People's Pilot, Volume 5, Number 27-25, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 January 1896 — AGRICULTURAL VIEW. [ARTICLE]

AGRICULTURAL VIEW.

'There is a reason for this. All religion all science, all vvis dom of history, and all noble present energies are centered upon the future, ’not upon the past. Piety, patriotism, and progress are not so much concerned about the ‘Prom whence" as with the ‘Whereunto’ of the world and the people theieof." “Nature -repeats, and progress is a perpetual pioneer. Onward and upward are her imperative commands, a.,d have been from the day when man turned the barred gates of E len, until he shall come again re-deemed-and rejoicing through the wide open gates of the Eternal City. “We welcome the new church with open arms; we will be proud of it, its modern seats, pulpit, windows, towers, conveniences. and magnificent pipe organ, (for we doubt not we will have one). We will be proud to show it to our friends as the offspring of the present generat ion, and it will prove a blessing to the town and county.”

Jasper county, in the northwest part of Indiana, lies second from the Illinois state line It has an era of 550 square miles, but two Counties in the . state, Allen and LaPort have greater extent of territory. The soil in the north and "north-eastern part is a rich san dy loam interspersed with sand hills aqd low prairie marshes. The south and south-western part has a gently rolling surface of fertile black clay prairie soil. The timbered land of the northern part are somewhat sandy and the growth is mainly oak. The timber in the central part is principally white eak, burr

belt in Jasper county is rot very ; exlensive. It is but a question of a few years when timber will only be seen here in protected! groves. Bui few natural streams trav j erse the county; the Iroquois, Pinkainink, Carpenter and Cur-1 tis creeks. Nature having done so little for the greater part of this coun / ly in the way of drainage, and railroad lines having so long failed to strike it, for years, it made little progress while many of its neighbors rapidly improved and consequently grew oid. With the final coming of railroads and an improved system of drainage, Jasper county for 10 years, has far ex< el led any other agricultural county of the state in its growth and general improvements. Iu the production of corn a.pd oats our county of late years has been excelled by few, the day is not far off when we fully expect to lead in the raising of these two cereals. Our soil is admirably adapted to the growing of hay and potatoes: the largest hay shipping points in Indiana are situated within the borders of our county. Grain being the mother of stock, many are the loads of fine horses, and fat cattle and hogs that are shipped from the numerous stations and side tracks located upon the new roads that are beginning to cross the couuty. Oursjspurly an agricultural county, having no minerals, stone or timber worth working. Our wealth is in our soil. Nature has laid here, in Jaspler county, the foundation for as beautiful, healthful and productive farm homes as can be found any where in all the wide world. Our county is new and until recently, much of it unknown—

By actual experience the real nature and capabilities of our muck soil have been learned and we find that not only the common crops we have been growing on our higher and dryer lands will abundantly on this newly reclaimed soii but other valuable crops will flour-