Telegram-herald., 1890-04-29

Prom 30 acres = ozts. the renAlader q
Ene sSeEo1, tns ylsid 49, ;. 80 bushes,
giving Is = tocaI Il a. SJs O~s1@-s q
zrzin-tAs lsrgesf crop ever gzrhSrsd
froa ons section q land In AaoeTica
J1sE think ~hsI = quantity q gran
lhzx =. Ar. secrsCsry.- eontluaed d.
Wosfs, Nirh zcs genuine szrhussAsuz -
a farmer. . s1aclsriclza and a. eoononAlsS
con5inea IN one. Ii would oso nsSriy
= thousand wagons and ~ould Al three
frsixht JrsIas, each con posed u thirty
I've cars. lg is = greater QuznBFy u
grain thzn ~zs imported - the Ueitsd
States Ia the last fiscal year. haE
would the farmers II Germany. u Hoi-
l4nd ~ EaglaAd JhIRk a = crop Ike EhsN
And this a. usI tie more annals - = hsa
- reflect that ny farm - right IN the
midst 0f What wzs once known As the
Great American" dss=fs-the region or
which the authoritative Humboldt,
whose word no one ever dared dispute,
wrote 'is Is "a sterile a. sahara
Il have been cut IA th4s country, said
secresaTy Rask, and / sas no desert
there. Do yea think Is ever was des-
srty'
Il do nrs. While it is true that vege-
table hfe has never manifested itself
luKuriAntly in this region. and that It
was apparently barren. have nay own
theory A. 70 the causes. The land WAS
always rich, was always waiting % DO
tickled with the plOw and smile IA return
with boantiful crop. but it vas for an
unknown period OF tune the runway
for millions of buffalo which travelled
north every spring and south every fall.
The hoofs OF the buffalo destroyed the
grass roots. and gave 10 geography that
immense fiction, The Great American
Desert. In 1870 the herds Of buffalo be
came sensibly reduced in number. and in
the fall Of 1874 the bison disappeared
from the plains OF Kansas. never more 70
return. Coincident with his disappear
ance the grass began TO grow on the
hitherto dusty plains. and now II carpets
the earth richly with green. Some say
the buffalo enriched the soil and made IL
possible for the grass 10 grow, but do
not believe the fertility Of the earth de-
pends OH top dressing. By planting the
seed deep in the ground the germ reaches
the electricity Of the earth, and from
this relation is nourished into life and
stimulated into development. Ny crop
Of corn, twice or three times as great as
that harvested by my nsighbors, who
plant in the old way, near the surface,
attests the correctness Of this theory.
did not make any money on my crop
no one can make money raising corn al
present prices-but | succeeded in &C
complishing what l started out to do,
and that was to give the American
farmer sn object lesson in the value OF
going below the surface of the ground
with seed which is TO make his crops"
Il guess we shall have to confirm your
title as the King Corn Grower OF Amer
ica," said Secretary Rusk.
Thanks for that. l confess / am an
enthusiast on the subject OF corn. AL
my life, though engaged in the practice
Of medicine, have kept close watch OF
the agricultural interests Of our country.
See how corn has entered into our ma
tional life II is the one distnctively
American product Of the farm. 1t is a
plant OF American origin In the uni
versatility of its uses, and its intrinsic i'm
portance 10 mankind, no other grain car
be compared with it. Readily adapting
itself to every variety of climate and soil
it is grown from the warmest regions OF
the torrid zone 70 the land of short sum
mers in northern Canada. The first
settlers learned from the Indians how tc
grow it, and distinguished historian
once told me the first larceny committed
in America was when party of Puritan;
| stole the horde of corn from an Indian
| village in Massachusetts,. The jaime:
river settlers, taught the art Of corn rails
ing by the Indians, had thirty acres un
| der cultivation within three years after
their arrival. 1t is a curious circum
stance that the James river Indians and