The Wahpeton times. [volume] (Wahpeton, Richland County, Dakota [N.D.]) 1879-1919, 1908-11-26
FARMERS PARADISE,
Wisconsin Man ls Enthusiastic About
North Dakota.

North Dakota.
A recent issue of the Daily North.
western of Oshkosh, Wis.,, contains the
following item regarding the farming
lands Of North Dakota:
That the southeastern portion OF
North Dakota is farmers paradise
is the opinion of George Harm, who
has returned from Glendale, in that
state. after spending three months
there on the farm of his brother. He
was engaged in the harvesting and
threshing business this fall and stated
that good wages were to be obtained
in the harvest fields.
Said he: There is good money in
harvesting and threshing in North
Dakota for the man who is not afraid
Of work. They paid $3.50 a day to
harvesters and $2.75 to threshers this
fall. This includes board and lodg-
ings. The wages were not quite as
high as the previous year for the
reason that there was more help to be
secured. In past years there has
been a great scarcity of help on the
farms. When I left North Dakota I
could have secured plenty of jobs on
farms that would pay me $35 or $40 a
month with board and lodging for the
entire winter.
THE farmers had big crops this
season. Thesoil in the districts I Wis:
ted is loose and mellow, but never;
muddy. No matter how hard it rains
blowing can be carried on within a
few hours after the downpour. When
it is extremely dry, the ground does
not bake. Black loan prevails, with
enough sand on it to make it easy to
work. The farmers raise almost ev.
erything in the grain and vegetable
lines. The potato crops were splen.
did this fall, and the potatoes were
as smooth and speckless as an apple.
saw good corn raised in addition to
the grain. The stalks do not grow
so large as in Wisconsin, but the ears
mature fully.
Farmers who go to the state are
enabled to prosper by renting a quar-.
ter section. They get the first crop
for breaking the land. Usually the
first crop is fax, and it is no trick at
all to raise 1900 to 1900 bushels on
160 acres. This fax sells for 81 to
$1.15 a bushel, and farmers thus clear
$1,000 or more the first year. They
have to do no work with the flax, ex.
cept blowing, seeding and threshing.
They can get the flax threshed for
about Is cents an acre.
Land is advancing rapidly in price.
and where two years ago $14 would
buy an acre, now the price is from
$25 to $50 an acre, according to the
extent to which it has been cultivated.
While there were few trees a few
years ago. tree growing is now being
extensively cultivated. There is
plenty of game for the hunter, both as
to birds and fur animals. A bounty
Of $3.50 each is paid upon wolves.
''North Dakota is temperance
state, and it works with entire sue.
cess, as far as could see. There
was no drunkenness in evidence like
there is where saloons are maintained,
and people who might be expected to
squander their money in drinking ap.
peared prosperous.
Farming in North Dakota is car.
ried on upon large scale, and much
machinery is required on account of
the large acreage owned by the large
farmers. Gang plows are employed,
and many of the larger farmers use
steam for operating their plows, these
plows breaking up from twenty to
fifty acres a day. Artesian wells sup
ply water when the supply from the
shallower wells is exhausted. This
artesian water is salty and healthy -