SOLON ROBINSON, 1847 81 



is 13 feet deep on an average and nearly as large as half 

 of Lake County, for the purpose of cultivating its bed. 

 How much less work it would be to bring the whole Kan- 

 kakee marsh into cultivation, than it is to pump dry such 

 a Lake and keep continually pumping afterwards to keep 

 it dry. 



The great quantity of marshy land in the North & 

 South parts of the county are not certainly what we 

 would desire, but the central part contains besides the 

 marshy extremities that I have described, between 3 & 

 400 sections of most excellant arable land — about three 

 quarters of which is prairie, mostly of a soil of black 

 clayey loam with a trace of beach sand, lying upon a sub- 

 structure of exceedingly compact hard yellow clay, from 

 4 to 40 feet deep ; under which we invariably find course, 

 clean beach sand, in which we get clear sweet water. 



The timber is mostly white oak, with black oak, burr 

 oak & hickory and the land more clayey than the prairie 

 — Much of the timber near the Kankakee is swamp ash — 

 There is one island of very fine sugar maple near the 

 S. W. corner. The timber upon the islands in the marsh 

 grows tall & straight, but upon the upland, it is generally 

 short & scattering; the annual burning prevents under- 

 growth. 



The soil in its native state produces first rate wheat, 

 but it is probably more liable to winter kill, than upon 

 more sandy land ; though it seems now that the last win- 

 ter has killed the crop upon all kinds of land. In fact it is 

 a very uncertain in this county. It also produces well in 

 oats, spring wheat, corn, buckwheat, potatoes, turnips & 

 all kinds of garden vines & vegetables ; and certainly no 

 country can show a finer growth of fruit trees. 



Of wild fruits, there is a most abundant supply of 

 cranberries and many of the sand ridges north of turkey 

 creek are covered with whortleberries, strawberries, 

 blackberries, plums & crab apples also abound. 



Of wild game, deer are tolerably plenty ; but the feath- 

 ered tribe, such as geese, brant, ducks, swans, sand hill 



