The Minneapolis journal., 1906-03-20
CROPS
IN NORTH DAKOTA
LAND IS ADAPTED TO ALL KINDS
OF AGRICULTURE.
Flax, Corn, Hogs and Cattle Are All
Bringing In Stream of Wealth, and
Have Made Ransom the Banner
County. ,s.- .
BY HERBERT vANDERHOoF.

gin lands, the chances are in ninety-nine |
cases out Of hundred that he at once |
plOws and soWs his land to wheat Espe- |
cially Is this true of the men who come
here from the states of the middle west |
These men are thoroughly familiar with |
the subject Of wheat raising, know the
immense superiority of North Dakota land
for its cultivation, and the great profits |
with minimum Of labor that can be OBJ
tanned from the crop. Because Of this
habit II one may call it so, of the
farmers. North Dakota has acquired a
deserved reputation for it's wheat growing
possibilities, but this has overshadowed,
in degree, the adaptability of the state
for many other crops.
The wise farmer never puts all his eggs
into one basket. If, for any reason, the
If the price should be low, he would stand,
II not to lose money, at least to lose the
profits that he had counted upon. But
II he has his land planted to variety of
crops ne has taken out insurance against
crop failures or market fluctuations, and
What ne falls to make on one crop he
more than makes up on some other In
other words, diversified farming is his
salvation. .. -.
It may be said right here, that as
rule all North Dakota lands adapt them
selves to diversified farming, but Of
course some sections Of the state excel
others. Take Ransom county, for in
stance. The remarkable progress it has
made can be, traced largely to the fact of
it's exceptional adaptability to diversified
Farming, and to- the variety of the crops
which 1t produces. Then, again. Ransom
county possesses another great advantage
over any other section of the state. be-
cause of its geographical position. Being
away down in the southeastern part of
the tn e., state 1t is 800 m,1es nearer the St.
Paul and Minneapolis markets than is
DICKINSON. The saving that can be
effected on 300 miles Of railway hauling is
considerable factor to the farmer when
he comes to figure his profits Again. the
county has a slight climatic advantage
| nearly 200 miles south of the Canadian
line, and nearly 400 miles from the west
line OF the state. Two hundred miles of
southlng means a great deal in farm
operations In North Dakota
Richness Of Ransom Soil.
Wheat is still the great crop of Ransom
county, and probably will remain so for
| many years to come. FOR one thing, the
soil of the county is SO rich that fertiliza-
tlon is unnecessary ana is never resorted
TO- In travelling through the county last
| fall noticed one tract of land on which
the wheat was being thrashed The land
averaged thirty bushels to the acre, and
third successive crop of wheat which he
| had harvested from the same land and
| that he had never used one pound of
| fertilizer.
But are you not afraid that you will
exhaust the land if you keep on raising
Il don't believe you can ever exhaust
such land as this he replied with a
smile. when you can go down three or
four feet and find nothing, but the richest
loam you need never be afraid of 'ex-
hausting the land. T don't expect to use
any fertilizer on this .and for the next
| twenty years."
Ransom county farmers have found out,
however, that big profits can be made in
other crops, and that dfversification is q
distinctly good thing for the land, M - no
matter how rich it may be-. Take flax,
for instance. Flax seed is just as staple
a crop as wheat is, and commands cash
just as readily In the market and also
today at $1.13 per bushel, and that means
nearly dollar net to the farmer. Ran
som county is a heavy grower of flax
and It's soil and climate appear to be ideal
for the crop. Its shipments of this prod
uct are increasing in volume every year.
Corn Is another crop that has acquired
a. settled position in the county and the
acreage devoted to this grain is increas-
proven during the past few years that
as good corn can be grown In Ransom
county as In any state of the union. This
fact is all that is necessary to make the
county great hog raising section. AL
ready the farmers have taken advantage
of the fact, as Is shown by the shipments
of live stock from Lisbon, the county
seat. during the past year, when over
200 cars were shipped during nine months
They never have hog cholera, either, in
North Dakota, and therefore the raising
Of hogs is divested of the possibilities oil
loss that are the terror or the farmer ir
many other states.
Where Crops Never Fall.
; Crops never fail in Ransom county
This distinction Is 10 which 1t is
doubtful whether any other county in the
country can lay claim. Yet it is a fac
that IN the twenty-five years that have
elapsed since Ransom county was frs
settled 1t has never had a crop failure
This can be readily explained and ac
counted for. One reason is the position
! cellent climatic conditions that prevail il
1t because Of its southern location: Thu
; other is the abundance of water in tn,
county, which render 1t Independent O
, dry seasons Its surface is intersectet
by numerous streams, and it is also il
{ the artesian belt Of the state and man,
{ wells, with an exhaustless stream of flow
Ing water, have been drilled by the farm
= The rich pasture lands Of the count,
have caused considerable attention to b.
paid to the raising Of cattle by the farm
f ers, not only for beef purposes, but ais
1 LOT, iof 1he DAIRY. North Dakota is, a grea
products have achieved an enviabe dis
tinction for the high quality they possess
Inc creameries In the county give tn
farmers an immediate outlet for all tn
mix they can supply, and this furnishe
source Of income that amounts to man,
thousands Of dollars eacn year
Ransom county lands today are chear
r put tnelr value steadily rising, and it ca
0 only be matter of a few years when
), with the steady tide of immigration tina
}, IS pouring in, they will command as hig
; price as do the choice farming lands q
other states When the farmer from Hi
y nois, Iowa., Wisconsin or any other sta
! comes to Ransom county and sees tn
v r1diculously low prices at which the rich
d est land In the world can be purchase
l. he,,I;, ne is apt TT to % sit down and do littl
y orally somewhat as follows: 49,.
l. Here, I've got 800 acres down in Illj
, nols which can sell tomorrow at s12
4 an acre. True: I'm making good livin
i year, but If I come to figure the intares
l. on the value of my land I'm not maxim
d much money.
e The Chances for Profit.
q Now, suppose sell my land and com
.: . up mere and buy. I can buy four or fiy
e = times as much land as I now own an
land on which I can raise bigger cror
ii tnan + ever did In Illinois. I can max
besides for the children when the tim
- comes for them to start for themseIye
guess III sell and come up here''
= Inese are the class of men that hay
:, made Ransom county proudly claim tt
title of the banner county of the stat
:. They are all making money, and many {
I. + them can count their possessions in bi
+. hgures Still another class of men al
& those who are coming here with lift
a capital except the will and disposition
is work hard They have bought their lar
l. with small payment down, and are pa,
ing the balance from the yearly prof
Of their crops. It doesn't take long !