The Oakes times. [volume] (Oakes, N.D.) 1906-current, 1921-07-21
State Land Department Shows How
Money Can Be Made in
North DakOta
D1vERs1F1cATIoN IS NECESSARY
Days of Exclusive Wheat Raising are
Numbered

40 4eSuu 4VA tu0 A0INASSS 0llU NVul06
for the homeless. Questions that
naturally arise in the mind Of any
one looking for land are given and
the answers thereto as well. These
questions and answers furnish in
formation about soil, climate and
the prices Of farm land, with or with
out improvements.
There are three strips or natural
divisions Of North Dakota lands re-
ferred to, namely, the Red River val
ley or eastern part Of the state; the
James River valley or central part Of
the state, and the land adjoining and
west Of the Missouri river, or the
western part of the state.
In order to show how a family can
make q nice living on 100 acres Of
good land, in North Dakota, the Ole
Olson plan is given. The plan means
that weeds must be kept down to con-
serve the moisture, that the fertility
of the soil must be maintained and
that the single cropping plan must be
abandoned for the diversified plan.
The following is brief outline:
For q quarter section farm, (all
tillable) five acres are required for
farm buildings, driveways, garden,
etc. Five acres enclosed with woven
wire fence and seeded to alfalfa or
bronze grass for pig pasture.
Ten acres. plowed deep and well
manured the previous season and
seeded to Grimm alfalfa in drills
thirty inches apart to be occasionally
cultivated in order to kill weeds and
conserve moisture. The alfalfa should
on the average produce ton Of hay
per acre annually. and later a crop Of
seed Of considerable value.
Two acres containing fresh water
and well ventilated shed where 12
or Is mich COWS can take exercise
and escape the heat Of sun and annoy
ance from flies during summer, enters
into the plan. For Ole feeds ensilage
and hay the year around instead Of
devoting many acres to pasture.
This leaves 1873 acres (on q quarter
section farm) to be divided into fields
Of 34h acres each, one for cultivated
crop, one for wheat, one for barley
and oats and one for hay-preferably
sweet clover. Wheat follows the cul-
tivated crop and the sweet clover field
enters into the rotation, biennially.
On the cultivated fields he plants
is acres Of giant sunflowers for en-
silage, five acres Of early dent corn
for emergencies, liz acres Of flint
corn and three acres Of potatoes.
Two pit silos are necessary, one
for summer and one for winter. Pit
silos are recommended on account of
their cheapness. The plan is to milk
IL or is cows, sell the butterfat and
feed the skim milk to 40 or more pigs
that the five acre pig lot will pasture
during the summer. After the en-
silage is made and the dent corn and
potatoes are harvested the pigs will
finish for market by hogging off the
flint corn.
By cultivating one-fourth Of the
farm annually, with another fourth
in hay, the weeds will be reduced to
negligible hindrance and the live stock
will afford sufficient manure to main
tain the fertility of the soil. =.
The income from poultry, hogs,
vealed calves, alfalfa seed, wheat, po-
tatoes and butterfat, ETC., will be suf-
ficiently varied to dodge bad seasons
and in volume sufficient to support
the family and regularly swell the
bank account. Moreover, but little
hired help will be required and the
farm, garden and poultry will supply
the table practically the year around.
This system Of farm management
can be adapted to larger farms as
well and considerably varied on any
sized farm. Where, for instance, a
considerable acreage of the farm is
too rough or stony for cultivation
more dependence can be placed upon
pasture and less all year around feed
ing Of ensilage and hay.
To thus equip a quarter section
farm will require considerable cap
ital, but by beginning in a small way,
ina few years the goal can be reached
and a family be in a position to make
a good living and money besides, on
comparatively small tract Of land.
Mr.. and Mrs. C. W. Gordinier Of
Edgar, Montana, arrived Tuesday af-
ternoon from Redfield, s. D., where
they were the guests Of. relatives, and
left Oakes Tuesday evening for Rosh-
olt, s. D., to visit with Mr.. and Mrs.
L. F. Waddington.
Mrs. Anna Kennedy, who has been
visiting at the George Burrows home,
left Tuesday afternoon for Fargo.