Omaha daily bee., 1885-08-24
WESTERN NEBRASKA.
Agricultural Development Reaches The
Very Border Of The STATE.
Cultivated Farms i'm = Region Deemed
Worthless Ten Years Ago-Gen-
eral Thayer's Changed
Opinion.

A recent visit to the western portion
of Nebraska has given me some new
light as to the development of agticul-
ture In that section durIng the present
year. / am one of those who former
ly had but little faith In the lands ss
far west as North Platte for farming
purposes, but am glad to acknowledge
the error Of judgment, for last year i
had the opportunity of seeing and
learning that Lincoln county, of which
North Platte is tho county seat, Is
rapidly becoming a populous and pros
porous agricultural county, but, 1t seemed
to me to be useless t think of opening
up farming interests any considerable
distance beyond that county, and when
1t was announced q year ago last spring,
that Hon. j. T. Clarkson, now of
Sidney, WAS engaged In bringing Into
market the Union Pacific lands through
Keith and Cheyenne counties, l had no
faith in them for farming purposes, re-
garding them as suitable only for cattle
ranges, and used to think If parties
purchased those lands ca an investment,
or for any purpose except grazing they
would be gceatly disappointed, and pre-
dIcted that general disappointment
would be the result. Within o week l
have seen the most abundant evidences of
MY MISTAKEN VIEWS,
and the fallacy of my predictions In re-
gard to the matter. And | was not alone
in entertaining these views. They were
very generally entertained.
Posing westward from North Platte
last week, l noticed from the care, on
towards Ugallaia, a field of stout, heavy
corn and also of apparently heavy oRte,
which surprised me. While the train
was at Sidney, In a casual conversation
with MIR. Clarkson and Mr.. Paine, for
merly In the U. P. land commissioners
office, l remarked that l had seen fields
of corn and osts thirty or forty miles
this side (weut) of North Platte, thst took
me by surprise. They said If | would
stop there 6 day, they would show me
some things in that county (Cheyenne)
that would still more surprise me. On
my return from the west l availed my
self of their kind offer, and | am COM
PEELED to say that l was filled with eur.
prise at what was to be seen there In the
way Of agricultural development. Riding
into the country 10 nae seven or eight
miles south of Sidney, on the high table
lands, farms were met scattered all along
the way with promising crops. Last
spring there was not a sign of cultivation
Of the soil there, not a foot of the prairie
sod had been turned. Farmers went
there In the spring; their first move was,
of necessity, to provide shelter for their
familles,-and many of them have
erected comfortable houses,-and the
next waa, to turn over the sod aud get in
the seed, which they were late In doing.
As a result of their operations 1 saw crops
there, on ground Into which the plough
WAS never put till last spring, that would
fill farmers from eastern Nebraska with
amszsment.
I SAW FIELDS OF POTATOES,
some of which were dug In my presence,
that would average from 175 to 200 bush
els to the acre. as large and handsome
potatoes as are found In any market. l
saw some fields of corn there, sod corn,
that resembled the corn crops In Central
and eastern Nebraska whore the fields
have been cultivated two or three seasons
and which this year will average thirty
five to forty bushels to the acre. Also
fields of stout oats which must yield
thirty to forty Bushels to the acre; the
wheat fields would average eighteen to
twenty bushels to the acre. Barley was
doing remarkably well. There were also
good crop, of millet. / saw some rich
timothy and clover, which n farmer had
sowed for an experiment. Also every
variety of vegetables growing on those
farms In abundance. At two places q
portion of the gardens were devoted to
beds of flowers In p~rofusior, which the
female members of the households were
cultivating and it was g very pretty sight.
The cultivation Of flax has been tried
successfully this season In that country,
az l was informed, but did not see any of
1t.
In considering this agricultural devel.
opment two facsa must be borne In mind. |
being raised, was never broken till this
iasb spring nb DSiOEo bthIeuJ tuo Otuo5 10
that all this has been accomplished
WITHOUT IRRIGATION,
and on the upland prairie. The sod In
that section on being turned over, very
easily and quickly became pulverized.
Turn over the sod, then Gross pillow 1t and
follow with the harrow, and the field LIS
then Ike one that has been cultivated
three or four years. There has been an
abundance of rainfall there all through
this season, and distributed much more
equally than at the eaOt. There has been
a rain on an average of about once a
week. Farmers have had no trouble In
finding water ut a depth of sixty to one
hundred feet, and excellent water, too.
On the low lands 1t can BIS reached at
about fifteen feet. A field of handsome
corn, thick In growth, was noticed from
the cars near Antelope station thirty
seven miles west of Sidney.
The lands of which / have been writ.
Ing were purchased last spring a. 81 to
81, 80 per acre, and similar lands are
being purchased at about those figures
now, but of course, as lands are taken
up and improved and the country fills up
the prices will advance.
In this visit to Cheyenne county lhave
Witnessed developments Ia agriculture
b. .Ao AhWa AnA