ILLINOIS THROUGH MASSACHUSETTS SPECTACLES

Permit

roe,as a Massachusettsfarmer,underthe above heading,to giveafaintglimpse of

some

matters

and

tilings in the Prairie State

—

asseen through

my

glasses.

Every

farmer

knows

well the benefitof crossing his stock,andit

may

bethatideasimprove under asimilarlaw; at the worst, I shallbesafe, asthereisnopossibledangerfor

me

^tolose

by

thecross,but haveevery chancetogain.

Itwillnotdoforthe

New England man

come

here

and

carry out allhis notionsof

economy

; hisideaswill bealtogether too contracted

;

he only

knows

offarming

upon

a limitedscale,

and

"underdifficulties."

InthisState,naturehasdone

much

forthe

husbandman, and

hissystem ofagriculture

must

beasbroad

and

comprehensiveas the prairies them-selves. In

New

England,there is

calculation,

order,

method,

finish; thesoilbeingsosterile,the people have been ne-cessitatedtolearn these sterlingqualities. In this State,I

am

sorryto say,they

seem

but littlepractised; but there is no spot on the globe

where

would pay

better. Itistrue,the land feverhas raged exten-sively

among

yourfarmers,

and

theyhaveinvestedeveryspare dollarhi increasing the

number

of their acres,instead of building houses

and

barns,and purchasing farmingutensils,

and

givingtheir

homes

anairof comfort; andithasprovedtobe agood investment: but there arevery

many who

have securedthe

number

ofacres to satisfythem,

who

have allkinds of stockinabundance,

and money

besides,

who

do notliveand enjoythe comforts of

home and

social life inso high a degree as the mechanic in

New

England,

who

supports himselfand his family

upon

onedollar

and

a halfperday. This class offarmers have,nodoubt, generally

commenced

poor,andstruggledwithallthedisadvantages of a borderlife,untilthe introductionofrailroads into the State,

when

they availedthemselves ofthebenefits,

and

foundfortunes in thesuddenrise inthevalueof theirestates,but

have

nodesirefurther toimprovetheir condition.

So

farashealthisconcerned, timewillprovethat theprairiesofthe

"Westwill

compare

wellwith

any

oftheEasternStates. Eastern people have

made

a big bugbear outof the

miasma

of the prairies;butifthey willturn their attention to thethousandsof alder

swamps

betweentheir hills,

where

the sun

and wind

are almost strangers,theywilldiscover

causes ofillhealthconcentratedthere ina fewacres,thanare scat-tered over awhole prairie,

where

the purifying influences of the sun and

wind

havefullscope. This season has been an unusually unhealthy

50

one for this State; but duringthe most sicklytime,I

was

wandering overtheprairies,andI

saw

butfewinstances

where

the illhealth could notbedirectlytraced to infringements of physical laws, eitherthrough ignorance or necessity. In

some

cases ofchills and fever thathave

come

under

my

observation,a few outward applications of soap and water no doubt would have relieved the patient. Then,again,ifthe pioneerswould eatlesspork,and

fruitandvegetables,itwould be

much

better for

them

; and I only wonder,all things considered, that thereisso

much

health there, thepeoplearesuchbig sinnersina physi-calpointofview.

Pure

water^isan important iteminthebillof health, though it is butlittle attendedto. People all overthe prairiesdrink surfacewater,when, with diggingor boring,pure water can behad; or, what might be still better forfamilyuse,cisterns can be sunk in the earth at a trifling expense,to save all the rainwaterfrom buildings.

When

the

new

^settlers get the conveniences oflife around them,the prairieswillbe regardedas

healthy thantheEasternStates.

The

fevers of the"Westwill never be a

match

forthe consumption of the East.

Now

tofai'ming.

At

theEast, large stories are in circulation about the productiveness ofIllinois,

and

am happy

to saythat I have seen with

my own

eyescropsofvariouskinds

upon

thesoil,whichifI should report

them

at the East, Ishould notbebelieved,though I have a de-cent reputation for truth there.

For

this fruitfulness, nature should receive all the thanks,

—

the farmer none.

Though

blessedwith the mostproductivesoil, it isimproved butpoorly.

At

most,not one culti-vatorintencanlay

any

claim tothe

name

offarmer; thoughitistrue, thatcircumstances have been very

much

against thedevelopmentof the agricultural interest ofthis State, until the opening of the railroads.

Now,

farming hasreceivedsuch an impetusthat itwill soon

come

upto thestandarditisdestinedtoreach; but sofertileis the soil,theextent ofitscapacitytoproduce is unlimited.

Corn

and wheat are the crops farmers mostlyrely

upon

; but barley, rye, beans, potatoes, onions,flax, andfruitsofallkindsadapted^tothe State, in addition,will

pay

equally as ^well,and for a

number

ofyears,even better. In fact,the farmer cannotturnhisattention to stock raisingor the cultivation ofanycrop, ifheisapractical

man,

and has

any

energy,withoutrealizingafortune, and,too,atprices farbelowthe present.

As

an act of humanity, and forthesavingofthousandsof tonsofbeef andpork,he should provide temporary sheds,ifnothing more,for the protection ofhis flocks and herds.

The

coldwindson the prairies are as hard forcattle tobear, and they need as

much

shelterinthe winter, as in Massachusetts; and personsthere,notprovidingshelter for theircattle,would beindicted for

51

crueltyto

dumb

beasts. If beasts areexposed,the natural heat of the animal

must

be kept

up

withextrafeed,orat the expense of the

ani-mal

; andtheconsequentresultis,thatin the spring,most ofthecattle hereare poor,

and

thenit takes half the following

summer

to get

them up

again.

After spending a few

months

in travellingoverthisState,

and

seeing for myself, I have

made

an estimate of the production,or,rather,the

amount

ofproduce a good farmer can sell from a sectionof land,after provisioning his family

and

assistants,andfeeding thenecessaryteamsto be

employed upon

agrain farm,takingthe prairiein thewildstate,and for the first years

commencing

moderately,by ploughing one thirdthe first,two thirds the second,and the whole the third,fourth,and fifth years;

and

I think that fiftythousand dollars can be realized,as the total receipts for the five years' term. This estimate isfor a grain farm,which should be located intheneighborhoodofadepot.

During

thesefiveyears,fruittreesandotherimprovements should be goingon, tokeep

up

withthe age.

The

doubleplough should be used in break-ing thesod,so that asgood a crop can be

had

the first as succeeding years.

From what

know

offarmingin

New

England, I should

much

rather preferlandinthisState,ifIcould getit

upon

a longcredit,soas toput

my

capital into improvements, than toacceptofonehalfof the farms there with a free title to

commence

with. Practise the

same

energy andindustry as

would

be necessarythere,and a

young man

can earnhisfarmhere,and bewealthierinten years,thanhe couldtohave a farm presented

him

New England

to startwith.

One word

about

wood

land,and

my

longyarnshallbreak. Easternmen, onfirst

coming

intotliisState,sigh for

more wood

land; butthey soon learn that there iscoal

enough

belowitssurfaceto

warm up

the heartsand bodiesofall ofUncle Sam'sfamily,besidesgeneratingsteam

enough

todriveallthe enginesincreationto alleternity.

Then,again,in twenty years from this time, there will be twenty times as

much

forestasat present; for as soon as the prairiefiresare stopped, timber starts

up

;

and

trees everyintelligent farmer is

now

planting, just

where

he wants them,to beautify

and

adorn his lands.

Fencing material will be mostly supplied

by

hedging,whichwill also tendto

make

this State

what

naturehas designed it to be

—

the

Eden

ofAmerica.

L. G.

CHASE.

Pera

Station, Dec.29th,1855.

On

ChicagoBranch ofIllinoisC.R. R.

In document ILLINOIS. Farming and Wood Lands. CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. BOSTON: OYER 1,500,000 ACRES SELECTED AVERY, PRINTERS GEO. (Page 53-56)