Wichita eagle., 1889-12-20
continued from Fifth pare

| islature in which farmers were interested.
He thought the farmers needed less legis-
| lation and should study to raise corn and
| wheat and try to sell it for the highest
| price. He thought the good old times"
SO often referred to were the "bad old
| times" and the country today getting
along very well as compared with the
good old times"
Mr.. A. J. Cook read paper as follows:
Agriculture is the most healthful, most
| useful and most noble employment OF man. !"
So says the father of our country, George
Washington.
The farm and farm industries we would
contrast foregoing with the great crops OF
the world; of which very little is said
Ordinarily. Bv comparing the relative
value OF the wheat. cotton. tea and grass
crops of the world, we discover that the
grass crop employs the greatest amount OF
the worlds capital.
The items that enter into this account
as stated, are somewhat startling and
viii make many stare with surprise. Cot
ton and tea are local crops; while hay Is
produced everywhere the world over; and
thus the hay crop greatly Outweighs either
eft the other two. The aggregate value of
all farm products in the United States for
1880 was 81, Al, 53S, G5S. But as this in-
cludes additions TO stock bettermepts to
Now the hay crop for that year, that is,
the grass cut and cured for theat year,
used Or sold, is reported at over q, 900, 900
tons. This at half the selling price in the
large cities would amount to over $780,
O0O,O 900 and is far greater than the aggre-
gate nome value of the cotton CROP OF any
other crop Of the world
But the cured hay is but portion of the
grass crop. The other portions is used on
the ground, and 1t requires considerable
concuiatlon to get at the value so used,
even in the toughest way. In the first
place, live stock, including horned cattle,
horses, sheep, swine, ETC., to the value of
81, o25 0OO, 600 were fed from it that year.
Averaging the lives at five years.
you nave one fifth of that sum
as the grass led TO them In
$780, viz s3O5.O0O,0OO; next. we
find the value of animals slaughtered for
for food in that year to be 1909, 100000, and
as this IS an animal product the whole of
it will, for the present. be credited to the
grass CROPS The butter crop of that year
was 514, 900 600 pounds. which at an aver
age the United States over would rate At
ID cents per pound amounts to S64, 500 900,
which goes to the credit of the grass. Then
we have 235, 600, 600 gallons of milk at the
low estimate OF ID cents per gallon adds
So, 900 more to the grass crop. Then
we have 100, OO0, 900 pounds of wool AZ %
cents per pound, adding Sl2.000,O00 more
And 3,OOU, 900 pounds of cheese at 10 cents
adding over IS coo 600 more to the credit of
the grass products of 1880 which aggre-
gates SSS7, 900, 900. Now add the value of
the hay crop as given above. S4O5, 600. 900
and the value of the products from grass
consumed on the ground amounting to
81 ,292, 100000 Admitting it is subject to a
deduction, as the meat, butter and wool
producing animals consume other food
besides grass and hay. To make ample
allowance for this we will deduct the en-
tire value of the corn and the oat crop OF
1880, estimated at 500 0U0, 900, this leaves
the remainder of S1e2, 700 600 TO be credited
to the hay crop and grass # that year.
When the reported aggregate of all farm
products was s., AT SIS, G5S. if our estimates
make even the far approach to accuracy
we have the right co claim, the value Of
that crop was two-tifthS of the Aggregate
value OF all farm products.
Hence we may infer that two-fifths of
the capital then invested in agricultural
pursuits was directed to the grass, and
this IN the United States equals, in round
numbers, -, 575, 100000. From these fig
ures we readily see that King Cotton is
dethroned, hence we would Say to western
farmers, ponder over these facts Utilize the
boundlesS western prairies and grow rich.
THE ABILITY oE AMERICA TO GROW WHEAT
CONSIDERED.
Those who believe in the inexhaustibil-
lty Of American soil to produce wheat will
do well to read the statistical tacts in the
article After the great crop of
1860 began to come into market prices ad-
vanced on account of the rebellion Since
that time prices have receded, notwith- |
standing the older states have sipnaIly |
failed TO produce crops DIS i'll former years. |
Our belief is that under the ordinary sys- |
r T,f
Will soon become incapable of pro- |
ducing it, All of the great growing ftates
on the Atlantic are becoming less produc- |
tive and VIII IN time be reduced to the |
condition Of the New England states, where |
wheat Is only grown upon favorite plats, |
highly ferti.lIzed, and only for family use. |
In this vitw 0! the case it becomes AN i'm |
portant question what is to be done to |
maintain our ability to grow wheat. OF |
The cereals wheat should really hold the |
first rank, because it Is the parent OF great
men, the chief foundation of brain food. !
All nations whose food is principally de-
rived from wheat are elevated in charac-
ter whose food is derived from coarser ma
terlals Ali food produces general results
according to its quality and as wheat
ranks highest its rasults are most elevat-
ing to the human family.
Compare the history of the different ma
tions of the world. Those OF the lower or
der i've most exclusively upon the sea ami /
mails, othere upon the flesh of animals
captured in the wood Those whose food
Is derived from cereals, principally wheat.
we shall at once see the Importance of its
The virgin soil of Kansas
possesses the natural foop for the different
cereols. BY rotation through cultivation,
sub-soIl,in order to retain Il greater amount
of moisture and gypsum abounds
in southern Kansas; it is very valuable as
d fertilizer when groand like plaster.
Some of the western farmers have been de-
luded with the idea that good crops of
wheat can be grown by only blowing once
in two years. Saying that I. c. Henry of |
had farned successfully in that
way. | would stake my redutation as a
farmer on the assertion that such mode
of farming viii i'll the main produce two
tons of weeds to one of wheat Remember
the old adrge, Pillow early and piow deep,
then the grain Will grow when the slug
gard sleep"
In 1890 the United States exported 1,0lS,-
500 bushels of wheat. In 1920 the export
al sunk to %. SCI. In 1880 it raised 10 |
40S, $40 bushels, or only S,5S6 more than
sixty years previously.
These extraordinary vibrations in the
export are measurably governed By the
shortness or abundance of the crop; but
the fact hat long been noticed that our
wheat producing powers are rapidly de-
Ginning. In fifty years the great state of
Ohio has diminished from an average
yield of thirty bushels per acre to less than
fifteen. In eleven counties of that state
which in 1850 yielded 1881. 151 bushels.
there were but 4, 4l3, 2O7 produced in 1851,
though in the interval many thousand
acres of new land must have been broken
up and sown in wheat. Virginia, Mary