The Saint Paul globe., 1904-01-25
It's UnrivaIed Advantages
for the Dairyman and
the Stock Raiser.
Its Splendid Location and
Adaptation to General
Farming as Well.
Vegetables of All Kinds as
Well as the Growing of
Small Fruits.

Henry Wallace, the editor of Wal
lace's Farmer, recently made TOUR
through the Dakotas, Montana ana
| Washington, returning through Canada,
carefully looking over the country with
a view towards its agricultural possi-
bilities. Before returning home he spent
about a week in central-eas Min
nesota. The result of this weeks Visit
to that district is an article covering
more than a page of the issue or Wai,
| lace's Farmer of Aug. IA, carefui
reading of which will convince anyone
| that he found no better district on his
entire trip. He warns the publlc
against settling west of jamestown IN
North Dakota and attempting TO 90
general farming, although he says that
careful cultivation has resulted IN 1air
crops of wheat west of the 99th merl-
dian When he gets down to discuss
sing the situation in Pine and adjacent
counties, his entire article should be
carefully read. 1t is the opinion OF
an expert who has spent lifetime IN
actual farming. This portion Of the ar
ticle follows:
1.-TWO kinds of clay predominant; the
red clay and the white. This red clay
seems to have been the latest deposit
Gus soils for producing grass that ex-
lists on the face of the globe. This
season farmers are pasturing COW TO
the acre and there is plenty of grass
on the ground to last them until Win
ter even If there is not another drop
of rain. Hence, we believe that these
cut-over lands will in twenty years be
among the greatest stock countries In
the United States. There is right
fl a
lands. The wrong way Is to go at 1t
by main strength and awkwardness
and undertake to clear them up as we
do a small patch Of timber land in
Iowa or Missouri. This is the way men
of small means usually go at 1t and
they do achieve remarkable results. The
men of larger means clear up at first
only enough land for potatoes, corn
fodder and similar crops. They fence
their land and turn In stock and 1t ls
surprising the amount of clearing up
that few head of cattle will do in
the course of two or three years 9
after the timber Is cut off. and hard
wood timber is now valuable as well
as pine, very thick underground of
berries hazel brush and poplar grows.
If this is fenced up and turned into
pasture the cattle tramp down all this
underbrush and as fast as sunlight is
allowed to enter white clover covers
the ground. In fact, you can not very
well get away from white clover any
where in that country except in the
dense thickets. Alsike, red, and man.
moth clovers and timothy are found
on all the old logging roads where the
seed has no doubt been introduced by
the hay fed to the horses.
Where farmers intend to plow up
the next year they cut off the UNDER
brush in August at an expense of
from 81 to 81 per acre. When the fall
len timber is cleaned up it is ready
for the plow. Where there is a good
| deal of timber farmers simply cut it
off close to the ground, seed down to
| grass and turn In cattle.
Hay commands high price. 1t is
quoted at 81 for wild; that is, the blue
| joint which grows in the tamarack
swamps. (This is not our blue joint
at all, but very good grass, resembling
redtop more than anything else. Tim
othy and clover was quoted at SIS and Sc
per ton. The market in Minneapolis
and st. Paul on the south; Duluth and
the lumber and iron ore camps on the
north.
"This entire section of country is
famous for root crops. One man sold
81 400 worth Of potatoes last year off
| ten acres. Other men have made much
! larger profits on small areas. Occasion
ally this crop will be improbable be-
cause of the low price, but in such
years the starch factories, which are
scattered over this country, furnish a
market quite equal to the markets in
other sections under similar circum-
| stances.
"The cut-over timber country is not
a corn country although crops of thir-
| ty thirty-five or even forty bushels
may be grown. Our corn experts will
no doubt develop a variety that will
mature in eighty days and produce a
| crop of about this size. 1t WILL how
ever, grow quite crop of fodder corn
! There is an abundance of protein in
the animal food under such conditions
and hence this cut-over timber country
! is destined to be one of the greatest
dairy countries in the United States. 1t
has the dairy atmosphere, plenty of
pure water from numerous lakes and
streams, and good roads where they are
| at all improved, and owing to the fact
| that clover is a weed will grow richer
| from year to year where 1t is properly
| farmed
| IF you can get land that will keep
| COW to the acre, or two cows to three
acres, at an ultimate cost of thirty
] dollars per acre for land and clearing,
| you certainly have about as good a pro.
4
United States. For the poor man there
is nothing better. He can get all the
work he wants in winter time in the
! logging camps and mines at good
wages. In the summer time he can grow
| his crops. We found great numbers of
men who thus in a very few years put
| themselves out of the way of the sheriff
or the poor house. Get land with very
| considerable amount of clay, glacial till.
and give preference to the red clay over
the white. Either one of them will
/ grow clover, and plenty Of it, but we
think the red clay is the better.
| IF the land is growing up with thick
| underbrush clear up enough to get a
start in farming. Cut off the decay
| ing timber and make the most out of
| the fallen timber There are plenty of
sawmills everywhere. Then fence and
turn in cattle or sheep or goats where
| the land is rolling and dry and clear 1t
up in the easiest way possible. Avoid
| land that is sandy. There are some
stones over nearly all that country but
the stones lie in the lowest places. Use
this kind of land for pasture. Do not
! attempt to clear 1t up. There is plen-
ty of land with small stones and COM
| paratively free from rock to furnish
all the farm land you want"
Mora, Minnesota.
| ~ ,,,, ,,aa5 ba1no T ~, of o1,o,, c~r