The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1899-07-14
DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES.
Secretary Coburn Writes Interest.
ingly, as Usual.

ingly, as Usual.
Secretary COburn never overlooks
anything that will be beneficial to the
agricultural interests of Kansas. Mr..
c. V. Kinney, editor of the Oakley
Graphic, has been constantly urging
his readers to diversity their crops
and not run exclusively to wheat, but
rather to pay attention to the COW
and other live stock in connection
with their wheat raising. There is a
mighty lot of good, hard sense in the
letter that Coburn writes him. We
secured copy and publish it herewith:
1t is a pleasure to note that you keep
hammering away on the proposition
that the people of western Kansas
should more and more develop the
COW, poultry and similar Industries
instead of all the while making wheat
their sole or main reliance. / believe
you are preaching the true gospel of
their salvation. Exclusive cotton rails
ing in the south with its resulting pow
erty and ignorance-virtual slavery
affords a striking example of what a
one-crop agriculture leads to.
No community, anywhere, ever did
or ever will grow rich by adhering
exclusively to wheat growing. For
farmers in this state to risk, year after
year, all their prosperity in any one
crop, while persistently ignoring so
many other possibilities of income that
crowd up to their very door-sills. is
simply insanity and suicide. Saying
this does not argue that wheat should
not continue to be a great staple crop
in Kansas, but the wise farmer who
would prosper must be mindful that
there are various other products of his
lands besides wheat, as steadily and
surely profitable, often, too, in those
inevitable seasons when wheat fails.
In any section of country where
wheat raising is the main dependence
there is generally an air of thr!ftless-
ness. dilapidatien and poor farming,
improved stock and especially the
COW, was highly developed and pushed
to the fore that did not show thrift,
tidiness and the best types of rural
life. Whatever else she may be, ma
ture made Kansas a stock country,
and the Kansas farmer who shuts his
eyes to the fact is blind and stumb-
ling because unwilling to see.
The abundance of nutritious grasses
with alfalfa, the sorghums, barley and
with power pump make easily pos.
sible in every western county the dual
purpose COW, the beef steer. grOwthfu1
shote, helpful hen. the hardest oi
horses, and the golden-hoofed, wool
bearing, meat-yielding sheep; every
one a money maker. Good stock home
grown and properly handled, whether
horses or hens, never lost their pro
Queer any money in Kansas, while q
| failure to make animal husbandry a
factor in his operations keeps many 6
worthy man poor.
| "A rlSuL appreciation Vi tlc COW lcdos
to demand for the creamery, where
her product, instead of making six
ceat unpalatable grease and a drudge
of the housewife, becomes q fancy
staple, wanted everywhere at fame.
prices. A country of prosperous cream
cries invariably bcomes countr,
where comfortable, pleasant homes
live churches, commodious schoo
houses and big red barns abound. nom
of which are conspicuous in any land
soape where a wheat field is the all
dominating feature.
i A moderate diversity. that doesn
scatter, intelligently guided leads to
wards prosperity, but adherence t
one uncertain soil-robbing crop whicl
} gives it's owner employment but tw
months in the year is cutting cross
lots to the poor house.-Missouri Val
ley Farmer.