Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1882-02-23

The weather admonishes US to prepare
for an early spring. and as the seeding
season approaches W.T. would take the op
portunity to appeal to our farmers to for
sake the damfool policy of raising nothing
but wheat, and make new departure by
following the only sure road to successful
versified farming. This growing wheat
year after year to the complete neglect OF
other cereal crops which yield as equally
large rcturus; to the neglect also of stock
and of various farm produce, is suicidal
policy, one that it impoverishing the land,
running the farmer, and working disas-
trously to every interest. Butter is scarce
and of poor quality; oats and buck
wheat are in demand and the prices high;
pork is a shorty supply and yet large
prices are offered; beef is of poer quality
and then not obtainable; mutton and veal
are rarities; potatoes can't be had even at
outrageous prices. We might go on emu
merating the various other articles which
can be abundantly produced in this region,
or enumerate the incompatible opportunir
ties for raising stock, establishing daries,
etc., but we are ashamed to show the need
less poverty of our markets, especially as
we are in the centre of a farming region
possessing as rich, fertile and productive a
soil, and as magnificent climate as is to
be found in the length and breadth OF the
continent. Yet some may ask, why is it,
if your natural advantages are as you
claim, that you do not produce all these
staple articles of produce? Well, there is
just the peiIt; every farmer raises too
much wheat; every dollar goes into open
ing up vast tracts of land for wheat farms
everything else is neglected, and as re-
suit the majority OF tue farmers and the
business men are dependent upon one crop
alone. If this crop proves a success,
things of course are very fattcring, but in
uufavorable seasons the result is as disas-
trous as would be The sudden drying up of
all wells in the oil regions. We must
sooner or later abandon this policy; the
| whole system is wrong, it is ruinous.
A few successive years of large wheat
crops and favorable prices started every.
body farming. Merchants, lawyers, bank
ers, ministers, machinists, carpenters,
book keepers, in fact every body who
could leave the cities started for the wheat
producing region. intent on opening up
farms, raising wheat and getting rich at
once. This idea possessed them all, the
weather. class opened farms thousands of
acres in extent, the less wealthy had their
hundreds of acres under the pillow, and so
it went down the scale, every available
dollar being put into wheat land. I'M
mense tracts were brought under cultiva-
ton and large sums expended, but the
crops prove poor, and it is little wonder
they were, considering that there were
few practical farmers among the new set.
tiers, and considering the way many of the
farms were mismanagcd. AS o result
there has been a great change of late.
farms are changing owners and the lands
are being rapidly occupied by practical
farmers. Yet we regret to see these new
men infected with this wheat raising
mania, and would admonish them that this
relying wholly on one crop is hazardous in
the extreme, and will work disastrously;
IL cannot do otherwise.