The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-01-14

Alfalfa $500. q
Two varities of minet. ............
Kansas stock melons and other
melons ----.---... .--.-.-..-...... 10
Peanuts and garvansas. ...-.... =
In addition to the above there has
been planted a grass garden containing
81 varieties of grass in plats, most Of
which are Il by "A feet. In each plat
SO hills are planted, I foot apart each
way, except in the alfalfa and bromus
inern1iS in which there are 240 hills of
each This is for the purpose of OBJ
serving individual plants, and possibly
/ the selection OF superior individuals
as each hill will be thinned to one
stock Also about three-fOurths Of an
acre is set to trees and shrubs sent out
by the Agricultural college
ON the old garrison garden patch
/ has been planted one acre of potatoes,
/ half of which is mulched, smaller
varieties q COW peas, three of soy
4 beans, four of corn, cane, kaf1r, rape,
pencillaria, and a vegetable garden
which belong to the normal school peo-
pie.
THE prerequisite of good crop. a
good stand was secured of everything.
! The season was not wholly favorable.
The barley and macaroni wheat were
planted month too late for best re-
Suits but Notwithstanding being plant
ed late and on green sod, made fair
showings. The twenty-five acres of
alfalfa SOWn from Nav Is to % in
bend of the creek known as Camp
| Custer" but was a prairie dog town in
March, was cut ffty-seven days later
and made fair crop of hay. By act
uaI measurement the growth in places
was twenty-four inches. Visitors de-
( clare it the most perfect stand ever
seen. (Fifteen pounds of seed was
sown per acre.) After reserving what
would be needed, feed enough was sold
to winter 800 head of stock. Two of
the varieties of grass appear to be very
promising When even cane and kafiI
corn dried up to the burning point they
were as fresh and green as during the
wet periods. If they prove to be what
they appear, their value cannot be es-
timated-
ITO protect the land from trespassers
and to complete a five hundred acre
pasture, ten miles of wire fence have
/ been built Some of the old fort
buildings were moved to the farm
stead" for use One has been fitted up
as a residence; others a barn, granary
and tool shed, temporarily. Wells
have been put down, and such ma
chinery as was absolutely necessary
has been bought, begged and borrowed
About 400 acres of the reservation was
occupied by the prairie dogs, but by
using a preparation made by the ex-
pertinent station for destroying these
pests, within thirty days of the time of
beginning work on them, they were en-
tfrely externinated at a cost of eight
cents per acre.
Until the middle of September, one
animal owned by the branch. At this
time money for buying one team was
appropriated from the funds of the col
lege at Manhattan. With this team and
some others that were hired the fall
work was done.
In September Is acres more of alfalfa
was sown and a fine stand secured with
ten pounds of seed per acre. Two hun
dred acres were sown to wheat. all of
which is in experiments such as could
be conducted on sod. A part of this
work is in cooperation with the de-
partment of agriculture in charge of NJ
A Carleton, cerealist, and a graduate Of
our agricultural college. There are
planted on the station here 165 varieties
of fall wheat, and nine varieties of rye
which have been selected as being
adapted to this climate. Many of them
are new impOrtatiOns from northern
large number of Kansas hybrids of
promise. The quantity of seed sown of
these varieties ranges from three grains
/ to 100 bushels. Each variety is careful
something superior to the varieties now
! being grown. While an increase Of one
or two bushels per acre does not look
large, yet when it is considered that it
costs no more to plant and harvest the
! increase, and that we plant four or five
million acres, it Will make quite an ap-
preciGble addition to the total wheat
yield. The possibilities are only conjee-
| troduced about 25 years ago, the wheat
! industry of our state did not compare
with what it is tcday.
FUTURE WORK.
1T is considered impossible to outline
definitely what will be done in the fu-
ture. If it was known now what is
hoped to be known 20 years hence. this
work could be outlined and followed for
| that length of time. The work will be
/ divided into several branches: Field
ell
ing or selection. forestry and horticul-
| ture, irrigation, animal husbandry, in
Guiding dairying, stock feeding and
breeding. 1t will be seen that the be
ginning made in these lines will deslend
on the amount of money appropriated
by the present legislature for this pur-
pose.
1.-The field crops and field operations
will be the testing on a large scale OF
new crops before they are distributed
and also the trial of methods of cultiva-
ton. It has been said that there is nc
place where good farming viii pay bet
ter, and no place where SO much poor
farming IS Gone as in the middle and
western parts of our state Every diff
ferent country must have its own meth
DDS of work. The great drawback tC
western agriculture has been that east
ern men with eastern WAYS have tried
to farm in Kansas as they did in sOhiah
and 'Indianny. It has taken a genera
ton to learn that eastern ways would
not succeed The next 20 years vii
work a great change in the methods Of
cultivating the soil. The farms arr
growing smaller, and the range decreas
ing This will necessitate a more in
tense and diversified farming. It is thu
object of the experiment station to as
sist in developing new methods anS
making them known. There is also
great field for the experiment station il
simply trying the various new nipple
ments There are hundreds of thous
ands of dollars thrown away each yea
on worthless stuff sold by smooth
. tongued statesmen.
THE plant breeding work will be con,
Quoted largely in co-operat ton with tn
department Of agriculture, and will bs
carried on along two lines. The diree
selection of superior individual plant
, as proba bic basis for Improvement vii
perhaps be the most important In thl