Western Kansas world., 1916-08-05
Area Planted This Year is SO
Per Cent Larger Than
That of 1915.
GOOD OUTLOOK FOR BIG CROP
Present Prospects Indicate One of the
Largest Yields in States History
Rain Needed.

of the biggest corn crops in it's his
tory this year. The area planted, as
reported by ]. c. Mohler, secretary of
the state board of agriculture, is g.
$4,000 acres, the largest since 1911
and more than so per cent larger than
the area harvested last year.
Present condition of the crop is rs,
six points lower than a month ago,
and the same as year ago, when the
average yield was 31.5 bushels to the
acre A similar yield this. year viii
make a total crop of 220 million bush
els, IS million more than last year
and the largest since 1899.
In general way, the outlook for
corn is most favorable in the northern
half of the state. Twenty-three of
thirty-three counties with average
conditions of so or more are in this
territory. and sixteen of that twenty
three are in the northeast quarter.
The highest condition, 80, is reported
for Donfphan. Jewell. leading with
more than two hundred thousand
acres in corn, is rated at SS, or thir-
teen points above the average for the
state. The other counties in the
northern tier east of Jewell have con-
ditions of 80 or above, as Go the ad-
The least promising prospects are In
the south central counties of Sedg-
wick and Sumner, with conditions of
50 and SO, respectively. In the wes-
tern half of the state the fields are
generally clean, but in the eastern
counties much corn is weedy, owing
to lack of opportunity to cultivate.
While corn responded rapidly TO TIE
warmer weather and sunshine of the
past month, present soil conditions
in most localities are unfavorable for
growth and rain is badly needed
thI oughout the state.
Bomb Destroyed Thresher.-A bomb
placed in a bundle of wheat caused
| the destruction of a threshing ma
| chine near Copeland, according to the
| story told by members of the thresh-
| ing crowd, who have come to Dodge
| City. While the machine of Garner
Brothers was threshing at the Roy
| Williams farm two miles north OF
| Copeland a terrific explosion tore the
| separator apart, shot thousands of
sparks in all directions which fired
| the surrounding wheat stacks, and
knocked down seven men who were
working around the separator.
1
Ran Into Butcher knife.-Clarke
| Brown, "a years old, son of butcher
| at Eldorado, ran into big butcher
knife that his brother had laid on the
block in the shop. He died later in
the hospital.
| kansan Killed in Dakota.-John H.
/ Murray, son of John Murray, an Atch-
ison real estate dealer, was killed
near Marmarth, N D., recently, when
run over by a train. He was working
as a brakeman.
! Dies at Age of so.-Joseph Nelson.
who recently celebrated his ninetieth
birthday and one of the pioneer resi-
dents of Labette county, is dead at his
home in Oswega.
31-BusheI Wheat YieId.-A1ex Rob-
inson, a Douglas county farmer, liv-
/ ing six miles from Lawrence, has fin
/ ished threshing a field of wheat that
averaged thirty-one bushels to the
| acre
Oil Men Expect Price Cut.-With a
| view to improving the effectiveness
of their organization the Independent
oil men of Kansas held an informal
meeting at Salina recently with about
! fifty present It was the universal
opinion that gasoline will soon take
a drop in price because of the heavy
production of crude oil.
| = x X
Used Ford to Kill Rats.-P. n. Cline
| of Graham county, whose barn was
overrun with rats, filled the supply
| tank of his Ford car with gasoline and
coal oil mixed, attached rubber hose
to the exhaust and put the other end
! into rat hole and started the engine.
Many rats died under the barn and
| others died as they ran out to get
! fresh air. He gathered up four bush
| els of rats, he says
Open New Kansas Railroad.-Five
thousand people saw the opening OF
the Anthony & Northern Railroad into
Kinsley the other day The special
| from Pratt, the first train into Kins.
| ley over the new road, carried three
| hundred and fifty people. Kins1ey
| gave an entertainment to the em
ployees of the new road.
y
/ Bale p. Waggener Is 6e.-B. p
| Waggener. patron saint of the chill
dren of northeastern Kansas, celebra
ted his sixty-ninth birthday anniver
sary at Atchison by entertaining thou
| sands of children from Atchison and