Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1907-05-08

bridge and the grade is seldom
more than two or three feet above
or below the surface.
The black loan covering on these
Kansas prairies is not as thick as it
is in Iowa and portions of South
Dakota, but it has a good appear
ance, and the farms and towns in
this prairie region look thrifty and
prosperous.
A considerable portion of Eastern
Kansas is several hundred feet be-
low the surface of Delaware county.
1t was once the bed of an inland
sea, and abounds in aquatic fossils
and the skeletons of large animals
usually found in the tropics. The
eastern half of Kansas produces
great crops of everything grown in
Iowa, but the rainfall is more un-
certain This fact is evident from
the way corn is produced in that
state. Instead of planting the corn
near the surface Of the ground in
hills about four feet apart, as
farmers do in the corn belt states,
the Kansas farmer prepares his corn
field for planting by blowing deep
furrow each way from the line Of
the corn row. When that part of
the work is done the field consists of
a series of ridges and bitches, the
bottom Of the bitches being from a
foot to Is inches below the top Of
the ridges The corn is planted
in the bottom of the bitches and of
course can be worked but one way.
And the method of cultivation is de-
cidedly unique. AS soon as the
corn is large enough, the farmer
commences cultivating the ridges
down over the roots of the growing
crop, and when the cultivating is
finished the corn is growing out Of
the top Of ridges with bitches from
IL to Is inches deep between each
row.
About thirty miles out from To-
peka we commenced passing coal
mines, and rs miles further on there
were magnificent and apparently
inexhaustible stone quarries. We
we're told, however, that the coal we
saw was of poor quality, but that
in southeastern Kansas there were
coal deposits of superior quality
and coal OF! to equal the best fields
to be found anywhere.
A short stop was made at Hutch
inson, in Reno county. This city is
located in about the center of the
southern half of the state of Kansas,
and is destined to be a place of con.
siderable Importance on account Of
its immense salt industry. The sal
deposit of that vicinity is from 30(
to 400 feet in thickness, and is abou
| 30 miles in width and rs miles il
length. The salt is said to be Of {
superior quality and the claim il
made that one-third of the salt con
sumed in the United States is pro
duced in this field. And Rem
county abounds in great fruit or
chards. We saw one orchardof SOt
acres mile or two west of the cit,
which we were told produced NOR
than $4,000 worth Of fruit las
year. The frost has entirely de
stroyed the crop this year, but tn
trees look vigorous and healthy
And there are great Catalpa grove
in Reno county which are said to b
valuable as gold mines. One ma
claimed to have more than a Milo,
trees large enough to make railwa
ties, and the claim is made tina
trees Of that size will reproduc
themselves in z or 8 years; that
sprout from good strong root Q
stump will grow IL or Is feet tn
|; first year.
The great wheat fields of Kansa
lie west of Reno county, and resen
BILE the wheat fields in the Red Ri,
or valley of the north. This is
semi-arid region, but by sowing til
wheat in the fall, when rains al
usual, the crop is said to get q goo
start, and does not require muc
moisture to mature the crop the TO
lowing season. Before returnin
home ] will try and learn mo,
! about dry-farming in this wester
. country. cannot tell when ! ma
take the time to write another lette
. but will make notes of thing
= which seem of interest and soon,
or later give them to the readers
), the Democrat.
j. A. l.a:o.o,o of ,,,o