Chariton courier. (Keytesville, Chariton County, Mo.) 1878-current, 1896-05-29

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lowing it to suffer from drouth. 1t Is
one of the best watered counties in the
state, for aside from the Missouri
river 1t has numerous other streams OF
greater or lesser volume, whose never
ceasing flow are fed by springs of
clear and sparkling water, and along
whose courses are scenes Of surpass-
ing beauty. The general surface Of
the county is undulating, sufficiently
so to give perfect drainage in every
part; the northern portion consists Of
beautiful rolling prairie lands inter-
spersed with streaks of timber follow
ing the course of some stream; farther
to the south the prairies give way to a
more heavily timbered country, which
partakes of a more rugged character.
finally ending in that remarkable for
nation, the bottoms of the Missouri
river, of which Charlton county has a
full share. The soil in the prairie dis
tricts is rich. black loan of great
depth and fertility.
The soil of the ,imbtred lands is
also very rich. being a mixture OF
black loam and disintegrated lime
stone, with a certain percentage Of
iron in its composition; the bottom
lands consist of the deposits Of the
rivers and streams that flow through
them.
Corn. wheat. oats and other small
grains and tobacco especially are
peculiarly adapted to the soil of this
and the adjoining counties. 1t will
yield from 40 to 90 bushels of corn
per acre; winter wheat from Is to so
bushels; rye 20 to 40 bushels, and
is crop that ne-er fails; oats from so
to 90 bushels per acre and all other
small grains in proportion. Irish and
sweet potatoes are well adapted to the
soil and are grown with good results.
For over half century Charlton has
4 held its Cwn as the greatest tobacco
producing county in the state and ac-
cording to the state labor commission
er's report for 1894, this county pro-
duced nearly half OF the entire amount
of tobacco that was shipped from Mis-
souri, during that year.
The hay that is put up in this county
is for the most part from timothy and
clover, although large quantities OF
wild prairie grass is cured and put up
for local use. The bluegrass is
peculiarly adapted to grazing purposes,
and its pastures are not surpassed any
where for be it known that Charlton
county is centrally located in the blue
grass region OF Missouri. and many of
its farmers taking advantage OF this
fact have turned their attention to
stock-raising on large scale.
All the various fruits that can be
raised in this latitude are here pro-
duced in large quantities the apples
being of an extra quality. The fruit
bearing trees in this county are num-
bered by the thousands and there is
probably not farm within its limits
that has not more or le-- bearing
trees.
Along many of the streams is found
an excellent quality of building stone
and in several places are deposits OF
sandstone some OF them being Of
much commercial value. The entire
area of the county is underlaid with
bituminous coal of an extra fine quality
occurring in beds of from two to -four
feet in thickness and while this source
of wealth is. as yet. comparatively un-
developed. it has seveml mines in
active operation. which help to sup.
ply the home consumption.
The following table. showing the sur.
plus commodities shipped from this
county during 1904, will give ali idea
of the wonderful natural resources and
fertility of this garden spot of Missouri
Cattle. No. head. ........ 1854
Horses and mules, No. head I,Io2
Hogs. No. head. ......... 47.44o
Sheep. No. head. ... s,79o
| Mixed live stock. No. cars 2(