The Wichita daily eagle., 1901-06-16
ITS SAD SAD STORY
Awful Experience of a Now
Famous Wheat Field.
THEY TRIED TO KILL IT
NiChitans Vino Were Guilty
Of the Thing.

East OF Chisholm creek, on Douglas
Gvenue' is large tract Of land which
nas never been part Of the city. For
years 1t has been farmed indinerently.
which, as this article Will prove, was a
sreat fortune to all the residents there
by. Il was put IN corn one year and the
reeds took it; oats the following year,
with the same result; millet, ditto But
ast fali a farmer took hold of it and put
I'll the forty acres in wheat The tract is
beautiful one. level as a billiard table,
and fringed about with the tangled elms
of the little brook, which winds around it
But how that wheat has suffered. The
street car passes BY It, and the College
iill people and the Fairmounters have
given 1t eighteen volumes of comment.
Starting of last winter. z. T. Allen
maintained. in the first place. that it was
rye. This excited Ed Hyde, who thinks
he knows wheat when he sees it. and he
declared It was wheat. The joint debate
waxed strong for several weeks. Hyde
maintained that it wasn't dark enough
green for rye; Allen maintained that it
was- An occasional golIer put in that he
thought it was millst or oats. and was
laughed into silence. Along about March.
II became apparent that it was going to
turn out wheat and Allen was knocked
out of the ring, refusing to look at the
field any more at all for betraying him.
Hyde developed q fond attachment for the
beautiful sward. anu felt that he owned
Il, because he had guessed it.
The wheat seemed to thrive well this
spring. Il was truly luxurfant, the deep
shadows chasing each other across It's
emerald bosom in a way to make a poet
walk ia mid-air.
At this point s. W. Cooper, oe College
Hil, comes into the game He noticed
the wheat, got out. examined it and pro-
nounced it too thick on the ground. He
delivered his opinion. and there was gen
eral sadness over the blow. Everyone be-
heved that it was exceptional wheat,
and this fault Of being too thick was
crushing on the bright conviction.
Professor Iseley, Of Fairmount, next
took shot at the field. His attention
was called to it as a particularly beautiful
piece of growing grain. He pointed out
however, that 1t was growing uneven,
and probably would not make much Of a
yield.
This caused greater sorrow and the
man who had put it in so that it would
grow uneven, although ne was unknown
was generally condemned.
The wheat, however, kept on growing
vigorously. until the aphis era came in. !
AIr. A c. Dickson, the real estate man.
then hit the field below the belt and
knocked il out. He gor out, pulled a
straw and found the fly on it. shook his /
head sadly and said the wheat would 1
conveyed TO the people who did not know |
much about wheat any way. and their
gloom deepened. Most OF them were sur
prised TO find the field there the next day I
IN spite of the fly 1t was still there a
week later and the impression got out (
that the hy was dead.
In fact the people who did not know .
much about wheat aud its misfortunes /
had about concluded that perhaps the /
field would make H-would come out all /
right I'm the end.
All agreed at one time that it needed /
rain. There was no appearance Of need /
OF rain. The wheat seemed to be green
and thriving, vigorous and fresh. But 1t 4
Is q mental condition to need rain" in
Kansas and the sentiment was unani-
nous. Everybody thought he saw the
v heat willing and there was a decided
tinge Of yellow on the stalks below. For
two days the agony. continued. and then
il rained. The next day was hot and still,
and B. D. Allen declared that the wheat
was gone sure. More gloom. It was GER
tain that the wheat was rusting at last,
and after all ii had wtthstood for months.
II was too bad.
But the wheat didn't rust. It just kept
or growing greener. more beautiful, more
fascinating than ever
But it wasn't for Iong. One day 7. P.
came rushing down town with 5