1882 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
101 
Western Farm Homes. 
Philadelphia, Jan. 31, 1882. 
Orange Judd Co.— Sirs: According to your article in 
the January number on the West, X really expected a 
better article: not thinking that your correspondent 
would be captured by railroad monopolists, but give us 
some practical information regarding the West. For 
instance, what amount would be needed by a family of 
four? I would have furnished quite a different article 
to your readers. 
I am a mechanic, and have written to the West for in¬ 
formation, but they have not answered it yet, and X will 
likely be in Minnesota by the time of your next issue. 
If you wish a correspondent I am open for engage¬ 
ment. A. N. Hallowell, 
Philadelphia, Pa. 
Answer. 
The article alluded to, in our last paper, which 
aimed to cover the whole question of Western 
Lands for sale, cost Mr. David W. Judd several 
weeks and several thousand miles of travel. 
It was carefully prepared, not for the benefit of 
any corporation, hut expressly for the benefit of 
the readers of this paper. None of the railroads 
requested or solicited descriptions of their lands. 
The facts presented in such a condensed form were 
gathered by Mr. Judd during a long tour, and are 
the result of personal observations and questions 
propounded to those having charge of or living 
upon the various lands described. So far from be¬ 
ing of any financial benefit to the paper, this tour 
entailed a heavy cost upon the publishers. 
If the above reader expected the American Agri¬ 
culturist to tell him how much land he wants for a 
family of four, what it will cost him to go from 
Philadelphia to forty or fifty different Western 
points; how much it will cost him to take his 
stock, etc., etc., we have simply to say to him, as 
to others, forty extra pages would not have con¬ 
tained particulars enough to meet the wants of in¬ 
dividual readers. Such information, however, we 
furnish from time to time. 
We gave a general outline of the country and 
data from which readers could draw their own in¬ 
ferences and conclusions as to what points they 
should migrate to. 
Some of the Railroads described have written 
complaining that more space was not given to their 
respective roads. We have to say in reply, that 
we endeavored to describe all impartially, and 
as we said before, we wrote the article for the ben¬ 
efit of our readers. 
Another point; since the issue of our February 
number, bills have been introduced both in the 
Senate and House of Representatives repealing the 
Land Grants of various Railroads—some of them 
included in our article. The grounds given are 
failure to conform to original conditions of grants. 
One of the roads against which the bills ap¬ 
pear to be directed, is the St. Paul and Man¬ 
itoba R. R. in Minn., the lands of which were 
described at considerable length in our article. By 
our next issue we shall be able to know more about 
the matter.' Meanwhile we would of course advise 
those of our readers who may have thought of pur¬ 
chasing along this road, to wait for the present. 
Should these grants be annulled, large tracts of 
lands would probably come into market at govern¬ 
ment prices. 
Careless letters and Lost Ones — Was 
Yours Among Them 1—The English Post Office 
recently returned to our Dead Letter Office a letter con¬ 
taining a $25,000 draft, mailed by a banking institution 
of New York City, directed to “National Provincial 
Bank of England, Belfast, England,” instead of “Pro¬ 
vincial Bank of Ireland, Belfast, Ireland.” When large 
banking institutions make such mistakes, and with such 
large sums, it is less surprising that so many other 
people are sometimes careless. Our Post-Master Gen¬ 
eral’s last report says over one thousand million letters 
(1,046,007,348) were mailed in our country during the 
year. Of these over three millions (3,323,621) went to the 
Dead Letter Office, or one in every 315, among which 
were 18,617 containing $4,058,780 in money, and 22,012 
enclosing checks, drafts, etc., for $1,899,062$—that is, 
38,629 letters containing cash remittances went to the 
Dead Letter Office through improper directious or lack of 
stamps. A much larger number were doubtless returned 
to the writers by the local postmasters. If one letter out 
of every 315 is thus miscarried through the carelessness 
of the writers , is it any wonder that Publishers and 
others dislike to bear the loss of money reported to have 
been sent, withoui registry ? If our correspondents 
were as careless as the average, our lost letters would 
run up into hundreds every year.—But this does not tell 
half the story. A greater number who get the outside ail 
right, omit their names, or their State, if not their P. O., 
and, strange to say, second or third “ blowing up ” let¬ 
ters still omit some necessary item, as the name, or any 
indication which of the multitudes of “Washingtons,” 
or “ Hamiltons,” or “Jacksons,” or “ Middletowns,” 
etc., they hail from. Others send money in unsealed 
letters—a bad temptation to P. O. clerks. People don't 
mean to make mistakes, but they do —though no one can 
believe he did—and the publishers get all the blame. 
Area and Relative Siae of the States. 
Some comparisons of the relative areas of several 
States will be interesting, and also help the memory. 
Texas, cut into equal parts, would make 2121- 
States as large as Rhode Island; 1291 Delawares ; 
54 Connectieuts; 34 New Jerseys; 32 Massachu¬ 
setts; 61 Ohios ; nearly 6 New Yorks or Pennsyl- 
vanias; nearly 5 Illinois or Iowas. Grouping the 
States nearest alike in size we have, in square miles :— 
Rhode Isiand.,1,250 New Jersey..... f,815|S. Carolina...30,350 
Delaware..2,050 Massachusetts.. 8.315 Maine....33,040 
Connecticut...4,990 N. Hampshire.. 9,305 Indiana.36.350 
Vermont. 9,5651 Kentucky_40,400 
Maryland.12,210 Ohio.41,060 
1 West V irginia.. 24,7801 Virginia.42,450 
Tennessee.42,050 
Pennsylvania. 45,212 
Mississippi.. .46,810 
Louisiana.48,720 
New York....49,170 
Kansas_... 82,080 
Minnesota... 8:5,365 
Oregon. 96,030 
Colorado... .103,925 
Nevada.......110,700 
California... .158,360 
Texas.265,780 
Alabama.52,250 
N. Carolina_52,250 
Arkansas..53,850 
Iowa.56,025 
Wisconsin..... 56,040 
Illinois.56,650 
Florida.58,680 
Michigan.. ..58,915 
Georgia. .....59,475 
Missouri.69,415 
Nebraska.76,855 
Territories. 
Dist. Columbia 70 
Indian Ter.64,690 
Washington . ..69,180 
Idaho.84,800 
Utah.84,970 
Wyoming..... 97,890 
Arizona.113,020 
New Mexico. 122,580 
Montana.146,080 
Dakota......149,100 
Alaska.......577,390 
Besides the above, there is of unorganized ter¬ 
ritory (Long. 100°—103°; Lat. 36° 30'—37°), 5,740 
square miles; Delaware Bay, 620 sq.ms.; and Raritan 
and lower New York Bay, 100 sq. ms. Alaska we 
give from estimate; its area is not fully known. 
The above are the gross areas, that is land and 
water included. In the whole United States (ex¬ 
clusive of Alaska) there are 3,025,600 square miles. 
Of this 2,970,000 sq. ms. are land surface, and 55,600 
sq. ms. of water surface, of which 23,900 sq. ms. 
are in lakes and ponds ; 17,200 in coast bays, gulfs, 
sounds, etc., and 14,500 sq. ms. in rivers and smaller 
streams. The whole water surfaces in the total 
areas of the different States and Territories, as 
given above, are in square miles, as follows: 
Alii.... 710 
Ariz... 100 
Ark.... 805 
Cal ....2,380 
Col.... 280 
Conn.. 145 
Dak....1,400 
Del.... 90 
D.C.... 10 
Fla. ...4,440 
Geo... 495|Md....2,350 
Idaho.. 510|Mass.. 275 
Ill. 650 Mich ..1,485 
Ind.... 440 Minn..4,160 
In.Ter. 6001 Miss... 470. 
Iowa.. 550 Mo.... 680 
Kansas 3801 Mont.. 770 
Ky.... 400 Neb.... 670 
La._3,3001 Nev.... 960 
N. H... 300 
N. J.... 
N.Mex. 120 
N. Y...1,550 
N. C...3,670 
Ohio... 300 
Oreg.. 1,470 
Penn.. 230 
R. I.... 165 
S.C.... 400 
Tenn.. 300 
Texas..3,490 
Utah...2,780 
Vt. 430 
Va.2,325 
W. T. .2,300 
W. Va. 135 
Wis...,1,590 
Maine.3,145 1 Total.55,600 square miles. 
This last table is interesting. It shows for ex¬ 
ample that Maryland with a total area of only 
12,210 square miles, includes 2,350 square miles, 
or nearly 20 per cent of water surface, leaving but 
9,860 sq. ms. of land surface. Arizona,with 113,020 
sq. ms. of surface, has barely 100 miles of water 
surface ; and Colorado has hut 280 miles of water 
in 103,925, leaving 103,645 of land. Minnesota,which 
abounds in beautiful lakes, has 4,160 square miles 
of water surface, of which 3,800 are in lakes and 
ponds, and 360 in rivers and smaller streams.—In 
this it is only approached by Florida, which has 
2,250 in lakes and ponds, 390 in rivers and streams, 
and 1,800 in coast gulfs and hays. Of water sur¬ 
face in interior lakes and ponds, Utah has 2,700 
square miles ; Maine 2,300 ; Louisiana 1,700 ; 
California 1,600 ; Michigan 1,225; Wisconsin 1,170 ; 
Nevada 925 ; Oregon 920; New York 900 ; Vermont 
380, and so down to Connecticut 40 ; New Jersey 
35; Virginia 25 ; Colorado 10 ; South Carolina and 
New Mexico 5 each. 
More Corn Bread Kecipes.—“ Mrs. A. A. R.,” 
Pana, Ill., thinks that iu simplicity and excellence, the 
following is preferable to any of those given last month. 
— Corn Batter-Cakes (for a family of five).—Take 1 
quart of buttermilk or sour milk, 1 teacupful of flour, 
half teaspoonful of soda. Mix well together, and stir in 
sifted corn meal enough to make a batter. Then, at the 
last, stir in 2 eggs, and salt to suit the taste. Mix the 
whole well together; have the griddles hot, and bake 
the same as buckwheat cakes, and serve while hot.... 
Corn Bread .—Take the same ingredients as above, ex¬ 
cept to stir in more corn meal, to make a little stiffer 
batter; put it in the pan, and bake it about 15 or 20 
minutes in a hot oven. 
Kentucky BSlne Grass.—“J. M. H.,” Indiana 
Co., Pa. “Kentucky Blue Grass” is the same as that 
known in other localities as “Green Meadow” and 
“June Grass.” Finding in the limestone regions of 
Kentucky a congenial soil, it there took on such’ a 
luxuriant growth that it was for some time regarded as a 
distinct species. It is sown in September, or in very 
early spring, even before the snows have disappeared. 
It may be sowu by itself or with an oat crop. It is very 
essential to keep off the stock for the first year if a valu¬ 
able pasture is to be established. The seed differs greatly 
as to quality. In Kentucky, three or four quarts of 
clean seed is regarded as enough for an acre, but as usu¬ 
ally found in the market, six pecks is none too much. 
A Garden Marker.—The accompanying engrav¬ 
ing shows the construction of an easily made hand 
marker, for use in the garden. It consists of a light 
1 i f rTTri 
scantling, with pegs inserted at intervals for making the 
rows in the garden soil. Two light pieces connect the 
“head” of the marker with the handle. The size of 
this marker and the distance between the pegs may vary 
greatly. This must he decided by the person who may 
choose to make it; one for making cross-lines in beds 
will be smaller than one to be used for making long 
rows, between which a larger hoe or rake are to be used. 
The American Agricultural Association. 
—The second convention of the A. A. A. was held on 
February 1, 2, and 3, in the hall of the Grand Central 
Hotel, in New York. The first and second days were 
given to addresses and papers on various agricultural 
topics, 'together with discussions upon the same. The 
third day was spent in a visit to T. A, Havemeyer’s 
famous “Mountain Side Farm ” at Mawah, N. J. Reso¬ 
lutions were passed by the convention recommending 
a revision of the tariff by Congress at an early day ; also, 
one favoring the passage of a bill before Congress to 
provide for a Commissioner of Agriculture in the Presi¬ 
dent’s Cabinet. The following officers of the association 
were elected; President, N. T. Sprague, of 'Vermont; 
Secretary, J. H. Real!, of New York; Treasurer, H. 
McLaren, of New York. The proceedings of the con¬ 
vention will be given in full in the Journal of the Asso¬ 
ciation, published quarterly. 
A Corn Marker.—“A Subscriber” sends a sketch 
of a corn marker, from which the engraving herewith 
presented is made. Its construction is so simple that 
very few words of explanation are required. The guide 
rod (a) is broken, and the end, with its chain (6), brought 
near the runner, simply to save space in the illustration. 
The guide rod and chain are easily changed from one 
end of the marker to the other. 
