AUDUBON COUNTY TODAY. (CONT'D)
PROFITABLE CROPS.
Corn is king. The special quality and capacity of the soil to retain moisture through long continued seasons of drought has made this crop an unfailing success. The acreage is very extensive--nearly 80,000---and the yield is always such as to warrant the devotion of a larger portion of the farm to this cereal. Audubon county has a reputation throughout Iowa and Illinois for the large quantity of corn raised, and has come to be the dependence of some of the districts which have in succeeding years of misfortune been compelled to seek their supply elsewhere. It is a high compliment to this county that their cries for aid have never as yet been in vain, as from our storehouses, even like those of Egypt, we have always been able to supply the demand. While the labor is so abundantly rewarded by
OFFICE OF CHAS. STUART & SON, AUDUBON.
[ 21]
this crop, we are safe to assert that the acreage will continue to increase as it has in past years.
Wheat is of good quality and yields an average of 18 bushels per acre, but the acreage is very small for the reason that other crops have proven more profitable. This cereal is only raised for home consumption, and, as in all parts of the state, the acreage has decreased of late years.
By far the largest acreage of small grain is devoted to oats, which attains remarkable growth and a mammoth yield of from 60 to 70 bushels per acre. The quality is No. 1, so that the highest market price is always secured for the surplus crop.
Rye is raised on small acreage of large yield and good quality.
Barley is of about equal acreage with rye, and is as well a very profitable crop.
Potatoes are raised in quantities far in excess of the demands of home consumption, and have become a very considerable item in the table of exports. The very favorable adaptability of the soil to this vegetable makes the product of such quality that it is sought for storing for winter, giving a special and obvious advantage in this regard.
COURT HOUSE AND OPERA HALL, AUDUBON.
Grasses grow luxuriantly and the tame grasses yield mammoth crops of a quality that can not be excelled in the world, while the wild lands afford grazing unsurpassed. This is found a material advantage in cattle raising, and is one of the boasted excellencies of our county of versatile resources.
All vegetables and farm crops find kindly nurture in the soil of the county, but the staple crops are those above mentioned, for the reason that they are so profitably produced in connection with stock raising.
FRUITS.
The genial and salubrious climate has kindly administered to the growth of all fruits adaptable to the western and middle states. With ordinary care they mature rapidly and perfectly. Some of those who were among the early settlers and turned their attention to fruit culture now have thrifty and well bearing orchards as a reward for comparatively little pains. The smaller fruits, including berries of all kinds, have been easily and successfully grown wherever attempted. The winters are element, and in that encourage the propagation of fruits of all kinds. Thus, with the immnse crops of staples, we have a land and climate favorable to the cultivation of the luxuries of nature.
[ 22]
Prev <=== Continue Reading ===> Next
 Transcribed February, 2025 by Cheryl Siebrass from History of Audubon and Audubon County, Iowa,
The Eden of the West., 1887, pp. 21-22.
|
