New-York tribune., 1870-09-05
TIE ATTRACTIONS or THE PRAIRIES.
LECTURE TO TIRE ROLLING FARMERS CLUB.
WYOMING TERRITORY, July 25.-In a sump-

A LECTURE TO TIRE ROLLING FARMERS CLUB.
WYOMING TERRITORY, July 25.--ln a sump-
tuous Pullman large representation Of the Amer-
can Institute Club is to-day rolling over the praires
scaling the mountain slopes and rushing through the
rockrbbcd cahOns Of the great West While the amazing
panorama OF plain and gorge and snOwcapped peak oc
eupes attention most of the time there are nterVS
he We skim the fat prairie OF rush the sagebush
narrens when avail ourselves of the presence III our
train of Of long experience and wide obserVaton "
bis region obtain the fullest information we can To-
dav we were addressed by Mr. II. Thielsen railroad
bpder who carried his theodolte for II years from
river 10 river and from prairie to mountain HIS lnior
nation is SO exact and valuable that know the read
o,s of THE TRIBUNE will be glad that reporter TOOK
mil notes Of all he said to the rolling Club
The part Of this county that know most about, said
NJ Thelsen the great peninsula bounded on the west
ard south by Missouri and east by the Mississippi
II inelndes all the State Of Iowa. the northern part OF
vopri and the southern half of Minnesota. What is
d o this region may apply well 20 the eastern part
a, Nebraska for the formation does not essentially
change TIL going west, pass the mouth of the North
Platte The region between the two great rivers has two
a,ersheds About half Of the country is drained east
ward into the Mississippi and the western part pours ts
,aters west and south into the Missouri The country
o,ned eastward differs in several important respects
from the western watershed All the country looking
toward the Mississippi is rch dark loan OF great fer
,ty but water does not easily penetrate and rains
ao rapdy the river bottoms. Thus the country has
alterations between very wet and very dry, and the
rivers rise and fan rapidly The Des Mones, forinstance
which Ike the other is about 200 feet below the
general level Of the country, sometimes overows for
week or in Spring and in Midsummer shrnks TO a
stream of small size. The streams that dry in Sum-
me torrents after each large rain. On the western
watershed The soil differs. IL contains sand and
The water sinks deeper it falls and passes out in
springs which make the streams of Western Iowa more
A. / aviu no oh Of
prairie along the route You came through the second tier
Of counties the road from Burlington TO Council Bluff
ahout 2O feet above the bottoms; these ridges fall on
toward the north, that the formation admits of many
small lakes This is especially the ease in Southern MID
Northern Missouri the river bottoms broaden
and contain and timber In Northern Mis-
sour and for the first and second tier Of counties in Iowa
there is happy blending OF timber with high rolling
prairie this belt Winter wheat does not survive the
frosts very well earth becomes dry when 1t freezes,
and the winds lay the roots bare, and they are Killed
But and grass prosper amazingly In all TINS region,
and il has immense capacity for producing pork and beef
Water found at depth Of about 3s feet on the prairie
The bottoms generally well wooded from one to five
miles wide On the Des Moines and its tributaries much
found IL is bitumnous lies in seams about four
feet thick and 200 feet below the general prairie level
hut the seam appears and be worked the banks
the Near Burlington there crops out lime
stone formation well adapted to the vine that 5000
gallons Of Catawba wine made there last year.
In Northern Iowa the ground is covered with snow all
Winter and Spring wheat is the chief crop The third
tier counties is in my opinion, the choice belt of Iowa
There mixed agriculture is practicable; the farmer can
SOW Fall grain Spring he chooses and is not too
far North TO he good country know Of no part
Of the West where there is so little waste land in Iowa
The counties are laid of by right lines, and the townships
in the way. II you buy section in Iowa you have
not purchased swamp, or stony thlcket, or an un-
drained prairie hut Gao acres Of good arabic land West
the Des Mones there is still much land that can be
bought cheap Near the roads it is held at from SO to
SIS but al little distance much be bought at from
SOSs The railroads. of which there are four crossing
the State from east to west, many thousand acres
near their tracks They sell at $40 and s2 acre. giving
long time. The usual terms are one-tenh down, the
remainder in years. interest on the notes to be paid an
nualy. I know many settlers who have paid for their
land with the first crop taken from it,
NEBRASKA.
The eastern half OF this State consider good for
farming as Iowa. except that il is rather more remote
Beginning at Omaha and going west the good lands con
tnue for about $50 miles Then they grow perceptby
poorer and more sandy till we pass the mouth OF inc
North Platte TO the summit above cheyenne
ia belt Of about 800 miles that is adapted to grazing as
il is overrown with the nutritious bunchgrass but ex
eep, when the waters Of the Platte and its tributaries
drawn of, or lifted by pumps and poured over the
surface do regard the region as fit for farms But
where irrigation may be cheap and general the soil re-
epOnds generously, ana is
and bamy In Eastern Nebraska poor settler can
make his beginning in this way: He enters or buys his
land and builds his cabin. II his small, he
can hire his prairie broken for s. There are
those who 20 around from farm TO farm with stout
and prairie by the job. Then he gets his
seed in and till harvest, having several months for
making his home more comfortable going ont 10 work
On other farms After harvest he has money to make
payment on land or to buy lumber with, and his pros
perity has begun The lands the Platte in Eastern
Nebraska are far cheaper and equal in value to those of
Eastern Iowa. To show how thrifty men calculate
will speak Of a ueghbOr in Iowa. He is drover and
stock farmer in easy circumstances. His daughter
Gently married a young Of industrious habits
Do Won know" said he, "What | am going
10 do 10 give those young people a startt
/ will get them CO. and go over TO Illinois and buy 100
Summer and calves will range on the prairie III
Fall he will get them into the feed lot, make rude shell
ters for them with and give them hay and corn
In three wears he sell 50 tat cattle for $50 head
ward with the cattle and all the that the bnlocks
do not digest the swine will eat with avidy and thus
fatten."
farmers as a rule are wholly Indifferent. have known
corn planted In field successfully Tor 20 years without
shovel of dung any fertilizer being returned When
failing crops the farmer TO tardy Justice and he
begins 10 return little 10 soil from which ne has taken
40 mncb is like restoring the strength OF man wasted
bv disease He buys paddock for his stable door after
the horse has stolen wish you as members OF the
Club and writers would impress
ON the minds prairie farmers the wisdom OF treating
Tho soil a well as they treat horse and feed 20 keep
the surface heart not wait till starvation mas SET h
before inst return is made. The shame OF the Western
Is their abuse Of the strongest ana pest SOIL Win
which an industrious nation Was ever pest