©EG. 40 
iVUsccUanccms. 
THE PARK REGION. 
Minnesota's Grain and Stock Country- 
Cities, Towns and Pleasure Resorts. 
MESSRS. HOLMES AND SWEETLAND. 
[Special Correspondents of the Rural New-Yorker.] 
The “ Short Line" of the St. Paul, Minneap¬ 
olis and Manitoba Railway, built to secure 
through traffic from St. Paul to the West, 
passes through a very delightful portion of 
the State, a full description of which with its 
crop statistics was given in our correspon¬ 
dence “ Wheat is Queen” in the Rural Nkw- 
Y orkeu of Oct 15. The entire j-egion is rich 
in wealth of golden grain, the yield in wheat 
being large and the price proportionately 
greater nearing the commercial centers. A 
grand feature of this region is the pure 
water which is everywhere abundant, and the 
shelter afforded by the timbered banks of the 
many lakes together with the abundance of 
pasturage for stock. Though Minnesota is in 
a high northern latitude, possessing an eleva¬ 
tion of from Wall to 1800 feet above the sen level, 
its climate is remarkably healthful and in¬ 
vigorating. The distance is so great to the 
coast that the ocean’s influence cannot be felt, 
thus rendering the atmosphere dry and pure. 
Fergus Falls, 51 miles from Fargo, south¬ 
east but Upon the Rod River which curves up 
in that direction, was our iirst stopping place. 
As we intend that our next letter shall deal 
exclusively with its interests, we will only 
briefly summarize in this. We found a busy, 
active town, well built, but evidently upon a 
hasty plan. Evidences of continued improve¬ 
ment and thrift met us upon every hand. In 
one direction dirt for a new railroad was lly- 
ing ; in another numerous houses were in pro¬ 
cess of construction ; mills and manufactories 
of lumbor, furniture, tlour, etc., were utiliz¬ 
ing part of their mammoth water power, the 
best in Northwestern Minnesota. The hotels 
were crowded—here is something the city 
really needs, a first-class hotel. The busi¬ 
ness men were busy, stocks selling as fast as 
they can be replaced and everybody express¬ 
ing the utmost confidence in the certain and 
rapid development of their city. Schools, 
churches, societies, newspaper, elevators and 
all the concomitants of refined civilization we 
will review in our next. 
Evansville, 27 miles east from Fergus 
Falls, has a population of over 400, business 
of all lines being well represented by live, 
active and energetic men. There is a steam 
elevator here having 110,000 bushels’ capacity. 
Last year 140,000 bushels of wheat were 
marketed here, aud it is expected that more 
than 200,000 will be marketed, thus showing it 
to be an excellent grain market. There is a 
good school for which a new building is being 
erected now. Norwegian, Lutheran and 
Union church societies have regular meetings. 
Adjacent to the town are two brick-yards 
ami a lime-kiln, which will add materially to 
the future development of the place. 
Brandon, five miles east, has about 200 
population, a good school for which a build¬ 
ing is in course of erection, several stores, two 
elevators and the kind of business men who 
make their example felt. The town is pros¬ 
perous and improving; it shipped 112,000 
bushels of wheat last year, which is a good 
showing for the market facilities. 
Alexandria, 141 miles from St. Paul, has 
acquired quite a reputation as a summer resort 
as well as a commercial point. It is the 
county seat of Douglas County,has now about 
1,500 population, two excellent weekly papers, 
a graded school of five departments, six church 
edifices, another in course of construction, 
and a good hotel. The Bank of Alexandria 
whose exchange account for the year ending 
November 1, was over §700,000, and whose ag¬ 
gregate business for same time was §1,800,000, 
affords ample financial facilities. Here are 
also stores and stocks of various kinds to sup¬ 
ply the demand. Town property sells at 
reasonable rates, with the prospect of a steady 
rise in valuation. There are also a good mill 
and elovator. Above all else, the town is so 
situated as to be the center of a vast, lake 
region. Lakes Agnes and Winona lie to the 
north and west, the city overlooking them. 
Lakes Darling, Latoka, Mary, Lobster, 
L’Homme Dicu, Carlos, Ida, Chippewa, 
Christina, Red Rock and Oscar are all within 
from two to ten miles of the city, all affording 
excellent fishing and good hunting. Douglas 
Comity is out of debt, having neither bonded 
nor floating indebtedness. The receipts of 
wheat for this county have been for the year 
695,000 bushels, of which 400,000 have been 
marketed in Alexandria. Being considered a 
place of .headquarters for sportsmen as well as 
a business center, the future welfare of the 
city seems assured. 
Osakis, the Indian for “ I like it,” takes its 
name from the lake upon the shores of which 
it stands. It has a population of between 400 
and 500, who have been attracted by its beau¬ 
tiful surroundings and business interests. 
Quite a brisk little trade is done here, not only 
on account of its being a pleasure resort, but 
also owing to the fanning country surround¬ 
ing it. We found a good (louring mill, a saw¬ 
mill at each end of the lake, a bank, a good 
local newspaper, “ The Observer,” several gen¬ 
eral stores, and dealers in hardware, drugs anil 
groceries, Two trains take dinner at Osakis 
each day, the Park House being well kept and 
giving good satisfaction. From the St. Paul 
Pioneer-Press we will quote concerning- Lake 
Osakis:—“ It is in the heart of what is known 
as the Park Region, a most beautiful and at¬ 
tractive section composed of a succession of 
lakes, streams and timber lands, forming the 
most lovely pastoral landscape. In a circle of 
20 miles, including all of Douglas County and 
parts of Todd, Otter Tail, Pope and Grant 
Counties, are located over 300 lakes, the most 
important of which is Osakis, which has a 
shoro line of 87 miles, fringed with heavy 
hard-wood timber and with a smooth and 
pebbly beach. In this vicinity great quanti¬ 
ties of pheasants, water fowl, prairie chick¬ 
ens, snipe, geese, ducks, turkeys, deer and 
bear are found, affording plenty of sport for 
the hunter.” “Fail-view Place Hotel” and 
cottages, owned and managed by K. Ivneut- 
son, we have had occasion to speak of before. 
They are replete with comforts both for land 
and water—plenty of boats (steam, sail and row) 
—and they are crowded with guests during the 
entire Summer season. Mr. X. informed us 
of his intention to put up several more cot¬ 
tages in the Spring. Osakis—“I like it"— 
Well, we liked it well enough to make it our 
headquarters during our stay in this region, 
and we could write a column upon our pleas¬ 
ure did space permit. 
Sauk Center, 13 miles east, is a charming 
little city of about 1,500 inhabitants, of whom 
we wrote a special letter, published in the 
Rural New-Yorker Oct. 8 . For some time 
there has been more or less inactivity iu build¬ 
ing and improving, but recently the certainty 
of the Little Falls and Dakota Railroad, now 
graded, giving them a wheat outlet via the 
great lakes and a direct communication with 
the magnificent lumber regions of the North 
lias awakened an intense interest, which will 
give their city a new “ boom ” and a more 
lasting one than over before. Besides this, 
there is a survey being made for the Sauk 
Center and Northern Railway, while several 
other lines are projected. 
What the future of a town will be depends 
to a great extent upon the character of the 
surrounding country. Stearns County is con¬ 
sidered of unusual agricultural excellence. It 
is well settled as is evidenced by the market¬ 
ing of 500,COO bushels of wheat in Sauk Cen¬ 
ter, as well as large quantities at St. Cloud, 
Melrose and other stations. There have been 
some experiments in Amber Cane which 
seems to do very well here. Wo would like 
to see the Rural Blanching Sorghum intro¬ 
duced. Being located iu the center of an ex¬ 
tended radius, near numerous lakes, thus with 
the purest water, having well established bus¬ 
iness houses, good manufacturing facilities, 
abundant banking capital, excellent newspa¬ 
pers, conveniences for education and relig¬ 
ious exercises, appropriate and business acu¬ 
men, there then is a certainty of rapid im¬ 
provement and enlargement of the city, 
Melrose we found to be a promising town, 
idue miles from Sauk Center. It has a large 
and increasing trade. Its population is near¬ 
ly 500, The citizens are erecting a fine brick 
school house to contain four departments, at 
a cost of §5,000. Episcopal, Methodist, Ger¬ 
man and Irish Catholic societies have sub¬ 
stantial churches. The Melrose Mills, with a 
capacity of 100 barrels per day, are doing a 
large business and draw trade to Melrose, 
which has good stores, mostly operated by 
Germans. 
St. Cloud was next visited. It is the 
largest city on “the Short Line" between 
Minneapolis and Fargo, having some 3,000 
population. It is handsomely located 75 miles 
from St. Paul, on the west bank of the Mis¬ 
sissippi River, the first point below the piner¬ 
ies upon the edge of the vast prairie region 
we have written of. The place enjoyed a 
trade of over §3,200,000 last year. Its prin¬ 
cipal interest is manufacturing, there being 
two saw mills, three planing mills, sash, door 
and blind factories, one novelty works (wood), 
three foundries, one steam furniture factory, 
one chair factory, two plow works, one seeder 
factor)-, five wagon manufactories and one 
hub and spoke factory. There is an existing 
demand and need for large flouring mills, 
woolen mills, paper mills (straw and rag), 
agricultural implement works, and numerous 
other manufacturing industries. C. Bridg¬ 
man informed us that he sawed 5,000,000 feet 
of lumber and made 5,000,000 shingles during 
last year. 
THE water power, 
if improved according to the plans of one of 
the government engineers, would reach 25,- 
000 horse power. This could be done at an 
expense of one-sixth the cost of the Minne¬ 
apolis power, and would equal all in use there 
now. An act of the State Legislature en¬ 
ables Stearns and Sherburne Counties to vote 
aid for this purpose, and the city of St. Cloud 
offers a bonus of §50,000 cash for its develop¬ 
ment. 
A vein of granite, gray, blue and red, capa¬ 
ble of high polish, extends soutlrwest from 
Duluth and near the city, while along the 
river banks are found large amounts of hard 
wood timber. Besides the St. Paul, Minne¬ 
apolis & Manitoba Railway, St. Cloud has the 
Northern Pacific, Duluth Railroad expected, 
St. Cloud and Lake Traverse now beiug 
graded, the Osseo branch being finished with¬ 
in 12 miles, and others projected, thus giving 
abundant railway facilities. St. Cloud has 
six handsome churches, two of brick; two 
brick school buildings costing §40,000, with 
graded schools of ] ] departments; also one of 
the three State Normal Universities, which 
has a faculty of eight experienced and capa¬ 
ble teachers, and un enrollment of 205 pupils 
from all parts of the State. Their handsome 
building is worth §60,000. Add to this three 
prominent newspapers—Journal-Press, Times, 
and Nord-Stern (the latter German) — four 
civic societies, an adequate banking capital, 
stores and stocks of metropolitan aspect and 
substantial improvements of brick and stone 
(both materials being close at hand). Imagine 
yourself in this busy county seat of Stems 
County, mingling with a mixed social ele¬ 
ment about equally divided between Ameri¬ 
cans and Germans, star ding perchance near a 
fine new i ipera house or by the banks of the 
Father of Waters, watching its turbulent 
(low, and gazing at the many manufactories 
which now use its mighty power, and you 
have a pen-picture of St. Cloud to-day. 
Between this city and St. Paul are several 
towns, the principal of which is Anoka, which 
manufactures many million feet of lumber 
annually. In fact, the region east of St. 
Cloud is principally timber. As a supple¬ 
ment to this sketch, which covers such a di¬ 
versified scope of country, it will serve best 
as showing the immigration to the North¬ 
west via the St. Paul, Minneapolis and Man¬ 
itoba Railway to give a statement of James 
B. Power, their land commissioner, concern 
big their sale-:—During the months of Sep¬ 
tember and October, 41,517 acres were sold to 
210 purchasers, at an average price of §5.70 
per acre; 25,850 acres were contracted to lie 
improved. During the same time25,385 acres 
were sold in the contested limits (which in¬ 
cludes Otter Tail and Clay Counties). At 
this rate it will not take long to dispose of 
the entire land grant, and the prospects for 
the coming year's improvement all along the 
line are certainly very flattering. 
OUR SUPPLEMENT. 
Of all the various breeds of neat cattle 
there is none that surpasses the Jersey in deer¬ 
like grace and high bred appearance. Under 
the fostering influence of a genial climate, 
a fertile soil, kiud and generous treatment, 
and a scrupulous watchfulness as to purity of 
blood, the Jersey cow has ripenedinto a small, 
gentle and exceedingly useful animal, “fatu¬ 
ous alike for meekness and for milk; for but¬ 
ter and for beauty.” it is 1 his thoroughbred 
aspect that renders a herd of Jerseys in a gen¬ 
tleman's park in England almost as ornamen¬ 
tal as a herd of deer. Just look at this head 
aud say whether you have ever seen a hand 
somer one belonging to any other breed; and 
in the Jersey the head is by far the most char¬ 
acteristic feature. How well, too, are the 
“ points” in thu scale of this breed illustrated 
in the head, which, by the way, is by no 
means merely a typical one, originating in the 
artist’s imagination or memory, but a real 
flesh-and-blood head borne by a very excellent 
cow, “Lady llushmore. “Head small, fine 
and tapering. Cheek small. Muzzle line aud 
encircled by a light color. Nostrils high and 
open. Eye. full and placid. Horns smooth, 
crumpled, not too thick at the base, and taper - 
ing. Ears smull and thin, of a deep orange 
color within. Throat clean. Neck straight, 
tine and placed lightly on the shoulders.” So 
pithily runs the “scale of points.” It might 
also have said, if it were not confined to essen¬ 
tials, that the nose is either dark-brown or 
black, though occasionally of a yellowish 
shade; that the face is slightly dished, clean 
of flesh, mild and gentle in expression; that 
the clear, full eye is usually encircled by a 
ring of the same color as the nose; that the 
inward-curving horns are waxy in color, with 
black tips in animals enhanced in price by the 
possession of the “ black points;” and that the 
neck is often somewhat depressed, or what is 
frequently called “eye-necked.” The whole 
head, as seen, is original and eminently blood¬ 
like in appearance. 
Lady Rushmore, No. 11S12 in the American 
Jersey Herd Register, was imported in October 
1880 from the Island of Jersey by her present 
owner, Mr. Aaron A. Degrauw, of Long 
Island, New York, She was bred by Nicholas 
Le Rossignol Baumont, of St. Peters, out of 
the “ foundation ” stock of the island, and was 
dropped September 15, 1878. She dropped 
her first, calf on December 3, 1880, after which 
she gave an average of IS quarts of milk daily 
on ordinary feed, producing^l.ajy pounds of 
butter in seven days. In J uly, six months 
after calving, on testing her milk it was found 
to yield So per cent, of cream. She is solid 
fawn with full black points and a fine 
escutcheon. Her pictured head is worthy of 
a nice frame, not ouly for its high artistic 
merits, but still more as a fine typical repre¬ 
sentation of this deservedly popular breed. 
- ■ - » » 
NOTES BY A STOCKMAN. 
There must bo something radically wrong 
in a system of agriculture under which, while 
a populatiou is increasing and business and 
money wealth yearly grow larger, the farm¬ 
ers are impoverished and their live stock are 
rapidly diminishing. Vicissitudes of weather 
and season are not sufficient to account for 
this condition of the live stock in England, 
which is shosvn by the official returns for 1881 
to have decreased enormously in number and 
value during seven years past. The following 
table shows the difference. 
NUMBER OF LIVE STOCK IN GREAT BRITAIN 
AND IRELAND. 
In 1874.... 
In ISSl.... 
Cattle Sheep 
..111,281,086 31.SiU.a97 
.. 9,904,1X0 24,899,937 
Pigs 
3,537,354 
3,149,675 
Decrease 
877,083 6,937,660 387,679 
Decrease In value . .$23,620,fit) §69,376,000 
Average value per 
head. §60 §10 
$2,905,000 
§7.50 
These figures are interesting to compare 
with those of our own stock. There are more 
cattle iu Texas than in the whole of Great 
Britain and Ireland (f Eds.). In regard to sheep 
we now surpass Great Britain considerably. 
There were 7,0110,000 pigs slaughtered last 
year in Chicago aloue, leaving the great pork 
centers, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Kansas City, 
Milwaukee aud several other large towns out 
of the question. 
But what is the reason that the live stock 
interests of our mother country are in a state 
of decadence ! Is it the system of landlordism 
and the burdens of taxation required to sup¬ 
port a costly government that is at the root of 
this evil! I don’t like to hazard a solution of 
this question. But I feel safe in believing 
tbat the difficulty is one of slow and gradual 
growth and cannot be removed without some 
radical change, and that the consequences im¬ 
plied and which affect our interests as com¬ 
petitors with England will be permanent. 
Cattle anil fences are co-incidents. Fences 
are made to keep out cattle and as the fields 
under crops are many times la rger than the pas¬ 
tures, so the fences required are many times 
more numerous than they need be were the 
cattle fenced, and not the crops. Here is 
something that needs consideration as an ele¬ 
ment m the economical working of the farms. 
One cow loose upon the roads makes a thous¬ 
and dollars’ worth of fence necessary to keep 
her out of mischief. And yet farmers permit 
their neighbors to let this one cow run at 
large. 
The Fat Cattle Show at Chicago has been 
the great sensation of the period among West¬ 
ern cattle men. The contest for superiority 
between the Short-hums and Herefords has 
been close and it may be said that it has been 
a dra •wq battle between them, A Short-horn 
Steer bred by J. D. Gil left, of Elkhart. Ill., 
carried off the principal prize as first in the 
sweepstakes for steers three years and under 
four years old. A Hereford, owned by T. L. 
Miller, Beecher, 111., came second. 
The ages and weights of the three prize cat¬ 
tle, first, second and third of this class are as 
follows: 
Age in 
days. 
Shorthorn. 1,237 
Hereford.i.pjo 
Grade Short, horn.1,321 
Average gain 
perday 
Weight, slice birth. 
2.093 1.611b 
2.035 1.71 
2,085 1.57 
The Short-horn steer was subsequently award¬ 
ed first premium as the best animal shown of 
any class or age. 
The, Hereford breeders gained the prize of 
§250 for tlu> best herd of five animals of any 
age or breed. T. L. Miller & Co. took this 
prize with five Herefords which weighed 
10,000 pounds exactly, or an average of 2,000 
pounds each. 
The competition between these two breeds 
runs very close and will probably stay so, for 
the Herefords have n long history behind 
them and have been too long a first-class es¬ 
tablished breed to be thrown into the back¬ 
ground now even by a Short-boni. The good 
points and profitable excellencies of these two 
breeds are so nearly balanced and the scale 
trembles and oscillates so much, that it is 
never certain which is to stand first iu such 
contests as this Cut stock show. Hereford cat¬ 
tle carried off the first, prize for slaughtered 
beef in the grand sweepstakes for any age or 
breed; also for three-year-old steers and for 
one-year old; the prize for two-year-old going 
to a Short-horn. [Other “ Notes by a Stock¬ 
man ” are crowded out of this issue.— Eds.] 
