72 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[February, 
There are likewise about 23,000 acres of these 
lands lying in Nebraska, on either side of the Sioux 
City and Pacific Railroad. Prices for the grazing 
lands range from $3 to $5 per acre. Farming lands 
are offered at from $5 to $10 per acre. Five (5) per 
cent discount is made for cash payments. When 
the buyer purchases on short time, one quarter of 
the purchase money is paid down, and the balance 
in one, two, or three years at six (6) per cent in¬ 
terest. When purchased on long time, one-fifth is 
required cash down, and the balance in two, three, 
four, and five years, at six (6) per cent interest. 
These lands produce corn, wheat, and grain of 
all kinds. Cattle, hogs and sheep are raised with 
profit. The soil is good and the climate is favor¬ 
able. For further information address Charles II. 
Clark, Register, at Cedar Rapids, Iowa; or C. A. 
Florence, Agent, comer Dearborn and Randolph 
streets, Chicago, Illinois. What we have said 
above regarding the lands of the Chicago and 
Fruits of various kinds thrive, trees grow rapidly 
on the prairie lands, and as an inducement to forest 
culture a legislative enactment in Iowa exempts 
the owner from taxation for ten years’ time on 
every hundred dollars worth of his property for 
every acre of trees which he plants and cultivates. 
Though the winters are long, the air is dry and 
generally free from malaria. Spring commences at 
the close of March or beginning of April. Harvest¬ 
ing generally begins in July, and frost makes its 
appearance about October 1st. You can visit these 
lauds by going to Sioux City and working north¬ 
easterly. A better course—the one we pursued— 
is to proceed direct to St. Paul, confer with the 
Land Commissioner, J. H. Drake, who furnishes 
such information as may be required, then start ear¬ 
ly in the morning south-westerly, passing through 
Mankato and other pretty villages. When the 
foliage is on the trees, the ride from St. Paul down 
through the “Big Woods” region of Minnesota 
lands, and a rebate of 25 per cent is allowed for 
the acreage broken and cultivated within two years 
from date of purchase. The price of all lands 
west of the Missouri River is $2.60 per acre cash, to 
actual settlers. Westward to Jamestown, Dakota, 
which is 347 miles west of Duluth, about all the 
Government lands and the best lands of the Com¬ 
pany, that is, those in close proximity to the rail¬ 
road—have been pretty generally taken. Between 
Jamestown, on the James River, however, and Bis¬ 
marck, on the Missouri River, a distance of 100 
miles, there is still plenty of excellent farming land, 
both for purchase from the Company and for 
government entries. The Railroad Company grants 
the same privileges and concessions to settlers upon 
Government lands, as are given to purchasers of 
their own lands. For example, there is a reduction 
of one half on fares to both, and one half for 
freight on household and farming goods and imple¬ 
ments. Col. R. M. Newport, the Land Commis¬ 
A MINNESOTA PKAIRIE HOME. 
A DAKOTA WHEAT FARM. 
Northwestern Railroad, apply generally to these 
under control of the Iowa Railroad Land Company. 
St. Paul and Sioux City R’y Lands. 
These lands lie in South-western Minnesota and 
North-western Iowa, stretching along the railroad 
from a point some miles south-west of Mankato, 
Minn., to Seney, Iowa, a few miles north-east of 
Sioux City. The original Grant comprised 1,680,000 
acres, of which 860,000 acres have been sold to date, 
leaving a balance of 820,000 acres to be still disposed 
of. During the past year (1881) about 123,000 acres 
were sold, the great bulk of it to English capital¬ 
ists, who have erected over 300 houses for tenants 
leasing the lands. From inspection and conversation 
with those in charge of this grant, we conclude that 
their most available lands for settlers at this time 
are to be found in Cottonwood, Jackson, Martin, 
Murray, Nobles, Rock, and Watonwan Counties, 
Minnesota, and in Dickinson, Lyon, Osceola, and 
Sioux Counties, Iowa. These lands are held at an 
average price of $6.50 to $7.50 per acre on time, 
one-fifth of the principal and interest at 7 per cent 
on the deferred payments being required in ad¬ 
vance—the balance being divided into four equal 
annual payments, interest at 7 per cent, payable 
annually in advance. The same lands are sold for 
$5.80 to $6.50 for all cash down. This portion of 
Minnesota, like North-western Iowa, is well adapted 
to mixed farming, and, it is claimed, especially well 
adapted to stock growing and dairying. There is a 
great abundance of the native “blue-joint ” grass¬ 
es, which, it is asserted, are superior to the tame 
grasses of the East for fattening and milk produc 
ing qualities. The region is bountifully supplied with 
water from numerous lakes, ponds, and streams, 
which generally abound in fish. Recently con¬ 
siderable flax has been raised by new settlers, who 
are thus enabled to secure a crop from the first 
year’s breaking of the soil. Settlers generally on 
the prairies of the West and North-west are now 
raising flax with profit as their first crop. The St. 
Paul and Sioux City Railroad lands are from 1,000 
to 1,200 feet above the level of the sea. The soil 
is a warm loam from two to three feet deep, well 
adapted to corn, oats, rye, barley, and buckwheat. 
is exceedingly picturesque. There are likewise 
numerous points of interest further west, includ¬ 
ing a Russian Mennonite Colony of 2,000 at Moun¬ 
tain Lake ; the large Barden Stock Farm at Bing¬ 
ham ; a steam flouring mill at Worthington, run en¬ 
tirely with wild hay as fuel, and the Close Brothers’ 
Colony at Sibley, Iowa, of over 500 English gentle¬ 
men, controlling over one hundred thousand acres, 
which are worked on the tenantry system. 
Milwaukee and St. Paul R. R. Lands. 
In extending its railway system, the Chicago, 
Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway Company has come 
in possession of large grants of land in the follow¬ 
ing counties of Iowa : Cerro Gordo, Winnebago, 
Wright, Hancock, Franklin, Humboldt, Kossuth, 
Emmet, Palo Alto, Pocahontas, Dickinson, Clay, 
and O’Brien ; and in Minnesota, Martin, Jackson, 
Rock, Murray, and Pipestone Counties. What we 
have said regarding the soil, climate and produc¬ 
tions of the Chicago and Northwestern, and the St. 
Paul and Sioux City lands, applies generally to 
these lands. They range from $3 to $8 per acre, 
one-sixth of the purchase money has to be paid 
down, and the remander in five equal annual in¬ 
stalments, with interest at six (6) per cent. Those 
seeking further information with regard to them 
should address the Land Commissioner, Willis 
Drummond, Jr., at Milwaukee, or send for the 
November American Agriculturist, 1880. 
Northern Pacific Railroad Lands. 
The Land Grant of the Northern Pacific Railroad 
was about 43,000,000 acres, of which some 3,400,- 
000 acres have already been sold. The total sales 
during last year were 185,123 acres, at an 
average of $4 per acre. The Grant stretches across 
the continent. Six millions of acres of farm lands 
are now offered for sale along the line of the 
Northern Pacific Railroad in Minnesota and Dako¬ 
ta. The average price per acre at which the lands 
have hitherto sold is $3. La6t year $4 per acre was 
fixed as the uniform price for all agricultural lands 
of the Company east of the Missouri River in 
Minnesota and Dakota. The preferred stock of 
the Company is taken at par in exchange for the 
sioner, whose headquarters are at St. Paul, stated 
to us that of the lands now in market the most 
desirable for immigrants are those in Dakota, be¬ 
tween the James River, and the west line of Da¬ 
kota, and in the Yellowstone Valley in Montana. 
The Company likewise has lands in Central Minne¬ 
sota, which are being taken by those who prefer 
some timber with prairie openings. 
All of the land in Dakota lying along both sides 
of the track, except the so-called “ Bad Lands,” is 
regarded as wheat producing. Immediately west 
of the Missouri River, the country is considerably 
broken, and will be more largely devoted to grazing 
and dairying, than to wheat raising. Following on 
westward to Young Man’s Butte, a hundred miles 
west of Bismarck on the Missouri River, you get 
into a rolling prairie country, which it is expected 
will soon be occupied by wheat growers, and set¬ 
tlers engaged in general farming. Upon reaching 
the Yellowstone Valley, ahundred miles still further 
on to the westward, we found, during our trip 
through this vast region in November last, very 
superior grazing lands. In a note to us, since our 
return, Col. Newport writes: “The value of the 
Yellowstone lands for grazing purposes has been 
already demonstrated, and now that the country i3 
accessible by the completion of the railroad to 
Mile6 City, a distance of 770 miles from St. Paul, we 
expect a tide of emigration to pour into that region. 
The interest in the Yellowstone Valley is evinced 
by the large number of inquiries we have by mail 
daily with respect to it.” The business of the 
Northern Pacific Railroad increased one-third dur¬ 
ing 1881, which shows that the country is rapidly 
developing. All the farmers naturally turn their 
attention to wheat raising. For several years in 
succession, the crop has been uniformly good 
During 1881 the yield was not so large per acre, but 
it is claimed that the advance in price more than 
made up for deficiency in quantity. From inquiries 
at various points, we infer that the prices paid to 
the farmers for wheat delivered along the line of 
the road, ranged in 1881 from $1.18 to $1.35 per 
bushel. The Dalrymple and other large farms west 
of Fargo were minutely described in the October 
American Agriculturist for 1880, The Williams 
