Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1913-06-06
FARMERS STAND UP
FOR METHODS USED
ON RANCHES HERE
Declare City Feller" Who Crit
icized Does Not Know
Conditions.
MAKE MORE OUT OF FRUIT.
Say Land Is Too Valuable for
Growing Grain and Hay-Get
a Little Sarcastic.

1t was with more or less sarcasm
that some of the farmers of this coun-
ty replied to the city feller" who in
last weeks Issue of THE WASHINGTON
STANDARD criticized the farmers of this
section and led to the query by this
paper: Are we farmers or ranchers
here on Puget Sound?
Most of those who followed the edi-
tors suggestion and replied to the &C.
cusation styled this "city feller" a
tenderfoot who knows nothing about
farming in this state, while one as
serted he would not know a cream
separator from a perambulator." The
fact Of the matter is that he is a ma
tive son, but native son whose COL
lege education was obtained in the
Middle West and who has visited and
inspected conditions in different parts
of that section and in later years &C
quainted himself in this manner with
the way farming is carried on there.
The principal argument so far ad-
vanced by the farmers of this section
as to why they "sell wood and, buy
feed" as the "city feller" expressed 1t.
and do not raise hay and oats and
other grains as he contended they
should. was that more valuable crops,
especially berries and other fruits ana
some vegetables, can be raised more
abundantly and produce q greater
yield. AS one farmer said. Il can
make more money with fruits and ber-
ries on q 10-acre tract around hero
than could with 16O-acre farm back
East" and he seems to know for he
says he has farmed In both places.
We are re-printing but <one Of sew
eral letters received this week. because
this one epitomises the principal AZ
ments advanced In the other commune
cations:
1T is not my desire to become In
vOlved In q newspaper controversy
and would prefer that you do not pub
lish my name In connection with this
article. am q farmer and not news
writer but your article In last weeks
issue of the STANDARD IL too one-sidcd
to pass unanswered.
1T is very evident from the tone Of
the letter in question that the city
feller' from whom you secured your
information regarding the manage
ment, or lack of management, Of Thur
ston county farmers was secured from
q tenderf0ot who is unfamiliar with
the conditions Of farm life in this
state.
ut Is true that many ranchers hero
buy all of their hay and grain in
Olympia, using their low land and
wooded tracts for pasture and the
cleared and cultivated land In the
raising of fruits and berries, but this
does not indicate any lack Of judg-
ment on their part but quite the con-
trary.
Perhaps no state in the Union has
a wider range of climate, elevation and
it consequently cannot be compared
to the Middle West in any way. It
would be folly to seed to alfalfa land
raising 200 sacks Of spuds to the acre.
J.
could secure one good cutting of hay
per year, while Eastern Washington
and IdA1o are particularly adapted to
hay raising.
1.-The greater portion Of my life was
spent on a ranch of $40 acres In North
Dakota. There we could not raise
fruit enough for our own use and fruit
canneries were unheard of. There we
hauled our grain to market and
brought back coal and no one wondered
why we did not grow our fire wood.
Coming to this county five years ago,
purchased q 10-acre tract, part OF
which was heavily timbered The
most Of this l have cut and sold in
your city. saving only enough for my
own fire wood, using the money in
improving my fences and buildings
Should l have left this timber stand
ing and received no benefit whatever.
The stump land now affords plenty Of
pasture for my cows and with what
revenue | receive from the eggs and
butter sold find make much more
comfor' able living on 10 acres than
when tiying to work whole section,
and l never have to worry about bliz-
yards cyclones or grashoppers.
"There Is one thing, however about
which the farmers in the section
should be careful and that Is not to
sell off all their firewood from their
ranch and in a few years be forced to
buy some fuel for Substitute. 1t may
be true that some ranchers are not
Continued on page five.)