The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-01-10
STOCK IS IT'S SALVATION
DEVELOPMENT OF CATTLE INDUS
TRY DISCUSSED BY GEN
NJ. ID. FLOWER
BEFORE FARMERS OF STATE
Proceedings of the Second Day Of
the State Agricultural Society
Several Interesting Pa
pers Were Read.

Gen. Mark D. Flower, president of the
Union stock yards at South St Paul, ad-
dressed the opening session of the se:-
ond day of the meeting of the State rs
ricultural society yesterday at the Com
mercial club, giving a comprehensive re-
view of the development of the live sto- k
interests in Minnesota during the last de-
cade. He said in part:
The development of our great agricIl-
tural resources within the past decade
is a source of pride to every obserN er
who has the welfare of our common
wealth at heart. Prior to that time tie
chief obstacle that confronted our farm
ing communities was. the inclination to
produce exclusively crops of wheat With
a soil peculiarly adapted to wheat rails
ing, the ease and facility with which
wheat could be produced. was sufficient
indUcement to lead ninety-five per cent
of our farmers to conf1ne their efforts to
wheat alone. These constant drafts up
on the rich and fertile soil, for a time,
were honored by rich and remunerative
returns. The future was thoroughly dis
counted. The soil that had, in the be-
ginning, produced twenty bushels of
wheat per acre, rapidly diminished its
yield until it scarcely produced an aver
age of twelve. Thus did nature resent,
imperatively, the violation of its laws.
The profit of the husbandman gradually
diminished and mortgages upon the
farms increased, until more than half of
the farms in the oldeA. counties of the
state were mortgaged. 1t was the old
story of putting all the eggs into one
basket" When the grasshoppers devas-
tated the growing crops, the tilleT of the
soil was helpless and without other re-
sources. The deplorable conditions fore
ed change in methods. Diversity in
farming became the new gospel of truth
to point the way to success and wealth.
The dairy sprung into existence. The
raising of hogs, cattle, sheep and horses
became more common and a changed
condition rapidly asserted itself. The
mortgages began to disappear. The
country banks instead of loaning their
money to the impoverished farmer, re-
ceived his deposits for safe keeping. AS
the animal industry of the state increas-
ed new conditions of farming asserted
themselves. While planting less acreage
to wheat and other grains, the farmer
produced more bountiful crops, for he
was enabled to replenish his soil from
the offal of his live stock. Market con-
ditions changed and new markets sprung
into existence. Diversified farming,
though generally recognized at this time
as essential to the success of our farm
ing interests, is not, by any means, uni
versally adopted Many of our farmers
are behind the times, shiftless, i'm
provident and unsuccessful, and rapidly
drifting into hopeless bankruptcy. If our
farmers will pay heed to the instructions
of our state agricultural institute, to such
teachers as Prof, Shaw and his able asso-
GATES they mush- succeed. With soil and
climate leagued together to produce the
most favorable conditions for raising both
grain and live stock, there is no such
word as fail
LIVE STOCK AND GOOD BREEES.
The quality of any article of commerce
usually regulates it's value. 1t is an
axiom in commercial business that SUPER
Tor articles. whether the product of hus-
bandry or of manufacture, always de-
mand the best prices, and are in great
est demand. This rule applies espec, ally
to live stock and the farmer who ignores
1t is blind to his own interests. A we'll
bred animal at any of the markets COM
mandS from one to two cents "a, pound
more than an inferior one, and it costs
less to prepare the good animal for the
market than it does the inferior one, the
only adverse condition being the first
cost which is soon repaid. in additional
profits. The farmers of our state have
not, as yet, come to comprehend the
great Importance Of quality in live stock,
and often times neglect opportunities for
l.
foresight and public spirit that has
always marked his career. Mr.. James J.
Hill twenty years ago imported from
Europe two car loads of thoroughbred
POlled-Angus bulls and distri>Ited them
among the farmers on the line of the
Great Northern railroad in North Dakota
and Northern Minnesota, giving their use
to the farming communities where
located for the simple maintenance of
the animals. This occurred during the
acute period of exclusive wheat raising,
and it failed to make the impression it
deserved among the farmers, many of
them sticking to their old scrub bulls,
and failing to avail themselves of the
golden opportunity. NotwitEstand ng the
failure to make available The sple ndid op-
portunities thus presented by Mr.. Hill,
still by force of the circumstance alone
great benefits have accrued TO large Sec
tons where the original plants, were es-
tabliShed This is, apparent in the traces
of good blood and breed among the ar
rivals of stock upon our markets at the
present time and has been for years
past. The purity of blood has not been
maintained but a great improvement in
general conditions is very apparent IT
is more than likely that Mr.. Hill has
long since come to view his venture as
fruitless, but it affords me great pleasure
to be able to state that his effort, though
theless, produced good results and TIE
sacrifice on his part has been rep9id a
hundred fold by a general improvement
of the cattle throughout a large section
of Northern Minnesota, and North Da-
kota
EVOLUTION IN STOCK MARKETS.
For a quarter of a century Albany, N.
Y was the controlling and most i'm
pOrtant market for live stock in the
| United States, but with the westward
| march Of civilization it was supplanted
by Buffalo, which in turn was superseded
by Cincinnati. and finally by Chicago,
which for nearly half century has en-,
| joyed the distinction of being the great
est market in the world For more than
twenty-five years Chicago has set the
| price for beef. pork and mutton animals.
not only for this country but for Europe
| and every commercial nation on the
| globe. All the markets are regulated by
! Chicago. This supremacy has made Chi
cago great, and has added untold mil.
lions of dollars to her wealth and i'm
portance as a commercial city but l
predict that she is today at the zenith
| OF her glory as live stock market, and
while her total live stock business may
not decrease for some time to come, 1t
| will not increase, but with the develop
ment of other and competing markets. it