LETTER VII. 



Soil and Climate of Illinois. Nature of Prairie Soil. Its Chemical Composition. 

 Rich in Nitrogen. "Wheat Culture and Produce. Indian Corn. Facility 

 of Culture. Oats. Barley. Sorghum. Substitute for Sugar-cane. Potatoes. 

 Stock Farming. Prairie Grass. Blue Grass. Timothy, 



HAVING now obtained the necessary information for forming 

 an opinion of Illinois, I propose here to consider its advantages 

 as a place of settlement. 



SOIL AND CLIMATE. 



The characteristic soil of this State is that of the prairies, 

 of which it chiefly consists, and to which alone my attention 

 was directed. They comprise many million acres of land, 

 more or less undulating, in their natural state covered with 

 grass which is green and succulent in May, June, and July, 

 and shoots up in autumn from three to six feet in height. 



How the prairie formation originated it is unnecessary 

 here to inquire. It is sufficient to know that we have a soil 

 evidently of great natural fertility, which for thousands of 

 years has been bearing annual crops of grass, the ashes or de- 

 cayed stems of which have been all that time adding to the 

 fertility of the soil. So long back as we have any knowledge 

 of the country, it had been the custom of the Indians to set 

 fire to the prairie grass in autumn, after frost set in, the fire 

 spreading with wonderful rapidity, covering vast districts 

 of country, and filling the atmosphere for weeks with smoke. 



