Ninth Annual Meeting. 73 



the same place, the wind attained a velocity of seventy-five miles an hour, a violent gale, 

 only one remove from a hurricane. 



The same general belts of wind, running east and west, prevail around the globe. But 

 the forest-crowned hills of New England and the Middle States drive these currents up 

 into the higher regions of the atmosphere. Now the river bluffs are the natural wind- 

 breaks of the great central plains, and without them the prairies would be a bleak, an 

 almost uninhabitable plateau. 



Many have observed that rain storms follow streams, without understanding the prin- 

 ciples involved. Streams saturate the contiguous air, which again yields its moisture to 

 a condensation, which does not reduce the dryer air lying outside at a distance from the 

 river to the dew-point. In a similar manner, a super-saturated sponge will give forth 

 moisture to a pressure under which a partially saturated sponge would not yield a drop. 

 A cool current of air passing over the country would thus cause the condensation of 

 vapor, or the ever-forming rain cloud, to appear to travel along river courses. And the 

 greater precipitation of moisture along river courses has been one essential element in 

 the growth of forests, frequently covering river bluffs to give them more force as wind- 

 breaks. 



The horticulture of the river bluffs is worthy a passing thought. The pursuits of any 

 people determine to some extent their character. Horticulture is a scientific pursuit 

 involving mind, and possessing elevating tendencies. Now the river bluffs are the nat- 

 ural home of the horticulturist. The conditions of soil and climate determine this pur- 

 suit almost to the exclusion of cereals. The apple, pear, plum, peach, quince and apricot 

 love the bluffs, and the small fruits flourish. Notably the grape finds its home among the 

 bluffs. We see its rich purple clusters peeping out beneath leafy trellis bars up the sides 

 of almost inaccessible heights. A horticultural people sandwiched in all through the 

 great plains, and mingling freely with neighboring communities while discussing cognate 

 topics, are not devoid of influence which tends to lift a people into higher forms of living. 

 When the year comes to his prime and bears to our homes his rich stores, ripened with 

 dew, sunshine and shower^ we dream of Eden, the ideal of human earthly perfection. 



The cesthetics of the river bluffs must not be neglected. The absence of this element is 

 dangerous to any people. When painters cease to study Nature's habitudes, and galleries 

 of art are neglected, when poets forget to draw from her their inspiration and repeat 

 her voices, decay falls on a people. In the great plains almost tlie only elevations are 

 found along the rivers. From these heights the prairies with their green carpets richly 

 ornamented with flowers unfold before us. Nothing compares to a prairie scene except the 

 mighty ocean. The blue vault hangs over us more cerulean than in Eastern climes, the 

 river winds its silver thread between the bluff's until it seems to be broken, and the un- 

 dulating prairie rolls all around us like the ocean. With such scenes ever before a 

 people can there be decay in poetry, painting or sculpture? 



The homelife of the river bluffs is an essential element. Nearly all our W^estern cities 

 and smaller towns, containing quite a proportion of the population, are found along the 

 rivers, nestled in the bluffs. The luxury of hills is thus brought to our very doors. No 

 one is in condition to enjoy this luxury until deprived of it. When hills are piled on 

 hills, as in some of the States, there is too much of a good thing. Desserts of rich food 

 eaten daintily become a luxury. River bluffs are the desserts of our broad prairies, with 

 which Nature has stored her ample board. The prairies satisfy our physical wants ; the 

 bluffs feast our souls. The prairies pour in their ample products until all our store- 

 houses are filled beyond measure. The bluffs lift up our homes and spread the board 

 with ambrosial food. Lifted above the earth we live nearer the gods. We drink in the 

 royal landscape around us, of which poets and painters may only dream. The luxury 

 of a prairie home nestled in the bluffs cannot be portrayed. 



At the mouth of the Kansas river. Nature evidently planned a city. From this point 



