Iron County register., 1892-04-21
RED RIVER VALLEY,
Said to Be the Most Fertile Region I'm
North America,

Said to Be the Most Fertile Region in
North America,
The famous Red River valley is by
some students of such comparative val
ues declared to be the third agricultural
region, in point of fertility, in the
world, there being one Asiatic and one
African valley in the foreground beyond
it. This Red River valley takes in many
counties of Minnesota and the most
easterly counties of the two Dakotas.
1t is prairie land of black soil that once
formed the bed or deposit of an ancient
| sea. 1t reaches up into Canada, beyond
Winnipeg, and is great deal richer at
its southern end in the United States
than in Canada. This region pours
its wealth of grain Tor a great part
of it, into Minnesota's twin cities,
there to exchange it for merchan-
disc. Other cereals and cattle are pro-
duced beyond this valley in the new
states. and the valley itself returns the
same commodities along with its Won
derful output of wheat. In the extra
fruit year just tclosed-wonderfu for its
crops and for the worldwide demand
for breadstuffs from this Countrywide
predictions that were based upon the
fabulous. For instance, it was boasted
that the farmers of the northwest
would make sufficient profits to pay off
all their mortgages this year.
1t is in the Red River valley that one
may hear of farmer whose profits last
season were close to $50, 900: it is there
that men bought farms of great ex-
tent, expecting to pay for them in
an indefinite number of years, and
then paid for them out of the first crop
raised upon the land, the wonderful
yield of last year. Such is the region
at the very doors of the twin cities of
the northwest. If Ceres left the old
world when the worship of her went
out of fashion. it must have been to the
valley of the Red River that she came.
But if mythology is suggested at all by
a study of this marvellous region, it is
in the recollection of the tabled river
Pactolus, wherein King Midas washed
off his power to turn into gold all that
he touched. That may well have been
the stream that once swelled from side
20 side of this valley, for. truly, it's sedi-
ment retains little less than Midas
power.
We realize the majesty Of agriculture
as we never did before when we learn
that in Minnesota and the two Dakotas
the wheat crop alone was worth one
hundred and twenty millions of dollars
last year. Figure for yourself the esti-
mated yield of 80, 900. 600 bushels selling
at from IS cents to 50 cents a bushel
In what story of fairyland is there an
account of literal field of gold to equal
that?
There are 1892 900 acres in the valley,
and less than quarter of it was in crop
last year. If every acre were put into
wheat, there would be no market for
the wheat: it would become drug As
it is of the portion that is under culti-
vation, only about three-quarters were in
wheat, and the yield of last year was
estimated at from 80. 900, 900 to 81. 900. 900
bushels, grown at the average proper
tion of 90 bushels to the acre. The
wheat crop of the valley. therefore,
fetched about s27 900, 900. At so cents
bushel, each acre returned s16. at cost
of from S6 to 50. Good land has pro-
land farmed scientifically has yielded as
high as a. bushels to the acre, but 20
bushels is the average product, and the
farmer is entitled to a profit of SO an
acre, with prices as they were last year.
Matured farming will raise the yield to
an average of 25 bushels an acre.-Ju-
liam Ralph. in Harper's Magazine.