Jasper County Democrat, Volume 4, Number 21, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 August 1901 — Marshall County Letter. [ARTICLE]

Marshall County Letter.

Plymouth, Aug. 26, 1901. Editor Democrat: Being one of your old subscribers I will write you a descriptive letter of my new home. The country here is quite different from Jasper, being a timber country, and a great deal more rolling than there. The timber consists of walnut, poplar, butternut, hickory, ironwood, oak, ash, beech, tamarac, and a number of others whose names I do not know. The timber A grows to a great height, very straight and without limbs until near the top, and sells for a good price, being so clear. The soil is heavy gravel, clay, sand, muck and occasionally black loam It seems to stand the drouth much better here than there, likely on account of so much gravel in the ground. We raise wheat, clover, corn, oats, rye, buckwheat, barley, cow peas and everything they raise in Jasper. The wheat was fine this season, clover good, and they have a good show for a good crop of clover seed. The wheat and clover fields were a perfect picture before they were cut. I never saw any thing equal to them. Near and around Burr Oak. a few miles southwest of my farm, they had large fields of wheat and clover that were splendid. 1 saw them when the wheat was headed and clover in blossom and it would do your eyes good to see them. Our corn is coming out fine, and will average from 40 to 50 bushels per acre. Corn does not grow so rapidly here as at home, but grows steady, and the dry weather does not effect it so soon. Oats were light here this season. Clover hay a little short but of good quality; timothy about the same. Hungarian and millet is good The road sides are a perfect mat of blue grass and red and white clover. Side roads are narrow and mostly gravel but all the main roads are wide and gravel. What we call the “Michigan road” is 100 feet wide and passes through Plymouth It reaches from the extreme northern part of the state to the extreme southern part. It is the old Indian trail and is owned and kept up by the state. It is paved with Clinton brick through Plymouth.

This is a great fruit country; all kind of berries grow abundantly and all kind of fruit trees flourish. Peaches, pears and apples grow same as in Michigan. Peach trees have to be propped up this year; , pears not so full as last year but one can see the limbs bent from the weight of the fruit from last year, the pear crop being very , heavy last year. Apples are plenty but not of as good quality as usual. Old apple trees have enormous trunks on them and look to be a good age. The principal stock raised is hogs, sheep and dairy cattle, although some have Polled Durhams and Polled Angus. They started a new creamery in Plymouth three weeks ago, and it is doing a good business. Farmers can buy buttermilk from it for 15 cents per barrel for their pigs. This with the clover makes fine feed. Plymouth is well supplied with railroads, having three —the L. E. & W., Vandalia, and the Pennsylvania. The latter has a double track. The B. & 0., and ; Nickle Plate run within 8 miles of ’ us. We have a good Heinz pickle factory, one of my neighbors realized S2OO from 1| acres of pickles last season. We have a basket factory and novelty works, and they are talking of putting in a piano factory in the old novelty works. We have three grist or Hour mills, and two elevators. There are seven churches in the city Methodist, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, United Brethern, Luthern, German Reform and Roman Catholic. There are churches scattered all through the country, every two or three miles apart also. Our schoolhouses are fine here, mostly brick. [ almost forgot to say that the drouth affected us here badly. Old settlers say, it was the dryest this year in twenty years, yet our pastures fared well and are grow- * ing fine since our last rains. We have fine lakes here well stocked ! with fish. My farm is |of a mile i from a chain of lakes called Twin '

Lakes, consisting of six lakes in a chain. Pretty and Dixon Lakes are near by, and Maxinkuckee Lake, a great summer resort, eight miles from us. It is a pretty place. Culver Military Academy is situated on its banks—a fine institution, 2nd largest in the U. S., West Point being first. I believe you will think this is enough for this time so will close with best regards to all my old Jasper friends. Yours,

J. V. KEIPER.