Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1900-03-09

We are permitted to publish an ex-
tract from q private letter written py
q gentleman who has recently peen
devoting his time to the personal IN
yestigation Of practical farming by ir-
rigation in the west. His vivid por-
trayal Of the advantages OF that sys-
tenn will no doubt interest our readers
He says:
There is q vast, an immeasurapie
difference between farming IN the east
and farming in the west. II the farm
ers of the east could only be made 70
understand the advantages enjoyed oy
their western brethren, verify peiievo
there would soon be no land for SET
Element in the great irrigation STATES
The irrigation farmer has absolute
certainty of crop, and certainty OF us
perfect maturity. He never plants
that he does not reap. and when say
reap don't mean the reaping OF scat
tered stands of half matured grain
such az the eastern farmer cuts at the
close of dry season: but the reap
Ing of fields that frequently average oo
bushels Of wheat to the acre-every
grain Of which has reached the perfec-
ton OF development. There Is no
anxious scanning Of the skies for the
cloud no larger than a mans hand
and fervent prayers that 1t may en-
velop the heavens and send down wa
ter to the thirsty fields. The irriga-
ton farmer never thinks about rain.
He watches his growing crops, and the
day and the hour moisture Is needed,
he is out with his hoe flooding his
fields with water from canals that
skirt them.
| Everything grows in the west that
grows anywhere else in the United
States north Of Tennessee. Potatoes
frequently yield 500 bushels to the
acre, and barley is grown far better
than any raised in the east. The
fruits are delicious. I never saw any
to compare with those grown in Idaho,
where apples, peaches, plums, cherries,
pears, aprcots abound, and where
there are thousands Of acres Of italian
and German prunes which / am told
have made fortunes for their owners.
ITO my mind, Idaho is the best wa
tered and most inviting arid state in
the Union. made careful investiga-
ton OF the great Snake River valley
in that state, along and tributary to
the Oregon Short Line Railroad, and
saw there evidences of prosperity such
as I have never seen elsewhere In the
United States. This wonderful valley
is said to contain over 100000 acres
of arabic land. 1t Is threaded with
great irrigation canals in every direc-
ton, and there are vast tracts await
ing only the touch of the farmer to
make them productive. The sun doesn't
shine on finer or more fertile land.
When saw the happy homes. the well
filled granaries, the sleek, fat stock,
and the smile on the face OF nature
reflected in a smile Of contentment on
the faces OF the farmers, my heart
went out in pity to the thousands in
the east who are struggling along from
year 10 year, toiling against adverse
climatic conditions, and never know
ing how soon a drouth will wipe out
the profits of prosperous years.
LANDS can be had in this Snake
River valley almost for the asking,
but they are going, day by day. Tie
Oregon Short Line is making extra
ordinary efforts to bring the advan-
tages of Idaho to the notice of eastern
farmers, and is flooding the country
with conservatively written descriptions
of the state. Write to the General Pas
senger Agent of this Railroad at Salt
Lake for printed matter about Idaho,
and read It carefully. 1t will be q
revelation to you and I sincerely be-
ueve will end in your removal to the
west"
A Queer superstition.
The inhabitants Of the Andaman
Islands, not far from India, have some
strange superstitions and traditions.
1t Is their belief that the first human
being fell into the water and was
drowned, being transmitted thereby
into a whale. The first mans wife
and grandchildren went hunting for
him in a small boat, but 10 and behold.
the whale came along and tipped the
boat over. The wife was turned into
q crab and the little ones became liz
ards. All fish and many birds they
believe to be ancestors who have been
changed in form. A species OF fish
which has a poisonous prong on Its
body, they say, Is the form into which