Mexico weekly ledger. (Mexico, Mo.) 1855-1956, 1906-08-16
ABOUT SOUTH DAKOTA,
Former Resident of Audrain County
Tells Of His New Home and Sur
rounding Country to Readers
Of the Ledger.

To the Editor OF the Ledger.
GLEN, 5. OAK, Aug, 6.-Dear Sir;
Nearly one year ago left Mexico for
South Dakota, numerous friends asked
me TO write them my impression Of
this state. feel that after having
ilVeu here one year can write with
more intelligence than II l had writ
Ten before | had obtained some more
facts and figures that my years resi-
dence has given me. If you will per-
nit will take the colums OF your val
uaole paper through which to reach
my friends aud others to whom it
would be OF interest TO hear from this
part OF the country. The Ledger
comes to us welcome visitor each
week.
We are located at Glen, a post-otfice
store and creamery, In the south west
corner OF Jerauld Co., and eighteen
miles from Kinball, thriving town
on the Q. M. and st. P. r. r, we are
about twenty-eight miles east of The
Missouri river.
Our ranch Of seventeen hundred and
sixty acres is located well, and we'll
watered being traversed by Smith
creek, also a fine spring that starts
from our sheep corral | am In the
sheep business, have a few less than
two thousand Shropshire sheep and
lambs.
This is as fine sheep country as |
ever saw However there is not the
free range here that there is In Mon
tana or the western part of this
state.
Grass is very fine here, it is wond-
erful growth, there being one hundred
and fifty. three kinds of natural grass.
es that glow here In South Dakota.
But there are three most important,
viz. blue stem, prairie and the famous
buffalo grass, and grass grows every
where.
On the upland and hills it is buffalo
grass, and In the bottoms and level it
is blue stem and prairie grass. That
an abundance Of cheap feed can be
harvested here must be in evidence to
those who read this and it is SO. l ney-
er saw any place where so much nat
ural stock feed grows. i put up prai.
rie hay last year that made three and
four tons per acre. Buffalo grass cures
up In the fall and furnishes fine graz.
Ing all winter, it being very nutritious
and fattening to all kinds of stock.
l saw cattle fed only prairie hay last
winter that came out this spring look
ing as If they had been Missouri, corn
fed. 1t is a saying here that a dollar
a year will keep steer, and l believe
1t will do 1T all right, and not only
merely keep him alive, but he will
be ready for the market any day In
the year.
Horses running out all winter look
fat and fine, II there comes snow
they dig for the grass and are better
for the exercise.
But this is not going to be grazing
country always. 1t is now an estab-
lished fact that this is a good farming
state, and every year thousands of
acres of fine grass is turned under by
the steam plow to prepare the ground
for corn and other crops. Flax, which |
Is productive and renumerative crop
Is usually sown on fresh breaking.
Within a few miles of our ranch |
there were six steam plows running
this spring. 1t is not unusual for one
,rop of grain to pay for the land on
which 1t is grown.
One Of my nelghb0as raised twenty
even and one.half bushels OF wheat
)er acre.
My oats crop this year went seventy
I've to eighty bushels per acre and l
lave seen oats yield over one hundred
'ushels per acre.
Some corn made over fifty bushels
ahich would not be a bad yield for
fissouri.
More corn is grown each year. Last
ear more than fifty-one and one half
1illion bushels Of corn was raised In
outh Dakota, it being the fourth
lrgest corn state. h
Many Of our Missouri friends we're
fraid that we could not stand the ,
svere winters of the north. We have