The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1875-09-16

InferestiIfE letters from one OF Our
sTrnyPifuO Friends.

have seen so many interesting thing:
that I do not know where to commence
to write about them. We had pleas
ant ride to the "Moprd City,"
though cannot say much of the gen
eral facs Of the country, oriof the crop
prospects, as we had night nearly all
the way. When we awoke, however,
we we're in the beautiful undulating
prairies Of Illinois, with their thous-
ands cfactes of corn. The crop docs
not lock half as we'll as in Tennessee,
however, as it has been injured badly
by the rains. We staid all day at St.
Lbuis and looked in upon some CT our
old friends, though we were too busy
to look around much We could see
very great improvement in the city,
in one short year. Being an adopted
son of Missouri, st. Louis you know
is my natural pride. She is prtting
up a great many magnificent buildings
and IS greatly improving in appear
ance daily. The new Custom House
is going up rapidly, and the new Mer-
chants Exchange does great credit
to the city. The city is having an
migration of one thousand permanent
inhabitants 4 week, and before the
nineteesth century shall here closed
she VII " the city of the westen
world. By TIE way she is busily en-
gagged in a project in which every in
habitaht of the whole Mississippi val
ley is directly interested, and one
they should foster by all means. 1t
is the direct export of all the surplus
grain and agricultural products gene
rall7, rs vel IS mineral products, to
South America and sell them directly
instead of shipping them to New
York, Boston and other sea coast
towns, thence to Europe, where they
are reshipped to South America. 1t
Will give US a great advantage 5f
prices if successfully established and
help our people very much in getting
a ready, paying market for their sur
plus, be it what it may. Let every
one lend an encouraging hand to a
enterprise, which if successful, viii be
of such great advantage to that whole
county, But this is out Of the gene
ralline Of my letter. We here took tick
cts by that reliable old road the Van
dalia to New York and started out
upon one of Mr. Pullman's well-arrang-
ed sleepers with that whole-souled fell
low, T. Layton, whom you will find, if
your ever come east over his road and
in his car, 4 gentleman to the mar
or born" 1t WAS again night, so We
did not have much chance to look in
upon central Illinois, but when we
awoke VIZ found ourselves in the beau
tiful western Reserve and looking
with perfect amazement at the high
state to which agriculture is carried in
the State of Ohio. 1t is there they
have the large fields of hay and the
fine horses and cows that makca farm
er's life look Ike something besides a
life of slavery and poverty. This
makes me think Of that old saying,
"No grass 10 stock, no stock no ma
nure, no manure 20 land These PEG
pie have no better lands, 10 say the
very least of Il; than are found over
Tennessee. They were originally no
better adapted to grasses and grains
than Tennessee lands. Yet they now
are in The very highest state of cult.
walton because have been in grasses
and grains, and not run to death with
ang one crop. | have had farmers to
say to ME, that we cannot use agri
cultural niachmcry in Tennessee be-
cause the land is too stumpy and
cloddy Now Ohio is the foremost
state in the Union, in the employment
of improved farming tools, and | know
that there is no state that has more
trees to the acre Of wild lands than it
has. The timber is heavier than in
Tennessee. How then did she get to
use. all this machinery BY taking
up the roots ED stumps with machin-
cry and preparing her lands for cult
yation. It was easier to do this, you
know, than to be worried to death for
six: eight, ten CT twenty years with
old stump5 and roots to pillow over and
to hinder time With. As to the char
acter Of their lands. They are pretty
much the same as That of Tennessee.
Perhaps there IS more lime than in
/ West Tennessee, but that adds but
very little to their favor as a grass
/ growing country, as you could buy
your lime very cheap and put in with
your grass crops, thereby giving them
all the advantages of the element
Your climate is far better for growing
grass than that Of Ohio, because IL
Ohio the grass is often winter killed; il
! Tennessee it never is. There are only
two things Hing TO make Tennesse'
fine grain and grass state; one i
proper agricultural implements anC
the other is the skill to use them
When the people come to conside