The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1884-03-29
Our Northwest Letter.
Special to the CAuBoN ADVOCATE

MINNEAPcLIs, March % 1884
The ntess Of the Northwest has taken
hold o the problem as TO what the farmers
of Minnesota and Dakota must do to be
come lairly successful In their business.
The results Of last season have convinced
every fair minded man that wheat cannot
be depended upon. A profit Of SIS per
acre is not enough TO support the farmer
and family, keep his farm in good coudi.
zion and help pay off the mort gage, but that
Is sbdtit hll that can be made by raising
wheat. So that now, instead of long edi.
torisls about the advantages OF raising
wheat, the papers TEEN with articles urging
and praying the farmers to raise stock, and
bright pictures are drawn showing the
wealth 10 be derived from the dairy, &c.
The breeding Of blooded stock is urged, and
farmers are told how thev should buy only
thoroughbred Jerseys or Shorthorns. This.
to the average farmers ofthe Northwest, is
like inviting him to invest in diamonds
when he cannot afford bread. But the
farmers of the Red River Valley are to be
helped out by the president of the railroad
which traverses this "Lake Park" region.
This apparently philanthrppie Individual
owns 32ee ucres Of land and water abont
eight miles from St. Paul. where he has
some choice specimens of Jerseys, Short
horns and Puled Aberdeen-Angus. He
has also, en- route from Great Britain about
80 Polled Angus bulls OF fine strain, and
within the next two years expects to i'm
& port about 100 Of these animals. His
scheme is to distribute these bulls in the
counties adjoining his road where they will
be kept in charge by competent man for
the use ol farmers who desire to Improve
their stock. A fee will be charged sufficient
To c"yer expenses and probably leave
profit for the owner. The gentleman does
not wish to figure as Il beneisctor, but there
is no doubt but that he has hit upon a most
sensible and practicable plan to improve
tbe condition OF the farmer as well as his
stock
A prominent stock raiser in the North
west states that the average loss Of cattle on
the Montana ranges this year will only av.
ersge about - per cent as against q ner
cent E,r last winter. These figures. consid
erug that the cattle winter themselves.
seems almost Incredible hut are about cor
rect. The natural increuse of stock is about
so per cent and the price on the hoof is
ab"ut $50 co per head, SO that the outlook
Tor the cattle man is bright,
The amount of machinery necessary to
plant and harvest the crops of the North.
west 10 enormous. The labor for seedtime
and harvest is performed from the LIST of
May to the lst of October and ns during
The balance Of the year, there Is nothing for
the wheat farmers to do, few can afford to
hlre help all the year round, 50 that when
fahvs IA needed all want it and prices are
high And then everything must be done
with rush, so that machinery is resorted
b IN pluee Of manual labor. To properly
equip a l,rHf Of l60 acres with the plows,
harruws, see'ieTs, rollers, mowers aud har-
Veslers generally used, requires an outlay Of
shout $4,000. True, meme Of this money
need be ''cash," but the laet that one, two
aud thrre years are gwen the farmer to pay
lOT his implements makes il worse for he
pays la 10 per cent interest on his paper
The teniptatiun to buy machines under
such circumstances is very great aud lew
FARMERS look ahead 10 see how they are
euming out The total number of agrcul.
iurab maehines sent out from st. Paul aud
Minneapoks to the Northwest for 1883 was
$500 car loads
The largest land and lumber sale ever
msSe in Wisconsin was completed few
DAYS since. The tract comprises 1000 acres
ofDtne lands covered by lO0, 900 900 feet of
timber This was purchased few wears
ago for sTT,sOO, and has just been sold for
500 900. This Is but repetition of sales
in Michigan timber lands, and shows how
the devastating axe is sweeping westward
Minnesota will come next and then there
will be a jump across Dakota 10 Idaho, and
the western territories.
The cattle plague is causing some cor.
sterDation In parts Of Kansas, Nebraska
and Iowa, but this dread disease has not as
vet made havoc IN the herds and il is
thought by some TO be sensational manner
OF working upon Congress for the passage
of Senator Miiler's animal industry bill.
BE this IS u NAV there is unanimly in the
i"eling among eattle men that there should
hs national or state legislation to enact
measures To cope with the plague and pro-
vide agHinst epdemios IN this important
branch 0i our industries.
One OF the arguments used to induce
men IN come West is that there is no com
Tetition, and this theory is being enlarged
upon by the western press with renewed
ygoF az this time because of the dullness OF
trade in the eastern states. Ia the interests
Of ruth il should We said the merchant " ho