Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1898-12-29
IN SOUTH DAKOTa
IMMENSE CROP.
south Dekes.ss Output Too Much ss-
the Railroads TO Handle


Yankton, s. Dit has been k-owa
10 the public since early III the falltaat
the crop Of small grain raised in South
Dakota this year surpassed all expset-
ations. w. \. Day. travelling freight
agent for the Milwaukee railway. up, n
a recent business trip through this Sc
ton, and who i undoubtedly enc Of
the best authorities, c~orrolpogatea
these assertions by saying that the
people Of the state Go not realize how
vast was the crop this year. it being
especially true of the sections of the
STATE which have hitherto been con.
sidered new and only partially deyeI,
opcd. In further speaking Of tie
ner in which the railroads and eIevat.
ors have been handicapped in handling
il. he says:
iii is n popular idea that farming
land Is not al its best until IL has been
under cultivation some years, and that
idea is. in a measure. true. And in
view OF its truth, the rapidity with
which the farm land OF South Dakota
is being developed. is really astonish-
ing. Between YaGkton ana Mitchell
there is a great deal OF country which
may he called new, and which has new
er until this year shown itself 10 great
advantage. The amount Of grain mar
keied nj towns Ike Trip. Armour.
Parkston and Tyndail shows how vast
the crop is. and shows. also, that the
railroad facilities in that section are
not adequate for a prompt moving Of
the crop in good years. At Trip there
is now marketed an average OF $4,000
bushels Of wheat per day. and recently
in three days time. sever carloads of
that cereal We're shipped from that ONE
station alone 10 the Eastern markets
over the Milwaukee. And the same
conditions exist at other towns. Ele-
yat0rs find hard work To store the
grain and there is so much of the crop
to move hat the railroads cannot fur
nish the equipment to get 1t out Of the
way. Hence the complaints as 10 the
shortage Of cars. All railroads are in
precisely the same predicaInent, as Ia
all similar sections of the state the
! crop is discouragingly large. II must
be bCrne in mind thar all the grain in
stack has not yet been threshed. ana
the crop will continue TO pour into the
elevators for months & core,
The corn crop, in the corn growing
sections Of the state, is larger than ey-
er. So far as the TOTAL yield is con
cerned, and have found that farmers
generally have adopted a very Wis
pan. and are feeding more cattle and
not marketing their corn. There are
20 per cent more cattle being fed and
fattened for market in the corn dis
tricts this yea than last. As for hogs,
there aYe about as many hat viii be
ready for the spring market i'm 1899 as
there We're in 1888. There are more
hogs in those sections which / have de-
I scribed as new country, than eyer be-
fore. aud the marketing of them will
swell the total numbers shipped from
this country in the spring. The de-
mand for more railroad facilities for
moving the crop must. OF necessity,
cause rhe building OF new lines and the
extension of roads beyond their pres,
I ent termini. | believe there win be
more rails laid in 1899 than insany pre-
vious year in the history of this coun-
try | cannot be explicit ms 10 what
roads viii be built, but 1 look fer great
activity in that line