WILLIAM
GOULD, formerly of Lorrain, but now of Greenfield,
Ill. sends to us the following account of the country of his choice,
which may be interesting to our readers.
"I have bought 200 acres of land here,
on String Prairie, at $3 per acre: 160 acres prairie, and 40 acres
of timber five miles off. Partially improved farms sell from $5 to
$15 per acre. I am much pleased with my situation for the following
reasons. 1. The land is cheaper than at any other place I have visited.
2. It is nearly all owned by individual settlers. 3.
It is healthy. I reckon we are 100 feet higher than the waters
of the Illinois river. 4. The face of the country is beautiful.
There are roads in every direction, without any labor but travelling them.
5. Nearly all our fields, and principal roads, have right angles.
6. There is but little waste land. 7. The climate is delightful.
8. Slavery is prohibited here. 9. The temperance society
is flourishing here. And 10, The soil is rich and productive.
Melons grow enormously large; corn becomes like a forest, 10 to
15 feet high with ears have 20 or 30 rows on the cob;
grapes are abundant and delicious, apples fine, and we abound in wild turkies,
prairie hens, rabbits, &c. Our stone is in quarries. I
can get raw prairie broke up at $2 per acre. The soil is generally
black, and from 2 inches to 10 feet deep; much of it 2 feet."
"N.B. IF you publish my letter, I request that the words be spelled according
to Cobb and Walker, which is a much better standard than Webster.
Yours in the spirit of enterprise and improvement."
The Cultivator, April 1837, 36.