The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1889-12-27
A WESTWARD GLANCE.
Southwestern Iowa a Gratifying Beyeia.
tion of PastoraI Beaaty.

southwestern Iowa Gratifying kereia
tion of Pastoral beauty.
To those who have lived all their lives
in a hilly or mountainous country or on
the level lands of the Middle States the
landscape Of Southwestern Iowa is o
gratifying revelation Of pastoral beauty.
Everywhere, ia every direction, TO the
bounds of the far horizon, thedistinctiye
feature is the rolling prairie. but sutii-
ciently diversified by village, farm and
| pasture to avoid monotony and repeti-
ton. This landscape is restful to the
| eye. There are no harsh surfaces, no
sharp lines, no startling contrasts.
NaCure was in her most leisurely and
| tranquil mood when she fashioned this
beautiful region. Everywhere is sim
| plicity, with symmetry and strength
Blue grass is king of the region. The
| bluegrass pasture prcdominates, but is
always adioined by the cornfield. The
| farmer of Southwestern Iowa produces
more than enough Of small grain for his
own use, but his hay and cattle and
swine are the products which he knows
will bring him wealth and indepond-
| encc. 1t is the diversity Of products
| which creates the diversified landscape
of Southwes tern Iowa, and gives it
rural feature peculiarly its own Even
! the villages and larger towns illustrate
| the rural character Of the region. EX-
| cepting the earlier vegetables and fruits,
which are improved during the early
| l, ,,l,
ally produce their own vegetables and
| small fruits.
There is no soil in the world more
| kindly to the common vegetables. On
account of this enormous production in
| the towns, the price of vegetables IS
very low, especially potatoes, which
often retail as low as ten cents per
| bushel. The rural vilIagcr, and ire
| qucntly the man in town, keeps COW
and produces his own milk and butter.
The aggregate of these results is rural
| region of remarkable produrtivcnoSs and
| fertility, where the actual nccCSoari"S OF
life are as cheap as anywhere in the
world, and where paupcrism and crime
are rarely known.
This soil of Southwestern Iowa is d
black. rich loan, somewhat imprcgn%tcd
with sand and lime, and old kcntorklans
say in this respect it much resembles
their famous bluegrass region. In wrt
seasons it has been noticeable that tn"
yield of grass and hay was enormous,
and upon the urlandS no amount of rain
except floods and washoutS could d"a-
troy the certainty Of a good crop of corn
and small grain. But the past Two SEA-
sons OF extreme. drought, unprecedented
in the history of this region, has brought
out another wonderful feature OF South
west Iowa and that is the fact that few
countries can stand drought 81 WE'LL
The total railroad miIage of South
western Iowa apprnXimars 800 miles.
Until recently Chicago has been almost
the exclusive market of the products OF
this region, and this great city is now
less than twenty-tour hours rld" from
| the center of Southwestern Iowa by the
| Burlington fast trains. The marvellous
| development of the packing industries
OF Omaha and Kansas City. however, has
created new and more accoSSlbl" mar
kets for tho products of the region, eN-
| pccially the pork product, and it is only
the question OF few years when these
|