Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1884-05-30
FROM DAKOTA.



From geological surveys it appears on the
best scientific authority, that the Red river
valley was once occupied by an ancient lake
considerably larger than Lake Superior, form
ed during tho decline of the ice period. This
lake was probably the ancient source of the
Mississippi river but subsidence Of the land
Mt the north end Of It caused its waters to
flow into Hudson bay, and the Red river val
ley was formed. During the existence of this
ancient lake, for a succession of ages, a rich
alluvium was deposited, which accounts in
some measure for the enormous productive
ness Of tho soil.
The topography Of the county is a per-
fectly level prairie for 20 miles each side Of
the river, when the surface begins to be
slightly unduating. The soil is heavy black
loan, with an average depth of two feet rest
ing on clay subsoil 100 feet deep. It's vigor
and power in producing and supporting vege-
tation are apparently inexhaustibe, and in
certain important qualities ii is unmatched in
any part of the known world. The smaller
grains are produced in the greatest abun
dance. Potatoes yield prodigiousy Oats
and barley are raised to a considerable ex
tent, but wheat is the staple product. wheth-
er or no corn can be successfully raised here,
is yet to be determined. We are certainly
north Of the so-called corn-belt Of the cont.
nent but ii is claimed, from experience al
ready gained in corn raising, that the present
Objectionable feature Of its being injured by
early frosts can be remedied by the cultiya-
tion Of variety which natures early. To
provo the truth of this claim, the United
States Commissioner of Agriculture, Geo. b.
Loring, has recently sent to this section spec.
linens of seed-corn for the purpose of trial.
That this is practically a one-crop country
is at present true but it does not necessarily
follow that it will always remain SO. SO long
as wheat is the best-paying crop, as 1t is at
present, farmers will raise wheat alone. When
the soil becomes exhausted, they will turn
their attention to diversified farming and il
will then be determined whether diversified
farming will be profitable in so cold a lati.
tude. Aud this suggests tho question which
is often asked, Will the soil ever become ex-
hausted? This question time alone can an
swor. The productive power and lasting
qualities of the soil arc certainly greater than
can be found anywhere else in the Union, and
many years at least must eapse before there
will be any indication of a decline in its fer
tility. A small tract Of land at Georgetown,
Mimi, has been cropped annually for the last
% years, with no sign of exhaustion. Land
surrounding one Of the Hudson bay trading
posts in Manitoba, has been sown with wheat
every year since 1920, with no perceptible
diminution in the yield
No fertilizers are ever used in the valley.
Immediately after threshing, the straw, piled
in immense stacks, ia burned on the wheat
fields. The ground freezes to the depth of
six or eight feet and. thawing gradually, sup
plies moisture TO the growing crops during
the whole season. This, together with the
heavy dews that always prevail, prevents Sc
rious injury from prolonged droughts. Not
that prolonged drougbts are common, but
here, as everywhere, we sometimes have sew
eral consecutive weeks in midsummer with
out drop of rain.
Some of the low, Hat land near the river is
not well drained. Continued rains in the
spring cause water to stand O foot deep on
thousands Of acres in the heart of the valley
thus preventing seeding till late in the season.
Part of this land, which is very rich soil, is
too wet to be cultivated at all, but makes ex-
cellent natural hay meadows. In time it will
be rendered much more valuable by artificial
drainage In some localities large tracts of
land-sometimes extending over hundreds of
acres-are rendered worthless for wheat
growing purposes by the presence of an ex-
cefsiye amount Of alkal It's presence can
not be detected by stranger unless the guam
tity is so great as TO make the surface of the
soil white, as it frequently is. If it exists in
moderate quantities only, it is indicated by
the presence OF short. wiry grass, growing
more or less sparsely, according TO the quan.
tity of alkali the soil contains It's tendency
is to kill vegetation. II alkaline soil is plough
ed, sown with wheat, and rendered moist with
copious rains, the wheat comes up and looks
as promising as one could wish. Then is tho
time when the unscrupulous real estate dealer
drives his inexperienced eastern customer out
into the country to look over the fair acres he
is about to buy 80 cheAply. But wait few
weeks. The long, dry summer days come.
The alkaline earth becomes parched The
wheat stops growing-something in the soil
seems to burn the very life out of it; it turns
white it never natures. The eastern Gus
toner finds he has an alkaline section on his
hands, and looks around for another custom
er as inexperienced as he was, This alkali is
found to some extent all over the territory.
The waters of many of the rivers and lakes
hold it in solution. DEVILS lake, the largest
in North Dakota contains large amount of
| it, This superabundance of alkali in the soil
4 ~
for drinking purposes. River water, or, what
is much better. rain-water, filtered into els
terms, is used largely in cities. Well water is
apt TO be very hard and brackish In some
localities n stratum of limestone gravel is
found about 20 feet below the surface, and in
such places good well water can be obtained
but pure, sparkling New England spring wa
ter is unknown here.
The winters are cold, but the dryness of
the atmosphere renders the air less sharp and
disagreeable than in damper and more south
ern latitudes. The mercury frequently runs
down TO 40o below zero. In December, 1879,
according to the records of the United States
signal Office at st. Vincent, it reached so be-
low-the lowest point reached since the es-
tablishment of the office in 1873. The pre-
ceding year QS7S) 1t reached only 2Go below.
The highest temperature for a series of years
averages go, while the mean temperature of
the year is about 80.
You often hear some pretty big stories
about the terrible blizzards we have out here,
and of people freezing to death. Take these
stories at a discount. We have some pretty
tough storms occasionally, it is true but the
annual snowfall isn't as great as it is in New
England. People sometimes freeze to death,
but in a large majority of cases it is due to
their own negligence. They either start on
long journeys improperly clothed, or else be-
come intoxicated and in this condition expose
themselves to the seventies of the climate