Wichita eagle., 1889-07-16
CLEARWATER.
The Delightful City of the Center Of the
Ninnescah Valley and Surround
ing Country.
70 the Editor Of the Eagle.

] Ing SOuutry.
To the Editor OF the Eagle
One of the finest panoramic views o.
an agricultural country that can be seer
in any part of the wonderful state o.
! Kansas may be seen from the tower Of
the fine school house which is situated
on the highest point of the grand emf
nence on which is built the beautiful
city of Clearwater.
The lovely Minnesota river itself, with
its gently winding course, fringed as il
is on either side with fine growth OF
timber, may be seen for a distance OF
| ten miles to the northwest and the same
distance to the southeast on its way to
| join the great Arkansas. If one sweeps
the eye around the horizon they can see
about 140, 900 acres of as fine, rich farm
ing lands as one could wish to look upon
and capable of sustaining as dense a
population as the same amount of terri
! tory in any country, and l might say
and say it from nineteen years of practl-
cal experience and close observation,
that in not one single instance has its
, capabilities ever yet been tested.
| The great bulk of the farming
that is being done in this country
is nothing more or less than burlesque
on farming, The soil is SO fertile and
SO easy to work that the people seem to
have made up their minds that it is not
necessary to go to very much trouble to
raise good enough crop. Perhaps more
| abundant crops were never seen on the
ground than those in this country the
present season, but l don't think that
any experienced, observing man will
deny it when [ say that we have only
two-thirds of the quantity that we might
have lad, with thorough and practical
good farming, and in any average year
we never raise more than one
half the products that we could.
Here is a city five years old, and its
population has never reached over eight
hundred, when the undeveloped re-
sources and the unproduced annual
wealth that lies within circle of seven
or eight miles on each side of the city
would be sufficient to maintain pOpu-
lation of 5000, When we plow three or
four inches deep, SOW seed that comes
handiest, and harrow the ground over it,
we fatter ourselves that we have done
everything that could be required of US,
and leave the rest to providence. But
even providence bestows fayors with a
more lavish hand upon the fields which
haye taken the greatest pains to have
themselves put in the best condi-
ton to receive his bounties, and
on the lands that can store away the
most rain to be used in time of need,
and on the mans field who has learned
to economic all the moisture he can, SO
that it will be giving life to the plants
when dry time comes, instead of allow
ing it all to run into the streams and los
ing its benefits.
Some crank O. will come along one of
aud about the first thing he will do will
tiles and drain some of these uplands,
what fool he is-that the subsoil of
these prairie lands in Kansas are
too dry and stubborn already. and
he will be the laughing stock
of the neighborhood. But he will be
like old Johnnie Johnston, the pioneer of
tile draining in America. He did not
drain his land so mucn for the purpose
of drying the land as to allow the rains
anu the gases 10 penetrate ueep UOWn
to loosen up the soil and to retain the
moisture, and he had the satisfaction of
raising the wheat product in the Genosee
country, New York, from twelve BUSH
els to forty-two bushels per acre, and
soon saw all his neighbors that had
laughed at him following his example.
This will be splendid country to live
in when we &c. to farming and
raising fruit and vegetables. When
we once make up our minds that
we can't make an everlasting fortune
scratching little on the surface of this
uncultivated country, and allowing the
suntiowers, cuckleburrs, sandburrs and
crabgrass to take the lions share of the
nourishment and the moisture which
ought to go to sustaining and maturing
valuable plant life. When we get down
into the ground. as it were, as if we in
tended to do something besides "playing
farlning;" when we go to work and
make one-half the land produce double
the quantity of products that we are do
ing at present, we can then bid defiance
to one-half of the failures and disap-
pointments that we are bound to en-
counter under the methods we now fol-
low. WIN. Ross.