Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1914-05-01
IS AN ENTHUSIAST.
Ness City Man Strong Believer IL
Irrigation and intensive Farming.

and owner q Ness City, together
With his wife, were IN the city Mon.
lay on their way to Excelsior Spgs.,
No., where Mr.. Hopper wil undergo
treatment for rheumatism from which
he has been suffering for several
weeks past.
Mr.. Hopper Is probably the best
known man, IN western Kansas, no; !
only from the fact that he is one Of
the wealthy men Of the western har
Of the state, but on account of the
stand he has taken IN the reclama-
ton Of the western country, and his
interesting articles on Dam the
Draws; Plant Trees and Summer
FaIOw,' which have appeared in the
Ness County News each week for
several years past, have been widely
read and have been the means OF
bringing western Kansas to the no
tiee Of people all over the Union,
and have told them most eloquently
Of the very rich possibilities in sore
for this great country which is now
popularity known in the eastern sta es
as the semi-arid region.
Mr.. Hopper believes that there Is
a sufficient amount Of rainfall al
over the western half Of tie safe
each year to grow and mature good
crops Of all kinds, providing this
moisture is conserved and used as it
should be, instead Of the most of it
being allowed to run off on the low
lands and not only go to waste but
also to devastate these low lands. His
remedy for this is simple and p-ac'i-
cable. ALI over the western part OF
the state are great draws which
could be damned up with little ex.
pense and would provide storage
places for hundreds Of millions Of
gallons Of water, which could be us.
ed on the fields during the dry times
thus insuring good crops even dur
ing an exceptionally dry season. He
believes in the planting Of trees fol
It Is a well known fact that these
have proved a great magnet IN the
drawing Of moisture from the air
and on his own farms he has often
amply demonstrated that summer IA
lowing, especially in the growing o.
wheat, is labor which pays big re
turns on the investment.
He has a large draw damned u
on one Of his places near Ness CT,
and during the heavy rain Of the lat
ter part Of last May succeeded 10
storing up something like ten mi.liol
gallons Of water. The cost Of makini
the dam across this draw was net i
excess of $3.50, and the returns froI
the investment in the ole year alon
paid for this expenditure severt
times over. He had twenty-five acre
. Of alfalfa which he irrigated from tn
reservoir, and from which field
cut three heavy crops of hay
. spite Of the exceptionally dry Sun
. mer. and would have secured fur CT
tings, but the grasshoppers rdined Il
second crop. In addition to this
. had an abundance Of water all sun
o mer for his large herd Of cattle, b
sides using water to irrigate a larg
number of trees and for other pu
poses. He has been conducting
campaign of education along thss
lines in Ness county for a number
years and says that it is now begi
ming to produce results, for lart
number Of farmers in that sect {
Q are finding that it pays to consarl
r this water that would otherwise {
4 to waste and are building dams az
/, reservoirs with good results. He b
p lieves that the same things whit
. are for the good Of his own commu
ity will also apply to Barton coun
to great extent, and as soon as b
u health is improved the Democr
y. hopes to publish some interes ing
ticles from Mr.. Hopper along thu
. lines.