The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1884-03-06
fIK4I1fMABoUrOENTaAL kANsAs.
O. A. Experience ofTen Years b Sc
Tire couut7.
RYL w ANos

every citizen should discharge, %
VindIcats the truth Of history. Per
sonaIlg have no interest 20 subseFve
only that which IL common 70 all Of
us~4hs further development Of the
resources and wealth Of cur county.
Having said this much IN q prelim-
mary Way,I shall lay down the sim
pie. bat broad proposition, that no
where in the United States can there
be e. much realized, In proportion to
the amount Of capital employed by
farming, - right here in Central
Kansas. Nowhere elss can there be
a. much good soil ready for the plow,
obtained for the ssms money, with
lie productive and remunerative ca
paeity. Nowhere else can there be &c
much pasture and wheat and rye OBJ
tanned from an aeFsOf ground. From
an aere OF ground here il Saline
county, costing from ten 10 twenty
I've dollars per acre, more grain eau
BE- raised Ia q given number Of years,
with les labor, than from the same
amount Of ground costing from Eve to
ten times as much IN the State Of
Illinois. Indian OF Ohio. have not
the exact figures before me, but
approximate very closely when I say
that from 1874 20 1888, there was an
average yield Of 17l bushels per acre
of wheat. In that time there has not
been an entire failure Of the wheat
crop In this county. Three years Of
that time there wa q short crop, as
We called then, the average being
only ten bushels per acre. The year
1874, the average was nearly 20
bushels: 1898 s2-sS, the average
was 8 busheis-many fields yieldln g
e high e - bushels per acre. Dur
ing the same period Of time there has
been but one entire failure Of the corn
crop.
For two yeaFs the crop Was short in
localities. The crop has yielded on an
average, with the exception Of the 10
cal failures, from 40 TO 50 bushels per
acre. This crop fed TO hogs and cat
tleat IN average price Of pork and
beaf, realizes 10 the producer from
aftesn % twenty dollaFs per acre.
During the period named there has
ben but three short crops Of oats and
no entire failure. There has been but
one failure Of the millet crop. OF sor-
ghnm there has been 20 failure at all.
Easly planted potatoes succeed every
tine and there is never any rottlng.
BWSst potatoes always do well. Rye
sown saTly 1.-THE latter part Of August,
In the average winter affords q good
pasture. So do some varieties Of early
sown wheat, and still yields q good
crop.
Cattle and hogs do remarkably well;
there being but little disease Of any
kind amongst them. The prairie
grsss affords q nutritious and fatten-
Ing pasture. Prairie hay, millet, corn
fodder, cane and the rye and wheat
pastures make the winter feed.
Peach trees yield the third year
amer planting, and average q crop
every other year, Of excellent quality
Of fruit The crop is surer on high
land. Apples are proving to be q sue
etss. The uplands require a timber
belt on the south and west for sue
eessful apple orchard.
As 10 health, Il Is better than any
country Of which have had any ex-
perlsnce, and IL superior to Maryland
or Ohio, or any State east Of the Miss
lsslpPl. The soil is almost universally
aud uRqnallfiedly good In Saline
county. Some Of the divides between
the streams are not so well adapted to
cultivation but afford good pasture,
aud are fast being bought up for that
purpose. A comparison between the !
present time and that Of ten years |
ago, will convince any who can put |
this and that" together and draw q
conclusion, that this country and soil |
has inherent gOOd and wealth in It.
Twelve years ago, agriculture In this
county was an experiment. Now 1t
is an assured success. Then there
Was but few acres under cultivation.
The average settler after he paid his
homestead fee or his first payment IL
u was railroad land, and built his
sbanty or his dugOut. and bought a
COW and q pony team, had about ex-
hausted hB finances. In ten years the
pony has been eclipsed by the fiue
grade ClydsdRle and Mormon. The
long-hoFnsd Texas COW has given place
70 the short-horned Durham. The
nOndsscript razOr-back swine to the
elegant Berkshire and the pOrtly Po-
land. Then, scarcely a school house
gracsd the landscape and relieved or
broke the monotony OF the silence
aRd Oscillation that relgned almost
supreme. Now every family has q
Ichool house within easy reach OF
their home. Twice we were visited
By the locust commonly called grass
hOppsn) bat not fOF eight yeaEs. Two
.sasona We had ehlnehbugs, but now
aarpily no more. Occasslonly we
have high winds that are diHagreeable
bot seldom destructive. There are
some days IN simmer that are In.
furious to vegetation. The price Of
'eel is higher than In the east, but
q not e. much needed. These
re the only 'drawbacksn that can
- considered such. In this article I
AVE not space b tell the sghOls truth,
'ut I have net said anything but
THAT e the truth e understand It.
Much more could be sid Of the
for creameries, cheese and
1gaf fActoElos. grist mills, and for
loek raislhE. But Of the latter, the
laEVsl0as lnereass IN 20 short a space
{ tlus, Of good hoFsss, cattle, swine
nd even sheep, will sufficiently at
~ These who e9me thlthor now
Till reap she advantages stained, and
hs bgasats of 9 cultured and refined
ocigty. One man said to the writer,
bet when he concluded 10 come
Pet, be took the map Of Kansas and
iassd C over, and when he came to ?