SOLON ROBINSON, 1842 347 



and some of the latter, as big "as a good sizeable boy 

 can tote." The second crop will be some better, though 

 the sods will yet be in the way of cultivation. After this 

 you have a deep, loose, rich black soil, which as you do 

 unto it, so it will do unto you. The practice generally 

 adopted is to take the skin and starve the body — burning 

 straw and wasting manure — "running over" four times 

 as much land as can be cultivated. In my statement of 

 prices, I have taken this county (the Northwestern one 

 in Indiana) for a basis. In others there may be a slight 

 variation. Both in this State and Illinois, Missouri and 

 Iowa Territories, there are thousands of locations to be 

 had at about the rates stated. 



If such "information from the prairies" is such as 

 you want, you can be furnished from time to time by 

 "Your old friend," Solon Robinson. 



Lake Co. H., la., November 25, 1842. 



Cheap Beef and Tallow 



[New York American Agriculturist, 1:339; Feb., 1843] 



[November ?, 1842] 

 As an illustration of the virtue of prairie grass for 

 making beef, allow me to state that I killed a cow the 

 past fall, entirely grass fed upon the prairie, the quarters 

 of which weighed about 140 lbs. each, hide 72 lbs., and 

 she made 110 lbs. of clean tried tallow. 1 



The common selling price of such a cow alive, is about 

 $8. Solon Robinson. 



1 The editor was not impressed. He commented: "If this is all 

 the Hoosiers have to offer, we think they are bound to strike their 

 'banners,' and reverse their 'corn-stalk wands' before their eastern 

 rivals; for Mr. Ambrose T. Grey, of Pine Plains, Dutchess County, 

 has recently killed a cow grass-fed also, which gave 180 lbs. rough, 

 making 160 lbs. of tried tallow. We are not advised of the weight 

 of hide and four quarters of Mr. Grey's cow." 



