Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1895-12-26

rlence. One farmer Of my acQuaint-
ance has a car load of cattle to ship
every year; another is buying sheep in
the fall, feeding them on the weeds of
his fallow ground and wintering them
on refuse and screenings and selling
them in the spring at a profit. In an
other case the farmers of a neighbor-
hood are joining together and ship a
carload or two of hogs annually. In
all Of these cases the farmers have en-
deavored to get the best grade of ami
mails. "No one but a rich man can
afford to raise a scrub.'' The farmers
Of Dakota must raise the produce be-
fore they can expect to have a home
market. We have wheat and buyers
are at our door. We are beginning to
raise barley in quantity and buyers
have found it out, and this is the first
year they are seeking it. When we
have cattle, hogs and sheep in sfticient
quantity the buyers will come also.
We will then have a home market,
and not be Qike oil new countries are)
at the mercy Of the combinations Of
local butchers. If the local butchers
will not give a fair price now let the
farmers of neighborhood join to-
gether, fill a car and ship to better
market and buyers and slaughter
houses will come in time. The buyers
and slaughter houses did not go to
Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas until the
farmers had raised sufficient cattle
and hogs to warrant their establish
ing themselves there. Creameries have
been a success in Iowa, adding greatly
to it's prosperity, and the same state is
achieving a national reputation for it's
cheese. Why cannot Dakota do the
same? The potato starch factories in
this state have been successful adding
much to the income of the farmer in
the locality in which they were estab-
lished, and potatoes at Is cents per
bushel is more profitable, with an
average crop, than the present price
of wheat The farmer can also remem-
Der that potatoes have been estimated
to be worth cent a pound when
manufactured" into pork. / am in
formed that the sugar beet of very
superior quality can be raised in Da-
kOta. l have seen as fine corn and
pumpkins in the Red river valley,
within the past two years, as saw in
Iowa, and with the improved machin-
cry for shredding, the stalks and nub-
bins make most excellent feed for
stock, to say nothing of the increa sed
yield Of small grains the following
year. In the opinion of the writer the
farmer should not only raise all the
horses he uses on his farm, but he
should have some to sell annually.
Owing to the extremely low price Of
horses the farmers of Illinois, Wiscon-
sin and Iowa have almost entirely
ceased to raise horses for sale, and are
barely breeding enough for their own
home use. Horses cannot, like hogs,
be matured in year or two. 1t takes
four or five years, and the writer ven
lures to predict that horses foaled the
coming year will bring good paying
price at maturity. Horses are wear
ing out faster than they are being
grown.
We have the example Of other states
before us, and their methods and ex-
perience are open to our examination.
Let us read, write and inquire. Find
out, if possible, the reason of their
failures and the causes of their sue
cess, and profit by their examples. Let
us cease to be producers and vendors
of the raw material. but "manufac-
ture" it into the better paying COM
modify, and, as they say In Iowa,
"Send our grain to market in the
hoOf." William Is. Douglas.