Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1882-03-02
From "Earmer.5

-Tt1. HSStStST-
A quieter place or corner one could
hardly live in than where l am situat-
ed; but every Saturday the echoes
from the wide world around me come
to my desk; and amongst other remin-
der of other scenes and times comes
the REGISTER. I must acknowledge
being somewhat remiss in my writing
for it, but to have recitei mere local
and agricultural events would have
been tiresome to your readers.
Our winter has been as mild as any
ever experienced here since 1S4l. Only
twice has mercury been below zero,
and then but or degrees and but for
a few hours. All that the winter has
lacked in severity, however, it has
made up in nastiness. The heavy
rains in the fall thoroughly soaked the
land, Washed out grades, bridges, cll-
verts, &C.; since then alternate freez-
ings and thawings have made the
public roads nuisance. Most of Feb
ruary has been fine, almost to balmi-
blowing and some have onions set out
already. Last night, however, things
changed for the worse; rain fell all
night long and great part of to-day,
so that tonight ice coats everything,
and the streams are booming once
more. So often were water-gaps and
bottom fences washed away in the au-
tumn that many gave it up for bad
job, so.that hundreds of fields are open
still. Seldom indeed has such sight
been seen here as the larger streams
present now. Piles and drifts of logs,
rails, weeds, mud, and brush, and
branches broken down by ice, are
everywhere in the widest confusion.
Many of your Iron county farmers
know what creek bottom is: but
your streams, though more rapid. are
much shorter than ours, and do not
gather such a head of water and
wreck. If the REGISTER has any friends
emigrating to Illinois warm them to
keep clear of the rich, tempting bot
tom lands along our creeks and rivers.
Our streams seem to be Insignificant,
innocent looking duck puddles, but
wait till they get on tear anu then
woe to fences and elops.
Much fiat land has been under water,
and wheat, on such ground, has gone
where the woodbine twineth, but on
drained or dry land, and especially on
clay soils, it promises finely, even
where sown about Christmas.
Feed is generally scarce, and, mild as
the winter is, some stock are suffering,
and must fare very badly unless we
have an early spring. Considerable
sickness, too. prevails, consequent in a
large degree, no doubt, upon the al
most total failure of the fruit and veg
etable crops last year, Potatoes We're
soft, small, and sickly, as rule; peach
es were wholly a miss; apples were few
and small, with worm in nearly every
one; grapes were very light; and other
small fruits are not growni in any guam
tity. Cabbages were eaten up by worms;
turnips did not, except in few cases,
terminate until the rain came in the
last of September. and then it was too
late; though frost held off till after the
middle of November. Beans sprOuted
in the pod-that is, the few that formed
in the dry weather. So you see we
have to draw largely on the grocer;
and short staple crops necessarily short
en- that draft. 1t is not surprising to us
here to hear that the United States is
potatoes fIom Ireland, cab
bages from Holland, and beans from
Italy.
The fruits and vegetables most COM