Courier Democrat., 1894-02-15
WHEAT VERSUS q 5 y J Hogs 4 Is J
-, mn ESCAPE THE REsULTS OF
NJ" TnE PAST BAD CROPs.

,,, mn ESCAPE THE Results OF
NJ" TnE PAST BAD CROPS.
,.ce..ity u Diversity IN the
ses.S s'.,ner,. Efforts g How Forty
Zen Cent wheat Can he Made to
Weld q Return.
tn the eshouId nu he read by every farmer In the
Seithwssn n,onesofs ana sspseadk psea North paiota
Nolt' NNSoats Of q subject which anects the
Fnwer o. wso has Syes
from aroat u deal Of time to investigating the
gta gteat mentioned. 1t is terse but compre-
po,.iiS ponsire rs its perusal will show:
The rapid decline N the nrf tSa nres ..
Taer. l ru,nnus prices have been reached leads
ent t,nnnirv as to the causes that have pro-
10 to.aaa ,uH the result, and whether these causes
ausI are Of a permanent OF temporary nature.
.,aored pyesumptuous to predict the present
s,uei,utIi ssnnd,tions Of the wheat markets OF the
cm, c.ar,I and vet, many of our most observ-
,ng %e and capable business men are convinced
ihs thst the low prices have come to stay, with
taae talaeutions now and then when the crops
~ other countries fail from natural causes
" The hen nrice Of wheat, like other commodi-
ties IS regulated BY the supply and ana de de,
han u not likely to decrease, 1t is equally GER
10 .s,n n' that the supply is rapidly increasing
with the advent OF new competitors VINO
nossess many advantages over the american
fFarmer. The United States with Its vast
amnire of productive soil can easily supply
tha bread for the balance of the world; but
san snn # do so with profit? II we cannot ex-
mort wheat and leave margin OF profit Tor
the producer, the sooner we learn the fact
.nI p.,n,o nur nnthO(la of agriculture the
OI Let us briefly note who our chief com.
netitors are. India, Russia, Australia, and
some Of the South American countries, with
tSair 1S recent advancement In modern meth
ods Of agriculture, and with their lately
| improved facilities for transporting their
surplus grain, must, from now on, be con-
sidered important factors in the worlds
markets, and he who does not heed this
fact and shape his efforts In husbandry &C.
cordingly will soon regret his lack OF dis
cernment. In oil the countries named the
pr pfcG the OF American AMER nJ price, while IN India
days labor costs but few cents India
alone, with its vast areas of wheat fields
and its recently improved transportation
facilities, can pour its almost unlimited
that defy American competition. With
these conditions confronting us, Is 1t not
time to call a halt in exclusive wheat rails
ing? Have we not other and better re-
4
promising farm products, natural alike to
soil and climate, to which we can turn with
/. profit in. this hour of wheat bankruptcy?
With wheat at AZ cents at the home station,
the price is below the cost of production,
and poverty of soil and poverty OF purse
are the logical consequence. Like ship
ut sea without a rudder, the more sail we
e4Iis Tie S farmers Of ali all Of the Northwestern
states, including Southern Minnesota, have
all passed through the wheat period'' un-
der very much more favorable conditions
than now exist, but with the same financial
and bankruptcy. If our farmers will not be
guided by the experience Of their brothers,
there still remains the advantage of reach
ing the same ends by the same old route,
but ii they will change there will be
saving of time and Of money.
Experience I'm Other States.
In Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and Southern
Minnesota, when the farmers from sheer
exhaustion were driven to abandon exclu-
siye wheat production, their prosperity be.
raising entirely, but he must exercise tri-
de Of the good sense he Is usually supposed
to pnssess, and diversity according to the
peculiar circumstances of his case, raising
acreage, while turning his attention to 9TH
er linesIive stock, dairy products and other
things, according to circumstances. There
Is an irrevocable economic law that he must
ture to reward him; he must not continu-
ously, year by year, raise wheat upon the
same soil, without rest or recuperation,
and expect good results. That immediate d.
and this naturally raises the inquiry, what
can the farmer In the wheat belt substitute
for wheat? Without going into the consid-
GRAFTON Of the long list Of products that
name the hog. There is no product Of the
farm that universally commands better
price. The hog is a staple article that
always commands the market price III cash.
warm pens and reasonable facilities can
produce two crops Of hogs each year. With
rat merchantable hogs he can turn them
INTO cash any month in the year. The hog
and return money for it; in o word, the hog
Is the farmers friend, and he only requires
reasonable care TO trebly recompense him
Tor every outlay Of time or money. The
"corn belt.' We say American opinion be-
cause hogs have been raised In Europe and
canada and other countries without corn
Tor more than q hundred years, being sue
cessfuly fed and fattened on barley, rye
and peas. Within the past two years many
successful experiments have been had In
northern Minnesota and North Dakota with
Wheat feeding, the hogs SO fed commanding
tae top OF the market at South st. Pau!
and yielding a fraction over 80 per cent
OF choice meat, which is from to per
cent greater than results from corn feeding.
apparently cholera and other fatal hog dis
eases that infest the corn-fed hog never
attack the hog fed upon wheat, barley OF
peas.
Hogs raised In Scotland and fed upon
barley command premium In the English
market. 1t Is time the belief that hogs can
not be successfully produced on other than
corn Is fully exploded. The farmers Of the
Wneat belt have the advantage of climate
aud food with which to make hogs that will
es surely command a premium over the corn
aog as No. hard is at premium over the
spring wheat Of Kansas and Nebraska.
How to Ruise Hogs.
-, There are a few common-sense things
mat must be observed to make hog raising
profitable First of all secure q we'll bred
nog for breeding. There is as much or
more more difference In the quality of hogs as
mere is In horses. A common, long-nosed,
10ng-legged, slab-sided hog is Of no account.
hou cannot fatten such a hog. Besides he
S famine breeder-he eats everything
Ppiiaced before him and squeals for more.
snun this kind Of an animal. There is no
money In him for anybody. For our eli
mate mate the Poland China is doubtless prefer
aDle to any other, as it grows rapidly, Is
compact and makes flesh on small rations,
eesldes being fairly good breeder. With
aalr care 1t is ready for the market In from
ttagnt @ to eleven months, weighing from 200
~ Z6O pounds and commanding always the