Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1910-09-15
BROWN COUNTY BONANZA FAR
MER STATES HIS VIEWS
ON CONSERVATION
Tree PLANTING Is URGED
Thinks at Least Five Acres on Each
Quarter Section Should be in
Trees Along Roadways
and Land Lines

Sioux Falls-Prominent among the
interested and interesting visitors to
this city during the reception of Mr..
Roosevelt, was Mr. A. W. Kruger of
Groton, Brown county, a farmer AMI
conservation enthusiast, who lett
here for Minneapolis, being dele
gate to the conservation congress.
Mr.. Kruger farms on scale in
Brown county which reveals that all
the bonanza farmers of the northwest
have not yet gone out Of business.
His farm is larger than the principal
ity OF some OF the princes of Monte
negero, whose names are in the blue
book and who strut about covered |
with gold braid and jewels and really
feel that their land which would be |
little more than a barnyard for the |
Kruger farm, is Of some consequence |
in the great sum of things.
Interviewed by Sioux Falls news
paper man, he gave his views on con-
servation of moisture, tree planting,
etc, which will be Of interest to South
Dakotans.
"Of the $500 acres of land which l
own in Brown county, nearly every
acre of it is under cultivation,' said
Mr.. Kruger. There are 1900 acres
which were planted to wheat this year
and | will secure an average yield OF
II bushels to the acre of that cereal.
And it is all of the very best quality.
There were 400 acres in barley and
the average yield was Is bushels to
the acre, while the oats, of which l
had a good sized field, yielded about
80 bushels to the acre.
81 was very happily disappointed in
that crop, | can assure you, because
before the grain was cut the straw
looked thin and | felt that l would
not be able to gather much grain.
But the heads were well nlled and
the result was so cent more C op than
expected
"You will remember that the early
season had every indi alton of being
dry and that the crop would be short.
l think that I have solved the riddle,
which surrounds the yielding of
fair crop, after such poor indications
and that solution lies in the fact that
the ground froze up last fall, wet, very
wet, and that kept the moisture in
the ground all winter and until it was
needed by the seed and grain last
spring and then it was on hand to give
THE grain a good start and to keep
the roots moistened when there was
no rain falling.
"The farmers east and north OF US,
will not fare as we'll as We have. |
have farmed it in that country since
1880 and I have never seen SO little
rain as fell this, year. And yet condi-
tons were such that 1t was an excel
lent season for wheat and those con-
ditions revealed another secret OF ma
ture.
Mature conserved the moisture by
freezing up the ground when it was
wet last fall.
And I made another interesting
discovery in connection will my farm
ing experience a few days ago. For
twenty-one years l have raised wheat
on that same farm and | find upon
consulting the records, that the aver
age yield per year for those twenty-one
: years has been ID bushels to the acre.
That fact shows you what the soil Is
in South Dakota. Shows how it will
wear and what a lot of life and fer
tility there is in it.
81 am a delegate to the conserva-
: ton meeting at Minneapolis and
presume l may as well be lined VI
with the conservation cranks, first as
last. because I am that kind of q
crank. L nave Dtel d ueiSodLC " SSN
: eral such conventions, of all sizes and
: kinds and I shall never fail to go, del
egate or not, if ! am within travelling
: distance of the affair, when it is held
: "Of course I have my own theory
= of how best to conserve the moisture
= in this country and l would do it, IL
very large measure by painting
trees. I would plant five acres out o
tn
: would put those trees along the road
- and highways, on the west and nortl
l. sides of the quarter SO that the,
. would catch the snow in winter time
: That would leave 155 acres to be cul
tivated and I am of the fixed opinion
that if there was five acres of tree
y on each quarter section. to catch an
e hold the snow and not permit it to b
d blown off the fields and drift in som
e old roadway, or some gully, the re
81 naming 155 acres would raise NOR
" grain than will the entire one hun
d dred and six acres without that grow
,e of five acres. l speak from exper
Ii fence"
he At this point in the conversation
al G. A. Pearley of Flandreau, anothe
bonanza farmer, who was listening
remarked that he had trees planted i
g lust the way Mr. Kruger had sue
q gested on his Moody county farm an
l. that he has been told repeatedly thu
~ that grove of trees adds at least S10C
- 8, to the value of his farm.
w 81 also conserve the water in til
-, low places and holes on my farm
~ continued Mr. Kruger, by piantin
~ trees around those places and ALLOW
- ing those trees to stop and no tt
snow. I would have trees, homeho
OF Rapid City-What this section h;