The Jasper weekly courier., 1874-07-17

xyaters OF the Mississippi Valley, over six
teen thousand miles In extent. before Us
constituting the farm, the granary of tn,
world. We are reminded that from the
standpoint of century. there was a wild,
expAsse OF tracklcss wilderness behind ths
marrow fringe of white settlements which
bonered the Atlantic-that the thirteen
colonies have swelled into thirty-seyen
states and Territories. and capitals which
may vie with many OF the Old World now
dot the land from the Atlantic TO the Pa.
cific. Among the grand results of the sys-
TEN OF small proprietary interests founded
by the fathers-ihat policy which favored
the appropriation of the public lands by
actual settlers in small tracts, in considera-
tion Of a nominal sum OF money-has been
the erection OF an empire which may prop
erly be termed the Region of Cereals, EN-
br,acing the States of Ohio. Indiana, llli-
nois. Michigan. and Wisconsin. on the east
OF the Mississippi River and Missouri.
Iowa. Minnesota, Kansas. Nebraska, and
the Territory of Dakota, on the west. This
vast region. in extent. surpaSses the united
area of the British Islands. France, Belgi-
um. Holland. Denmark, Germany. swift
Zerland. and Italy. embracing 1882
square miles. The Region of Cereals em-
braces 7jl.130 square miles, or Isl ,lO6,9Os
81
west side OF the Mississippi River. The
total population of this region is. ia round
numbers. Ii,0OO,OOO. nearly ten millions of
which are on the east side Of the great river.
Compared with the same extent OF terri
tory in the most thickly-settled portions
of Europe. the Cereal Region l. capable of
accommodating population OF at least
l5O.OOO.0OO souls.
Within the limits of Ohio, our public
land system was inaugurated. Onlya few
isolated tracts now remain az the disposal
Of the General Government. The present
value of the farms OF Ohio j. 81 0jI 900. 900:
the value of the farm implements and ma
chinery j. S25, 900. anu the livestock
j. worth SlJOOOO.OOO. Public lands have
disappeared from Indiana. and the value
Of the farming utensils. etc. of that
State has reached Sls.OOO,0OO. and the
cash value of the farms i estimated
az S23O.W1O0. The results OF "A
progress OF little more than half CEN
tury are summed up in Il true gold value
of Fl $40. 10000. The cash value OF the
farms OF Illinois u placed al S920. .5O6. .3l6.
and of agricultural tools and machinery.
5l.OO.0OO. The climate Of Illinois pre-
SCENTS a variety of temperature. while it,
natural communications embrace "A lake
and river navigation OF nearly 1000 miles.
The commerce OF the State has reached
magnificent proportions. It, railroad ton
mage j. worth at least 81 800. .OOO.OOO. and
it, leading city. Chicago. exports annually
100. 100000 bushels of grain. Michigan's
farms are valued az S39s. .2iO. .57s. and it,
farm implements and machinery. Sl3.1ll.-
E9. Less than oue-fOurth Of the State l.
still occupied by farms. and les than one
eighth has been brought under cultivation.
o
lumber and ore of Michigan reaches a
handsome figure. Commercially. the
State has l.iO0 miles of lake navigation
along it, shores. and water cOmmgmea-
ton with the Atlantic. thus having access
To a vast Internal trade. Michigan has
still many acres of public land. a. also has
Wisconsin. whose public lands originally
3I.jll .3i0 acres. Only one-sev-
enth Of the whole area Of the State j. now
under cultivation. Missouri reveals 10 the
agriculturiSt regions Of the greatest fe-til-
ity. while 10 the miner wide range of
products j. accessible. Less than
one million acres of public lands remain to
be disposed OF. Iowa is a phenomenon
among the new States west of the Missis-
silpi. and one OF the leading in the Cereal
Region. The cash value of it, farms. en-
bracing ~. 100000 acres. j. placed at $685.
'"#HN'Ns lFV--'H7-'-
ursll advantages for crop-raising than Min /
nesoia Its wheat j. said 10 be the choicest |
raiSedin the Cereal Region. and commands |
the highest price at Chicago. and the -four /
made from il Is worth more than any other l
flour in the New TX nr Boston market. /
Minnesota has ju entered upon the sec /
ond era of its GLORIOUS existence. Kansas 4
i also phenomenal state, and j. destined \
to become AN empire. That portion of il 4
which was once called the Great Ameri- 4
can Desert. = has become one of the most /
productive regions of the great West. Ne
braska. although In it, infancy, j. ayoung /
giant The grazing region of the State \
comprises 23.OO0.OOO acres. Dakota has
yet over "a. O.0O0.0O0 acres undisposed ofand |
SO rapidly has immigration passed into the \
Territory. that the public surveys have
Jailed to keep pace with the advancing col
umn Of settlers.
a glance al the characteristics of the /
States embracing the great Cereal Region 1
of America. will show vast geographical
and social differences. strengthened by va
riety and rivalry. but all blended. balanced I
anu unified. each State exerting an influ-
ence peculiar Ia itself. but a fraternal SEN
timent permeating all. The ten States
enumerated planted over an area exceeding
.o.uO square miles, present to our view
The magic creations OF pioneer energy, In
closed within perennial frame, nor j. that
pioneer energy yet crushed or remasculated.
The official statistics pertaining TO the Ce-
real Region present brilliant problems for
me study of progressive statisticians. The
following figures, obtained from official
sources. will show the grain production of
ihe Cereal Region. under ordinary condi-
lions, OF course, the volume of produc-
ion can b. increased TO an almost indefi-
nite amount. We give the bushels of
wheat. corn and oats raised i'm 1879
states. Wheat Corn. Oats
i
owa ......... y Az 80 ltl -4tA2.. ~. .lI3 OIs