1865
Snyder iowa August 20^th
Dear Brother and family

your letter came to
hand a fiew days ago and I was truly
glad to hear from you after so long a
time but I was sorry to hear that
you had not got your receipt but I
will send you a paper in this letter
that will satisfy you that your pay is paid
and that I once had the receipt and
you will also see by that what your
pay was. when you answer this letter
let me know where dan is and what
he is a doing you stated in your letter
that your wheat crops was very poor in
that part of the country. well I must
let you know something about our
crops in this country we have very good
crops in this part of the country I had
ten acres of wheat sewed and five acres
of oats and the men that helped to
cut it calculate my wheat at 20 bus to the
acre and the oats at 50 bus Per acre and I count
that a pretty good crop and my corn
will average me 50 bus Per acre and I have
twelve acres of corn I have my oats and
half my wheat in the stack and I aim to
thrash this week some folks just finished
cutting yesterday .. I will let you know a
little how I am geting along in my im
provements I have been building me a work
house and citchen and smokehouse against my
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other house so I can get in to either
one of them without geting out of doors
and I also built me a grainrie ten
by fifteen with a cellar under the whole
of it and I also had twenty acres of
braking done that gives me forty five
acres in cultivation and fifteen acres of
a Pasture: and I have 14 head of cattle
and eight head of sheep and 6 head of
horses and I sold two horses this spring
for 2.60 dollars and I sold eight head of
cattle last faul at 10 dollars and I will
have eight head of hogs to sell that
will average 250 gross and pork is now
from six to eight cts Per pound wheat
is $100 per bus and oats 50 cts Per bus corn 75 cuts Per [wheat should probably be $1.00]
bus Potatoes 40 cts Per bus butter 20 cts Per lb chicke
ns $2.25 cts Per doz my fatherinlaw sold $800
dollars worth of hogs and cattle last week
and he has about that many more to
sell after a while that is about all
that I have to write for the Present
only that we are all well at the present
time and I hope this may find you
the same so no more for the Present
But remains your Brother Please
write soon and let me know about
things in general in that country
so much from your J. J. Garman
Brother and family L. A. Garman
to yourself and L. A. A. Garman
family and all L. M. Garman
enquiring friends write Soon