The Oakes times. [volume] (Oakes, N.D.) 1906-current, 1912-01-11
ANOTHER FARMER
HAS GOOD IDEAS
Mr.. Youngqu1st Believes in
Growing Corn, Winter
Wheat and Alfalfa.
Thinks Law Allowing Stock to
Run at Large a Poor One
and Asks Its Repeal.

Dear Editor: The undersigned read
with much interest the article by Mr..
A. T. johnson in your december 2sth
issue, and as you invite discussion of
topics pertaining to the farm, would
kindly ask to be allowedia few words.
Mr.. johnson says IF North Dakota
is to become leader among the agri-
cultural states, any movement for
bettering the North Dakota farm
should not be sighted, but be given
every encouragement" And further
"While we are interested in the state
as whole-we are very much interested
in our own community"
Mr.. Editor, l heartily agree with
those sentiments and therefore will
discuss the question: How can we
make our community, this Dickey
county, leader in agriculture? 1t can
be done, there is no question about
that, but how? How can a country
that is proclaimed by law and custom
to not be a farming country but stock
country. be a leader ir agricultural
products? say it can be done and the
first mark, the first step to do is to
have the law which says that horses,
cattle, sheep and hogs can run at large
from the first day of December to the
first day of April, repealed. Ycu say.
what has that to do with it? l will
show you. If every farmer in Dickey
county would prepare and plant one
fourth or at least one-fifth of all his
titled land to corn, and take care Of IT.,
l mean cultivate it so no weeds, fox
tail or other kind of weeds be allowed
to have as much as one spear there.
1t can be done by little forehanded-
ness. Then in fall, early, sow in this
corn, Turkey Red winter wheat, and
here is where the stock business comes
in. Most of us farmers are not able
to have fences around our whole farms,
at least very few have, whether they
are able or not. And it is no use to
plant much corn when you are not al
lowed to reap it yourself, but every
Tom, Dick and Harry's horses, cattle
and hogs Especially hogs, which no
one is able to fence out) will destroy
the fruit of your labor. If we shall
raise corn we must be allowed to have
it out in the fields all winter if it should
be necessary. 1t often happens in the
corn states, Iowa and Nebraska, that
corn is showed under in fall and has tt
be gathered in early spring and ir
twenty-five years of farming 1 have
never seen corn any worse for being
out in the snow over winter.
Now as to winter wheat, it will grow
here sure, but it don't stand pasturinl
and stock, especially horses, which
like those green spears and will gnav
them down into the ground and destro,
them just as sure as you are born
Alfalfa will grow here sure if it il
started right. have tried it, I know
whereof speak. 1 planted one ant
one-fifth acres the 26th day of May
1911; first day of June it rained abou
one inch. From that day until the frs
of August there was no rain .on thi
farm enough to settle the dust, but W.
had whitening hot winds. The blacl
potato beetles tried their best to destro,
it, after they were gone the grass hop
pers had hand at it, but the alfalf
came out on top of everything. TIL
Both day of August I gathered bunc
for the Bismarck show. The stalk
measured then 3la inches, just thinl
of it, over two and one-half feet. o
course I have this patch inside fence
if l hain't every mothers son OF al
old horse and young, too, would b
there and gnaw it down to the root
and kill it. Now I would not be afral
to plant twenty acres of alfalfa mex
spring. But, don't you think it is
little too much of a tax on poor fel
low to do all the work connected wit
it, stand the tax and interest on tn
land, and expense of high priced seed
and besides that erect fence aroun
it which one has no earthly use for be
cause it isn't a pasture plant. l as
. in all candor, how many will do it?
Now to sum up my argument:
every farmer in Dickey county woul
plant one-fourth the acreage to corn
sow winter wheat in the cornfield, ex
cept, say five or ten acres on whic
they should plant alfalfa and do tina
every year changing ground. Fiv
years from now people would com
here from Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska
and other states and be surprised t
see land here produce identically tn
same and in instances better than the,
do on their $50 and $500 acre land
"Don't you think" to quote from MI
johnson. 'you would sit up and tax
notice of any movement calculated t
bring our lands to the value of SO
per acre. -
Now. which shall it be? l ask on
county commissioners, / ask ou