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 UNIVERSITY 
 
 or ILLINOIS 
 
 WWOB RiSTOSIMl SDII^ 
 
 sasarrr?
 
 y '.' tub: ,.--^y 
 
 HANNIBAL AND ST. JOSEPH RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 HAVE RECEIVED BY GRANT FROM CONGRKSS 
 
 OVER 600,000 ACRES 
 
 OF THE CHOICEST 
 
 FMll & WOOD LAIS. 
 
 THE GREATER PORTION OP WHICH IS NOW IN THE MARKET, 
 
 AND TUE REMAINDER WILL BE OFFERED FROM 
 
 TIME TO TIME. 
 
 SALES WILL BE MADE BY ACREEME^'T 
 
 IN LOTS TO SUIT PURCHASERS, 
 
 o.v 
 
 TEX YEARS T13IE AND FIVE PER CENT. INTEREST. 
 
 THESE LANDS ARE SITUATED ON EACH SIDE, AND WITHIN FIFTEEN 
 
 MILES OF THE HANNIBAL AND ST. JOSEPH RAILROAD, 
 
 EXTENDING ENTIRELY ACROSS TUE STATE, IN 
 
 :i>TOi^T£iEi^i>T zsj:issoxji^X- 
 
 HANNIBAL, MO.: 
 HANNIBAL AND ST. JOSKPH RAILROAD OFFICE. 
 
 1859. 
 
 PRESS OF GEO. C. RAND & AVERY, CORNHILL, BOSTON.
 
 1>4^^- 
 
 ^^, CAKOi/Y 
 
 ^ (0" 
 
 UANNIBAL &S^JO!jEPH 
 
 I N 
 
 CNCR ON WOOD BY W MACKWITZ.
 
 A> 
 
 'l^lt^ ' f^-^^.<*-t^<^ y/^t^-^C^ -ii^^ 
 
 THE 
 
 HANNIBAL AND ST. JOSEPH RAILROAD COMPANY 
 
 HAVE RECEIVED BY GRANT FROM CONGRESS 
 
 OVER 600,000 ACRES 
 
 OF THE CUOICEST 
 
 FARll I WOOD LAIS, 
 
 THE GREATER PORTION OF WHICH IS NOW IN THE MARKET, 
 
 AND THE REMAINDER WILL BE OFFERED FROM 
 
 TIME TO TIME. 
 
 SALES WILL BE MADE BY AGREEMENT 
 
 E^ LOTS TO SUIT PURCHASERS, 
 
 OK 
 
 TEN YEARS TDIE AND FIVE PER CENT. INTEREST. 
 
 THESE LANDS ARE SITUATED ON EACH SIDE, AND WITHIN FIFTEEN 
 
 MILES OF THE HANNIBAL AND ST. JOSEPH RAILROAD, 
 
 EXTENDING ENTIRELY ACROSS THE STATE, IN 
 
 Dc<roi^TXiEi^isr is^issoxmr. 
 
 HANNIBAL, MO.: 
 HANNIBAL AND ST. JOSEPH RAILROAD OFFICE. 
 
 1860.
 
 NOTE. 
 
 It has been found impossible to answer the large number 
 of letters that are daily received, in reference to these lands. 
 To such, this Pamphlet will be sent, in reply to the questions 
 asked.
 
 r 
 
 3.
 
 It-'UL, 
 
 
 600,000 ACRES 
 
 OP 
 
 HANNIBAL & ST. JOSEPH 
 
 MILKOAD LANDS, 
 
 IN 
 
 NOTICE TO PURCHASERS. 
 
 The Lands offered for sale by the Hannibal and St. Joseph 
 Railroad Company, were granted by the United States to the 
 State of Missouri, by Act of Congress, approved June 10th, 1852. 
 
 By an additional act, approved August 3d, 1854, it was pro- 
 vided, that the Certificate of the Land Commissioner should 
 vest the title in fee to the lands so certified, so far as embraced 
 within the grant. 
 
 By an act, bearing date September 20th, 1852, the State of 
 Missouri provided, " that all that portion of the lands granted 
 to this State, by the act of Congress," above referred to, " so 
 far as the same are applicable to the construction of a Railroad 
 from the town of Hannibal to the town of St. Joseph, together 
 
 (3) 
 
 59735
 
 4 HANNIBAL AND ST. JOSEPH 
 
 with all the rights and privileges thereto belonging, or in said 
 act granted, shall vest in full and complete title in the Hanni- 
 bal and St. Joseph Railroad Company." 
 
 The only conditions remaining to be considered, are con- 
 tained in the fifth section of the act of Congress, making the 
 grant, and are as follows : 
 
 " That the Lands hereby granted to said .State, shall be dis- 
 posed of by said State, only in manner following, that is to 
 say : — That a quantity of land, not exceeding one hundred 
 and twenty sections on each road, and included within a con- 
 tinuous length of twenty miles of said road, may be sold ; and 
 when the Governor of said State shall certify to the Secretary 
 of the Interior, that said twenty miles of said road is com- 
 pleted, then another like quantity of land, hereby granted, may 
 be sold, and so from time to time, until said road is com- 
 pleted ; and if said road be not completed within ten years, 
 no further sale shall be made, and the land unsold shall revert 
 to the United States." 
 
 The entire road being now completed and opened for use, 
 the principal portion of these lands are offered for sale, and 
 the remainder will be put in market from time to time, as the 
 necessary examination and appraisal can be made. 
 
 By permission of the State, granted in the act of September 
 20th, 1852, all of these lands have been mortgaged to Trus- 
 tees, to secure the payment of the Bonds of the Company, to 
 the amount of $5,000,000. 
 
 As among the conditions of this mortgage, it is provided, 
 that the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad Company, " shall 
 be, at all times, at liberty to contract for the sale of any of 
 the divisions or parcels of said land, and upon the payment 
 of such purchase money to said parties of the second part, 
 (the Trustees,) said parties of the second part, or any two of 
 them, shall, by proper deeds or instruments by them executed, 
 join in a release and conveyance of such parcel or parcels of 
 land, to the purchasers thereof." f 
 
 Such conveyance by the Trustees and the Company jointly, 
 would constitute a perfect and indefeasible title to the land so 
 conveyed.
 
 RAILROAD LANDS. P 
 
 "WTien payment is made in full, the purchaser at onco obtains 
 hi3 title. If the sale is on credit, the title is not given until 
 final payment is made, but the purchaser receives a contract, 
 stipulating that such title will be given on full payment and 
 compliance with the conditions specified therein. 
 
 Payment for lands purchased, can bo made in the Land 
 Bonds of the Company, or in cash ; and, if in the latter, it is 
 applied to the purchase of sucVBonds, and the particular tract 
 is at once exempt from liability, and a perfect title given — 
 being, in fact, the first conveyance under the authority of the 
 General Government. 
 
 From this it appears, that while the Bondholders are se- 
 oured, the rights of purchasers are also amply protected. 
 
 JOSIAH HUNT, 
 Land Commissioner H. & St. Jo. R. R.
 
 HANNIBAL AND ST. JOSEPH 
 
 . DESCHIPTION OF ROAD 
 AND LOCATIOJST OF LAND 
 
 The Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad commences at Han- 
 nibal, on the Mississippi River, and follows a general course, 
 nearly West, across the northern part of the State of Missouri, 
 to St. Joseph, on the Missouri River. Its entire length is 
 two hundred and six miles. 
 
 The Lands granted to the Company are contained in alternate 
 sections of one mile square, within a breadth of fifteen miles on 
 each side of the road. Through some of them the road passes, 
 and other portions vary in distance from one to fifteen miles. 
 
 At the time the grant was made by Congress, all the re- 
 maining Government Lands were fixed at a minimum price of 
 $2.50 per acre. These were rapidly sold, and are now owned 
 by individuals. On most of them considerable progress has 
 been made in settlement and cultivation. 
 
 Any person now settling on the lands of the Company, will 
 find it widely different from a new country, as at no point will 
 neighbors be very far distant ; while there are many villages and 
 cities, ranging from a few hundred to three thousand inhabitants, 
 all of which are rapidly increasing in size and importance. 
 
 Wherever depots are established on the road, a village at once 
 springs up, with shops, stores, mills, etc., affording great con- 
 venience to the surrounding country. 
 
 The road was opened for use throughout its entire length, in 
 February, 1859, and is now in successful operation, doing a 
 large and rapidly increasing business, both in freight and 
 passengers.
 
 RAILROAD LANDS. 7 
 
 CONNECTING ROADS. 
 
 Railroads are now in progress from Palmyra to Quincy, 
 twelve miles, and from Hannibal to Naples, forty miles. The 
 first will afford direct Railroad communication with Chicago, 
 and the second connecting at Naples, with the Great Western 
 Road of Illinois, will furnish another direct communication 
 with the East, and all States bordering on the Ohio River. 
 
 Both of these roads, it is expected, will be completed in 
 1859. The North Missouri Railroad is now open to Hudson, 
 where it connects with the 11. and St. Jo. Railroad, about 
 seventy miles west of Hannibal, furnishing a railroad connec- 
 tion with St. Louis, which Avill be of great advantage during 
 the short time navigation is suspended in the winter. 
 
 From St. Joseph, roads are projected, running north and 
 south, and in various directions into Kansas. Some of these 
 have liberal grants to aid in their construction, and no doubt 
 will soon be built. 
 
 Daily lines of passenger steamboats run from St. Joseph, in 
 connection with the Railroad, to Leavenworth and Kansas City 
 on the south, and to Omaha and Council Bluff on the north. 
 
 PRICES AND TERMS OF PAYMENT. 
 
 The price will vary, according to quality of soil and location. 
 Excellent Farming Lands will be sold, at prices ranging from 
 $5 to §20 per acre, and contracts for deeds may be made, 
 providing, that the purchase money shall be paid in nine annual 
 installments; the first, in two years from the date of the con- 
 tract. Five per cent, interest will be charged, payable yearly, 
 in advance, the first payment of interest being made, on the 
 day of the purchase, thus extendtnq the time of payment, 
 
 OVER A PERIOD OF TEN YEARS, WITH ONLY YTVE PER CENT. 
 INTEREST. 
 
 That every one may fully understand the terms proposed, 
 vre give the statement of account, with the purchaser of eighty
 
 8 HANNIBAL AND ST. JOSEPH 
 
 acres of land, on the Ist of August, 1859, at ten dollars per 
 acre, amounting to $800 : 
 
 Aug. 1, 1859 — Paid one year's interest on §800 
 at 5 per cent., and received con- 
 tract for deed, §40 00 
 
 "' 1, 1860 — Paid one year's interest as above, 40 00 
 
 " 1, 1861 — Paid first installment of purchase 
 
 money, being one-ninth of §800, §88 89 
 " 1, " — Paid one year's interest on bal- 
 ance due, §711 11, as above, . 35 55-124 44 
 « 1, 1862— Paid second installment, . . . 88 89 
 « 1, « —Paid one year's int. on §622 22 31 11-120 00 
 " 1, 1863— Paid third installment, . . . 88 89 
 « 1^ " —Paid one year's int. on §533 33 26 66-115 55 
 " 1, 1864— Paid fourth installment, . . . 88 89 
 « 1^ « —Paid one year's int. on §444 44 22 22-111 11 
 " 1, 1865— Paid fifth installment, . . . 88 89 
 « 1^ « —Paid one year's int. on §355 55 17 78-106 67 
 « 1, 1866— Paid sixth installment, . . . 88 89 
 « 1, « —Paid one year's int. on §266 66 13 33-102 22 
 « 1, 1867— Paid seventh installment, . . . 88 89 
 « 1^ « —Paid one year's int. on §177 77 8 89—97 78 
 " 1, 1868— Paid eighth installment, . . . 88 89 
 « 1, « —Paid one year's int. on §88 89 4 45—93 34 
 " 1, 1869 — Paid ninth installment, and re- 
 ceived deed, 88 89 
 
 §1040 00 
 
 The Company desire to encourage settlement upon their 
 lands, of those who -ffill cultivate the soil and make themselves 
 homes, and will holdout no inducements to the mere speculator. 
 To secure this result the purchasers on long credit, will be 
 required to fence and cultivate, each year, for the first three 
 years, not less than one-tenth of the land purchased. Where 
 purchasers prefer to make payments in cash, or one-third in
 
 BAILROAD LA1«DS. 9 
 
 cash and the balance in two equal annual payments, with 
 interest, at ten per cent., a discount will be made of twenty 
 per cent., on the price for the long time, with low interest. 
 
 The Land Bonds of the Company will be taken in payment, 
 and considered as cash. 
 
 This will place it in the power of persons of the most 
 moderate means, to obtain for themselves a home, while those 
 ■who have money, will find great advantage in investing it in 
 improvements and stock. 
 
 Farmers here, well qualified to judge, express the opinion 
 that the liberal terms of payment proposed, aff'ord an advan- 
 tage to purchasers equal to fifty per cent., added to the price 
 of lands sold for cash. 
 
 Every judicious person seeking a home at the "West, will 
 compare the different localities, as to their adaptation to differ- 
 ent crops, whether the soil and subsoil are such as to render 
 them permanently productive, or otherwise — as to healthfulness 
 of climate, and especially their position with regard to a 
 market and the expense of transportation. 
 
 Local and temporary causes, or speculative feeling, may 
 often in a new country, produce an unnatural activity for a 
 time, but they can not be relied upon for permanent advance- 
 ment and prosperity. 
 
 ADVANTAGES OF POSITION. 
 
 For natural advantages, this region of country stands un- 
 equaled. Its latitude is the same as the southern portion of 
 Pennsylvania, giving it a climate at the same time removed 
 from the severe cold and long winters of the North, and from 
 the hot and relaxing influences of the South. It is widely 
 distant both from the ocean and those immense bodies of fresh 
 water, forming the great lakea of the interior. As a result, 
 the air is dryer, the storms of rain are short, and it is exempt 
 from those long and drizzly seasons of wet weather, so annoy- 
 ing to the farmer, in many parts of the country, while there ia 
 an abundance of rain for useful purposes.
 
 10 HANNIBAL AND ST. JOSEPH. 
 
 This dryness of the atmosphere and mildness of climate 
 render it peculiarly adapted to be the residence of those pre- 
 disposed to pulmonary diseases, many of whom, rapidly recorer 
 under its influence, and become hale and robust. 
 
 IT IS EXTREMELY WELL WATERED. 
 
 A glance at the maps, shows it intersected by numerous 
 streams, many of which afford water power. There are fre- 
 quent springs, and where additional supplies are wanted for 
 stock, the subsoil is of such a character, that pools can be 
 easily formed which will afford an abundant supply for the 
 entire year. Generally good wells can be obtained at from 
 ten to thirty feet. 
 
 Persons locating in elevated places have only to dig in the 
 earth to form a cistern, which, in most cases, even without a 
 lining of cement, will hold an abundance of water for family 
 use of the best character. 
 
 ROLLING AND HEALTHY. 
 
 Unlike Illinois, and much of Iowa and Wisconsin, the face 
 of the country is quite rolling. This allows the surplus water 
 to drain off, which would otherwise stagnate and induce dis- 
 ease ; and, consequently, it is more healthy than Indiana and 
 Illinois, and other places where the surface is generally level. 
 
 IT IS WELL WOODED. 
 
 Probably there is no place where fuel can not be had within 
 a distance of from four to five miles, and, generally, an abund- 
 ant supply may be found near at hand, not only for fuel but 
 for fencing, which greatly diminishes the cost of improving a 
 ^arm, and really adds several dollars per acre to its value.
 
 RAILROAD LANDS. 11 
 
 SHELTER FROM THE PRAIRIE WIND. 
 
 There is another great advantage growing out of the uneven 
 surface of the country, in connection with the supply of timhcr. 
 They afford protection from the piercing vrinds of winter, 
 ■wliich, sweeping over the level prairies of the* west, where not 
 a hill or a tree affords a shelter, render life there sometimes 
 almost insupportable ; and many who have made such locations 
 without consideration, are now seeking to exchange them for 
 those more sheltered. 
 
 Any one who has attempted to cross any lake or large pond 
 in a boisterous winter day, can form some idea of the diffi- 
 culties referred to, especially when he considers that not only 
 the house and its inmates are thus exposed, but generally the 
 domestic animals. Barns in the newer portions of the West 
 are rarely found, especially where the unbroken prairie fur- 
 nishes no timber for their construction. 
 
 CENTRAL POSITION. 
 
 It lies in the very heart of the United States, and of the 
 Continent, and yet is embraced by two of the most noble 
 Rivers of the earth ; and by means of them and their tribu- 
 taries, connects with an inland navigation of unequaled extent. 
 
 The Mississippi River, styled "The Father of Waters," is 
 seldom long obstructed with ice, and affords an outlet to the 
 Gulf, and communication with the Atlantic Ports, and the 
 commerce of the world. 
 
 The opening of the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad, in 
 connection with the natural advantages referred to, places this 
 region in a position, unefjualed by any other portion of the 
 country.
 
 12 HANNIBAL AND ST. JOSEPH 
 
 SOIL. 
 
 Bottom Land. — There is considerable variety in the soil. 
 First, there are the bottom lands bordering the numerous 
 streams. In other parts of the country, these would be called 
 " Intervals " or " meadows." They are nearly level, and some 
 of them several miles in width. The soil is a rich alluvial 
 deposit, of great depth, and inexhaustible fertility, partially 
 covered with wood. Though at present, these lands are not so 
 much regarded, yet at no distant day, they will be considered 
 among the most valuable in the country, and will produce the 
 largest crops of hemp. 
 
 Upland. — The upland depends very much for its character, 
 upon the subsoil. The vegetable mold, very rich and dark, 
 varies in depth from one to three feet, and is often deeper. A 
 large part of the subsoil is of a stiff, hard character, almost 
 impervious to water, but compounded of such fertile elements, 
 that when exposed to the action of the air, it becomes pulver- 
 ized and produces almost any .crop abundantly. On such 
 soils deep plowing only is required to develop its fertility to 
 any extent. Soil like this, will produce the most abundant 
 crops without diminution, as is found by experience, while 
 those based on loose material, as sand or gravel, will soon 
 show a diminished yield, unless kept in condition by manure. 
 
 There are other soils of similar character as to the vegetable 
 mold, where the subsoil is more porous. These are best 
 adapted to the culture of Hemp, and produce the best Tobacco. 
 
 Occasionally the surface is too much broken for general cul- 
 tivation, but this affords excellent pasture, and will be valuable 
 for raising stock. It is also believed that Grapes will be cul- 
 tivated on the slopes to great advantage, as they now are on 
 similar land in other parts of the State.
 
 RAILROAD LANDS. 18 
 
 PRODUCTIONS. 
 
 Corn is a leading article of production. Very little labor 
 is bestowed upon its cultivation, and the average yield is not 
 less than fifty bushels per acre, in ordinary seasons ; while 
 those who give more attention to the conditions required for a 
 good crop, readily obtain from seventy-five to one hundred and 
 twenty-five bushels per acre. The growth is very luxuriant, 
 and it is not uncommon to see fields where the stalks average 
 fifteen feet in hight. 
 
 Wheat. — It is most admirably adapted to the culture of 
 wheat, which succeeds best on the hill slopes and poorer soils, 
 as it runs too much to straw, and lodges on the richest land, 
 until cropped for a few years in corn or tobacco. 
 
 Owing to peculiarities of soil and climate, in nearly all that 
 region, finding a market at Chicago, is cultivated the Spring 
 Wheat. Here, Winter Wheat is raised almost exclusively, and 
 the quality is nowhere surpassed. The advantages from this 
 are important. In sowing and harvesting, it interferes less 
 with other crops. It comes into market in time to secure the 
 highest prices usually paid for new wheat. The yield per 
 acre is from three to five bushels more than Spring Wheat, 
 while the market price is greater on the different varieties, 
 from ten to over forty cents per bushel, and may be considered 
 as averaging fully twent3'-five cents advance. 
 
 Other Grains, Potatoes, etc. — For the culture of Oats, 
 Rye, Barley, and other crops, usually raised in the more 
 Northern States, this region is well adapted, and large returns 
 are realized. 
 
 The common, and also sweet potatoes, are produced abund- 
 antly. Flax does remarkably well, and two tons of hay to the 
 acre, is but an ordinary crop. 
 
 Hemp. — Hemp is less exhausting to the soil than almost any 
 other crop, and may be cultivated indefinitely without manure.
 
 14 HANNIBAL AND ST. JOSEPH 
 
 Instances can easily be cited, where it has been grown upon 
 the same land for fifteen or twenty years, with undiminished 
 success. The profits of this crop after^ paying all expense of 
 cultivation, average §20 to §25 per acre, and are often twice 
 that amount. 
 
 Good hemp lands near the rivers are now held at from §50 
 to §100 per acre by the farmers ; and the opening of the Rail- 
 road will soon make much of the similar land along the line 
 of equal value. 
 
 Diminished cost of transportation, and the introduction of 
 machinery to perform the operation of breaking, will add 
 largely to the profits heretofore realized from this crop. 
 
 Tobacco. — This crop is already extensively cultivated, and 
 with great success. The lands of Macon county are considered 
 equal to the best in Kentucky and Virginia for its production. 
 Many other localities along the line of road are not inferior 
 to this. 
 
 Less care has been bestowed upon this crop than its import- 
 ance deserves, and, consequently, the article sent to market 
 is not usually of the best quality; still the ordinary net pro- 
 fits have been from §25 to §30 per acre. 
 
 To give an idea of the profits sometimes realized, we will 
 state that the ordinary yield is 1,000 pounds per acre, but 
 often reaches 1,600 and 2,000 pounds, and even 2,100 pounds 
 is obtained. 
 
 The crop of 1856 sold in Hannibal, at an average of ten 
 cents per pound, although an average price for ten years, has 
 been nearer six cents. This would make the production of an 
 acre sometimes exceed §200. 
 
 It may be cultivated by men of small means, as no outlay 
 of capital is required, and much of the labor can be done by 
 children. One man will cultivate five acres in tobacco besides 
 sufficient of other crops to support his family.
 
 RAILROAD LANDS. 
 
 15 
 
 This crop is more exhausting to the soil, but is followed well 
 by wheat. The manure of the farm should be saved and 
 applied to the tobacco field. This, with "rotation," keeps the 
 land in good condition. 
 
 It always sells for cash, and the traders say " Tobacco 
 growers are good paymasters." 
 
 STOCK RAISING. 
 
 Probably no part of the country affords equal advantages 
 for the rearing of stock. 
 
 There arc still extensive ranges of the richest pasture, with 
 abundance of water and wood to shelter from heat and storms. 
 Tlie bottoms furnish feed both earlier and later than the up- 
 lands, and the short mild winters require but little provision 
 for their support. The difference between Missouri and other 
 States is very material, as shown by the census returns of 1850. 
 If we consider eight sheep as equal to one cow, in the hay 
 consumed, and add the returns of horses, mules, oxen, cows, 
 and other cattle, we find the following result : 
 
 STATES. 
 
 TONS OF n\T. 
 
 KO. OF ANIMALS. 
 
 KG. OF LBS. TO 
 
 Missouri, 
 
 116,925 
 
 1,153,810' 
 
 202 
 
 Iowa, 
 
 89,025 
 
 194,656 
 
 915 
 
 Illinois, 
 
 601,952 
 
 1,302,017 
 
 925 
 
 Michigan, 
 
 404,93-4 
 
 426,377 
 
 1,899 
 
 Wisconsin, 
 
 275,662 
 
 229,380 
 
 2,404 
 
 Maine, 
 
 755,889 
 
 441,562 
 
 3,424 
 
 Massachusetts, 
 
 651,807 
 
 325,825 
 
 4,001 
 
 This shows conclusively the superiority of Missouri for 
 stock growing. 
 
 Farmers here are turning their attention to it with great 
 success, and consider it the most profitable branch of their 
 business. 
 
 Intelligent gentlemen from the older States are already 
 purchasing large tracts of land and making liberal outlays of 
 money to engage in this pursuit.
 
 16 HANNIBAL AND ST. JOSEPH 
 
 J 
 
 ) SWINE. 
 
 The growth of swine is greatly promoted by the mast of the 
 forest; and the abundant crops of corn make the fattening 
 process comparatively cheap. Both cattle and swine are exten- 
 sively raised at present, and with large profits. 
 
 FRUIT. 
 
 Every one seeking to make a home will wish to supply him- 
 self with fruit. Here, all those of temperate climates perfectly 
 luxuriate. The growth of apples, both for quantity and quality, 
 is truly marvelous ; some are found weighing two pounds or 
 more, and without a blemish. Plums grow wild, and are easily 
 cultivated. Peaches and melons can not be surpassed. Grapes 
 ^re indigenous, and, in some sections, are cultivated for the 
 manufacture of wine, and found very profitable. They are 
 easily raised by open culture. 
 
 The growth of fruit not only affords many cheap luxuries, but 
 may also be made, a source of very considerable profit. 
 
 LUMBER AND BUILDING MATERIALS. 
 
 There is no white pine in Missouri, but a supply of hard 
 wood and various kinds of soft — as Cottonwood, Sycamore, 
 Lind, etc. — can be had at convenient points, and generally at 
 moderate prices. At Hannibal, Pine lumber is brought from 
 the upper Mississippi, and sold at reasonable rates. Here, also, 
 fire mills for dressing lumber ; and material can be provided for 
 the erection of buildings, requiring only to be put together ; or 
 houses can be erected by contract, of any desired style. 
 
 Materials for brick are generally abundant, and the stone and 
 fuel are always at hand for burning lime.
 
 RAILROAD LANDS. 17 
 
 READY MADE COTTAGES. 
 
 Arrangements have been made uitli responsible parties, to 
 furnish, delivered on the cars at Hannibal, readymade cottages 
 of a variety of styles, at a cost varying from §125 to $300, 
 accordin^T to the size and style of finish ; and so complete in 
 every respect, as to require but four or five days after their 
 delivery upon the ground, to be ready for the occupancy of a 
 family. 
 
 FENCING. 
 
 Fencing must usually be done to protect against swine, and 
 rails will generally be used. If the purchaser secures a portion 
 of timber land, he has only to add his labor, and a substantial 
 fence can be built at a cost of from fifty cents to one dollar 
 per rod. 
 
 Of course the same facilities exist here as elsewhere for 
 hedging, but the success of this is quite doubtful. 
 
 The cost of a substantial post and board fence in any prairie 
 country at the West is from $1.50 to $2.00 per rod. Most of 
 this is for materials, and must be paid for in cash at the outset, 
 which is a great drawback upon the settler with limited means, 
 and when built it is neither as good or durable as a fence of 
 rails. This is one great advantage to be realized from the 
 supply of timber over Illinois and Iowa, a;id the territory west 
 of the Missouri Kiver, where lumber is generally very scarce. 
 
 COAL. 
 
 Coal abounds on many parts of lOf line of road, and, prob- 
 ably, underlies the whole country. 
 
 In the report of the Geological Survey of the State, by 
 Prof. Swallow, it is estimated that within fifteen miles of the 
 Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad, and within the counties of 
 Macon, Linn, Livingston and Chariton alone, there is not Icsi 
 than 1,500 square miles of coal fields, containing workable coal, 
 after allowing one-half for waste, equal to 9,000,000 tuna. ! 
 
 Other counties will also furnish large quantities. 
 
 Undcf the influence of the road, mining is just being com-
 
 18 HANNIBAL AND ST. JOSEPH 
 
 menced; and, though the operations are still very imperfect, 
 coal is obtained at prices making it cheaper fuel than the 
 mere preparation of wood. 
 
 There can be no doubt that mining will furnish employ- 
 ment for a large population. 
 
 MANUFACTURES. 
 
 At the Iron Mountain, in Missouri, it is estimated that the 
 cost of producing the pig-iron is less than in any other part 
 of the country. So rich, in fact, is the ore, that it may be 
 made into " blooms," with no intermediate process. 
 
 By .the recent opening of the Iron Mountain Railroad, for 
 three dollars per tun, iron is noAV taken from the mines to 
 St. Louis, where are mills for rolling, and the article is ex- 
 tensively manufactured. 
 
 The cheapness of iron, the supply of lumber, the abundance 
 of coal, and its position with reference to the yet undeveloped 
 portions of our country, indicate Missouri as a most favorable 
 location for extensive manufactures ; and very considerable 
 progress has already been made in that direction. 
 
 TOWN LOTS. 
 
 Stations have been established along the line of the road, 
 at various points, from five to ten miles apart, around which 
 flourishing villages are springing up, in most of which the 
 Railroad Company have an interest, where eligible locations 
 can be obtained, on favorable terms, by the mechanic, manu- 
 facturer, or trader. 
 
 The growth of some of these has been remarkably rapid. 
 Where, two years since, nothing was to be seen but the un- 
 broken prairie, villages of from 300 to 800 inhabitants now 
 meet the eye ; churches have been built ; schools established ; 
 stores and mechanics' shops are in successful operation ; and 
 everything indicates an activity and prosperity which can only 
 be the result of industry and enterprise, rightly directed in 
 developing the wealth of a country unsurpassed by any in the 
 salubrity of its climate, and the fertility of its soil.
 
 RAILROAD LANDS. 10* 
 
 EDUCATION. 
 
 Liberal provisions have been made by Missouri for popular 
 instruction, affording free schools to all her children, Viith only 
 a light tax, and in many cases none at all. 
 
 The principal obstacle in the practical working of her sys- 
 tem, is the diflSculty of obtaining good instructors, and perhaps 
 there is no State where there is greater demand, or where they 
 could secure higher compensation. 
 
 To show more fully the provisions made for education, we 
 insert a communication from the lion. William Carson, of 
 Palmyra, a Senator, and one who has ever felt a deep interest 
 in this subject. He says: 
 
 " It should be a subject of deep concern to every one set- 
 tling in a country, to know the provisions for educational 
 purposes, and the disposition of the government and people 
 to educate the rising generation. 
 
 " Missouri has not been unmindful of this great and inter- 
 esting subject. The wise and good men who formed her 
 Constitution, incorporated in her fundamental law this pro- 
 vision, (Art. vi, Sec. 1,) ' That schools and the means of 
 
 EDUCATION SHALL FOREVER BE ENCOURAGED IN THIS StATE.' 
 
 " In accordance with this provision, and to carry out its 
 beneficent purpose, the Legislature, in 1838-9, adopted a 
 common school system, taking that of New York as a model, 
 and modifying it to suit the different circumstances existing 
 here. This system has been in successful operation since. 
 
 " To support these schools, the State has a fund amounting 
 to near seven hundred thousand dollars, denominated the 
 State School Fund ; to this is to be added the money derived 
 from the sale of the 16th section in each township, called the 
 Township School Fund ; and all fines and forfeitures, called 
 the County School Fund. We have not tlie means of ascer- 
 taining the precise amount of the Township and County 
 School Funds in the State, which vary in different counties, 
 according to the price at which the sixteenth sections were 
 sold ; but we have endeavored to approximate as nearly as 
 possible, from the data we have.
 
 20 HANNIBAL AND ST. JOSEPH 
 
 " In the county of Marion (in which Hannibal is situated), 
 the fund amounts to $36,072. There are in the State one 
 hundred and six organized counties, and, taking Marion as 
 an average, the aggregate amount of Township and County 
 School Funds in the State is $3,823,632. Add to this the 
 State School Fund, $672,000, and it shows the total School 
 Fund, from these sources, to be $4,495,632. 
 
 " Or it may be arrived at in this way : It will be seen by 
 inspecting Colton's Map for 1854, that there are in the State 
 1900 sixteenth sections, which, multiplied by 640, the number 
 of acres in a section, gives 1,216,000 acres, which, estimated 
 at the low price of four dollars per acre, would make the sum 
 of $4,864,000, which, added to the State Fund, would make 
 the total $5,536,000, or about one million more than to take 
 the county of Marion as an average, as above. We think, 
 then, that we may safely set down the State, County and 
 Township Fund at four and one-half millions. To these is 
 still to be added the ' Swamp Land Fund,' which will cer- 
 tainly amount to $1,000,000, and we have the total aggregate, 
 in round numbers, of five and one-half millions, sacredly de- 
 voted to the cause of common school education, the interest 
 of which only is annually distributed ; but besides this, twenty- 
 five per cent, of the annually accruing revenue, amounting 
 to about $150,000, is distributed for the same praiseworthy 
 object. In several of the counties along the line of the road, 
 the ' Swamp Land Fund ' will be very large, and, taken alto- 
 gether, in many counties, the income will be quite sufiicient 
 to keep up ' Free Schools ' the whole year, thus afi'ording 
 gratuitous instruction to every child. In every county, Free 
 Schools are now kept part of the year. In addition to the 
 foregoing, there are nine regularly chartered Colleges in the 
 State, and a large number of ' High Schools,' (over forty, it 
 is believed,) for both males and females ; and, in addition to 
 all these, the State has a University, with an endowment 
 fund of one hundred thousand dollars, and a spacious and 
 beautiful edifice, sujfficient to accommodate from four to six 
 hundred students. It is in successful operation, having an
 
 RAILROAD LANDS. 21 
 
 able faculty, consisting of a president and seven profes- 
 sors. 
 
 " This is located at Columbia, in Boone county, near the 
 center of the State, and within fifty miles of the Hannibal 
 and St. Joseph Railroad. 
 
 "While speaking of the institutions of learning in Missouri, 
 it may not be considered invidious if we refer more particu- 
 larly and definitely to some of them situated in the countries 
 through which the road passes. St. Paul's (Episcopal) College 
 is situated at Palmyra, fourteen miles from Hannibal, imme- 
 diately on the line of the road, and is, therefore, easily 
 accessible, from almost every direction, by the railroad or 
 by the river. The College has beautiful grounds and build- 
 ings, affording ample accommodations for a large number of 
 students, and has obtained a very high reputation for thorough- 
 ness in instruction and discipline. There is also, at Palmyra, 
 the Presbyterian Female Institute, a Seminary of high char- 
 acter; and the Baptists have a Male and Female Seminary, 
 which has been in successful operation for several years, and 
 was chartered by the last Legislature as a College. For 
 beauty and healthfulness of location, and moral and refined 
 society, Palmyra is perhaps not surpassed by any other town 
 in the State. 
 
 "McGee College (male and female), under the patronage 
 of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, is situated near the 
 line of the road, in Macon county, and has attained consider- 
 able reputation as a literary institute. It has a beautiful and 
 healthy location in the country, and has buildings to accom- 
 modate a large number of students. 
 
 " From this it will be seen that Missouri has educational 
 resources and facilities equal to the most favored of the new 
 States, and far in advance of some of the older States. 
 
 "Emigrants may, therefore, be assured, from the foregoing 
 facts, that in settling in Missouri, they make no sacrific'e for 
 w^nt of the means and facilities for educating their children. 
 These, to a great extent, are already provided, and in suc- 
 cessful operation."
 
 22 HANNIBAL AND ST, JOSEPH 
 
 MARKETS. 
 
 The location of this region gives it great advantages in 
 easy and cheap communication "with all the markets, not only 
 of this country, but of the world. Large quantities of fruit, 
 sweet potatoes, and tobacco will be sent to those States further 
 north, where these crops cither can not be raised, or to but 
 little advantage. It borders upon the territories, Avhere pro- 
 duction is still below the demand for consumption, owing to 
 the immense emigration. Here provisions will naturally be 
 made for trading-parties to Santa Fe — the American Fur 
 Company — the travel across the plains, and the wants of the 
 General Government in sustaining its military posts and 
 operations, which all combine to furnish a most desirable 
 market. Bordering upon the Lower Mississippi and the Gulf, is 
 the immense planting region of our country, which cultivating 
 mainly the leading stnples, makes large drafts upon the more 
 northern States for the means of subsistence. For all this, 
 the region under consideration is most favorably situated. 
 
 Missouri extends to nearly the northern limit of uninter- 
 rupted steam navigation on the Mississippi. The rapids im- 
 mediately above, at all times, obstruct and increase the cost 
 of navigation, and, for a considerable portion of the year, 
 interrupt it entirely. The obstructions from ice are also 
 much less here than above. Boats usually run every month 
 in the year, and some winters without any interruption; while 
 further north the river is closed for months. This naturally 
 makes St. Louis the primary market for those productions 
 designed for the south, or the eastern seaboard, as well as 
 for those who seek a foreign port directly from New Orleans. 
 
 It is well known that Chicago is the largest primary grain 
 market in the country, receiving its supplies not only from 
 Illinois, but from Iowa and Wisconsin. Below will be found 
 tables showing the prices of loading articles of produce in 
 each month for the year 1857, both in Chicago and St. Louis. 
 These have been carefully compiled from the daily Commercial 
 Letters and Reports of Board of Trade, and are believed to 
 be reliable. Had we been able to obtain the data, theSe 
 tables would have embraced the report of other years, but 
 this would not probably have altered the comparative results.
 
 RAILBOAD LANDS. 
 
 23 
 
 Monthly Statejnent of the amount of Wheat received in 
 St. Louis in 1857, irith the Average Price of different 
 varieties. 
 
 MONTHS. 
 
 NO. or 
 
 BUSHELS. 
 
 AV. PRICK 
 
 Sl'RINO 
 
 AV. PKICK 
 FALL KKl). 
 
 January 18,414 100 @ 105 107 
 
 Februarv 223,(>r)2 100 
 
 Munh.." I 315,041 109 
 
 April i 342.5S7 102 
 
 .^f:lv \ 875,0081120 
 
 Jun. I 372,44h!109 
 
 AV. I'ltirK 
 WlllTK. 
 
 July 
 
 August 
 
 Septembor. 
 October. . . . 
 November . 
 December. . 
 
 Total 2.SS3.548 
 
 111.372 
 243.003 
 242,267 
 130,555 
 225,846 
 274.285 
 
 101 
 97 
 73 
 61 
 76 
 61 
 
 " 108 109 
 " 115ill7 
 " 113|l26 
 " 1341148 
 " 124'l39 
 " 119 127 
 
 108 
 86 
 73 
 84 
 79 
 
 107 
 92 
 70 
 86 
 
 85 
 
 ©118 115 
 
 " IIG'115 
 
 " 125il27 
 
 " 131 146 
 
 " 15G,1»;5 
 
 " 149} 156 
 
 " 142.145 
 
 " 115 124 
 
 " 104|118 
 
 " 98| 90 
 
 " 104:111 
 
 " IO7I104 
 
 @120 
 " 130 
 " 136 
 " 150 
 " 180 
 " 1C3 
 " 151 
 " 135 
 " 128 
 " 104 
 " 117 
 " 117 
 
 Monthly Statanent of the amount of Wheat received in 
 Chicago in 1857, icith the Average Price of different 
 varieties. 
 
 MONTHS. 
 
 January. . . . 
 February. . 
 
 March 
 
 April 
 
 May 
 
 June 
 
 July 
 
 August .... 
 iSeptember. , 
 
 October 
 
 November. . 
 December.. , 
 
 Total 
 
 NO. OF 
 BUSHELS. 
 
 AV. PRICE 
 SPRING. 
 
 114,636 
 
 171,382 
 
 355,701 
 
 141.347j 90 
 
 317,717 117 
 
 682,918122 
 
 397.046' 119 
 
 894.227,108 
 
 2,806.226 78 
 
 2,462.(»25' 67 
 
 2,510,318 59 
 
 168.741 54 
 
 1 1.002.2841 
 
 @ 
 
 AV. PRICE 
 FALL RED. 
 
 89 101 
 
 89|101 
 88 103 
 91 103 
 
 128 
 135 
 
 118 
 
 123 
 
 121 
 
 109121 
 SOJ 99 
 701 67 
 62 62 
 57 55 
 
 @ 104 
 " 104 
 " 105 
 " 107 
 " 132 
 " 135 
 " 135 
 " 122 
 " 101 
 " 80 
 " 72 
 ' 75 
 
 AV. PRICK 
 WHITE. 
 
 110 @115 
 
 113 
 118 
 
 125 
 145 
 150 
 
 139 
 111 
 
 117 
 122 
 129 
 148 
 150 
 150 
 141 
 112 
 
 NONE 
 
 IN 
 
 MARKET.
 
 HANNIBAL AND ST. JOSEPH 
 
 Table of Monthly Prices of Corn and Oats at Chicago and 
 St. Louis, icith the quantity received for 1857. 
 
 MONTHS. 
 
 January. . . 
 February . 
 March .... 
 
 April 
 
 May 
 
 June 
 
 July 
 
 August. . . 
 September, 
 October.. . 
 Kovember. 
 December . 
 
 IX CHICAGO. 
 
 COKX. 
 
 39 @ 
 38^ " 
 34 " 
 46 " 
 65-i " 
 65| " 
 66 " 
 68 " 
 54 "' 
 48 " 
 44 " 
 43^ " 
 
 40| 
 40 ' 
 
 38f! 
 
 461' 
 
 661 
 
 64| 
 
 GO 
 
 68*' 
 
 55^1 
 
 49 I 
 
 46 I 
 
 431 
 
 OATS. 
 
 35* 
 
 37j 
 
 37f 
 
 44 
 
 58* 
 
 57|- 
 
 55 
 
 46* 
 
 26*^ 
 
 26 
 
 24 
 
 9?a 
 
 @35 
 " 38 
 " 38^ 
 " 45 
 " 60 
 " 58* 
 " 54" 
 " 48 
 " 27^ 
 " 26^ 
 <' 24* 
 '' 24" 
 
 Total rec'ts in bush. 6,667.324 I 474.290 2.485.786 845.295 
 
 IX ST. LOUIS. 
 
 COKN. 
 
 57i 
 o4 
 52 
 55 
 
 68 
 70* 
 
 57 
 54 
 44* 
 37" 
 
 @62* 
 " 57 
 " 59 
 " 57 
 " 84 
 " 851 
 " 77* 
 " 75" 
 " Q(^l 
 " 65" 
 " 55 
 " 42* 
 
 OATS. 
 
 NONE. 
 
 52 @ 56J 
 55 " 56 
 
 58 
 68 
 67 
 64 
 43 
 33 
 35 
 33 
 
 64 
 76 
 70 
 68 
 53 
 38 
 42 
 38 
 31 
 
 Table showing the Average Price of Tobacco and Hemp at 
 St. Louis, in each month, for the year 1857. 
 
 MONTHS. 
 
 January.. , 
 Febriiar}' , 
 March .... 
 April . . . . , 
 
 May 
 
 June 
 
 July 
 
 August . . , 
 September 
 October . . , 
 November. 
 December 
 
 HEMP PER TON. 
 
 8160. 
 
 156, 
 
 120, 
 
 119, 
 
 121, 
 
 120, 
 
 120, 
 
 116, 
 
 93, 
 
 70, 
 
 70, 
 
 75, 
 
 00 @ 
 00 " 
 00 " 
 00 " 
 00 " 
 00 " 
 00 " 
 00 " 
 00 » 
 00 " 
 00 " 
 00 " 
 
 §170.00 
 
 164.00 
 
 136.00 
 
 134.00 
 
 135.00 
 
 128.00 
 
 134.00 
 
 129.00 
 
 110.50 
 
 85.00 
 
 81.00 
 
 88.00 
 
 TOBACCO, SHIP, -f! C^\T. 
 
 NO QUOT 
 
 eio.oo @ 
 
 10.00 " 
 
 12.00 " 
 
 13.00 " 
 
 10.00 " 
 
 8.50 " 
 
 8.00 " 
 
 8.00 " 
 
 NO QUOT. 
 
 DO. 
 
 7.00 @ 
 
 ATIONS. 
 
 $15.00 
 17.00 
 17.25 
 19.00 
 16.00 
 14.00 
 15.50 
 12.00 
 
 ATIONS. 
 9.00
 
 RAILROAD LANDS. K 
 
 From the foregoing it appears that the average of prices in 
 St. Louis, for 1857, was greater than those in Chicago, as fol- 
 lows: 11 cents per bushel on wheat, nearly 11 cents per bushel 
 on corn, and over 11 cents per bushel on oats, and tlic average 
 difference between Spring and Red Fall Wheat was 15 cents, 
 and White Fall 32 cents per bushel, being two cents greater in 
 St. Louis than in Chicago. When we consider that the great 
 majority in Chicago market is Spring, and in St. Louis Fall 
 Wheat, it will be safe to estimate that the farmers who market 
 at the latter place, receive 30 cents per bushel more for their 
 wheat than those who market at Chicago. This will at least 
 hold true of all raised in Missouri, where Spring Wheat is 
 seldom cultivated. 
 
 The reason for this difference in price is obvious. Chicago 
 has but one outlet for its provisions, and that the Eastern sea- 
 board, the water communication with which, is obstructed by 
 ice, for about five months in the year, which naturally brings 
 prices to the lowest points, at that season most convenient for 
 the farmer to market his crops, so that he must either submit 
 to winter rates, or hold until the Spring, and take to market 
 when his farm work is most pressing. 
 
 On the other hand, St. Louis has a large and profitable mar- 
 ket from which Chicago is slmt out ; and as ice seldom obstructs 
 the navigation, can at all times forward produce to the Atlantic 
 Ports, at less than the summer water rates from Ciiicago. 
 
 This fact will be made more apparent by the following state- 
 ment: 
 
 COMPARISON BETWEEN CHICAGO AND ST. LOUIS IN 
 THE COST OF FREIGHT TO NEW YORK. 
 
 Extremely low summer water rates from Chicago to New 
 York are fifty cents per hundred pounds, and in ordinary pro- 
 duce, the weight rather than the bulk controls the price. This 
 would make the cost of transportation on a bushel of wheat, or 
 corn, 30 cents, on a barrel of Flour, ^1.08, and on a barrel of 
 Pork, $1.65. 
 3
 
 t'BB HAXNIBAL AND ST. JOSEPH 
 
 From St. Louis to New York produce is taken by the largest 
 class of River Steamboats to New Orleans, where sailing vessels 
 carry it the remaining distance. In these vessels, bulk controls 
 the expense of carriage, more than weight, so that flour ,or 
 pork goes at less price per tun than grain. 
 
 Moderate prices between these ports are : 
 
 Freight on Grain, per bushel, . . . $0.25 
 " " Flour, " bbl., .... 80 
 
 " " Pork and Beef, per bbl., . . 1.00 
 
 But it must be borne in mind that the river below St. Louis 
 is seldom obstructed by ice, while from Chicago, water naviga- 
 tion is interrupted for nearly five months in the year, when for- 
 warders are obliged to pay Railroad rates of fare. 
 
 These w^ere placed unusually low in the winter of 1857-58, 
 and were as follows : 
 
 Flour per barrel, to New York, . . . §1.55 
 
 Grain " bushel " ... 50 
 
 J. Pork and Beef, per bbl. "... 2.75 
 
 In consideration of the length of time navigation is sus- 
 pended at Chicago, it will be fivir to add to the water rates of 
 frei<^ht at least one-fifth of the difference between these and the 
 winter rates, to obtain a fair estimate of the average cost of 
 transportation. This gives us from Chicago : 
 
 Freight on Grain, per bushel, . . . §0.34 
 
 " " Flour, " bbl 1.17 
 
 " " Beef and Pork, per bbl., . . 1.87 
 
 An ordinary Railroad freight would be 8 cents per bushel on 
 grain, and 15 cents per 100 lbs. on Flour and packed meats, 
 for every hundred miles. 
 
 The lands now offered are at an average distance from Han- 
 nibal of about one hundred miles. 
 
 The opening of the line of Railroad has the effect, to make 
 very depot a market, and the competition among the buyers
 
 RAILROAD LANDS. 9f 
 
 will fetch the prices nearly up to those of the principal markets, 
 less the cost of transportation. 
 
 Now, to ascertain the comparative value of land in different 
 localities at the West, we will estimate tlie value of a crop on a 
 farm of IGO acres, on the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad, 
 100 miles from Hannibal, on a similar farm 100 miles from 
 Chicago in any direction, and on one near Iowa City, in Iowa, 
 250 miles from Chicago, by the Rock Island Railroad. If we 
 allow 60 acres for the various purposes of the family, we have 
 100 acres on which to raise a crop for market; which we will 
 suppose is fifty acres in Corn, and fifty in Wheat. 
 
 The average yield in Iowa, and Northern Illinois, will be 
 22 bushels of Spring wheat per acre, and 50 bushels of corn. 
 In Missouri, 25 bushels of Winter wheat per acre, and 50 bu- 
 shels of com. 
 
 If now we assume the prices in Now York to be 75 cents per 
 bushel on corn, §1.25 on Spring wheat, and $1.50 on Winter 
 \Fheat, and estimate the freight from Hannibal to St. Louis at 
 five cents per bushel, we shall have the basis of calculation. 
 
 From the point, 100 miles west of Hannibal, the freight 
 would be to Hannibal 8 cents, to St. Louis 5 cents, and to New 
 York 25 cents, making 38 cents; reducing the price of corn to 
 57 cents, and of Winter wheat to §1.12 per busliel. 
 
 From the farm, 100 miles from Chicago, the freight would 
 be 8 cents to Chicasro, and to New York 34 cents, raakinn' 42 
 cents per bushel ; and reducing the price of corn to 33 cents, 
 and of Spring wheat to 83 cents per bushel. 
 
 From the farm, near Iowa city, the Ireight would be 20 cents 
 to Chicago, and to New York 34 cents, making in all 54 cents 
 per bushel ; reducing the price of corn to 21 cents, and Spring 
 wheat to 71 cents per bushel. 
 
 We have then the following results: 
 
 Farm in Missouri, 100 miles from ITannibal. 
 2,500 bushels corn, at 37 cents, . . $925 
 1,250 " Winter wheat, at $1.12, . 1,400 "'* 
 Amounting to $2,325
 
 28 BANNIBAL AND ST. JOSEPH 
 
 Farm in Illinois, 100 miles from Chicago. 
 2,500 bushels corn, at 33 cents, . . $825 
 
 1,100 " Spring wheat, at 83 cents, . 913 
 
 Amounting to, §1,738 
 
 Farm near lotca City, in lorva. 
 
 2,500 bushels corn, at 21 cents, . . $525 
 
 1,100 " Spring wheat, at 71 cents, . 781 
 
 Amounting to, . . . • • $1,306 
 
 Hence it appears that the income from a grain farm of 160 
 acres, 100 miles from Hannibal, in Missouri, is greater than 
 that from a similar fhrm in Illinois, 100 miles from Chicago, by 
 §587 ; and than that from a farm near Iowa City, by §1,019. 
 Any one may easily estimate what effect this should have upon 
 the value of the lands at the different localities. 
 
 From the rates of freight before given, it is apparent that if 
 the production of the farms considered, should be converted 
 into Pork, Beef, or Flour, the difference of freight would be 
 still more against the farms in Illinois and Iowa. 
 
 If this result is not at present strictly correct in fact, it is 
 oAving to local and temporary causes, and must inevitably be 
 realized whenever the more complete settlement of the country 
 obliges all surplus products to seek an Eastern market — a 
 time certainly not very far distant. 
 
 At the present time, produce in Kansas is much higher 
 than in Illinois; but with the increase of population, in a 
 few years, supply will greatly exceed demand, and the surplus 
 will then have to seek the same market, when the order of 
 prices will be reversed. 
 
 The intelligent farmer, seeking for himself a home, will n^t 
 consider so much what he can make by fortuitous circum- 
 stances and speculation, as what region has really the most 
 substantial advantages, on which to build a permanent and 
 healthy growth. 
 
 In the comparison drawn, we have supposed the farms con- 
 sidered devoted to grain ; but this is by no means the most
 
 ' ' ' nH 1 ft 
 
 ^1/ 
 
 '-^^Bb 
 
 JkA
 
 RAILROAD LANDS. 29 
 
 profitable crop in Missouri. Hemp and Tobacco pay much 
 larger profits ; and stock growing, for those who have the 
 required capital, is better than either. The farmers of this 
 region, with ordinary industry and prudence, are rapidly 
 growing rich. 
 
 HANNIBAL. 
 
 The city of Hannibal is beautifully situated on the west 
 bank of the Mississippi, at the terminus of the Hannibal and 
 St. Joseph Railroad, and is the commercial depot for an 
 extensive district of country, extending west of St. Joseph. 
 The Pike County Railroad, and the Hannibal and Peoria 
 Railroad, now in process of construction, and the Mississippi 
 Valley Railroad projected, will radiate from this point, 
 while the Mississippi river unites with them in bearing into 
 her lap the profits of a large inland commerce. Hannibal is 
 the lumber depot for North Missouri and Kansas, and the 
 point where all western emigrants can obtain their outfits on 
 most favorable terms. It has a population of about 8000, 
 and, from its present rapid progress, seems destined soon to 
 obtain an importance second to few cities in the west. Various 
 manufacturing interests are already permanently developed, 
 and every branch of industry is bountifully rewarded, while 
 the present prices of real estate are such as to offer favorable 
 inducements for the investment of capital. 
 
 ST. JOSEPH. 
 
 The city of St. Joseph, the western terminus of this great 
 road, is upon the Missouri river, which is navigable for two 
 thousand miles above that city. At St. Joseph will converge 
 that grand network of railroads, which will, in another gene- 
 ration, cover the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, and in 
 its market will be exchanged tl\p manufactures and luxuric? 
 of the east, for the beef, wool, hides, and golden corn of the 
 immense country lying between the Missouri river and the
 
 30 HANNIBAL AND ST. JOSEPH 
 
 Pacific slope of the Rocky Mountain chain, -which divides the 
 waters of the two great oceans. Here, beyond all question, 
 •will be a large commercial clt}', and all kinds of produce will 
 find a ready and profitable market. There being no navigable 
 waters west of the Missouri, and no point where the railroad 
 system of the mighty west can again concentrate, all reason- 
 ing men must at once see the magnificent future of this young 
 Queen of the Missouri. 
 
 ST. LOUIS. 
 
 St. Louis will be the principal market where those supplies 
 which every family needs will be obtained for this region of 
 country ; and her facilities enable her to supply the smaller 
 trades on better terms than any other western city. 
 
 The heavier articles, as salt, cofi'ee, sugar, and molasses, 
 are obtained from New Orleans, where the former articles are 
 directly imported, and the latter are produced; and her rail- 
 road connections with all the commercial ports of the east, 
 enable her to supply the lighter articles of commerce, at 
 moderate prices. She is also taking a leading position in 
 manufactures, for which she has great facilities, and many 
 articles will be furnished from her own shops, of superior 
 quality. Already her population exceeds 140,000, and is 
 rapidly increasing. When we look at the resources of the 
 country tributary to her, which is yet to be developed, it is 
 manifest she must soon become the largest inland city on the 
 continent. 
 
 The neighborhood of a large and growing city, with ex- 
 tensive manufactures, and accumulation of capital, can not fail 
 to have a favorable efi"ect upon the producing industry of the 
 country. 
 
 TRADERS AND MECHANICS. 
 
 It is hardly necessary to say, that in a country filling with 
 population, with cities and villages rapidly growing up, there
 
 r.asPHr 
 
 ii^ 
 
 
 fK^ ■ 
 
 !■« V 
 
 I *3Er
 
 RAILROAD LANDS. 81 
 
 will be abundant employment for all in the different branches 
 of mechanics, and also desirable openings for trade. 
 
 The surplus earnings, carefully invested in land, soon 
 secures an independence. 
 
 ADVANTAGES FROM SETTLING IN NORTH-MISSOURI. 
 
 To enumerate some of the advantages of locating on the 
 lands now offered for sale, we may say that the climate is 
 healthful, and removed from the extremes of heat and cold; 
 the winter short ; the air pure and salubrious ; the soil of an 
 unlimited fertility, with a retentive subsoil, containing the 
 most fertilizing properties ; there are numerous streams and 
 springs ; while the rolling surface secures drainage, and pre- 
 vents stagnation. The great majority is prairie, ready at 
 once for the plow, with sufficient wood for fuel, fence, and 
 shelter. Coal is also abundant to supply any deficiency, and 
 afford means of profitable employment in mining, and with 
 other important minerals, naturally leads to manufactures. 
 All the productions of temperate climates are abundant. It 
 is peculiarly adapted to winter wheat, which probably adds 
 from §5 to $10 per acre to the value of the wheat crop, over 
 sections growing the spring varieties. All grains find a much 
 better market at St. Louis than is afforded at Chicago. 
 
 Much of the soil is well adapted to the culture of Ilemp, 
 Tobacco and the Grape, which are very profitable, and can 
 not be grown successfully in a higher latitude. For stock 
 raising, in all its branches, it can hardly be equaled ; and its 
 water navigation, seldom interrupted by ice, enables its pro- 
 ducts to find a market easily in all directions, at home or 
 abroad ; while its central position, and the ease with which it 
 can communicate with the proposed routes for the Pacific 
 Railroad, either North or South, together with the fact that 
 the Hannibal and St. Joseph Road will reach the Missouri 
 river years in advance of any other line, render it nearly 
 certain that this must form a part of that great channel of 
 communication, to be extended to the Pacific, over which will
 
 34 HANNIBAL AND ST. JOSEPH 
 
 The Climate is temperate and salubrious, as we might 
 expect in a high rolling country under that latitude. The 
 winters are short and mild, while the summers are long and 
 warm. 
 
 Soil. — Nearly all the soil of this region is based upon the 
 fine silicious marl of the Bluff Formation. As this fact would 
 indicate, they possess all the good qualities of the very best 
 Western soils. Those in the valleys of the streams are not 
 inferior in fertility to the very best alluvial soils. But those 
 upon the ridges and knobs are of a lighter character, and 
 much inferior for the ordinary uses of the farmer. It is, how- 
 ever, very probable, that these soils will be more valuable for 
 the cultivation of the grape, than even our richest soils for the 
 ordinary purposes of agriculture ; for the grape will succeed 
 on the poorer ridges, when the soil has the proper composition. 
 
 A more careful examination of this part of the lands of the 
 Company, will enable us to decide this point with certainty, as 
 it is already proved that our climate and some of our poorer 
 soils, are all that can be desired for the grape. Thus it will 
 be seen, that the lands of your Company are located in one of 
 the richest and most desirable regions of the West. The soil 
 is scarcely surpassed in any region of equal extent, and yet 
 the country is high, undulating, well watered, and salubrious. 
 It is so divided into timber and prairie, as will render the 
 opening of farms most convenient and profitable. The prairie 
 is ready for the plow, and the best of timber at hand for build- 
 ings and fences. 
 
 Coal. — But the vast coal beds beneath the soil give these 
 lands a value far above all ordinary prices. According to 
 Major Hawn's Surveys, a large portion of these lands contain 
 at least fine workable beds of good coal. These beds will con- 
 tain an aggregate thickness of fifteen feet, w^hich will yield not 
 less than 20,000 tons per acre. The coal alone, at only one 
 cent per tun, is worth $200 per acre. 
 
 It is not possible to specify the precise extent of these coal
 
 RAILROAD LANDS. 85 
 
 beds, or all the lands which they underlie, until we shall have 
 made a more careful examination of that part of the State; but 
 it is certain that they extend under a portion of all the counties 
 on the line of the road west of Macon. 
 
 Building Material. — Good limestone, suitable for all build- 
 ing purposes, is abundant along the line of the road. Clays 
 of excellent quality for common and fine brick and pottery, 
 are found in large quantities. 
 
 Water Power. — The numerous streams which pass through 
 this region, afford a large amount of water power, and many 
 good sites for mills and factories. For a more detailed account 
 of this region, I would refer you to the Second Annual Re- 
 port of the Missouri Survey. Wishing you success in the 
 prosecution of your great work, I remain, 
 Your Ob't Serv't, 
 
 G. C. Swallow, 
 State Geologist of Missouri. 
 
 We here insert various extracts from the published Report 
 of Prof. Swallow and his assistants on the Geological Survey 
 of the State : 
 
 BIVER BOTTOMS. 
 
 We have on these two streams alone (the Mississippi and 
 Missouri) about 2,000,000 acres of the most productive and 
 inexhaustible lands in the world, based upon the alluvial 
 strata of sand, clay, marl, and humus ; and beside, this quan- 
 tity is constantly increasing, by the silting up of the lakes 
 and sloughs. 
 
 The rich productive power of this formation is abundantly 
 proved by the immense burden of timber growing upon it, and 
 by the unparalleled crops of corn and hemp harvested from its 
 cultivated fields. 
 
 The Bottom Prairie is, so far as my observation hero 
 extended, about half as extensive as the Alluvial Bottom on 
 the same streams.
 
 S& HANNIBAL AND ST. JOSEPH 
 
 This estimate will give us about 1,000,000 acres of these 
 vastly rich Savannas, all prepared by Nature for the plow. 
 Their agricultural capacities are scarcely inferior to any in the 
 world, as is abundantly demonstrated by the mineral contents 
 of the strata, and the products of the numerous farms located 
 upon it. 
 
 The alluvium of our river bottoms generally produces a light 
 rich, silicious soil, which sustains a larger growth of timber 
 than any other in the State. This variety of soil occupies the 
 bottoms of all our large streams, covering an area of some 
 four or five millions of acres. It is not surpassed in fertility 
 by any in the State, and is peculiarly adapted to corn and 
 hemp. It is usually so light and porous, and deep, that in wet 
 weather the superabundance of water readily passes ofi"; while 
 in drought, the roots sink deep, and the water below easily 
 ascends by capillary attraction, and keeps the surface moist. 
 These scientific deductions are abundantly sustained by the 
 experience of the unprecedented drought of the present season; 
 as the cornfields on this soil sufi'ered comparatively little 
 injury from it. 
 
 BLUFF FORMATION. 
 
 This formation when well developed, usually presents a fine, 
 pulverulent, absolutely stratified mass of light grayish bluff, 
 silicious and slightly indurated marl. It is often penetrated by 
 numerous tubes or cylinders, about the size or thickness of 
 pipestems, some larger and others smaller. These phenomena 
 have been minutely investigated, not merely as interesting 
 scientific facts, but also as one of the most useful agricultural 
 features of this preeminently valuable formation; for upon it, 
 and sustained by its absolutely inexhaustible fertilizing resources, 
 rest the very best farms of the Mississippi and Missouri val- 
 ley. These tubes and holes also constitute the most thorough 
 SYSTEM OF DRAINAGE imaginable. 
 
 This formation forms the upper stratum beneath the soil of
 
 RAILROAD LANDS. 87 
 
 all the high lands, both timber and prairie, of all the counties 
 north of the Osage and Missouri Rivers.* 
 
 The Bluff, when well developed, produces a light, deep cal- 
 careo-silicious soil, of the very best quality. The alumina, 
 silex, and lime are mingled in such proportions with the other 
 fertilizing properties in this formation, as to adapt it in an 
 admirable degree, to the formation of soils and subsoils ; and, 
 as might be expected, the soils formed upon it under favorable 
 circumstances, are equal to any in the country. The deleteri- 
 ous effects usually produced by the coal measures are prevented 
 by the thick bluff deposit, which covers nearly all the coal 
 strata in this State ; and, indeed, the very best soils of the 
 State overlie the coal measures. 
 
 COAL. 
 
 Mineral coal has done much to promote the rapid progress 
 of the present century. Commerce and Manufactures could not 
 have reached their present unprecedented prosperity without 
 its aid. And no people can expect success in those depart- 
 ments of human industry, unless their territory furnishes an 
 abundance of this useful mineral. Previous to the present 
 survey, it was known that coal existed in many counties of 
 the State ; but there was no definite knowledge of the continua- 
 tion of workable beds over any considerable area. But since 
 the survey commenced, the Southeastern outcrop of the coal 
 measures has been traced from the mouth of the Des Moines, 
 through Clark, Lewis, Marion, Monroe, Audrian, Boone, Cooper, 
 Pettis, Henry, St. Clair, Bates, and Jasper, into the Indian 
 Territory ; from Glasgow up the Missouri River to the Iowa 
 line ; and from St. Joseph along the line of the Hannibal and 
 St. Joseph Railroad to Shelby, showing the existence of the 
 coal measures over an area of more than 2G,000 square miles, 
 in the Northern and Western parts of the State. 
 
 • Tliis embraces the entiro region traversed by the nannfbal and SL 
 Joseph Euilroad.
 
 38 HANNIBAL AND ST. JOSEPH 
 
 The thickest of these beds varies from five to six feet ; and, 
 altogether, they -will furnish twelve or fourteen feet of good 
 coal. These beds extend over an area, all vrithin fifteen miles 
 of the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad, of at least 500 square 
 miles in Macon, 400 in Linn, 400 in Livingston, and 200 in 
 Chariton, making in all 1500 square miles, •within fifteen miles 
 of the road in these four counties alone. It is estimated by 
 the best mining engineers of England, that every foot of 
 workable coal will furnish 1,000,000 tuns per square mile, 
 which would give us for these four counties 1,500,000,000 tuns 
 for every foot in these beds. If we deduct one-half of the 
 thickness for waste, and for the areas, where some of these 
 beds may run out, we shall have 9,000,000,000 tuns of work- 
 able coal within the limits above mentioned, seeking transport- 
 ation to the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. 
 
 Should the road be able to transport 100,000 tuns per day, 
 it would supply freight for 90,000 days, and allowing 300 
 mining days per annum, it would occupy it 300 years. At 
 50,000 tuns per day, it would freight the road 600 years, which 
 is quite as long as the stockholders need provide for themselves 
 and their heirs; as by that time Young America will have no 
 use for Railroads. 
 
 Shelby county will also furnish small quantities ; and all the 
 counties on the line west of Livingston, have still more coal, 
 but its depth below the surface may prevent profitable mining 
 at the present prices of coal and labor. 
 
 But few, if any, Railroads run through so good a body of 
 land as the Hannibal and St. Joseph. The facilities aflbrded 
 by the road will bring this land into market, and settle it with 
 a stirring agricultm-al population, unless speculators place its 
 price above that of other lands possessing similar qualities 
 and advantages. 
 
 Coal mining will also bring in an increase of population to 
 Bwell the travel over this road.
 
 r»-'
 
 RAILROAD LANDS. 89 
 
 IRON. 
 
 Among minerals, Iron stands preeminent in its influence 
 upon the power and prosperity of a nation. Nations who pos- 
 sess it in hirge quantities, and hy wliom it is extensively 
 manufactured, seem to partake of its hardy nature and sterling 
 qualities, Missouri possesses an inexhaustihle supply of the 
 very best ores of this metal. She has all the facilities for 
 becoming the great iron mart of the "Western Continent. 
 
 Specular Oxide. — This is probably the most abundant and 
 valuable ore in the State. Iron Mountain is the largest mass 
 observed. The hijrht of the mountain is 228 feet, and its base 
 covers an area of 500 acres, which gives, according to Dr. 
 Litton, 1,655,280,000 cubic feet, or 230,187,375 tuns of ore. 
 But this is only a fraction of tlic ore at this locality. 
 
 The Specular and Magnetic Oxides. — At Shepherd 
 Mountain the ore is usually a mixture of these varieties, in a 
 very pure state. The ore ftt this mountain exists in vertical 
 veins, ranging in different directions through the porphyry of 
 which the mountain is composed. They vary in thickness 
 from one foot to fourteen. Three of these have been partially 
 explored. They yield an enormous amount of ore. 
 
 SiLicious Specular Oxide. — Pilot Knob, which is of this 
 varietv, is 581 feet hiuli, and covers an area of 3G0 acres. A 
 large portion of this mountain is pure ore. The quantity is 
 enormous, and may be considered inexhaustible. The amount 
 above the surface can not be less than 13,072,773 tuns. But 
 it evidently far exceeds this estimate. 
 
 There is ore enough of the very best quality within a few 
 miles of Pilot Knob and Iron Mountain, above the surface of 
 the valleys to furnish 1,000,000 tuns per annum of manufac- 
 tured iron, for the next two hundred years. 
 
 All of these ores are well adapted to tlie manufacture of pig 
 metal; and those of Iron Mountain and Shepherd Mountain, 
 are used for making blooms by the Catalan process, in the 
 bloomeries at Pilot Knob and Valle Forge.
 
 40 HANNIBAL AND ST. JOSEPH 
 
 LUMBER AND WATER-POWER. 
 
 It may be a matter of surprise to some to learn that Mis- 
 souri, notwithstanding our heavy importation of lumber, has a 
 great abundance of almost every desirable variety, most ad- 
 vantageously situated. Indeed, with the exception of white 
 pine, cedar, and live oak, our supply seems to be all that 
 could be desired. 
 
 On the borders of our navigable streams and their large 
 tributaries, oak, hickory, walnut, maple, ash, linden, cherry, 
 locust, and birch grow in the greatest abundance, and in mag- 
 nificent dimensions. It seems unnecessary to specify where 
 good localities exist, for there is scarcely a stream in the 
 State which is not bordered by forests of excellent timber. 
 
 All of these streams save the Missouri furnish water-power 
 and good mill sites, and even the large springs of the Niangua 
 afford the best water-power observed in the State. But steam 
 has usually proved the most economical power for the manu- 
 facture of lumber, as the site can be selected with greater 
 advantage. 
 
 FROM MR. HAWN'S REPORT— GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF 
 THE STATE. 
 
 Mr. Hawn's examination embraced only the section con- 
 taining the land of the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad 
 Company. 
 
 In the valley of Grindstone, sec. 8, township 57, R. 31, 
 is found a red, chocolate-colored silicious clay or shale, which, 
 from its similarity, in many respects, to a material extensively 
 used in Ohio and other States as a pigment, would doubtless 
 furnish a cheap and abundant material for that purpose. 
 When ground in oil, the color may be varied by adding a 
 small quantity of white-lead, lamp-black, or other cheap 
 paint, to suit the taste. This kind of paint is highly useful, 
 not only for ornamental purposes, but also for rendering roofs 
 fire-proof, by applying several heavy coats to the shingles.
 
 RAILROAD LANDS. 4X 
 
 So soon as the oil evaporates, the strong coating of silicious 
 matter left on the surface will prevent a roof from taking fire 
 from sparks, or even large coals. 
 
 Soil.— The soil, in all parts of the district, is fertile in the 
 highest degree, with slight modifications, requiring only a 
 different mode of culture, and the products adapted to dif- 
 ferent localities, to produce equal results. Perhaps the pre- 
 ponderance may he in ftivor of the limestone district, west of 
 Grand river, especially when we take into consideration that 
 the products best adapted to that region are those that now 
 yield the greatest profit on the labor expended; but, should 
 circumstances change, that preponderance would be lost. 
 
 At some few localities in this district, the soil is thin and 
 heavy, in consequence of a superabundance of clay ; but where 
 it is properly tilled, and the subsoil is in reach of the plow, 
 so as to be brought up and mixed with the surface, it becomes 
 friable, and produces well. Such a soil is remarkably well 
 adapted to the cereal products, maturing those plants without 
 the addition of artificial stimulants, so apt to produce a re- 
 dundancy of straw at the expense of a proper development 
 of grain. 
 
 The soil of Macon county is remarkably well adapted to 
 the production of a superior article of Tobacco; also, the 
 upper portions of Chariton, the higher portions of Linn, and 
 the southeastern portions of Livingston, and also the upper 
 portions not included in the limestone district. These regions 
 will become as famous for the production of superior tobacco, 
 as were the most favored portions of Virginia in her palmiest 
 
 days. 
 
 There is yet another variety of soil deserving attention. 
 The alluvial deposits of the valley, usually denominated 
 "Bottoms" in the west. This soil is necessarily deep, and 
 of unbounded fertility; well adapted to the growth of Indian 
 corn and hemp, but not to wheat and small grains, in con- 
 sequence of its excessive fatness, or superabundance of or- 
 ganic matter. 
 4
 
 42 HANNIBAL AND ST. JOSEPH 
 
 In the vallej of Grand river, the bottoms vary from three 
 to five miles in width, and are elevated from twenty to thirty 
 feet above the 'bed, and above ordinary highwater mark. In 
 the valley of Grand Chariton, the bottom lands are about 
 equal in extent to those on Grand river, but not elevated so 
 high above the bed of the stream, and are consequently more 
 frequently inundated. 
 
 Timber usually exists in the valleys and along watercourses, 
 of the usual varieties found in this State, and the west gene- 
 rally. The most abundant and valuable varieties are the dif- 
 ferent kinds of white and black oaks, black and white walnut, 
 and occasionally a grove of maples. The supply would be 
 sufficient for domestic and agricultural purposes, if it were 
 equally distributed; especially when we take into considera- 
 tion the facilities the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad will 
 afford in distributing the products of the forest, and the coal 
 beds found along that line. 
 
 The Osage Orange, too, is under extensive experiment here, 
 and thus far promises well ; and should success finally attend 
 the rearing of hedges for fencing purposes, a small amount 
 of timber will suffice this district. 
 
 It will be seen, by inspection of the map, that this district 
 is traversed by several rivers, with their branches diverging 
 in every direction, and watering the country in an admirable 
 manner. The largest of these is Grand river, running nearly 
 south through the center of the district. Grand Chariton is 
 next in size. The volume of water is, perhaps, less than half 
 that of Grand river, and, in almost all respects, the same 
 Salt river discharges less water than Grand Chariton, and 
 differs from it by being composed of alternate pools and 
 rapids. These streams will afford no other facilities to the 
 business of the country than in creating waterpower, for 
 which Salt river and its branches are well adapted. 
 
 Several of the minor streams, too, are well suited to that 
 purpose, particularly Medicine and Shoal creeks. 
 
 At Utica, Livingston county, an establishment is now in 
 course of construction on an extensive scale; and, all things
 
 RAILROAD LANDS. 43 
 
 considered, I should suppose that a suflicicnt amount of water- 
 power can be obtained to supply the domestic wants for many 
 years to come. 
 
 Tiiere is but little waste land in this district. This cir- 
 cumstance, with the exceeding fertility and durability of tlie 
 soil, and its adaptation to the various products of tliis climate, 
 its inexhaustible beds of coal, and its salubrious cliumte, 
 renders tiiis a favored district, and capable of sustaining a 
 {population as dense as any other portion of equal extent in 
 the northern temperate zone. 
 
 HEMP. 
 LETTER FROM C. R. ROGEH.S, Esq., OF MARION COUNTY. 
 
 Marion County, Mo., January 20, 1858. 
 J. T. K. IIayward, Esq. 
 
 Dear Sir : — I am in the receipt of yours of the 8th, in 
 which you request a statement of my mode of cultivating 
 hemp, the cost per acre, etc., which I will give you in brief. 
 
 Hemp requires the dryest and richest land we have to in- 
 sure success. It is best to take new land, and not cultivate 
 it in any thing else. It may be grown on the same land 
 fifteen or twenty years with equal success, allowing for the 
 variation in seasons. 
 
 The best mode of preparing the ground is to plow deep, as 
 early in the spring as the ground will admit ; then let it lie 
 in that state until about the first of May; then cross-plow 
 with one-horse plows ; sow one and a quarter bushels seed 
 j)cr acre; harrow in, and then cross-harrow. If the ground is 
 dry and cloddy, roll as a finishing touch. 
 
 Hemp should not be cut too green, as the lint would be 
 light. The leaves should commence falling off, and the stalk 
 become a little yellow. 
 
 We use the common hook in cutting, as we can save it in a 
 better manner, and a hand can cut as much as he can break out. 
 
 Hemp should be spread out to water late in October or 
 early in November, as generally late spreading is the best.
 
 44 HANNIBAL AND ST. JOSEPH 
 
 The average yield is about 800 pounds per acre; the average 
 price per cwt., for the last ten years, about five dollars. 
 
 The cost per acre, on an average, for the last ten years, is 
 about as follows : 
 
 One and one-fourth bushels seed $1.25 
 
 Sowing, 50 
 
 Plowing and harrowing, 2.50 
 
 Cutting (two hands one day), 2.00 
 
 Shocking, spreading, and re-shocking, .... 2.00 
 
 Breaking 800 lbs., at §1 per cwt., 8.00 
 
 Cost per acre, §16.25 
 
 Value 800 lbs. hemp, at §5 per cwt., . . . 40.00 
 
 Net profit on one acre, S23.75 
 
 A good hand can break six acres. The breaking is usually 
 done in January, February, and March, as the weather may 
 suit. Each hand has 100 lbs. per day for his task, and is 
 paid for what he breaks over that amount, at the rate of one 
 dollar per 100 lbs. 
 
 A hand can break from 100 to 200 lbs. per day. 
 
 Yours respectfully, C. R. Rogers. 
 
 GENERAL CROPS. 
 
 LETTER FROM JOHX XICHOLS, Esq., PRESIDENT MARION 
 COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
 
 Marion County, Mo., May 17, 1858. 
 To William Carson, 
 
 Secretary Land Department S. c^' *S'/. Jo. R. R. Co. 
 Dear Sir: — You request me to give you an account of the 
 gross receipts from the productions of my farm, for the year 
 1856, with the cost of producing the various articles, and the 
 net profits. 
 
 In reply, I will state that I have not kept sufficient memo- 
 randa, but will approximate as nearly as possible.
 
 R-\rLROAD LANDS. 45 
 
 Having given Mr. IIayward a detailed statement of my 
 mode of cultivating hemp, I will only state that the receipts 
 for my hemp crop, for the year mentioned, amounted to the 
 sum of $2,000; receipts for pork, same year, 31>200; beef, 
 $300; wheat, §1,200; sheep, $50; cows and calves, ^loO; 
 making the gross receipts, for the articles above mentioned, 
 $4,900. Receipts for potatoes, fruit, dairy productions, etc., 
 no particular account was kept ; nor have I a minute account 
 of the expenses of the family ; but I have sufficient to know 
 that the last-mentioned articles more than paid family ex- 
 penses, store bills, smith's bills, etc. 
 
 To produce the above, I cultivated two hundred and fifty 
 acres of land, and employed the labor of six hands, making 
 the product of each hand about $810, and the clear profit on 
 each acre of land cultivated, §19.60. 
 
 Very respectfully yours, John Nichols. 
 
 HEMP. 
 
 LETTER FROM JUDGE LEONARD, OF PLATTE COUNTY. 
 
 Hempland, March 6, 1858. 
 J. T. K. IIayward, Esq., Land Agent, etc. 
 
 Dear Sir: — Owing to my absence from home, yours of 
 January 8th was received only last night. 
 
 In reply to your inquiries touching the culture of hemp, I 
 wouM' observe that upon our best uplands, and in the vicinity 
 of the Missouri river, with the best culture, I estimate one- 
 half a tun, or 1,120 lbs., an average crop per acre. Of course, 
 it will sometimes rise above and sometimes fall below, owing 
 to seasons. 
 
 I estimate the average price at $100 per tun, net; but the 
 price fluctuates greatly. It is now quoted considerably below 
 a hundred in St. Louis ; but for each of the three years past, 
 for some portions of the year, it lias ranged, in St. Louis, 
 from $130 to $150 per tun, if I mistake not.
 
 46 HANNIBAL AND ST. JOSEPH 
 
 I estimate the expense of cultivating an acre of hemp at 
 about $25, as follows : 
 
 Seed, one and one-fourth bushels, 31-25 
 
 Pitching crop, 3.00 
 
 Cutting, 3.00 
 
 Breaking off leaves and putting into shocks, . . 1.00 
 
 Spreading, 50 
 
 Taking up after watered, 50 
 
 Breaking, per cwt., ^1.25, 12.50 
 
 Baling, 1.50 
 
 Hauling to place of shipment, .... . . 1.75 
 
 P5.00 
 
 The last item depends so entirely on distance of hauling, 
 as to be unreliable in my general estimate. 
 
 If the crop is light, the breaking would be less ; but it is 
 more labor to break a given number of pounds when the yield 
 is light than when it is heavy. 
 
 My estimate, then, for an average yield of an acre of our 
 best uplands, with the best culture, after paying for seed and 
 labor, is $25. If the land is inferior, this sum will not be 
 realized. If the land is good, but the cultivation or manage- 
 ment inferior, this sum will not be realized. 
 
 Upon a plantation of not less than five to ten field hands, 
 I estimate, upon the hypothesis before stated, of the best 
 land and the best cultivation, that they will average five and 
 a half tuns per hand, or $350 per hand per year. And over 
 and above this, they will raise grain and stock sufiicient for 
 their own and the subsistence of an ordinary sized family. 
 
 Few crops preserve the ground so well as hemp. In hemp 
 culture, the land is not much exposed to wash ; and I believe 
 hemp growers are disagreed as to Avhether successive crops 
 upon the same ground tend to its impoverishment. Cases are 
 to be found in which ten or twelve successive crops have been 
 raised upon the same ground with undiminished yield. Hemp 
 leaves land in fine condition for other crops. 
 
 I am not aware of any country superior to the Missouri 
 river country for the hemp culture, either as to quality or to 
 quantity per acre.
 
 RAILROAD LANDS. 47 
 
 If our hemp docs not riink in tlic markets of the world as 
 the e([u:il of Russia, or any other, I apprehend it will be found 
 owini; to defective culture, or defective handling. 
 
 Owing to the dryness of our climate, we arc relieved from the 
 labor of stacking in the fall, as in Kentucky, and usually wo 
 have more weather in winter suitable to break hemp than there. 
 Yours, etc., S. L. Leonard. 
 
 HEMP. 
 LETTER FROM COL. PFOUTS, OF BUCHANAN COUNTY. 
 
 Rock House Prairie, Buchanan Co., Mo., \ 
 January 23, 1858. f 
 
 Mr. J. T. K. Hayward. 
 
 Dear Sir: — Yours of the 8th inst. is at hand; and in an- 
 swer thereto, I will say we have as fine land in Northwest Mis- 
 souri as is to be found anywhere. I have never seen so large 
 a body of rich land anywhere. "We have an abundance of the 
 very best water ; plenty of timber in most places ; and good 
 health. No country is better adapted to the growing of hemp; 
 and land that will produce good hemp, will produce any thing 
 that is adapted to this climate. "Wheat, corn, oats, tobacco, 
 grass, and all kinds of vegetables, grow well here. 
 
 I have been farming here for eighteen years, and will give 
 you my experience as to the cost of raising hemp. 
 
 For the last few years, labor has been much higher than it 
 was years before, and hemp has bofne a better price until the 
 present. It is down now. 
 
 COST OF RAISING HEMP PEtt ACRE. 
 
 One and one-fourth bushels of seed, ^1.25 
 
 Plowing ground, harrowing, etc., 2.50 
 
 Cutting hemp, 4.00 
 
 Rolling, taking up, etc., 1.50 
 
 Breaking, §1.25 per hundred, 12.50 
 
 $20.75 
 Product of an acre, 1,000 lbs.: take off the gross 
 12 lbs. on the hundred, leaving hemp 890 lbs., 
 at 5 cents, fl4.50
 
 48 HANNIBAL AND ST. JOSEPH 
 
 The price for many years has averaged five dollars per 
 hundred, thus making ^23.75 per acre over cost. One hand 
 can take care of ten acres with some help in breaking ; and 
 he can raise an ordinary crop of grain, as hemp does not 
 materially conflict with other crops. 
 
 The country back from the Missouri river is not so well 
 adapted to hemp as that on the river. We are experimenting 
 on the Chinese hemp. If it is what it is now believed to be, 
 all the prairie land in North Missouri will produce good hemp, 
 and the yield much larger than the kind now raised. 
 
 Yours respectfully, V. ProuTS. 
 
 HEMP. 
 
 LETTER EEOM HON. WILLARD P. HALL. 
 
 St. Joseph, Mo., January 26. 1858. 
 J. T. K. Hayward, Esq., Hannibal. 
 
 My Dear Sir: — I am in receipt of your letter of the 
 8th inst., and in reply to your inquiries, I have to say that 
 the quality of hemp grown here is first rate; the yield per 
 acre is about eight hundred weight, and the price per hundred 
 weight is about five dollars. 
 
 It is diflScult for me to state the precise cost of making 
 and preparing a hemp crop for market, because our hemp 
 growers generally own the hands they employ. It is usually 
 considered that one good hand can grow and prepare for 
 market ten acres of henlp. This, at the yield and price 
 above stated, gives four hundred dollars as the earning of 
 each good hand engaged in producing hemp, from that crop 
 alone; and, as the hemp trop interferes but little with the 
 corn and fall wheat crops, and partially only with several 
 other crops, a prudent hemp farmer may calculate very cer- 
 tainly upon clearing at least four hundred dollars a year to 
 each hand employed in cultivating hemp ; his other crops 
 paying all expenses. 
 
 The following statement of the cost of making and preparing 
 a hemp crop for market, it is believed, will be found correct ;
 
 RAILROAD LANDS. 49 
 
 Breaking up ground, per acre, §2.00 
 
 Harrowing ground before sowing, 50 
 
 One and a lialf bushels of seed, 1.50 
 
 (I rowing seed, 25 
 
 Harrowing and cross-harrowing after sowing, per acre, 1 .00 
 
 Cutting hemp, 3.00 
 
 Taking up hemp after cutting, 1.00 
 
 Spreading hemp to rot, 1.00 
 
 Taking up hemp after rotting, 1.00 
 
 Breaking up hemp, at one cent per pound, . . . 8.1M! 
 
 §20.21 
 Price of crop at 8 cwt. per acre, §5 per cwt., . . 40.00 
 
 Profit per acre, §19.79 
 
 Very respectfully your obedient servant, 
 
 WiLLARD P: Hall. 
 
 HEMP. 
 LETTER FROM HON. ROB. WILSON, OP ANDREW COUNTY. 
 
 Andrew County, Mo., February 13, 1858. 
 
 Hemp is extensively cultivated in the counties of Platte, 
 Buchanan, and Andrew. The soil in the counties of Holt, 
 Atchison, Nodaway, Clinton, Caldwell, Davies, and Livingston, 
 are believed to be well adapted to the growth of hemp, and 
 upon the completion of the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad, 
 several of the counties last-named will doubtless engage largely 
 in producing it. 
 
 The cost of raising an acre of hemp may be summed up as 
 follows : 
 
 For breaking land and sowing seed, . . . . r . §2.25 
 
 One and a half bushels seed, at §1.50, .... 2.25 
 
 Cutting, 1.75 
 
 Shocking, 75 
 
 Spreading, 1.25 
 
 Taking up and reshocking, 1.25 
 
 Breaking 1000 lbs., average crop, 10.09 
 
 Board of hands 16 days, 4.00 
 
 CKEDIT. §23.50 
 
 By 1000 lbs. hempi at §5 per cwt., .... . 50.00 
 
 Being a balance in favor of producer, . §2G.50 
 5
 
 50 HANNIBAL AND ST. JOSEPH 
 
 rrom tliis must be deducted for rent of land, and moving 
 the article to market. Land in order for hemp, usually rents 
 at about $3 per acre. 
 
 St. Joseph is the market for this section of country, and 
 the cost of delivering hemp there is dependent on distance, 
 roads, etc. Farmers usually deliver their hemp without much 
 actual cost, with their own teams, and at such times as best 
 suits their convenience. 
 
 One thousand pounds is considered, in this section of the 
 State, a good average crop ; but, in many instances, as high 
 as 1,600 has been reached. 
 
 One hand can manage ten acres of hemp, do all the labor 
 from first to last, and also raise sufficient of other crops to 
 support himself and family; thus having, at the end of the 
 year, a clear profit of §235 above the value of his labor, on 
 the article of hemp alone. 
 
 I have been engaged in the cultivation of hemp for many 
 years, and find it one of our most certain crops. The failures 
 are few and far between. 
 
 The production of hemp does not injure the soil. Fields 
 that have been cropped for many years, continue to yield as 
 fair returns as new land. 
 
 The quality of hemp raised in this section of the State is 
 believed to be fully equal to any raised in any part of the 
 United States; and, when properly handled, sells for the 
 highest price in all the principal markets. 
 
 A very large portion of the land in Northwest Missouri is 
 well adapted to the growth of hemp, and much of it is not 
 yet in cultivation, waiting for an accession of population. 
 
 Respectfully, B. Wilson.
 
 RAILROAD LANDS. 51 
 
 TOBACCO. 
 
 LETTER FROM J. U. GENTRY, Esq., OF RALLS COUNTY. 
 
 Fairmount, Ralls Co., January 25, 1858. 
 Mr. IIayward, 
 
 Dfar Sir : — I received your letter requesting mo to give 
 you some information in relation to the culture of tobacco, 
 and I embrace this opportunity of addressing you a fc^Y lines 
 upon the subject. The first thing you wish to know is the 
 actual cost of raising an acre of tobacco, and making it ready 
 for market. "Well, sir, my cultivation in tobacco has been so 
 much mixed up with other crops, and the labor done by hands 
 consisting of men and boys, that it would be almost impossible 
 to estimate the cost of raising the crop ; but it is estimated that 
 a good hand will manage from three to forur acres of tobacco, 
 and cultivate an ordinary crop of corn, wheat, and oats. 
 
 The best mode of raising tobacco, according to my experi- 
 ence, is to take fresh timbered land, break it up well, harrow 
 it well, and, after taking off the roots, check it off three and 
 a half feet each way, and set the plants in the middle of the 
 square, or edge of the furrow. 
 
 The quality of tobacco, in this country, varies with the 
 quality of the land. Rich land will produce heavy, coarse 
 tobacco, and nearly double the quantity of thin land ; but the 
 difference in quality, if well managed, will about make up for 
 tlie difference in quantity ; for you may know that fine tobacco 
 is worth double as much as coarse. I have made from §oO 
 to §100 per acre from tobacco, but ?40 per acre I consider a 
 fair average ; that is 800 lbs. per acre, at an average price 
 of §5 per cwt. 
 
 Having given you such facts in relation to tobacco raising 
 
 (in my brief way) as I am in possession of, I now subscribe 
 
 myself, 
 
 Your obedient servant, J. H. Gentry. 
 
 To J. T. K. Hayward, Land Agent H. ^ St. Jo. R. R.
 
 52 HA2INIBAL AND ST. JOSEPH 
 
 TOBACCO. 
 
 LETTER FROM JUDGE G. WILLIAMSON, OF MONROE CO. 
 
 Monroe County, January 16, 1858. 
 J. T. K. Hayward, Esq. 
 
 Bear Sir: — Having received a communication from you, 
 requesting information in regard to the culture of tobacco, I, 
 at the earliest convenient opportunity, will give you my views 
 in regard to your inquiry in regard to the said crop. 
 
 In the first place, you wished to know what it would cost 
 to raise a crop, and prepare it for market. One good hand 
 can cultivate and save two and a half acres in ordinary sea- 
 sons, besides attending other crops. If his whole attention 
 v»'as turned to raising tobacco, he could cultivate some five 
 acres, if the w^orms should not be too numerous, Avhich is 
 sometimes the case. But there have been fewer worms in 
 Missouri than there have been in Kentucky or Virginia. 
 
 As to preparing it for market, in this country, there is very 
 little preparation necessary, as we generally sell in the hand, 
 tied up in two classes, good and lugs, and tied up in as large 
 hands as you can well hold in your hand ; and our stripping 
 and tieing up we generally do in bad weather, when Are could 
 do nothing else well ; and we generally sell in Hannibal. 
 
 The cost of hauling to market is from 40 to 50 cents per 
 cwt. If we should press in hogsheads, we have to tie it up 
 in small hands, say about six leaves in a hand, and to be very 
 meat and very particular in regard to the order that it is in. 
 
 The cost of pressing and furnishing hogsheads is about two 
 dollars per cwt. We generally prefer to sell it in the hand, 
 as we can get it to market much earlier. 
 
 As to yield per acre, it depends upon the season. In or- 
 dinary seasons, the yield is from eight to twelve hundred 
 pounds per acre ; and upon good manured land, there may be 
 1,400 lbs. to the acre ; but that is rather an extra crop. 
 
 As to the price, it varies much. The crop for 1856 was 
 sold, in this neighborhood, for eight and ten dollars per hun- 
 dred, tied up in large hands, in Hannibal. For the year
 
 RAILROAD LANDS. 5^ 
 
 1857, our crops sold, in this neighboriiood, from $C to ^G.50 
 per cwt., in tlio liand, tied up in the same way. 
 
 There are a few that have not soUl at these prices. They 
 prefer pressing to selling at these prices ; but, for my part, I 
 should always prefer selling in the hand at the prices named. 
 
 As to the quality of the crop, there is, in my opinion, no 
 country better adapted to the culture of tobacco, nor would 
 the quality be surpassed anywhere, if there was sufficient 
 inducements offered for the management of the article ; but 
 the buyers generally give the same price, in the same neigh- 
 borhood, whether the article is good or not. If the buyers 
 would buy according to quality, and pay an equivalent, there 
 WQuld be, then, some inducements for us to take pains in 
 raising a good article, and then, I repeat it, this section of 
 the county could not be beat anywhere, especially in the tim- 
 bered lands. 
 
 The prairies are not so good for tobacco as the timbered 
 land, as it is longer maturing, though we raise some very 
 good tobacco on prairie land, especially when it is manured ; 
 but not so pretty an article generally. It is rather dark, or 
 brown, but very heavy. 
 
 I have now answered your inquiries to the best of my judg- 
 ment, and I have had a good deal of experience in the article. 
 I remain yours with respect, 
 
 George Williamson. 
 
 TOBACCO. 
 
 LETTER FROM J. D. SMITH, Esq., OF MACON COUNTY. 
 
 At Home, February 13, 1858. 
 J. T. K. Hayward, JTannihal, Mo. 
 
 Dear Sir: — I have received your letter, making inquiries 
 in relation to the culture of tobacco in this county. 
 
 From some experience in the businesss, I am prepared to 
 make the ."ollowing statements : 
 
 First. — The cost of raising and preparing an acre of to- 
 bacco for market is between twenty and thirty dollars.
 
 54 HANNIBAL AND ST. JOSEPH 
 
 Second. — The average yield per acre is about one thousand 
 pounds. 
 
 Third. — The price at which sales are made, depends on the 
 demand and quality of the article — usually ranging from four 
 to ten dollars per hundred. 
 
 Fourth. — The quality of the article depends on the quality 
 of the soil in which it is grown. Prairie land produces a 
 coarse, heavy article, which usually comes of a dark color. 
 Timbered land produces a finer article. This quality com- 
 mands a better price in market than that which is grown on 
 prairie land. Our best quality of soil, (which is white oak 
 timbered,) produces tobacco which is unsurpassed in quality 
 by any other section of the State. 
 
 Tobacco raising is considered a profitable business by those 
 engaged in it. 
 
 Hands can be employed in its cultivation, which are not 
 able to perform heavy manual labor. One able hand can 
 cultivate and manage about five acres. 
 
 There is as much tobacco raised in this county as any 
 other in the State ; and would be much more if the farmers 
 could find a ready market at home.* 
 
 Yours respectfully, J. D. Smith. 
 
 TOBACCO. 
 
 LETTEK FEOM COL. M. M. TOWXEE, OF MACON COUNTY. 
 
 Bloomington, Macon Co., Mo., \ 
 January 23, 1858. j 
 
 Col. Wm. Carson, 
 
 Sir: — In answer to your letter relative to my experience 
 in the culture and management of tobacco, and the adaptation 
 of the soil of this county to the growth of the article, I beg 
 leave to state that I have produced the weed, and have been 
 engaged in stemming, pressing, and shipping the article, and 
 from my experience, I am satisfied the soil of Macon county 
 
 * This will be afforded by opening the road.
 
 RAILROAD LANDS. 65 
 
 is well adapted to its growtli. A very fine article of manu- 
 facturing is produced; and, with proper management, an article 
 equal to the best Virginia can be produced here. The average 
 yield per acre is about 1000 pounds, though as much as 2,100 
 pounds has been produced to the acre, and the article can bo 
 produced for $3 per 100 lbs. The average price obtained by 
 our fanners for the last five years is about §5 per 100 lbs. 
 
 The value of this crop compares favorably with other crops. 
 To men of small means, it pays better than any other crop. 
 To men of large means, stock raising pays, perhaps, better 
 with us. 
 
 Our farmers have not as yet cultivated tobacco extensively, 
 but have produced from $30,000 to $75,000 worth per year. 
 
 With railroad facilities for transporting their crops to 
 market, its growth will be greatly increased, and will yield 
 to the producer a greater profit. 
 
 Tobacco growers, in my opinion, can find no country more 
 favorable to a profitable production of this article than in 
 ^lacon county. 
 
 Respectfully, M. M. Towner. 
 
 WHEAT. 
 LETTER FROM JAMES GLASSCOCK, Esq., OF RALLS COUNTY. 
 
 Saverton Township, Ralls Co., Mo., \ 
 May 24, 1858. / 
 
 To William Carson, 
 
 Secretary Land Depariment H. ^ St. Jo. R. R. 
 Dear Sir: — In answer to yours, I state that my father set- 
 tled in the wood in 1823, on what was considered poor land, 
 and gave his attention to the culture of wheat and other 
 grains. I might say, he introduced the successful culture of 
 wheat into this part of Missouri; for up to that time it was 
 said that nearly all the wheat turned to cheat. 
 
 His first crop, in 1823, of sixteen acres, yielded thirty 
 bushels per acre, supposed, as the ground was not measured.
 
 56 HANNIBAL AND ST. JOSEPH 
 
 The wonder ^-as that there was so little cheat among t. All 
 this crop was sold for seed, at fifty cents per bushel. 
 
 He continued to cultivate one-third of the cleared land in 
 wheat every year, making from 500 to 1000 bushels a year, 
 never making a failure — average price about fifty cents per 
 bushel — to the year 1836, when I succeeded him on the same 
 farm, where I have continued to the present time, never 
 having made but one failure, in 1857. Then I raised about 
 twenty bushels of spring wheat to the acre, on about thirty 
 acres — the fall wheat being winter killed. 
 
 We did not take the pains to measure our ground or grain 
 until the first Ralls County Fair, held in 1854. That year I 
 got the premium for the largest yield of wheat, without extra 
 preparation, which was a little less than thirty bushels to the 
 acre, on five acres. My crop of 1,200 bushels sold at §2 
 per bushel. 
 
 In 1855, Mr. McCormick got the premium on the yield 
 of fifty-eight bushels and sixteen pounds to the acre. Public 
 opinion was, that there must have been some mistake in mea- 
 surement; but, on hearing the testimony, I am convinced 
 that it is within a fraction of being correct. That year I 
 got the premium on oats, at seventy-four bushels to the acre. 
 The next year my neighbor, Judge Stout, obtained the pre- 
 mium on wheat — yield, forty-one bushels to the acre. My 
 crop that year was a good one, about 2000 bushels, which 
 averaged me about $1.25 per bushel. 
 
 I have not kept an accurate account of my sales and ex- 
 penditures to give the net income, but we make more than 
 enouch to live on without the wheat. I would remark that 
 the timbered lands, between the high prairies and the bottoms 
 on the rivers, are the best for wheat. 
 
 As to my mode of cultivation, I have not followed a uni- 
 form system, because I have been clearing land and adding 
 new fields every year ; but I prefer fallow lands, broken early 
 in the summer, and kept bare of vegetation until September, 
 when it should be sown or drilled. There is one of my 
 neighbors, Enoch Symms, who has cultivated one piece of
 
 RAILROAD LANDS. 67 
 
 ground in wheat every year for the hi:^t eigliteen years, witli- 
 out any decrease, and never missed a crop but one year, 
 when it was winter killed. 
 
 I would remark, that when my father settled here, there 
 was but one family living within five miles of us, and perhaps 
 not one hundred bushels of wheat raised ; and I believe, if 
 tiie season continues favorable, there will bo 20,000 bushels 
 made within five miles of my house this year. 
 
 I would remark, that the State abounds in such a variety 
 of soil, that there is no crop but there is land to suit it. The 
 hi<;h bluffs for grapes and peaches ; the hills for wheat and 
 other small grain ; the richest lands for hemp, corn •nd pota- 
 toes ; and the watered lands for meadow and grass. 
 
 Yours, etc., James Glasscock. 
 
 GENERAL CHOPS. 
 LETTER FROM JAMES G. LONGMIRE, Esq., OF MARIOX CO. 
 
 Marion CouNxr, Mo., May 17, 1858. 
 To William Carson, 
 
 Secretary Land Department H. ^ St. Jo. R. R. 
 
 Dear Sir: — I have received your note requesting me to 
 give you an account of the productions of my farm, cost of 
 producing, the gross amount, sales and net profits, and such 
 other remarks as I might think proper to make. 
 
 In reply, I have to say that from my farm-book, I can 
 give you a correct account of sales from my farm, for any 
 given year, since 1848, and they vary according to various 
 circumstances, such as the fruitfulness of the seasons, state 
 of the market, etc. For instance^ for the year 1848, my 
 sales were for wheat $490 ; for hemp ?2,384 ; for pork §757 ; 
 sundries §G7 ; making a gross amount §3,704. 
 
 I will here also state, that on the first day of January, 
 1848, I took an invoice of all my property, land, and stock 
 employed, and found the aggregate value of which was §9,350.
 
 58 HANNIBAL AND ST. JOSEPH 
 
 My vrhole expense for labor, ordinary family expenses in- 
 cluded, was $1,920, leaving a clear profit of $1,784, being 
 about 19 per cent, on the capital ; but it must be noted that 
 I made improvements on my farm worth $500 or $600. My 
 sales for 1850 were total $2,843; expenses, as above, $1,300; 
 clear profits, $1,543. 
 
 To produce the above, I have employed, on an average, the 
 labor of six hands, at a cost of $150 each. Since 1850, I 
 have devoted my attention to feeding stock, principally cattle 
 and hogs, in addition to the ordinary crops of wheat, corn, 
 hemp, oats, etc.; and I find, owing to the admirable adapta- 
 tion of o«r soil to the different grasses — blue grass, timothy, 
 and clover — that stock raising can be made the most profitable 
 branch of our agricultural operations. In fact, I have no 
 hesitancy in saying, that from a careful and close observation 
 for ten years, I am fully convinced that Missouri is destined 
 to be the greatest grazing State in the Union. 
 
 I will further state, that some of the lands of Northeast 
 Missouri have been very much underrated in former years, for 
 want of knowledge of the chemical properties of the soils, 
 and consequently not knowing the kind of crop each variety 
 of soil is best adapted to produce. But since the geological 
 survey of the State by Prof. Swallow, we have ascertained 
 that much of our poorest looking lands have inexhaustible 
 stores of fertility lying under the surface, in the form of 
 marl ; the subsoil being, in many places, superior to the sur- 
 face soil. — (Geological Survey of Missouri, p. 184.) 
 
 I have cut two tuns of timothy hay per acre, on sixty acres 
 of land, on an average, for six years. 
 
 I could give you a more minute account of products and 
 sales for different years, but I hope the foregoing will sufiice. 
 Yours very respectfully, 
 
 James G. Longmire.
 
 RAILROAD LANDS. 69 
 
 GENEEAL CROPS. 
 LETTER FBOM MAJOK W. L. Ill VINE, OF DE KALB CO. 
 
 De Kalb County, Mo., January 22, 1858. 
 
 Dear Sir: — Your favor of the 9th has just been received, 
 rcquestinfj mo to give you a statement of the agricultural re- 
 sources, healthfulness, etc., of this portion of the country, 
 and I hasten to answer in the order presented. 
 
 Timber, in this section of the country, good ; as yet but 
 little coal discovered; average depth of wells on upland thirty 
 feet ; stock water abundant ; supply of stone good ; clay an- 
 swers well for making bricks. The soil and climate are well 
 adapted to the culture of hemp ; the average yield per acre 
 1000 lbs.; some crops under favorable culture have reached 
 1,700 to the acre ; cost of raising and preparing the crop for 
 market, $1G per acre ; average price, the past five years, has 
 been §90 per tun, ready for shipment. Hemp is regarded as 
 the most profitable crop. 
 
 The quantity of tobacco raised per acre is good ; the quality 
 not the best. 
 
 The country is well adapted to the raising of corn and 
 wheat, especially wheat. The yield in all the small grain 
 crops is large. Horses, mules, cattle, and sheep do well. 
 The country is decidedly healthy, and is rapidly improving, 
 and when our internal improvements are completed, will make 
 it a great country. 
 
 Respectfully, WfLLLAM L. Irvine. 
 
 GENERAL CROPS. 
 LETTER FROM C. R. ROGERS, Esq., OF MARION COUNTY. 
 
 Marion County, Mo., May 17, 1858. 
 To William Carson, 
 
 Secreiary Land Department U. ^' St. Jo. R. R. Co. 
 
 Dear Sir: — In reply to your request that I should inform 
 you as to the gross receipts from my farm for the year 18oG, 
 from all the productions thereof, the cost of producing the
 
 60 HANNIBAL AND ST. JOSEPH RAILROAD LANDS. 
 
 various articles, and the net profits, I have to state that I 
 have not kept sufficient memoranda to give minutely all the 
 information you desire; but, from the data I have, I will give 
 you the statement, disregarding fractions. 
 
 Having given to Mr. Hayward a particular account of the 
 culture of hemp, I need not refer to that here, further than 
 to say that the receipts for my hemp crop, for the year men- 
 tioned, amounted to the sum of $3,200 ; receipts for pork, 
 ^1000; beef, §1000; wheat, $600: mules, §2000; making 
 the gross receipts for the articles mentioned, §7,800. From 
 this is to be deducted, for extra labor in cutting and break- 
 ing hemp, $400; cash outlay for mule colts, $1000; for stock 
 hogs, $250; for cattle, $130; cash outlay for family expenses, 
 $500; amounting to $2,280; which, deducted from $7,800, 
 leaves the net balance $5,520. I say net balance, because 
 the receipts for fruit crops, potatoes, dairy, etc., Avere sufficient 
 to pay merchants' and smiths' bills, and all the ordinary ex- 
 penses of the family, except as above stated. 
 
 I have plow-land in cultivation on my farm 310 acres, and 
 to cultivate it, employ labor equal to six hands. Raising and 
 feeding mules is quite a profitable business here. Formerly 
 colts, at weaning, could be bought at from $15 to $30 ; but 
 recently have gone up to from $40 to $60, and even as high as 
 $75; but the price of grown mules has advanced in proportion, 
 and the profits on feeding mules from one to two years ranges 
 from 40 to 100 per cent. Oats is a very certain and pro- 
 ductive crop here, and our highland prairies are admirably 
 adapted to the growth of timothy and other grasses. 
 
 C. R. Rogers.
 
 1853. SiST lillE Id TIE EIST ilTE. M Ml 1853. 
 
 \IIJ 11 III 
 
 j^ I Xj n O j^ 13 , 
 
 Savin? tiresoino S(au;inp:, ledioiis navl;i::itlon on the .Mis- 
 souri River, and Trom 4 to G dajs ilme 
 
 To Chicago, Alton, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Dotroit, Toledo, Buffalo, 
 Milwaukee, Louisville, Lexington, Nashville, New York, 
 Boston, Baltimore, Montreal, Quebec, Washington, 
 Pittsburg, New Orleans, Memphis, Galena, 
 Dubuque, Burlington, Davenport, Cleve- 
 land, Quincy, and all points East, 
 North, and South. 
 
 Passpn^rcr trains leave St. Josepli fi)r Hannibal mornins; and cvenin" 
 iif>«>n arrival of Ifailmail Packets from Kansas City, Loavenwortli, an'd 
 fn.iu Onialia and Neliraska City, tind the daily Starred from interii)r 
 t.wris in the 'J'erritorics of Kansas and Nebraska, and from Iowa and 
 tjuiithwestern Missimri. 
 
 New and cuniniodiiiiis Staples, from Lexington and IJiohmond, Mo. 
 connect daily with trains on the llannibarand i<t. Joseph |{aiiroa(L 
 pjini: east and west. Also, from Turis, Mo., Stages connect ut tSholbina 
 with liailruad trains east and west 
 
 'iVains ^oing Kast connect closely with Packets at Hannibal, for St 
 Louis, and with trains for Chicago, Toledo, and the Kast. 
 
 Time between St. .loseph and Chicago, 1^(1 hours; St. I.oiiis, 22 hours- 
 Quincy, 13 hours; 'I'oledo, .iO hours; Cincinnati, 37 hours; Louisville 
 3') lumrs; .New York, GO hours; Boston, 03 hours; i'liiladclphia uud 
 Ktltiniore, 50 hours. 
 
 The Sicanicrs comprising the Ilannibal and St Joseph Railroad lines 
 of I'lussenger I'ackets, on the .Missouri and .Mississippi, are elegant, and 
 run in close connection with trains on this road. No extra char-'e lor 
 meals or stiiteroonis while on the boats. '" 
 
 iJaggnge checked through to Chicago and St Louis, and handled free. 
 
 Through tickets to all Kiustern, Northern, and Southern points, may 
 ■ had at the Hannibal and St Josejih ivailnjad offices, at Kansiui 
 l-L-avenworth, Atchison, Nebraska City, Omaha, and on the Stcumerj 
 ul the line. 
 
 I'assengers going East will find this t|ip most comfortable and frpe- 
 
 tiutia route, and shippers of jrti<jhl will secure di.spuldi, careful attcn- 
 . /«, and UuHiUiiKj iffeijlit, ami s.wk all i.nslua.nck. 
 P. H. CKOAT, (ieneral Ticket Agent, ) 
 JUliN AYEK, General I-Veight Agent, } "an^ibal, llo. 
 
 J. T. K. IlAYWAKl), Superintendent, Hannibal, Mo, 
 
 V^ For Westward connections, turn over.
 
 im l'IO\EER ItOLTE TO THE FAR WEST. 18-M. 
 
 milL I S!. JOSEPH 
 
 I OF 3^d:IssoxJI^I. 
 
 150 Miles farther West than any other Railroad. Saving from 
 
 4 to 6 days travel, and tedious navigation of the 
 
 Missouri River. 
 
 To Kansas, Nebraska, St. Joseph, Leavenworth City, Kansas 
 
 City, Omaha, Council Bluffs, Topeka, Lawrence, Lecomp- 
 
 ton. Port Riley, Weston, Nebraska City, Fort Scott, 
 
 Lexington, Richmond, and Paris, and all points in 
 
 North Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and South- 
 
 ^ ern and Western Iowa* 
 
 Passenger trains leave Hannibal daily, morning and evening, for St. 
 Joseph, upon arrival of the Railroad packets from Quincy, Alton, and St. 
 L^iis. 
 
 Trains connect closely with Railroad lines of first class Packets, running 
 UD and down flie Missouri river fi'oin St. Joseph, for Nebraska City, Omaha, 
 Council Dluffs, Atchison, Weslon, Leavenworth, and Kansas City. 
 
 Tiie Packets to Leavenworth or Kansas City connect with Stages to Law- 
 rence, Leconipton, Topeka, Fort Riley, Fort Scott, Ossowattomie, and Man- 
 hadtan. Also.'at St. Joseph, close connections are made with Stage lines to 
 Lftompton, Lawrence, Topeka, Fort Riley, and all points in the Territories, 
 and especially where Governtnent Land Offices ai"e open. 
 
 .New and cotniuodious Stages run daily from Hamilton Station, on the 
 II. & St. Jo. R. R., to Lexington and Richmond, Mo.; also from Sbclbina to 
 Paris, .Mo. 
 
 .Denver City and S.alt Lake Express leaves St. Joseph daily for the new 
 Cold mines. Fare from St. Joseph to Denver City, $125.00. This is a relia- 
 ble express company, and they ai-e responsible for their contracts. 
 
 Shippers of freight save from 4 to ii day.i, and all insurance. 
 
 AW the Packets on the Hannibal and St. .loseph Ruilroad line are elegant 
 Steamers, and are run expressly to connect with this road. No extra charge 
 for nie;ils or staterooms while on the Packets of this Company. 
 
 Ewiyranis desiring to accompany tlieir stock, may depend on going through 
 hy faxt /viy tit express train. Frrighl taken at Unovsl river rates. 
 
 Passengers going west are requested to consider the advantages this route 
 possesses over all others. 
 
 Through Tickets at all principal Railroad and Steamboat offices. For 
 further information and contracts, apply to any Railroad office, or to 
 J. Q. A. BEAN, Eastern H-affic Agent, Boston, 
 J. W. BURCII, Southern " " Cincinnati, 
 
 J. II. BOWKN, General Agent, St. Louis, 
 JOHN AVER, General Freight Agent, Hannibal, Mo. 
 P. B. GUOAT, General Ticket Agent, 
 J. T. K. HAYWARD, Superintendent, Hannibal, Mo.
 
 M 
 
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