The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1878-07-04
THATSIxTY MILLIONS COMING.


Last year the estimated wheat crop
of Minnesota was 100000 bushels,
and this set the whole world to running
up this way to ''get them some." See
ing what we could do in that way,
everybody said, Lets make it 60,000,-
600 bushels next year." And no soon
er said than off went their coats, and
up went their sleeves and at it they
went. Nature encouraged the boys
and said, "go in, YOU young rascals!
Whoop her up! Ill attend to watering
the crops! Only you go in and plow
and SOW, and We'll show 'em whether
this is a region of ice-bergs with ten
months winter and two months late in
the fall! Keep it up lively, boys. :"
Well, the boys went in. and from I'LL
sides We hear of magnificent wheat
promising even Il larger yield than last
seasons. Hon. L. B. Hodges has been
up on the Main Line of the St. Paul
and Pacific and writes a letter to the
Pioneer-Press from which we extract:
You ought to go up the main line of
the st. Paul & Pacific railroad. You
ought to 60 now and see with your own
eyes the wonderful transformation of
the "IIowling wilderness" into the
most magnificent wheat fields on the
continent. have been up in Stevens
county most of the time since March
1st, and have taken hand in the grand
drama now being so successfully play
ed on the broad prairies of Kandiyolli,
Swift, Stevens and Grand counties.
When Gen. Becker commenced break
ing that farm,' five years ago this sea-
son, the country west of Benson was
considered worthless. It was next to
an impossibility for Uncle Sam to give
away any OF his quarter sections, OF
for the railroad company to sell any of
theirs. From Becker's farm west to
the Big Stone and Traverse was an IN.
broken wilderness, with the single
exception Of the stage station ut Toqua.
To-day you can't find Il government
quarter section but what is taken lex
! cept here and there Gully and but lit.
tie railroad land. The opening Of that
farm by Gen. Becker demonstrated the
value and wonderful productive capac.
lty of the soil, and has been all exam.
pie that thousands have since very
successfully followed; and the sale of
that farm to Er. Switzerland, Of Pough
keepsie, n. Y, for $31 900, all cash
down, is the triumphant vindication
of the faith, pluck and judgment that
developed this baronial estate. The
miles of willow hedge, the thrifty
beautiful groves forming landmarks
that from certain points Can now be
seen for twenty miles, growing and
spreading with tropical luxuriance
which have sprung from the eartl
within four years, us if ut the bidding
of the magician, must laye had some
thing to do in drawing that $3l COO
from DR.. Switzerland. l once, on ;
small piece, raised one hundred bush
els of oats er acre in Olmsted county
There is a patch Of 800 acres of oats
now standing OH the Hecker farm, as
good as ever saw. You can put then
anywhere from sixty to one hundred
bushels per acre. This IS my thirty
third season among the wheat fields o.
the northwestern prairies, and during
that whole period have never seen =;
better show for an immense crop thar
have seen this season. The only ex
ceptions are on sod where the grount
is naturally moist. On such grounl
many pieces of wheat have been badly
damaged by too much rain. The old
est ground is showing the heavies
growth. The first crop is nowhere
side of the second, third, and fourth
In haste.