Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1882-11-30
AS WE ARE.
A Buckeye Man i'm Southeast
Missouri.

4
OBERLIN, Ohio. Nov. g, 1882.
| Ed. Register-With grateful remembrance.
es of the kindness shown me by your people
while on my recent visit among you, j <sE
not refrain from giving you and your readers
few notes of my observations and i'm
pressions.
During my somewhat extended tour across
the country southwest Of Ironton, my i'm
pressions Of the country were greatly changed
and modified. had supposed all that re-
gion absolutely worthless for cultivation. It
is true did find, as 1 expected to find, plen-
ty Of hills. mountains and rocks. l found, as
l did not expect to find, some Of the richest
and most delightful valley ever saw. 1
found also the soil even on the hill sides and
tops rich and productive and admirably
adapted to stock raising, grass and fruit cul-
ture, and all they want is intelligent culture
to make them available and valuable. The
climate is so mild that for "a great part Of the
season while We are stabling and feeding
our stock here, your stock can roam the hills
and with the exception of little feed Of
ence.
found large forests Of pine waiting the
advent OF railroads to open them to the great
prairies of the West and make them ex-
tremely valuable. Unlike any pine lands
ever saw before, the soil among the pines is
very rich and deep and produces remarka-
bly,. Where there is no pine the timber 10
principally oak and hickory.
A popularity existing all over that south
western country is that the whole surface is
covered with disintegrated lime and flint
rock from an inch to foot deep, under
which is a rich, deep reddish clay soil nearly
free from stone, and am told that by Guilt
walton this top dressing disappears and be-
comes part Of the soil, creating In an album
dant degree the properties required for
wheat production.
am also informed that the tops Of these
hills produce the finest of fruits and that the
crop is much more sure than in the valleys.
The principal streams that flow through
this section are Black and Current rivers,
and was greatly surprised to find them so
large. They are largely made up of springs.
and the water is remarkably clear and
pure.
In my explorations, discovered indica-
lions of iron and other metals in many parts,
and I believe that the promise Of mineral
in these hills afford encouragement to their
purchase.
have no doubt that the present railroad
excitement will eliminate in the construc-
ton of roads in various directions, so as to
soon open your immense wealth of timber
and mineral to the markets OF the world.
I am satisfied from observation and in
formation that no country in the world is
better adapted to the cultivation Of fruit
than Southern Missouri, and that enterprise
will be surely successful II the following
rules are observed:
I. Never plant trees in the valleys.
II. Select the timbered hill tops or slopes
for your orchards; and for peaches the north
ern slope is best.
III. Clear spot for your orchards, leaving
a belt Of timber around it to protect it from
winds.
In this way all those apparently worthless
hills can be made very valuable.
am SO full of the subject and Of delight
with my visit and observations that hardly
know where to stop; but fearing if I keep on
1 may 'slop over" will close here with the
promise of more in FUTURE article If this is
acceptable. j. II. LANG.