The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1899-06-09
THE CROP SITUATION.
Blue Earth County Farmer in the
Northwest.

Grand Forks, N. D., June 3, 1899.
Editor Free Press,
Mankato, MINI.
Dear Sir: In accordance with pro-
mise made your Mr.. Soaring l will at
tempt to tell you something of the con
dition of the small grain situation in
North Dakota and northwest Minnesota.
From Wahpeton, N D, west along the
southern tier of counties the eastern
part is we'll seeded and wheat, barley.
oats and part of the fax is sown.
Small grain is looking we'll in Richland
and Sargent counties, but west of them
they seem to trust more to future good
luck and rain fall than to any results
from good farming. Much of the
ground is not plowed but simply gone
over with a disk harrow and then
drilled in all Of which is easy but
doesn't always produce satisfactory
results.
West of Wahpeton along the Minor
branch of the N. P. Ry. is beautiful
wheat country and extends back about
twenty miles from the Red river and
one can see as fine farms, as good build
ings and as thoroughly cultivated lands
as can be found in the older sections of
Minnesota. But here, as in nearly all
of N. D. the annual pass word is wheat
and it never changes. / find many
farmers buy their beef, pork, butter
and in some instances | found them
buying oats at 35c per bushel to feed.
At Harvey, n. d. found a Mortified,
sofa potatoes he was selling out to the
farmers at 90 per bushel for seed and
| table use.
They tell me they can make better
beef on grass here than we can in Min
nesota on good corn and yet Armour
runs meat car over most Of N. D..
twice each-wee and most of the beef
they use comes from Chicago, Kansas
City and other eastern points.
Along the Red river valley on both
the Dakota and Minnesota sides is a
magnificent farming belt for all kinds
of small grain, and the southern half
of this is we'll improved and well
farmed and the fine farms, buildings,
and in fact improvements of all kinds,
show very prosperous condition. The
small grain is now all seeded and nearly
all up and looking fine. A small Sec
ton near Crookston and between there
and Grand Forks has been and is still
too wet to seed as it should be A por-
ton of it is being mudded" in and
poorly done. I think Is and 20 per
cent will not be seeded this season.
North of this point the country is more
spotted, some sections are seeded and
growing fine, and some are still un-
plowed, not much more which will be
sown. Some barley and oats and quite
quantity of fax will yet be seeded.
This condition will hold true through
the central and western part of the
state Of n. D. There are sections up
near the Canadian line where ten days
ago 80 per cent of the blowing was yet
to do, l saw one quite large section
where most of the '99 crop still stood in
the stack unthreshed, and is said to be
badly damaged by rain.
There has been plenty OF rain fall all
over this section and everything. in
dicates a fine crop for 1899 where
farmers have been able to get their seed
in the ground About So to 80 per cent
of the last years acreage of wheat is
sown and some increase in the barley
and oat crop Flax is just being sown,
and the future weather will have much
to do with the amount that will be sown.
Many farmers here harrow their wheat
two and three times during the time it
is from to inches high and it helps
the appearance of it and kills most OF
the small weeds. Some are seeding
about quarts of fax per acre on the
wheat ground before narrowing, ex-
pecting to grow a double crop, viz.
wheat and fax mixed This has been
done quite successfully in some sections
in previous years. Land is selling here
quite freely and at good prices and
nearly everybody feels good and all are
looking for a season of prosperous
times.
President Mckinley gets considerable
credit for. the general good feeling and
prosperous condition but on the Mime
sofa side government land holds the
e. - l.