AND WHERE TO FIND ONE. 259 



Railroad, the country for the most part is open prai 

 rie, with here and there groves of timber, and tim 

 bered on the banks of the various streams. The 

 soil in this region consists of a rich black loam, and 

 is remarkably adapted to the production of corn, 

 sorghum and tame grasses. For stock-raising no 

 better land can be found. South of this line the 

 soil is lighter and of a greyish tinge the country 

 is also more broken, and the timber more plentiful. 

 The small prairies in this region produce the best of 

 winter wheat, tobacco, flax and hemp. From Cen- 

 tralia to Cairo, in the south, the country is heavily 

 timbered. In this district, fruit, tobacco, cotton, 

 and the different productions of the Border States, 

 are largely cultivated and highly remunerative. A 

 large number of saw-mills are erected near the line 

 of the railroad, the lumber from which commands 

 at all times a ready sale. 



Indian corn is perhaps the most important crop 

 in the country. It is applied to so great a variety 

 of purposes, and is so indispensable an article for 

 foreign consumption, that however abundantly it 

 may be produced, the constantly increasing demand 

 will press heavily upon the supply. In 1859 the 

 United States yielded 827,69^,528 bushels, of which 

 Illinois contributed 115.296,779, about fifty millions 

 of bushels more than any other State. Illinois stands 

 pre-eminently first in the list of corn-producing 

 States. 



For the culture of wheat the lands of the Illinois 

 Central Railroad are in all respects equal to any 

 in the State. One great advantage which these 



