The Globe-republican. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1889-1910, 1892-01-28
RAISING SHALL GRAIN IN SOUTH.
WESTERN KANSAS.

Read by J. L. Finley before the State Board
of Agriculture, at Topeka, January ID, 1892
The raising OF wheat, rye, oats and bar.
ley on anything like All extensive scale or as
IL branch of agriculture for money making
west of the 99th meridian in southwest Kan
sas has only been extensively tried within
the last three years. Before. it was carried
on in Il ueSllitOry manner, and the results
were not at all satisfactory. rs the prevail
ing plan WIS to SOW broadcast on sod or
other new ground and harrow in with a
common tooth harrow; using, usually, soft
varieties of wheat Even in this poor
way, the results were at times surprising,
especially when the season was favorable.
But within Il few years better methods have
prevailed, a better variety of hard wheat,
Russian or Turkey, has been planted and
4 better manner of cultivating adopted
The hoe drill has come into general Use,
and the crop has proved in almost all cases
highly satisfactory. On account of dry
weather in the fall, it is not always posi-
ble to pillow all the land; but large areas
are put in by using tie disk harrow; cutting
the land twice, then planting with hoe
drill, and, so far, wheat and rye have not
been failure and, in most cases, proved a
very remunerative crop, taking into con-
sideratiOn the expense of planting, With
the disk harrow and drill, wheat md rye
can be put in the ground for one dollar per
acre, seeding thrce-fOurths of a bushel to
the acre. The yield the last three years
has been ten to twenty bushels per acre on
ground not irrigated, and twenty to forty
bushels on irrigated land. This solves the
question as to whether this is All agricultur-
al country or not; for, when all these broad
acres of southwest Kansas produce ten BUSH
els of wheat to the acre instead of one poor
steer OH ten acres. farmers will see the val
he of cultivation over the range idea.
Oats are not rs sure crop rs wheat or
rye, only Oh irrigated land. Then it is
simply. immense. Twenty to one hundred
bushels to the acre is no unusual crop, and
it does very well OH upland some years.
AS much as fifty bushels to the acre were
raised in this Ford county this year OH
large fields of one hundred acres or more:
aud, as it can be planted as cheaply as
wheat, it has proved a paying crop,
But, in my opinion, barley is destined
to be the best crop for this ountry, as it has
never failed yet, and has been raised in
small quantities for the last six years-thc
worst years known in this part of the state
sOwn broadcast and covered by the plow;
or better way is to pillow the ground in
the fall or winter-sOme are blowing now
january the 3rd)-and plant with Il drill
as soon as the frost is out Of the ground in
the spring. Plant from one bushel to one |
aud fourth to the acre. The yield of bar
ley has run from twenty-five to siXty-five |
bushels to the acre this year all through |
this section, and see by the report of our
that Ford is the banner county of |
the state in producing barley. 1t is equal
to corn for feed for horses and hogs and
some are fastening cattle on it this year.
This gives us 4 sure feed in place of corn,
which has generally proved failure here.
md at forty cents per bushel (thc present
Drice) it pays very we'll.
The farmers of this and ad Joining cOun-
les have planted this year ut least twice
he acreage Of wheat and ry e that has ever
)een planted before and as there was seed
ID in Ford county over sixteen thousand
lcres in 1891 there will be very much
anger amount raised in 1892. The pros
,ect now is that four times the amount of
'arley will be planted in the spring that
here was last year; and, as all southwest
Kansas is planting in the same proportion,
he probabilities are that very large
mount of small grain will be raised in
his part Of the state and many Of us be-
ieve this will be far better way Of rails
ne the mortgage than borrowing money
two per cent. or at any per cent. at all.