American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1866-07-25
For the Citizen.
CLARKsBuRa, Missouri,
june 8. 1896


many of your readers are anxious to learn
something of Missouri, ,--of its resources.
quality and prices of its lands, climate,
productions, IL have concluded that
it may save some letter writing by CIV
ing them few facts through the columns
of your worthy paper; if permitted to do
so. Do not think that consider letter
writing an irksome task not at all. l
am ever ready and willing to give any
informatio | can, that may be asked for
in that way | do not promise to give a
description of the whole State, nor of the
greater part Of it, but only so much as a
residence of eight months has enabled
me to become acquainted with.
| left Butler county last October, and
came to Missouri. After some little run
ming around though Miller, Monitean
and Cooper counties, halted in the lat
ter. Miller county is mostly broken and
rough. In parts of it there are good
farms, and rich, productive land but
the greater part of it is not such land as
Eastern men come to the wcst to lock at.
Nevertheless it would be considered good
land, if it were lying in Butler county,
or along the Allegheny river. 1t is rich
in lead ore, and ali that is needful is cap
ital and enterprising men to develop it.
Cooper and Monitean counties are better
adapted to agriculture. They are divi
ded between prairie and timber. There
are but few places in those counties where
timber cannot be had within three or four
miles The majority OF the farms have
it more convenient. The timber is not
generally so large as in some of the east
ern States. On the margin of the lrai-
rie it is low and bushy; but back short
distance are ridges of good young tim.
Der, consisting of white oak, black oak,
abundance of black walnut. chestnut, &c.
Most OF the farms have sufficency of
water. Living springs are not so abun-
dant as they are in Western Pennsylva-
MIA, yet they are not half so scarce as
many persons imagine. They are gener-
ally nerer fiiiing- will furnish water ut
all seasons. The country is intorspersed
with small streams an branches, and sew
cral creeks of considerable size Water
need never be made a Jng Lear in this
part of the State.
The inquiry is often made, which is
the more productive, the prairie, or the
timber land? Ask The Missouri farmers,
and those on the prairie will tell you to
go to the prairie those in the timber
will tell you to the contrary. My opin-
is this, that the soil of the timbercd land
is as productive as that of the prairie
Either will bring good corn 1t is mostly
admitted by farmers that the timbered
land will produce the best wheat. 1t is
admitted to be the best for cotton, tobacco
and sorghum. The prairie may be the
best for grazing purposes. Almost inva-
riably an eastern man wants to get into
or near the timber; western man, who
has been raised on the broad prairie is
rather Indifferent as to whether he can
see timber or not. The western part of
the State, south of the Missouri River,
is mostly prairie, with skirts of timber
intersperscd In the south eastern part
there is but little or no prairie. Cooper
and Monitean counties are about on the
line between those two sections of the
State. Travelling westward from Saint
Louis, by the Pacific Z. r., you would
set Missouri down as rough part of the
world, until you get fifteen or twenty
miles west Of Jefferson city, where you
begin to see level, rich, and productive
country. Don't imagine when you start
for Missouri that you are going to coun-
try where there is no poor land. There
are districts where the soil is thin and
sterile. Missouri has diversity of soil,
productions, mineral resources. &c, uu-
equaled by any State in the Union.
Among its agricultural products are
wheat, corn, oats, sorghum, cotton, tobac.
co, hemp, &c. There are few, if any pla-
ces in the State, that will excel it in iruit
raising. Apples, peaches, plums, grapes,
&C., are an almost certain crop. There is
ready market for every thing raised.
Its lead, coal, aud iron, are nexhaustible
Butler county is we'll represented in the
southern part of Cooper county, in the
neighborhood of Clarksburg, Cor Moni.
team station). Among those who have
purchased here are Messrs j. Sponcler,
A. b. Stephens, j. Whittinger, L. Glib
son, Fl. Kelly, and w. Keener The lat
ter (Mr. Keener is engaged in the Land
Agency business, has large number
of good farms for sale, which we should,