Part 27
II. The dearth of timber on the plains is the chief difficulty to be overcome; and this, with the prevalence of deep snows in and about the South Pass, will probably send the road considerably north or south of that famous and facile pass. I presume the shortest, most feasible, and best wooded route for a railroad from the Mississippi to the Pacific is one from Minnesota to Puget’s Sound, leaving the Rocky Mountains, save some low spurs, on the south, and encountering less formidable snows than those of the North Platte, South Pass, and Green River. Another pretty well timbered and direct route, with but a moderate elevation at the pass of the Rocky Mountains, strikes westward from Dubuque to the Yellow Stone, follows one of the sources of that stream into and through the Rocky Mountains, and thence down a similar stream to the Columbia, and so through Oregon to Astoria. By taking this route, the timber of the Rocky Mountains could be cheaply rafted or floated to every part of the track on either side at which timber is naturally deficient. The routes which turn the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada by the south are necessarily longer than those above indicated (the earth’s circumference being greater toward the equator than near the pole), traverse in good part a parched and sterile desert, and must encounter serious obstacles in the dearth of water and in crossing the Rio Del Norte and Colorado. They would, however, rarely or never be formidably obstructed by snow.
In my judgment, however, the preferable, though not the easiest route for a Pacific road traverses the valleys of the Kansas and its Smoky Hill fork, crossing thence to the more northerly sources of the Arkansas, and passing with one of them through the Rocky Mountains, not far from the South Park, thence winding down some tributary to the Colorado, thence up a western fork or valley and down the Timpanagos or some such stream into Utah, and through that territory on or near Capt. Simpson’s new road to the valley of the Carson, Truckee, or whatever stream should be found to proffer the least difficult way across the Sierra Nevada, to San Francisco. A railroad on this route would at once command a large and lucrative traffic from the Kansas gold region, from Utah, and from the newly discovered but rich and growing gold region of Carson Valley or western Utah—soon, I trust, to be the territory of Nevada. Thousands have recently been drawn to Carson Valley by the fame of these mines; and the fact being established that gold, silver, and other valuable metals are found in Carson Valley, it is at least strongly probable that they will be found elsewhere along the eastern base of the Sierra Nevada. A railroad on this route would have an immediate and large local traffic, both in passengers and goods, from California to Carson Valley, from Missouri and Kansas to the Rocky Mountain gold region, and from each to Utah. Its mails, too, would be heavier and far, far more beneficent, than if conveyed by any other route. I judge, therefore, that on this route the railroad is most likely to be built, unless future developments of mineral wealth north or south of it should change the whole aspect of affairs.
III. And now as to cost and the ways and means:
This road cannot be built cheaply; for provisions and all the necessaries of life must rule high along its line, and most of the laborers will have to be carried thither. Yet it is but fair to consider that many of the heaviest items of expense on most other railroads—land and land damages, timber, stone, etc.—will here cost nothing but the labor of preparing them for this use. Then the rock-cutting will, in the average, be light, and the bridging still lighter. For much of the distance, five thousand dollars per mile will grade and bridge a double track in the very best manner. Doubtless, there are miles that would cost $100,000; but these are comparatively few; while the Colorado is the only formidable stream to be crossed between the Missouri and the Sacramento. And, as the road would necessarily be commenced at each end and pushed toward the center, it would have a considerable traffic on the very first hundred miles that should be completed, and a large one on the first five hundred. Were it to be finished next April so far as Carson Valley from the west and “Pike’s Peak” from the east, I firmly believe that those two sections would pay expenses and interest on cost forthwith. If so, what might not be hoped from the completed road?
Again; it is to be considered that, by building thus in sections, each portion, as finished, would be used to forward provisions, rails, timber, etc, for the next. If wheat be worth five dollars per bushel to-day at Denver, it by no means follows that it would cost half so much, with a railroad from the Missouri completed nearly or quite to that point.
I estimate that a railroad from the Missouri at Kansas City, Wyandot, Leavenworth, Atchison, or St. Joseph, to San Francisco, must be nearly or quite two thousand miles long, and that it would cost, with a double track and fully equipped, seventy-five thousand dollars per mile, or one hundred and fifty millions of dollars. A sanguine engineer would probably reduce this to fifty thousand dollars per mile, or one hundred millions of dollars; but, as most works cost more than they were expected to, it is as well to begin with large figures, so as not to be disappointed. More than a third of this road would build itself—that is, so much of it as lies in California, or within the boundaries assigned herself by the new state of Kansas, would readily be built by private enterprise, if the connecting link were certain to be perfected in due season. It seems advisable, however, to have a single road, under one direction, from the Missouri to the Pacific, and thus make the certain profits of the extremities contribute toward the construction and support of the less promising center.
But, supposing the cost of a Pacific railroad to be one hundred and fifty millions of dollars, or even one hundred millions of dollars, how is so large an amount to be procured?
I answer—not wholly by individual subscription, or voluntarily associated enterprise. The amount is too vast; the enterprise too formidable; the returns too remote and uncertain. In the present depression of railroad property and interests, an attempt to raise such a sum for any such purpose, would be madness. One railroad to the Pacific would probably pay; but what assurance could an association of private citizens have, that, having devoted their means and energies to the construction of such a road, it would not be rivaled and destroyed by a similar work on some other route? No hundred millions can be obtained for such an undertaking without assurance of government aid.
But neither will it answer to commit the government unqualifiedly to the construction of such a work. Its cost, in the hands of Federal functionaries, would be incalculable; it would be an infinite source of jobbing and partisan corruption; it would never be finished; and its net revenues would amount to nothing. And then the question of location—the conflict of rival interests—would alone suffice to prevent the construction of the work by the federal government.
But let that government simply resolve that the Pacific road shall be built—let Congress enact that sealed proposals for its construction shall be invited, and that whichever responsible company or corporation shall offer adequate security for that construction, to be completed within ten years, on the lowest terms, shall have public aid, provided the amount required do not exceed fifty millions of dollars, and the work will be done, certainly for fifty millions’ bonus, probably for much less. The government on its part should concede to the company a mile in width, according to the section lines, of the public lands on either side of the road as built, with the right to take timber, stone and earth from any public lands without charge; and should require of said company that it carry a daily through-mail each way at the price paid other roads for conveying mails on first-class routes; and should moreover stipulate for the conveyance at all times of troops, arms, munitions, provisions, etc., for the public service, at the lowest rates, with a right to the exclusive possession and use of the road whenever a national exigency shall seem to require it. The government should leave the choice of route entirely to the company, only stipulating that it shall connect the navigable waters of the Mississippi with those of the Pacific Ocean, and that it shall be constructed wholly through our own territory. Payment of the national bonus to be made, say one-twentieth so soon as one-tenth of the road shall have been finished and approved, and at this rate until one-third of the road shall have been built, when the remainder of one-fourth of the bonus shall be paid; when half the road shall have been built, the payment of bonus shall be increased to one-third; when the work is three-fourths done, what remains of five-eighths of the bonus shall be paid; and when the work is done and accepted, all that remains unpaid of the bonus shall be handed over to those who will have so nobly earned it.
By adopting this plan, the rivalries of routes will be made to work for, instead of working against, the construction of the road. Strenuous efforts will be made by the friends of each to put themselves in position to bid low enough to secure the location; and the lowest rate at which the work can safely be undertaken will unquestionably be bid. The road will be the property of the company constructing it, subject only to the rights of use, stipulated and paid for by the government. And, even were it to cost the latter a bonus of fully fifty millions, I feel certain that every farthing of that large sum will have been reimbursed to the treasury within five years after the completion of the work in the proceeds of land sales, in increased postages, and in duties on goods imported, sold, and consumed because of this railroad—not to speak of the annual saving of millions in the cost of transporting and supplying troops.
Men and brethren! let us resolve to have a railroad to the Pacific—to have it soon. It will add more to the strength and wealth of our country than would the acquisition of a dozen Cubas. It will prove a bond of union not easily broken, and a new spring to our national industry, prosperity and wealth. It will call new manufactures into existence, and increase the demand for the products of those already existing. It will open new vistas to national and to individual aspiration, and crush out filibusterism by giving a new and wholesome direction to the public mind. My long, fatiguing journey was undertaken in the hope that I might do something toward the early construction of the Pacific Railroad; and I trust that it has not been made wholly in vain.
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_All the Books on this Catalogue sent by Mail, to any part of the Union, free of postage, upon receipt of Price._
CATALOGUE OF BOOKS ON AGRICULTURE AND HORTICULTURE, PUBLISHED BY C. M. SAXTON, BARKER & CO., No. 25 PARK ROW, NEW YORK.
SUITABLE FOR SCHOOL, TOWN, AGRICULTURAL, & PRIVATE LIBRARIES.
AMERICAN FARMER’S ENCYCLOPEDIA, $4 00
AS A BOOK OF REFERENCE FOR THE FARMER OR GARDENER, this work is Superior to any other. It contains Reliable Information for the Cultivation of every variety of Field and Garden Crops, the use of all kinds of Manures, descriptions and figures of American insects; and is, Indeed, an Agricultural Library In itself, containing _twelve hundred pages_, octavo, and is illustrated by numerous engravings of Grasses, Grains, Animals, Implements, Insects, &c., &c. By GOUVERNEUR EMERSON OF PENNSYLVANIA.
AMERICAN WEEDS AND USEFUL PLANTS, 1 50
AN ILLUSTRATED EDITION OF AGRICULTURAL BOTANY; An Enumeration and Description of Weeds and Useful Plants which merit the notice or require the attention of American Agriculturists. By WM. DARLINGTON, M. D. Revised, with Additions, by GEORGE THURBER, Prof. of Mat. Med. and Botany in the New York College of Pharmacy. Illustrated with nearly 300 Figures, drawn expressly for this work.
ALLEN’S (R. L.) AMERICAN FARM BOOK, 1 00
OR A COMPEND OF AMERICAN AGRICULTURE; being a Practical Treatise on Soils, Manures, Draining, Irrigation, Grasses, Grain, Roots, Fruits, Cotton, Tobacco, Sugar Cane, Rice, and every Staple Product of the United States; with the best methods of Planting, Cultivating and Preparation for Market. Illustrated with more than 100 engravings.
ALLEN’S (R. L.) DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS, 75
BEING A HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF THE HORSE, MULE, CATTLE, Sheep, Swine, Poultry and Farm Dogs, with Directions for their Management, Breeding, Crossing, Rearing, Feeding, and Preparation for a Profitable Market; also, their Diseases and Remedies, together with full Directions for the Management of the Dairy, and the comparative Economy and Advantages of Working Animals,—the Horse, Mule, Oxen, &c.
ALLEN’S (L. F.) RURAL ARCHITECTURE, 1 25
BEING A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF FARM HOUSES, COTTAGES AND Out Buildings, comprising Wood Houses, Workshops, Tool Houses, Carriage and Wagon Houses, Stables, Smoke and Ash Houses. Ice Houses, Apiaries or Bee Houses, Poultry Houses, Rabbitry, Dovecote, Piggery, Barns and Sheds for Cattle, &c., &c.; together with Lawns, Pleasure Grounds and Parks; the Flower, Fruit and Vegetable Garden; also, the best method of conducting water into Cattle Yards and Houses. Beautifully illustrated.
ALLEN (J. FISK) ON THE CULTURE OF THE GRAPE, 1 00
A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE CULTURE AND TREATMENT OF THE Grape Vine, embracing its History, with Directions for its Treatment in the United States of America, in the Open Air and under Glass Structures, with and without Artificial Heat.
AMERICAN ARCHITECT, 6 00
COMPRISING ORIGINAL DESIGNS OF CHEAP COUNTRY AND VILLAGE Residences, with Details, Specifications, Plans and Directions, and an Estimate of the Cost of each Design. By JOHN W. RITCH, Architect. First and Second Series, 4to, bound in 1 vol.
AMERICAN FLORISTS GUIDE, 75
COMPRISING THE AMERICAN ROSE CULTURIST, AND EVERY LADY her own Flower Gardener.
ARRY’S FRUIT GARDEN, 1 25
A TREATISE, INTENDED TO EXPLAIN AND ILLUSTRATE THE PHYSIOLOGY of Fruit Trees, the Theory and Practice of all Operations connected with the Propagation, Transplanting, Pruning and Training of Orchard and Garden Trees, as Standards. Dwarfs, Pyramids, Espalier, &c. The Laying out and Arranging different kinds of Orchards and Gardens, the selection of suitable varieties for different purposes and localities, Gathering and Preserving Fruits, Treatment of Diseases, Destruction of Insects, Description and Uses of Implements, &c. Illustrated with upwards of 150 Figures. By P. BARRY, of the Mount Hope Nurseries, Rochester, N. Y.
BEMENT’S (C. N.) RABBIT FANCIER, 50
A TREATISE ON THE BREEDING, REARING, FEEDING AND GENERAL Management of Rabbits, with Remarks upon their Diseases and Remedies, to which are added Full Directions for the Construction of Hutches, Rabbitries, &c., together with Recipes for Cooking and Dressing for the Table. Beautifully illustrated.
BLAKE’S (REV. JOHN L.) FARMER AT HOME, 1 25
A FAMILY TEXT BOOK FOR THE COUNTRY; being a Cyclopedia of Agricultural Implements and Productions, and of the more important topics in Domestic Economy, Science and Literature, adapted to Rural Life. By Rev. JOHN L. BLAKE, D. D.
BOUSSINGAULT’S (J. B.) RURAL ECONOMY, 1 25
OR, CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO AGRICULTURE; PRESENTING DISTINCTLY and in a Simple Manner the Principles of Farm Management, the Preservation and Use of Manures, the Nutrition and Food of Animals, and the General Economy of Agriculture. The work is the fruit of a long life of study and experiment, and its perusal will aid the farmer greatly in obtaining a practical and scientific knowledge of his profession.
BROWNE’S AMERICAN BIRD FANCIER, 25
THE BREEDING, REARING, FEEDING, MANAGEMENT AND PECULIARITIES of Cage and House Birds. Illustrated with engravings.
BROWNE’S AMERICAN POULTRY YARD, 1 00
COMPRISING THE ORIGIN, HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF THE Different Breeds of Domestic Poultry, with Complete Directions for their Breeding, Crossing, Rearing, Fattening and Preparation for Market; including specific directions for Caponizing Fowls, and for the Treatment of the Principal Diseases to which they are subject, drawn from authentic sources and personal observation. Illustrated with numerous engravings.
BROWNE’S (D. JAY) FIELD BOOK OF MANURES, 1 25
OR, AMERICAN MUCK BOOK; Treating of the Nature, Properties, Sources, History and Operations of all the Principal Fertilizers and Manures in Common Use, with specific directions for their Preservation and Application to the Soil and to Crops; drawn from authentic sources, actual experience and personal observation, as combined with the Leading Principles of Practical and Scientific Agriculture.
BRIDGEMAN’S (THOS.) YOUNG GARDENER’S ASSISTANT, 1 50
IN THREE PARTS; Containing Catalogues of Garden and Flower Seed, with Practical Directions under each Head for the Cultivation of Culinary Vegetables, Flowers, Fruit Trees, the Grape Vine, &c.; to which is added a Calendar to each part, showing the work necessary to be done in the various departments each month of the year. One volume octavo.
BRIDGEMAN’S KITCHEN GARDENER’S INSTRUCTOR, ½ Cloth, 50
„ „ „ „ „ Cloth, 60
BRIDGEMAN’S FLORIST’S GUIDE, ½ Cloth, 50
„ „ „ „ Cloth, 60
BRIDGEMAN’S FRUIT CULTIVATOR’S MANUAL, ½ Cloth, 50
„ „ „ „ „ Cloth, 60
BRECK’S BOOK OF FLOWERS, 1 00
IN WHICH ARE DESCRIBED ALL THE VARIOUS HARDY HERBACEOUS Perennials, Annuals, Shrubs, Plants and Evergreen Trees, with Directions for their Cultivation.
BUIST’S (ROBERT) AMERICAN FLOWER GARDEN DIRECTORY, 1 25
CONTAINING PRACTICAL DIRECTIONS FOR THE CULTURE OF PLANTS, in the Flower Garden, Hothouse, Greenhouse, Rooms or Parlor Windows, for every month in the Year; with a Description of the Plants most desirable in each, the nature of the Soil and situation best adapted to their Growth, the Proper Season for Transplanting, &c.; with Instructions for erecting a Hothouse, Greenhouse, and Laying out a Flower Garden; the whole adapted to either Large or Small Gardens, with Instructions for Preparing the Soil, Propagating, Planting, Pruning, Training and Fruiting the Grape Vine.
BUIST’S (ROBERT) FAMILY KITCHEN GARDENER, 75
CONTAINING PLAIN AND ACCURATE DESCRIPTIONS OF ALL THE Different Species and Varieties of Culinary Vegetables, with their Botanical, English, French and German names, alphabetically arranged, with the Best Mode of Cultivating them in the Garden or under Glass; also Descriptions and Character of the most Select Fruits, their Management, Propagation, &c. By ROBERT BUIST, author of the “American Flower Garden Directory,” &c.
CHINESE SUGAR CANE AND SUGAR-MAKING, 25
ITS HISTORY, CULTURE AND ADAPTATION TO THE SOIL, CLIMATE, and Economy of the United States, with an Account of Various Processes of Manufacturing Sugar. Drawn from authentic sources, by CHARLES F. STANSBURY, A. M., late Commissioner at the Exhibition of all Nations at London.
CHORLTON’S GRAPE-GROWER’S GUIDE, 60
INTENDED ESPECIALLY FOR THE AMERICAN CLIMATE. Being a Practical Treatise on the Cultivation of the Grape Vine in each department of Hothouse, Cold Grapery, Retarding House and Out-door Culture. With Plans for the construction of the Requisite Buildings, and giving the best methods for Heating the same. Every department being fully illustrated. By WILLIAM CHORLTON.
COBBETT’S AMERICAN GARDENER, 50
A TREATISE ON THE SITUATION, SOIL AND LAYING-OUT OF GARDENS, and the Making and Managing of Hotbeds and Greenhouses, and on the Propagation and Cultivation of the several sorts of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits and Flowers.
COTTAGE AND FARM BEE-KEEPER, 50
A PRACTICAL WORK, by a Country Curate.
COLE’S AMERICAN FRUIT BOOK, 50
CONTAINING DIRECTIONS FOR RAISING, PROPAGATING AND MANAGING Fruit Trees, Shrubs and Plants; with a Description of the Best Varieties of Fruit, including New and Valuable Kinds.
COLE’S AMERICAN VETERINARIAN, 50
CONTAINING DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS, THEIR CAUSES, SYMPTOMS and Remedies; with Rules for Restoring and Preserving Health by good management; also for Training and Breeding.
DADD’S AMERICAN CATTLE DOCTOR, 1 00
CONTAINING THE NECESSARY INFORMATION FOR PRESERVING THE Health and Curing the Diseases of Oxen, Cows, Sheep and Swine, with a Great Variety of Original Recipes and Valuable Information in reference to Farm and Dairy Management, whereby every Man can be his own Cattle Doctor. The principles taught in this work are, that all Medication shall be subservient to Nature—that all Medicines must be sanative in their operation, and administered with a view of aiding the vital powers, instead of depressing, as heretofore, with the lancet or by poison. By G. H. DADD, M. D. Veterinary practitioner.
DADD’S MODERN HORSE DOCTOR, 1 00
AN AMERICAN BOOK FOR AMERICAN FARMERS; Containing Practical Observations on the Causes, Nature and Treatment of Disease and Lameness of Horses, embracing the Most Recent and Approved Methods, according to an enlightened system of Veterinary Practice, for the Preservation and Restoration of Health. With Illustrations.
DADD’S ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF THE HORSE, Plain, 2 00 „ „ „ „ „ Colored Plates, 4 00
WITH ANATOMICAL AND QUESTIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS; Containing, also, a Series of Examinations on Equine Anatomy and Philosophy, with Instructions in reference to Dissection and the mode of making Anatomical Preparations; to which is added a Glossary of Veterinary Technicalities, Toxicological Chart, and Dictionary of Veterinary Science.
DANA’S MUCK MANUAL, FOR THE USE OF FARMERS, 1 00
A TREATISE ON THE PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF SOILS and Chemistry of Manures; including, also, the subject of Composts. Artificial Manures and Irrigation. A new edition, with a Chapter on Bones and Superphosphates.
DANA’S PRIZE ESSAY ON MANURES, 25
SUBMITTED TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY FOR Promoting Agriculture, for their Premium. By SAMUEL H. DANA.
DOMESTIC AND ORNAMENTAL POULTRY, Plain Plates, 1 00 „ „ „ Colored Plates, 2 00
A TREATISE ON THE HISTORY AND MANAGEMENT OF ORNAMENTAL and Domestic Poultry. By Rev. EDMUND SAUL DIXON, A. M., with large additions by J. J. KERR, M. D. Illustrated with sixty-five Original Portraits, engraved expressly for this work. Fourth edition, revised.
DOWNING’S (A J.) LANDSCAPE GARDENING, 3 50
REVISED, ENLARGED AND NEWLY ILLUSTRATED, BY HENRY WINTHROP Sargent. This Great Work, which has accomplished so much in elevating the American Taste for Rural Improvements, is now rendered doubly interesting and valuable by the experience of all the Prominent Cultivators of Ornamental Trees in the United States, and by the descriptions of American Places, Private Residences, Central Park, New York, Llewellyn Park, New Jersey, and a full account of the Newer Deciduous and Evergreen Trees and Shrubs. The illustrations of this edition consist of _seven superb steel plate engravings_, by SMILLIE, HINSHELWOOD, DUTHIN and others; besides _one hundred engravings on wood and stone_, of the best American Residences and Parks, with Portraits of many New or Remarkable Trees and Shrubs.
DOWNING’S (A. J.) RURAL ESSAYS, 3 00
ON HORTICULTURE, LANDSCAPE GARDENING, RURAL ARCHITECTURE, Trees, Agriculture, Fruit, with his Letters from England. Edited, with a Memoir of the Author, by GEORGE WM. CURTIS, and a Letter to his Friends, by FREDERIKA BREMER, and an elegant Steel Portrait of the Author.
EASTWOOD (B.) ON THE CULTIVATION OF THE CRANBERRY, 50
WITH A DESCRIPTION OF THE BEST VARIETIES. BY B. EASTWOOD, “Septimus,” of the New York Tribune. Illustrated.
ELLIOTT’S WESTERN FRUIT BOOK, 1 25
A NEW EDITION OF THIS WORK, THOROUGHLY REVISED. Embracing all the New and Valuable Fruits, with the Latest Improvements In their Cultivation, up to January, 1859. especially adapted to the wants of Western Fruit Growers; full of excellent illustrations. By F. R. ELLIOTT, Pomologist, late of Cleveland, Ohio, now of St. Louis.
EVERY LADY HER OWN FLOWER GARDENER, 50
ADDRESSED TO THE INDUSTRIOUS AND ECONOMICAL ONLY; containing simple and practical Directions for Cultivating Plants and Flowers; also, Hints for the Management of Flowers in Rooms, with brief Botanical Descriptions of Plants and Flowers. The whole in plain and simple language. By LOUISA JOHNSON.
FARM DRAINAGE, 1 00