The Arkansaw traveler., 1889-08-31
o'BRIEN COUNTY, IOWA.


 Look at the map of Iowa, and the northwest the MinneSota line. and one county distant from Dakota and you will nud O'Brien county, in the exact center of which IS the novel, named town ef Primghar, at which your cor respondent is sojourning for a day. There is something in a name, and this town possesses originality in it's name in this; the eight let ters in Primghar are the initials of the names of the eight men who founded the town. The name, at least, stands on its own bottom, and the town itself and surrounding country also stand on their own merits, because they have in fact the substantiAls to back them up. Never did crops look better; never did waving grain and a bountiful harvest speak more pos itlvely of the future quickening of values and growth than right here to day.
 The people of Primghar, on Saturday, on i'm vitation extended to all parts of the county and responded to by wellrepresented com. mittees, completed arrangements for a grand harvest festival and old settlers reunion, to be held here at it's county capital August II, 1889, which bids fair to be one of the happiost gatherings Of glad rejoicing over the success ful harvesting of & crop ever held in this part This county lies distant sixty miles north east of Sioux City and in the very heart of that corn belt and gram area that has made the O'Bren county has contributed prominently to its success. Indeed, O'Brien county carried tWo sIs Sess gran and corn exSibts in that great corn. palace display of corn decoration and agricultural art; and to tho citizens of Prim.
  making the countyfs exhibit a success.
 e'Brien county has four competing lines of railroad, in all eighty i've miles of road bed. and six principal towns, all of which are in- corporated and we'll distributed in distance. Nrne miles is the greatest distance of any farmer in the county from market, and there the county. most farmers have from two to three competing markets.
 It's soil Ia rich, without question. Unlike many localities, it's good qualities do not run in strcaks, but Is of uniform quality. This section does not have to contend with the hot ates west and southwest of here. It has never lost A crop on account of drouth The soil, by reason of a porous underpinning or tremes of wet and dry. Good. pure water is obtained anywhere at twenty i've feet. No alkali can be found in the county.
 Still, the county Is su ficiently new to invite aud welcome immigrants, particularly around Primghar. This town ana county seat only now has about I5 Ooo people, and during the three years last past has added about ]. .5oo pei year to its population-not a tremendous feature, too. that speaks well is that probably four hfths Of it's people are here to stay-per- manent fixtures, so to speak
 About three -fourths of this is settled upon. and Improvements made, and probably about three aisns, or 2O sSTes S d,vSa5 in scsga u crop, age and yield for lsS9 as follows: 4a,eoo acres barley, averaging 90 to 35 bushels. or 800 900
 
 per acre (Ihough some will go 15 and l6), or 250 bus els; oats, 900 acres, ranging from 40 70 60 bushels, 600 900 bu ees corn, 000 acres, from 90 10 30 bu shels 000 bu shels wheat, 20,01O acre 2O to % bushels. or 500 O00 bushels; timotny and grasses Exclusive of prairie), 30l co acres. The above are conserva- tive sures and carefully made by citizens here on a knowledge of the country.
 The town of Primghar only having secured its railroad two years ago, 1t had then large tract of raw prairie around it, and stlll has considerable. The bulk of the two-nfths of raw prairie in the county is in about four townships, in one of which lies Primghar.
 One citizen, and large land dealer in Prim- ghar, has broken up. this year, 1000 acres in various parts of the county and planted It in flax, and m all has 2.ooo acres of crop and is ceiling his lands in tracts to suit purchasers Many of these sod flax crops this year will do . large part towards paying the price of new land. New or prairie land runs from ten to sixteen dollars per acre in the county, and improved land from eighteen to thirty dollars. Taere are no large ranches in the county. The land is we'll distributed. The county will average about l5o to 20 separate farms to the township.
 The town Of Primghar will this year have lo0oo acres Of n X within the radius of its own texritory. As is will continue to have this nxgc acreage for some yea-- tn breaking up