Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1905-05-05
FROM CENTRAL KANSAS
Continued from first page.

rich loan and said 10 be the richest in
the state. producing crop after crop for
the last twenty years and the farmers
with whom | have conversed say they
cannot see but what the last was a. good
a. the first. To get rid of the barn
ward manure, | notice most Of them
draw il into the old buffalo wallOws
or low places However. some of the
more progressive farmers are beginning
10 put IL onto the titled ground with
very good results Vegetation j. quite
limited compared to the East, both wild
and tame in this part. The only nat
ural timber grows near the creeks and
rivers, il being cottonwood, wild cherry
and white ash, also some small shrub
berry, but by setting or planting, honey
locust, catalpa, box alder, black ash and
several other varieties are produced in
from five 20 fifteen years. The same
are grown and furnished 70 the settlers
by their paving the freight through the
state forestry that l. up 10 300 TO each
resident or land holder Out on the
breaks or rough land the soapweed re-
Sembling the peOnv in Michigan but
used hV the Indians as soap, thriVes and
looks very nice and green after viewing
the tall brown or dried grass The
Towering Currant also does well among
the rocks or canOns and then there are
several varieties of cactus which are very
disagreeablc TO the touch. some of their
thorns being stiff or strong enough TO
penetrate ones shoes. All kinds of
fruits and berries grow nicely but thus
far they have been put on the bottoms
or else irrigated 10 get the best results
and get the desired rich flavor as pro-
duced in the East \ great many diff
ferent kinds of wild flowers cover the
prairies in the spring and they tell Us IL
i beautiful sight TO see.
Corn has done fairly well the past
two or three years, yielding from 30 10
80 bushels of shelled corn per acre
Oats are grown some but not very ex-
tensively, turning from 20 10 60 bushels
per acre. Spring wheat is : and winter
a little lower. This is destined 10 be the
wheat belt of the state. as each year il
works little west, that requisite being
] 100000 bushels per county. Potatoes
have done very well of late. The first
produced generally bring from 81 10
81 80 per bushel. White or navy beans
do not do very well so far, a. it has
always been too dry for them, but what
is called the Spanish variety does fine;
growing as first crop without any cul-
tivation whatever, and they generally
sell at from 81 10 81 80 per bushel. but
the white cannot Toe bought for less than
&c. per pound in half bushel or bushel
lots Corn and kafir corn also do fine
and are grown for the seed a. well a. for
roughness for all kinds of stock. Corn
is now selling AT Toe. and Kafir corn at
SOC. Some claim that whole farm or
quarter section Is sometimes paid for by
the first crop of corn or wheat kafir
corn and Alfalfa are the best roughness
for mich COWS.
Land Is now selling az from $500 20
$500 per quarter section, according 20
location and improvements. That rep
resents land from one 70 ten miles from
a railroad town There are also some
homesteads TO be had at from twelve 10
twenty miles from a railroad. but.
strange To say. even those are all being
taken very rapidly. The rough land or
canons are taken by the stock or ranch
men and the prairie 10y the farmers. BY
the way. one can see the electric head
light on the train for 30 or 40 miles
distant. that will give You some idea IF
the Western prairie. We are located on
the main line of the Missouri Pacific
railroad not quite 400 miles from Kansas
City. Missouri, and only about three
miles from the Colorado line. As vet
we have no cross roads i'm this western
part. but one Is being strongly agitated
and when II gets here big boom will
reach us; in fact quite a boom is here
now To illustrate, land that was of.
fered AT 5000 per 100 acres two years
ago is now selling AT 81 900 to Al 800.
The people are all white, being from