The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-03-08

CROP FAILURES UNKNOWN !.
SINCE FIRST SETTLED
Diversified Farming the Rule, and
Amazing Yields from a Soil Of
Unsurpassed Richness Are
Bringing Wealth to Farmers.
BY HERBERT vANpERHooF,

When the census of 1910 is taken there
are going to be some surprising gains in
population shown in some Of the North
western states, and it does not require the
gift Of prophecy to state that North Da-
kota is going to furnish one Of the big
surprises. The better knowledge that is
being obtained in the central West and
East about the possibilities Of the state
has already set a tide of immigrants
toward 1t who are going to make 1t jump
far forward on the roster of population.
good illustration of the way the popu-
lation is increasing is shown by the as
SCISSORS census taken last year in Ransom
county. AS counties go in North Dakota,
Ransom is a comparatively old one, she
having celebrated her twenty-fifth ami
| versary in 1905, and therefore, while there
may be newer counties which will show
greater percentage of increase, Ransom
| is a better illustration because of its
comparative age.
| According to the assessors figures,
Ransom county gained 20 per cent in the
last five years. The chances are tnat Tue
real gain was in the neighborhood OF So
ner cent or even more, as county as
! SCISSORS do not take the painstaking care
that the federal enumerators 40 ri ;,ota
the way new settlers are Hooking mo mo
Ransom county, it is sare to say tna a;,, the i7
next federal census will show gain IN
population of anywhere from 20 ~ ioo
per cent. .1,o .,rou+h
however. It claims for itself the !; RrG f,a q
title of the Banner county" and 1t d mas
claims to the: title which justify the d rs
FARMING farming; for one thing Where. in many
Counties mites Of the state, wheat is the only
crop that is thought of. In, Ransom u Is
only one OF many An OF the t
years the county has been settieo ~ + nas
never, had a crop failure Still announcer I4ea
thing about Ransom county IS t ina, one
size Of the crops raised there to the acre IG,
is big enough to make the average III LII
nois or Iowa farmer turn green VIII
. envy. And this it must be understood, Is
4 quarter or one-fifth what the lands 81
Illinois and Iowa are rated at, ana Wnlcn
in the case of many Of their oWners prog, prop
, ably cost them about one-tenth as much
:: or practically nothing.
y. Great Variety Of Soils.
!. There is probably a greater variety Of
soil in Ransom county than In any other
! county of the state: For the most par!
it's soil is a heavy black loan su IIS e
i IRENE eastern portion there Is large
scope Of sandy land. affording the fines
of natural grazing land. This is produ.G1
t and horses as the heavy land is in whea
' and oats. This heavy land is not sur
: passed by any land in the United States
os bit ana o%a Fl hs are so
! figures of what Ransom county land pro
y diced in 1905. as reported by the Ransom
. County Farmer, and for the accuracy o
6 which that journal Vouches: :
G. H. Warren, on 500 acres of old land
: produced the following: Wheats $50
:; bushels; speltz, 2,340 bushels; oats, rs
i bushels; barley, .63S bushels. Total, 14,73
WiIa% E3rton soi 80 Ss acgHs of e,,
puh6e; NJ hsd also
received s5es bushels net. 80. !. =.
n Peter STRAIN, from 40 acres of ,ne7
h wheat, $50 bushels; spelts, 4ss bushels.
= Roy March reports a yield of 1000 bush
); els of durum wheat from forty ;seye
s corn thirty-five bushels per acre, Will
= his neighbor.. Mr.. Hendrickson, had a
l. l. average of eighty three bushels of oat
- to the acre. .s,r,s.--& e. .r.-. ...- ~
= Such figures as these shed some ligf1
y on the prosperity of Ransom county, an
lle go far toward explaining why the ship
n ments of all kinds of farm produce fro1
n year, and are steadily mounting higher
z the county IS now $40, 900. ooo and th'
Will d pOpuldtlOH OIL only ABOUT o, wv rs
1t Favored In Many Respects.
ID Ransom county, however. is otherwis
% favored than in it's rich SOIL For on
ct thing, it is not one Of the fiat prair
If counties, but it's surface lis for the mos
Z; part gently rolling and watered by tn
~ ~ beautiful Cheyenne river and it's numel
~ Gus tributaries. The county is also with
- what is. known as the "artesian belt,
I'd and there are over a hundred artesia
:: wells in the county in constant flow.
lie The county is situated in the southeast
s. ern part of the state about thirty mile
IL from the Minnesota line and about tt
~ same distance from the South Dakot
S: line. This brings it near, the natural mai
ay kets of the state and gives it an &C
8. vantage of several hundred miles in tt
en- en- haul of its products from the farm
- e: the consumer. Is. .--zz
IN It used to be said that they couldn
%. grow corn in North Dakota. This hi
been disproved in Ransom county, whel
ue they grow from forty-five to ifty-f,
A. bushels to the acre. This has stimulate
p, the raising of hogs, and as they new,
n have any hog cholera in that country Il
ct industry is bound to grow They raj.
'rt corn for canning fully the equal of IL
g, Maine product which is considered in IL
II market the best canned corn produce
>; Already there is evident a purpose {
~ the part of Ransom county to challent
eo this supremacy of the Pine Tree stat
vd and In a few years, if the necessary cal
Nv nlng plant is procured, corn canned
Ransom county will be as popular al
Besides hogs they raise cattle quite e,
| tonSiVelV in tha cOIIntv not ,,,I1, o., - =