USA > Minnesota > Minnesota as it is in 1870 : its general resources and attractions for immigrants, invalids, tourists, capitalists, and business men ; with special descriptions of all its counties and townsand inducements to those in quest of homes, health, or pleasure > Part 7
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Summer .- While the weather is as warm as in Central Illinois and Ohio, Southern Pennsylvania and New Jer- sey, there is nearly always a cooling breeze, relieving one of what would elsewhere be the oppressing and debilita- ting effect of the summer heat. The nights are nearly always cool and refreshing. Cooling showers, with splendid electrical displays, are frequent, and nearly . always occur at night. Mean temperature, 70°6 ; Phila- delphia, 70°8 ; Oberlin, Ohio, 70°2 ; Trenton, N. J. 70°7. To one who has lived in the latitude of the Middle States like the writer, and suffered the debilitating and oppres- sive heat of their summers, the sensation of a Minnesota summer is one of relief-cooling, refreshing, invigorating.
Autumn .- Autumn is simply a continuation of summer, mellowed with the subdued heat, and chastened with the milder sunshine of Indian summer, which commencing early in October, and continuing till the last of Novem- ber, makes our autumns the golden season of the year, and to nearly all the most delightful. Mean temper- ature, 45°9 ; Kingston, Canada West, 45°; Montreal,
7
74
THEORY OF THE CLIMATE.
45°; Malone, New York, 45°. Frost seldom occurs ear- lier than the last of September or first of October ; though it sometimes comes a month earlier, as in Ohio, Illinois, and Michigan.
Winter .- Cold, bright, exhilarating, dry and crisp- the prevailing temperature remarkably pleasant. We have "cold snaps" several times during the winter, lasting, as in other places, three or four days-the mer- cury at daylight falling to 10, 15, 20, and some years once or twice to 30 and 40 below zero-always rising much higher as the sun rises. The average of 16º1 above zero for 35 years shows that these extremes are rare. Many enjoy them for their tonic effect-their stimulating power being remarkable.
The air at such times being as still and calm as a May morning, with no moisture, compensates for the low tem- perature, and rarely causes suffering or interruption to outdoor business and amusements. In fact winter is the gayest of our seasons. Skating parks on the river bring out the young and middle aged-ladies and gentlemen- Race
whose sports are often prolonged till ten at night. tracks on the ice bring out the fast horses ; the hill sides are thronged with Young America "coasting" with sled and cutter ; the streets ring with the continual gingle of sleigh bells ; concerts, balls, masquerades, fairs, festivals and lectures occupy the long evenings ; and the winter runs the round of its sunny days and brilliant nights with far less suffering and far more exhilaration than if those sunny days were warmed with a July sun, or their tonic crisp exchanged for the humid air and the mud and sleet of a milder clime.
Mean temperature-16°1; Montreal, Canada, 16°; Houlton, Maine, 16°4; Williamstown, Vt., 16º4; Hano- ver, N. H.,16°1.
75
DAILY TEMPERATURE.
MEAN TEMPERATURE THE WHOLE YEAR-44º6 ; coinci- ding with that of Central Wisconsin, Michigan, Central New York, New Hampshire, and Maine.
DAILY TEMPERATURE OF THE WINTERS OF 1867-8 and 1868-9 .-- Strangers are apt to regard our winters as arctic, a solid mass of unvarying cold without the relief of mild, or genial weather. Sixteen above zero, the average tem- perature, misleads them into this belief. To correct this idea, we give below the daily temperature of two winters -one an unusually cold one, the other unusually mild.
Daily Temperature of the Winter of 1867-8, as pub- lished in the St. Paul Daily Pioneer :
At 6 A. M. 12 Μ.
6 A. M. 12 M.
6 A. M. 12 M.
Dec. 1, 26°
35
Jan. 1, 22° 28°
Feb. 1, 9° 260
2, 15
34
2,24
28
2, 12*
5
3, 13
21
3, 21
32
3, 8*
27
4,22
35
4,24 29
4, 10* 5
5, 14
21
5, 15
32
5, 20
16
6, 23
33
6, 6
6
6, 14*
2
7, 0
12
7,12*
0
7, 7
28
8, 1
24
8, 16*
5
8, 0
5
9,15
34
9, 9*
8
9,17*
5*
10, 24
33
10, 1 16
10,27*
9
11, 21
28
11, 14*
4*
11, 12*
7
12, 13
23
12, 32*
12*
12, 1*
17
13, 15
23
13, 32*
9*
13, 2* 11
14, 20
31
14, no record
14, 15
44
15, 23
33
15, 9
18
15, 15
32
16, 27
30
16, 11*
12
16, 31
46
17,18
14
17, 9*
17
17, 30
40
18, 5*
6
18, 5*
11
18, 29
45
19, 15
22
19, 20
28
19, 23
41
20, 11
16
20, 15
22
20,29
48
21,16
28
21, 10
24
21, no record
22,19
26
22, 18
33
22, 13
17
23, 7*
10
23, 23
27
23, 18
20
24,20
26
24, 6 *.
20
24, 19 26
25, 34
36
0
22
25, no record
26, 5
25
26, 1*
14
26,
27,15
16
27, 10*
8
27,
66
28, 0
11
28, 4
17
29, 3*
12
29, 14*
2
30, 9*
10
30, 12
18
*
Indicates below zero
31, no record
31, 4
18
Mean 15°53. .
Mean 4º52.
Mean 12º80.
28,
76
THEORY OF THE CLIMATE.
1868-9.
At 6 A. M. 12 M.
6 A. M. 12 M.
6 A. M. 12 M.
Dec. 1, 20°
28°
Jan. 1, 22°
26
Feb. 1, 21°
300
2,19
28
2,20
34
2,26 30
3,27
32
3, 31
42
3, 24
29
4,31
35
4,31
30
4, 3
22
5, 28
33
5, 19
26
5. 3*
28
6,29
36.
6, 20
36
6, 23
32
7,26
32
7,22
40
7,30
34
8.12
19
8,16
26
8,32
42
9, 2*
8
9,14
18
9,34
38
10, 12*
3*
10, 2*
10
10, 23
40
11, 13*
3
11, 0
13
11, 21
38
12, 8
15
12, 16
30
12, 35
46
13, 3
20
13, 23
36
13, 36
40
14,24
32
14, 21
37
14, 25
30
15, 24
33
15, 16
30
15,21
29
16,22
40
16, 9
27
16, 3
41
17,26
43
17, 17
28
17, 22
37
18, 29
37
18,26
30
18, 26
30
19, 32
38
19, 16
32
19, 10
26
20, 27
30
20, 18
34
20, 3*
14
21, 11
20
21,19
34
21, 4*
14
22, 4*
14
22, 13
29
22, 11*
9
23, 1*
4
23,24
37
23, 7*
20
24, 6*
11
24,21
26
24, 5
18
25, 3
26
25, 5*
13
25,14
21
26,27
34
26, 4*
14
26, 5*
15
27,12
27
27,26
37
28,10
32
28,25
29
28, no record
29, 7
20
29,24
27
30, 14
27
30, 12
19
* Indicates below zero.
31, 10
22
31, 11
23
Mean 16°37.
Mean 19º37.
Mean 18°73
Mean Temperature of Winter of 1867-8, 10°95.
66
66
66
1868-9, 18°57.
66
66
1859-60, 12º49 ; 1860-1, 13º82 ;
1861-2, 10º52; 1862-3, 19º14;
1863-4, 17°81; 1864-5, 16°71; 1865-6, 9°18 ; 1866-7, 13º67.
From these figures it will be seen that the last winter was the mildest of any, except one, for ten years, and the preceding winter the coldest of any but two for ten years.
There were 17 days at or above the freezing point, and
27, 9*
14
77
COLD IN WINTER.
probably 21, during the cold winter, and 34 during the mild winter.
The Chicago Presbyterian, of February 27th, 1869, commenting on the mild winter, said : " The beautiful weather of this winter (bright sunshine, just cold enough to preserve the sleighing,) surpasses anything I ever before saw, east or west. It is wonderful." So writes a correspondent.
" But the note-book of one of the oldest inhabitants of Minnesota shows the following record : The winter of 1851-2 and 1859-60 were similar to the present season. They were quite as favorable as now, as regards the mildness of the weather, and an early spring was reached, in each instance, without experiencing a heavy chill. In 1858 wheat was sown in Fillmore County on the 25th day of February. In 1860 farmers commenced sowing their wheat on the 7th day of March, and nearly all the seed was put into the ground during that month."
Winters of 1847-8-9 .- From the meteorological journal kept at Fort Snelling, we have the number of days given for three winters, during January, which is always the hardest winter month, and likewise the degree of cold, when the mercury was below zero.
January, 1847 .- 16 days with the following degrees below zero: 11, 12, 14, 18, 22, 21, 22, 16, 10, 24, 12, 12, 6, 4, 22, 4.
January, 1848 .- 5 days with the following degrees below zero: 24, 11, 2, 4, 6.
January, 1849 .- 14 days with the following degrees below zero : 1, 9, 14, 7, 25, 15, 1, 13, 6, 29, 7, 10, 8, 4.
When Cold Here it is Cold Everywhere .- By reference to the table of temperature for December, 1868, it will be observed that the 11th was the coldest of the month-the mercury being 13º below zero.
78
THEORY OF THE CLIMATE.
By telegraph it appeared that the same cold spell pre- vailed all over the country. Milwaukee was reported at 10° below zero; Madison, 8° below ; St. Louis, 7º below ; Omaha, 10° below ; Cincinnati, 10° below ; Cairo, Ill., 10° below. The following is an extract from the telegraphic dispatches to the St. Paul papers about this time :
CHICAGO, Dec. 12 .- Reports from all sections of intense cold. At St. Louis and Kansas City the mercury was 15 degrees below zero. [Another account says 7 degrees.]
AUGUSTA, Ga., Dec. 12 .- A heavy sleet last night; weather cold.
DETROIT, Dec. 12 .- Extreme cold weather has put a sudden stop to navigation. River full of ice, and jammed in near Malden.
THEORY OF THE CLIMATE .- Effect of winds; effect of moisture ; effect of Pacific and Gulf Stream, &c. Why we do not feel the cold.
What is Cold ?- When we say we are cold, we simply mean that our body has parted with its normal heat. This may be caused by a damp, raw atmosphere, with the mercury at 32° above zero, as well as by a dry, crisp atmosphere, with the mercury at 32° below zero. It may be caused by the application of a wet blanket with the mercury at summer heat, or by exposure to a raw wind with the mercury at summer heat.
You may be as cold in Indiana or Kentucky, or Texas, with a raw, chilling, damp atmosphere, with the mercury at 32° above zero, as in Minnesota with the mercury at 32° below.
Why we do not feel the Cold .- A moist atmosphere is a conductor. Wind is a conductor. Rarely having either in Minnesota during our cold terms, the warmth of the body is retained, and not abstracted ; and a sensation of chilliness is rare, even in the coldest weather.
79
ABSENCE OF WIND.
Effect of the Wind .- Dr. Kane, in his Diary in the Arctic Regions, says the wind adds 30° to the cold. He says :
"Our experience has taught us to prefer 40° below zero, with a calm, to 10° below with a gale in the face.
* I walked myself into a comfortable per- spiration this morning with the mercury at 42° below zero.
* A breeze sprang up; it was very gentle, but instantly the sensation came over me of intense cold."
Dr. Owen, in his official report (1851) on Minnesota, says :
"Since it is usually very calm when the thermometer is so low, the cold is not felt so much as when the mer- cury is higher with a breeze."
Absence of Wind during the cold terms in Minnesota .- This we have proved by the personal testimonials on the climate in preceding pages, and by Dr. Owen, just quo- ted. We merely add the result of years of observations published in the official reports from the different mili- tary stations of the U. S. as to the force of the wind in Minnesota and other places. In Minnesota, 1.87; Con- necticut, 2.67 ; New York, 2.96 ; Maine, 2.63 ; Penn- sylvania, 2.20 ; Michigan, 2.26; Iowa, 2.48 ; Kansas, 2.09.
We do not mean to say that we have no wind during the winter, but merely that it is rarely windy during the " cold terms." What wind we have is in the moderate weather almost entirely.
Prevalence of Southerly Winds during the year .- From the Army Register kept at Fort Snelling of the temper- ature, &c., twelve years' observations show that the yearly average of south and southerly winds was 172 days, or nearly half the year.
80
THEORY OF THE CLIMATE.
Dryness of the Winter Air .- Absence of Moisture .- Besides the personal testimonials, in preceding pages, to show that we have rarely a rain in winter, we present the following :
" Rain has not fallen in winter but once in many years. The whole winter is a radiant and joyous band of sunny days and star-lit nights."- Wheelock's official report.
Inches of water falling in rain and snow during the winter .- Minnesota, 1.92 ; Philadelphia, Pa., 9.26 ; New York, 10.79; Mass., 10.83 ; Oregon, 26.80 ; Mo., 6.29 ; R. I., 13.30 .- Disturnel on Climate.
Cold not regulated by Latitude .- Prof. Maury, for- merly Superintendent of the Observatory at Washington, says : "Most men of our age were educated under the belief that parallels of latitude and terrestrial climates are correlatives ; that we might tell the temperature of any unknown country or region of country if we knew its latitude. Humboldt and Dove exploded this idea, with their isothermal lines. For example, they show that the mean annual temperature of North Cape, lat. 70°, in Europe, is the same as that along the north shore of Lake Superior, in lat. 50°. Here is a difference of 20° of latitude without any difference in the average annual temperature of the two places."
Disturnel, " On the Influence of Climate," says : "The temperature of latitude 40° on the Atlantic finds its parallel in latitude 50° on the Pacific." He quotes an English writer as saying: "The western side of the continent is greatly warmer than the eastern. For ex- ample, the Island of Sitka has a mean annual tempera- ture of 42º, while Nain, in Labrador, near the same latitude, 57º, has a mean temperature of only 29°."
Quebec, in lat. 46°49, has a mean of 40}°; Ottawa, Canada, in 45°23, a mean of 422°. He quotes Bonny-
81
WARM AIR.
castle, on Newfoundland, as saying if the laws of climate were regulated by the thermal zones which philosophers have drawn around the globe, Newfoundland would be an abode for man, equally free from great heats and from intense cold, as it lies in nearly the same parallels as France ; whereas it has the general temperature of the European countries situated 15 or 20 degrees higher than the northern shores of that fertile country.
He places the mean annual temperature of St. John, Newfoundland, 472º north, the same as St. Petersburg, Russia, 60° north, viz., 39° Fah.
The Gulf Stream and Warm Air from the Pacific Ocean. -The same author says the great Equatorial Current and Gulf Stream, carrying in its extended course warmth and moisture, penetrates the Valley of the Mississippi far inland, until met by counter currents of air sweeping across the Rocky Mountains north of the 49th parallel.
Prof. Hind's Report on the Sascatchewan, says :
"Warm air from the Pacific Ocean passes at certain periods of the year over the whole range of the Rocky Mountains in British America and the United States. The winds become more warm and more dry as they descend the eastern Rocky Mountain slope, until they meet the moist winds from the Gulf of Mexico, passing up the Valley of the Mississippi."
As a consequence of the Pacific current, Capt. Mullan's report is quoted by Mr. Disturnel, showing that the tem- perature of Walla-Walla, in latitude 46°, is similar to that of Washington City, in latitude 38°; the temperature of Clark's Fork, in latitude 48°, to that of St. Joseph, Mo., in latitude 41° ; the temperature of Bitter Root Valley, in latitude 46°, to that of Philadelphia, in latitude 40°.
Gov. Isaac I. Stevens' report gave the winter tempera- ture of Fort Benton, 1853-4, on the Missouri River, in
82
THEORY OF THE CLIMATE.
latitude 47°49, as 25° above zero, while at Quebec, 1 de- gree further south, the same winter it was 11º above zero, and at Montreal, nearly 3 degrees further south, it was 13º above zero: Fort Benton, in latitude 47°49, having the same winter temperature as Chicago, in latitude 41º53.
These facts are sufficient to dispel the theory that Min- nesota must be cold and inhospitable, because of its high northern latitude. Moreover, "The favorable climate and soil are not confined to Minnesota and Dakota, but extend north to the valleys of the Assiniboine and Sas- catchewan rivers, in British America."
Apropos to this, Carlton, correspondent of the Boston Journal, in July, 1869, wrote from Red River :
One of the most wonderful features of this region is its cli- mate. Here we are in latitude 46, several degrees further north than Boston, but the summers are longer than in Massachusetts, and the winters, though colder, are less severe than in that State. The air is dry, the days calm; and the hundreds of men that I meet, who have come hither from Maine and New Hamp- shire, selecting this as their future home, say that this climate is far preferable to that of New England.
Yesterday I saw a Scotchman, who lives five hundred miles north of this point in a straight line, on the shore of Lake Win- nipeg. The winter, there, he says, is not so severe as at Chicago. Scientific men have speculated on this phenomena, but we have seen no satisfactory explanation. Doubtless it is due to a combination of causes : the influence of the great lakes on the one side and the Rocky Mountains on the other ; to the Missouri and Mississippi and Red rivers : to the currents of air sweeping up the Missouri valley from the dry plains of Nebraska. Be the cause what it may, the fact remains that here-reaching from Chicago northwest, over a territory embracing Wisconsin, Minnesota, Dacota, Northern Montana, and a vast region in the British Possessions-lie the wheat lands of North America.
83
THE ISOTHERMAL LINE.
THE ISOTHERMAL LINE, OR THE LINE MARKING THE SAME MEAN ANNUAL TEMPERATURE THROUGH AMERICA AND EUROPE, AS APPLIED TO MINNESOTA .- MINNESOTA FURTHER SOUTH THAN THE MOST POPULOUS EUROPEAN STATES .- From the London Financial Chronicle :
There is a portion of this country which promises in a few years to yield to none other in population, wealth and produc- tions. It is a region, however, now comparatively unknown, of vast extent, of healthful climate and of large resources. It has for its streams the upper waters of the Mississippi, those of the Red River of the North, of the Assinniboine and of the Sas- katchewan. It touches the shores of Lake Winnipeg, extends far westward along the borders of the United States and of the New Dominion to and beyond the Rocky Mountains. It has Lake Superior for its eastern limit. The State of Minnesota, part of Wisconsin, part of Dakota, and a broad section of the New Dominion lie within this region. At first thought one would say that this section was far to the northward, but a glance at the map shows that while St. Paul is in the latitude of Venice, the northern shore of Lake Superior is in the latitude of Paris, two hundred miles further south than London, and seven hundred miles further south than St. Petersburg. The summer isothermal line of seventy degrees, which passes through the wheat growing regions of Russia, and through Southern France, strikes this continent on Long Island, bends down into Pennsyl- vania, skirts the northern limits of Ohio and Indiana, passes from the foot of Lake Michigan to the Mississippi just north of St. Paul, and then sweeps up to latitude 52, three and a half degrees north of Paris. Some of our school misconceptions of geography are corrected by the practical knowledge we acquire in this day of enterprise and action. It is under and around this isothermal line that the richest wheat-growing regions of the United States lie, and it is near this line that the remarkable development of the last few years has been made.
The whole theory in a nutshell .- The above isothermal line is given as a concluding summary of the Minnesota climate. We will add one more, giving the whole theory of our climate in a nutshell.
84
THEORY OF THE CLIMATE.
Baron Von Humboldt remarks that " Humidity, a calm state of the air, the purity of the atmosphere, the degree of habitual transparency of the air, the serenity of the sky, have an important influence not only on the organic development of plants and the ripening of fruits, but also on the feelings and whole mental disposition of man."
Clarke, State Geologist, in his report, says of this, if he had visited Minnesota he would have said, " the degree of habitual transparency of the air and serenity of the sky of Minnesota have an important influence," &c.
SNOW .- The average winter monthly fall of snow is given in Wheelock's official report as six inches : average depth during the winter, eight inches.
RAIN .- Inches .- Winter, including snow (melted) 1.92 ; spring, 6.60 ; summer, 10.92 ; autumn, 5.98 ; whole year, 25.43. Oregon, whole year, 68.52; Missouri, 37.83 ; Texas, 22 ; Massachusetts, 42 ; New York, 33 ; Pennsyl- vania, 34. During the six warm and growing months : Minnesota, 19.35 ; Philadelphia, Pa., 20.94 ; Worcester, Mass., 23.15 ; Athens, Illinois, 26.30 .- Army Register.
FROST .- Having as shown above, the spring, summer and fall temperature of the greatest agricultural States in the Union, with the additional influence of over 1000 lakes, a dry air, and a thoroughly drained soil, it is not too much to claim that we are equally free from untimely frosts, as well as less liable to be injured by them.
Mr. Wheelock's report gives the following record of frosts as reported from the Army Register kept at Fort Ridgely, in the same or a higher latitude than St. Paul.
FROST RECORD OF FORT RIDGELY .- Earliest Fall Frost. -1853, Sept. 20; '54, Oct. 4; '55, Sept. 27; '56, Sept. 19 ; '57, Sept. 29 ; '58, Sept. 8; '59, Oct. 18; '60, Sept. 11. The only two years reported show the earliest spring frosts May 11th and May 8th.
85
MINNESOTA SCENERY.
Scientific men hold the theory, and observation proves it, that the mercury may fall in Minnesota much below the freezing point, and on account of the dryness of the air, vegetation is not injured. Two late frosts this spring, falling after fruit trees were in bloom in the garden of the writer, failed to have the slightest effect on them, and the apples are now (in June) nearly an inch in diameter. Earliest frost in fall of 1869, Sept. 26th.
Our crops (given in another place) are the best answer to all cavils about frost. See " Agriculture " for more on the subject.
CHAPTER VII.
OFFICIAL DESCRIPTIONS OF A BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY .- THE SCENERY OF MINNESOTA .- Much on this subject having necessarily appeared in the descriptions of the different sections of the State, its groves, parks, lakes, prairies, &c., the tourist is referred to those descriptions as a complement to this chapter.
The following, from Dr. Owen's geological report, 1851, refers to that portion of Minnesota occupied by the lower magnesian limestone, which we have shown elsewhere to be Eastern Minnesota south of 45°, and part of Southern Minnesota :
The constant theme of remark, whilst travelling in the region of the Upper Mississippi occupied by the lower magnesian limestone, was the picturesque character of the landscape, and especially the striking similarity which the rock exposure pre- sents to that of ruined structures.
8
86
MINNESOTA SCENERY.
The scenery on the Rhine, with its castellated heights, has furnished many of the most favorite subjects for the artists' pencil, and been the admiration of European travellers for centuries. Yet it is doubtful whether in actual beauty of land- scape it is not equalled by that of some of the streams that water this region of the Far West.
Nature has here fashioned on an extensive scale and in ad- vance of all civilization, remarkable and curious counterparts to. the artificial landscape which has given celebrity to that part of the European continent. * We find the luxuriant sward clothing the hill slope even down to the water's edge. We have the steep cliff shooting up through it in mural escarpements. We have the stream clear as crystal, now quiet and smooth and glassy, then ruffled by a temporary rapid, or when a terrace of rock abruptly crosses, broken up into a small romantic cascade. We have clumps of trees disposed with an effect that might baffle the landscape gardener, now crowning the grassy height, now dotting the green slope with partial and isolated shade. From the hill tops, the intervening valleys wear the aspect of cultivated meadows and rich pasture grounds, irrigated by fre- quent rivulets that wend their way through fields of wild hay fringed with flourishing willows. Here and there occupying its nook on the bank of the stream at some favorable spot, occurs the solitary wigwam, with its scanty appurtenances. On the summit levels, spreads the wide prairie, decked with flowers of the gayest hue-its long, undulating waves stretching away till sky and meadow mingle in the distant horizon.
The whole combination suggests the idea, not of an aboriginal wilderness inhabited by savage tribes, but of a country lately under a high state of cultivation and suddenly deserted by its inhabitants-their dwellings indeed gone, but the castle homes of their chieftains only partially destroyed and showing in ruins on the rocky summits around.
Carlton, in July, 1869, writes the Boston Journal from Minnesota :
The larger lakes are bordered by parks and groves, presenting landscapes of indescribable beauty. Many a pioneer on this Northwestern verge of civilization may look out from the door of his log cabin on scenery as enchanting as any in Old England.
87
LAKE SUPERIOR.
"True, there is no background of mountains, no rocky crag, or deep and tortuous defiles; but there are undulations, sunny slopes, gentle swells, rounded wood-crowned summits, looking down upon lakes and ponds dotted with emerald islands, or clear waters dancing in the sunlight or reflecting from the glassy surface the transcendental beauty of the landscape.
This region is attractive not only because of its soil and genial clime-not because there is great prospect of material wealth-but here nature has done much to promote that æsthetic culture, without which a community never can reach the highest plane of civilization. Here, in coming years, on the borders of these lakes, costly mansions will be reared. Where now the pioneer feeds his pigs will be seen parks and lawns.
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