The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1868-08-28
KANSAS.

The following letter about Kansas was
written to the Canisteo Valley Times,
published at Hornellsville, New York, |
by Judge Thacher, of Lawrence, who |
spent the winter at his home in Honells-
Vile:
Since my arrival here, very many
readers of the Times, old friends and |
acquaintances, have made various in
quiries touching Kansas, its advantages |
and characteristics. So many are think
ing of going west to seek homes, from
this community, that I ask column in
the Times to set forth as briefly as pos
sible something of what Kansas is.
By rail Lawrence, Kansas, is about
eleven hundred miles in a southwest di-
rection from HornellsvilIe. The dis
lance varies with the route, and Law
renee is forty miles in the central inte-
rior of the State. OF course the North
ern part of the State can be reached with
still less travel, and the observations /
have TO make relate to the eastern half
of the State. The western part is still
largely undeveloped and unsettled. The
latitude of Kansas, being about that of
Washington, gives it an average warm
er climate than Steuben county. The
winter is usually very short and mild.
There are stormy days and in some years
snowy ones, but it is rare that we have
five consecutive cold days. Last win
ter, which was so severe here was unu-
sually mild there. / came east the last
of February. When / left the farmers
were blowing and the robins were sing
| ing. Here / found the snow three feet
deep and snow fell every day for ten
days / was here. Much of our winter
is like the Indian summer here. We
oftep have some severe days, the cold
not being so intense but aggravated by
the wind. Our summers are long and
generally warm, though no warmer
than here, not so hot, usually, as this
season here, but the heat is always tenn
pered by a breeze generally from the
south. The nights are, as a rule, cool,
especially where the south wind has a
chance to blow.
Kansas is a rolling prairie country,
with timber along the water courses.
: The prairies are rich, dark loan, east
ly broken by three horse teams, and very
readily ploWed afterwards with light
teams. An abundance of lime rock, lY-
ing in bluffs or stratas, is found over
the State. The abundance of this rock
supplies the sparseness of timber. II
is used for building houses, barns and
fences. 1t is eaily converted into the
best of lime.
Usage Orange is used largely fol
: hedge fences. Three years from the set
ting of the plants will, with proper care
make a fence sufficient to turn stock
The plants are grown in various parts OF
the State in the nurseries, of which there
are many, and can readily be raised by
D any farmer.
Winter wheat does well there as one
would expect in region SO we'll sup.
piled with one of the first ingredients
for successful wheat culture-lime
: Spring wheat is not so sure crop being
exposed to the chinch bug. Oats, bar.
ley, hemp, indeed all kinds of grain
thrive remarkably well, while corn i:
the great crop of the State. 1t is plant
ed from the first of April until the las
of May. have seen magnificent fields
where the planting was both earlier anC
later. The planting is done by two
horse planter-the crop is cultivated
with twO-horse cultivators, shove
plows, single and double-no hoeing O.
corn or potatoes is done. Potatoes
Irish and sweet, grow well in Kansas
though l think the country better fol
the latter than the former.
Fruits of all kinds flourish as wei
there as in any country 1 ever saw, anC
much better than they do here. APP
pies, wherever the trees have been Sc
:, out long enough, are as fine as they cal
: be. A farmer from Livingsto on count,
! was at-our State Fair last fall. He saiC
he never saw better fruit anywhere-ap
pies, pears, peaches, the small fruits, cur
rants, goOseberries, biackberries, rasp
berries, strawb berries and grapes flour
~ ish finely. / speak of the fruit of tn
or country particularly, because it seem
II to me no man ought to go to poo
fruit region, no matter what its in
I ducements. We have great abundanc
of wild plums of different varietie!
If Some of them are very excellent bot
to eat and to cook, especially for jelliet
or In my garden tame plums are growing
but the trees are too young to deter
mine how well they will bear, yet otf
ers have raised them successfully. Chez
{. ries ofall kinds do tolerably well, thong
it is thought the ''heart cherries" wi
not grow so well there as farther nortl
Vegetables of all kinds abound in e1
,s- traordinary profusion. Melons, waite
es and musk, are as easily grown, and MOI
certain and common than pumpkin
here. Cabbages, beets, parsnips, onion
cucumbers, tomatoes, turnips, pea
beans, ETC., grow with very little Gu
81 ture. Last season we had ripe tomato,
from July 10th to the middle of NJ
vember when the frost cut them off.
The climate is, perphaps, in the ave
EST it is quite common remark in kans
that the wet weather hurts us more ths
the dry, but think our rains are mo-
violent, the storms fieroer than here.
IT other words that the rain is better di
'se tributed here than there, though if tn
season were the sample of each Kans
. would take the palm.
zR. Crops in Kansas this season are emo
7. nous and on the whole have not suffe
ed from dry weather. Let no one fe
that Kansas is afflicted with drouth mo
than other regions. There are exec
tional cases every where.
Those who go to Kansas now enjC
some advantages over the first settler
Experience has already thrown mu'
light on the best modes of farming, Il
safest varieties of grain, the most ausI
cious time for blowing, sowing al
planting, and the best implements. o.
thing / must mention. Our farmiI
operations are carried on more entire
with machinery than here. No sc-tl
or cradle contends there with the moy
er and reaper. The poorest farme
manage either to exchange work f
the use of the desired machine or pc
haps club together to purchase one.
No State in the Union has so endoN
ed its common schools, that deep fou
~ tain of American greatness and perp
~, tuity. From the General GovernmeI
the State receives gift of one eigl
zenith of the public land to sustain t
common schools. This vast fund has