Grand Rapids Herald-Review Newspaper, July 24, 1912, Page 12

SUPPLEMENT TO rand Rapids Herald-Keview Vou. XXIII.—No. 4. GRAND Rapips, IrascA COUNTY, MINNESOTA. WEDNESDAY, JULY 24, 1912. Two DoLLARs A YEAR Itasca County in all Ways True Source of Wealth Well Watered and Pleasant Land With Wealth of Forest and Mine Fit to Maintain the Population of an Empire in Einainent Prosperity Approximate land area 1,747,000 acres Principal dimensions 59 by 60 miles Number of meandered lakes. 432 Well wooded, well watered, exceedingly fer- tile, favored by sunshine and rain, Itasea county has singular advantages of location and resources for the farmer, the home builder, the business man and the manufacturer, Across the southern border runs the Missis- sippi, forming the boundary part of the way. Deer river, Prairie, Pokegama lakes, Bass broo’x and Swan river, flow into the Mississippi. In the northeastern part of the county are a number of small streams connecting with Little Fork. The northwest and central parts of the county are drained by the Big Fork and its network of creeks and streams connecting an astonishing multitude of lakes. The iron formation runs across the county in two parallel bars with a trend from northeast to southwest, one a definite continuation of the Mesaba iron range of which there are extensive ex- plorations, thriving mining villages and vast bodies of ore proved and ready for development; the other recognized as an extension of the Vermilion, in which the existence of ore in large quantities has been shown. ‘These belts, fairly well defined, are five or six miles wide and about fifteen miles apart. Though Itasea county is a height of land from which waters flow through the Mississippi to the gulf and by the Big Fork and Rainy river to Hudson bay, yet it is not mountainous but nearly level. The iron deposits are mere basins of ore, as often under level ground as in hills. The only rough land in the county, which happens to coin- cide with the iron range, is a series of gravel ridges strewn with boulders, that may have been glacial drift. The rest of the surface is more like the bed of an ancient lake, gently rolling, with wide level tracts and slopes just sufficient for drainage. In one section there are these gravel ridges that tell of glacial action; in the western part of the county are great beds of marl, as .white as chalk, that record the submarine life of the forgotten sea. The earth was ground fine by glacial action. The.characteristic soil of the county is a clay loam, very rich in plant food, crumbling readily beeause of the chalky mar] content, which is also valuable as fertilizer. Sandy loam is frequently found The sort of. home a man can build himself—Gust Newland, a successful Finn setiler near Grand Rapids Hardwood and natural meadow on the banks of the swan Kiver underlaid with clay subsoil. There are compara- tively small areas of sandy soil and a very little clean sand in small patches. Either the sandy loam or the clay marl is quick soil and works very freely. Farmers were plowing and making gar- dens this year April 15, where the ground had been covered with snow when April began. It is the structure of the soil that enables this region to withstand a dry season. Through the i ti i When Schoolcraft came exploring in gs country in 1832 and discovered the lake in which the Mississippi rises, he asked his traveling com- panion, Rev. W. S. Boutwell, for a good name. Mr. Boutwell cocitated and brought forth “veritas caput,” which might mean “the true source.” And striking cff the first and last syllables, he found the word Itasca. . That was Itasca lake, and all this basin where the Mississippi rises was Itasca county in the early formation of government. Out of the original Itasca, county after county has been created, great rich and prosperous. But the parent county remains, excelling in resources, in fertility and in men—“Itasca, the true source,” ; source of Minnesota’s wealth. } nn drought of 1910 that afflicted the northwest, the fields of Itasca county were green all summer. The clay subsoil holds the moisture. Superfluous water, on the other hand, seeps away through the porous surface soil and the fields do not become soggy. This is a timbered country. Where the white pine grows, the soil is always fertile. What is called hardwood land is equally choice. The wide stretches of poplar growth are found on good soil. There are natural meadows, which are choice prizes, either ready for the reaper or broken only by clumps of alders and willows. There is a little jackpine sand, which is susceptible of high culti- vation. The only land that needs special treat- ment is the muskeag, which must first be drained. Cedar swamp should not be confused with bog land. Cedar swamp, which is found with the hardwood, usually drains itself when the land is cleared. The multitude of lakes is the first thing that catches the eye on the map of Itasca county. Some are shallow and will disappear, no doubt, as the country opens. But a great many are deep lakes, in glacial basins, fed by springs from the under- lying gravel beds, If it is a shallow lake that dries out, it adds just so much of the richest kind of soil to the riparian owners. If it is one of the spring fed lakes, it is a joy forever. ann RR een eee ees Sunshine and Shower Kindly Inter- spersed Through Long Summer Days Quicken the Vitality of all Growing Things in This County. Itasca county enjoys a kindly climate. The winters are friendly. Snow covers the ground from the time everything freezes up in the fall till spring announces itself. Vegetation is protected by the snow against winter killing and against premature spurts in the spring. When spring does arrive it comes with a rush. Grass and nearly all vegetation has adapted itself to growing vigorously in a temperature of less than 70 degrees. Grass turns green even before the snow is all gone. The summers are longer than the calendar in- dicates. There is long summer pasture because it is not burned by drought in the dogdays. The moisture in the soil, the generous dews and the foliage of the forest supply moisture even in the absence of rain. Growth is further advanced by the long’ hours of sunlight. Give Itasea county credit for the length of its midsummer days and one is surprised to find there are more hours of sunlight than three hundred miles further south, enough to lengthen the season ten days of ten hours each. Besides sunny days predominate and all plant life is stimu- lated to the utmost. As for the rain, it is favorably distributed. Precipitation in winter is light, though there is often from one to three feet of snow on the ground, By virtue of the steady cold, the snow covering is kept intact. In spring generous rains are usually given. In June, when all growing things are do- ing their mightiest, there are frequent showers and June is the month of heaviest precipitation in most years. It lessens in July and August, but de- scends more abundantly again in September when plants are finishing their growth. Then comes the fall weather and the Indian summer, nine years in ten an ideal condition for ripening fruits and vegetables and harvesting the crops. Last of all, perhaps in October, more often in November and sometimes not till December, the protecting snow blanket returns. Destructive storms never visit this section. Cyclones, the scourge of hail, enervating heat, the siroceo, the wearing wind, all are unknown in this kindly country. Garden on the light soil near Grand Rapids— A. M. Sisler’s home and vegetable pat “u i ! e_—-