St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1862-06-19

OnlO. u may SURPRISE sOnc FcducIe ~ Huo"
that the mean summer heat Of St. Paul is pre-
south. and that 1t is considerably warmer dur
ing the whole six months Of the growing sea-
sou than Chicago. three degrees further south.
The products ofthe soil confrm the Indications
Of the Army Meteorological Register. Tho
average yield Of corn in 1860 was thirty I've
and TWO thirds bushels per acre, and in 1859
bad year twenty six bushels. BY compar-
'son, in the latter year, Iowa produced but
iwenty-t three and Que half bushels per acre.
and Ohio. the Queen Of the corn States, but
twenty nine bushels. In nlinois-ot which
.rn is the chief staple-Mr. Lincoln, Cow
President OF the United States, in the course of
1.-the average crop from year to year does not
exceed twenty bushels per acre."
These results so favorable to Minnesota, 10
q corn growing ns we'll rs wheat rowing State
will surprise no one who is familiar with the
fact established by Climatologi Is, that ' the
cultivated plants yield the greatest products
near the northermost limits at which they will
grow"
In Southern latitudes, the warm spring de-
velopes the juices of the plant too rapidly
They run into the stalk and leaf to the neglect
of the seed. Corn, for example, rises thirty
feet hi III in the West Indies, but it produces
only fe " grains at the bottom of spongy
cob, too coarse for human food. In the South
ern States ths corn stalk is fifteen feet high,
but the product is much less than in the Nor
thern States, where the stalk is ten seven feet
Highland 50 of all plants which can be grown
1T all at the North. The cool, late springs Of
northern elm ties restrain the undue lu1uri-
ance OF the stem or leaf, and throw the chief
development Of the plant into the ripcniRs pc
riod With the summer b at of Southern Ohio
Minnesota yields greater product Of given
plant and Of richer quality, because lis cool
er springs check the expenditure Of the vital
juices on the stalk AID leaf to lavish them on
the fruit. On the other hand, with the same
springs as Massachusetts,. Minnesota produces
more abundant harvests. cause it has a war
mer summer. 1t thus combines the most favor
able conditions of quantity and quality in its
prolucts-anl the remark applies equally to
all the cereals, the esculent roots. and the
wild grasses Of the country. which are yas rich
as the cultivated species in lower latitudes Its
wheat, barley, potatoes, &c., are in high favor
throughout the Mississil pi Valley.
Its distance from market, which absorbs
much of the profit Of wheat culture in the cost
of is forsing At; ention to it, Pc
cullar advantages 70. STOCK RAIslSg ard WOOL
akOwlNo. Prominent among these are: l.
The richness aud luxuriance of the native
grasses. The statistics Of the hay crop Of 1850
show total product Of 800, 900 tons, with an
average Of over two tons per acre. being sixty
per cent. more than the average of Ohio. The
grass is mainly cut oa the meadows which
everywhere che9uer the rolling prarles or
fringe the countless t, cams and lakes. Z The
great extent Of unoccupied land, atfording for
many years to come wide range OF Tree pas
turagp. 8. The rem m,rkable dryncss aud health
r,,In o. tLo int Tho a|x,t InSh ~
and the train oi diseases which the damp and
variable winters Of Eastern or Southern eli
mates inhct H. on animals and mon, are here
nearly unknown. Sheep prefer to live AMI
sleep in the OF al air all winter. The cold, dry
air sharpens the appetite, and promotes rap
i'll secretion Of fat and vigorous muscular de-
velopment. The wool grows finer AMI heavier
and mutton, beef and pork sveeter and more
iuicy. The effect Of climate and the rich her.
tage it seen in the DAIRY PRODUCTS. In the
census year, 1850, over 80 W,OG pounds Of
butter and cheese were made from "a, "35 lows,
or 77.6 pounds per head against 81 pounds per
head in Iowa, 460 3 in illinois and " in Wis
cousin.
To the drynesss Of the air, even under the
abundant rains of summer, the HEATHFULSEss
| OF THE CLIMATE is attributed. 1t is the SAN
atarium Of consump,ives, and ia exempt from
the tevers and agnes incident TO the damp.
| malarious atmospheres Of the lower Sl2tes Of
the Mississippi Valley. To this, too, is largely
due the exemption of Minnesota GUNNER trom the
destructive frosts which prevail in moister lati-
tudes. At the same time its position in the
system of atmospheric circulation, as shown
| in this report, and the great extent OF water
surface presented by its numerous lakes, pro-
tects 1t completely from the severe srcviAs which
de.olate Kansas.
Minnesota possesses great abundance cf cd-
| ter power Sulne of its tnill seSts-that Of st.
Anthony Falls. for instsnce-being among the
fines; in the world lts principal mAnufsc-
lures are -four AMI lumber, for the latter Of
which the EXTENSIVE PINE so.Esrs which COW
er the north eastern portion Of the State 1T
ford inexhaus,ble supplies Of "'s1erisl.
The commercial position of Minnesota is one
| of the most important on the Continent. The
Great Lakes connect it with the Atlantic on
the East~-the Mississippi with the Gulf OF
Mexico on the Southland the Red River an't
SAsk katche wan. interlocking in Lake Winnipeg.
carry the chain of navigation through their
fertile valleys l. 400 mil to the North west
to the gold bearing slopes Of the Rocky Noun
tains A considerable emigration is already y
passing through this channel to the gold fields
Of British COlumbia. Ninaesofo u tke Only
State on the stst bunk Of tie xisstsspp ~hirh ha'
any great e1r,cultvra! region ''ibstory to Ifo''
tie uest, the whole country west Of the ninety
eight parallel, and south Of the Saskatchs wan
being rainless waste. This level belt Of ~
able areas, with its chain Of navignhls rivers.
is the natural projection acr oss the west hall
Of the Continent of the line Of overland transit
; formed by the St.. Lawrence and the Gree'
Lakes across the east half, and suggests itself
irrcs,stibly ~ tho natural route for Pacific
Railroad. with its terminus on the splendid
harborogs Of Pugets Sound. This project.
which has many warm advocates in England
and America, would make Minnesota tho cen:
ter Of the oceanic commerce Of tie Continent.
Congress has granted the state about jou'
and a halt million scres of land fer the cons.ruc.
ton Of Railroads, some Of which are in process