The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1888-08-10

WARDWELL & THOMPSON.
$500 PER YEAR
FRIDAY AUGUST 10, 1855.
#
For President of the Quilted States,
BENJAMIN HARRl son.
of Indiana.
For Vice President of the United States,
LEVI r. MORTON,
of New York.
DAKOTA OUT OF THE RACE.
Dakota is unqucstiunahly the great.
est wheat producing country in the
Union: but even Dakota does not know
what producing is. We have 10 oh.
irc,ions to allowing Dakota to tell her
own story. The official publications. OF
the commissioner of immigration
issued authority of the !crritor.
ial Legislature. states that the aver.
age yield per acre in l's6 WAS | 10
bushels; but it is OF. the crop of 1851
that the Dalctan $ stake their rcp''ta-
ton. How proud they are of their
wheat yield of that year may he
Judged from the following cxclama.
tory paragraph in the official state.
melt: -"'rhc showing is simply as.
bounding. and almost beyom,l com.
'preIlension, viz Il yield in 1857 of
IT,. 553.449 bushels of wheat, from an
acreage of 3.SlS,154. or an average of
"li l-3 bushels, tn the acre"
This is Dakotl'S bonanza Weld. She
never had anything like it before and
does not seem Ia expect its like again,
1t is announced as ii To- strike amaze
ment into the brain of the world. and
with an air of self.complaccncy that
means that there is no place like Da.
kota.
But if Dakota is the biggest wheat
country in the Union. Manitoba call
give the biggest wheat country in the
Union start equal TO loo per cent
ard then beat it all hollow. lfayicld
of IL Is bushels Of wheat to the ;lcr,
is "slmply astounding and almost in
comprehensive" what do tile Dako
tans think of 322.4 bushels per acre
From the way in which their facul
ties are overpowercd by Ii Is bushels
they must surely collapse in the pres
ence of 32.4 bushels.
1t is explained that: "The yield OF
wheat in England is from twenty-siA
ITO twcnty.eisht bushels per acre; il
France twenty.four. about twice ~
much us in the United States. Amt
why The answer is obvious-thi:
high yield is the sole result of science
and thrift applied To farming opera
"tons.'' Dakota need not go to Eng
land or France to get examples OF
yields higher than her OWN. lugh
here in Manitoba we produce yield!
bigger than those Of either France u
England, and twice as big us those o
Dakota. Nor is the difference the re
suit of science and thrift applied t.
farming" Dakota will have to adm
that Manitoba lands are So much NOR,
fertile than her own that their wheu
yield is better by 100 per cent. Dalio
la is out of the race.-Winhipeg Ere,
Press.
In the above quotations we tliinl
IUur commissioner eNclalnHtilns o
surprise were rather in reference I,
tile wonderful increase i'll the gran,
total, rather than the average yiel,
per acre. We will pass the remark
able yield of 322.4 bushels per acre o
Manitoba with the remark that it i
Il remarkable yield, but object to thu
basis of comparison. Manitoba is
country. so far us its present settle
ment and arabic land is concerned
situated OH both sides of the Re,
River. and includes the best part o
the valleys Of the Assiniboinc, Souri,
MMl&t4er l.yancheSn..Ihe hulk of III!
than l5.GG0 square miles. Tie absurd
ity of selecting an exceptionally fer
tile and well situated corner aud com
pairing it with tho crops raised over ;
country of ten times its area is arpar
ent. The only correct method OF
comparison would be to take Il part OF
Dakota similar in situation and are;
and tlus make comparative figures. OF
else to settle up four hundred miles
square of the great Northwest Terri
tory with a like population to Dakot;
and then compare. As 1t will be some
time ut the present rate IF increase in
settlement before the Litter conlIari
son CAN lie made, the former is the
only one that is available.
Unfortunately there are no acreage
figures of cultivated lands that are re.
liable. the acreage given by the Da.
kota commissioner being largely the
result of estimate. But we notice the
fact that the two counties bordering
on the Red River in Dakota next to
Manitoba, together, have Il population
of less than 10000: that this popula.
ton frGm within Il total area of less
than 1000 square miles raised L..
100000 bushels of wheat in 1887. OF
400 bushels per capita. While Mani.
TOBIAS population of 100000. Oh the
picked lands OH both sides of the Red
River within Ill area of $1,000 square
miles. only raised 100000 bushels
or l4O bushels per capita. Now. as
the proportion of farmers to Other
classes i'll these two agricultural sec.
tons cannot vary but slightly. it
would thus seem to prove, that when
the harvest is over. that the Dakot;,
farmer of the Red River valley las
nearly three times us much grain in
his granary us his Manitoba nciyhbol
who gets "twice as much to the acre.
This ratio will prove nearly the same
if the five counties OH the west side of
the river, from the boundary line tc
Fargo. are taken. Here we will find
n yield of nearly 30.O0o,000 of bushels
ON total area equal to about half OF
the settled parts of Manitoba with
about All equal population, or Il pro.
dnction of about 800 bushels Del
capita.
If the counties Of Minnesota border.
ing on the Red River were taken,
though we have not the data at hand,
we have no doubt we would arrive at
about the same results.