St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-08-25
THIS YEARS WHEAT CROP.
IN Northern Minnesota and DakOt'
probable Litigation.

III NOEIkEGFIE NEEEkECSBtG s1a7Nk
--PrObabIe Litigation.
From gentleman who has just returned
from ten days trip through Dakota and
Minnesota, making crops and harvest
study, a good deal that is pertinent to the
subject was cleaned by a GLOBE reporter
yesterday. In Minnesota, along the lines
Of the Manitoba and Northern Pacific, the
harvest is somewhat more than half mn
ished. and it has been definitely proven that
In the last month great and serious damage
has been DONE 4 week ago when the
self-bnderS first started in it was thought
this section had suffered from various
causes to the extent of not more than tWen-
ty-five per cent, but further develop
ments 90 to show that the loss IS more IMAM
that. and conservative men now estimate
the present crop as not more than sixty per
cent. in yield and quality OF an average
crop. or more plainly put, the damage
has been not less than 30 per cent. The
heat. late in July and early August, has
been the most potent factor as the wheat
kernel shriveled up. rusted or was entirely
ruined by blight. Then came heavy rains
that in the fiat country did large damage by
making the ground so soft that it was I'M
possible to get Self-binderS to work, and re-
course was had to cradles, scYtlIeS and other
primitive methods of harvesting. The loss
from this condition of the fields alone viii
be heavy, as it will be impossible to save all
the grain until it gets over ripe. and then it
shells out badly in handling. Hail has been
no small factor in the general devastation,
to which has been added the chlnch bug,
though the loss from this last cause has not
been very heavy.
SOME LITIGATION LIKELY,
The same results obtain to the grain from
the ravages of the chinch bug and the visit
alton of a hail storm, so that it is not al
ways easy 10 definitely distinguish injury
from these causes. The bug crawls up the
stalk and burrows into it near the head,
which topples over, hanging by a mere
fiber which the harvester, of course, breaks
off and the head drops to the ground and is
lost The same results follow
from a hail storm. The storm
striking the head of grain breaks the stem
and leaves it exposed to the harvester,
which knocks it to the ground, and the
same loss ensueS. 1t is this similarity that
bids fair to he a fruitful source of litigation
throughout the section where hail has been
at all prevalent. The hail insurance COM
panes have been very quick TO appreciate
the difficulties the farmer might have i'll
proving that his loss did not result from the
chinch bug rather than from a hail storm.
And as there is scarcely a field of wheat in
Northwestern Minnesota where the bug
cannot be found, though he may not be
working to any extent, it will be seen that
the farmer will have as hard time prov
ing that his injury resulted from causes
against which he was insured rather than
by the bug which no company insureth
against 1t is a question with many farm
erS whether hail insurance is a profitable
investment at per cent. per month on
their growing crops.
ACROSS THE RED.
After crossing into Dakota complaints of
damage from these causes dwindled to the
minimum, and when the Devils lake, Park
river and Mouse river countries are reached
there Is no sign OF damage from any cause,
and the crop, now nearly harvested, is the
largest and best ever raised in Dakota. A
field in this section of country that does not
Yield twenty bushels to the acre this year i,
the exception, and many farmers conf
IDENTIFY expect the thresher to give then
twenty-five bushels, and in some cases
thirty. The straw is remarkably heavy
the heads long and perfectly filled and the
kernels plump and hard. 1t will be almost
all No. 1 hard in North Dakota. The
amount of wheat which some small station,
will handle this year is remarkable The
new town of Park River, on the LarimOre &
Northern, viii probably be the greatest
shipping point in the territory. Last year
with but one elevator, light crop anG
small acreage, over 500. 900 bushels o.
wheat found a market here. and this year.
with four elevators, mOnStrouS croD anC
an acreage at least doubled, il is fair to say
that at least one million bushels of whea
viii find market here.
THE NEW CROP.
A few car loads of new wheat have al
ready found their way into the elevators a.
various points in Northern Minnesota, bu
not enough yet to create an opening pric,
of any stability. Sixty cents has beer
paid for the little that has been sold, but
this is no criterion, and experienced wheat
buyers predict that as soon as it gets dried
out so that il can be properly graded No. /
hard will command at least 40 cents. anC
perhaps more. There is a well-detlned be
lief eXtant that even better price than thi.
VIII be Obtainable before many weeks. and
all VIII delay selling as long as possible
All wheat-buyerS are arranging to advance
money on wheat for the accommodation OF
their customers, that they may realize some
profit if the product should advance in
price.
NEW THING IN FARMING.
Farmers have adopted new departure
in farming, which, as far as practiced thi
year, has met with admirable results
This is summer following. A large farme
living near Beltraine, Norman county
said that he allowed one-half his farm t,
lie idle last year and summer fallowed if
and then gave it TO seed this spring. allow
ing the other half to rest this year under
summer fallow. He is of the Opinion
that he will have as much wheat off iron
the half of his farm that he worked thi
year as he has had from it all in previOu
years. The theory embraces two distinc
ideas. One is that the land after resting ;
year IS much more productive, and the othe
is that the summer following kills off al
the weeds, especially that pest of Northern
Minnesota, the wild mustard; in fact. som
farmers have been compelled to resort +
summer following to rid themselves of thi
nuisance. The gain resulting from the res
the land gets and from the killing off of th
weeds and mustard is not all the gain to tn
farmer, for it viii be readily seen that tn
expense in harvesting seeding and prepar
ing the land will be large per cent. les
for 600 acres than for 1000 acres. so tina
the advantage to the tiller of the soil arts
ing from summer following can hardly b
estimated. 1T is destined to make farmin
on the prairieS of Northern Minnesot
much more profitable than it has been i
the past.