Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1911-04-15
HISTORICAL NOTES
BY Frank Simons.
. :**************a

Secretary of Agriculture, Bureau of
Soils, Washington, D. c.
Dear Sir: An almost total failure
of crops in North Dakota resulted for
the year 1910.
AS l have made soils life study
and have had thirty years practical
experience in the Missouri River val
ley, near Bismarck, N. D., and have
written several articles on horticul-
ture that were largely read, am Of
ten asked this spring this question, as
ii could answer 1t and give the phi
losophy or law of cause and effect
so as to be understood by the ordi'
nary farmer:
Shall l SOW my seed or keep it in
the granary this year, 1911?
Will l feed my feed, spend my time
and money, wear out my horses ,har.
ness and tools and receive no returns
as I did last year?
They say, Last spring we had plen'
ty of moisture to give the crop the
usual start, but nothing made any sat-
isfactory growth, even over spots that
were underlaid with unlimited m0is.
ture."
My answer is, you farmers pay
eventually all the tax for the support
of our nation, state, county and town.
ship government. Your returns from
this tax is very small in enlighten.
ing on your vital point, the production
of a bountiful crop.
The weather bureau predicts our
weather in advance. to almost GER
tainty. This is worked out from a
simple course to effect. There is no
sane reason why our national and
state agricultural department cannot
work out your answer in the same way
from cause to effect. You farmers
must demand this through your rep
resentatives in congress.
Working from cause to effect have
predicted what conditions would pre-
vail each year that would have bear
ings on our crop for that year.
now predict that a period will
come to our great northwestern plains
including Canada, when it will be to
cold and cloudy to grow crops sue
cessfully. I base this prediction or
a simple cause. During the year 1886
l decided that those periods took place
and from various sources found that
for 102 years those periods came once
In five, six or seven years; never
short of five or seven years. This
was shown on the yearly growths O.
trees, following the greatest growth
was a paper growth that gradually in
creased until the end of the period.
What caused these changes?
Periodical prairie fires that denud
ed the whole northwestern plains t.
the foot Of the mountain ranges, tn,
fall of the year Of the moist. beauti
full growth at the end Of each grow
ing period.
The crossing of our great plains b!
our great railroad lines and their sew
eral branches, thickly studding GU
great plains with settlers, has com
pletely suppressed our great period
ical prairie fires from denuding tn
great plains, SO the rays of the SUI
penetrating our clear atmosphere bea
against the bare earth, created heat
Every electroon coming from tn
sun like the busy ants, grasps its loa'
of moisture from our air and cart
and disperses with the speed Of tn
wind.
Until the great plains have cultivat
ed acres suhicient to balance thos
conditions caused by our sreat prairi
fires, we must expect conditions t.
prevail to come extent that exist OF
barren, cloudy Labador, which is II
the same latitude as our great plains
The position Of the full moon in re
1afion IN tho ann and TIA ravs has
domineering effect on the production
Of crops in North Dakota, and its in
huence on our crops as to the temper
AZURE of the air and earth during tn
days and nights Of full moon opens
great field of study for the scientific
farmer.
Yours. respectfully.
F. r. S1MONS
CALL 106