The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-07-02
WHEAT IS GOOD
Kansas Has Over Six Million
Acres, Says COburn.
Condition Is Nearly Seventy
Seven Per Cent.
HARVEST is IN PROGRESS
Grain Reported to Be of Good
Quality.
Improvement Shown Over Gov
eminent Report June 1.


wheat acreage. His report follows:
A canvass of crop prospects in Kan
sas June &c by the State Board of Agri-
culture, and reported today, reveals
that more than six million acres of the
winter wheat SOWn will go to harvest,
or practically the same as was indi-
Gated by the boards report of two
months ago. This is between a fifth
and fourth of the winter wheat area
that will be harvested in the United
States this year. The average condi-
tioE now. at the beginning of harvest,
is 1855, based on 100 as the standard.
This is a decline of as per cent since
the report issued May 1, but is 1.6 per
cent higher than the governments re-
port of June 1.
While the prospects for wheat were
improved or maintained in quite a
number of counties since the preceding
report, especially in the eastern coun-
ties, there was a marked falling off in
many of the northwestern counties.
Depreciation was caused principally by
dry surface soil, the general soaking
rains afterward having come too late.
A block of IL or IL western counties in
the second, third and fourth tiers from
the north We're the chief losers. the
much as so per cent in three of them.
and nearly as much in three or four
others. May 1st the most any of these
reported. as worthless was 80 per cent
ana that in Cove.
Only five counties report a condition
now of 80 or more. They are Gray,
with SO, which is the highest; Hodge
man 81, Reno and Meade 80, and Green
wood 81, the latter not important in
wheat. Jewell county, which had the
best percentage (9S) two months ago,
has declined to 81, and conditions like
wise are lower in neighboring counties
that reported averages of go or above
May l. Twenty-three counties having
one hundred thousand or more acres
each, and with one exception lying be-
tween the 97th and Tooth meridians,
aggregate more than one-half of the
wheat acreage for this years harvest.
with condition of IS, or higher than
the average for the state by IA points
1T should be noted that in the past
six weeks the board has received the
assessors official returns of acreage for
AZ of the los counties These show in
the aggregate even more wheat sown
last fall than correspondents had pre-
viously estimated. and they had said
1t was the largest acreage ever sown
These official figures were used in the
present compilation. The total of The
winter wheat acreage for these A coun-
ties was nearly per cent greater than
the figures of reporters, but the total
wheat left standing seems about the
same as two months ago owing to the
fact that the abandoned acreage in
creased more than 3 per cent, the
amount now estimated as worthless be-
ing placed at 20.S per cent, as against
17.5 per cent in the May 1 report OF
eourst the use, later, of the official
returns for the other IS counties will
make the acreage subject to further re-
vision.
Harvest in Progress.
Wheat havest. is we'll begun over
the state, and the weather for il is
generally ideal, with plenty of sun and
a balmy air The quality of the grain
is quite universally spoken of as ex-
cellent. Here and there smut, rust and
chinch bugs have caused some dam
age, but the extent of this as whole
is reported slight indeed. In fact, the
absence of insects has been very nota-
BILE
Not So Much Corn.
Corn-While the farmers reported
May L that nearly all the corn was yet
to be planted, they considered that the
acreage would be appreciably increas-
ed. The assessors returns for the Al
counties with the abandoned wheat
acreage that was put to corn added,
indicate that the acreage will not be
as large as a year ago, when the total
for the state was 7,760,000 acres. The
present data suggest 10 or II per
cent decrease for 1912, as compared
with the acreage of 1911.
The extremely late season was priIi-
cipally if not wholly accountable for
THIS showing w nile not a rev fields
here and there failed from various
other causes, the prominent draw
back was the long continued low
temperatures. Much seed rotted in
the ground, which necessitated re-
planting or putting the land in other
crops. Recent weather, particularly
that of the past ten days, has been
unusually favorable for corn growth.
The condition of corn for the state is
81. The counties having the highest
Jackson, in the northeast, reports 80,
the highest. and Hodgeman, in the
southwest, is next, with SO. Twenty
one counties, mostly in the eastern
half of the state, and eight of which
consecutively adjoin in the northern
tier beginning with Brown. have 20
per cent of the states acreage, and on
that the average condition is S4.S.
The poorer prospects, in the main, are
in the southeast and northwest. but
the present favorable weather may
bring rapid Improvement.
Much Kafir Corn.
Kafir-The backward season for corn
has apparently encouraged the plant
ing of katfr. and while last years area
(919.046 acres) in this was much the
largest ever reported, the 1912 asses
an increase of 1856 per cent over last
years planting in the Al counties.
Less Oats Sown.
Oats-As has been known, considera-
bly, less oats was sown, the official re-
turns suggesting that the decrease from
1911 is as much as 30 per cent, the ac-
reage last year amounting to 2 $50 .OOC
acres. This, however, is much more
oats than was ever sown in Kansas
in another year. The 1912 acreage will
probably more nearly approximate the
states normal oats sowing. The condf
ton of the states oats is given at 75.7
per cent. Counties reporting averaxes
of 80 or more are Hodgeman 9S the
highest Atchison a. Ness "a, Pawnee.
Rocks and Ellis 80. Osborne, Rush and
washington 81, and Russell, Haskell
and Gray 80 each. Eighteen counties.