Smyrna times., 1907-05-08
WHEAT FARMING OUT IN KANSAS
Z. b. Atkinson Brother of Mrs. N. A. CATER
son OF CheswOId, Writes of the Methods
Used Ia the West in Comparison to East

VIZ "OSV- L Hub you may the better
understand and realize our success in
farming with steam engines, allow me
to state in the first place that, as a rule.
our country is an open prarie country
OF great expanse, running to a level
plane with an occasional Intervening
stream of pure, soft, everlasting water.
and our altitude is surely a healthy
one as we are 2743 feet above sea level.
Many OF our most extensive and sue
sessful farmers have applied the steam
engine to their farm work. which as a
rule has been quite successful. While
there has been various sized engines
pressed into farm work, the 20 to %
horse power seems to be the best
adapted to the farm work, although
soma use as large rs 30 horse power
engines, and have been fairly success
full during the dry season, but are
rather heavy to use in the fields during
the wet part of the season. The 90
horse power will nicely handle eight
IA inch plows, or two four plow gangs.
and will plow from twenty to twenty
four acres per day in the raw prarie, or
will plow as many acres in the old
ground Cor stubble land) and draw the
harrows the same width at the same
time Or if the land has been pIowed
during the spring months, this sized
engine will readily draw four disc har
rows, each one laped over the other
halfway, and at the same time passing
over the land, draw two s feet disc
seeders, or drills, double discing and
seeding from thirty to thirty-five acres
per day, the larger portion of our wheat
farms being at least one mile in length.
In many places if the farmer owns the
land, he can plow for three miles at
stretch without any obstacle to inter
tere. Cost of blowing sod land. 81. 80
per acre, double discing and drilling
cost $3.50 per acre.
Grain Principally Harvested With Headers.
Our grain is principally harvested
with headers which cut swath 12 to IA
feet wide. Some of our most extensive
farmers run two or more of these
headers and cut thirty to thirty-fve
acres per day with each header. AS
the grain Is gathered in with the head
ers and the attending barges (wagons
with tight hay frames ON the grain is
put into stacks at convenient places on
the farm, as it, is necessary for the
wheat to become ripe enough to put in
to stacks before the header goes into
It, This leaves thu land already
cleared ready for the plow, which in
most cases follows soon after the
header and prepared the land for the
following crop, as we prefer early
plowing for winter wheat. Most men
draw the the drills to SOW the crop with
horses, but where the engine is used
for this purpose, they will draw from
four to eight wheat drills at one time.
Wheat ThreshiuG and How It is Done.
After the wheat has gone through the
sweat IN the stacks, it is ready for the
threshing machine. In most cases in
this country the party that runs
threshing machine, furnishes all of his
helpers and brings his "boarding car''
Ga house on wheels) and his cook right
along with the machine and does all
the work and boards his men and
charges six cents per bushel for thresh-
ing wheat and four and five cents for
oats and barley. The average small
grain farmer usually raises from 5000
to 5000 bushels of grain while we have
few farmers who raise from $4,000 to
10000 bnshels of grain in a single sea
son. While these statements may
seem out of the ordinary to the ''back
East" farmer, where "truek patch'
farming is INDUCED in by the larger
portion of the husbahdmen. One has
only to visit and drive over our ceun-
try to be fully convinced That nv state
ments ire conservative.
Inc Hesi SHOWS Remarkable Development.
1t is true that this country was once
taught In the schools oftha east as being
The Great American Desert and"The
Land of the Red Man, and while il
is also true that it is at this time verv
sparsely settled, as compared with her
eastern sisters, it is not the wild
west" Of fifty years ago, for the steady
march of civilization has been ''west- |
ward, and nature, in word has re
claimed her own and the noble 'Pion-
eer" has made ii possible for families
to live here much as they do in the
East. The loving mother and house
wife can assist the husbandmen with
the lowing herds and other needs.
without the fear Of the "red man.
stealthily apilling the blood or robbing
hrass rafi he. L. 4