Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-04-18
THE BED RIVER VALLEY.
A Glowing Account OF the Most Fertile
Region of the COuntry---St. Paul as q
Railroad Center.


Region of the Country---St. Paul as a
Railroad Center.
The Chicago Times Of Saturday INDUCES in
a sextuple sheet of 1872 columns, large space
being devoted to writing up the Northwest.
Minnesota receives three columns and half
of space-more than is devoted to any other
State or territory. We extract the following
review of the famous Red River valley, and the
mention of st. Paul:
RED RIVER VALLEY OF THE NORTH.
There is no part of the grand State of Min.
nesota which offers more attractions than the
famous valley of the Red River of the North,
and there is none certainly which is more in
teresting. This fertile valley, if half Guilt
waited, would produce as great crop as all
Minnesota.
The important section of Minnesota is trav-
ersed by the st. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba
railroad. The wonderfully rich and fertile val
ley of the Red river of the North has long been
known. 1t is traditional. 1t is the "Nile" of
the American continent, and similar to the
Miami valley of Ohio. The Red River Of the
North lies between the northern portions of
Minnesota and Dakota territory, and extends
north into Manitoba to Lake Winnipeg, and is
navigable for more than two thirds of its entire
length. The valley,proper,i is plain forty feet
above the water level of the river, three hun
dred miles long, and from forty to fifty in
width. This valley was once the bed of q lake,
which, on receding, left q rich alluvial deposit
from two and half to six feet deep on lnus-
trlne clay, varying in depth from eighty Ia 100
hundred feet From the river edges tie !, n
on both sides gradually rises to the blufa, the
former shores OF the lake, which are in VI =
sofa and Dakota about one hundred and ii :
feet high, and seven hundred and fifty feet 1t
Pem5ina mountains, on the international
boundary.
This rich alluvial soil compares favoraby
with the alluvial soil of the river Isar Bavaria
and the Russian black earth found in the
or deposit found in the Red river
valley of the north contains every es-
sental element in the composition that pro-
duces rapid and quick vegetation. Both the
soil and climate of this valley and surrounding
country possess marvellous adaptability for di-
versified agriculture. Nowhere on this con-
tinent can a greater growth of wheat be OBJ
tanned than in the Red River valley. If the
land is well cultivated VIII eat will average from
thlrty-tive to forty-fiv bushels per acre, and
often runs as high as fifty bushels per acre.
Oats, rye, barley and buckwheat produce
enormous yields. Corn grows well, and po-
tatoes, beets, onions, carrots, and all vegeta-
bles and roots attain prodlgious size. Often
five or SIX hundred bushels of potatoes to the
acre have been obtained. They have no false
heart. are sound, and sometimes weigh four
pounds. The kernel of the wheat raised there
is very hard, and has been graded No. hard.
As 1t produces superior and finer -four, it
brings in Chicago and Milwaukee six to eight
cents per bnshel more than wheat grown be-
low the 10th parallel, with the exception of
some sections.
Wheat is an easy crop to grow in that Sec
ton, Is economical, and never known to fail.
Hence, 1t is very profitable crop. The soil is
inexhaustible, as has been proved in one of the
old settlements by continuous cultivation for
over fifty years. Water in abundance can be
obtained in every quarter, and the nutritious
wild grasses can be had for
their cutting, with which to feed stock
Never too wet, never tSo dry,
The ground is always ready for the pillow. The
drainage is complete. Small rivers and streams
empty into the Red river every five or ten miles
throughout the whole valley. All of them,
similar to the main water-course, are heavily
tlmbered with oak, ash, elm, boxelder,"
cotton" willow, and blackberry, but
mostly with oak and Eastwood. The depth
OF this timber is from One-half to seven miles.
Frank Ives, Esq Of Crookston, Mimi, in
referring to the first great crop raised, states:
The first great crop raised in the valley was
in 1877, when the average over the whole cul-
tlvafed area was twenty-five and three-fourths
bushels per acre. Thirty-five and forty bushels
were realized by many, while some who had
not profited by the experience of the pioneer
realized less than twenty bushels. Our farmers
soon found that the prominent factor in the
problem OF wheat culture was proper and
thorough cultivation, and that the number of
bushels depended wholly upon the amount of
labor expended in preparing the ground. If
the land was well broken at the proper season,
back-set early, and thoroughly cultivated the
| next spring when the seeds is sown, bringing
the soil to finely divided state, there was
scarcely any limit below fifty bushels per acre,
and we may add that fifty bushels per acre is
not an unusual crop of any Of our best lands,
where the land has been properly cultivated,
while with ordinary or in lift rent Gu tivation,
very little need be expected. The soil contains
all the elements and capabilities of a perfect
wheat soil with some of the constituents in a
dormant condition, only to be brought into
action by strong hands and willing minds. It
is the farmers fault if he raises a poor crop,
In none of the years since wheat culture be-
came the main industry in this section has
there been anything like failure, nor has the
| average yield been less than twenty bushels No.
l hard. No lower or inferior grades are known
when well cleaned, and wheat to-day is worth
in Chicago Cf it could be placed on the market
unmlXed) at least IL per cent more han
standard No. 1, because it contains twn fiiihs
more gluten-prolein compounds-than stand
ard No. of our State and Wisconsin, ami a
barrel of -four made of Red river valley wheat
Will make 154 pounds more bread than -four
made from any other wheat grown on the con-
tinent south of the 18th parallel. The fact
has been fully established that wheat can be
raised here at 40 cents per bushel, and where
large fields are cultivated under one supervision
the cost has been reduced to 81 cents per
bushel.
The Red river valley is not by any means
destitute of timber, like many of the great
prairies of the West. The several streams
rising in the highlands on either side, and the
main river, are deeply fringed with fine
GROWTH OF THRIFTY TIMBER,
chiefly oak, ash, box-elder, basswod, cotton
wood and other varieties of poplar, and on
the eastern slope are many fine groves, sufl-
cient, if cared for and protected from fires, to
supply the wants of all for many years. East
of the valley lies the great timber belt known
as the "big woods" which extends without
break to Lake Superior, fully 200 miles in ex-
tent, and from this belt our future supHly of
fuel and lumber must come At Itaska lake,
and the various lakes comprising the source of