The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1907-12-27

by lumber companies, who either did
not wish to colonies or knew the
value of land and Were in no hurry
TO sell, and the secehd large owner
was the state. With a large area
owned 10y these two inactive fee own
ers, progress was necessarily slow.
The railroads owned arge tracts of
land in the west whicll they wished
10 sell and have narrowed, hence,
The generous advertising of lands in
North Dakota. MOntaG2, etc. Canada
caught the spirit, and a wild rush
was made from the states to take
lands many hundreds oi miles from
a market aud across ! tariff barrier
as we'll, crossing en- route some of
the most promising}y located and
fertile lands that ever lay out of
doors. The Canadians land boom had
hardly began to subsiee when a cam
paign was started exploiting lands
on the ard plains os Texas. In the
meantime many Shoughtful people
in Minnesota had~begnn to realize
that the remaining part Of the public
domain available for agriculture was
very limited, and a concerted de-
mand has been made Ter the prop
erly advertising of MinnesOta's re-
sources. The state has even in
stalled bureau Of immigration for
The purpose Of diverJing the tide Of
emmigrants crossing our borders to
inferior lands beyond, to our own
broad acres. Another COmmenddble
move, being made under authority
of the state, which means much to
Northern Minnesota and the iron
ranges. is the work Of draining
swamp lands and the construction
of roads. We Of Nershern Mime
sofa should heartily cooperate with
these movements by boosting the
merits of our land, Only small
area of northern Minnesota is stony
The soil is wonderfully productive.
To convince even the most skeptical.
all one has to do is to note the tim
otny, redtop clover and even alfalfa
that grows SO Acknowledgment along
the tote roads on the MiSsabe range.
10 say nothing of the crops of pota-
toes, turnips. beets and carrots that
are produced among the rocks of the
range. The fame of this country
could rest safely on the German
rose" ''wrapt in its green surtout,"
alone and its merits should be
brought to the attention of all low
ers of sauerkraut. The writer well
remembers the time when the peo-
pie of southern Minnesota were
skeptical about their ability to raise
apples and other fruits. They ad-
united that corn could be matured
in good years and that on exception
ally good land clover could be pro-
duced proftably. Today Minnesota
is securing gold medals at the ex-
positions for her excellent quality
of apples. and has entered the mar
keLs To the east as competitor. The
apple belt has moved as far north
as Aitkin. Itasca and Saint Louis
counties. Fruits as weH as plants
adapt themselves to climatic c0ndl-
tions. No finer dairy country could
well be found than this, and we have
noted that all who have undertaken
it near the iron range, have sue
ceeded very we'll indeed. The i'm
portance of developing the latent
resources of this part of the state is
of vital interest to us all, whether
we are employed in the mines or
elsewhere, for we are now put to
the necessity of importing all our
vegetables, ETC., and paying increased
prices for stale products as well.
The great advantage that this part
of the state has over other localities
is its close proximity to market, Du-
luth has great future ahead Of it
and will always be good market.
The iron ranges will never produce
the smallest fraction of what they
consume, besides the market here
will always be cash market. The
writer has recently returned from a
trip through the east. He found
people trying to wrest scanty liv-
ing from the rocky hills of MIine
aud extended an Invitation TO come
to Minnesota where their energies
would produce them an abundance.
Minnesota is u paradise in COMPARE
SON Volumes might be written on
The healLhful conditions of our sec
tion of country, and the beauty of
its lakes, but.the writer appreciat les
the patience of Lhe reader who has
followed the story thus far and will
close.
Christmas passed off very pleasan tly
in Ely. The merchants report an ex.
coadinUly hrislx trade in fact thoy