Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1909-11-23
The Hettinger Satisfaction.

islature bill was passed establishing
a sub-station of the N. D. A. G. at
Hettinger. and the citizens Of that
pace bought, for this purpose, quar-
ter section of land adjoining the
TOWNSHIP, and generally speaking, ad'
mirably situated for the purposes In
hand. The larger share Of the farm
is tillable, and the soil Is Of the we'll
known fine silt type that has made
famous the Beach country, rich in
mineral plant food, and capable of
holding large amount of moisture.
The nettinger Farm.
Mr.. Lanxon, the newly-elected sup
erintendent Of the sub-station accom-
panied Dean Shepperd to Hettinger
last week. and they laid out plans
for the development Of the farm.
The problem with that part Of the
state. as is we'll understood, is to en-
sure the farmer against a possible
set back through the recurrence Of
dry years, so dry-farming, which is
another name for good, sensible
farming anywhere, will be large
feature of the rotation work. Thir-
teen FIVE acre fields will be under
tiNage. The land, you understand,
broken I am not sure which. An.
other very important part of the Het-
finger work will be the development
of a horticultural plot, for the grow
ing of trees for windbreaks, and still
more especially fruit trees. Mr..
Lanxon will keep a few dairy COWS,
some hogs, some chickens-will try
to show how a farmer can successful
ly farm in that section of the state
without going into too extensive
grain raising.
A Serious Problem.
One of the really serious problems
before any man making a home out
of the raw is to guide himself into
channels that will secure for himself
a fair financial return and at the
same time permit him to play safe
through a period of crop or financial
depression. In the Hettinger country
nature has suggested the course to be
pursued. The rough land, unsuited
to tillage, is good grazing. And the
future of that section appears to be
along lines of mixed farming, from
the start. One of the things the
usual settler in the west has failed
to do was to enjoy fife as he went
along-he has been too busy turning
over the sod to grow fax and wheat
to stop to plant trees. build comfort
able and pleasant homes, raise fruit,
make roads. live. All this has come
in time, but for some it has come too
late And the conclusion of the
whole matter is that it is better to
get few of these things as we (go
off the load of huge grain farm, ahd
gather them up all at once. Thvre
is always the danger in a new Id md
of building too high hopes on list
years crop. The result is the con-
tracing Of debts for land, teams, ma
chinery, labor, that may be justified
and may not. At best it is gamble,
and a decidedly unsafe gamble for
the man Of small means.
So here you have the larger Hettin-
ger problem-to point the way to f.
nancial success on the small farm. to
induce men to develop their quarter
section before making it half Sec
ton, to introduce good dairy blood,
profitable hogs, paying hens, to make
a model farm where these things may
be done, and shown to the visitor.
1t is essentially the problem Of going
slow, and sticking to the cash basis,
where there is little to gain and all
to lose through farming on the credit
system.
Mcleod Experimental Farm.
Here the situation is trif1e differ
ent-different in that the land is old,
and the keen edge worn off the grain
growing. A 80 acre farm is given
over to experimental work, under the
direction of Mr.. Porter. Superinten
dent of the Demonstration Farms. A
man will be hired to do the work,
and the results will be watched with
great interest. For here there is
problem rather strange to the mind
of the average North Dakotan. East
ern Ransom county was in the delta
of the Sheyenne in the old days when
Lake Aggiziz was preparing the fer
tile valley of the Red river Of the
North. The Sheyenne dropped it's
DuIUSu VI Sill duu uuC Sdl1u over d
fairly large portion of this county,
and now the problem Of all others is
how to keep it there.
How Shall We Hold Drifting Soil?
In other words, the soil blows, and
much of it blows away badly. 1t is
we'll watered, and the rainfall is that
of the average locality in the valley.
Where the humus has been cropped
out of the soil it shifts about. Will
clover hold it? Will alfalfa ?Will
heavy manuring stop the sand dunes?
How about rye, plowed under? Will
potatoes make a profitable money
crop? What kind of wind breaks
shall be planted to give the speed
iest-the most lasting results?
For the A. @. to Answer.
You see the problem-to get solid
ground under your feet, and to make
it pay year after year. 1t may prove
to be good corn and dairy country;
may be good for potatoes: may pro-
fitably grow small fruits-the Agri-
cultural College can find these things
out sooner. and at less expense to
society, than can the farmer on the
spot, and so the work is placed in it's
hands, as 1t is all over the state, to