LETTEE YII- 



Soil and Climate of Illinois —N'atme of Pianie Soil —Its Chemical Composition 

 — -Rich m Kitiogen —Wheat Culture and Prodnce —Indian Corn — S'acility 

 of Oultnie —Oats —Barley —Sorghnm —Substitute tor Sugai cane —Potatoes 

 —Stock Parmmg — Praiiie Q-rass —Blue Grass —Timothy 



IlAYiNa now obtained tlie necessary information for forming 

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

 as a place of settlement 



Soil and Cldiate. 



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 nndnlatiiig, — ^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 sis feet in heisrht. 



How the prairie formation originated it is nnnecessaxy 

 here to inq^uire. 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 glass, 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 

 spreadmg with wonderful rapidity, covering vast districts 

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



