F G81 .C65 No, 7. ObVSK _:.^_ --^ '--'»■» -'■'' •«<-• Pass Vfe^l Pnnk .C £,5 ^IK. «3 CO CO c: o 1^ Lot^ra, rosier i\wv q-ut > ,^v^■ Kansas and Her Eightieth Thousand > 3 3 -^ J ) ' , Passenger Department TKe AtcHison, TopeKa (SL Santa Fe Rail^vay Company 1902 Ad. Ih 2-10-02. 20M. • • • •• ... « • •• • • • • * • •.t • • • • » • • • • • • • » • • • • • • • • * • • • « • ■ >• • » • r THE RJULKOJiB'S STORY. Of the many thousands of persons who have heard about Kansas, only a comparatively small , number possess any correct notion of the State 'i and her resources. Some appear to believe it is a [<3— State whose visible assets are drouths, cyclones, blizzards, crop failures and cranks. It is hoped . a perusal of the following pages will help correct f^ such erroneous impressions. An attempt has [^_p been made to describe matters as they are and by candid statem.ents of fact to demonstrate to the agriculturist (using the term in its more compre- hensive sense) that he can do better in Kansas than in most of the States of the Union. The year 1899 '^'^'^^s a very prosperous one and few localities can justly complain of the manner in which bountiful nature fulfilled her obliga- tions, o Kansas in 1899 raised almost eleven per cent, of the country's total corn supply and nearly eight per cent, of the wheat; in 1900, eight per cent, of the corn, and sixteen per cent, of the wheat, while 1901, a year lean for many, proved the most profitably productive in agricultural values that has ever been recorded in the State's history, the wheat crop alone being worth on the farms where grown over 506 million dollars, and its yield aggregating considerably over 90,000,000 bushels, of highest quality, the largest output of this life-giving cereal ever garnered by any State in any year. In the pages that follow, actual conditions are concisely set forth, and it is believed the tabu- lated statements of quantities and values will prove serviceable to earnest and interested in- quirers. When it is considered that Kansas still has rnany thousands of acres unsubdued and uncul- tivated, and that the recorded quantities and values of products represent only the output of a partially developed State, it speaks volumes tor the fertility and richnet>s of the portions now being worked. It is safe to say that just as good showings may be made in other sections of the State after they shall have had the same intelli- gent attention. The world has done honor to Joe Patchen and to John R. Gentry, as well as to many other remarkable specimens of horseflesh It will prob- ably astonish many outside of the race track coterie, and perhaps some of its members, to learn that both John R. Gentry and Joe Patchen are products of Kansas stock farms, and that Cresceus is of Kansas parentage. The heaviest fleece ever produced was clipped from a Kansas sheep. And so it goes. There are many other wonderful things that could be told of the pro- ducts of Kansas, but as Secretary F. D. Coburn, of the State Board of Agriculture, has so well written the story of the State as a whole, it would result only in needless repetition. f The railroad that has done most to advance the interests of Kansas, and the one that reaches more points in the State than any other line, is the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway, which operates in sixty-four of the one hundred and five counties, and on whose lines are situated about eighty percent, of the principal cities. The sections producing Patchen, Gentry and Cresceus, the one with the record for wood clip- ping, as well as the points where exists the greatest activity in live-stock generally, are allj on the Santa Fe. One may reach via this line the scenes of Kansas' greatest agricultural growth as well as points where there are oppor- tunities for a profitable extension of the vast en- terprises in wiiich the farmer, the stockman and the horticulturist are engaged. It is also worthy of note that the State's new and promising industry of beet-raising for the manufacture of sugar is first being developed in exclusive Santa Fe territory, and encouraged by lastyeai's successes there probably will be in- creased activity displayed along the same line in the same section in 1902 and following years There is no other railroad in Kansas that can take, you direct to where these beets are grown, or to the manufactory at Rocky Ford, Colorado. II Through passenger trains from Chicago and Kansas City carry PuUman palace and tourist sleepers, free chair-cars and modern day coaches. The track is rock-ballasted and trains are pro- tected by the block signal system, a combination promoting comfort and safety. Dining-cars serve meals between Chicago and Kansas City on the plan of paying only for what you order. West of the Missouri River meals are served m dining-room.s reached at convenient hours, in which the charge is only 75 cents per mxeal. Kansas extends a warm vv^elcome to persons dissatisfied with present locations or conditions, and invites those desiring to purchase good farms at prices that are not prohibitive to come to the State and see for themselves her present advantages and splendid prospects. The purchaser of lands located within reach of the Santa Fe is certain of prompt, regular and quick service for the transportation of himself and of the products of his labor. Convenient train service is a desirable feature at all times and especially to farming and industrial com- munities. It is furnished all the territory served by the Santa Fe. If you want to be sure of profiting by the advantages that railroad facil- ities give, you should secure land on or closely adjacent to the line of the Santa Fe. Kansas is so situated as to form the point at which converge all the lines of this extensive system of railroad. This gives the State unex- celled transportation facilities to and from Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma, Indian Territory, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Cal- ifornia, besides all that portion of the country lying beyond the borders of and naturally reached through the States and Territories mentioned. At frequent intervals, usually the first and third Tuesdays of each month, the Santa Fe sells round-trip homeseeker's excursion tickets to Kansas at one fare, plus $2, for the round trip. Tickets are good for twenty-one days and for stop-overs in certain prescribed territory. Correspondence with prospective sellers or tourists is in- vited. Write to W. J. Black, general passenger agent, To- peka, Kansas, or any Santa Fe representative, stating where yon desire to go, and ull information will be given concern- ing service and rates 7 Announcements THE articles following were written by Mr. F. D. Coburn, Secretary of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture, who has revised and corrected the data herein to embrace all of the year 1901. The reports of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture are recognized the w^orld over as authorities on the subjects treated thereby. They are not issued to boom any particular enterprise nor to misrepresent actual condi- tions. Tales of failures are told as faithfully and with the same absence of attempt at word-painting as are the statements of the State's unparalleled success. Their aim is to faithfully depict conditions just as they are — to tell the truth. For this reason the articles that follow are commended to the reader. Personal investigation will corrobo- rate the statements of Mr. Coburn. If you conclude to come to Kansas and settle, it is believed the result will confirm the wisdom of your choice. Illustrations are from photographs secured from the Kansas State Board of Agriculture and other sources. • * * **^ CO o CO O (is 5 ■ , V .A ■■■.■ ■■•'^Xl •■ k ^ik K-^MSAS SURVEYED. LOCJiTION, SOIL, CLIMJITE, PRODUC- TIOMS JIMD PEOPLE. Agricultural Empire: Land of Moral Citizen* ship. Sobriety, Churches and Kindly Climate. This will doubtless come to the attention of thousands who know little or perhaps nothing of, or have at best but the vaguest ideas of Kansas or what the word signifies — whether the name of a country, district, colony or province; whether morass or mountain; whether forest or prairie ; a land of productivity or of barren waste. To those who would, but do not know, it may be said that the name implies a section of country 210 miles wide and 400 miles long, of 52,000,000 acres, the core of a continent — mid- way between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and also equidistant from the northern and southern boundaries of the United States of America, between the thirty-seventh and fortieth parallels. By some, her area may be better understood from the statement that Kansas, practically all arable, fertile land, is some 4 percent, wider in extent than England, 80 per cent, larger than Scotland, 70 per cent, larger than Ireland, and seven times greater than Wales. Others may grasp more readily the thought that either Den- mark or Switzerland is little more than a fourth as large, and the Netherlands are not one-fourth; that Belgium has not one-fourth her area, and Cuba but four-fifths, while the states of New York and Indiana, or Maine and Ohio, united, or all New England, with Delaware and Mary- land for company, could find resting room on her ample bosom. The surface of the State is that of a gently undulating plain, having a gradually increasing 11 altitude from 750 feet at the eastern limit to 3,300 feet at the western or Colorado border. No mountains and no swamps find place in her topography. In soil there is much diversity, from the dark, deep loam of limestone land prevalent in the eastern third, to the "plains" and sandy formation to the westward, the latter being more especially common to the Southwest. Their comparative fertility is an unsettled prob- lem, as the possessor of either is satisfied that no other is quite so fertile as his own. Her climate is such as would be expected in such a zone and along such parallels, having neither tropic heat nor arctic cold. The official in charge of the United States Weather Service for Kansas furnishes the following as from his records covering the last fifteen years: Average temperature during three winter months — December, January and Feb- ruary 31^ Average temperature during the three summer m.onths— June, July and August 76.7° Average annual temperature for the State •••.54.2" The average annual rainfall in the eastern third of the State for fourteen years approxi- mates 34 inches, gradually decreasing further west. For the whole State the annual precipi- tation has averaged 26.42 inches For three winter months— Decem- ber, January and February 0.91 inches. For three summer months — June, July and August 3.26 inches. There were no white inhabitants' in Kansas in 1850; in 1856 there were less than 10,000, and in i860 but 107,000. At the enumera- tion, March, 1901, her population was 1,467,808. The State is divided into 105 counties; the largest of these in area is Butler, with 1,428 square miles, and ranking seventeenth in popu- lation, with 22,802 inhabitants; the smallest county is Wyandotte, of 153 square miles, but first in population, with 74,267 inhabitants, and including Kansas City, the seat of the second largest live-stock market and also of the second most extensive meat-packing industries in the 12 world. In tliis market there were received and disposed of in the past year 2,126,575 cattle, 3,714,404 hogs, 980,078 sheep, and 96,657 horses and mules. Of these there were driven out for slaughter at the local packing establishments 1,242,289 cattle, 3,544,800 hogs, and 776,691 sheep. In 1901 the State had, besides 202 colleges, academies and high schools, 9,406 free public schoolhouses, v/here 383,175 pupils were en- rolled, and 11,536 teachers employed at an annual outlay of $3,211,451 for salaries. The schoolhouses and school property are valued at something over $10,000,000. The State Uni- versity, at Lawrence, takes high rank among like institutions in the older states, and the same is true of the State Normal School, at Emporia, while the State Agricultural College, at Manhattan, is claimed to stand at the head of the list of the agricultural colleges in the United States, and therefore of the world, having enrolled about 1,300 students the present year, 1902. The institution for the education of the deaf mutes of the State, at Olathe, reflects credit upon the State, while the same compliment is due to the school for the education of the blind, located at Kansas City. The number of church organizations aggre- gates about 6,000, having a membership of 325,000 and property to the amount of $8,000,000. In the line of newspaper and periodical liter- ature there are now being issued and maintained within the State more than 830 publications, representing every county, and recording the history of the people of ail communities and neighborhoods. Of these, 50 are dailies, 638 weeklies, 2 semi-weeklies, 115 monthlies 10 semi-monthlies, i bi-monthly, 11 quarterlies and 5 occasional. Of state, private and National Banks there are 541, having deposits aggregating over eighty-seven million dollars, making an average of $59. 28 for each inhabitant. In the main, Kansas laws are liberal and just. They favor sobriety, morality, industry, whole- 13 some living and home-making. While they in nowise oppose the rich, they do uphold, protect and encourage the poor man in his efforts to secure for himself and family a home. The manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors, except for medical, scientific and mechanical purposes, is forever prohibited in the State, by constitutional provision adopted by the people at a general election in November, 1880. Of railroads, Kansas has but a trifle less than 9,000 miles; this mileage is exceeded possibly in two or perhaps three other states. It is about the same as Italy, not quite half that of Great Britian and Ireland combined, slightly less than that of Spain and Switzerland together, and one-third that of all Germany. Of the 105 counties, 100 have one or more railroads, and excepting seven, all county seats have one or more. There is an average of a mile of railway for each 160 of the inhabitants. The main lines are maintained in excellent condition, and the service is as good as may be found anywhere. Much of the main line track has been well ballasted with gravel, stone, cinders, slag or other superior material. Their earlier and lighter rails are constantly being replaced by those of heavier steel, joined by the best modern devices, so that the average speed found in any part of the country is here obtained with almost perfect safety, injuries from train derailments or other like accidents being comparatively infrequent. Jhe rolling stock compares favorably with that in use in any country, and generally, so far as railroads are concerned, Kansas challenges com- parison with any. The maximum charge to passengers on first-class trains is 3 cents per mile. From Kansas City, Kansas, where the Kan- sas River joins the Missouri, at the east line of the State, the distances by rail to the various ports, east, south and west are about as follows: Miles To Galveston 799 To Chicago 458 To San Francisco . . .2,100 Miles To New York i,394 To Savannah 1,081 To New Orleans 878 To Port Arthur 820 To Seattle 2 234 li 14 Where a Kansas Farmer Lives. Of unappropriated and unreserved public land in Kansas belonging to the United States Government, there are yet 1,000,000 acres which are available to actual occupants either by home- steading or pre-emption, for a very small outlay of money, extended over a period of years. Much of the larger portion of this land is in the western counties and more adapted for grazing purposes than for grain-farming and home-mak- ing. The State is watered and drained by several important non-navigable streams, such as the Kansas, Arkansas, Republican, Solomon, Blue, Smoky Hill, Marais des Cygnes, Saline, Medi- cine and Cimarron rivers, besides innumerable smaller rivers and creeks, which one with an- other course through many hundred miles of rich valleys, in the east more or less timbered. Geclogists who have investigated the subject most thoroughly agree that a large portion of Kansas has beneath the surface inexhaustible supplies of pure cold water at a depth of 10 to 200 feet, available for irrigation purposes. Every investigation affords further evidence of the quantity being unlimited, and its inexpensive pumping and storage in reservoirs for any use are made readily practicable by the modern windmill. Artesian waterflow in abundance has been developed and is utilized in a portion of 15 Meade County, but not elsewhere as yet, worth mentioning. Wonderful deposits of zinc, lead, coal, natural gas and petroleum are constantly being uncov- ered in the southeastern counties; quarries of superior limestone, sandstone and gypsum for building purposes are worked in the more cen- tral counties. Extending from north to south, and underlying many of these, and being suc- cessfully and largely drawn upon, is a salt bed, stated by geologists to be not less than 200 miles from north to south, 60 miles wide and 400 feet in thickness. The following table by Prof. E. Haworth, of the University Geological Survey, shows the underground products and their values for the year 1900 : Non-Metallic— Values. Coal and Coke $ 5,516,534 Salt, with cooperage • 1,675,000 Clay goods 975,500 Gypsum 267,500 Stone 593.750 Natural gas ■ 695,000 Oil, crude and refined 355,118 Cement 669,685 Lime and sand 121,000 Metallic- Zinc ore, $1,235,859, yielding metal- lic zinc 2,009,286 Lead ore, $206,196, yielding metallic lead 324,859 Total $13,203,232 Fruit, especially apples, peaches, grapes and berries of high quality are largely grown in Kansas, and some of the largest commercial apple orchards in existence are found here, the products of which are sought eagerly by distant packers and exporters for the domestic and for- eign markets. Next to her high order of citizenship, it is, however, upon agriculture proper and live-stock husbandry that Kansas bases her claims to pre- eminence and future wealth. What virtue 16 there may be in such claims, what the possibili- ties of the present are and what the probabilities of future promise, are well suggested by the official record, setting forth her agricultural yieldings in the year 1901, presented in the follow- ing table. The valuations given are those at home and on the farm instead of in the market centers : Productions. Winter and spring wheat, bushels . . Corn, bushels Oats, bushels Rye, bushels Barley, bushels Buckwheat, bushels ....... Irish and sweet potatoes, bushels Castor-beans, bushels Flax, bushels Cotton, pounds Hemp, pounds Tobacco, pounds Brooni-cbrn, pounds Millet and Hungarian, tons. Sorghum for syrup, gallons Sorghum for grain and forage Tame and Prairie Hay, tons Wool, Dairy and Poultry Products Animals slaughtered and sold for slaughter Horticultural and garden products and wine Honey, beeswax and wood . . Total value of farm products $195,254,652.95 Quantities. 90.333,095 42,605^672 20,806,329 2,955,065 2,356,700 3,177 2,545,722 6,103 1,260,192 57,800 3,600 17,600 13,105,125 448,784 1,291,025 2,556,011 Values. .1:50,610,505.75 21,731,215.39 7,375,817.73 1,408,980.00 931,783.54 2,700.45 2,603,709.50 7,933-90 1,701,259.20 4,046.00 180.00 1,760.00 524,205.00 2,472,863.00 451,858.75 9,785,846.00 19,061,603.00 13,804,058.94 60,902,241.00 1,650,770.50 221,315.30 I,IVE-STOCK— NUMBERS AND VAI^UES. Numbers. Values. Horses and mules 915,278 803,952 2,613,885 186,987 2,114,201 $52,888,646 Milch cows Other cattle 25,726,464 6o,li9,3SS Sheep Swine 560,961 13,742,306 Total value of live-stock .... $153,037,732 Grand Total $348,292,384 Total increase in values over those of the pre- vious year, $17,038,225; total increase in two years, $45,387,005. 17 o o CO CO o WHEAT. /C^-VJ^J" ^ FOREMOST BREADSTUFF PRODUCER. Facts and Figures as to Yields, Quality, and General Standing of Her Famous Wheats and Flours. To lead in any worthy enterprise or under- taking is certainly a distinction of wiiich it is pardonable to be proud; to so far excel as to early and easily surpass all competitors, old and young alike, is an honor vouchsafed to few, although persistently sought by many. This, in truth, however, aptly describes the status of Kansas as a wheat state, having successfully distanced all others, and now, almost without a close competitor, she is forced to be content with exceeding only her own previous feats. In her brief career Kansas has made a record in some directions unparalleled by any other state of agricultural environment and ambition. Not alone in wheat production has she achieved pre-eminence, but as a commonwealth where a diversified agriculture flourishes she is premier, annually producing all field crops in generous profusion, and rearing and marketing animals of well-nigh incalculable value, in which lies the state's greatest wealth. One of her most conspicuous, although not foremost, items is the wheat produced. Without doubt the greatest crop of winter wheat, of high- est quality, often testing far above the standard requirements, ever grown to maturity in any state in the world was harvested within the borders of Kansas in 1901, amounting to 90,046, 000 bushels and duplicating with increased yield her record for 1900, when she raised more wheat by about 2V^ million bushels than the combined output of the two ranking next highest, that year, in the United States, viz. : Minnesota and Cali- fornia. After the prairies were broken, and since once fairly started, the state has ranked among the very foremost, so early as 1892 leading all 1'^ others by producing nearly 74 million bushels, which up to that time was the greatest yield ever credited to any state. The year before she was second in rank. While among the highest, since then her position has fluctuated somewhat until 1900, when as a reward by kindly Provi- dence of industry and thrift, she again easily as- cended to first place, which rank was more fully than ever before maintained in 1901. The State's 1901 production is 82 per cent, greater than the average yearly output in the past decade. The 1901 yield is more by 11,915,183 bushels, or 15.2 per cent- than the United States Department of Agriculture has ever re- ported raised by any state in any year, barring the Kansas yield in 1900, which according to the same authority, had for the preceding year the distinction of being the bulkiest, but only until Kansas had another season, when she of all the states surpassed her own record and pro- duced a still greater crop. Nearly 13 per cent, of the 1901 yield was in Sumner and Barton coun- ties ; Sumner with 6,812,102 bushels to her credit. Barton with 4,830,009. These two counties in 1901 produced more wheat than was grown the year before. according to the government'sfigures, in all New England and the states of New Jersey, Delaware, Alabama, Arkansas, Montana and South Carolina combined. The four counties of Sumner, Barton, Rice and iVlcPherson in 1901 produced more wheat than the entire states of either Illinois or Missouri in the year previous. It is difficult for anyone who has not been in touch with, or directly observant from year tO' year of the progress and expansion of our wheat- growing from its small beginnings forty years ago, to comprehend how it is that the state has gradually come to occupy the foremost rank, and how in a quarter of a century what were known as soft wheats have in nine-tenths of the fields been displaced by the red, flinty sorts, introduced from Russia, yet in every-day parlance grouped under the general head of " Turkey " wheat. Forty years ago the Kansas area sown to wheat of all kinds, winter and spring, hard, 21 medium and soft, white and otherwise, was less than 10,000 acres. For ten years ending with 1901 the average of winter wheat alone has been 4,436,435 acres, and the yield per year, counting the good with the bad, was more than 49,450,000 bushels, the 1901 area being 5,248,547 acres. The largest area previously sown to win- ter wheat was 4,909,972 acres, from which the crop of 1893 was harvested. Kansas is virtually the only portion of America producing the famous hard red wheat in con- siderable quantities, in which, as in many other things, the state is unique. The seed of this wheat was introduced about 25 years ago, being brought hither by Mennonite immigrants from Southern Russia, near the Black Sea, who, apparently, understood much better than Ameri- cans its hardy productiveness and real value. For years following its introduction it was dis- paraged by American millers and grain buyers, who claimed that its flinty character made it so difficult to grind as to materially lessen its market value. The farmers, however, persevered in sowing it; the production steadily increased, and finally after much experimentation millers were successful in economically reducing it to flour now famous in the world's most exacting markets as superior to nearly all others wherever made in America, and conceded equal to those made in Hungary from wheats grown in that country and in Bohemia. This is true either for baking alone or for blending with and giving quality to other pretentious makes represented as particularly choice because made from extra fancy grades of spring wheat grown elsewhere. These wheats do not continuously retain their peculiar characteristics so well when grown in the extreme eastern and south-eastern counties, showing a tendency to assume more the qualities of soft wheats, and this is true, but to a much less extent, wherever they are grown in Kansas. This fact resulted in tlie importation direct from Russia of a ship's cargo of seed in time for distribution among Kansas farmers for the 1901 sowing. The use of this imported seed, intended 22 to be as perfect as money would buy, should do much towards lessening the chances of any possible deterioration in quality that might other- wise result. It would be an error, however, to convey the impression that no soft winter wheats are grown in the state, as in the central and eastern portions such varieties as Fulcaster, Fultz, Early May and others similar are not uncommon. Spring wheat is not a prominent item in Kan- sas agriculture and its growth is given little or no attention outside a few northern or north- western counties bordering Nebraska. The following table shows the acres, product and value of wheat (winter and spring) in Kan- sas, for each of the years given: Years. Acres. Bushels. Value. 1897 3,444,361 51,020,(301 $34,385,304.69 1898 4.624,731 60,790,661 32,937,012 28 1899 4,988,952 43,687,013 22,406,410.00 1900 4.378,5*3 77,;339,091 41,974,145.00 1901 5,316,482 90,333.095 50,610,505.75 That Minnesota is a great wheat state all the world concedes, and according to the Year Book of the United States Department of Agriculture, Minnesota had in 1900 a considerably larger acreage in wheat than Kansas, but the Year Book gives on the same page the Kansas yield as greater by more than 60 per cent, and its value greater by 40 per cent, and the year 1901 wit- nessed the feat repeated with ease and empha- sis. Not all portions of the State are adapted to the best production of wheat, and it is an interesting fact that forty-eight of the 105 counties had 90 per cent, of the wheat acreage in 1901 and con- stitute practically the wheat field of Kansas. The area sown in the remaining fifty-seven counties was less than the acreage sown in the two counties of Sumner and Barton. It is like- wise of interest to know that practically one- half of the wheat product for 1 90 1 was harvest- ed in a block of fourteen counties comprising the central third of the State, or the coun- ties of Sumner, Barton, McPherson, Re- no, Rice, Harper, Ellsworth, Saline, Mitchell, 23 Pratt, Russell, Sedgwick, Stafford and Ottawa- While these counties produced the greater part of the igoi crop, many other counties harvested a big yield and made a most excellent showing. Counties not adapted to wheat-raising by soil conditions, climate, or from other causes, may be unsurpassed for alfalfa and the sorghums and stock-raising, and their smaller areas in wheat detract nothing from laurels won in other branches of agriculture. Kansas hard wheats are sought for shipment to mills in other states for mixing with the famous soft wheats from the Northwest, thereby greatly improving the product in the higher flour grades. For years Kansas flouring mills have consigned heavy shipments of their products to leading markets throughout the United States and to foreign countries, where they are received with much and increasing favor. Millstuffs, such as bran and shorts, find a ready market both at home and abroad, and their feeding value is evident, for they are in constant use on almost every intelligently conducted farm and in the feed-lot, where they have come to be regarded as necessities. Besides the large quan- tities of these valuable by-products made possible Dy the wonderful yields of grain, the wheat plant's earlier growth annually affords abundant succulent pasturage for millions of live-stock during much of the fall, winter and spring, which in itself is an item of no small consequence; and the straw also is of much value. A consensus of the detailed statements to the State Board of Agriculture of one hundred and twenty representative Kansas winter wheat- growers, representing fifty-five different coun- ties, as to the cost to produce and put in the bin or car an acre-crop of wheat, yielding twenty bushels, is, itemized, as shown below: Average cost of plowing (or disking) $ .96 Harrowing .28 Seed and seeding .92 Cost of harvesting and stacking (or shock- ing) 1.36 Threshing, and putting in bin or car 1.60 25 Wear, tear and interest on tools .29 Rental of land — or interest on its value .-• 1.90 Total cost per acre, or 20 bushels $7.31 Averages of other items, gathered from those furnishing the 120 most carefully made reports quoted, are as follows: Average number of years these 120 reporters have raised winter wheat in Kansas 19 Average number of acres raised by them annual- ly during these years 527 Average value of wheat land per acre-.. ...424. 18 Average quantity of seed sown per acre, pecks 4.4 Average yield per acre, bushels 18.2 Average value per acre of wheat for pastur- age $1.15 Average value of straw per acre -• . .81 A digest of the same items of information taken from the interviews with eighty growers in the thirty counties constituting what is known as the "wheat belt", (see map, page 24), which produced 79 per cent, of the ninety-million bush- el crop harvested in 1901, gives averages thus: Average cost of plowing (or disking) $1.00 Harrowing 28 Seed and seeding .95 Cost of harvesting and stacking (or shock- ing) 1.48 Threshing, and putting in bin or car 1.61 Wear, tear and interest on tools 27 Rental of land — or interest on its value 2.06 Total cost per acre, or 20 bushels $7-6$ Other averages derived from reports of the thirty wheat-belt counties are as follows: Average number of years the eighty reporters have raised winter wheat in Kansas 21 Average number of acres raised by them annual- ly during each of these years 613 Average value of wheat land per acre $25.29 Average quantity of seed sown per acre, pecks 4-4 Average yield per acre, bushels 18 5 Average value per acre of wheat for pastur- age $1.07 Average value of straw per acre - $ So 26 From the total cost per acre, as shown in both the foregoing computations, there can rightly be deducted the value of the pasturage and straw, which amount to a considerable sum, and frequently to more than one-third the cost of producing the crop. Along with other wheat-producing states, Kan- sas ranks well. The figures of the United States Department of Agriculture are authority for the following comparisons, showing the achievements of the State along this line during the past few years. In i8c)5, Kansas was sixth in rank of produc- tion, being led by Minnesota, North Dakota, California, Ohio and South Dakota, these States ranking in the order named. The year 1896 found Kansas ranking third, with a record of 30,794,452 bushels of grain to her credit. Minnesota being first with 46,599,061, and Cali- fornia second with 45,097,195 bushels. In 1897 she held second place, with a yield of 47,998,152 bushels, Minnesota winning first place with a product of 59,891,104 bushels. The yield of 1898 placed Kansas in second rank again, Min- nesota getting first honors with a product of 78,417,912 bushels, while the wheat fields of Kansas that year produced 64,939,412 bushels, surpassing all her previous wheat crops with the single exception of the yield of 1892. In 1899 Kansas was fifth in rank ; in 1900 first, with the largest yield ever reported for any state up to that time; in 1901 Kansas retained first rank in the galaxy of wheat states, with a yield surpass- ing even that of the previous year's crop, and the field from which the 1902 product will be ta- ken doubtless extends over a larger area than has before been known. 27 And it Hadn't Stopped Growing Yet. CORN. Ji/f EXPOSITION OF K-^^SJiS* GREATEST CEREAL. Source of Much IVealth—Its IVidespread Cultivation and Close Relation to Prosperity. Corn is the king of cultivated plants in Kan- sas. Grown in profuse luxuriance, this grain proclaims itself the source of wealth and herald of opulence. It is at once the farmer's friend and handmaiden of the stockman's prosperity. Corn proves itself a source of greater wealth and profit in Kansas than any other cultivated grain, and in years of specially favoring conditions its value has often equaled the combined values of all other farm crops. Justly famed as many of the State's wheat crops have been, statistics reveal that in the past quarter of a century the aggregate value of the corn crop has been nearly double that of the combined crops of winter and spring wheat, and further, that in but few years of the State's history has the value of the wheat crop approached in magnitude or surpassed that of the same year's corn. Great as have been the yields of corn in former years, the most en- thusiastic and insistent believer in Kansas re- sources will not maintain that all portions of the State are well adapted to its successful produc- tion. The corn crops of the past thirty years have been grown mainly in the eastern half of the State, and no one pretends that the western third of the State is especially or reliably corn- growing territory. The corn crop for the season of 1899 was 225,183,432 bushels, valued on the farms where grown at ^53,530.576, wliile the no mean wheat crop for the same year was valued at $22,406,410, or considerably less than half as much. As in- dicative of what the corn-producer has been doing of recent years, figures of yield and value for the past decade are given herewith. The yield of 1899 was larger than any other annual yield in the ten-year period named and the value wa*^ likewise greater. o Co a> CO ^5 The following table, compiled from the official records of the Kansas Board of Agriculture, gives the annual product and value of corn for the past ten years, together with their totals : Year. Bushels. Value. 1892 138,658,621 $ 42,889,849 1893 118,624,369 32,621,762 1^94 66,952,833 25,354,190 1895 201,457,396 46,189,772 1896 221,419,414 35,633,013 1897 152,140,993 28,555,293 1898 126,999,132 30,298,098 1899 225,183,432 53,530,576 1900 134,523,^ 77 39,581,835 1901 42,6 05,672 21,731,215 Total 1,428,565,539 $356,385,603 For thirty -four years, of which we have record, the average yield for the whole area planted, whether in corn territory proper or where none at all grew, was twenty-seven bushels per acre. The average product per acre on all the plantings for ten of those years ranged from forty to forty- eight bushels. For a period of tv/enty-five years, good and bad, the average farm value of Kansas corn per bushel was 27.2 cents, and per acre $7.31. Information obtained from numerous extensive and long-time corn-growers in all parts of the State by the Board of Agriculture, shows, con- densed, the following average cost of each prin- cipal item entering into the production and har- vesting of an acre of corn in Kansas, reckoning the cost of harvesting as for a yield of forty bushels per acre : Seed. $ .077 Planting (with lister or with check-rower planter including cost of previous plow- ing and harrowing) .780 Cultivating 1.020 Husking and putting in crib 1.160 Wear and tear and interest on cost of tools .230 Rent of land (or interest on its value) 2.470 Total cost. $ 5.737 Cost per bushel. .143 Average value of corn land per acre 29.570 31 The condensed itemized cost showing made by the forty-six growers who reported planting with listers, or who have found that method prefera- ble, is thus: Seed $ .075 Listing .505 Cultivating 1.090 Husking and putting in crib 1.140 Wear and tear and interest on cost of tools . .235 Rent of land (or interest on its value) ••• 2.540 Total cost $ 5.585 Cost per bushel .139 Average value of corn land per acre- 28.710 Statements of cost where the land is plowed, well-harrowed, and planted with the ordinary check-row machine, summarize for each item as below : Seed $ .065 Plowing 1.030 Harrowing .225 Planting .245 Cultivating .965 Husking and putting in crib 1.180 Wear and tear and interest on cost of tools .233 Rent of land (or interest on its value) ••• 2.370 Total cost $ 6.313 Cost per bushel, .158 Average value of corn land per acre--- 29.370 In none of these calculations has there been made any allowance for the value of corn stalks, which ordinarily, under the crudest management, should offset the cost of harvesting the grain, and under proper conditions have a forage value much in excess of such cost. Taking these into every estimate, as should rightly be done, the showing of cost per bushel would be very sen- sibly diminished. In the result of this investi- gation it will likewise be noted that the rental for these Kansas corn lands, or the interest figured by their owners on the investment represented, 32 averages more than 8.33 per cent, or a net rate higher than the capitalist, general broker or money lender, other than a pawnbroker, dreams of realizing. It should be understood, however, that the thrifty Kansas farmer does not measure the profit of his corn crop by the narrow margin here shown between the items of "cost" and "value." He does not, as a rule, anticipate selling his corn by the bushel at the figures given as "value" nor expect more, if he did so, than a moderate return, one year with another, for his labor and investment; it is the conversion of it on the farm into beef, pork, poultry, dairy and similar products from which comes the surplus to make the comfortable homes and build the school- houses, colleges and churches that are such com- mon objects on his horizon and so largely a measure of his ambition. The corn grown in Kansas is of the dent varieties and the prime objects aimed at are max- imum net corn by weight, minimum cob wei^nt and maximum nutrition. These requirements demand a seed corn, each planted grain of which will germinate and grow, to secure a maximum stand. The aim is at least sixty-two pounds net (shelled) corn to the bushel, and not to exceeed seven to eight pounds of cobs. In fact, such corn is now grown to some extent. The largest authenticated yield reported for an acre was grown by Mr. J. A. Baxter, of Shawnee county, who raised 104 bushels to the acre in 1895. The portion of his crop giving this yield was five acres of a twenty-five acre field of slightly rolling prairie, not above the average Kansas soil, but "with a hard, impervious sub- soil." The ground had been planted in potatoes for the preceding two years, and the last crop dug with a listing plow late in October, which was equivalent to a deep fall plowing. Mr. Baxter says: "In the spring the ground was much like a bed of ashes. It was then deeply plowed, for I am a great believer in deep and thorough cultivation, made fine and smooth, and drilled the first week in May with a ' Farmer's 33 51 o o o CO Friend' planter of medium widtli, with a deep- grained yellow dent corn, about the same quan- tity of seed as would have been used if from three to rather less than four grains had been placed in hills the ordinary distance apart. This was cultivated four times with common gang cultivators and hoed three times — the last being after Maying by' with the cultivators." For ten years at least no manure or other fertilizer had been used on this land, but it was reported as having been at some previous time heavily manured. In comparison with other states famous in aggregate of corn production, Kansas ranks high. The figures of the United States Depart- ment of Agriculture are authority for the showing that in 1895 Kansas was fourth, being outranked by Iowa, Illinois and Missouri, which states yielded in the order named. In 1896 Kansas was again fourth, Iowa again leading, Nebraska second and Illinois third. The year 1897 finds Kansas back in fifth place, Illinois, Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri leading her in the order named. Again in 1898 Kansas was fifth, Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and Missouri coming in the order mentioned. In 1899 Kansas was third, Illinois and Iowa each barely preceding her, and in 1900 Kansas again ranked fifth. From these statements it will be gathered that the states excelling Kansas in total corn-production are her immediate neighbors of the prairie district. Dur- ing these recent years, Kansas has ranked fifth or better. 35 \ KANSAS' LIVESTOCK- CLIMATE JiA[D SOIL FJIVOR THEIR BEST DEVELOPMEMT. Improved Sorts Prosper — ^ General and Profitable Increase in Quality and Values from Year to Year. There is probably no other territory of like di- mensions where live-stock of all kinds grow and fatten to greater perfection or where climatic and other conditions are more favorable to their profitable rearing, or where all the natural advan- tages are more conducive to their health than in Kansas. The same wholesome, invigorating air and genial sunshine with which Kansas is blessed, so widely sought by and so beneficial to mankind, are likewise of inestimable value and importance to animal life and growth. Here are the grains and fodders grown in wonderful pro- fusion, and with the luxuriant pastures, pure wa- ter, mild winters and nearness to market are combinations making Kansas pre-eminently a live stock region. Statistics substantiate all this, and according to figures collected and compiled by the State Board of Agriculture, it is shown that there has been from her beginning a most gratifying advance made in the animal population, and owing to the intelligence and enterprise of her farmers and stockmen there has likewise been remarkable improvement, until today, both in numbers and superior breeding of farm ani- mals, the State occupies an exalted and enviable position. Among her sister states, Kansas ranks high and favorably in the number of horses, milch cows, other cattle, swine, etc., and while in sheep some may excel in the mere matter of numbers there are none whose flocks of fine-wools are more favorably known among breeders, wool- buyers and wool-manufacturers for large yields and superior quality of product than those reared here, famed far and wide for heavy fleeces of fine texture and innumerable winnings of prizes over 37 world-defying competition. The heaviest auth- enticated year's growth of wool, by seven and one-half pounds, ever shorn was taken from a four-year-old Kansas Merino ram, weighing, without artificial weighting, 52 pounds. It also seems to be a fact that the heaviest eight fleeces, aggregating 301! pounds, ever sheared from a Cresceus — Of /(ansas Parentage. sheep in eight consecutive years, were produced by a Kansas ram, making a yearly average of 37.7 pounds ; a ewe in this same flock sheared an aggregate of 1543 pounds of wool in six fleeces, which is believed to be the heaviest yield ever obtained from a ewe in six consecutive 38 years, in two of which she produced consecu- tively the two heaviest fleeces ever taken from one of her sex, being 32^ and 31! pounds respect- ively. These were all Merinos, but profitable flocks of the various mutton breeds are also maintained. While the United States Department of Ag- riculture ranks Kansas as fifth in the number of horses, if there was any comparison made in excellence, those of the Sunflower State would in all probability stand among the first. Some of the horses most noted for speed, endurance and striking excellence, marvels of the equine world and matchless, have been foaled or reared beneath the skies of Kansas. The pacing stal- lion John R. Gentry, 2:00,^^, was foaled in Sedgwick county, Kansas, as was his only rival, Joe Patchen, 2:01^4, in Marion county. Smug- gler, 2: 1 53^4, one of the greatest trotters of his time, was reared and developed here, as well as Joe Young, 2:18, the grandsire of Joe Patchen, while the present trotting champion, Cresceus, is likewise indebted to a Kansas parentage, his sire, Robert McGregor, 2:173^', having his home in the Sunflower State for many years. All these represent types of the harness or road- ster class. Perhaps, however, wider attention is given to the breeding of the types especially adapted to draft and similar purposes, and in the past few years renewed and added interest in this particular industry has been apparent. March i, 1901, there were 825,553 horses in the State, valued at $47,056,521 ; also of mules and asses, 89,725 head, worth $5,832,125. The State's greatest animal wealth lies in her herds of cattle and swine, which year after year steadily bring to their producers a profitable recompense for intelligent industry. The latest official statistics show the number of stock cattle now to be the largest in the history of the State, making within the last five years the phenomenal increase of over 100 per cent, while the number of all cattle reaches well up toward three and one-half million, mostly grades of the best breeds, and valued at $85,845,819, and the 39 2,114,201 hogs on hand March i, 1901, were valued on the farms at $13,742,306. The following table shows the aggregate value of the live-stock in Kansas for each of the last five years : 1897 $ 94,074,885 1898 113,227,933 '899 133,057,092 1900 143,457,753 1901 153,037,732 Total ■•$636,855,395 By nature Kansas is made a superb fattening ground for live-stock of all kinds. With her numerous varieties of grains and grasses, some one or more of them being especially adapted to and prospering in the variant conditions of the different localities, the State is each year prac- tically assured of a well-nigh unlimited supply of the very best meat-producing foods, which are largely and profitably marketed via the live-stock route. Animals slaughtered for meat or sold for that purpose alone represented nearly sixty-one million dollars in the year ending March i, 1901, and annually for the past ten years Kansas has given to the shambles animals having an average home value of more than forty-five million dollars, or an aggregate of considerably over $450,000,000 In this connection, it is entirely just and proper to correct an erroneous impression that has some- how become widespread, and that is that the great stock yards and gigantic slaughter and packing-houses of Kansas City, with one excep- tion the most extensive in the world, located in, maintained and made possible by the State of Kansas, are not now and never were in Missouri, as many are led to believe, but in Kansas City, Kansas, the State's metropolis. As a matter of fact, the latest available statistics show that in a chosen year Kansas furnished six times as many as its closest competitor, and often more and very seldom ever less than 50 per cent of the entire number of cattle received at the Kansas City stockyards each year, not to speak of sheep and 40 swine. The helpful hen has also been unfailing in her substantial contributions to the State's wealth, and the amounts received each twelve months from the surplus of poultry and eggs have increased, until in 1901 it reached $5,950,076, or a sum that would considerably more than have paid the total expense of the excellent school system for the same time. The figures in the table below, showing for the last five years the total value of the products of Kansas live-stock, to-wit : Animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, wool clip, butter and cheese manufactured, and poultry, eggs and milk sold, disclose a marvelous record : 1897 $ 46,983,923 1898 59,417,008 1899 61,525,551 1900 67,014,901 1901 74,706,299 Total $ 309,647,682 The 1901 gain over the value in 1897 is $27,722,376, or nearly 60 per cent. The value of live-stock on hand March i, 1901, was $153,037,732; the value of live-stock prod- ucts for the year, $74,706,299. These figures well suggest the significance of live-stock and meat production as factors in Kansas agriculture and Kansas prosperity. 41 B JURYING IN K-^MSAS. COW-CULTURE Ji HIGHLY PROFITABLE VOCJiTION. Enriches Man and Soil — Butter and Cheese Factories Produce Commodities of Superior Quality. Kansas farmers are learning year by year that their business, if profitable, must be so conducted that it is not the mere playing of a game of chance with the weather or a single crop. Those who most fully recognize these conditions and most intelligently respond to their inexorable requirements are realizing a fair or large pros- perity. More attention, therefore, is being given to a diversity along agricultural lines and quite naturally many have taken to cow culture. Kan- sas is admirably suited to the profitable pursuit of dairying. On her productive soils can be raised unlimited supplies of the best flesh and milk-producing foods at incomparably low cost; her meadows and pastures furnish nutritious and succulent grasses in abundance and wide variety, and the winters are short and mild, thereby making long-time sheltering and expen- sive indoor feeding and care less a necessity. The corn, Kaffir corn and other sorghums, alfalfa, clover and grasses produced here in great pro- fusion, and, with the brans from our wheat, are in large measure the ideal cheap raw material for manufacturing on the farm, by means of the cow, commodities that afford a ready money income every month. Years Comparative Values. 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 This diagram shows the vahies of Kansas dairy pro- ducts annually and their increase for each of five years, ending in 1901. $5,259,752. $6,049,552. Increase, 15.01 per cent. $0,528,308. Increase, 7.91 per cent. $7,459,693. Increase, 14.26 per cent. $7,729 7S4. Increase, 3.62 per cent. Dairying, largely and methodically conducted, IS comparatively a new feature in the agriculture of Kansas. Prior to rSgo the systematic produc- tion and marketing of butter and cheese was given at best only desultory attention, and those identified or somewhat familiar with this industry then did not, as a rule, esteem the returns there- from of sufficient volume or importance to warrant the outlay of any considerable sum of money for improvement and extension along that line. The institution of skimming stations, cream- eries and cheese factories, begun some ten years since, has from the first pointed out that the use of the better cattle was well-nigh imperative to make the business profitable and at the same time secure a product of superior quality. Through persistent endeavor to have dairy herds of high grades, if not pure bloods, the farmers and dairy- men have been continually eliminating the more unprofitable animals, and statistics for a period of five years, ending with 1896, show that the number of milch cows in the State decreased more or less in each of those years while this vigorous campaign of improvement was being waged, but the figures also show that the value of their product, instead of correspondingly de- creasing, has actually increased in three of the five years, thus making apparent that improve- ment in the milch cows has been a most potent factor in advancing the dairy interests of Kansas, and to-day many have excellent high-yielding herds, supporting the largest creamery in the world, at Topeka, as well as the numerous smaller institutions of like character scattered here and there over the State. Since the good foundation has been established, there have been steady growth and advance- ment. In 1897 the number of milch cows was 552,530, or an increase of more than 7 per cent, over the previous year ; in 1898 a gain of over 9.5 per cent, was made; the increase in 1899 was almost 1 3 per cent ; in 1900 there were 28,400 more than in the previous year, and the increase in 1901 was nearly 13 percent, making a total for the State of 803,952, the largest in its history, a gain 44 in numbers since 1896 of about 289,000, or 56 per cent, and their value is ^25,726,464, or an in- crease during the same time of over 95 percent. The United States Department of Agriculture places Kansas seventh in rank in number of milch cows, and since once fairly awakened to the importance and possibilities of dairying there is every reason to believe that her progress will be continuous and permanent. The 1901 aggre- gate value of butter and cheese made and milk sold for other purposes was $7,729,784, the largest in the history of the State, being 3.6- per cent, more than in the preceding year, and $2,470,032 or 47 per cent, more than in 1897. While the unthinking might regard the products of the cow as of minor importance, it is interest- ing to know that their total 1900 value was 22O' per cent, greater than the output of the rich Kansas zinc and lead mines during the same period, and that it probably would have paid the total State, county, city and township taxes for the year. If the values of the large quantities of butter and milk consumed in the homes on the farms were added, the grand total would be considerably increased, but unfortunately, there is no official account taken of that. During the past ten years the manufacture of cheese has increased over 137 per cent, the total output for 1901 being 1,456,093 pounds, valued at $145,609. The table given below shows the quantity of butter made in Kansas and its value in each of the ten years named, compiled from the official records of the State Board of Agriculture : Pounds. Value. I90I 43,771,076 $ 6,880,143.44 1900 41,745,759 6,641,692.06 1899 43,757,767 5,890,273.07 1898 41,450,981 5,320,144.8^ 1897 37,213,928 4,585, 271. I& 1896 35,007,334 4,225,896.44 1895 31,154,220 4,050,048.60 1894 27,412,211 4,385,953.76 1893 27,347,613 4,375,618.08 1892 27,705,466 4,155,819.90 Total 356,566,355 $50,510,861.39 These figures vividly and forcibly portray the magnitude and steady growth of the butter- mal> Both as a Forage and Grain Crop. Two plants wonderful for their already proven sh?ip'y as benefactions to the stockgrower but wel niEh indispensable. These are alfalfa 7Medica|o sativa? and sorghum, the chief variety of which for forage and gram is Kaftir corn, one nf the manv non-saccharine sorghums. The fir "t official notice of alfalfa was taken by the enum-erators in ,89. , wh-^" *%,^^t'i"^l*e total area at 34,384 acres, and each year since has shown a marked extension. In i»92 tliere was shown an increase in the acreage of 82 ^er cent • in 1803 and 1894 a gain of 20 per cent, was made fSr each year, and in 1895 't J^s ™o^e than doubled; in 1896 ^nd ib97 the ncrease was 11 rn"X«^ir^"iir*;f i'Va^'if " neS ove? thT^revbu's year, reaching a total of 278 477 arres In iQoo the acreage was not increasea, buUhe following year witnessed a gam of o^^^^ 15 per cent, making the State's total aiea 319,142 ^'^The diversified weather in 1901 served admir- ably to eZhasize the deshability of grounng alfalfa in the middle wcst, and also testified forcibly to its adaptability. The wonderf u per- ormances that year of this widely exploited nWnt have attracted attention anew to its worth, ft hav ng yidded two, three, four and sometimes ve cuttings, and the .stockman PO/sessed «f even a small acreage is in an ^nv able situation. The intelligent Kansas farmers, whose btate tar 4ft and away leads all others in alfalfa production, are constantly bettering their conditions and chances for success by devoting larger areas to its culture, as is conspicuously indicated in offi- cial statistics compiled by the State Board of Agriculture. For instance, in 1891 the total returned was 34,384 acres; in 1901 its field extends over 319,000 acres, showing a phenom- inal increase in the ten years of over 828 per cent. Even when first considered of sufficient importance to be officially recognized as belong- ing to Kansas' repertoire of crops, a canvass of the returns for that year (1891) shows that with the three exceptions of Atchison, Johnson and Miami, each county devoted more or less land to its growth, Finney county leading with 5,717 acres; while the counties ranging between that number and 1,000 acres were Kearny, Chase, Cloud, Gray, Lyon, Saline, Sedgwick and Wabaunsee, and of those claiming an acreage at all, Linn was among the smallest, having two acres. Now, while not the foremost, Finney has 12,545, and Linn 261, and the three counties mentioned as having none in 1891, have a total of 621 acres. A Field of Alfalfa. 50 The following table shows, according to their rank, the twenty-six present leading Kansas counties in alfalfa acreage, with their acreage for igoi and also for 1891 : 1901 Counties. Acres. Jewell 21,994- Butler 15,669- Norton 14,401- Finney 12,545. 1 891 Acres. • 296 . 503 • 442 •5,717 Chase ■ 10,390 1,401 Republic 10,389- Mitchell 9,650. Phillips •...•■ 9,131 Wabaunsee 8,978- Lyon 8,871- Sedgwick 8,399- Osborne 8,371. Greenwood 8,253- Smith 7,568- McPherson 7,107- Marion 7,024. Saline 6,906.. Cloud 6,876. Kearny 6,120.. Decatur 6,oii. 496 . 880 . Ill 1,031 • 1,098 .1,023 • 379 . 421 • 53 . 980 - 851 .1,099 ■ 2,018 .2,188 . 160 Pottawatomie 5,761 334 Cowley 5,706 Riley 5,625- Reno 5,481. Ottawa 5,398- Rice 5,362. 416 136 654 756 635 Totals 227,995 24,078 This table is strikingly suggestive of the rapidity and extent to which worth alone has brought recognition to a very wonderful field crop. As will be noted, the total acreage of the twenty-six counties in 1891 does not greatly exceed that of the one county of Jewell in 1901, and the combined acreage of the two counties of Jewell and Butler in 1901 is greater by over 3,oGO acres than the State's entire alfalfa area in 1891. It is difficult to adequately comprehend the magnitude of the increase, and however 51 Five Cuttings of Alfalfa. ^ggf'^gcite Height, Over Fourteen Feet; Produced 7% Tons to Acre. (NOT IRRIGATED.) prodigious it may appear so expressed, it is a fact that Smith county gained over 14,179 per cent, in acreage in the ten years, Phillips over 8,126 per cent, etc., in a lesser degree to the end — those mentioned being given as striking ex- amples. The 1901 figures proclaim an increase for the State of 43,134 acres, or more than 15 per cent over the previous year. Among these counties leading in alfalfa and showing greatest per cent of gain for the year are: Jewell, 21,994 acres, gain 24 percent; Butler, 15,669 acres, gain 21 per cent; Norton, 14,401 acres, gain 25 per cent. ; Finney, 12,545 acres, gain 9 per cent; Chase, 10,390 sicres, gain 8 per cent.; Republic, 10,389 acres, gain 27 per cent; Mitchell, 9,659 acres, gain 14 per cent ; Wabaunsee, 8,978 acres, gain 22 per cent.; Osborne, 8,371 acres, gain 29 per cent., and Greenwood 8,253 acres with a gain of 9 per cent All portions of the State display a remarkable and increasing interest in alfalfa-growing, as is demonstrated by the large gain. Some counties presenting notable examples of the continued activity in sowing alfalfa, are Hodgeman, with an increase over the previous year of 243 per cent.; Harper, 210 per cent; Neosho, 84 per cent. ; Miami, 80 per cent. ; Barber, 67 per cent Clark, 50 per cent; Marshall, 44 per cent Decatur, 42 per cent ; Meade, 42 per cent Ellsworth, 40 per cent. ; Smith, 39 per cent. , Graham, 32 per cent, and Sumner, 31 per cent Alfalfa seems to flourish in well-nigh all sec- tions of the State, and after once gaining a fiim root-hold can be safely relied upon to produce from two to five cuttings each year, whether the season be wet or dry. 53 YEARS. 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 COMPARATIVE ACREAGES. 34,aS4 acres. 62,583, acres. Increase 82 per cent. 72,500 acres. Increase 15.84 per cent. 90,825 acres. Increase 20.77 per cent. 139,878 acres. Increase 54 per cent. 155,949 acres. Increase 11.50 per cent. 171,334 acres. Increase 9.86 per cent. 231,548 acres. Increase 35.14 per cent. 278,477 acres. Increase 20.26 per cent. 276,008 acres. Decrease .88 per cent. 319,142 acres. Increase 15.62 per cent. Diagram showing the comparative acreages of alfalfa in Kansas annually for eleven years, beginning with 1891 (when the crop was first returned by asses- sors) and ending with 1901. This perennial legume, with its long, penetrat- ing roots reaching to great depths, has there- by unusual powers of resistance to protracted dry weather, and while the ideal conditions of soil are most commonly found in the valleys of streams, experienced observers are generally agreed that it can be grown profitably on the higher lands to a greater or less extent in every county of the State. Scientists and unlearned farmers are alike in crediting alfalfa with nutri- tive qualities of a very high degree, and unsur- passed excellence for use with other foods in 54 making a suitably balanced ration, either for fattening animals or those maintained for the production of milk Possessing many, if not all the good qualities of the much-prized red clover, besides others, some of which are its growing luxuriantly in a wide territory where clover can not be grown at all, and yielding from two to three times as much of feed equally nutritious, along with being a remarkable soil renovator, it is esteemed as in- deed a rich acquisition to a region where it flour- ishes so abundantly. In spite of the fact that clover is so reliably and profitably grown in the eastern counties, alfalfa, regarded by many as only adapted to a semi-arid region, has by sheer merit forced its way into these counties until one- sixth of the State's entire alfalfa field is now found in the clover-growing counties. In fact, 52 per cent, of the alfalfa acreage at the present time is in the eastern half of the State, although in the western coun^"ies the acreage in proportion to population is greater than in the eastern coun- ties, all of which indicates the high appreciation shown the crop in all directions. Its largest annual yields, of from four to six and more tons per arre, are obtained in the rich bottom lands of the Arkansas Valley, where abundant moisture is found not many feet from the surface, and where three, four and sometimes as many as five cuttings are made in a single season; the same applies also to lands favorably situated for irrigation. Those who have raised and used alfalfa longest and most esteem it with increas- ing favor, and it seems likely to be more and more extensively produced as the years go by. As a soil renovator it has been described in the following language : "There are some silent subsoilers that do their work with ease and, in their way, as effectually as any team or plow ever hitched, although in some lands the use of a subsoil plow is essential to the best beginning of such work. The clover plant is righteously famed as one of these, and alfalfa is its superior. Its roots work Sunday as well as Saturday, night and day ; they strike 65 five, ten, fifteen or twenty feet deep, making innumerable perforations, while storing up nitro- gen, and when these roots decay they leave not only a generous supply of fertility for any desired crop, but millions of openings into which the airs and rains of heaven find their way, upon which the husbandman can draw with little fear of protest or overdrafts." While alfalfa is noted for its deep-rooting pro- pensities, as described above, it is making a still more remarkable recora in its upward growth, as suggested by the illustration, one among many somewhat similar, furnished by the 1901 crop of a single grower in Montgomery county, Kansas, who secured five cuttings off one field which, combined, measured 14 feet 2 inches in height and yielded 7^ tons per acre, netting $77.50 per acre, and legion are the reports of wonderful profits derived from growing alfalfa in the Sunflower State. The general cultivation and use of the various sorghums as forage plants, and some of them for grain as well, are becoming more and more a factor in the State's live-stock husbandry ; as such they are noticeable on every hand, and in no other part of the United States of similar area are they nearly so extensively grown, favorably known and highly appreciated. On the lime- stone lands of the eastern counties or the higher, sandier plateaus and valleys further west, and on soils of high or low fertility, they yield crops having most acceptable values. Yet they do not bear relegation to fields too foul for other crops, and for the best results should receive as careful attention as would be required for success with Indian corn. The combined acreage of all vari- eties of the sorghums raised in the State in 1901 was 1,169,253 acres, an area equal to the aggre- gate of that devoted to all tame grasses, and ranking third in this respect among the standard crops of the State. This acreage is about equally divided between eastern and western Kansas, with 55 per cent, of the non-saccharine in the eastern half, and 60 per cent, of the saccharine in the western half. 6»i As forage plants, the sweet sorghums rank equally with the non-saccharine, such as the Kaffir corn, Jerusalem corn and milo maize, par- ticularly in western Kansas, where higher altitude and a dryer atmosphere are especially favorable for their curing and preservation. Years. 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 Comparative Acreages. 46,911 acres. 95,237 acres. 184, 198 acres. Increase, 103 per cent. Increase, 93,42 per cent. 373.058 acres. Increase, 102.53 per cent 371,838 acres. Decrease, .32 per cent 535,743 acres. Increase, 44. OS per cent 582,895 acres. Increase, 9 per cent 645,186 acres. Increase, 4.25 per cent. 618,816 acres. Decrease, 4.26 per cent. This diagram shows the comparative acreages of Kaffir born in Kansas annualh* for nine years, beginning with 1893, (when the crop was first returned bj' assessors) and ending with 1901. Far and away the foremost of these non- jaccharine sorghums is Kaffir corn, and some- thing of a comparison of its popularity with )ther sorghums is indicated by figures begin- ling with those of 1893, when it was first con- feidered of sufficient importance to be given [cognizance by the State Board of Agriculture ind its statistics gathered by township asses- sors. In that year the area planted was 46,911 icres, and of saccharine sorghums 132,205 icres, or 85,294 acres more than Kaffir corn. 57 Their progress as competitors for popularity since then is indicated by the following: 1894 -Sorghum, increase, 31 per cent. 1894— Kaffir corn, increase 103 per cent. 1895 —Sorghum, increase, 63 per cent. 1895— Kaffir corn, increase, 93 per cent. 1896— Sorghum, increase, 27 per cent. 1896 — Kaffir corn, increase, 102 per cent 1897— Sorghum, decrease, 2 per cent. 1897 — Kaffir corn, decrease, .3 per cent. 1898 — Sorghum, increase, 10 per cent. 1898— Kaffir corn, increase, 44 per cent. 1S99— Sorghum, increase, 16 per cent. 1899— Kaffir corn, increase, 9 per cent- 1900 — Sorghum, increase, 21 per cent. 1900— Kaffir corn, increase, 11 per cent. 190 1 — Sorghum, decrease, .14 per cent. 1901 — Kaffir corn, decrease, 4.08 per cent. In 1901 the sorghum area amounted to 541,821 acres and of Kaffir corn 618,816 acres, showing that in the past eight years the latter had not only overtaken the former, but distanced it by 76,995 acres, or 14 per cent. During the same period sorghum gained 309 per cent, or 409616 acres, and the increase in Kaffir corn was 1,219 per cent, or 571,905 acres. While the figures disclose the large difference between the annual plantings of these two varieties of sorghums, they by no means depre- ciate the value of the saccharine or disturb it in the ranks of the best known forage plants in the world, but are intended to show the mar- velous strides being made by a recent competi- tor claiming not only a foliage of first-class forage quality, but a fattening value in its grain almost if not quite equal to Indian corn ; virtues which practical farmers and scientists affirm, while declaring it successfully and profitably grown on land high or low, rich or poor, and whether the season be wet or dry. Farmers who have become acquainted with Kaffir corn are planting a larger per cent, of their poorer land to it yearly and confining their Indian corn to the best parts of their farms, where even then the Kaffir corn in some seasons 58 far exceeds the corn in quantity of both grain and fodder. With the two varieties of sorghum on equal footing in their utilization asjforage and grain on the farm, the average value of the yield per acre for the past nine years (1893-1901), according to the growers of sorghum, was $5.50, and of Kaffir corn $9.57, showing the value of Kaffir corn to be for their purposes $4.32 per acre, or 82 per cent greater than sorghum. Fur- ther investigation shows for the same period an average grain value for Indian corn of $4.70 per acre after it is husked. The values are given for the sorghum with stover and grain included. In assuming the difference between the sor- ghum and Kaffir corn to be the grain value of the latter exclusive of stover, the grain value of Kaffir corn is placed at $4. 32 per acre, or within 38 cents per acre of the value of husked Indian corn. This statement, coupled with the preceding, forcibly suggests for Kaffir corn an early depart- ure in rank from among the exclusive forage plants to a standing among the highest grade of flesh and fat and milk-producing foods. In nearly all the counties showing the heaviest values of cattle, the larger areas of Kaffir corn strongly supplemented by alfalfa prevail, and i the same as to values of animals slaughtered or ■ sold for slaughter and output of the dairy products. Like alfalfa, after securing a strong hold in I the eastern counties, Kaffir corn is steadily advancing westward, and is fortunate in discov- ery of conditions generally conducive to its cul- ture and usefulness. By the fact that Kaffir corn can be success- t fully grown in all localities, and of its being a strong resistant to protracted heat and dryness, proved feeding qualities, close or practically equal to corn, having an abundance of the car- bohydrates or fat-producing elements, it promises to become as much a principal resource in cen- tral and western Kansas as Indian corn is in the East, and when balanced with the deep-rooted alfalfa, richer in protein or frame and flesh build- ing materials than almost any other available 'adjunct, it opens vast possibilities to those who would grasp opportunity. K-ANSAS ALSO GROWS SUGAR-BEETS. No part of Kansas ever tried to raise beets for sugar-making purposes prior to 1901 when, owing to the proximity of a factory at Rocky Ford, Colo., one hundred or more farmers, all new to the business, in Finney, Kearny and Hamilton, three western Kansas counties, repre- senting a strip of country seventy-five miles long, undertook the raising of a few acres of beets each, under a contract with the factory, at $4 per ton for all beets with at least 12 per cent, of sugar, and an increased price in proportion as the beets were sweeter. Some neglected their crops and did not attempt to deliver them to the factory, but seventy-seven growers harvested 1,747 tons from 337 acres, or 22g tons each, rang- ing in sugar content, according to the factory's weighing and paying, from 13.3 to 22.8 per cent , and averaging, the good with the bad, 17.8 per cent while the average in Germany, the great beet-sugar country of the world, is reported as about 15 per cent., and in all Europe but 13 j to 14 per cent. Some of these beets were so rich that the factory was glad to pay as high as ?^7-5o per ton for them, and paid an average for all Kansas beets of $5.14 per ton; a result both gratifying and significant, especially when the growers' inexperience, and insufficient and unsuitable equipment are taken into considera- tion with the records for quantity and quality. The average profit per acre realized by thirty- seven growers from whom accurate figures were obtained was $17-08, and ranged, in some in- stances, as high as $43 per acre. Fifteen of the more successful or painstaking growers raised an average of not quite eleven tons per acre (the maximum per acre was eighteen and forty-one hundreths tons), yielding an average of 17.59 per cent, of sugar, and $28.48 profit per acre. All this was exclusive of the $i-per-ton bounty paid by the State. 60 The Truth Jtbout IQansas, JiS SHOWN BY UMCLE SJIM, JiNT> JiMJiLYZET> BY F. D. COBURAf, Secretary I^ansas State Board of Agriculture, Following are some figures taken from the official reports of the United States Department of Agriculture, presenting in a concise manner, unbiased, unprejudiced and impartial information concerning Kansas and her standing as a fore- most producer of the world's greatest cereals : ^ Good Cereal Story. Here is a table compiled from the Year Books of the United States Department of Agriculture, giving by states, according to their rank, the total combined value of Wheat and Corn raised in each of the leading fifteen states, in the five- year period beginning with 1896 and ending with 1900 : STATE. KANSAS . ... Illinois Iowa Nebraska Missouri Indiana Ohio Minnesota Texas Pennsylvania Tennessee Kentucky — Michigan South Dakota California Rank. Value of Wheat and Corn. 1 $378,433,347 2 361,630,618 3 330,791,771 4 301,419,923 5 275,961,983 6 258,562.008 7 252,763,713 8 226,883,967 9 182,489,833 10 168,518,387 11 155,085,808 12 153,204,900 13 123,979,189 14 117,789,270 15 115,315.266 61 The Straw Afot Counted.^ Below is Uncle Sam's valuation of the Wheat crop of the year 1900 in each of the leading fifteen states, placed in proper rank: STATE. KANSAS Minnesota California Texas Pennsylvania • Nebraska Iowa Washington •■ Missouri - South Dakota Illinois Maryland Oklahoma Tennessee Oregon Rank. Value of Year's Wheat. 1 $45,368,760 2 32,450,829 3 16,555,302 4 14,973.384 5 14,602.560 6 13.145,007 ^ / 12,860,952 8 12,799,297 9 11,873,429 10 11,686,817 11 11.508.524 12 10,783.372 13 9,888,408 14 9,239,910 15 8,908,907 IQansas' Pretty liank. lyist of states according to their rank in value of wheat, wheat and corn, and corn alone, produced by the leading fifteen in the j-ear 1900. Thus saith the Year Book : Wheat and Rank. Wheat State. Corn State. Corn State. 1 KANSAS. KANSAS. Illinois. '2 Minnesota. Illinois. Iowa. 3 California. Iowa. Nebraska. 4 Texas. Nebraska. Missouri. 5 Pennsylvania. Missouri. KANSAS. 6 Nebraska. Indiana. Indiana. 7 Iowa Texas. Texas. 8 Washington. Ohio. Ohio. 9 Missouri. Minnesota. Tennessee. 10 S. Dakota. Tennessee. Kentucky. 11 Illinois. Kentuckv. Georgia. 12 Maryland. Pennsylvania Arkansas. 13 Oklahoma. Wisconsin. Alabama. 14 Tennessee. Georgia. N. Carolina. 15 Oregon. N. Carolina. Wisconsin. 62 Others liaise Corn, Too. This is what the Government's Agricultural "Blue" Book suggests about the rank in value of corn produced by the leading fifteen corn states in the year 1900, and says was its value for each : STATK. Illinois Iowa Nebraska • Missouri .. KANSAS . Indiana •••. Texas Ohio Tennessee. Kentucky - Georgia Arkansas Alabama North Carolina Wisconsin • • Value. $ 84,536,392 82,582,186 65,233,320 57,827,329 52,438,602 48,024,256 38,522,568 36,342,664 27,928,961 27,706,890 19,448,132 19,447,157 17,026,446 16,980,403 16,350,589 Kansas Still "Ranks." This table shows, as given out by the national author- ities, the rank in value of wheat raised in each of the leading fifteen states ; also, their rank in combined value of Wheat and Corn, and rank in value of Corn, for the vear 1900 : STATE KANSAS Minnesota California Texas Pennsylvania Nebraska •• •• Iowa Washington •• Missouri ••■ • South Dakota Illinois Maryland Oklahoma ••• Tennessee Oregon Rank iu Kauk ill val- Kank in Value of ue of Wheat Vahie Wheat. and Corn of Com. 1 1 5 2 9 23 3 21 35 4 7 7 5 12 16 6 4 3 7 3 2 8 27 43 9 5 4 10 17 22 11 2 1 12 22 26 13 24 28 14 10 9 15 30 39 63 Kaffir Corn Fears No Drouth. I^ansas Could Buy 'Em. The following table is what Uncle Sam's Depart- ment of Agriculture Year Book shows as to the value of Corn and Wheat raised in each of the foremost fifteen states in the year 1900, named in the order of their rank: STATE KANSAS Illinois Iowa Nebraska Missouri Indiana Texas Ohio Minnesota Tennessee Kentucky Pennsylvania • Wisconsin Georgia North Carolina Rank Value ot Corn and Wheat 1 $97,807,362 2 96,044,916 3 95,443,138 4 78,378,327 5 69,700,758 6 53,512,447 7 53,495,952 8 42,394,616 9 41,671,294 10 37,168,871 U 36,292,454 12 29,321,115 13 24,777,212 14 24.208,708 15 zi,868,261 Figured "Per Capiter.'* The table below shows, according to rank, the value of Wheat and Corn raised in each of the leading fifteen states for each inhabitant, in 1900, based on the United States census for that year, and the Agricultural Depart- ment Year Book, and also gives the age of each state : Rank, ~T" 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 STATE Nebraska KANSAS Iowa ' Minnesota Missouri Indiana Illinois Tennessee Texas- Kentucky Wisconsin North Carolina. Georgia Ohio Pennsylvania •• Val. of Wheat Age and Corn per capita, 1900 34 $73.50 40 66.51 55 42.76 43 23.79 80 22.43 85 21.26 83 19.92 105 18.39 56 17.54 109 16.90 53 11.97 112 11.54 113 10 92 99 10.15 114 4.65 65 These figures should do much to correct any impressions existing that Kansas is not a premier agricultural domain, as they admirably serve to place the Sunflower State in her true light, showing that she has vanquished all competi- tors, almost unbeknov/n even to herself, and without apparent effort. Although the magni- tude of the State's agricultural importance has long been suspected by the well-informed, the actu-'l revelation of Kansas' real greatness in this respect through official figures has only of late been given conspicuous publicity. The statistics quoted proclaim that Kansas is without a peer in her line of undertaking; they inform us, among other things, that of the fifteen states leading in the value of wheat and corn crops in 1900, Kansas, at 40 years of age, pro- duced these staples to the extent of $66.51 worth per capita, exceeding the output of Iowa, age 55, by nearly $24 to each inhabitant; surpassing Minnesota the much touted wheat state, by nearly $43; Missouri, age 80, by over $44; Indiana, age 85, over $45; Illinois, age 83, by over $4650, and so on with corresponding in- creasing differences in favor of Kansas to the end of the list. It is also shown that Kansas leads its nearest rival, Illinois, in the value of wheat and corn produced in 1900 by over i^ million dollars, Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri following in the order named. The combined aggregate value of these crops in four of the states of the fifteen but little exceed that of Kansas alone, which amount is greater than the value of the same crops of Indiana and Ohio together, or more than the united values of Texas and Minnesota. Kansas, fortunately, is somewhat dissimilar from some of the states with which comparison is made, in that she is not so distinctly a one- crop state, and besides her usually fair rank as a corn-grower, she has been setting a mark as a wheat producer so far beyond that of her most successful emulator as to have created another class, in which she is alone, as well as annually producing all field crops in abundance. i.. •{ C. m It probably will be noted that in the foregoing tables, save one, the figures used are for the year iQoo. Some of the incredulous, or belittlers, if there be such, may point to that as a significant fact and erroneously infer that the showing is for a specially chosen year when every circum- stance was favoring for such presentation. In order, however, to further strengthen the State's position, and for the benefit of doubters, it will be abundantly sufficient to refer to the first table, where Uncle Sam's highest authority boldly de- clares that for the last five years ending with 1900 Kansas produced corn and wheat worth seventeen million dollars more than any other state in the Union. These and similar facts, while of common knowledge at home, are not so widely known elsewhere, and the true situation warrants much greater publicity than has been heretofore given them. The definite knowledge that Kansas leads causes neither great surprise nor comment among those who are and have been best acquainted with her history, and the actual fact is calmly accepted by such as a matter of course. The only remarkable feature is the ease and effective- ness with which Kansas surpasses the supposed leaders; in fact, unconsciously as it were, indi- cating that there is no appreciable difference in her present standing from that formerly existing, other than the more clearly demonstrated and better understood proofs of uninterrupted devel- opment and genuine prosperity. ^WHOSOEVER WILL, MAY COME." Ov Third Cutting of Ford County Alfalfa. (NOT IKRIGATED.) They're Buying IQansas Lands, They are after land in Kansas. They are coming with the cash. There is no use talking, neighbor, Kansas land has made a mash On the people of this country And it's now in hot demand. Mines of gold and seams of silver Hardly rank with Kansas land. They are after land in Kansas, From the East and from the West Comes a steady rush of people Who are looking for the best ; And they take a squint at Kansas, And as quickly as they can They get action on their money— And it's sure a winning plan. For the man who wants to purchase Title to a Kansas place Must get to the front and hustle Or he'll lose out in the race. Every day the rates are rising, And the man who wants to buy Should trot out his iron dollars Ere the prices strike the sky. -'Harmon D, Wilson^ in TopdbUf Capita 69 ^ LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 016 088 199 9 S^ntEl0 yc