The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1872-06-15
EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE.
BURLINGTON, Iowa, juno 7th, 1872.

BURLINGTON, Iowa, juno 7th, 1872.
A day and night on the cars brought me
into the burned city, on Friday morning,
after o. clock, in the midst of dripping
| rain. This part of the west has had more
than it needed of rain the present Spring,
while further East has suffered so severely.
What was said in my first letter in respect
to the country and improvements will serve
as a description for all between Cleveland
and Chicago. | met the news of Grants
nomination at Cleveland, and when l
reached Chicago, the morning papers had
the proceedings in full. The weak efforts
Of the Chicago Tribune to black ball the
Convention and sneer at its work and the
candidates, showed how weak and utterly
futile the attempt of the Cincinnati boys is
to stem the tide Of public feeling in favor
of Grant. 1 had been led to believe that
the Greeley ticket was making dangerous
inroads ON the Republican party in the
West. but dilligent search and inquiry
developed one Republican Greeley man in
little town between here anC Chicago.
Without single exception, every man
conversed with and inquired of ON the sub
ject of Greeley's strength, said that he had
no followers in the West, except the Dem
ocrats. The few leading Republican pa
pers which espoused the Greeley and
Brown ticket, have signally failed to intlu-
ence single country paper; the latter all
standing up for Grant and Wilson, with
lanx, which will sweep everything before it
for Grant next November. l find Repub-
licans here making sport of the Democrats
in their attempts to swallow Greeley, and
in place of the Cincinnati ticket gaining, it
seems to be losing what little strength it
threatened to develop at first. Grant is
bound to walk over the course at his case.
Greeleyis universally spoken OF, all through
the West as far as l have been, by the
masses as an old granny.
Chicago is a CHASTITY heap or rather heaps
of rubbish, with buildings going up on
every hand, though which will eventually
dreadful calamity.
The largest scope of the rich agricultur-
al country is passed through by the Bur-
lington and Missouri River r. r., between
Chicago and Burlington, we imagine, that
can be found in any Of the States. For one
hundred and fifty miles the road sweeps a
reach of wide prairie lands that has soil
two to three feet deep, which is black
alluvial soil, richer than you can conceive
it possible for such vast body of land to
be. Corn is the great staple product of
this region, and miles on miles of corn
fields spread out on either side of the road.
The land is without stone or clod; some
parts gently rolling, but mostly entirely
level. The farmers work the crop with
wheeled cultivators, drawn by two horses
each. 1t is planted with drill, which
drops two rows at time and plants the
corn in hills, so that the rows are evenly
and are worked both ways. One man drives
and another sits on the machine and man.
ages the levers, setting the machine true
at the end OF every row, and on this smooth,
level land it plants the grains in exact rows
both ways. There is not much wheat
raised here, the climate not being well
adapted to the growth of that grain.
l have never travelled on so complete a
road-complete in all its appointments-as
the Burlington road to this place. The cars
are of the finest build-many of them the
splendid Pullman cars, and all provided
with the celebrated safety air brake which
is controlled by the engineer as readily as
he blows the whistle. No brakemen are
stationed on the platform to turn "down
brakes but the engineer does all this
work by steam, bringing the train to a
halt much quicker than it can be done by
the old plan.