The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-04-18
HOW IT'S DONE.
Kansas Wheat Raisers Give Per-
sOnal Experiences.
Y. w. Miller, of Saline County,
Started With 30 Acres.
NOW HAS OVER 5000.
All But $50 Acres is Sown in
Wheat.
Other Short Grass Farmers Tell
Their Story.

The personal experience portion of
Secretary Coburn's recent wheat report
is as interesting as a romance to the
person who likes to read good prosperity
stories. The book is full Of 'em. The
profits some of the farmers of central
Kansas have made out of wheat grow
ing are almost wonderful.
OF the 12O farmers who give their ex-
perfences in the report a large number
grow above 500 acres of wheat each
year. Some Of these even speak of 1t as
a side issue" But nearly all OF them
agree that it is a good business, but
opinion is about equally divided as to
whether it should be followed as spe-
cialty to the exclusion of everything
else.
For instance, " w. Miller. Of Mentor.
Saline county, raises nothing but wheat
He buys land every time he gets a
chance and puts every available foot OF
it into wheat. He started with an acre
age of 80 acres and now he owns 5,220
acres and 500 of it is sown to wheat
Here is his experience as he gives It;
7 came from Tennessee to Kansas IN
1872 and located on land which now
own near Mentor. 1 commenced wheat
farming in that year. I had thirty acres
out, which made a yield of 615 bushels.
I sold it for one dollar per bushel- In
1875 7 bought eighty acres, and l have
bought on an average one quarter sec
ton of land every year since we came
here. I have now O901) 5,220 acres, all
Of which I have in wheat except $50
acres. My boys and 1 farm some our
selves, but most OF this land I rent, get
ting one-third of the crop grown, deliv-
cred at market. 1 bought a quarter
section of land some years ago for which
I paid $3.50. In 1901 my rent on that
quarter was LOO bushels of wheat. L
bought eighty acres of land for $1,000.
The first year I had it it produced 5000
bushels Of wheat which brought ninety
cents a buShel or a total Of $2,lOO, at
threshing Again, I bought another
quarter section, las acres Of which was
in wheat, and it made an average yield
this year of thirty-one bushels per acre
This land which yields thirty bush
els per acre, testing sixty-three pounds,
has been farmed to wheat for twenty
years, with the exception Of one year.
The thirty acres that put in wheat In
1873 which yields fraction over twenty
bushels per acre, has been in wheat ev-
cry year since (twenty- EIGHT years., and
the last crop was better than the first.
-Four years ago i bought $50 acres, Which
included 100 acres in alfalfa. as rent l
could not get over $3.50 an acre for the
alfalfa land, so 1 plowed up 100 acres of
it and put it in wheat. One-third of the
wheat crop gives me much higher rent
The wheat on the alfalfa land grows
larger and makes a heavier yield than
on other land. showing cOnclus1Ve1y that
alfalfa is a great fertilizer II my land
ever begins to show a loss OF fertility
and strength all I need is to put It in
alfalfa and pillow it under. When 1 buy
land, everything must give way to
Wheat-hedges and groves dug up, and
buildings are torn down or removed, II
Door NV alfalfa, which I take care of
myself brought me in 1901 from four
teen to thirty-five dollars worth Of seed
per acre and three crops of hay. think
the land in this locality IS exceptionally
good and is worth forty dollars per acre.
- 10 Of hot hFI
more if [ could get it at that price"
J. J. Conrad, of Ia Crosse, Rush
county, which is out pretty close to
short grass, tells this kind of pros
perity story, which makes a pretty
good showing:
7 came from Missouri to Kansas in
1885 and located on land which now
own, a few miles southeast of Rush
Center. I paid $500 for the claim which
I afterwards homesteaded- Having no
money left, was obliged to work out
to secure seed for my first crop OF
wheat 1 secured in this way seed for
80 acres. From this I had an average
yield of II bushels per acre. The next
year 1885, l put out 105 acres; in 1887,
$50; in 1888, 300 acres; and SO I kept on
increasing my acreage, until, in 1895, 1
had 500 acres in wheat. My average
yield for the entire period, 1885 to 1901.
is 1872 bushels to the acre. Wheat IS
grown here at a. very low cost, because
in two wears out of three it is planted
with drills, without any previous prepa-
ration of the ground With 12-disked
drill and four good horses, I usually put
in 20 acres a day. As a rule, 1 only SOW
one-half bushel of seed to the acre. In
this climate of light rainfall the plants
from one bushel of seed to the acre ex-
tract too much moisture from the soil,
and in consequence the plant suffers,
while half that quantity sown stools
better and develops the plants fully
with half the moisture. At least, this
is my theory. We have not so much
straw to handle here as further east.
With a 14-foot header and six horses.
three barges, two horses in each, and
ten men. I have cut and put in stack
an average of AZ acres day Allowing
grown here at cost of % cents per
bushel AS blowing is done once in