The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1898-05-16
MONSTER WHEAT CROP.
oklahoma HW Produce More Than T,renty
MHiioH Bstshcis 81 Wc Grcat
staple This Year

staple fhis Year
oklahoma promises TO produce "A
monster wheat crop this year and
farmers are busy speculating on the
acreage Last week wheat sold on
the streets OF Guthrie at 81. 10 tushel
and IL anything like that price holds,
Oklahoma farmers will be in clover.
The wheat crop Of 1897 was lucky
investment for oklahoma, and did
more TO advertise the country as a
great agricultural region than all
other things combined The acreage
was large and the season generally
so successful that il was dinicdlt for
conservative persons not to swell the
yield beyond accurate limits Farmers
who congratulated themselves that
they would get from 90 cents to 60
cents n bushel for wheat, in most in
stances actually realized from 60 cents
to 80 cents. The average price for the
bulk OF the crop was about 1G cents.
The es imates Of the total yield varied
sufficiently to please the most elastic
Imagination. There were not few
persons who ridiculed a denial OF the
statement that the yield was less than
OO00 bushels. An accurate estimate
was impossible. The acreage stats
tics in the Office OF the territorial audi
tor, returned by the township as
SCISSORS, were NJ more TO be relied
upon than Fiji islanders estimate Of
NtuN Nsta ne
bad refused in many instances 20 give
: any returns at all, those VINO did gave
the average below what it really was,
fearing that any details would in
crease their taxes or would be seized
upon 10y bad, bold grain spectators TO
I manipulate the markets. Early last
year the Kansas City Star, after much
comparison OF individual estimates,
put the total yield at 15,00O,0O0 bushels
S and saw no reason afterwards Of in
D creasing it.
To obtain the most reliable figures
possible, II was necessary 10 wait
until the wheat crop had been sold.
q II was a certaiaty that the straitens
circumstances OF farmers caus d by
short crops in previous years, and the
good prices ffered, would draw most
of the 1897 crop from the granaries,
and IL was believed that practically
i- all OF this wheat would be sold be-
tween August /, 1897, and March 81,
1898. The auditor asked for and ie-
c ceived from each railway doing busi-
ness in oklahoma, a statement OF the
amount OF wheat received for ship
ment during that period. The mi ling
I interests in Oklahoma are consider
IS able, the mills buying almost entirely
| 20 rrh m al 10
wheat in wagons. Caldwell, Hume
n we'll and Arkansas City, Kan and
towns north of the Usage reservation
are adjacent to Oklahoma wheat laLds
and close enough TO be reached by
wagons. Each of the towns north oil
n the Cherokee Strip has one or more
i. big Touring mills and many grain
buyers who load their wheat onto
'' railways at those points. Caldwell
shipped 90 900 bushels Of OklahomS
o wheat Hunnewell was allowed 100
IL 600 bushels on a similar basis. 1t il
believed that Arkansas City got 200,
600 bushels Of Oklahoma wheat, hal
, By wagon and balf by rail. Tn,
II wagon wheat out OF the Usage natior
d Is estimated at 60 600 bushels. Pur
cell, l. Il got large amount o
wheat by wagon, which, tOgethe
with that received at other towns
was not included i'm statemep
& sent TO the auditor by the rail-
p way companies. What is giseI
as q reasonable conservative Csumat
OF the wheat purchased by Oklahoml
k mills during the last ten months wa
furnished by one Of the large mills
Farmers this year sOwed about on
! one-fourth bushels TO the arce, on
basis Of total yield OF $1,000 90
bushels, and an average acre of TWEEN
Il ty bushels, allowance was made 70
. seed wheat The newly eXteudc,
g Hutchinson and Southern railway int
Ell Kay county was also accredited. Let
ters from grain dealers and farmer
throughout the wheat district wcr
= particularly unanimous in saying tina
the amount OF wheat still held b.
W farmers was one. eighth Of the entir
n crop. Using in an computations twcn
ty bushels as the average yield a
acre and sixty pounds TO the bushe
A. the output Of wheat in 1897 is given a
follows;
~ Hushel
"a Received for shipment by the Chi
4 way way ''o, ''''''' ''' te0a. O.
SON, Topeka SHd santa re railway at&u
Received for shipment by the tnoc-
M taw. Oklahoma and Gulf railway s32.s
no Hutchinson and s5Gthern railway $500
Consumed by Oklahoma mills and
IN purchased from wagons at Cald
To well kuuncwcll and Arkansas
city. Kan. and Purcell L. n .... .... lhl0O
seed wheat soWn last tali. Hif "a
One-clghth of crop still on hand 1850
b" Total .. .......... -II,4oI
is The wheat consumed by Oklahom
s- mills and purchased from wagons q
outside towns was apportioned as 70
IN lows, and it can hardly be said tina
IT. the figures are not liberal: Arkansa
City, Kan, 100 900 bushels; PoncaCitl
10000; Perry, 75, 900; Guthrie, 100, ,00l
- Edmond, 10000; Norman, 90 900; Okl,
homa City, 200, 900, El Reno, 200, 0Ol
~ | Kiug6shcr 35 600: MpdfOrd 20 U0