The Press., 1893-11-09
LETTER FROM NORTH DAKOTA
cooperstown, N. Dakota, Nov. 1, 1893.

coming on, and few men had begun te cut the grain. The grain ripened off very fast, and the cutting was crowded. Many fields became too ripe for the most eco nomical harvesting. When the harves began the town was full of men who hat come in from various points to be hired for the season. Day after day, while the harvest was progressing, standing ane could be seen any day numbers of mel whom no man had hired, or would hire at the wages they asked. The crop wal short and help abundant, and old tim' prices could not be given. Men were of fered good living wages, but were no satisfied. It seemed better for them, il their judgment, to be idle the season, ant an expense rather than take the wages of fered
 It was brief harvest this year. Tn weather was fine, and in about two week the great bulk, of the crop was cut down The largest farmer near us cut abou twenty-four hundred acres. His twenty four binders, one following the other could be seen from the streets of thu town. It was pretty sight. The yielt on this large farm was only about clever bushels to the acre on the average. Th low price for wheat does not give tn farmer much profit. The owner of thi farm had an elevator into which his grail was put as soon as threshed. Hardly hat he completed his threshing when elevator grain and all was burnt to the ground The loss was dead one, as there was nc insurance on either elevator or grain.
 It is quite a general custom here tt thresh from the field as soon as the grai1 is cut. Threshing crews prepare to follow closely the cutting crews. When this is done there is of course no stacking Steam threshers are generally used; and the party doing the threshing usually board the crew. For this purpose 8 house, in the shape of P freight car, is fitted on wheels, in which the meals are cooked and served. When the crew is thus boarded the threshing is done for about nine cents per bushel. This is in case the wheat, or other grain, is not stacked. Threshing from the stack costs few cents less per bushel. The straw is drawn away on the stuble in heaps and is burnt. It seems to one farming in the older parts of the country, where straw is used for fodder, or in paper mills, great waste. But here there seems to be no other use for it. And, yet, it would ap- pear that some other use might be made of it. It ought in some way to be utilized for fuel; and, could it be, a market would be found for it right on the ground. Fuel is brought in from far off-coal, wood and oil. A few families having timber on the river cut wood from it, but the supply is limited, and will soon be exhausted. If the grain grower could but use his straw to cook his food and warm his house he would find the value of his land much in- creased and expenses curtailed.
 Possibly, when the country is well set tied, so that families begin to crowd each other, straw will acquire value for vari- ous uses which will stop it's consumption by fire as soon as the grain is out of it. It may be thought it would be a good thing to spread it out over the fields be- fore it is set on fire, as the ashes would he for fho nnrich mont of +ho lonJ o,,5 possibly, it would be if the land needed it. The idea is, however, that the land does not need it. It is rich enough, and for this reason, also, the cleanings from stables is hauled out and dumped where it can be burnt. That which New En- gland farmer would prize highly to keep his land up is worth nothing here now. This is the theory; and, perhaps, it has some foundations. We are of the opin- ion however, that even here there are sec tionssof land that would be benefited by a good covering of barnyard manure. Im- mediately after the land is cleared of the crop the blow is put into it, and it is turn ed for the spring seeding. Flowing goes on until it freezes up. It is seen from this sketch how the Dakota farmer is pushed on in the harvest in order to get his crop safe in the market. Many single crops are put at once on the market as soon as ft-is in the bags. The grain is taken from the thresher directly to the elevator, or car, or store, so that many farmers cut, thresh and market their entire crop all in the same few days. But more of this another time.
 O. P. CHAMPL1N.