Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1900-10-06

in libraries, but very little is taught in
school O. p-act1ced on the farm. Droughts
shorten crops, dry up pastures and destroy
the hopes of comm unities, while four or
five times as much rain falls during the
year as crops require. Is it not very sinSu-
lar that more attention is not given to it
by scholars? If one college would make
the movement of moisture in the soil a
speciality, and turn a full faculty toward
its demonstration from every standpoint,
it would bless the country more than any
university under our flag. The south will
probably have 2.0O0.O 900 bales less cotton
on account OF drOuShtS, Kansas Will have
zoo, 100000 bushels less of corn because of
drought, and yet the south has from so
to 60 inches of rainfall, while Kansas has
five times as much as full corn crop can
use, If evaporation could be controlled or
limited. Six inches of rainfall is about
what the crop uses, the rest is wasted
The United States VIII have 1Oo, OC0, COO or
more bushels OF wheat less than an av-
erage crop because we do not conserve
moisture
1--WE buy the products of skill from other
countries, and we buy raw material, the
product of cheap labor. We sell the prod
ucts of skill to other countries, and we
sell raw material, the product OF cheap la
Dor within our own land. A study of this
condition of affairs will lead US to get
correct estimate of our standing compared
with other countries While we sold S792,-
81, 72S worth OF domestic products from
the United States in 1899, we bought $685.
514, SS1 worth of agricultural products dur
ing the same year We paid S94 coo for
sugar, So, 000 900 for coffee, S41 Goa, 900 for
hides and skins, sS2 0O0, eco for silk, s25, oOo,
600 for hbers, SIS, goo, 0G0 for fruits and nuts,
100000 for tobacco, $40, 900, COO for tea, and
IS, 100000 for wool, which, however, is only
half as much wool we bought in 1898!
Several of these things we can produce
in the United States. Some of them we can
not account of climatic prohibition We
can produce our own sugar, we can pro-
duce some of the fibers we buy, and much
of the fruits and nuts that we import. I
think it is only question of time when
can produce fine tobaccoS in some
Il
anywhere in the world; or any rate,
if there are some delicately-favored va
rieties which we cannot produce we will
help our brown men in the Pacific ocean
to prepare them for US. 1 have no doubt
that We can produce our own tea Extern
sive experimentation is being conducted
now, with the help of the United States
government, in South Carolina The de-
partment of agriculture is in cooperation
with the experiment stations OF all the
gulf states along this line need not tell
an Ohio audience that we can produce
our own wool of all kinds, and are
getting pretty well along toward doing il,
having cut the importation in two between
1S9S and 1892
1.-The great activity now existing in all
departments of industry in the United
States has had a most beneficial effect
the prices of farm animals
THE total increase in the value of the
farm animals of the United States from
1os. $50. The decrease in the number of
horses during the last three years has
been pronounced, although it is becoming
less and less every year. During 1886 the
decrease was 769 261- In 1897 it was 759, $50,
in 1898 it was 403 756. in 1899 it $500. and
in 1900 the decrease in the number of horses
in the United States was III, 7S3 This de-
crease was brought about by the discour-
agement to the breeding of horses result
ing from low prices. Now that prices are
remunerative the decrease is fading out
and it is only question Of time when an
increase Will begin again We sold q. 700
horses last year to foreign countries and
received 7,612, 056 for them There is an
active demand in foreign countries for
horses of all kinds. especially the more val
liable ones.
THE principal reason for the better
prices for domestic animals is that our
oeoDle are at work EVERYWHERE Good