The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-04-01
Some Of tho Special Advantages that
Are Offered Newcomers Proximity
to Markets. No Crop Failures, and
Cheap Lands.
BY HERBERT vANDERHooF.

train that runs into North Dakota is
filed with land seekers, and the new
acreage that will be put under cultiva-
tlon this year will be many millions in
excess Of that Of last year.
Not all the new settlers, however, are
taking up new lands Many Of the neN
arrivals are attracted to some of the
older settled counties, where they al
ready have friends, in many cases, and
Of the richness Of the land in which
they have had full information Ran
som som. county for instance, which is way
down IN the southeast corner Of the
state, IS attracting an unusual number
of new settlers. These are mainly farm
ers from the states Of the middle west,
who lind that they can sell their lands
at price that will enable them to buy
four or i've times as many acres in
Ransom county as they owned in I'LL
nols, Iowa, Wisconsin, or whatever the
state they lived in. Not only can
these men acquire more land, but they
ma the land ne IN Ransom county. is bet
ter and will produce more to the acre
than the farms they are selling.
Some Interesting Figures.
The report Of the United States
culture, gives some interesting figures
concerning this favored county, which
shows how it is piling up wealth and
why 1t is generally known as the t'ban-
ner county, Of the state. These fig
ures are for the year 1904, but the fig
ures for 1905, when complied, will show
great increase over them, without
question.
Wheat, Of course, is the great crop Of
toned above Ransom county raised
1903, 26l bushels. Oats were the Sec
ond largest crop, and of these the yield
was 100000 bushels. Other crops
were as follows: Flax, lis. 1869 bushels;
barley, 375,258 bushels; corn, 1925
bushels, and potatoes, 81, 800 bushels.
For the same year the livestock in the
county footed UP as follows: Horses,
5000; cattle, 1885. sheep, 1874; hogs,
1885,. The wool production Of the coun
ttIyy, for the year was hg1o,32s pounds.
tion OF the county at that time was
only a little over 5000, these figures
are astonishing. :, &2S a4 $3.50
They have never known a crop failure
in Ransom county IN the twenty-five
years that it has been Settled. For one
thing, the county is in what is known
as the artesian belt of the state, and
negotiating water supply is thus
~ Va WAoAAouO JAIc .dA GCSAol UollS,
there being numerous streams running
through it. Old settlers also claim for
it slight climatic advantage over
many other parts Of the state, because
OF it's southern and eastern location.
Diversified Farming Pays Best.
They have learned in Ransom county
that diversified farming pays the best,
and for this it's rich. black soil is es-
pecially well adapted. Corn, for in
stance, is becoming a great crop, and
yet few years ago it was accepted as
gospel truth that corn could not be
fine corn as Iowa does, and this has
greatly stimulated the raising Of hogs
Some of the finest hogs that are placed
upon the market today come from
North Dakota, and the farmers are get,
ting the best strains of blood that are
to be procured. It is the same with
cattle. Ransom county is heavily in
dairy purposes. There are some large
creameries in the county, and these
have proved so profitable and the quail
ity of the butter and cheese they turn
out is SO good that the latter have ac-
CURED an assured position in the
market.
The prosperity of the county is evil
dent on every side. It's roads are well
kept, the residences Of the farmers are
/ commodious and possess, as rule, all
the modern conveniences, while the
barns and other outbuildings are of
substantial construction. In the towns,
such as Lisbon, the county seat, Sheldon
and Enderlin, large business is done,
and the stores Of the merchants carry
good stocks of everything that is de-
sired.
Money Is plentiful in the county. The
banks in the various towns carry de-
posits of over a million, and are glad
to be able to place loans at 6 per cent.
There was time when the money loan
ers got as high as 10 and IL per cent
interest on North Dakota loans, but
those times have passed for Ransom
county.
] With the influx Of settlers that is
now taking place 1t will be matter of
a few years only when all the lands in
this favored country are taken up. The
farmers are not selling what they now
possess, but are adding to their holdings
as the opportunity offers. They have
seen the value Of their land steadily
rising, and many of them have become
wealthy by this increase alone. A
great many investors have come in from
other states and have secured tracts
which they rent out for a percentage
Of the crops raised. AS rule these pay
them net return of 10. per cent on the
investment. One gentleman, Wiscon
sin resident, who owns considerable lan6
in the county, told me that his lano
paid him net $3.50 per acre rented out
on shares.