The Western Prairies. 221 



THE WESTERN PRAIRIES : THEIR COMPOSITION, CLIMATE, 

 PRODUCTS, AND PROSPECTIVE CONDITION. 



In considering the capacity of the prairie-soil for the growth of arbores- 

 cent and horticultural products, we must first learn its constituent elements, 

 and ascertain wherein it differs from other soil-formations. The conflicting 

 opinions must be made to harmonize, or we shall fail in presenting any 

 thing like a uniform rule for its general culture. 



We talk of prairie-drift, of the glacial epoch, of submersions and up- 

 heavals ; of treeless plains fringed with forest-belts, where the rivers, like 

 great dead furrows, drain the land ; of island-groves that stand like gems 

 in the great sea of prairie-verdure ; of jutting points of arborescent growth 

 that break the monotony of the prairie, that, swell after swell, stretches 

 beyond the range of vision. 



Is this prairie-formation of one uniform texture, a homogeneous mass 

 laid down by the waves of the old silurian seas 1 or have some of them been 

 formed at different epochs and of various material ? The answer to this 

 question will tend to throw light upon the subject, and to account for what 

 some people please to call vagaries of the prairie-soil. 



At the East, we have a general classification of soil, with its system of 

 culture ; but here on the prairie we have a general idea that the prairie-forma- 

 tion is due to one cause, and that it must be of a pretty general character. 

 People begin to admit that there are peculiarities in regard to it that need 

 further investigation, and are less disposed to trust to luck for a crop than 

 formerly. 



The first step in the way of the successful culture of horticultural prod- 

 ucts is to classify the soils, and study their relative value for pailicular 

 products. Of course, climate will have more or less to do with this when 

 we take in the whole range of the State, which is varied from semi-tropical 

 products to those of the north temperate zone. 



The lead-region of Galena contains no drift ; its highest peaks being 

 capped with Niagara limestone, and the valleys cut and carved into their 

 present shape by the erosion of ocean and river currents. 



Northern Illinois is covered with a thick band of blue clay, resting in some 



