numbers 3.-lr', with very
j; Eood streets anI sl"|,s. tlic center If :. rict,
agricultural district aftor,liny sufficient traffic
fur spccia! daily train in and ont 1rnm Chi
| ca.o. Thc land bcl,ind it is fertile, black.
! sandy lpanl, lying I'll limestone, excellent for
oats and potatnrs .:ll productive Of ricI, 4rsss.
| Crossing The river. which is i bread, cIe;r
stream, as wide as the Thames ut Kichinond,
running between limestone cliffs clothed with
timber. the roaa traverscs continuous pr.iire.
more Or less dotted viii, llonseS and tarnls 1or
tue next scvcnty miles This is all i good range
of connry, aud though itle railroad frequently
runs i'll perfectly straight line for many miles,
the surface while rather tut is very seldom /.
| dead lcrel as nlay bt 1T once observed by thu
| varied depth Of tic cuttings and c,nbank,nens
nj! alien. the line. 1T ercrv eight pr ten miles
! NJ pass station round each Ut which town is
! rapidly slrinGiny uI', very often with II steam
tlour-mill in It's ccntcr capable Of manufacturing
| 11e barrels of tiour day.
At Urbanl, Us miles Sontl, Of Chicago, there
il tlouris(l'ng town aid station, the population
| numbering near .'hN. | saw y peach plantation
in this nct%hborhoo.l Which WAS said to b. in
! snmc suIsols extraordinarily productive and
| rtnuncratiye. High prices arc pai.l by tho grs-
zierS here nr the hest breeds ofcattlc IL u,prnvc
! their stack. one mau whom nirt ut the station
having last year paid e;;tn for si,nr,hprn bull
from England. Tllc >oil is very black an.l rich
locking Generally. even til tho fullest pruiric,
! groves ni tNbcr are visible somewhere IN the
horizon, but they become more frequent after VIC
! pass southwartl of Crbaua, and until Mat,non il
reached. i few miles from WHICH, and ut about
i" miles south Of Chicago. the general level Of
the country falls about Il yhty feet. This fnr1ns
the termination Of te line Of black lnauv pruirie;
| the gray Wheat-soils Of Sonthcrn Illinois HOW
commencing. Tie open prairie becomes mar
! rover. and the woods, which everywhere
i found aung the bctls Of the rivers and streams,
seem to be within little more than mile apart
from each other. The ss'il ismnre silicinuS Than
TUG black soil Of the upper prairicst and better
adapted for winter wheat Of which il seldom
fails to produce good crops If fine quality. 1t
is also considered good Tor grazing cattle; but
is not so prolific uf lulian corn Or ua.s,
nor 80 suitable for potatoes or sugar-bcct,
all q! which grow very successfully on
tic black prairie. The face Of the
country. however. is more picturesque, and the
| woods more diversified, the white .ak growing
to great height. There is ulso ahrndanc, If
cnal and bnding stone in this portion II the
State, and ,llc winter climate is occasionally 80
mild 1ll in favorable seasons cattle CHI livcthc
whole year on the prairirs, with the :i,, ot 1itlr
or nu fodder. From this point tu Ccn,ra!ia>
whrrc the junctinn is n,:ldr With III. main lule Ut
the railroad. and onward to the south as far us
DE- Soto, which is Sill miles south Of Chicago,
the same whisish gray prairie soil continues
| The country near 1luauon, q station OIL the line,
is All underlaid with coal, iii srarus from fire to
nine feet thick, ut depth Of screnty or eighty
leet. 1t is easily wrought, but ut present there
is not much sale for il, as the country is very
thinly settled, and there is no scarcity Of wood
In the whole country, for nearly the last l51
miles, there was scarcely u settler four years
ago. but 50 rapidly has settlement followed the
opening Of the railway that it il estimated that
half million of acres IF land have already been
brought unter cultivation along this pari If the
rond.
From, Dc Soto to The southern boundary ot
the State. the country is all hills md Aollo;ws,
rocky and wooded, with good FARMS iuterSpersed.
The climate is r.rs mild in winter and l,o, in
summer, and admits Of The growth Of all kinds,
Of fruits and tobacco. 1t produces white wheat
of tic finest quality, and peaches and other
fruits are sent in larrc quantities for the supply
Of the market at Chirac". This is "nc Of tlc
earliest soils in the Cnion for thu ripenins d,
whcut the new crop from which may be sent to
the Northern and Eastern markets before their