The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1880-05-20
1sion . day Of friendship and Rladness.
STUARTsvILLE,

sion day Of friendship and gladness.
STUARTsvILLE,
10 situated on the Hannibal & St. Joe r.
e., 1s5 miles west Of Quincy and q miles
sast OF St. Joe. . town of 300 hundred
iahs bitsnts, located on the southern border
Of DeKalb county, in the center Of half
Inn bsred and half prairie country of unsur.
pass ed richness and beauty. There are
three churches, q fine school building, .
live newspaper, . well founded bank snd
. dozen merchants and shippers of note:
Hon. o. G.. Mcdonald is agent for the
Railroad lands, some 5000 acres. which he
IL selling from four TO fifteen dollars per
acre. Mr.. Ed. G. Sheldon has a $50, 900
general merchandise trade, handles 800 car
loads of grain, does large business in
farm machinery, 10 born New Yorker
There ba, been large amount of shipping
done from this point in stock since my ar
rival here, shippers paying from 81 90 to
"a so for good cattle and So rs for hogs.
DE KALB Co.,
lies only twelve miles east of st. Joseph,
and the Missouri river, has an area OF 430
square miles, q population of 10000, up
wards Of IS per cent are northern born
"A public schools, the county is admirably
supplied with water, ,.timbe and stone, the
reports give about 5000 horses, 1850 mules,
22,200 cattle, 12,400 sheep, and 1880
swine, exports last year Of swine 1850 car
loads valued at 81, 1,350.000.
Farming is done here on large scale,
ss Il would appear to an Ohio man. A man
will hitch three horses or mules to ri
ding rake pillow which turns . twenty inch
furrow and think IL but Q small job to
brake . 100 acres, and then the planting 10
done with . two rowed planter, one TO
drive and one to work the dropper. The
soil 10 rich, deep and Of fine ioamy ma
ture not subject to bake; the face Of tbs
county is rolling and dry. clear Of ponds
and sloushs, with good well water, fine
bracing air and Is certainly healthy coun-
try.
IT'S BUSINESS MEN AND FARMERS.
The farmers are generally a shrewd
driving set Of men, mostly from Eastern
States who are accumulaling property fast,
while they are reckless. especially with
their farming implements, loosing more BY
exposure than by wear and tear. Corn
seems to be the main crop, which is easily
raised. Thousands of bushels are now in
the cribs worth 20 cents bushel. Corn is
coming up fine this spring, quite per
cent ready to pillow. Wheat suffered last
winter from the absence Of snow, quite q
large per cent being winter killed. The
prospects for frui. of all kinds is good and
while there may be grass hoppers there are
no Colorado potato bugs.
| Stock.
Ihave examined some half dozen lots OF
cattle that were feeding for the June mar.
ket and found them to grade with our
stock, and corn being low and plenty are
we'll fed. The hogs are Of an extra breed,
and are all fat Men are just beginning
to embark in sheep raising, and in my
opinion, there is nothing in the way OF
making it q success, there not being any
scab or other disease Of serious nature.
Mules are In abundance, most of the work
is done with them, have also seen num-
bsr Of fine horses.
My OBSERVATION AND POLITICS.
This county is better place for man
Of small means than an Eastern State. all
the business men came here with small
means and have accumulated property
and stand on q solid basis; the same will
hold good with few exceptions with the
farmers. The renter can at all times find
abundance of land to cultivate. There are
many Ohio families here. have met all
Of my old friends, and they are In good
health and spirits. expect to- take trip
Of observation on Q more extensive scale.
The two political parties are about equal.
iy divided in this county, the Republicans
having small majority. The State will
send Grant delegation to Chicago.
To all my old friends in Perry, who
may have sympathy for q man Of misfor
tune, ! would extend the we'll wishes of a
friend. while I remain yours as ever,
MARTIN BERKEY.
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