S3 8 The Island of Madeira.—Cost of a Farm, and Raising Products on the Western Prairies, 
as the water is conducted everywhere by small aque¬ 
ducts, and all cultivation is carried on by a system of 
irrigation, we get all the advantages of the mountain 
showers without their reaching us. Everything 
around Funchal, shows that it is a very dry climate, 
and that no rain has fallen for a long time. The cli¬ 
mate is very even, too, in its temperature ; as a proof 
of this, I can inform you that the thermometer never 
varies more than twelve degrees here. 
Speaking of flowers, this is a remarkable spot for 
them. When we anchored here on our arrival, I went 
on deck in the evening, to get a glimpse of the town 
by moonlight; and though we were more than half a 
mile from the shore, I had no sooner reached the deck 
than I perceived the perfume of the flowers, which 
was wafted off by the night breeze. The whole at¬ 
mosphere seemed loaded with it, and it was noticed by 
every person on board the ship. I do not know that it 
is always so, but in that case I can vouch for it; and 
on shore, in my walks, I often perceive the perfume 
of the gardens. 
The Flora of this island is said to be curious and in¬ 
teresting, and the species numerous. Of course, I am 
no judge, and besides I have not yet been out of Fun¬ 
chal. The mineralogy, on the other hand, is said to 
be without interest; for the rocks are all volcanic, and 
there are few species of minerals. As to fruits, this is 
not the season (April 7th) for grapes, but we have ba¬ 
nanas and oranges. The bananas are, in my opinion, 
finer than the West India, but the orange is small, 
with a thick skin, and by no means equal to aHavanna 
Grange, or to the St. Augustine variety. There are plen¬ 
ty of green peas and cauliflowers in the markets at pre¬ 
sent. Peaches flourish here in the proper season, and 
good apples are said to be grown. Lemons grow in 
plenty here, and the people raise wheat and Indian 
corn, but not in sufficient quantities for their own con¬ 
sumption. In former times the sugar cane was suc¬ 
cessfully cultivated, and once gave employment to 
more than one hundred sugar mills ; but the grape has 
superceded the sugar cane, and I believe there are now 
but one or two mills. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
Cost of a Farm, and Raising Products on the Western 
Prairies. 
No, no, gentlemen, “ your old friend” is not “ lost in 
a cane-brake,” nor yet in a snow storm; although one 
of my neighbors has been within a week past, and 
actually perished, and that too, in November, in lati¬ 
tude 414°. He was on a ee trip to mill,” and got lost 
on a large prairie on the night of the 16th inst., and 
perished in one of the most severe storms ever known 
at this season, since the country was settled. 
Little do you know in your “ thick settlements,” what 
the pioneers of these “ new settlements” have to endure. 
Not that there is much danger of being “ taken by a 
bear,” as the only one that ever ventured into “ these 
diggings,” fell a victim to my rifle. As to my “ taking 
to politics,” I cannot tell what may happen, as I have 
known many instances of insanity, “ about these days.” 
You will have received “ late information from the 
prairies,” before this, which will tell you that the fire 
of improvement is spreading. The staple commodity 
of the prairies has always been wheat; and the price 
heretofore has been so high, that the cultivators have 
entirely overlooked the necessity of providing, while 
they may, for a different state of things ; consequently 
the great reduction in price has fallen heavily upon 
this region. It will not now command over 38 cents 
in the Chicago market, and although under the opera¬ 
tion of some of the beautiful theories of our politicians, 
coarse wool is equally depressed, yet when you take 
into consideration that a vast amount of wheat has 
this season been hauled into Chicago from 100 to 200 
miles, the difference in transportation is so great as to 
appear at the first glance, vastly in favor of wool. 
But I would not wish to be understood as advising 
the prairie farmer to turn his attention to wool alone. 
I stated some facts in my communication in the No¬ 
vember number of your paper, for the purpose of show¬ 
ing Eastern men what can be done with a little 
capital on the Western prairies, in sheep business, un¬ 
connected with any other branch of farming. The 
farmers in general turn their attention too much to one 
object. At one time it is wheat—again pork— 
and so on. And the grand difficulty is the great want 
of capital. On this account they are compelled to 
submit to forced sales. They are unable to hold over 
a crop. In fact, if able, they have yet to learn how 
wheat can be kept in stack, as at present they are un¬ 
able to find storage for the grain after threshing. Will 
you, Mr. A. B. A., who has seen and can tell, please 
to enlighten them upon the subject—yes, the science 
of stacking grain as practiced in England. 
You hear complaints of the low price of beef. Do you 
know how low it can be produced ? I believe you are ad¬ 
vised that no finer beef was ever eaten than that made 
upon prairie grass. Let me tell you the actual cost. I 
can buy calves at $1 50 each. I have and can hire 
them wintered until four years old, for $1 50, each 
winter. Here, then, I can have the finest fat steers four 
and a half years old, for $7 50 a head—cows, of course, 
at the same cost, including a couple of calves. The 
cost of sheep growing, Mr. Murray and myself have 
already stated. As you are whole hog men, I will give 
you a few items, and leave it to you to “ cypher out” 
the actual cost of western pork. In the first place, 
pigs are a spontaneous production. Corn on the farm, 
the present year, and perhaps it is about an average, 
within fifty or sixty miles of Chicago, is not worth over 
124 cents a bushel. Oats 8 to 10 cents, and potatoes 
less. And they being so low, I will not pretend to fix 
a price upon beets, rutabagas, carrots, &c., but they 
can be raised cheap. The summer feed costs little or 
nothing, and as often as every other year, hogs will 
get fat upon the mast, which our oak and hickory 
groves produce abundantly. The next question that I 
expect your eastern readers to ask, is, Can prairie 
farmers raise grain at these prices ? I will state a few 
facts, and they shall draw conclusions. 
The first cost of land is $ 1 25 an acre. The first 
plowing we generally count as cost, though erroneous¬ 
ly. This is worth $1 50 an acre ; or to be better un¬ 
derstood, I will state differently. Prairie land is abun¬ 
dant at government price ; but timber is mostly in se¬ 
cond hands and is held higher. A quarter section of 
Prairie, that is, 160 acres at $1 25, is $200 
Timber, say 40 acres, which is more than enough, 
at $3, 120 
Breaking up the prairie, at 1 50, 240 
Fencing it into four lots, eight rails high and 
stakes, 960 rods, or 3 miles, 15,366 rails at 1 
ct. 153 66; 3,840 stakes, at 4 ct. 19 20, 173 
A good comfortable double log cabin, such as first 
settlers generally occupy, 50 
Other small buildings and temporary sheds, 50 
Average cost of a well with pump, $30, with buck¬ 
ets, $15, 15 
I will add to cover contingencies, such as half an 
acre of land well paled in for garden, a cow 
yard, hog pen, and other “ fixings,” 72 
This makes the cost of the farm, independent of 
the woodland, just $5 an acre—the total, $920 
