The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1909-07-05
WHEAT ROBINSON
OF KANSAS DEAD
Was the Pioneer of Diversified
Farming and Thoroughbred
Stock Raising

Wichita, Kas., July 81. w. Robin
son, founder OF the.Towanda Percher-
on stock farm at TGwanda, Kas, died
suddenly at his home at Eldorado,
Kas., early today. 78 years old. Hem
orrhage OF the brain caused his death.
MIR. Robinson probably was the best
known breeder of fancy horses in the
middle west
Wheat Robinson, as most persons
in Kansas called j. w. Robinson, was
a man who had taught the farmers of
two great states much that was of
value to the agricultural interests. 1t
must be said OF him in a firness that
he was one of the men who made two
blades of grass to grow where one had
grown before and to that extent was
a benefactor of his race.
Fifty years ago in Illinois he was
preaching to the farmers the need of
growing fruits and the value of apples
as profitable crop in that country.
He was given the name of apple"
Robinson. and by that name he was
known. until he came to Kansas.
He bought tract of land in Butler
county when land was cheap. He add
ed to 1t, and few years ago he and
his sons were farming 10000 acres of
land, including. 1000 acres of alfalfa.
The early Kansas farmer had little
idea of the Importance of rotation of
crops, but Robinson talked rotation OF
crops all over that section and insist
ed that others ought to adopt his plan
of alternating their corn with wheat
until farmers began to call him
Wheat" for short, and by that name
he was known.
When he first moved to Kansas al
falfa was crop of untried value in
seeds and planted strips of ground
with different kinds OF grasses. Al.
falfa was the crop tEat grew best and
produced the best results, and Robin-
son soon became known all over his
section of the state as authority on
alfalfa. The only time he eveh had
trouble. with 1t was when a friend
sent him some fine Mexican goats. and
the goats got into the alfalfa field and
ate so much that they all died in ono
dac.
When Kansas was having political
troubles Robinson was tho stron;
man OF the Republican party in his
section, and he used it one day in q
way that the railroad people will re-
member. The cattlemen were having
trouble over freight rates. Robinson
was shipping about 1000 head of fat
cattle to market every year. He be-
came the head of a powerful organ
ization Of cattlemen. When legal pro-
ceedings failed he announced that the
whole organization would back the
Populist ticket to finish. The rail-
road people said they would like to
talk with him, and in few hours q
compromise had been reached.
Robinson was the first man to sug-
gest that the little Hereford breeders
show in Kansas City at the steel;
breeds and he was the first man who
brought high bred horses to the show.
No one man furnished more of the
ideas or spent more Of his own money
to build up the American Royal show
at the stock yards. His Percherons
carried off large share of the best
prizes at the worlds fair in St. Louis.
Robinson was elected railroad COM
missioner of Kansas the year he was
72 years old, but even at that age he
could walk until fairly active men of
half his age would grow tired and
stop to rest. His last instruction to
the agricultural college students OF
Kansas was:
when you go to farming If you
can't buy much in the way of stock
buy in every case females as near full
blooded as you can get them. Take
care of your stock and see that you
have no scrubs. The best cows, the
best mares, the best hens are the only
kind of live stock poor young farm
er can afford to have"