The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1886-01-07
aRnur wEsIEsN KANsAs.

Mr.. +. W. Brown writes the follow
ing from Kansas: ''HOW much Of the
land west of Us Is capable Of btsng
used for general farming is some
thing that not only eastern people are
interested in, but thousands OF KAN
sas people also. Many have children
growing up and some day part Of the
TOYS Il lesst will want = farm OF their
own Ia the eastern half Of the state
land Is held az such = hign figure tnAt
great many who have limited means
would prefer to 20 where land IL
cheaper, II there were any hopes that
they could succeed In time, 50 they
would have q comfortable home.
What can be done with western kau-
sus has been hard to tell; but the last
two years have satisfied many that
with good cultivation crops Of all
kinds will do well. There Is no doubt
tut that the land Is rich enough, Out
lack Of rain al times when the crops
need it most has been the difficulty
heretofore. Irrigation has succeeded
50 well that when land can be covered
with water at the needed time, the
settlement of ali land 50 situated is an
assured fact. But as 10 upland the
case Is altogether different. There Il
seems as though there was no way %
succeed without rain when II Is need
ed and II it does not come, what shall
We do? y. Z Meeker, Of the
New York Tribune said years ago, that
be had no doubt that some day the
land west Of Us would be the great
wheat fields OF the continent He
was one Of the founders Of the Greeley
-. - he hmH
several years experience in lrrigating
land, and be was very sanguine as 10
the favorable results. In his letter
he stated "that IL took one foot Of
water 10 make n wheat CROP" and all
Of the SOO, ,OUO, 900 acres Of grazing land
has q foot rain every season. so it Is
not 80 much lack Of rain as it is how
To hold il and utilize II 10 tine best Hd
vantage. When the question Is fav-
Orably settled, the days Of our great
cattle kings are numbered, and the
idea Of leasing them thousands and
millions Of acres at from : tO 5 cents All
acre Will be considered the height OF
folly. IL seems strange thst on land
where grass grows SO well that mil
lions aud millions of cattle can be kept
the year round on Il, that nothing else
will grow,
Ia coming through .Nebrasks
twelve yeuIs ago, 1 stopped over
night Witn Il settler who Was digging
uiIt \ hole in the side of bahk for u
nrw dug-nui. Part Of the sod had
been taken Oft before, and while they
Iad had an unusual amount of rain
the rivers all Over fiOwingl where tie
sod had .st been taken of, II was
hardly wet down n foot, aud ON the
uther side where the sud Was taken
off the year before, Il WAS wet down
four or five feet. Now, our western
plaius are covered with sod that is
almost impenetrable TO rain, and
when rain does come, il sOOn runs
into the gullies and In little while 10
is As dry a. If there never had been
a shower; but whenever it is broke
up and plOwed deep, most of the rain
will soak Into the ground, and wall
stay there till il sOaks away or is
evapora,sd, and il will naturally
make the country more moist even n
40 more rain falls.
THE idea is prevalent that the
plains are too high for heavy rains,
nOtwith standing physical geography
states that the heaviest rains fall In
lEtitudes 4,OOO or ) 90 feet above the
sea, which exceeds the height OF
most Of our western plains. The diff
Guilty is not 50 much, perhaps, the
height as 70 is the plains being 80 far
from the sea, and our heavy currents
of air losing most Of their moisture
before they get 30 far inland. We
have been taught that cutting away
OF forests from land, or growing lnOre,
would diminish OF cause mOre rain,
aDG / have partly thought so, too; but
Il seems we were mistaken, for accOT-
ding 10 late editorial IN the New
York Tribune, IL makes no difference;
for it says: 1t is also somewhat Curl
Gus that though occasionally severe
storms seem at times to disturb the
record, the result of sixty years ObseT-
vAIiOus shows that the annual aver
age in the eastern states remains COLI
slant, and that we have neither more
nor less rainfall on the whole than
our grandfathers had"