Daviess County, Missouri - Chapter 17: Soil, Climate, Agricultural and Mineral Resources of Daviess County, 1882

Chapter 17: Soil, Climate, Agricultural and Mineral Resources of Daviess County

Introductory - Location - Area - Climale - Topography - Soil - Water Supply - Building Stone - Coal - Timber - W ater-power and Mills - Gyrapes - The Apple--Peaches and Pears - Cherries - -Berries - -Stock - Horses, Mules, ete.--Hogs, Sheep and Cattle - Tewras Cattle Fever - -T he Cereals - Corn - W heat - Oats - Other Grain - Hay - -W ine - V egetables - Statisties - 1876 - 1880 - The Figures - Transportation Facilities - Railroads - Lands and Values - Seeing is Believing - Climate - Mean Temperature - Rain Fall.

"In ancient times the sacred plow employed The Kings and awful fathers of mankind; And some, with whom compared, your insect tribes Are but the beings of a summer day, Have held the scale of empire, ruled the storm Of mighty war with unwearied hands, Disdaining little delicacies, seized The plow and greatly independent lived.

Introductory

The resources of Daviess county are numerous and their development brings wealth, contentment, health and happiness. Soil of exceeding richness, its alluvial qualities reaching many feet below the surface, making italmost inexhaustible inits producing qualities; streams of running water; timber of every variety grown in this latitude; prairie, undulating and easy of cultivation; quarries of stone, ete.; all these things make the resources of Daviess county a fruitful theme, which, to do it full justice, would require many pages of history. It is the home of the most succulent grasses; cereals and vegetables are prolific in yield. Its rich grasses make it a splendid stock country, second to none. The productiveness of the vineyard is the most luxuriant, and other fruits are raised in abundance. It is therefore easily seen that as an agricultural and stock-raising county, Daviess has every element ot suecess, and a farmer has but to give his attention to his business to secure himself a home and plenty.

There are few States in the Union that combine so great a variety of soil, as salubrious a climate, so rich in agricultural and mineral resources, better adapted to stock, or a more healthy climate for man than Missouri, and of all these qualities Daviess county has her full share. It is because of these superior advantages that the settlement of North Missouri should be rapid, or would be, could these facts be sent broadcast over the Eastern States and Europe. The State Immigration Society is doing good work with the hand book of Missouri, but that is not enough. Every county should have its resources made known, and scattered tar and wide. Not one time, but every spring and fall; thousands of these silent messengers would do their work

There are many reasons why Daviess county should receive a large immigration. One is that it Hes in a country most favorable in climate and agricultural production, while in the depth and richness of the soil it has no superior. Another reason is its valuable timber resources; its splendid forests, with railroad facilities, are now a mine of wealth to the owners. They are nearer the market than the great pineries of the north and consequently far more valuable. Again, lands are cheap in Daviess county. Not one half of her soil is under cultivation, there is room and to spare for a hundred thousand people, and with its cheap land, water and grasses it is both a grain-growing and stock-raising county, exceeded by none. These things are all to be considered in settling in a new country, and yet Missouri, while anew country in the extent of her immense forests and prairies, is old in all that constitutes wealth, refinement aud culture, in the luxuries of life, and in her schools and churches. It is because of her great educational facilities and her numerous railroads which give her a preéminent stand over both her eastern and western neighbors. She equals the East in all the lnxuries of life and social ties and advancements, with cheap lands and living at less than two-thirds the cost. She equals the West and borders of civilization in everything that constitutes a cheap and comfortable home, and all this without going beyond the confines of civilization, and enduring the hardships and privations of pioneer life. Add to these attractions for produce, labor of' all kinds at remunerative prices, and Missouri may well be called a garden spot for the people of every clime. And one and all of these advantages are found within the limits of Daviess county.

Having thus given the reasons for our faith in the future of Daviess county, the following pages will give more in detail what these advantages are, and how the people of the county have improved them.

Location

Daviess county is situated within reasonable distance of the marts of trade - a very desirable feature to her people. It is this location which makes Daviess county stand first in the list of counties as a market for her surplus produce. She is near enough, for all practical purposes, to competing markets, and railroads make transportation cheap, and the best of four great markets can be taken advantage of. It is thirty miles from the northern border of Daviess county to the Iowa State line, and Gallatin, the county seat, is £55 miles from Chicago, 252 miles from St. Louis, seventyfive miles from Kansas City, and fifty miles from St. Joseph. Vive daily passenger trains pass through ber borders with many more freight and accommodation trains, beside.

Area

Daviess county is twenty-four miles square, and has an area of 368,640 acres, and contains 359,317 and 32-100 acres of arable land subject to tax- ation and cultivation. Her assessed valnation from year to year will be found in the ofticial history of the county, but it may be mentioned here that the total valuation for 1880 was about tour and three-fourth millions of dollars.

The climate of Missouri is mild and salubrious. It avoids the piercing blasts of Iowa, and the extreme heat of a more southernclime. Its atmos. phere is clear, free from the miasmatic influences which are so often found in the more eastern States, and is of that bracing and invigorating character which tends to develop both man and beast. The surface of Daviess county ig rolling, the drainage is excellent, and with such advantages, the highest type of health exists. Malarial fevers are not prevalent, and her people enjoy life to an advanced age. Therefore, on the score of health, this county will compare favorably with any section of the Union, and, if that is a desideratum, then the immigrant may seek no other clime.

Topography

The topographical features of this county are high and rolling with about two-fifths timbered land and three-fifths prairie. Its timber lands are rich in every variety of growth and its prairies are beautifully rolling and with a drainage almost perfect. The wild grasses grow luxuriantly, and wild fruits are numerous and grow in reckless profusion. The wild grape and plum are found in abundance, but all this is giving way to cultivated orchards, meadows of timothy and blue grass pasturage. One great feature of the uniting of timber and prairie is that it is so diversitied in its range over the county, that there is not a farm which cannot have its supply of woodland, as well as prairie. The Grand River, which runs diagonally from the northwest to the southeast corner of the county, has, almost its entire length, beautifully sloping banks and the bottom lands have no superior in richness and productive qualities. There are many rich valleys lying along the banks of the different streams irregular in form, but rich in all that makes a farm valuable and home lite comfortable. It is this topographical feature of the county, with its undulating surface, its perfection of drainage and its altitude high above malarial influences, which gives to Daviess county her greatest charm. <A_ life-giving and invigorating atmosphere makes life enjoyable and home pleasant.

It is the richness and productiveness of soil which makes Daviess county stand preéminent among the counties of North and Northwestern Missouri. The alluvial bottom lands, with the soil reaching in depth from two to six feet, lying along every stream and creek, are easy of tillage and make splendid fields and magnificent farms. This soil is simply inexhaustible, and a.

The soil is a black loam, of great depth and richness, and is generally underlaid with a rich, calcareous clay, abundant in silica and the phosphates and carbonates of lime. Such a subsoil with the black mould above referred to, makes the finest basis for grains, grasses and fruits in the world, and gives a wide range of production. Everything grown in this latitude, from ocean to ocean, is produced here in high quality and most bountiful growth. Corn, wheat, oats, barley, rye, flax, broom corn, millet, Hungarian, sorghuin, tobacco, hemp, all the garden and field vegetables and a long list of fruits, with the whole family of grasses, any and all are at home in this soil and reach perfection in growth and quality. This remarkable versatility of production gives Daviess county prime agricultural advantages over the special farming regions of the continent. Corn is the great staple and gives a yield of forty to one hundred bushels per acre, depending upon eultivation and season, the crop of the county running from 2,500,000 to 4,000,000 bushels annually. Winter and spring wheatare both successfully grown, the yield per acre ranging from fifteen to thirty-five bushels. Rye never fails to give a yield of twenty to forty bushels per acre; oats run from thirty to seventy bushels, and barley from twenty-five to fifty bushels, Flax is a very remunerative crop and will become a popular product in the near future. Irish and sweet potatoes give an unusually large yield, and are particularly adapted to this soil. The garden is bountiful in every variety of vegetable production. But the grandest resource in Daviess county is found in her native and domestic grasses. There is no better soil for grasses between the Great Lakes and the mountains. The wild prairie grasses are readily yielding to blue grass and white clover. Blue grass is indigenons to the country, and is steadily making the conquest of the wild prairie, forest and field, until blue grass is king in Daviess county, as in the famous grazing regions of [linois and Kentucky. Blue grass is everywhere, from the water-line to the crown of the hills, sweet, tender and luxuriant as any herbage that ever bared its bosom to the herds. In this mild climate it makes pasturage well nigh perpetual. The rainy seasons develop a splendid growth of white clover in the old pastures, and the red clover and timothy meadows are as luxuriant in this county as anywhere on the green earth, Timothy meadow gives a yield of two and three tons, and not untrequently three and a half tons of hay per acre. Under such conditions, of course, Daviess county is a splendid stock country. Where corn and blue grass flourish and timothy and clover are at home, there is no question tinue the future of thecounty. Wealth and independence follow as naturally as water runs down hill. The stock-raising and stock- feeding districts beat the exclusively grain-growing districts in net revenue and ultimate wealth two to one. Cattle and swine-raising and feeding are carried on to a large extent in this county, and bring a heavy revenue to the farmers. Very little coarse grain is exported, the farmers finding it more profitable to feed prime steers, Poland China and Berkshire swine. There are scores of men in Daviess county, who feed from four to ten car loads of high grade steers and model pigs for the Chicago & St. Louis markets. Hundreds of others feed one, two and three car loads. The business pays vastly better than raising grain for the grain markets. Sheep are also raised by many farmers with flattering results. Horses are extensively raised tor export to the neighboring prairie States on the west, and so too are mules.

Water Supply

There ate few counties in the Svate that can boast of a better water supply than this; Grand River, with its rapidly running waters, makes a splendid river for milling privileges, which have, in many cases, already been utilized. Besides this river, there are numerous tributaries giving a neverfailing supply of water for farm and stock purposes. They are fed from the many springs which bubble up all over the county, and these springs, many of them, are rich in mineral, health-giving properties, and one, the Crystal Spring, has already become famous for its healing waters. A description of this spring and its location will be found in the history of Benton township.

Among the many tributaries to Grand River are Big Creek, Little Sampson, Cypress and Hog creeks, in the northwest; the Big Muddy in the center, running to the north boundary of the county; Pilot Grove and Little Muddy in the northeast; Hurricane, Brush, Lake Creek, Clear Creek and the mouth of the Big Muddy, in the southeast; then there are the Lick Fork, How Branch, Marrowbone and Honey creeks in the center and south part of the county; Marrowbone extending, with branches, through the southwest; Grindstone and its numerous branches, waters the western section of the county. These are the principal streams, but even these have numerous feeders, while there are other smaller ones scattered over the county. It will be seen that Daviess county's water supply is abundant and well distributed. In addition to these streams and the numerous springs which flow spontaneously in every section of the county, wells of pure and living water can be found by digging from twelve to forty feet in depth, and are never-failing in supply. Here, then, are the farms and the farm-houses supplied with one of the greatest necessities of life, and it may be said, one of its greatest luxuries, for what is there more retreshing than acup of water to the weary and thirsty. It is a heaven-born gift to man, not always appreciated, but ever a blessing.

Building Stone

Building stone can be found in abundance, and is very generally distributed over the county. Many excellent quarries have already been opened.

Coal

The limestone is found in inexhaustible quantities, can be broken with little labor, and is used for macadainizing purposes. There is enough of this stone to macadamize every road and cross road in the county, and where the people are able it is already being used for that purpose. Free stone of superior quality is found in numerons places in the county, and has proved an excellent building stone. There is also a brown sandstone found, of fair quality, but itis inclined to crumble and cannot stand very heavy pressure. The different varieties are found in strata and are easily quarried, lying, in many cases, near the surface. The railroads are quarrying within the county, along their roads, using it for ballasting and hanling it many miles beyond the county limits to use in less furtunate counties. It has proven of great value to them, and is procured at very little cost. For building purposes it is constantly used. The value of the stone within limits of the county can hardly be estimated. It is only by visiting those counties where none can be found, and realizing the expense and trouble of securing it, that our people can appreciate the great advantages they possess in having a full supply of this indispensable material. COAL has not been tound to any great extent, still it is almost certain that a coal vein or veins, varying in thickness from twelve to twenty inches, underlie a large portion of the county. A full examination has never been made. Whether it exists in paying quantities or not is, of course, uncertain, and the thinness of the veins may not be profitable to work at the depth they may be found, still there is the best of reason to believe that there is coal in paying quantities in Daviess county. However, should there not be, there is plenty of coal within twenty-tive to fifty miles, which ean be laid down in any part of the county at from twelve and one-half to fifteen cents per bushel. While it is not at all probable that the wood supply will be exhausted in a century, there is little need of worrying over the fuel resources of the county, as there is coal enough in the State to last for thousands of years. With 26,000 square miles of coal tields and our immense forests, a fuel famine is not imminent in this day and generation or many sneceeding ones.

Timber

The timber resources of Daviess county is inthe neighborhood of 100,000 acres, and the timber on every acre is worth trom five to fifty dollars. The maple, both hard and soft, walnut, white and blue ash are especially valuable as merchantable timber, and are constantly increasing in value, beside the white oak and hickory, which are valuable, there is the elm, linden, cottonwood, hackberry and mulberry, which grow to great size and are natives of the soil. Walnut and oak of large size and unustal thrift are particularly abundant, and heavy shipments of lumber of these valuable commercial woods are annually made from this county into the neighboring States and beyond. The shipment of railway ties into the prairie States, further west, is a source of large yearly revenue to the county. The local markets are always well stocked with wood at one dollar and a halt to two dollars per cord, and nearly every farmer has a timbered lot sufticient for all present and prospective uses. There are millions yet to be gathered from the timber resources of Daviess county.

Water Power And Mills

Several flouring and saw mills of good capacity are driven by the abundant water power of Grand River, and the waste water power of that stream would furnish a moter for a half dozen additional mills and factories. There are also several fine steain flonring and Inmber mills in other portions of the county. There are good openings fur more flouring mills, the most inviting of these, at Gallatin, has been taken advantage of, and a splendid steam mill has been erected, with four run of stone, in the south part of the city, and within three blocks of the public square. The mill is in every respect first class in all its arrangements, with all the latest patented devices which go to make up a first class mill for the manufacture of the best enstom and high grade of merchantable flour. The citizens of Gallatin contributed one thousand dollars toward securing this fine mill. and the investment will pay them many fold in increase of cnstomers, besides the convenience of having a place where, at all times, fresh and good flour can always be found. This mill was ready for business November 1, 1881. Another mill worthy of note is the Watson mill, at Pattonsburg. That also has four run of burs, and, like the Gallatin mill, has all the latest and most approved machinery and appliances for the manufacture of fancy brands of flour. Two of these runs are used exclusively for flouring, and the other two are custom runs. One for wheat and the other for corn. There are several other mills in the county worthy of note. In fact, the people are well supplied with both grist, flouring and saw mills. One of the latter class is turning out from 250,000 to 800,000 feet of lumber annually. This mill is located at Pattousburg. Flour and lumber, two very important items of civilization, are plentiful in Daviess county.

The fruit interest is everywhere prominent. Every farm has its apple orchard and the peach, plum, cherry, pear and grape, with the entire list of berries, are cultivated with gratifying results.' For standard apples, the'staple varieties of the grape, the Early Richmond cherry and small fruits of the garden, it is doubtful if there is a more favored region anywhere in the West. Wine-making might be pursued with as much profit here as'on the banks of the Ohio or the Islands of Lake Erie. And it is to a limited ex- tent being made already, and the vintage is destined to increase rapidly in succeeding years. Quite a number of our farmers have planted vineyards. As yet the Concord grape leads. It makes a fine light wine, and is especially liked for its hardihood and prolific yield. The Elvira is called by some the best grape, being hardy, yields abundantly and makes a finely flavored wine, smooth to the taste and of rich quality. It is as prolific as the Concord, while the market value of its vintage is double. This climate seems to be especially suited to it. Up to this time grape culture has not become epidemic, but quite a number of fine vineyards are, nevertheless, to be found in the county. The principal grape as has been said, that is grown in this county is the Concord, and here the writer would refer to a conversation with John Ballinger, one of the leading grape growers of the county, and who has expended several hundreds of dollars in experimenting upon the kind and qualities best adapted to this section of Missouri. In his remarks he said, '' that for all purposes and especially for the great mass of farmers, and all those who wish a certain return for labor expended, the Concord is the best grape yet tried. It is hardy, yields abundantly, and is every way a healthy grape, little given to mildew or rot, and for a fiue light wine is unsurpassed.' "My next choice," said he, "is the Norton's Virginian. This makes a choice wine of exquisite flavor, plenty of body, and on drinking it a peculiar feeling of satisfaction spreads all over you.' It was evident that Mr, Ballinger understood what he was talking about and was in earnest. Mr. B. continued his remarks by saying, "that if he were to plant 100 acres in a vineyard, he wonld plant forty-eight per cent in Concords, forty-eight per cent in Norton's Virginia and the two per cent in the order following; to-wit, Martha, Hartford Prolific, Rogers Nos. 8 and 19, and a few Delawares.'' Mr. Ballinger has given grape culture a good many years trial, and has proven by actual experiment the vines best adapted to this climate, and we give it here that all who read this history may profit by his well-earned experience and money expended. There is no use of others spending a thousand dollars to find ont what is here given. Thev can take this statement and make a vineyard that will pay a heavy per cent on any amount of money that may be invested. There are several farmers in the county who have given considerable attention to grape culture. The names of many are omitted not receiving them in time for this chapter. Among the most prominent besides Mr. Ballinger are F. Aubrey, about seven miles southwest of Gallatin; Mr. Sweaney, eight miles northwest, and James Lee, some two miles turther on; William C. Atkinson, of Benton township, some five miles from trom Pattonsburg. There are several others who are giving their attention to this industry, and all doing well.

The Apple

Is decidedly the most abundant crop, and it especially thrives in North Missouri. The finest apples are raised in this central belt, between the south line of Iowa and the Missouri River. 'There is no better country for the apple,' says an eminent horticulturalist, than North Missouri, and I go still further, and say that no finer fruit has been raised, than that which Ihave gathered in that section of the State.' An orchard of grafted fruit properly attended to, is as great a medium of wealth to the farmer, as any one department of agricultural labor. There is not generally enough care given to the orchard. Tirst in planting, and second in giving the growing tree care afterwards. With the exception of pruning now and then, they are lett to grow as best they may.

The orchard product is not confined, by any means, to theapple. Peaches, pears, plums, apricots, quinces, nectarineg, ete., all grow well, and are equally at home with the apple in this soil and climate. Both peaches and pears have their seasons of failure, but there are always enough for home consumption, except in unprecedentedly bad years. <A very fine peach is grown, and there are several kinds which are very palatable, being of a most delicious flavor. The pear grows to a large size, is very rich and luscions, and resembles the California pear in size and appearance. Neither the peach nor pear crop is as certain as the apple, still the peach is largely grown throughout the county. A good year for peaches is a good year for the farmer who has them for sale. Very few plums are raised, and why, is au enigma. Wild plums, about the size of the common blue plum, grow abundantly in the woods and are brought to town for sale, but no others. There are a few trees in Gallatin, grown in the gardens, which yield largely, but as yet, like the apricot, nectarine and quince, cannot be called a product of the county. These fruits would all grow and give handsome returns for their cultivation.

There is nothing so beneficial to health during the summer season as good ripe fruit, and the less meat the farmer eats in the hot weather, and the more fruit, the better for his general welfare, and for a long lite. Thus the raising of fruitshould be a universal one, for it isa paying crop and one conducive to health.

Peaches And Pears

Peaches and pears yield abundantly in good seasons, but are not a certain crop. A late frost generally destroys the yield. They generally make an average crop two out of every five years, and there are not many years but what some are raised. They are a paying fruit when the season is favorable, but they are not generally raised except for home use or a local market. Plums grow wild and the country is exceedingly favorable to their growth, but strange as it may seem, tame plums are a scarce article in Northwest and North Missouri. It is doubtful whether a finer climate can be found for the blue plum, the green-gages, and one or two other varieties. The people, however, are not a plum-loving class, and to that must be accounted the scarcity of this healthy and luscious fruit.

That word will bring a smile of pleasure to the face of a Daviess county citizen, under almost any circumstances. They don't take to plums but they dote on cherries. In season they eat them all hours of the day, and night too, if they are awake, and every farmer in the county and every citizen in town or village will have a cherry tree on his farm or lot, if there is a place large enough, and if there is not he will make one. Next to the apple, the cherry stands in the affections of the people of Daviess county, and in season even the appie must take, temporarily, a back seat. When a couple of Yankees want to make a trade, they each get a stick and commence to whittle, and you can always tell which is ahead by the way the chips fly, but get two Daviess county citizens together in cherry time, on a mule or horse trade, and the manner the cherry pits fly around is equally as telling as to who is ahead in the trade. There is nothing unwholesome in the cherry; it is a good, palatable kind of fruit, and if Daviess county citizens have no worse habits than their love for cherries, they need fear nothing they may meet in the great beyond. The yield is great; they are good to eat from the tree, they make excellent preserves, and cherry brandy is an article rich in its medical properties; so that in any light a cherry tree is profitable as well as a great pleasure to the owner, in the bearing season. There is only to be added to this the fact that the cherry tree is indigenous to the soil of North Missouri, and nowhere to be found in greater luxuriance than in Daviess

There are nothing in the shape of berries, but what are natives of this soil, and Daviess county especially, in its native fruits, has found few equals, either in quality or the extent of its varieties. The strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, gooseberry, the currant and the wild grape grow abundantly. They are also very generally and successfully cultivated and well repay this care. None are raised for export, but the local market is generally well supplied. Prices, while not high, are remnunerative. There is not quite enough attention paid to fruit and berries by the people of this county, but if they would give more timeand care to them, it would richly repay such effort.

The climate is very similar to that of Southern Ohio, Northern Kentucky and Upper Virginia. It is a point between the extremes of temperature, and in a latitude wherein the standard fruits attain their greatest per- fection, and the great stock and dairy producing regions of the continent. Why should not Daviess county farmers grow and prosper? It is a field that offers splendid opportunities to men to cultivate the orchard, the vineyard, grain and herds, and it is as healthy as it is great in all its productive resources. No fogs or stagnant waters, the winds which sweep the prairies of the West give only an invigorating feeling here, and, in fact, the climate is all that man need wish for, whose habits are temperate and whose life is

Stook

In speaking of Daviess county as a fine field for the breeders of fine stock, it is with the certain knowledge that this belt of country of which Daviess county is a part, has no superior for developing the best and highest grades of all farm animals in their best and most perfect form. Itis not too cold, and when an exceeding cold blast sweeps over the country it is of but short duration, and a little covering from exposure saves any ill effects of such changes. But for eight months of the year no covering is necessary for the flocks and the other four months will be found half the time pleasant and enjoyable weather for both mau and beast. This, therefore, is a climate peculiarly adapted, from its dry and invigorating atmosphere. to develop in their best form all kinds and classes of animals which go to make up the stock of the domestic breeder. These facts are beginning to tell, and the farmer is turning his attention to stock-raising and the food necessary to their support. It is as easy to raise blooded stock as it is scrubs, and this important fact is also gaining a strong foothold in the mind of the farmer. The Short-Horn and Hereturds among cattle are assuming a prominence worthy of the intelligence of the people. The blooded horse and the heavy Percheron and Norman horses are taking the places of the scrub. Merino, Cotswold, Leicester and Southdown are weeding out the common sheep, while the gaunt "railsplitter" hog of olden times, long-legged and slab-sided, has given way to the Poland-China and Berkshire. This argurs well for the future of Daviess county as a stock-producing county, and will bring wealth At this time there are not many who are engaged exclusively in stock-raising in the county. more care of the stock he is keeping for home use and an occasional sale. They are all looking to improving their domestic animals, and this is a great advantage. But there are some stock men who make it a speciality. Every a thousand stock-breeders that could make fortunes at this business as a speciality. Cattle, sheep and hogs are rapidly increasing in number.

Horses, Mules, Etc

Horses and mules show but little anvance the past five to seven years, and yet it is hard to find a better country or more healthy one for these animals andthe demand tor them is far ahead of the supply. Many have been sold, which keeps the number down, but still the increase has not kept pace with other domestic animals.

Year. Horses. Mules. Jennets. Jacks

Horses alone have gained in eight years, and only 913, or less than ten per cent. Mules, jacks and jennets have decreased since 1876. The year 1881, however, will show a larger increase, as stated by the assessor, although the full returns are not in.

Hogs, Sheep And Cattle

There has been more attention shown to raising the above stock than in horses and mules, and taking the number slaughtered and sold on foot the rapid increase is something to be prond of. Hundreds of car loads of these animals are shipped annually, and still they are gradually gaining in number. There has been far more attention given to hogs, cattle and sheep than horses and mules, perhaps because it costs Jess to raise them, and then in the purchase less money is reqnired. Still this blue-grass county is the home of the blooded horse, and the racer as well as draught animals can be raised to perfection, and to those who have the capital, as much money can be made on horses and mules as any other animals. The figures for the cattle, sheep and hogs of the county are given below:

Year. Cattle. Sheep. Hogs

The gain in 1876, it will be seen, was light, but the great financial crash of 1873, reaching into 1874, and its blighting effects culminating in 1875, caused about every class of citizens to sell every available article that would bring the money. The farmer was no exception. This of course, caused the farmer to sell close, even at times to take his sheep, hogs and cattle to meet the demand. But when this financial pressure ceased Daviess county

HISTORY OF DAVIESS COUNTY. 385 took a start, and while 1879 shows a handsome increase, that of 1880 may be considered wonderful when it is remembered that over 1.000 ear loads of stock were shipped from the county, beside home consumption and local market in adjoining counties. A large amount of Daviess county stock is shipped from Hamilton and Kidder, while Trenton buyers bought largely in the eastern part and shipped froin that point in Grundy county. This will give an idea of the stock business of thecounty, and we are inclined to think that future years will greatly increase these figures. There is money in stock if handled properly.

The largest hog we have any account of weighed 720 pounds, and was raised by John Owens, of Lincoln township, in 1874. The largest cabbage was raised by John D. Mitchell, in 1871, and weighed twenty-three pounds. These will do tor specimens of what Daviess county ean do in special cases; with corn sixteen feet high and four ears to the stalk, it does look as if' the farmers of the county could make a very healthy living if they try.

Texas Cattle Fever

met with a heavy loss from the Texas cattle fever, which broke ont among the cattle and destroyed thousands. A man by the name of Frank Taylor drove a lot of Texas cattle into the southwestern part of this county and in . Caldwell and Clinton, to feed. It proved they were aftlicted with this fever, and about all the stock which came in contact with them took the fever and the loss was very great. _ In Sheridan, Colfax and Liberty townships, the fever raged fiercely, the cattle dying daily. Sore men who had only three or four cows, lost them all by the disease. Various estimates are made as to how many died in all. Some say 290, while others put the number at 400.

great that a fear of sickness on the part of the people was seriously apprehended. Some farmers were obliged to leave their premises temporarily until the awful stench abated. The matter became so serions that the County Court took up the question of the burial of the defunct cattle, and on July 21, 1873, made the fullowing order, which was ordered to be placed upon record. "Now, at this day it appearing to the court, that, what is known as the Texas or Spanish fever is raging among the cattle in the townships of Sheridan, Colfax, and Liberty, and that large numbers of cattle are daily dying from said disease, the carcasses of which have become a nuisance in said townships, and that the health of the inhabitants of said townships is in danger and is likely to prove fatal to the inhabitants of said townships.

"Tt is therefore ordered by the court that the following named persons be and are hereby appointed agents of Daviess county, to bury the carcasses of all eattle dying or found dead, in said townships, the owners or owner ot which are not known; to-wit, Sberidan township, Charles F. Drake; Colfax township, F. B. TL. Brown; Liberty township, B. F. Rarick; and that they be allowed two dollars per head for burying said cattle.

This was the only known ease of fever among stock in Daviess county, and that was brought to the county. So far, therefore, as disease of any kind is concerned, there is absolutely none, and from the day that fever ceased, and up to the time it commenced, the stock of this county has been free from all epidemic diseases.

There is only here and there in this county what might be called a stockbreeder and raiser. As has been mentioned, nearly all the farmers are in the business, making it a part of their labor and care. The great corn fields can be increased in value, so the farmer has learned, by feeding it to stock instead of selling the grain. It is alsu found that the rich blue-grass pastures put money in eattle with but little care, and that the splendid meadows of timothy and clover are increased in valne as the same are fed to stock. Therefore, as these crops flourish in Daviess county the equal of any connty in the State, it is beginning to dawn npon the mind of the farmer that a bushel of corn at twenty-eight cents can be made to equal forty cents if fed, and a ton of hay at from six to seven and a half dollars will realize ten dollars if sold as fat cattle.

The hills have their nses, and in the ravines are found a shelter for stock away from the piercing winds. The weather is seldom cold enough to hurt stock, and the under side of a hill is generally found a good shelter. Still, the good eare of stock will generally pay a pretty good per cent, and those who give that care during the winter season, not ouly gain in per cent of stock, but show a merciful feeling. Among the stock-breeders, Hamlet Wynn, of Grand River township, is giving his attention to the Leicester and Cotswold sheep, Short-Horn eattle, and the Percheron and blooded horses. I. M. Barnett, of the same township, is also extensively engaged in the same line. Joab Woodruff, of Union township, is giving his attention to the Cotswold sheep, Short-IHorn cattle, Norman horses, of which he has a fine animal called " Black Bob," and the Poland-China hog. Then there are Frank and James Collison, of Jamesport, Thomas B. Clendus, of Jefferson, James Peed, of Jefferson, Judge John A. Tuggle, of Monroe, and several others, all engaged in the business.

The Cereals

The grain-prodneing quality of Daviess county lands stands high, both in the quality and qnantity of the yield. In this department of agriculture prosperity has attended the farmer for nearly a decade. The present year has been the first in that time that has proven a bad one for the husbandiman, but while a few connties have done better, many have done worse.

HISTORY OF DAVIESS COUNTY. 387 There is reason to believe that even this year, when the general average on corn is but sixty per cent, wheat about seventy, and oats about eighty per cent, that Daviess county's corn erop will average seventy-five per cent, while hay, curn and oats will fall very little, if any, short of a full average. The unexceptional good crops tor these series of years have placed the people of Daviess in the front rank for solid financial footing. The people are comparatively out of debt, and are gaining in wealth and substantial prosperity.

Corn

This is the bray crop of Daviess county, and in fruitful seasons an immense yield istmade, 'The county, if fully settled, would probably gather a harvest of ten million bushels: the largest crop raised was that of 1880, which reached 3,086,341 bushels. The crop is a safe one, and not only embodies in its wealth a large amount of food for man, but it is really the meat of the county, also. It is ted to eattle, hogs and sheep and pays a larger per cent that way than any other way yet devised. The corn crop is generally marketed at trom twenty-five to twenty-eight cents per bushel, but this year, 1881, it is worth about fifty cents, and many farmers have cleared the full price of their land per acre from their corn erop. Many of the farmers of this county, in fact, all who planted early, will realize as much for their corn erop this year, and in some eases more, from an increase in price, so that while it has fallen only about twenty-five per cent below the average, its price has advanced about seventy-five per cent. It will be seen from this, that an occasional short crop, owing to the immense demand that is made for it, in no wise lessens the profits of the farmer. Even, as the old lady said about rye, she could worry down a little in a fluid state, and a good deal of corn is eaten that way.

Wheat

In value this crop in Daviess is very little inferior to corn, and is the next in productive wealth. There was raised 203,000 bushels of wheat in Daviess county in 1874, and 161,874 bushels in 1880, The last year was short in acreage on wheat, a larger amount being put in corn, The wheat yield is considered among the average crops year in and year out. The quality of this cereal is of a brand known as A 1, or its marketable grade, No.1, white or red. The price has gone up to $1.40 per bushel, with a strong probability of reaching $1.50. It has been held and much sold at from $1.30 to $1.35. These are the figures ruling in the early fall of 1851.

The wheat crop in Daviess county was a good average yield this year, the weather affecting it but little. Take it all together the wheat was a good erop even this year for the farmer.

This cereal has always been a leading one in this county, and its yield may be the canse, for it has generally been a good one. It is considered a safe crop, always paying the husbandiman for his labor, and generally a small balance to the credit side of his ledger. For this reason oats are steadily planted, inereasing with the demand, and are looked upon as one of the cereals for which a certain amount of ground is always prepared. If the demand is light, the next year showed a falling off, the old crops carrying them forward; if the sales proved large and the crop would be pretty well exhausted, then it wonld again come to the front. It is considered more of a home crop than for shipment. The yield of 1874 reached over 200,000 bushels, that of 1576 fell to 113,546, while that of 1880 jumped up again and reached the handsome tigure of 319,199 bushels, It isa good grain for a stand by.

Other Grain

Rye in bushels comes next, but is evidently declining as a leading crop. More or less of this grain is harvested every year, but there has not always been a return made of the crop. In 1876, 52,504 bushels were harvested. In 1870 only 6,268 bushels, and in 1SS0, 10,292 bushels constituted the yield ot the county. The crops of other years were not reported. Buckwheat is a light crop, sixty-two acres being sown, and the vield very light, 526 bushels. This was the yield of 1880. Barley is still less, five acres only being returned as the namber sown, and sixty bushels as the crop harvested. Tobaceo, which is a paying crop and largely planted in the counties adjoining on the sonth and east, las but few advocates in Daviess county. This crop in 1870 reached only 15,077 pounds, in 1876, 32,724 pounds, and in 1880, 13.330) pounds.

This crop the returns are in only for 1874 and 1876. The first mentioned year, ten thonsand one hundred and twenty tons were reported as the yield for that year. 1876, eleven thousand eight hundred and ninety-two tons were given as the crop. Meadow land, however, has been materially increased, the hay crop of 1880 probably reached fully fifteen thonsand tons. There are a great many tons never reported. It is used up, and the farmers generally return only their surplus.

Wine

Wine-making is still in its infaney; it is, however, destined to fill an important part in the agricaltural production of Daviess county. The crop of grapes is a pretty certain one, but up to this time very little wine has been made, except for home consumption and for the loeal market. The number of gallons of wine returned for 1876, for the entire county, was only 594. The crop of 1880 was probably over two thousand gallons, one farmer making over three hundred gallons, and many others who largely exceeded his vintage. (+rapes are shipped considerably to outside markets, and generally bring from three to six cents per pound, according to the year's production.

There is nothing in the root crop which does not tind a home in the productive soil of Daviess county, and seventy-five bushels of potatoes have been grown upon a half-acre of land. It is a good yield, but even that can be improved upon. Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips, parsnips, beets, carrots, beans, peas, cabbage, ete., are as prolitic in their production as in any county in the State, and, tor that imatter, in any State, and a fair amount of this world's wealth can be secured in market gardening.

Statistics

A portion of these statisties have been given, but grouping them together will afford a better chance for reference. It would have been better if'a full report of stock and crops could have been given for each year, but as that was impossible to get, such as could be gathered of a reliable nature is here given. The first report was for the year 1875, and the number of animals and crop statisties are as follows:- -

The returns for 1876 are the most complete, and it is a pity that such reports cannot be made every year. Not only is it quite an extended return of the live stock and produets, but it is given by townships which will show to the people of Daviess county, which of the fifteen townships leads in agriculture and stock production. Such statistics might breed a spirit of emulation which would have a decided benefit upon the progress of the county, To make it also a fair test to judge of the industry of the citizens of each township, and as the population is also given, a fair test can be shown, and the result decided on the merits of population and products. The following are the full returns, and let each township examine them carefully and see which has shown the greatest industry, the best capacity in their line of labor, and which township is ahead according to population. Then, when this is found out, let them who are behind determine to catch up, while those who are ahead exert themselves to remain there. This last may not be history, but simply remarks, called forth by the fact that history has already made emulation in pursuits of home industry, the works of peace and material progress, and is not calculated to do harm, but will add many pages of genuine history to the great volume of the future.

B49 History Of Daviess County

Grand River township leads in horsesand mules, jacks and jennets; Jackson is a close second, and Marion a good third on the first two, but seventh in jacks and jennets. 'These townships however are the three leading ones in extent of territory, while Marion ranks second in population and Grand River third. The figures are interesting all the way throngh and the readers of this history ean while away a pleasant honr in studying out the respective positions of the townships in wealth, in proportion to population.

Not having a full report of live stock, cereals, ete., for 1879, and having given on a previous page such as we have been able to gather, the statisties for 1880 willclose this chapter. The figuresare reliable, and Daviess county has no reason to be ashamed of her productive wealth for 1880. It will compare most favorably with any county of like population in the State, and if the farmers, generally, would take more pride in their surroundings, especially in better dwellings and more home comforts, it would tell wonderfully in her favor, Dilapidated dwellings and worse out-houses are not inviting sights to the immigrant, and are so snggestive of poverty and mismanagement as tu actually drive them from settling in the county. They say the land looks rieh and productive, but that cannot be, or why should so many of her people live in such wretched houses. The writer has heard these remarks from strangers, and had it not been that he had, in compiling this history, looked below the surface, he, too, would have lett with the helief that at least one-half of her people were hardly raising enough to keep body and sonl together, Yet the people ot Daviess county are rich, why then should they not have the pride to be known as they are? Why not make Daviess county an inviting field for the immigrant, thereby increasing her population and taxable wealth, thus reducing taxation and expenses. Forty thousand people could just as well pay the taxes now paid by twenty thousand. It would cost the county but a trifle more. A new county court-house will soon be needed, many more costly bridges, are yet to be built, there is stone enough to macadamize every road in the county. How much better Daviess county would be for such improvement, and far better for the 20,000 people now here if that expense could be divided among 40,000 instead of 20,000, Tt can be done. and the immigration secured, but not by a public exhibition of poverty, which though not true, holds out to the senses every appearance of reality.

The Figures Transportation Facilities

Contiguity to tertile territory can seareely be said to have exerted an iafuenee, for this soil is all fertile. Facilities for transportation, however have exerted a very great and controlling influence. Having never been a warlike people, and having a country of wondertul and varied productiveness, the Americans are, of necessity, a producing and trading people. The chief consideration to such a people is transportation, and the eity or tie proposed city, possessing this feature in the highest degree, be it wagonroads, water-courses with keel or steamboats, or railroads, will be most prosperous; and the one that by such means, each in its age, has accommodated the country furthest into the interior has commanded the widest extent of trade. The history of interior cities is but a history of the development ot transportation in its different forms. Where we find a county almost obsolete, which was once more promising than its neighbors, we will likely find that it had the best transportation of the kind then employed, but that in some subsequent phase some rival took the advantage and the lead.

Tt is this advantage of transportation facilities which gives to Daviess county a high place in the list of counties that hold out inducements to the immigrant. Not only. as is shown in the following pages, are two great trank lines running through the county, but on her sonthern border, almost touching her boundary line, is another grand railroad reute that furnishes increased freight conveniences, and not only that, but a competing line, which gives to the farmer of Daviess county a chance to secure cheap freights.

The first railroad projected, and in which the people of Daviess county, and more especially Union township, felt an interest, was the old Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad. That road was building west and had surveyed two lines, or partially so, and subscriptions were asked all along the routes, Some of those connected with the road paid Daviess county a visit and the result was that a proposition to subscribe $30,060 was submitted to the people. The election was held and carried, and the $30,000 was to be subseribed on condition that the money so voted shonld be expended within the limits of Daviess county. As the road was located through the tier of counties below, it was never called for. The election cost the people one hundred dollars.

The railroad fever again broke out as early as 1863, even before the close of the war. This time it assumed proportions that gave hope that before it abated the iron horse might come snorting over the prairies and woodland of the county in triumph. The Chillicothe & Des Moines City, which changed to Chicago & Southwestern, and still later to the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific, was the first road to take practical shape and to promise gratifying results. The history of this road forms a very interesting chapter in the progress of Daviess county, and a full account of its progress and tinal suecess will be fonnd full of interest to future generations and to many even of this day. It requires energy and perseverance to accomplish any good work, and fortunately for Daviess county she was blessed with a good many of that kind of people.

The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific road enters the county at the northeast and passes out at the sonthwest corner, giving direct connection with Chieago and the seaboard on the east; Kansas and the great southwest on the other side. The St. Louis, Kansas City & Northern Railrvad, enters the county at the sontheast corner and runs northwest to Omaha, These trunk lines are owned and operated by rival corporations and crossing each other at right angles, at Gallatin, the county capital aud center, give active competition for the carrying traftic of the county, an advautage which is available to every producer and shipper in Daviess county, and one which few districts in the State can boast. In faet the county is placed by this railway system in close sympathy with a cordon of commercial cities, among which are Chieago, St. Lonis, Kansas City, St. Joseph, Hannibal, Lineoln, Omaha, Quincy, and a score of lesser market towns, all of which are brought, for commercial purposes, to the door of every stock and grain-produecer in the county.

The St. Louis, Kansas City and Northern gives direct communication with St. Louis on the southeast, and is the main line from San Francisco via Omaha. I[tis now called the St. Lonis, Wabash & Pacitie, and, like the first named road, runs diagonally aeross the county, giving splendid railroad facilities to the people, advantages not to be despised by the immigrant when looking up a home. These two roads, which traverse the county from southeast to northwest and from northeast to southwest are two grand trunk lines between St. Louis and San Francisco, and Chicago, New Mexico and the South Pacific coast. Thus it is found that Daviess county is really blessed with three great lines of railroad, and there never was opened to the expectant immigrant a more inviting field for the exercise of his powers than Daviess county. It is the convietion of men well informed, that rich coal measures underly nearly the whole surface of the county. This hidden wealth invites immediate development. With coal, stone, 'vast forests of fine commercial timber and plenty of waste water-power, no part of the west offers a better opening fur cheap and favored homes. The wealth of the people attest the great resources of the county, and if not seen in costly residences, it can be found in full granaries and lowing herds. They have stamped their enterprise and thrift upon every feature of the connty, and everybody expresses a wish for more immigration, More people, eapital, brain, mnsele and heart, are wanted to bny these rich lands, build homes, rear herds, develop water-power, engage in commerce and mannfacturing, and bring into human service the latent. wealth of field, forest and stream.

Lands And Values

There are plenty of cheap lands in Daviess county, and the reader of these pages a quarter of a century hence will be surprised that in the year¥1S81 open prairie lands, of excellent quality, were selling at five to ten dollars per acre, and good improved lands at ten to twenty-five dollars per acre, and that timbered lands were in the market at abont the same valne as the unimproved prairic.

Over one hundred thousand acres of Jand are for sale in this county, and at such prices that a poor man ean soon make a home and a conipetency. When it is understood that these lands are as fertile and productive as the best; that they are in the midst of beautiful improved farms, school-honses, mills, churches, railway market towns and fine society, and that they must appreciate in value 200 per cent with the next decade; that they lie ina county that has no debt save that made for railway building, provision for the final payment of which is made in the valuation and assessment of railway property itself, the immigrant will see that these lands are vastly cheaper than those now selling 300 miles further west upon the untried plains,

Seling Is Believing

To see this county and measure its resources of climate, its physical features, soil, timber, prairie, grasses, stone, and its water-power, will give any sensible traveler full faith in its present prosperity and future greatness.

There is no doubt about the future of Daviess county. Its vast grain fields, increasing herds, pretty towns, matchless landseapes, and boundless agricultural resources, not less than its elear skies, bright, falling waters, life-giving, health-inspiring air, and intelligent people, are the admiration of all who come and look for themselves. A great destiny is in store for this county and people, and the time is not distant when there will be fifty thousand souls solving the problem of life within its ample and inviting borders.

A county whose great destiny is hard to conceive, yet plain enoagh to understand that it will be one of unbounded wealth with an energetic and progressive people.

" There is, perhaps, no one subject so little understood as that of the elimate of this country, It is entirely unlike the Atlantic and Mississippi Valley States. Judged by the climates of the States in the same latitude and at the sume altitade, four-tifths of this larger division of our country would be uninhabitable from snows and frosts.

"On the Atlantic coast, on the White and Alleghany mountains, the perpetual snow line is or would be, seven thousand feet above the sea. In the same latitude on the Rocky Monntains the snow line is from twelve to fourteen thousand feet above.

* The terminal line of vegetation on the White Mountains is five thousand feet: on the Alleghany Mountains it is five thousand five hundred feet; on the Black Hills, at Sherman, eight thousand and two hundred, and still higher points, as high as nine thousand feet, are covered with a luxuriant growth of grass.

"Strawberries are picked on the Snowy Range to the height of eleven thonsand feet, and evergreen trees grow to the tops of the highest mountains, which are over fifteen thousand feet high. The great table lands and the elevated plains and valleys of the mountains such as North, Middle and South Parks, and the Laramie plains, are one and two thousand feet above the tops of the Atlantic coast range mountains, and in the same latitude, ave as mild as the Atlantic sea level.

" England, in a latitude of sixty-two degrees, has a warmer climate than Long Island in forty degrees, Nova Scotia, forty-tive degrees, is nearly frigid in temperature, while in France, in forty-nine degrees north latitude - four degrees farther north - is vine clad. While the inhabitant of Nova Scotia shivers over his fire, the Frenchman reclines in the shade of his vine and fig tree,

"The climate of Europe is tempered by the eternal waters of the Gulf Stream, which has been heated in the tropics. Not only is the climate on the immediate coast directly influenced and changed by the Gulf Stream, but the winds warmed by it give the vine, the ivy and the geranium to the Seine, the Rhine and the Elbe, and even invade the realms of the winter king on the sides of the lofty Alps, the Ural, the Appenines, and the Pyrenees.

Iistory Of Daviess Cotnty

San Francisco, in the same latitade as Riehmond, fourteen devrees warmer; makes Astoria, in the same latitude as Fort Brady, Michigan, twenty-eight degrees warmer in winter, and twelve degrees warmer all the year round; toalene Sitka, Alaska, in the same latitude as Nain, Labrador, thirty-two degrees warmer in winter, and seventeen degrees the whole year round,

"The currents of air heated by the thermal waters, are forced east, and spreading through the valleys of the great mountain range, give to Utab (four thousand and five hundred feet above the sea) grapes, peaches, apricots, cotton, the sugar-cane, and other tropical productions. To Colorado, along the eastern or of the mountains, at an altitude of five thousand feet, it gives the climate of Virginia and Tennessee.

" This heated wind, the warm, balmy breath of the tropics, makes the snow and ice shrink and retire up the sides of the lofty Sierra Madre; giving up the land to the wild rose, the mountain lily, and honeysuckle, the columbine, and the trailing arbutus, and hundreds more of all the flowers, all spreading ont into a floral carpet of the richest and most varied colors.

Mean Temperature

"All the Missouri river country, from Omaha to 100 miles north of Fort Benton, has a mean temperature for the year of forty-five degrees Fahrenheit. South of the Union Pacifie Railroad, to the Rio Grande, the mean annual temperature varies from fitty to sixty degrees. No single point has yet been found south of the Union Pacific Railroad, east of the mountains and west of the Mississippi River where the temperature is below fifty degrees. Nor is there a point where it is higher than sixty-five degrees."

Rain-Fall

The facts above stated, and the prevalent direction of the winds explains the mystery of the western rain-fall. The southern winds coming up from the gulf in the spring and early summer, bear moisture which is precipitated into rain in the higher latitude. In the latter part of the season the winds coming in the other direction their moisture is precipitated in snow upon the mountains, and they reach the great plains dry andeold. Owing to this fact three-fourths of the annual rainfall in the country west of the Missouri river occurs in April, May and June - just the season when the growing crops and grasses need it, while in the latter part of the year, when dry weather is needed to mature the crops, it presents the requisite condition.

The Agricultural Department furnishes the following statement of the average fall of rain in the several States below named, in the months of May, June, July and August, for a period of ten years, which shows favorably for the New West: -

INCHES Indianaz...... aead . - oemme 15.50: Miseenr 2a seeks cosa LOOT New York 2.055. acerpierevevenerete 15.25 NG@DPEBEB:,.0 o:0cs-c.0.e.ereissesurjeses 14.96 Vermiontis ses sawn SITAR 14.69 TUMGTB cseearecaesneseenins 14.68 FRG: TRIAS. 6 so: -eocorerscnnenes 14.45 New Hampshire ..... sasauate 14.27 WIEGOH ELD ss eunserewiaceeoity sxe 14.15, Michigan ....... anes Keieaets 14.01 climate, the splendid drainage, its freedom from anything like malarial fever which belongs to this portion of the State, and Daviess county has no fear of rivalry in the healthfulness of her climate.