The Advocate and news., 1899-02-01
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THR SOUTHWEST CORNER. s
Annual Address by O. M. Davis, OF g
Stevens County, at the Annual
Meeting of the Kansas State z
Board of Agriculture.
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all DuL u6SeTLSu plains anu I0@LlAO |uSA
beauties.
A little more than decade ago hun
dreds fiocked hither, believing it to be
a veritable land of promise. They
brought with them the knowledge and
traditions of their old homes, and
wrought as their fathers had wrought
in other lands and under entirely differ
ent climatic conditions.
They planted broad acres of Indian
corn and the dry, hot days and cool nights
caused it to perish. They sowed large
areas of wheat and the high winds gath
cred up the soil that should have nour-
ished it and with it beat the tender
plants to earth.
There were occasional seasons when
corn and wheat reached maturity and
yielded enough grain to kindle anew the
flickering flame Of hope and held these
deluded agriculturists within the tolls
until many were beggared.
......s.........
Under the conditions that have pre-
vailed of late years the business of
breeding cattle affords large profits.
With suitable shelter for the occasional
severe storms of winter, few stacks OF
hay or sorghum for the brief periods
when the grass is snow covered, cattle
require but little care or attention, and
the loss from disease is so Insignificant
as hardly to be worthy being considered.
The rich buffalo grass makes an ideal
winter pasture and is Incompatible for
summer grazing, supplemented with the
more succulent sand grasses in early
spring
With the recent sharp advance in the
prices, especially marked in young stock.
the capitalists see in this field an oppor-
tunity for safe investment; and, lured
by past fiattering profits, the stock man
has been tempted to embark on the un-
certain sea of speculation by increasing
his herd on borrowed capital. Few have
shown any degree of recklessness in this
new venture and they are assuming less
actual risk than is daily taken in nearly
every other pursuit.
In the early days many planted or
Chards, and those who gave their trees
careful cultivation have reaped abundant
reward. One Stevens county farmer, en-
cOuraged by the success of his first plant
ing, now has so acres set to fruit, mostly
peaches and there are, throughout the
southwest, bearing orchards that yield
abundant crops of excellent fruit nearly
every year. Apples have not been as
thoroughly tested as have peaches and
plums, but a number Of orchards just
beginning to bear give promise OF satis-
factory results A farmer on the bor-
der between Stevens and Morton coun-
ties this season gathered from his young
orchard about hundred bushels OF ap- |
pies, and the quality was good.
The mistake was too frequently made |
of selecting high ground for the or
chard. Trees planted in the swales |
where the waters from the dashing rains |
cOngregate, would have insured far |
more moisture from every rainfall and
the long droughts of summer proved far
less fateful. Thus planted, with proper
cultivation, orchards can be grown as
sure and certain without artificial wa
tering as they can elsewhere. The best
orchards so far grown are in the sand
flats. Here 1t is necessary to surround
the orchard with windbreaks and grow
crops between the trees to keep the soil
from blowing and hold the snow from
uTlbIlnS.
Since the introduction of Kaffir corn
and milo maize abundant grain has
been grown every year, almost, to supply
the needs Of the country. They make
ration for the work horse and produce
pork that is as toothsOme as the corn
finished, mast-fatted pork Of youthful
memory.
To-day, while the population of the
Southwest Corner is small and widely
scattered, nearly every farmer, might
truthfully include nearly every house
holder, has his herd Of cattle, from a
dozen cows to herds of from 300 to
500; ample buildings, bearing orchards,
well-stOcked sites, and everything need
full to make sure the foundation of an
ample fortune and to insure comfort
while IL Is amassing.