Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1911-02-03
DRY FARMING CONGRESS-
HELD AT DlCkLyNS0N LAST
TUESDAY, AND WEDNESDAv
The Dry Farming Congress auxil-

The Dry Farming Congress auxil-
larry that opened at Dickinson on Jan.
uary 81 brought together q record
breaking attendance, in fact it was
! the equal of the International Dry
Farming congress held At Spokane.
Farmers anxious to learn more of
this system that brings q crop and
a good one regardless Of the season.
The program included some of the
leading men of the country and the
speeches that they delivered were OF
a high order. The prizes offered for
grains brought in a good display and
Of fine quality, so that Prof. Shep:
; perd who did the judging, found it a
problem to decide on the winners.
The meeting opened with an ad-
dress of welcome by Mayor r. H.
Johnson. Among other things he
said that he was glad to welcome so
many to the city, was glad to see
that the farmers were so much In
terested in learning more Of their
great work, of learning how to better
feed the increasing millions and at
the same time to get a more ade-
quate reward for their labor.
DR.. ]. H. Worst, president of the
International Dry Farming congress.
responded to the address of welcome
! on behalf of the Dry Farming con-
gress. He said that he was glad
that the business men were taking
so much interest in farming that
! Io tn hsv31@ Is n holm
the farmers prosper and they Will
make the CITY, He was glad to see
so much interest taken in the meet
nd the opportunity that it affords
for getting information. Farming Is
the last industry that is coming to
the stage that an education is required
but the time has now come when he
farmer must work along as exact
lines as the doctor. lawyer or minis
ter If he is to make the best kind
of success in his work. He called
attention to the fact that in Mime
sofa but 4 Of one per cent of the
school children are taking courses in
agriculture and that the percent ir
this state is almost as small, less
than one per cent trained in the foun-
dalton industry of the state.
Prof. L. B. Linfeld, director of the
Montana experiment station, was
called on for q few remarks. The
only way to raise crops in Montana
was by irrigation was the thought OF
the farmers at first. But continuer
the professor, some began growing
crops without irrigation on the bench |
lands and found that they could raise |
good crops by conserving the mois- |
ture. Fall wheat was found to be !
the best, it yielding so to 100 per |
cent more than spring wheat under |
similar conditions.
Prof. J. H. Shepperd, in discussing |
varieties of grain for North Dakota, |
spoke of the work that thu station is
doing in producing new varieties and !
how they are distributed. The first |
stop is to grow the wheat in the nur-
sery till it proves to be superior to |
other varieties, then it is tried out at !
the sub-stations and then it is grown |
on the demonstration farms, from J
these 1t is distributed to the farmers
of the state.
At the opening Of the afternoon SEES.
sion DR.. w. E. Taylor gave an elo.
quent address on the important part |
that the farmers play in our coun- |
try's development. That the man
behind the plow is the greatest man
in the country. That men like Rookie.
feller, Carnegie and Morgan behind
their piles of gold are not to be com. !
pared to the farmers in Importance.
He also spoke of the conservation Of |
moisture, of plant fertility, and cited |
Switzerland as a. country that sup |
ports a population of over six million |
people on a territory the size of ten |
North Dakota counties and yet has !
dairy products for export.
Community of interests was the |
subject Of Thomas Cooper's talk to |
the congress. He said the railroad
can only prosper as the farmers pros |
per. He related how the Northern
Pacific had spent money carrying on |
demonstration farms, that they might |
thus show the. farmers how they |
could increase their crops. In one
sense you regulate the prices that we
are to charge a. we'll as the service.
Self interest is the best protection |
for those who have invested in the |
railroads. To develop the state more
railroads are needed and the money
for them will only come as investors
think that it is safe.
In discussing the rotation Of crops
Prof. Shepperd stated with corn as
one of the important crops to grow,
the cultivation given It kills weeds,
saves moisture, and puts the soil in
good condition to grow good crop Of
grain the following year. It should
be fed to live stock and the manure
put back on the land. A good crop
to follow corn with is fax, wheat will
do well after the max. Alfalfa is an
other crop that should be grown. 1t
adds fertility and humus to the land
and produces the richest hay that can
be grown. Pound for pound It is
the equal of bran. It is also we'll
liked by stock. Peas is another
crop that should do we'll and they
make splendid feed either pastured,
made into hay or raised for the grain.
It makes a good hog pasture. Rape
is a plant that forms a splendid pas
ture for hogs. liberalization of
crops and the keeping of live stock
adds to economy. When one crop
is grown the soil gets full Of the
weeds that can Krow best in it, in