Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1892-05-04
RAIN IN NORTH DAKOTA.
Farmers Not Troubled with Irrigation
Problems.

Farmers Not Troubled with Irrigation
Problems.
NEW ROCKFORD, n. D., April 27.-This
is a country of extremes. It is either
too dry or too wet too cold or too hot,
too much grain and other farm prod
ucts or too little. For the last three
years North Dakota has experienced
unusual drouth, and much has been
sal: and many theories advanced in re-
gard to the arid lands of the North
west. Agriculture having been consid-
cred precarious pursuit for the lack of
moisture, our good Uncle jerry
Rusk has been experimenting with
explosives trying to invent a panacea
Tor dry weather. Now all is changed.
Farmers are no longer interested in the
question OF irrigation, but are PRAYING
tor dry weather SO that they NAV get
some seed IN the ground It has been
cold, severe winter, with an extra
amount OF snow, and now that spring
has come 1t has rained almost continu-
ously. The ground has never been so
wet at this time of year since the coun-
try was settled. Up to date not more
than one-third of the wheat has
been sown, and it is now SO late
the acreage for the year must
be cut short consider able-many farm
ers think that the acreage will not ex-.
coed more than half the area of last
season. Ii began to rain last Sunday
night, and has rained almost continu-
ously ever since, and to-day 1t is snow
ING. for change. But it is not cold,
and vegetation here is as far advanced
as 1t is IN Milwaukee. The prairies are
abloom with the crocuses, the first flow,
ers Of the spring, and the grass is al
ready green.
The situation of affairs here among
the farmers is unprecedented Your
readers probably never knew of large
crops of wheat, oats and barley that
stood all winter in the shock.
But that is the condition of thousands
of acres in Minnesota and the two Da-
kotas. An immense crop of grain was
harvested, SO large in fact that there
was neither help nor machines enough
to take care of it, and result is that
much of it is still unthrested "What
q slovenly set of fellows" l think L
hear someone say, ''to work all the year
raising big crop, and then not take
care of it." That is the way it looks no
doubt to the man in the moon, but,
those who understand the case fully
from personal observation think,
it is not SO strange. It is
like this: In this open country
with nothing in the way, and with all,
cry extant, one man will seed as much
prepared ground in the spring as three
or four men can take care of in harvest
time, and last summer help was exceed
ingly scarce. The farmers succeeded
in cutting and shocking their grain, and
hoped to get it threshed from the shock
as usual, which experience has proved
to be here the cheapest and most econ
omical method of clearing the ground
r ri e
threshing machines was not equal to
the occasion, though reinforced by many.
from other states. Every man was
astonished at the yield, and it took each
one twice as long as was expected. The
result was that winter came too soon,
and much of the grain is in the shock
to-day. Large amounts were stacked,
but it was not we'll done, and many of
the stacks are worse than the shocks.
| have talked with four or five thresh-
Ing machine men, good judges on such
matters, and their opinion is that the
shocked grain is the best, One man
near here has just had 5000 bushels of
wheat. oats and barley threshed, but it
is poor stuff, fit only for feed. Some of
the wheat he sold for 81 cents per
bushel He thinks he lost 81, 900 by not
being able to thresh last fall. Others
have sold the shocked wheat for so
cents per DuSheI. some are using IL Tor
seed, but that is Of doubtful propriety.
Severe losses have also been sustained
in stock. Some Of the billiards. came
SO suddenly that cattle could not be got
into the stables, even when only few
rods away, and drifted out to die on the
openipraIrie, Itisimpossible to make an
animal 1ace such a storm. They turn
tail to- and drift out to sea like ship
before the wind. Of course they soon
perish from cold and hunger. The
snow comes with such vehemence that
it filistheir eyes, ears and nostrils and
smothers them to death. On the way
to California once | saw 10000 dead
cattle, that had drifted before
the wind for 800 miles in Kansas,
and Colorado. Some of the lost cattle
here have been found standing up, but
enveloped n such a snow bank that
they had to be shoveled out. Such
storms must forever be serious draw
back to the settlement of this country,
which otherwise offers SO many strong
Inducements for poor men to come and
make themselves homes. PIONEER.