St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-08-15
RAISE MORE STOCK
FARMERS OF MINNESOTA ARE
NEGLECTING WHAT
MIGHT BE
A MOST PAYING INDUSTRY.
40 STATE BETTER FITTED FOR
GROWING BEEF, MUTTON
AND PORK.
ORGANIZE STOCK ASSOCIATIONS,
Says Prof. Thomas Shaw, and
Utilize the Advantages Of
fered by the State.

sity experiment farm, has written
the following open letter to the farm
ers of Minnesota, which the G o e
takes pleasure in publishing:
Minnesota is looked upon by her
neighbors, far and near, as being one
of the most progressive Of the states
in all the Union; nor is the estimate
thus put upon her too high or I'M
deserved. 1t is simply wonderful
how nearly correct the world weighs
men and communities and states and
nations in its balances; hence if
Minnesota bears the reputation for
progress almost without parallel, it
is because such progress has been
real.
But the marvellous progress made
by our people has not been equal or
uniform. Some of the trees of Min
nesotean advance have grown lop-
sided, and this is more especially
true of the tree of agriculture. The
topmost branch Of this tree, repre-
senting the wheat industry, has run
so far up toward the blue sky that
there is danger that the winds of
heaven will snap it off. The branch
of dairying has
GROWN so VIGOROUS
that it is pulling the trunk to one
side. Thanks to the state dairy as
ISOLATION, to our own Prof. Hacker,
and to Supt. Gregg for much of the
vigor Of this branch.
The branch which represents hor-
ticulture has made a growth which
has been much admired by fair
minded men. But the branches rep
resenting beef and mutton, and even
swine-where are they? Why, their
growth is feeble and sickly. They
are tiny, delicate little branches, half
dead and half alive. That they are
SO will be apparent from the follow
ing figures taken from the statistical
returns of 1894: In 1894 the cattle in
the state, as returned to the assessor,
were $4,000; that is to say, fewer
than in 1887 by 81, 457, and fewer than
in 1890 by 139,0S7. The number of
dairy COWS increased during that pc
Rod; that is to say, from 1887 to 1894
1880. The falling away, therefore,
has been in beef cattle, and it has
been serious with the beef interest
as represented. There is no wonder
that we have to go to Kansas City
and Omaha for much of the beef
wanted to feed our own citizens
Dairying has, during the same years.
made a great advance, but the lat
ter interest was represented by a
live stock association, while the for
mer was not SO represented.
Again, in 1894 the number of sheep
as returned to the, assessors was
352,037 and the swine 346, S32. This
means that in all Minnesota there
is but one sheep to every 143 acres
of the land surface fthe state, and
Of swine but one to every las acres
Of the same. Now suppose that but
one-twentieth of the land surface of
the state were devoted to sheep
husbandry, and that but one-fourth
as many sheep were paStured upon
the same during the summer as are
now being pastured upon an acre
of land at the university state farm,
WHAT WOULD 1T MEAN?
1t would mean that but eight acres
of land to every quarter section de-
voted to sheep husbandry would fur
nish pasture for 10,037,072 sheep, or,
that it could be made to sustain
5,039, 5SS head the year round; that is
to say, a very much larger number
than is found in Ohio, the banner
state fors sheep in all the Union.
And yet it is fact that no state
within our borders is better fitted
for growing beef, mutton and pork
of the finest quality; at least 1 so
regard it. 1 do so for the reasons
that no state can grow a greater
variety of food products, such as
cattle, sheep and swine require to
feed upon; no state can grow more
food, acre for acre, all things con-
sldered; no state has more healthy
climate; no state is more abundantly
supplied with shade and water, and
no state has better staying qualities
in her soils. Here, then, we have
all the great essentials for the most
successful live stock hunbandry on
the continent, and vet, with the ex-
ception of the dairy interest, the
live stock industry languishes.
The reasons for this condition of
things are not far ito seek.
THE WHEAT GOD
has been worshiped by our farmers.
They have hitherto bowed at the
Shrine of successive crops of wheat
until the weary lands are unable to
grow wheat as in days of yore. The
country was new and MANY mon
We're not able to buy stock: others
Whc did buy had not the necessary
knowledge to care for it properly.
Fences were wanting and stables had
not been built. In some parts the
cultivated grasses grew shyly. and
1t never dawned upon the people that
underneath the dead grasses that
cracked beneath their tread in An
gust latent forces Were capable Of
producing forage crops as maGnifi-
cent as the world ever saw.
But forces have been at work which
have led farmers to give some atten-
ton to live stock. A grasshopper WIS.,
itation visited certain parts MANY
years ago. The farmers had to give up
growing grain and turn their attention
to bookkeeping. Next came the de-
structive work of the chinch bugs
Grain crops We're so completely &C.
stroyed that farmers were compelled
OF necessity, to grow live stock The
places thus visited are the most pros
porous portions of the state today. II
monument were built to the dead
grasshoppers and chinch bugs of those
times, the Inscription on it should read:
TO the dead grasshoppers and chinch
bugs of Southeastern Minnesota fol-
the service they rendered the farmers
in compelling them to engage in live
stock husbandry." Then later came
failure in crops and low prices, and
these In turn compelled many farmers
to do what even Theodore Louis could
rot at first accomplish. The old man,
ri. t. L.