The advocate., 1894-05-16

Ing on one Loob A6 o Tune was 10 give GnS
foot that was held up q chance to cool
OF after being on the hot ground aud to
give the foot on the ground cha noe 10
cool of after being In the hot air. The
cattle stood motionlOss on the prairie.
It was even too hot for the flies to bother
them. Occasionally an old cow would
switch her tail in an Sbsent-minded
kind Of a way, but it was energy wasted
on the desert afr. The fllss had flown to
the shade The cattle would have done
likewise but there was no shade for them
to fly to. Not q bird could bs seen or
heard, the hot wind had pArChsd their
throats too dry TO twitter.
Two Of my nearest neighborB had
come to my dugOut q little after noon,
one to borroR my corn knife and the
other TO return my corn knife and to
borrow my prospect augsr." This
prospect auGsr" is q tool that may be
found in every nelghbOrhoOd in western
KSnsas. It is q common wood auger
with shank twelve or fifteen feet long,
and is used for prospecting for water in
the bottom Of rsvines and draws. The
prospect Of corn crop for that year was
very slim, and growing less every min
ute that the hot wind continued to
blow. There was still the shadow OF 0
hope for part Of crop IL we could get
rain at once, and 40 we lay on the buE.
falo grass in the shade Of header box
we discussed the themes that always
come up on such occasions, the crop
prospect, the climate and the future out
look. We rs-sfirmsd our belief in the
theory that was 30 generally believed In
at that time, which was, that as the
country became more settled up and
more ground was cultivated, and groves
planted out, there would be more rain
fall. We roughly estimated the amount
Of new ground broken up in our vicinity
that year and concluded from that thai
the next year ought to show consider.
able change Of climate, and that at that
rate OF change, in ten years wO would
have o climate similar TO the tropical
rain belt. There had been no change Of
climate, except for the worst, in the ten
years that we had been there. Neither
had we any definite record Of any coun-
try where the climate had changed, but
that didn't discourage US any. We took
hope from the fact that Kansas wasn't
governed by precedent in anything. A
theory, when it once became we'll estab-
lished, held it's own against many dry,
hard facts, with the hopeful Western
settler. The rainfall hasn't increased
any, but it should and would, there was
no doubt about that in our minds. The
theory must hold good.
Having settled the topic Of climate to
our satisfaction, we turned our attention
to figuring on the profits OF wheat rails
ing. In railroad circulars under the
heading Of "How to Secure o Home in
the Golden Belt" we had often seen the
whole process Of wheat raising, expense
and profit, figured out in dollars and
cents. The estimate was something like
this:
Cost Of land, 1GO acres, at s. per acre 81 ,2SoOO
Cost Of breaking, at &1.50 per acre. 240OO
Cost Of preparing the ground for seed 1900
Cost Of seed and seeding. ng................. 5000
Cost OF harvesting. g...................... 10000
Cost OF thTeshing ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 1905
Cost Of marketing OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. 1880
Total cost 50 sos IS