The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1921-02-03
COMMUNICATIONS


To the Bookings Register and It's
Many Readers:
Here we are in the land of many
rains and few sunshines, there being
only four days of sunshine since Octo.
Der 6, with an occasional glimpse of
the sun for a few minutes. Well, the
rest OF the time it was rain, rain, rain,
just so nice and easy; then an extra
bit of wind to help soak it in; then
for a day maybe just foggy, the kind
that seems TO swallow up everything
within ones vision or should be. There
was a few days of snow and rain
combined here in the valley with the
hills and mountains capped with snow.
There was in the four months just
past 1872 inches of rain fell, almost
40 inches Of rain, so there being Janu-
airy, February, March, April, May and
June for their full quota of rain that
is yet TO be determined how much
rain will fall in those six months to
come. There was some wind here
heavy enough to uproot trees and
break plate glass windows in the city
of Eugene December 10, with very lit
tie freezing weather. Ice has only
been about one-fourth of an inch all
winter. O yes, | hear some n say
ing is there any green grass or flowers
in bloom? Yes, grass is green the
1ynor wound hut NOT in hnndanan &C
one would suppose, it being short and
of poor quality. There is no wild
hay or wild grass that | have seen yet.
Roses are not pretty at all, as the late
freezes caught them just in the bud.
There are dandelions in bloom now
and the frogs have croaked their songs
most every evening. The farmers are
trying to get in a day or so of plow-
ing whenever the opportunity per
mits. They have to be ready to pillow
when the rain lets up long enough
to work a day or a half day, with
oftentimes the water following you
in the furrow. No, the ground is not
dry that the pillow is turning over.
This country is very spotted as to the
different kinds of soil. Most people
in South Dakota will not understand
why, but it's true. You maybe will
plant oats, wheat, cheat and vetch
hay all on the same field; not as we
do in South Dakota, but a ridge here,
a hollow there, and maybe an Oblong
piece along the edge. Why, because
parts of the ground is white soil,
adobe, or is too low. There the water
stands for a long time.
Now they speak of raising 400
bushels of potatoes to the acre. Well,
l think it is a potato story. 1t might
be done with three or four inches of
fertilizer covered over each acre.
Then it would have to be river or
creek bottom land to do that. They
harvest their potatoes by hand and
sack them; sort them by hand. Why?
Because there is a soddy little weed
all over the field and the ground
clings in n mass; just runs over
the digger's apron in one continuous
ribbon. There is only one potato dig
ger within a radius of Is miles on
this side of the river and that one
was shipped in, believing that this was
a potato country They sort by hand
because there are so many potatoes
partly decayed. Everything is sacked
in the line of potatoes and grain, eve
the coal that you may buy. Most of
the people bale their hay as they can
store it in a smaller space, and they
are compelled to keep all feeds under
some kind of cover on account of rain.
Corn, yes, they raise corn, but not
not as in the corn regions of the CEN
trail west. Most of them plant by
hand and cut the fodder by hand. The
ground is soft by silo filling time;
may be partly submerged by water,
as many fields were this fall. Corn
does not keep well. it being too wet;
it molds and soon spoils.
Berries and fruits do we'll here. One
has to spray to keep the moss off the
fruit trees, then spray again to keep
the insects away from the fruit and
trees. The yield is good and so is
the expenses.
The average yield of oats and barley
is about 25 to 80 bushels per acre;
wheat from nothing to 25 bushels per
acre, but only in patches; not fields
as we have in South Dakota.
The soil could be built up and
drained if the farmers would cooper
ate in ditching and draining. But
building up the soil takes both time
and money, with many things no ia
vorable. Mud and rain in the fall, win
ter and spring with the m gen
orally dry, n would think with the
s%pring-like climate green grass and
everything, it would be a veritable
paradise, but it is not from a farmers
standpoint of view; but for one living
in a town or city do not know of any
reason for it not being.
II ic a haautifu1 oo,pfrv With &c