The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1906-03-09
CONDITIONS GIVEN IN DETAIL
Those VIII, Enter the Contest Must
Be Up to Snuff; Has Beens
will Be Oistal ced.

and are herewith given:
j. J. Hill, president of the Great
Northern railroad. has decided to offer
the following prizes for the best man
aged and best-tiled farms in Minnesota
and the Dakotas: Three prizes are Of
fered in each of the districts named be-
low. The first prize in each instance
is $500, the second $50 and the third
$50. They are offered in fifteen districts,
of which seven are in Minnesota, five i'll
North Dakota and three in South Dako-
ia. The number of prizes offered is for
ty-five, and the amount of the prizes
aggregate $7,S75.
The districts in Minnesota, seven in
number, are the same as the congress
sional districts of the state, except that
The, congressional districts one and three
and four and five are grouped together.
as they are relatively small districts
taken alone.
The districts in North Dakota include
the following counties:
No. l-Pembina, Cavalier, Ramsey,
Walsh, Grand Forks and Nelson, six
counties.
No. 2-Traill, Steele, Griggs. Barnes,
Cass, Richland, Ransom and Sargent,
eight counties.
No. 3-Towner Rolette, Pierce, Ben
son, Eddy, Wells, Foster, Stuttsman,
Kidder, Logan, Lamoure, Dickey and
Mcintosh, thirteen counties.
No. 4-Bottineau, McHenry, Mclean,
Ward and Williams, five counties.
No. 5-Burleigh, Emmons, Morton,
Oliver, Marcer, Dunn, Stark, Hettinger,
Bowman, Billings and Mckenzie, eleven
counties.
The districts in South Dakota are the
following:
No. Roberts, Marshall, Brown,
Sphinx, Clark, Day, Grant, Deuel., Ham
lin, Coddington, ten counties,
No. 2.-Brookings, Kingsbury, Beadle,
Jerauld, Sanborn, Miner, Lake, Moody,
eight counties.
No. -Minnehaha, McCook, Hanson,
Dawson, Aurora, Douglas, Hutchinson,
Turner, Lincoln, Union, Clay, Iankton
and Bonhomme. thirteen counties.
In making the divisions it was the
aim to group counties in which the con-
ditions were not dissimilar.
The following are chief among the
considerations Oh which the basis of the
awards will rest:
First-The number of livestock kept
in proportion to the area of the farm
the quality Of the stock and the method
of feeding and management pursued.
Second-The rotation practiced, with
reference to its influence on the main
tenance of soil fertility; to its bear
ing OH crop yields, and adaptation to the
general conditions of the system of farm
ing pursued.
Third = The cultivation adopted
viewed from the standpoints: (a) Suit
ability to the needs of the crops grown /;
(b) influence on the conservation OF
moisture; (c) influence on the utillza-
ton or waste of the elements of plant
food in the soil.
Fourth-The yields of the various
crops based up (a) the character of
the soil; (b) the length of time for
which it has been cultivated; (c) the
nature of the crop.
Fifth-The clean condition of the
farm with refernce to (a) the extent
to which it is free from weeds; lb) the
system of cleaning adopted; (c) the rel
alive labor involved in the same.
Sixth-The methods adopted to main-
tain fertility, including (a) the grow
ing of legumes; OBJ the burying of green
crops; (c) the application of farm made
and commercial fertilizers and the mode
of applying the same.
Seventh-The methods of drainage
adopted where necessary, including ia,
surface drainage as applied to upland
sells; (b) underdrainage; (c) the drain
age of sloughs and marshes.
Eighth-The buildings of the farm
viewed from the standpoint (a) OF
adaptation to the needs of the farm
(b) convenience with reference to la
Dor; (c) adaptation to the needs of the
stock kept.
Ninth-The protection furnished to
the outbuildings by way of windbreaks
groves or forests, (a) with reference to
their location; (b) their extent; (c)
present conditions; (d) their efficiency
fe) the tidiness of the surroundings OF
the buildings.
Tenth-The fences of the farm, in
GLIDING (a) their extent; (b) their cost