Emmons County record. [volume] (Williamsport, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-current, 1890-01-31

Llhg 10 De more IN IaVOr, IT often happens
that the farmer, through an excessive
amount of fall work, leaves the corn to
be gathered after the ground freezes up
caught by the early winter with his corn
still in the field, to be gathered as the
weather will permit through the winter.
This he cannot fence, and, though he can
easily keep his own stock off, be cannot
keep of those of all his neighbors. Hence
the question in non railroad districts
seems to be F: Shall the poor man with
small means be compelled to help the
owners of large herds to feed his stock
through the winter7
l would like to have other farmers in
the southern tier of townships express
their views through the RECORD.
A. G. JOHN.
Glanavon, Emmons County, N. D.
In regard to the fencing question the
RECORD will say that it sees no reason to
believe that there would not be large
saving of expense in the way of fencing
if it was even necessary to protect an oc-
casional cornfield with a few reels of
barb.wire or loads of poles. It is not
pertinent to speak of what may be- Let
US look at conditions as they exist, IN
the regions of single as we'll as double
minimum lands, for there is little differ.
oncs. Within the railroad land grant IN
this county the Northern Pacific owns
hundreds Of vacant sections, it IS true
but on the government sections there are
few filings other than homcsteads. The
natural result of this, as settlement comes
in, will be to place settler on nearly ev.
cry quarter of the even sections. Outside
Of the railroad limit, however, owing to
the lesser price per acre. there are very
few settlers who do not take pre-
emptions. In the interior of the south
half of this county the practice is almost
universal. Thus, it will he seen that,
even If not an acre of railroad land should
be settled upon, when both sections of
the county reach certain point of popu-
lation the ratio Of hemes to acres will not
he far from identical In the north half
the farms will mostly be of 100 acres, in
the south half. Of $40 acres with little
| difference as to the timber claim area.
With the rough. waste land and the un-
cultivated portions of farms there will be
no dearth of pasturage during the present
generation.
Nor will the corn problem be difficult
one. At present the annual corn acreage
in Emmons county, as compared with the
acreage of fenced pasturage that would
be necessary to control her stock, IS about
as ono to fifty. Should this condition
| become reversed should cora and hogs
take the place OF larger stock-the mean 8
/ are simple for repeating the law. Sen
atsr Wsrst's bill providing for free range
durlng the winter menths--and which has
already passed one branch Of the legisla-
| ture-providss only for county option
1t requires vote of the people of a
county to adopt it. If at any time Provi
dence and the f1icker-tail gopher SHOULD
allow this to become corn country, the
law may be repealed by vote of the
people.
DR. John naively says, land, though he
Can easily keep his own stock off, he can
not keep of those of all his neighhors. -
But we refuse to accept this proposition
as correct. In our experience it has been
found more difficult to "herd" one measly
COW that sucks herself than to coptroI ii
band Of twenty-five well-disposed cattle.
This perverse animal would actually grin,
doctor, were she to hear you assert that If
you owned her you could keep her out of
vnur cmrn 6.Id xs:thn,,t =, fon,o ,l1 H.,
worried mothers aud ssre.footed children
on our farms who are frequently COM
manded to watch tho stock while I'm
away" whether your premises are correct.
Why, with the present law in force, the
seal of the new state should be farmer =
wife at the window, couchant, with tue
! family cow, rampant, on q dead run for
the crankiest neighbor's unfenced hays
stack, and the children of various sizes,
with clubs in their hads, on the road be-
tween, in hot pursuit.
There is no use to talk OF fencing pas.
lures for more than few head of stock,
and every farmer IN this country. to be
successful. must eventually have . fair.
sized herd. And, where stock can be as
cheaply raised as here. 1t will only take a
few years increase to get them. But
enough hay cannot leng be obtained to
feed housed stock five months each Sea-
son. Furthermore, not counting the
enormous cost of large pasture on each
farm, so long as it requires from six to
eight acres per head it will be found i'm
possible TO give sufficient pasture room to
even the smallest herds. Besides, the av-
erage pasture, if grazcd upon by only a
few mich cows IN summer, is not good
for winter use. In fact, an ordinary wire
fence will not turn stock back to short
grass.
| Although our correspondent does not
mention 1t. yet great many opponents
of the proposed change CLAIM that the
lazy man would neglect to save pasturage
by blowing ireguards, and his stock
Dor had plowed. But. as long as man
and team could protect a section in day,
it is not likely that the farmer possessing
sufficient energy to inspire and respire al
regular intervals would fail to provide az
near home as possible sufficient range
for his stock. And, with the long lines
of breaking traversing the country in all
directions. the prairie fire would be q
thing OF the past
Like our correspondent, we hope and
expect to see our county dotted with
prosperous farm hemes but they will
not come by raising wheat exclusively