The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1891-04-01
A Voice from Kansas.

Editor ofthe Wdtchmdn:-Y Your correspond
ent from Missouri under date of February
10. in giving advice to Vermonters has a
fling " at Kansas. 1t was, L think, the same
writer that, a few months ago, would place a
sword or something of that sort on the
border to stop the ingress OF emigrants into
X insas. Now that is rather hard on Kan
sas as whole. If he had placed his bar
rier on about the hundredth degree of
longitude, so as to cut off about fourth or
third of western Kansas, 1 would have
thought he was about right. There is about
as much difference between eastern and
western Kansas as between southern France
and the deserts of northern Africa, sepa-
rated only by the small eXpanse of the
Mediterranean sea. Kansas has been ma
ligned somewhat from various sources, and
propose to give resume of some facts re-
speeding the state as it stands to-day.
For the purpose of comparison, beginning
on the eastern border 1 would divide the
state into four divisions of one hundred
miles each. Compared with the New Eng
land states, Kansas is a large state. 1t is
four hundred two miles long, except the
northern part where it borders on the
Missouri river, which is a little less. 1t is two
hundred seven and one-half miles wide, or
from the thirty-seventh to the forteth degree
OF latitude. 1t is just sixty seven townships
long and thirty-four and twothirds town
ships wide. 1t contains 1900 townships,
six miles square or thirty-six sections to
into halves, fourths, eighths and sixteenths.
1t has considerably more than million and
quarter fOrty-acre lots. The state is more
than eight times the size of Vermont and
twice as large as all the New England
states, including that part of Maine north of
the forty-fifth parallel. The eastern divi-
sion of Kansas of one hundred miles run
ming west is remarkably well watered by
four large rivers besides the Missouri ON the
border and its thousand tributaries. The
h.atf
streams, the smaller creeks exceeding the
large river intervales in Vermont. There is
great amount of wood and timber on all
these bottoms and river banks. II may sur
prise some of your readers who have re-
garded Kansas a treeless plain to learn
that great many hundred thousand feet of
timber has been shipped east from here
Such, however, is the fact. | have sold
good deal myself 1t was all black walnut,
valuable timber. Wood for fuel sells
here at a lower price than in the larger
towns in Vermont. We have coal at our
doors. This section is no more subject to
drouth than like area in any other part
Of the country.
The second division carries us to the cen.
ter of the state. 1t is good farming coun-
try, the bottom lands are extensive, and the
uplands in both these sections are generally
good for tillage and all good for grass. But
the timber is much less abundant, and the
rainfall decidedly less, than in the eastern
ulNlSlOut anu Is more SUBJECT
to drouth. In the eastern division thou
sands of acres of timber land have been
cleared and put in cultivation, and the
process is still going on. 1t is the very best
land.
In the third division we come to doubt
full country. There is much that is good,
but fuel is scarce and the rainfall a doubtful
quantity. In the last one hundred miles
adjoining Colorado we come to the arid re-
gion proper. The streams all run east, and
OF course the country is elevated several
hundred feet above the eastern division. 1t
is known that farming is possible in Colo
RADIO only by irrigation. The condition is
the same here, but the deficiency in the
water-supply would prevent II from being
practiced to a great extent, and tits expensive
any way. Still people can live here and will,
some time, when they learn to adapt them
selves to circumstances. Most of the new
corners here come from the corn growing re-
gions east. They open up a farm here and
the first crop must be corn. There are three
reasons for It, First, they have always been
in the habit of planting corn; second, the
seed costs next to nothing, and last, il
requires no costly machines to harvest the
crop. Everybody knows that corn requires
about the whole season in any country to
mature, The corn grows all right till the
last of July. By that time the ground has