Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1894-04-05

operation of a Day county farmer.
written by one of our best citizens
W. ]. Casson, of Troy, we reproduce
it for the benefit of our readers.
| left nv native town, Rochester,
n. Y, in May 1882. Being then
81 years of age and having the
western fever and land hunger, |
came to this Garden of Eden known
as Dakota. This part of the
country was just beginning to set
tie, snd it did not take long, for by
the summer Of 1888 vacant land
vas quite scarce. The yerdsnt
prairie teemed with activity and
soon slossomed like the rose. / To-
Gated six miles south of Bristol on
the c. III. s st. p. r. r. Now |
am near the thriving young town
OF Butler, on a branch of the above
named road, lunnIng from Bristol
to Madison. The country took my
fancy, being a fine rolling prairie
with dark rich loan surface soil to
the depth Of one or two feet, with
clay subsoil. The OIL adage in my
case proved trac, "When in Rome
do as Romans do" so | did, and
took all the land | could, which
consisted Of a tree claim and pre-
emption | proved up in SIX months
o the presumption and took a
homestead, which | have resided
on since.
Now, the question how | sue.
ceeied? leave that to the judge.
ment of the reader after giving a
brief synopsis of my trials and
yicissitudes IL farming. Beng al
inexperienced hand, If | had to live
it over again, my success would be
far greater. That is the reason why
so many made a failure. Hence the
calamity cry about our fertile
country and the downtrodden far,
mer.
had about 800. AID a yoke oil
oxen when | started out to turn the
virgin sod and | was obliged the
first season to double up teams with
one of my neighbors. | broke %
acres that year. The second year
| broke 100 acres and raised SOC
bushels of wheat on my first season:
breaking. The third year | raised
1900 bushels of wheat and 600 bush.
els of oats. Wheat was a very fairprice
that fall, 20 to IS cents per bushel,
but |, like more, did not take ad-
vantage of il, but held over and
lost. The fourth year / raised
roo bushels of wheat and zoe
bushels of oats. | may ask where,
but in this fertile country, where
there are neither stumps or stones
to obstruct the progress of the plow,
could a person prosper so rapidly.
BY the sixth Year | had $50 acres
broken aud into crops. | rented
out some of land to relieve me of
so much work and sowed about loo
acres of wheat each year with vary
ing success. according to the sea
sons. We never had a failure of
crops in this section of the state on
account of drought or hot winds.
Providence has been very kind to
US In that respect, yet we have had
: few seasons of short crops like the
present one. My crop of 1892 was,
| think, the best | hsd the pleasure
to raise, snd In fact from reports
throughout the state the entire
crop was magnificent. | sowed
l60 acres of wheat that season and
raised some 5000 bushels of wheat
and 700 bushels of oats and barley.
Besides this ! had my share of crop
from land | had rented out. 1t was
q very prolific and prosperous.
l will remark if more farmers
would plow their land better, say
i've or six inches deep, and do less
hog roofing, they would be far bet
ter of. Some know of have their
children out blowing as soon as
they are knee high, when they
should be tied to their mothers
apron or going Id school. Whist
can careless farmers like these ex.
pect, when they do this kind OF
work and raise pig weeds, and then