Itasca County MN Archives News.....Good Homes for Homeseekers October 21, 1902 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/mn/mnfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Debra Crosby http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00010.html#0002467 December 17, 2020, 12:03 pm The Minneapolis Journal Tues Pg 14 October 21, 1902 The Minneapolis Journal Tues Oct 21, 1902 pg 14 GOOD HOMES FOR HOMESEEKERS Rich Farming Lands Are to Be Had in Itasca County, Minn., at From $5 to $15 an Acre --------------- Natural Resources and Home Markets Will Make the Progressive Husbandman Rich in a Few Short Years. --------------- Itasca county, Minnesota, has an area of 5,789 square miles. It contains 3, 763,123 acres of land. Its extreme length, north and south is over 108 miles. Its width, east and west, is over sixty-three miles. Itasca county is an empire. The Mississippi river, "The Father of Waters," flows southeasterly through the county, from its western to its southern boundary, a distance of nearly 200 miles. Within these 200 miles the government of the United States has built a large system of reservoirs, and the river is navigable for large steamboats the entire distance. There is scarcely a section of land in the whole county that does not contain a lake of clear pure water, many of which rival the most famous lakes of the world. The surface is undulating and high, and the soil throughout the county is exceedingly fertile. Portions are heavily timbered with almost all the hardwoods, such as maple, oak, elm, ash, birch and basswood. Other portions are heavily timbered with pine. Still other portions are covered with a much lighter growth of timber such as poplar, white birch, etc. Along the rivers, especially the Mississippi, the Big and Little Forlk, and many of the smaller streams, there are vast tracts of land covered with a splendid growth of wild grass, called "natural meadows," many of which have been cut for years by the lumbermen. Thousands of acres of these natural meadows, especially along the Big and Little Fork rivers, have never yet been cut or utilized by man. Itasca county has as fine and healthy a climate as can be found in the United States. The winters, though cold, are extremely dry and invigorating, and the summers are simply perfection. Already many invalids are seeking and finding health in the vast forests and upon the shores of its beautiful lakes. Place for Mome Makers It is to homeseekers that Itasca county offers the greatest opportunities and possibilities. It is safe to say that there is not any equal portion of the United States to-day that can offer as great inducements to the man of moderate or small means as can Itasca county. Especially is this true as to men of small means who desire to obtain valuable land for farming and stock raising purposes. There are a few thousand acres of land in Itasca county still open to entry and settlement under the homestead laws of the United States. There are also millions of acres that can be purchased on long time at a very reasonable price per acre. Fine tracts of land can be obtained, part meadow and part timber. The soil of Itasca county is as good as in any other county in the state of Minnesota, and for all root crops, such as potatoes, turnips, rutabagas, mangels parsnips, carrots, beets, onions, cabbage, cauliflower, etc., Itasca county cannot be excelled by any equal portion of the United States. All of the wild and tame grasses grow here luxuriantly, furnishing splendid pasturage and an abundance of hay. Many thousands of tons of hay are pressed every year from off the natural meadows. Corn, wheat, rye, oats, flax and many other grains are grown to a splendid maturity. Upon all of these lands there is plenty of timber for buildings, fencing and fuel. Every winter there are employed in the pineries of the county at least 10,000 men. This employment commences about the first of September of each year and continues until the first of April following, while nearly as many men are also employed from about the first of April unti the first of July in driving the logs down the various streams to the market. Ready Markets Annually there are from 4,000 to 5,000 men in the various logging camps in Itasca county, all of whom are largely fed on imported products. Bona fide farmers in the county would find ready markets for every pound of pork, beef or mutton they could raise. The same is true of butter and eggs. When the lumber camps are supplied the iron mining camps on the Mesabarange stand ready to take all the surplus products that the farmers have to dispose of. There are good wagon roads to the iron mining districts, so that farmers would have no difficulty in reaching the mining towns. The head of Lake Superior, with the cities of Duluth and Superior with their thousands of population, would gladly take all that could be raised in Itasca county, especially butter, eggs, cheese, poultry and vegetables. Nowhere else presents such grand markets to the farmers as the country contiguous to Grand Rapids. Crops of Itasca County At present and for some time to come oats will be the chief grain crop of this section. The market created by the needs of the logging crews far exceeds home production. Oats are sown from the 15th to the 25th of April, and ripen shortly after the first of August. The season is usually very favorable for full development, and the common weight per bushel is between 38 to 42 pounds, which indicates the remarkable fullness and heaviness of the kernel Upon the better soils and under proper methods of crop rotation 40 to 60 bushels per acre can be very definitely figured on. The soils of Itasca county have been shown to be well adapted to wheat. Oats have a stronger power of assim- ilation and should be sown in preference to wheat upon newly subdued land, but after a crop or two has been removed large yields of wheat can be obtained. The average yield of for this section is about 20 bushels, and authentic records of 30 bushels per acre are not uncommon. Blue stem varieties yield slightly better than fife wheat. Undue moisture never hinders the sowing of wheat here, as it so often does in the Red River valley. The ground is usually in condition shortly ater the 15th of April, and the crop ripens during the first ten days in August. Barley does equally well. The usual yields are thirty to forty bushels per acre. Barley is sown in this latitude about the 1st of May and harvested the latter part of July. The six-rowed Mansury barleys are the best yielders. Flax has been grown successfully, but the acreage so far devoted to it is necessarily small. Buckwheat is a good crop, the season being usually favorable to filling of the heads. Winter rye is an absolutely sure crop. It has never been known to kill ouot, as it so often does on the prairies further west. In this latitude it should be sown quite early in the fall, between Aug. 15 and Sept. 1, to give it plenty of time to stool out before winter. The protection offered by the surrounding timber and snow covering, which seldom fails, often makes possible the growing of winter wheat, and good crops of this cereal have been harvested as far north as the Rainy river. Grass Crops Hay may be rightfully regarded as the banner crop of Itasca county. The market is always good, and prices range from $10 to $15 a ton. The native grasses, blue joint and red top, grow in profusion along the river bottoms, in many places four to six feet tall, and furnisih a supply which is invaluable to the settler just starting in to clear up a farm. These grasses make excellent feed, and stock can be brought through the winter in very fair condition when fed little else. But far more important in its bearing upon the future prosperity of the farming interests of the county is the fact that red clover flourishes in this soil and climate. With a proper use of red clover the fertility of any soil can be maintained indefinitely. Clover adds nitrogen to the soil; its roots add decaying vegetable matter, which becomes humus and retains soil moisture. Plowing under the second crop will immensely increase these advantages, and will make fertile the poorest soils. There has never been a failure to secure a catch of clover in Itasca county, and occasionally the first season's grown has been so heavy as to necessitate pasturing in the fall. One is not conined to grasses for winter forage. Corn fodder grows luxuriantly and can be ripened anywhere in Itasca county. Stock Raising This region seems especially adapted to the raising of stock, and undoubtedly meets all the requirements of a first-class stock and dairy district. Cattle do exceedingly well on the native grasses, which are of the most nutritious kind, and the dairy products are of the finest flavor, due to the superior quality of the grasses and water. Sheep are a valuable adjunct to a farm, as they can be used extensively in clearing up brush land. Standing Timber. The whole surface of the country, with the possible exception of some swamps was originally timbered. The only grass land found native exists as beaver meadows and hay bottoms along creeks. Of these there are in some places large areas. Pine timber, white, Norway and jack, originally existed in great quantities, but on all lands near to streams or railroads this has now been removed, though there still remains much jack suitable for firewood or dimension lumber. There are many swamps containing valuable cedar, spruce and tamarack. Areas of hardwood of considerable extent exist in some localities, in which yellow birch, basswood and oak reach large and valuable dimensions. Smaller patches of hardwood are scattered through the pine lands, but the most widely distributed tree is teh poplar, which is found on old burns and on soils slightly better than those occupied by the Norway and jack pine. It is safe to say that there is not an equal portion of the United States to-day that can offer as great inducements to the man of moderate or small means as this portion of Minnesota. Especially is this true of the man with small means and a growing family, who desires to obtain valuable land at a low price for farming and stock raising purposes. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/mn/itasca/newspapers/goodhome15gnw.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/mnfiles/ File size: 10.8 Kb