The Wichita city eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1872-1883, 1878-01-24
sEDew1cK COUNTY.
wsalth--Progr ess---C County Organization.
L,nd,-.p,oduots Of Orchards, Vineyards, etc.

We have Just received from Secretary rsy,
Of the State Board OF Agriculture, his report
for November and December. II is neat
pamphlet OF sixty five pages, crowded WIN
interesting Information and valuable statisuce
concerning the Condition of fall grain ana
of stock. the movements Of grain and live
stock, the value OF field crops for 1871, the
taxable and cultivated acreage OF the otate'
land in farms, and prices Of land; chapters on
noxious insects and diseases OF stock; lead
discoveries of 1871; meteorological record ior
the year, and many other instructive facts.
Much of the statistical matter has already
been published in the EAGLE, from which
reliable source we deduct the following
statistic. and figures of our own county, with
a few comparisons. The pamphlet starts out
with table. sho wing the condition OF i'h
grain and farm animals, and adopts loo as
standard sedgwick s lands at 1856 The MIN
county IN the State; in cattle, work animals
horses and mules, ia, the second in the State;
the number of hogs having died OF cholera
during the year ending March 1, 1871. as re-
turned by the assessors, AS; in this she ranks
about the thirtistl county. The Nauonai
Bureau of Agriculture, for &c to January ~
in report from majority OF the States, av
erages the mortality at fourteen per cent,
while the average mortality in kansas is
eight per cent. OF sheep died from all causes
including killed by dogs, 4s6 head. sedg-
wick does not boast very many, sheep but
what are owned in the county are mostly hns
wooded.
For the production of winter wheat, Sedg-
wick stand. fourth in the list; amount raised,
664, 7SS bushels from s., 399 acres, averaging
about twelve bushels to the acre, valued al
about S565, 900. 1t is estimated that one-third
OF the crop is still in the country and 1t is be-
lieyed that one-haf OF the ~ crop was put
in with drills aud that nineteenth Of the rs
crop was drilled in, and majority believe
that production oftwenty per cent. more
per acre il gained by drilling, and that every
forty acres put in with drill will yield
enough more to pay for one. In rye, W.
acres were harvested, yielding 1850 bushels
with valuation OF some $1,000; spring
wheat; but little ha. ever been sown In TINS
county. We never had any faith in the ar
ticle, think it is poor stuff to handle. There
were raised 13S acarss yielding 1882 bushels,
valued at 81 ,352. One woue hardly suppose
that county but seven years old would In so
short time be able TO produce such an enor-
mons crop OF wheat and corn. But here we
are on corn 1893 acres, yielding 2.ool ,692
bushels, over forty-fye bushels to the acre,
valued at S5l0,33S 40. OF this amount 1t Is
safe 10 say that one-half still remains IN the
country unsold. The tenth county IN the
State on corn, out stripping other counties IN
the State that are three times as old. Barley
is attracting the attention of our farmers also.
One thousand two hundred and thirty -one
acres were sown, producing, according l"
statistics, 30 .115 bushels, valued al $lO'iil.io.
Sedgwick holds her own in tins production
also, being No. six. There Is no reason WI!
farmers horses, or anybody else's horses III
the county should be poor. We come III
number six on oats; lo,511 acres with 4S3,4ll
bu,hel.-lortv -one bushels to the acre, valued
at SIS 900. Twelve acres OF buekwheat were
all that we have any account oil. Why lrish
potatoes should be so scarce at TINS ume III
this market is a mystery to us, but three
counties in the State producing more muir
phics than Sedgwick. In round NUMBERS
with S23 acres we have 400 bushels, worm
s74. 070 silver dollars. Ninety bushels to the
acre is an average. Sweet potatoes grow
well also. Three hundred and thirty acres oi
sorghum, producing over $4,000 gallens OF
sweetness Sedgwck folks don't seem 10 go
much on this article compared with other
counties. There has been considerable iali-
ing off in the production OF castor beans, ye'
enough we think were raised, II manufac-
tured into oil, for home consumption. In
cotton production lie,Ie more than twelve
hundred pounds were raised. Sixteen thou
sand pounds was the greatest amount raised
Nv any county TIE state. flax. 600 bush
els, worth 5000. No Henry reported.
This might be used to good advantage al
times in this county. But few counties lead
us In the production OF tobacco. Kansas
farmers do not seem to like to grow it. To-
bacco manufacturers say that Kansas tobacco
Is equal to that grown in Connecticut; l3,-
sos pounds is Sedgwlck's stock in trade
Broom corn grows well and always brings
good price; PIG acres; with 115,i04 pounds,
valued and quick sale at S6,5Ss.s0. Tame
grasses are not very extensively cultivated or
grown, prairie grass being SO plentiful; only
about 800 acres of miet and Hungarian
harvested about 4 1000 tons; timothy mead
ows, seventy-tiye acres; clover, sixty. All
the tame grasses grow remarkably well when
sown, clover aud blue grass included.
The county contains 4s9,95i acres OF tax
able land, of which 1874 ,3l3 are under cultiva-
ton about twenty-seven per cent, OF cult
waited to tax able acres. The increase in cul-
tivatei acres during the last year is 34,31s
acres. The entire number of acres embraced
in the county is 6i5, l2o. 134.Sl3 being Guilt
waited, leaving 5lO,S0I not cultivated; twenty
per cent of whole number of acres under cul-
tiyation. Mr.. Gray arranges the counties I'D
seven groups OF ten each, in the order oil val
uation of field crops, commencin. with the
highest Sedgwick stands the fifth county IN
the first group. Only four counties in the
State lead her in value OF field products,
which is 81 300, 151. A similar table, show
ing the per cent. of yield of winter wheat in
each county to the total yield in the State for
1871, places Sedgwick fourth in the first
group and the tenth county on corn. In a
diagram, showing the assessed and true valu-
atoms OF real and personal property OF Nan
sas, by counties, for the year ending March
|. 1877, Sed.wick stands the sixteenth ceun
tv. against other counties. such for instance
as Riley. Woodson, Linn, Butler and mum
Der of others we could mention, which have
been organized for twenty-five years or more
while our organization only dates back Il
1870. In addition to what we have alread.
given. we can add that fruit grows well III
thi. county, we think, as in any other per
ton of the State. Grapes and peaches have
, been pretty thoroughly tried, and for size
quality, etc, are unsurpassed. As to our fu
ture prospects for thi, years wheat crop, a
agree that they are very hsttering indeed
True, it is long time until harvest come
again, and great many things may, nappe
2 to make it short. but the chances are larg
per cent in favor of big yield.
Harper County's Debt.
That Harper county consists OF as hne
body of agricultural and grazing lands as ca
be found In the State, there is little doubt