Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-03-16
Oklahoma Is the Most Wonder
full of All Communities.
ONLY 70 YEARS OF AGE
Yet It Has Population Of More Than
100000.
EVERYTHING GROWS THERE
Large Yields of Wheat and Cotton,
and Fruits of North and South
Ripen Side by Side.

BY WILLIAM r. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence Of The Star and tbs
Chicago Record Herald.
OKLAHOMA CITY, March =, 1911.
We will call Oklahoma 'the miracle
state" because OF the wonderful things
that have occurred in its history and be-
cause its growth and development have
been more rapid than that of any other
community in human history.
Oklahoma will be twenty-five years Ole
the I'D of April. for on that day, in 1850
the gun was fired which was a signal for
the rush of home hunters who had gath
cred on the four borders Of the territory
TO ioin i'm a race for the choice of farms
and lots in the towns that had ALREADY
been laid out by the government engi-
neers. Until that date. the land being
within Indian reservations, no white set
tiers were allowed to occupy it. ano
"sooners' who broke through the mill
tary lines to set ahead Of the game were
removed by force.
During that Twenty-Five years a popula-
tion If more than / 100000 has come into
he state. and that total Is increasing al
the rate of 20 per cent year. The cen
sus OF 1880 showed population OF -,
tI57. that of 1900 showed I0.39l, and June
/ 1910. there were 1863 loo. Last year
1910, the value of the crops harvested
was S1c1 896. Op. and the value of the live
stock. as reported by the census is $13S,
112,0O0
Next to Missouri in Mules.
Oklahoma has more mules than any
other state in the Union except Missouri.
and more than the states of Illinois,
Ohio. New York and Pennsylvania COM
bined. Oklahoma has more horses than
Kentucky has horses and cattle combined
She has SO4 COO horses, valued at S65, 14,
nO: she has 1911 COO mules valued at SO.
0)o.G0; she has $4,000 mich COWS. val
ued at Sill, $4,000; she has 1857 600 beet
cattle. valued at 81, $4,000: she has
10000 swine. valued at S10G25,on The
farmers wives received S2W0,OOO last
years for their eggs and poultry. most OF
them having been passed over the coun-
tiers of country stores in exchange for
merchandise. The climate and other con-
ditions are remarkably favorable for poul-
try culture, and the rich pasturage and
abundant forage crops make it an ideal
dairy country.
The soil. the rainfall the climate and
freedom from the evils that farmers have
to fight in other states make Oklahoma
the ideal farming country OF the world,
all conditions being more favorable here
than anywhere else in the universe where
mankind has tried to earn its living by
the sweat OF its brow. The homes that
stand upon these beautiful prairies cost
less labor and the pioneers who occupy
them have suffered less hardships than
those Of any new land that was ever set
tied. Every staple that is known to the
temperate zone can be produced in Okla
homa, and upon many q farm may be
found growing side by side all OF the
agricultural products that thrive between
the two oceans. and between the great
lakes and the gulf. Oklahoma cannot
only produce an unlimited quantity OF
corn and wheat. but an unlimited quantity
Of cotton. and the fruits of the south and
the fruits Of the north will grow in the
same orchard.
Large Acreage Under Pillow.
The area OF the state Is A. 324 100 acres,
OF which. after only twenty-five years,
II .35S. 395 acres are fenced. and more than
ten million acres are under the pillow.
Only 2,S15,7O4 acres of farm lands were
returned for taxation in 1900, which has
been multiplied four times in ten years.
Indian corn has the largest acreage,
produces the largest yield and brings the
farmer the largest income Of all the crops
that he plants. total OF 5,617 914 acres
were planted to corn last year, which
Welded an average OF sixty bushels to the
acre. and in some cases as high as eighty
bushels. Oklahoma stands No. 10 in the
list OF corn-producing states in the coun-
try. Nearly all of the crop was turned
into pork on the farms where 1t was
grown.
The second crop is cotton. which yields
an average of three-quarters Of a bale to
the acre. and a total OF 776,6OO bales
Practically all of the land along the
southern tier OF counties on the Texas
border is planted to cotton.
There are counties in Oklahoma where
the wheat acreage is greater than that OF
any other crop, although that grain ranks
third in volume and value of the agricul.
tural products. The annual crop is near.
~ 100000 bushels of winter wheat
which will average twenty-five bushels to
he acre.
Kaffir Germ ranks next in importa nee
with an annual yield of about 1900 OK
bushels. Oats. barley and rye are grown
on the higher lands of the western coun.
ties aid produce equally We'll.
Potato Money-Maker.
The humble and honest potato is q
great noney-maker. two crops being
grown on the same ground each year
with a total yield OF a million and q
quarter bushels. The first crop is dug
early in June and the yield averages
about 80 bushels an acre. The early 20
tatoes ares hipped by trainloads to Kan
sas City, st. Louis. Minneapolis, Omaha
and other northern points. where they
bring fancy prices. The second crop dug
in September. yields about a hundred
bushels to the acre and is shipped tC
Texas and other southern markets.
No state government gives so much
coz sideration TO the farmer and his inter
%sts board OF agriculture. composed
90 practical farmers. is provided for b,
the constitution and cannot be handi-
capped by legislative action. There are