Mower County transcript., 1907-09-11

Potato river were special features in
which the ,overturning of a boat and
the dumping Of the editor to the bottom
of the river added considerably to the
merriment of the rest of the crowd.
Saturday, we tried our hand again at
Elbow Lake for muskallonge and those
who saw Nettie pulling in her first big
fish will not soon forget her expression
and the excitement. In regard to what
we caught and how many, am not in
the fish story business. Suffice it to
say that we have not missed a single
day since our first one here when we
did not have abundance of fish, musk
allonge, pickerel, pike, bass or croppies
to supply the table for the whole fam
lily and that is going some And this
morning I must leave these pleasant
surroundings to return to the desk and
the pencil. Mrs. B. and Nettie expect
to leave for Minneapolis on Thursday.
Hubbard county is an ideal place for
an outing. Its soil is sandy and the
rains sink away rapidly. The air is
laden with the balsom odor of the pines
and beautiful lakes abound on every
side. Many Of these are IN chains SO
that launch can travel from one to
another for many miles. These are
full of various kinds of fish which in
their season make sure catch. This
is great numbering region and the
large mills here, at Akeley and other
points are rapidly turning the forests
into lumber. Wild raspberries, blue
berries, blackberries, are very abun-
dant in places. There is conspicuous
absence of apple and plum orchards
such as we see in Mower county. Cur.
rants grow finely. Garden truck is al
so excellent. The sandy soil needs lots
of rain in growing time and the lack of
this in July is seen in light crop of
oats here, the berry better than with
us but the yield small. Corn here IS
largely of the miniature variety and
will ripen as early this year as ours
around Austin. Glover is harder here
than with us and the immense clover
fields in bloom are very attractive
sight to those who grew up in Horace
Greeley's surroundings. Potatoes here
are of fine quality rivaling Anoka.
Farmers are not so much in stock rails.
ing as they should be on account Of
high prices which they now get for hay
and grain from the surrounding lum-
ber camps, but the land here must have
fertilizing to hold out and clover and
cattle raising are the specifics.
One is struck with the small amount
of land broken up on many of the
farms in this region. AS soon as you
get off the prairie into the timbered
tracts, one may go for miles and pos
sibly not see more than twenty or thirty
acres broken on a single farm. Asking
how the owners live we were informed
that they raise plenty of garden truck
and small stuff, have pasture and hay
for few COWS, keep poultry, cut off
some of their timber and sell to the
sawmills, go to Dakota every year to
assist in the harvest fields and work in
the pineries hereabouts during the
winter season. So that with many the
farm is the home rather than the means
OF support. This is not true of the
open prairie sections around Park
Rapids which are we'll broken up and
cared for. There are plenty here who
claim that the using up of the timber
supply of this northern region, COM
pelling farmers here to clear and cult
vate their lands will be one of the best
possible things for them. .r. .-. =. i
We spent the time here with G. D.
Frisbie's folks mile north of the city.
All are well. Nina is teaching in the
high school here. The Cages, Kerrs
and Holdens, formerly of Brownsville
live here and it was quite pleasure
to see so many old friends. It is be-
cause so many of the readers of the
Transcript are acquainted with these
folks and because SO many others are
interested in the prospects and condi-
tions in northern Minnesota that I !
have hastily jotted down these ramb-
ling notes as leave for home.
.5 G. d. BELDEN.
Letter to DR.. g. F. Lewis, Austin,
5grs rlinn.
Dear Sir: Here's a paint that's be-
ing sold to bargain hunters;
10 per cent lead
t 5af 4 5C g a32 G0 $ Zinc 5$ 8{ 5zf,=:fzEs