Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, D.T. [N.D.]) 1878-1884, 1882-09-01

No. j S.
: It fought hard to convince the world Of
the fertility Of the soil and the desirable
climate. At last assistance has arrived,
and it has dawned upon the people that
the Missouri slope is the best part of
North Dakota. Curtis, in a later letter to
the Inter. Ocean than appeared in yester-
days paper, says: doubt if New
England farmer could be induced to be-
lieve that oats ever grew so thick and so
large and so heavy as to yield seventy five
bushels to the acre, and yet there are
pieces of land in this country, 200 miles
miles west Of the Red river valley, that
have yielded this year as much as eighty
bushels to the acre, and there are some:
farmers who claim to have harvested a
hundred bushels.
Uncle Rufus Hatch, of New York, who
has just been over the line, says that be-
fore he came out here he wouldn't have
been convinced by a barn full of atfidavits
that half he has actually seen was true,
and that from this time on he will believe
ANYTHING he hears about the crops in Da-
kota; no matter who says it.
| The crops around Bismarck were never
so good as this year, and Uncle Rufus
chose the right time to visit this country,
for it has It's broadcast smile on duty just
as harvest Is beginning. The people of
Bismarck are doing more in the farming
way than formerly, and are just beginning
to discover what a bonanza they have in
the beautiful undulating country around
them. The soil in Burleigh county may
not be as deep as 1t in Cass, but it pro-
duces just as we'll, and those who have
been content to rest their prosperity sole
ly upon trade in town are commencing to
realize that there is more money in
plowed ground than there is in merchan-
disc. The bearing qualities of The soil
have not been thoroughly advertised, but
the people are waking up to it, and the
chamber of commerce of Bismarck is
bringing public attention to the attrac-
tions of the locality for agriculture.
Some of the finest farms in the entire
country will be found around Bismarck,
on the streams which flow into the Mis-
souri, from the eastern slope, and on the
western slope, along the valley of the
Hat, the Sweetbrier, the Curlew, and the
Green rivers there Is vacant territory
which must soon be occupied, and rival
the entire west in its productions.
| The Coteaus are admirably fit for stock
grazing. The native grasses are, among
the most nutritious anywhere known.
Fine hay meadows abound, yielding two
and half tons of choice hay to the acre.
Ample natural shelter is afforded in the
glens and recesses Of the hills. The con-
ditions Of climate are such as to insure
Derfect health among stock. In years of
average weather the choicest of summer
Igrazing may be had from June 10 to Oc-
tober 15.~ Cattle increase rapidly in
weight feeding on the grasses of these
glens. A single instance, to illust1 ate, may
be cited of a COW which, bought fat in Oc-
tober, then weighed ,345 pounds, weighed
when killed, five weeks later, 1,495
pounds, thus increasing $50 pounds in
five weeks on these grasses. Sheep do
particularly we'll. The effect of the eli
IN ate is to make the .feeces heayier. Com
mon sheep, yearlings, have sheared 81
pounds to the fleece. With the best grass
! in the world the year round, the best and
cheapest hay, and a climate that is advan-
tageous fol the purpose, butter and cheese
making must become one of the most
profitable industries in North Dakota.
The farmer from the east can bring his
COWS with him by lake to Duluth (and
\ the railroad company being anxious to
encourage this industry, will give him
such freights as to make their transporta-
ton an inducemenD, and can commence
making money at once whereas the
wheat farmer has to wait until the fall Of
the second year before he can realize
anything from his investments. He can
indulge in section Of wheat, If he
chooses, and cultivate that at the same
time he runs his dairy. In case the Win-
ter is severe and the pasturage is cat off,
the dairymen can get the best hay in the
world for the cost, OF cutting, which is
about 81 so an acre. Another practicable
advantage, especially IN butter making,
will be found in the cool, delightful sum-
mer temperature of North Dakota. In
the large and older butter making dis
tricts of the country, through the hot
months, good butter cannot be made, and
poor butter never pays. Here it would
be entirely different; the process could
go on through all the summer months
unhindered, with scarcely a day that
would leave anything to be desired.'
The Grand Forks Herald speaks rather Bit
terly of the fact that Grand Forks will not
be represented at the Minneapolis fair, and
says the blame is solely that of its citizens,
as the fair management and the Manitoba
road have offered them every inducement.