Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-08-07

| the charge OF sordid interest being at
| tached to my motives.
A glance at map of the United States
must satisfy the mind, that if any one
State can claim rank from position geo.
| graphically, it is Missouri Situated so
near the center of the country, in the di-
rect line of the Pacific trade, and the in
creasing cattle trade of Texas, with two
mighty rivers on each side and one cross
| ing the State, and with railroads reach
| ing to all parts of the country, Missouri
presents attractions for all kinds of bus
mess unsurpassed by any other State.
| No amount of cold can shut us in in the
! winter, blockade our railroads, or freeze
our rivers beyond a temporary period.
| While States further North have their
railroads blockaded for days or weeks, it
is seldom train here in Missouri is laid
| over. With the rivalry existing between
| Kansas City, st. Joe and Omaha, on the
| one side, and Chicago and st. Louis on
| the other, our markets are far better
than many suppose, and facilities for
| buying all kinds of goods greatly in ad-
vance of many States in their first years.
/ | will give in future article some prices
and statistics, by which your readers
| may judge for themselves about mark
cts. The Missouri crosses the State
nearly east and west Flowing intoit from
the north are numerous streams of vari-
! Gus sizes, of which the Charlton and
Grand Rivers are the two largest-scp-
arated by "diyides, 3" or ridges Of land,
broken into long swells of sufficient size
to afford complete drainage, yet not alb
! rupt enough to be in danger of quilting
or washing, These divides are from
fifty to one hundred feet above the
streams, giving the country an agreeable
diversity of appearance. Along the
streams are strips of "bottOm, or inter
vale land, varying in width from few
rods TO three miles, partly, or wholly,
/ covered with timber The soil of these
"bottOms" is generally richer than on
the uplands, yet, being subject to over
flows, are not so generally cultivated
| In dry seasons they are the chief depend
ance of the farmer. 1t is mistaken
idea that Missouri has no timber, or that
it is scarce. 1t is true it is not a timber
ed State, like Indiana. Michigan, or
| Ohio, vet we have an abundance of tim
ber of the very best kinds, among which
are several species of oak, hickory, black
walnut, elm, cottonwood, hard and soft
maple, sycamore and locust. have
seen the incest growth of sugar maple
in this State | ever saw, and all that is
! lacking to make maple sugar rank among
our productions, is the open character of
our winters, and want of cold nights at
the proper season to give the necessary
circulation to the sap, or sugar water, "
as it is called here; still, a considerable
quantity is made, of an inferior quality,
however 1t is a striking fact that there
-.
in this State than there was in 1865. As
the country is settled and fenced the
fires, WHICH formerly swept over these
prairies are kept out, and timber springs
up over acres of land formerly ''open. :"
The gorwth OF this young timber is
/ marvellous Six to eight years changes
a water sprout" from the root, to Il sap
ling which makes two or four rails to the
cut, giving, generally, two cuts to tree
The best of hickory and oak, delivered
/ in town, four feet long, brings three
I dollars a cord. La large places. how
ever, it sometimes comes up to five dol
lars. The former prlce is about tue
average of all kinds In fair condition.
! There are large tracts of country in this
| State where you may travel half day
! and never see an acre of prairie land So
! YOU see, Missouri can Accommodate all
classes of people, and if any of your
readers wish to come West" and 'clear
! up' u farm in the climbers, or make it
on the prairie, he can easily be aCom-
modated in Missouri Stone is found in
| greater or less abundance in all parts Of
! the State In this section we have all
we need, of the best quality. Instead of
/ finding il, as in New England,in in detached
/ masses, or bOuldcrS, il exists here like
! your slate, marble or freestOne, and
| comes from the quarrieS in the best shapes
| for use. Large quantities are shipped to
! Kansas for their foundations, windows,
| caps and sills, and corners of the public
! and private buildings. Our wells, els
| terms and cellars are STONED up" as nice
| ly as in New England. We don't fence
/ our fields with it, for we have a better
! thing by far-hedges-Out of Usage or
ange, which no creature will jump or
''break" down, and if you catch pilferer
in your melon patch, he amt going to
jump the. fence, and get away. Most of
| this stone is beneath the surface so far
that it does notiinterfere with ploughing.
| Most of the quafries are situated along
! the streams or edges of the timber. In
| digging wells, about ten or twelve feet
are stoned up, then the rest is blasted
| through the rock formation. Water of
| excellent quality is obtained about eigh-
| teen to thirty feet beneath the surface.
In some places, however, eighty and one
| hundred feet have been bored without
finding water; such places are rare and
| only on our largest ''divides." Occasion
ally spring is found, but they are not
numerous.
| So far as wood, stone and water are
| concerned, it is my belief that Missouri
is far ahead of Iowa or Kansas, and if
our soil is not quite as rich, it is rich
enough, and the advantages we possess
in other respects makes Missouri far
preferable as a State to locate in. Iowa
lacks timber and stone in a greater pOr-
tion of the State, while the sod houses
of Kansas and Nebraska are volume
in themselves. In the product of coal
Missouri holds high rank. 1t is found
in inexhaustible quantities all over the
State, and in many places is so plenty
in the timber lands that it is dug and
used in preference to cutting and using
wood. 1t is of the common variety of
soft coal, containing considerable sui
phur, which fact makes its use to an
eastern person disagreeable.
1t has been prevalent idea that we
were subject to hard droughts, and in
consequence farming was shorn of half
of its advantages. can safely say that
| never have seen soil that will stand
the drought better than ours, if well
worked. A great many farmers do not
plough deep enough and get their soil
sufficiently fine to hold the moisture
that falls upon it. The soil being by
nature porous and light, dries up quick
ly, unless stirred quite deep. 5 lbsoiling
is practiced to some extent, and success
fully. Beneath the soil proper is a
stratum of clay subsoil quite porous and
of such formation as to allow grad
ual percolation of water. This clay
rests upon a sandy, gravelly compound
in some places, and a hard blue clay,
solid and compact in others. In no
other State can so many different yarie-
ties of soil and substratum be found as
ours. if we except the southern half OF
Iowa. This sand and clay, mixed and