On the contrary, they are indigenous. You find wild grapes along the streams, and in the gardens around St. Paul and Minneapolis you will see many of the cultivated varieties bearing magnificent clusters on the luxuriant vines.
"How about corn, rye, oats, and other grains; can they be raised with profit?"
The following figures, taken from the official report made to the last legislature of the products for 1869, will show the capabilities of the soil:—
| Average per Acre. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Wheat, | 18,500,000 | bushels, | 18½ |
| Corn, | 6,125,000 | " | 35 |
| Oats, | 11,816,400 | " | 43 |
| Potatoes, | 2,745,000 | " | 90 |
| Barley, | 625,000 | " | 30.6 |
| Rye, | 58,000 | " | 18 |
| Buckwheat, | 28,000 | " | 16 |
| Hay, | 430,000 | tons, | 2.08 |
| Wool, | 390,000 | pounds. | |
| Butter, | 5,600,000 | " | |
| Cheese, | 145,000 | " | |
| Sorghum, | 80,000 | gallons syrup. | |
| Maple Sugar, | 300,000 | pounds. | |
| Flax, | 170,000 | " |
From this it would seem that the State is destined to be one of the most productive in the Union.
"Have they good schools out there?"
Just as good as in New England. Two sections of land are set aside for the common-school fund. The entire amount of school lands in the State will be three million acres.
These are sold at the rate of five dollars per acre, and the money invested in State or government bonds. Governor Marshall, in his last message, estimated the sum ultimately to be derived from the lands at sixteen million dollars. A school tax of two mills on the dollar is levied, which, with the interest from the fund, gives a liberal amount for education.
"At what season of the year ought a man to go West?"
That depends very much upon what you intend to do. If you are going to farming, and intend to settle upon the prairies, you must be there in season to break up your ground in July. If the sod is turned when the grass is full of juices, it decays quickly, and your ground will be in good condition for next year's ploughing. If you go into the timbered lands along the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad, or along that of the Northern Pacific, you can go any time; but men having families will do well to go in advance and select their future home, and make some preparations before cutting loose from the old one.