The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1908-10-02

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by clay subsoil that is impervious
to water. All the moisture that
falls is stored directly under the
roots Of the crops and the process
of evaporation which brings the
water from the ground causes it to
pass by the roots Of the grain
twice. Another feature Of the
county which is exceptionally good
is the abundant supply Of pure
water. Many Of the farms in the
western part Of the county have a
good spring on them, and in no
part of the territory is it necessary
to dig deeper than from fifty to sew
entyfvefeet to strike an abundant.
supply Mclean county is travers-
ed by a large number of streams and
is filled with small lakes, including
several Of considerable size. Most
Of the rain comes during the
months in which the crops are
growing. The average rainfall,
taken from the government reports
between April 1st and August LIST
is about IL inches and with the
soil Of this county good crops can
be raised with half that amount of
rain. The county has never suf-
fered from excessive rainfall and
the drainage is excellent in all
localities. The farmers can avail
themselves of the first warm days
Of spring to do their plowing, and
all the mud is gone within q a. few
hours after the heaviest rain. And
the soil is of such nature as to
stand a great deal Of either wet or
dry weather without spelling the
crops.
The universal use of Ignite coal
in Mclean county is now taken
as a, matter Of course. The county
is filled with small mines at which
fuel can be bought at about 81 a
ton, or the farmer can dig it him
self if he cares to locate his farm
over a vein Of the coal, and that is
not hard to do when the county is
almost entirely underlaid by thick
veins of the fuel. Many of the
farmers have opened mines in the
past few years and the source of
revenue has been steadily increas-
ing for several years. The Ignite
coal has been gradually coming
into favor even as far as the Twin
Cities and the recent strike in the
Pennsylvania coal mines added to
the demand for the North Dakota
ignite. The time is not far dis
tant when the value of the lands in
Mclean county will be computed
on the amount Of coal underlying,
as well as the productive quality
of the surface. This coal lying in
veins Of from six to twenty feet in
thickness, and all the way from
two to twenty feet below the sur
face, is very cheaply mined. The
cost is considerably less than a
dollar a ton and many places half
that amount will cover all charges.
And the mining Of the coal will
not interfere with raising Of crops
on the surface, which puts this
land in an advantageous position
as compared to timber land which
can only be worked one way,
There is also an abundance Of
timber to be had along the Mis-
souri, river, which Is q decided
advantage over other parts of the
state, whore timber is one of the
most costly materials ia / be found
The best timber found here is
cottonwood, maple, boxelder, ash,
elm mand oak This furnishes fuel,
posts, logs and fence rails for the
farmers use Plenty 81 cord wood
may be bought for from 81 to. 81 aI
cord earl every farm house inl
thes county ~ ysuzrou ounded now bya9l,
soYeOf youn t1e hsss have
~ beenE plsnts 81 the past Y