, 1926-06-02

.c"A eAiOd6h LIt AdlI Va lht Ia
century, IL state was a land Of ro-,
nance, the home of the explorer, fur
trader and the p~rospector, the battle
ground of many Indian tribes and the
burying place of those devout mission
aries who followed hard upon the
heels of the earliest discoveries.
While the first permanent white set
Element was made in the state in
1884, at Fort Laramie, it was not un-
It'll thirty years later that the discov-
cry was made that stock could live
through Wyoming winters without the
aid of hay stacks and grain bins. A
government trader, caught by winter
on the Laramie plains, turned his
oxen out to die. Imagine his surprise
at finding them in the spring in bet
ter shape than when he left them to
shift for themselves the previous fall.
A similar happening at Fort Russell
opened stockmen's eyeI to Wyoming's
possibilities as a range state.
Then followed the marvellous de-
velopment of the range cattle indus
try. Later came the sheep men-men
h placed Wyoming in the fore
ground as a w-ool-producing state.
Crop production has been more slow
in coming into its own, and even to-.
day we find old timers who think 1t
was a mistake to introduce the wire
fence, the pillow and the rubber bots.
Though sleeping potions lurk in sta
t~istics, it is necessary to invoke their
aid in attempting to briefly present
Miss Wyoming in her new guise as
the farmers daughter, Maui Muller
rather than the commonly accepted
cowgirl of frontier fame. Maud may
carry more of the barn odors han her
older sister, but she is u more valu-
able member of the society of states
measured by her contributions to the
worlds food supply.
OF Wyoming's land area of over
sixty-two million acres-ap area larger
than the area of the New England
states combined with New Jersey and
acknowledgements million acres or
about 40 per cent is under state con-
troll. The balance includes public do
mains, forest reserves, Yellowstone
Park, fede~al Withdrawals, etc.
The federal domain furnishes grass
for hundreds of thousands of sheep
and cattle at costs much lower than
obtain in eastern farming states. Cat
tie on the Shoshone forest, the only
one on which a year round report Is
available, are charged $1.15 a head for
a years grazing Compare that with
the cost on even 500 land.
Our state lands may be divided int
irrigated, dry and grazing. The state
engineers office estimates the lands
irrigated md susceptible of irrig"''on
at present at 100000 acres-an area
almost as large as Connecticut and
considerably larger than the combined
areas of Delaware and Rhode Island.
Land that is and can be dry-farmed
will total three to ten million acres,
e67,233 acres appeared on the as
SCISSORS list in 1926.
Though Wyoming will always be a
great range state, a study of the above
Figures gives a glimpse of the farming
possibilities ahead of us when our
lands are producing at their maxi
mum. United Stat $ reports place the
1925 wyoming wool production at o.
100000 pounds. Texas probably pro-
duced slightly more. Wyoming ranks
t~wenty-seventh in number of cattle
795, 900 on January 1, of this year.
Over four million dollars worth of
dairy products were produced last
year and pigs to the number OF
10000 were reported January LIST.
oh. yes; some one says, We know
we a produce livestock. We should
stick to the stock and cut out the
farming, especially on the so-called
.dry-land." What does Uncle Sam say
of our farming record? In corn yield
per acre, a five-year average, wyoming
ranks above Oklahoma, Kansas, Colo
RADIO, Montana, New Mexico and most
of the southern states. Based on a
fiye-year average of all the states
wyoming ranks fourth in yield per
acre of spring wheat, eighth In winter
wheat, eighth in barley, ninth In rye,
eleventh in potatoes and twelfth in
nav. Her grains are unusually high
in quality.
Crops Varied and Yields Above
Average
Specialized crops are fast gaining a
roothold. Two hundred and fifty acres
of head lettuce will be planted on the
Laramie Plains this year. Onions
and beans are grown commercially
Tw~enty-seven thousand acres of sugar
beets were grown in the state last
year; and potatoes both seed INT table
stock yielded one million six hundred
eighty thousand bushels.
What yields may Wyoming farme-s
expect when good farming methods
are practiced? The following figures
throw light on the point: Archer
(dry-land) spring wheat, a n~ine-year
1916 bushels; Sheridan dry
land) spring wheat, nine-year average.
16 bushels; Archer. Durham wheat,