LAND — CLIMATE. 623 



The timber land requires a large amount of labor to prepare 

 it for the plow. The land is rolling, and consists of a clay 

 soil, interspersed with sandy spots. It soon dries off after 

 heavy rains, and is easily worked. When properly cared for 

 and tilled, it is very productive, and a general failure of any 

 kind of crop is never known. I am never troubled with any 

 kind of insects, except chinch bugs, and with these only occa- 

 sionally. 



THE CLIMATE 



is all that could be desired. The Summer is eight to nine 

 months long, and the Winter three to four months. We do 

 not generally get a very large amount of snow in Winter. 

 Severe storms and hurricanes are unknown, and we very sel- 

 dom have floods that do an}'- damage worth noticing. We 

 have an abundance of good springs, and water can be had by 

 digging from ten to sixty feet. The small streams furnish 

 good water power for mills, which arc plenty, and an abund- 

 ance of fresh fish for general use. 



