Rensselaer Republican, Volume 19, Number 12, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 November 1886 — Jasper County as seen by as Ohio Man. [ARTICLE]

Jasper County as seen by as Ohio Man.

W. S. n. In Ohio Farmer. ■ Having s landed interest in Jasper Co., lad., of whioh Rensselaer Is the oounty seat, waa the motive that prompted me to visit this portion of northern Indiana. The business part of Rensselaer Is near the rapids of the Iroquois river. The buildings are of brick and well and substantially erected. All the business that Is necessary for an agricultural region abound, and seem to be doing a thriving trade. On the 6th Inst; in company with the oonnty surveyor, a railroad contractor, and Mr. E, Prugh, we started behind two good horses to locate an 80 acre tract of land lying 18 miles due north of Rensselaer. For the first ten miles the country is fine and rolling, well improved, and inhabited by well-to-do people, a great many of whom formerly lived in Ohio. Farmere are progressive and have good stock. PolandChina hogs and Short-horn cattle seem to prevail. A great many sheep are raised. One gentleman said he was breeding 600 Shropshire ewes; sells the lambs to the butcher and realizes a handsome profit. Now we come to the swamps. Surveyor said, *‘Don,t take that for a corn field,” Upon investigation. found it was swamp rushes that abound all over this swamp prairie. These rushes are gathered and shipped to Chicago for cooper’s use; bringing 860 per ton, and realizing the harvester good pay for his or her labor! Some of these prairie marshes have a very thin soil and don’t indicate that they will over become valuable as farming land.

Eight miles further on we come to the dividing ridge between the Iroquois and Kankakee rivers, The hills are of pure sand and have some scrub oaks on them. These sand hills admit of cultivation and produce well, when seasonable. The finest potatoes I saw this year were produced on these hills. The valleys are fertile and will grow fine corn and grass. The soil is about 18 inches deep, of a rich black loam. Found my land in this rich, fertile valley, and was well pleased with its location. The oowboys in charge of great herds of cattle were objects of interests. I forgot to mention the great artesian well at Rensselaer, which is of great medicinal value. The well is 970 feet deep, throngh solid rock.