SOIL SURVEY OF ANOKA COUNTY, MINN. 7 



general way the distribution of the farming population follows quite 

 closely the well-drained upland areas. 



Anoka, in the southwestern part of the county, on the Mississippi 

 Eiver, had a population in 1910 of 3,972. Besides being the county 

 seat, it is the business center of the county. Columbia Heights, a 

 suburb of Minneapolis, is the next largest settlement. Smaller towns 

 and villages are scattered throughout the county. 



Main lines of the Great Northern and Northern Pacific Railways 

 traverse the county along the Mississippi Valley, passing through 

 Anoka. What is locally known as the Duluth Branch of the Great 

 Northern Railway extends north and south through the central part 

 of the county. The eastern tier of townships is within nearer reach 

 of the Twin City-Duluth Branch of the Northern Pacific Railway, 

 which extends north and south a few miles beyond the east county 

 line. An electric railway connects Minneapolis with Anoka and vari- 

 ous other points within the county. 



Country roads extend through all parts of the county. The public- 

 road system is somewhat less extensive within the larger peat areas, 

 but in general all the farming communities have ready access to 

 points on railway lines. Owing to the deep, sandj^^ character of much 

 of the upland, the unsurfaced roads are at times very loose and hard 

 to travel. In the peat-land sections it is often necessary to haul 

 road-making material long distances, as the peat material is unsuit- 

 able for surfacing. An extensive program of road improvement is 

 planned by the local government, and some of the work is under way. 

 Most of the farms are provided with telephone service, and many 

 farmers own automobiles. Country and town schools are numerous 

 and well located to serve all parts of the county. At Anoka and 

 St. Francis there are well-equipped consolidated schools. 



All the towns and villages in the county serve to some extent as 

 markets and trading points. The surplus products find ready sale in 

 Minneapolis and St. Paul, Avhich are reached by steam or electric 

 railway, wagons, and autotrucks. 



CLIMATE. 



The records of the Weather Bureau station at Minneapolis are 

 considered representative of the climatic conditions in Anoka 

 County. The mean annual precipitation as shown by these records 

 is 29.31 inches, of which nearly 74 per cent falls during the crop- 

 growing season, from April to September inclusive. The average 

 monthly precipitation during this period is rather uniform, ranging 

 from about 2| to 4 inches. Most of the precipitation comes as gentle 

 rains, with sufficient frequency to insure normal growth of farm 

 crops. Occasionally, however, continued cold rains in the spring 

 delay spring or early summer seeding, and occasional heavy rain- 



