Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-04-13
The Growing Wheat.
How 1t Looks i'm Dakota and
Minnesota.
PROSPECTS GENERALLY VERY GOOD

The Area of Sowed Land Increased and
the Seed Waiting for Rain, Which La
the One Thing Needful-A Few Back
sets That Can BE Made Good-Indiana
Reports Everything Looking Well and
Ten Days Early.
ST. PAUL. April Ii Reports have been
received this week from most of the principal
grain points in Minnesota and the two Da-
kotas concerning the immediate condition
and prospects of crops of all kinds These
reports cover nearly one hundred counties,
several places having been heard from in
each county, and the information they con-
tain is the most reliable and complete OBJ
tainable With respect to crops other than
wheat it is yet too early in the season to give
any very definite information, but certain
indications concerning the acreage of great
interest are included in the first detailed sur
vey of the agricultural interests of the north
west for the season of 1880
The seeding of wheat has progressed rap
idly under the encouragement of fine wealth
or, and with the ground in better condition
for working than it has been in for years
In southern Minnesota and southern Dakota
VIC SccuAik AZ Pa oSeiSdii1 ONOit uuu VI
the early sown grain has sprouted and begun
to grow. In the central section about half
the seed is in, and in the northern wheat
belt, including the Red River valley, about
one-third the seeding has been done except on
the bonanza wheat farms. where the sewers
have practically completed their work. But
while the land is in prime condition for work
ing it is too dry to give the seed good
start Every report received, with the
exception of two or three out of several
hundred, mentions the dryness of the soil and
the immediate need of rain.
The lack of moisture in many counties, both
in Minnesota and the Dakotas, is, indeed, a
serious element in the situation. The farm
ers need a steady down pour. lasting four or
five days, To place the soil i'll proper condition
to give the seeded grain a good start, but
they are hopeful, believing the time has
about arrived when the drought must be
broken.
With respect to acreage there will be an in
crease over last year, due to various causes
such as the encouragement there is in good
prices, the new breaking of ground and the
increase of settlers. The early opening Of
spring also encouraged many farmers to
SOW more wheat than otherwise they would
have sown. The increase is not enor-
nous 1t does not probably amount to
more than 10 or Is per cent While in some
sections it greatly exceeds that proportion, in
many others it is less than 10 per cent and in
several there has been a shrinkage in acre
age, resulting from the discouragement
caused by the failure of crops in previous
years. In the Red River valley the expert
ences of last year were certainly discourag-
ing, but the farmers of that region are going
forward pluckily to retrieve their fortunes
and an increase in the acreage of about 10
per cent is shown in the valley, where great
returns are to be expected if the growing
season continues favorable and frosted seed
sprouts. The greatest increase in acreage is
in southern Minnesota
A feature of the situation this year in sew
eral of the southern Minnesota counties is
the fact that the farmers are growing whea,
and oats mixed together in about equal pro-
portions They claim that fields sown with
the mixed crop are less liable to be attacked
by chinch bugs, and also that they get as
much wheat out of the deal as if they had
sown wheat separately, and that at the same
time the quality is better Then they get
ten to fifteen bushels of oats to the acre be-
sides
Already the wheat farmers in some sec
lions have experienced adversely with refer
ence to the crop Of 1889 In the early days
of April high winds swept across several
counties in the central and southern sections,
tearing up the dry surface of the soil and dis
lodging the newly sown seed This dam
age, however, is not of permanent charac-
ter, as the land can be reseeded, and proba-
bly, on most farms will be- Then the extern
sive prairie fires in South Dakota, besides
entaiiing great loss and hardship on the set
tiers, will delay the seeding in the freswept
sections for two or three weeks. These
things, although bad enough in their way.
will not probably affect general results at the
wheat harvest