Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1895-09-21
KANSAS CROPS.

From a lengthy letter written by
Topeka correspondent to the New
York Times the following is taken:
THE great corn crop of 1889 aver
aged 40. Is bushels per acre. At that
rate the original acreage reported by
the department bulletin of May 80
would yield $50, 900, 600 bushels. In
few generally confined to a
few townships-the yield will hardly
reach that average, while there are
many entire counties where the yield
will double that average. Counting
nothing from the forage crop, and
dropping the odd 5000, 900, the con-
sentative estimate of the present corn
crop in Kansas can be placed at
round SOC, 900, 900 bushels, although the
traffic managers of some roads insist
that it will reach nearer 400, 600. 900.
In all the estimates of prospective
traffic the railroad people use carloads
as the basis. In the following sugges-
tons the same convenient basis will be
used. Aside from the estimated yield
of corn, the figures used are from the
state agricultural department and
from the best data gathered by the
various roads and placed at the dis
posal of the correspondent of the New
York Times. These give the prospec-
tive business in Kansas, in carloads,
about as follows: Wheat, $4,000: oats,
2, 500; corn, 495, 900; barley, 5000; rye,
1893; broom corn, 5, $40; fax, 2, $50; po-
tatoes, Qrish,) 40, 500; castor beans. CO.
making an aggregate of 595, 278 car
loads. For western roads these would
make up about 29,760 trains, which
would, if handled by any one road, re-
quire the moving of over seventy
freight trains out of Kansas every
twenty-four hours in order to move
the business within twelve months.
''This estimate does not take into ac-
count the products CT nearly 1000, 600
acres of kaffir and Jerusalem corn,
sorghum, millet and hungarian. No
account is here taken of the 500, 600
tons of the finest alfalfa hay ever fed
to animals, nor the seed thereof The
items of sweet potatoes, tobacco, gar
den truck, eggs, poultry, butter, cheese,
etc, are left out of this estimate. All
the horticultural products will have to
be otherwise provided for; the Well
house orchard alone will yield no. 600
barrels of the finest handpicked winter
apples.
1t the wheat crop should all be
ground by the Kansas mills and sent
out in the form of flour it would load
-, 600 cars, and Che bran and shorts
would be left for the use of the farm
ers. If the corn crop should all be fed
to steers, forty bushels per head, the
fat cattle would load 375, 900 ears, or
about Is, 500 trains. The corn crop of
1894 was enough to turn oSt l, 500, 000
fat cattle, but much of it was very low
grade and sent only seconds instead of
tops to the market. On August there
were $500, 600 cattle in the state, over
half of which will be ready for market
after four weeks feeding on the new
corn crop. The cattlemen estimate
that nearly 1000, 900 more will be
brought into the state before
the snow flies, most of them
for feeding. Parenthetically it may
here be stated that the salea
of animals slaughtered and sold for
slaughter, also wool, butter, cheese,
poultry, eggs and milk sold," amounted
to over $40, OOO, 900 in 1889, over $45, OO0,.
900 in 1891, and over $50, 600, DOC in 1894.
For 1894 the farm products of Kansas,
on tside of the above articles, reached
SOL, 900, OOO-about half the average.
The orchard, market garden, ETC.,
reached nearly So, 900, 600 more. This
year the value of the corn crop alone
at 20 cents per bushel, will amount to
over 500 600, 900, while the value of
other products, especially orchard, will
be tenfold greater than in 1894.
This enormous business sent out of
the state will create return business
unknown to Kansas railroad traffic for
verC many years.
"From their agents and from ship
pers all over the state the railway Off
Gals have information to the effect
that the present crops are not going to
be marketed with that abandon so
characteristic in former years, espe-
cially in 1889. At least 25 per cent. of
the wheat rye and barley will be held
for home consumption. A large por-
ton of the, surplus wheat will be
stored in mills for their future use and
in elevators for better markets, while
several million bushels will be care
fully garnered by the farmers to await
their pleasures new experience for
the ordinary Kansas wheat grower.
"All traffic men are now agreed that
the indications point to retarded
movement of the present crop, and
that six months will find large per.
centage not needed for feeding in the
hands of the original producers, There
has also been radical change in the
financial conditions prevailing among
the farmers who have been able to tide
over the storms of the last few severe
years. Those who have survived the
general wreck brought on by boom
mortgages have in a very large degree
freed themselves from debt, and are
now in far better condition to hold
their surplus for better prices than at
any time in the history of the state.
THE question of the prompt and eco
nomic handling of this vast and sud-
denly increased traffic has been long
and carefully considered by the rail-
road people. They are quick to dis
cover the quickening pulse of COM
MERGE and to adinSt themselves to the