The weekly chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Craig County, Okla.) 1905-1913, 1910-01-28
Mercer Writes Timely
Article on Oklahoma

every farm IN northeastern Oklahoma
for 25 years viii transform Oklahoma
land and the price also as it has done
all communities where the land Is
such as In a measure 70 conserve its
own fertility, as is most OF the Okla.
homa level land tUnlike New Eng
land, Pennsylvania and New York; /.
The summers are longer than In Illi-
nois, and your winters are shorter
and In my opinion, the cost OF keeping
stock is much less with you than In
Illinois, and think an animal will
make more growth the first three
years of his life, in Oklahoma than in
Illinois. the same attention being Civ.
en-, considering your warm summers
and the cold winters Of Illinois, espec-
tally the northern part of the state.
The following significant statement
came to my ears 20 years ago. AT that
time A. g. Co, were one of the largest
live stock dealers In Chicago Mr.
A. told a shipper of steers from the
extreme northwestern corner Of Iowa,
that southern Kansas was producing
as heavy steers at two years old, as
was northwestern Iowa at three years
old" and he added "in Kansas they
grow all the time, and in northwestern
Iowa they must freeze three or four
months out Of each year" And he
says, AN animal won't fat and freeze
at the same time"
When northeastern Oklahoma is
awake to it's own possibilities, there
will be no particular difficulty in rails
iag some kind of crops sufficient to
feed large quantities of stock Strick.
ly and exclusive grain farming will
in the nature Of things not be sue.
cess In any county There may be
what Is called success but no soil is
literally inexhaustble and the most
natural and very best renewer of soil
is live stock. And to close this article
little abruptly and with little per-
sonal matter. the writer has within
the last year sold what Is called an
average farm in Illinois for about 1886
per acre, and within three or four
miles OF your city has bought a farm
at the rate of about seven acres OF
your level land for the price of one
acre sold in Illinois.
Query Can we raise as good a
mule on seven acres Of that land as
we can on one acre Of this land In
Illinois just sold?
Some rs acres of this oklahoma
land purchased a year ago produced
just as many bushels Of oats per acre
IN the year 1909, as did the 80 acres
sowed to oats on the farm here in
Illinois.
Your people should do more and
better advertising My business takes
me over considerable territory during
the year and I want 10 urge this fact
that the people generally ought TO
know more about your state. ITO be
candid, this state, as most new states,
must, I suppose, do some unfavorable
advertising One of the best strokes
by the way of advertising that your
state has done was to exhibit at
Springfield, ILL.,, last fall at the state
fair About October 9th. | was In
Poughkeepsie. H. Y and read about
quarter column article in one OF
four daily papers of that city. Il was
all about the startling and amazing
exhibit Of the state Of Oklahoma az
the state fair OF Illinois The writer
was lavish in his comment and I dare
say that the state Of Oklahoma will
not fail to repeat the good scheme
with still better exhibit at Spring.
field and other state fairs the coming
fall.
". NJ MERCER,
Aurora. H., January 20, 1910.