The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1918-11-20
VISITS DROUTH STRICKEN DIS
TRICT .n....'. d.

after a trip through the section hard
hit by the drouth.t While the drouth
did much damage to that section, the
drouth section is only small section
of the corn belt. AS Nick Olderog, a
Hanover township farmer, told me
last week. he had only half crop of
corn on his farm, but what he has has
three times the feeding value of last
years crop. H.. @%Yrs.
There are lot of people who seem
to take special delight in killing the
crops and are never so happy as when
telling hard luck Stories On the 9TH
er hand there are those who eXagger-
ate and laud to the skies the condi-
tions of their crops. They never see
anything but bumper crops. Both
have their effects on the markets. So
far as the market price is concerned
it is difficult matter to fix a price
to please everyone. .E
Read the ROUGH article, for it has
much of interest in it, regardless of
the fact that it fails to state that in
a large portion of Crawford county
the corn crop is good one. 49,
"Our family, including my son,
Charles, his wife and boy, Clifford,
and myself, decided to take a little
business trip in southerly direction.
We started in the Buick October 2lst
at 8 a. m. Our first stop was Dow City,
about IS miles straight south from
our home farm. From there we went
to Dunlap and then drove three miles
northwest up into the bluffs. This
proved quite climb for the Buick
and so steep that seven inches of gas
lin, the tank would not feed until we
backed crossWays in the road and
blocked the auto for safety From
Dunlap we went to Woodbine where
we entered the dried up country where
they did not have a good rain from
the last week in May until some time
in October. The farther south we went
the worse it got. While going from
Woodhine to Logan, my son said to
me, Thescafarmers are ahead of us
in the way 81 pasturing or eating out
of the corn fields Yes l said, but
where is thealivestock that eats this
corn? or 4E
When we got within two miles of
Logan we stopped at farm house
and talked with the proprietor and
asked him what was done with the
livestock around there, half the corn
being eaten out and no livestock to
be seen. Well he replied, the corn
dried up and the wind blew it away,
Stalkraands all.s.Ehere We're thousands.
of acres where there wasn't a single
ear of corn Where did the big corn
crop come from that the government
has. been describing? If some of our
crop reporters would 60 out and see
some OF the poor corn as we'll as the
good corn, instead. of sitting around
the towns and telling the farmers
what a wonderful corn crop we had.
The prospects up to the first of July,
were never better in iowa. But we
can't grow a wonderful crop in Iowa
without rain. l think it would, be
better for the government and the
farmers, If the crop estimates were
given more correctly It may be
benefit to land agents and spectators
under the present kind of reports but
how about the man who buys this
land and expects to pay for it by his
own hard work of farming?
eve asked the stock man what they
did for water on this high land. He
said he put down a deep we'll and
that he has plenty of water and
can't pump it dry. He also said they
had surface water closer to the
ground, but in dry weather these
wells could not be depended upon.
From there, we drove five miles
u,hn cfo o.
other farm. We talked with young
man who said that he had one BROTH
er in France and another brother in
one Of the camps in this country. He
was asked what he thought the corn
would average in his part of the coun-
try the acre. We asked him what he
did for water and he said he had two
deep wells, neither of which could be
pumped dry This carried out the
ideas that presented in my last ar
ticle, namely, that we, should have
deep wells on our farms. Next we
came to Persia and from here to Har-
Ian, the, corn was some better. ask,
I'D two farmers at Harlan what the
corn would average there-would it
be rs bushels? They said no.: From
here we went to Defiance and Den
ison and. then home. In all our tray-
81 that day, we did not see one load
If feeding cattle in the feed yards and
the spring shoats were all small for
this time of the year. The drive was
100 long for one day and our time was
700 short to Investigate as much as
we should have liked about the corn
crop. Some Of the farmers had corn,
while. others hadn't a single ear, all
lad dried up and blown away" f.,
Ora Malone informed me last week
hat he sold crib Of corn for
;1.50 per bushel. 1t would seem from !
hat corn is still selling at a good
rice. A farmer near Ricketts, also
old me the farmers in that vicinity |
re asking $3.50 per bushel for corn,
nd the worst thing about it all was
hat he had to buy. He said he be.
ieved he could ship it in for less mon
" and thought of doing So At a sale
ear, Manning eight tons Of hay sold
or $3.50 ton, and five tons in an.
Their lot sold for $50 per(ton. 1t |
would seem that those who have been !
ooking for big drop in prices at the
nd of the war are due. for another
uess. 1t is going to take some time
Or prices to come down very much,
L ne ao,,,o %b;c }e ,r1v q /