The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1881-02-03
County correspondence.
STEklINd.


STERLING.
In your issue Of January Goth, !
noticed al article headed "Msat." Said
article was in the form of dialogue
between a prominent butcher and the
editor of aforesaid paper. Now, Mr..
Editor, that is just such Information Us
l want to know, why stockraising is
better than raising wheat. If you
know it as you say you do, please give
us ignorant farmers little information
for can't see this matter clearly. After
being raised in Bonnie Scotland until /
had passed my ed year, and dur.
ing that time after had passed my 9th
year, was engaged on my fathers
farm in the care of sheep and cattle
mostly, (while some of my time | spent
as plowman), and then emigrating to
the United States and spending six
years in the State of New York in
charge of Il gcntleman's place, follow
ing the above occupation, and then in
Minnesota on my own hook, following
agricultural pursuits for the last "a
years, l own | am at loss to know
whether raising stock or wheat pays
best. That is, if we give stock no more
attention than we give wheat as gen
eral thing, for generally wheat is very
carelessly attended to. Year after year
the seed is scattered on the field and
about half covered and then left to brins
forth crop, without any food or nour-
isbment for the plant, while say if
stock is taken no better care of doubt,
rs said, which will pay best.
Now, Mr.. Editor, please give us lit
tie Information. Give us the why's and
the whereioics, that stock raising will
pay better than wheat raising, because
| don't go n cent on any ones say so.
must have the facts. Now is 4 good
time to anravel this little matter.
After hearing why stockraising pays
best, may add little more.
j. DoBIE.
We are pleased that our correspond
cnt above has opened this subject for
discussion. 1t is one that bears directly
upon the interests Of every farmer in
Blue Earth county, and ought to enlist
the ideas of all. Our correspondents
idea OF wheat raising are, in the main,
practically correct, for there are large
number who put their grain upon
ground half ploughed, half dragged,
and from which all nu,rimcnt and nour
iShment have been extracted year after
year without replacing those ingre-
dicnts 80 essential to successful grain
raising. Our correspondent qualities
mis- comparisons between wheat and
stock raising by allowing only the
same shittless care of stock as is gencr.
ally given to wheat, which is not par
allcl comparison. Ono important rea-
son why stock is more profitable than
wheat, is that stock sufficiently and
properly fed, will grow and mature in
all kinds Of weather; stock will not be
retarded by too dry or "A too wet sea
son, or suffer any Inconvenience from
grashopper raids or hail storms, while
the wheat crop is Il source of anxiety to
the farmer from the time it is sown in
the Spring until it is thrcshed and sold
in the Fall. We do not desire to see
the total abandonment of raising wheat
to the exclusive raisin: of stock, or
vice versa, but think diversity would
be beneficial, for community that re-
lies wholly upon wheat must necessari-
ly suffer great inconvenience when
single crop fails, and when succession
of failures occur, with no resources Ia
fall back on, one can but imagine the
disastrous elect 1t must have. And
right here let us pin prediction, that
Dakota, which is at present great
wheat producing country, will ulti-
mately suffer collapse that will cause
IA greater reaction than it is possible to
conceive, for their whole dependence is
upon wheat alone, and when failure of
this cereal comes, and come it must,
there will be Il stampede, for the alkali
soil will not produce good grazing,
consequently farmers cant diversity,
but here in Blue Earth county every
opportunity is afforded for farmers to
raise stock as well as grain.-ED.l