Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1886-03-04
WILD REPORTS.
Statements OF tho Successes
Of Special Crops.

E1travaHant Statements Of tho Successes
of Special Crops.
Most of the wild and reckless
ventures in farming. gardening, fruit
growing and stock-raiSing are melted
by some of the extravagant statements
that are published from time to time in
the newspapers. As rule the state
ments are not altogether false, but they
are misleading. They show, perhaps
truthfully, what one person did in a
specially favorable locality in a par
ticularly favorable year. Quite likely
the person who scores marvellous sue
cess with certain crop in particular
year failed dozen times before he
made its production pay expenses. A
respectful silence is preserved in rela-
ton to all these failures, but great
noise is made over the single success.
The publication of these great sue
cesses only shows what may possibly
be accomplished under the most favor
able conditions. 1t does not show
what can be done under ordinary con-
ditions. Neither does it show that the
enterprise was on the whole profitable.
That several farmers in various States
have raised over a hundred bushels of
sound corn per acre in field of con-
siderable size is no longer to be ques-
toned, though for some years many
doubted it. 1t is doubtful, however,
whether any increase of corn crop
above seventy-tive bushels per acre re-
suits in pecuniary gain to the producer.
There is !: pleasure in raising u very
heavy crop of corn that is not to be es
timated by means of a buShel basket,
but if the production of it is not at
tended by profit few persons can afford
the pleasure that comes from raising it.
1t has apparently been demonstrated
that it is possible during certain sea-
sons and in a few favored localities to
raise over hundred bushels of sound
corn on an acre of land, but in many
eases where this has been done the cost
of the fertilizers applied to the land
and cost of the labor expended on it
have not been paid by the harvested
crop. A farmer undertook to furnish
the material for {; newspaper item, and
was successful. He saw his name in
print many times and derived pleasure
from it.
The publication of crop reports that
rank with the ''fish stories told by
amateur anglers often has an injurious
effect. 1t induces credulous persons to
undertake enterprises which are very
certain to end in disappointment, if not
in ruin. 1t creates anticipations that
will never be realized. Every few
years the account is published of some
person who raised one thousand bush
els OF onions on an acre of land. That
such yield OF onions has been pro-
duced in more than one instance is al
together likely. But it is not likely
that one in Il thousand of those who
read the account will ever be able to
raise such crop. The conditions un-
der which the crop was produced can
not often be obtained. The land most
likely was a portion of a drained bog.
The amount of fertilizers applied to it
was large. The seed was fresh and of
a very productive variety. The season
was most favorable, and all the work
Was performed at the regular time.
These facts are not stated in the para
graph that informs many readers that
person succeeded in raising thou
sand bushels of onions on an acre of
ground. Many who read the para
graph, however, conclude to engage in
raising onions and fail to realize enough
from their crop to pay expenses. The
enormous yield reputed from small
patches of Strawberries have been the
means of inducing many to engage in
raising this fruit. They conclude that
they can in a few Years realize quite a
fortune. but they find that with even
good market for berries they pay no
better than most field or garden crops.
During the past few years much has
been written about the profit in raising
melons for the market, and the ac-
counts CT the great success of very
few individuals have served to induce
many to engage in their production.
The success of the few has resulted in
the failure of the many. The cultiva-
ton of melons extended into portions
of country not adapted to them, and
TIE crops were small and poor in
quality.
The sensational reports that have re-
suited in the greatest injury have been
those in relation to raising few special
crops, cultivating new varieties of
fruits and vegetables and raising par
ticular breeds of animals and fowls.
These reports have been industriously
circulated by persons who have seed,
roots or stock to sell. Many crcdulous
persons who have met with Indifferent
success or experienced failures with old
varieties of grains, fruits and vegeta-
b!es. or with breeds of animals and
fowls in general use, conclude that they
will be at once successful if they eX-
change the old for the new. They find,
after Il continuous trial, that the dis
carded varieties of plants and the dis
placed breeds of animals and fowls are
fully equal to those that they have OBJ
tanned at a heavy expense. The per-
sons who extolled the merits of the new
things mi ght have told the truth about
them, but they did not tell the whole
truth. They declared that grape vine
of certain variety would produce
hundred pounds of fruit, but they neg
lected to state that ii would only grow