Waseca County, Minnesota - Chapter 13: Agkiculture and Agricultueal Societies, 1887

Chapter 13: Agkiculture and Agricultueal Societies

sota. The early pioneers did not come loaded with wealth, in fact few had more than enough to barely get settled upon their lands ; but they came with that which was, in those days, equal to it, training in agricultural jnu'suits, brawny hands that were able and not ashamed to do hard work, and in connection with industrious habits, the energy and determination of success. The country was new, and there was no alternative but that success must be wrought from the soil, which was their only wealth and their only hope. In spite of all the obstacles and hardships to be encountered, success has attended their efforts, and the transformation from the primitive wilderness to the ])resent comfortable condition of affairs accomplished. Nor is the end yet reached, for the county still has amine of agricultural wealth undeveloped, which, as years roll on, will grow moi'e and more valuable, and when a cycle of cultivated maturity shall dawn to transform the yet unsubdued lands, to waving fields of nodding grain, Waseca County will occupy a place among the foremost ranks of Minnesota's banner counties.

A little pamphet published by the Wilton Weekly Netos, in 1867, from the pen of the editor, gives a comprehensive view of the history of the agriculture of the county at that time, and the compiler of these annals is of the opinion that nothing can show the early condition of that branch of the county's history like the article in question, hence it is freely quoted from. Says the little book : " Wheat is the principal cereal raised in the county. Spring wheat is raised generally throughout this district, and winter wheat in the timbered portions. The writer has made considerable exertion to obtain facts and figures by which to make a statement of the amount produced per acre, on an average, throughout the county each year, but has only been able to find reliable reports for the years 1859, 1860, 1862 and 1865. In 1859 the yield per acre was 20 bushels ; in 1860 22 bushels ; in 1862, 22|- bushels, and in 1865, 21 bushels. These figures are taken from the compiled reports, as found in the auditor's office, and are certainly low enough. The reports of the other years were never made out, or, at least, cannot be found. The writer, however, having been a resident of the county ever since its first settlement, is enabled to state, as his opinion, that the average yield for the past seven years, has never been less than 18 bushels to the acre. A yield of 25 or 30 bushels to the acre is considered nothing very extraordinary. It should be borne in mind by the reader, that the average yields above given include all kinds of wheat growers, good, bad and middling.

" The superior quality of the wheat grown in this county is shown by its weight, when compared with the same in other localities. The wheat of this county, except that of 1866, weighs from 61 to 65 pounds to the bushel, whilst in Ohio and Pennsylvania it only averages from 58 to 60, and in Illinois from 54 to 58 pounds to the bushel. As a wheat producing county it is not excelled. ' " Oats, so far, has only been cultivated for home consumption. The yield of this grain for the year 1862, as shown by the assessors' lists, was 35 bushels to the acre ; and for the year 1865, 40 bushels per acre. When sowed on high uplands, oats yield remarkably well ; but on low or wet lands they generally lodge, do not fill, and turn out a failure.

" Rye is not generally raised here, although a few crops grown by some of the Germans of the county have shown that it can be successfully raised here.

" Barley up to this time has received but little attention in this county. The total amount raised in 1865, as appears by the assessors' lists, was only 3,366 bushels, at an average yield per acre of 27 bushels.

" In regard to corn : the oft repeated question, 'Can you raise sound corn in Minnesota?'has been emphatically answered in the affirmative by the experience of the farmers of Waseca County. It is true there have been seasons in which the corn crop failed ; but during the eleven years which have elapsed since the first settlement, there have been only two general failures of this crop : one in 1863, the other in 1866. The corn crop in this county for the year 1860 averaged 34 bushels to the acre; in 1861 and 1862,35 bushels ; and in 1865, 37 bushels to the acre. It should be borne in mind that this average is from the amount saved, which, as a rule, does not exceed four-fifths of the actual amount raised.

" Potatoes are only raised here as yet for iiorae consumption, and are of superior quality and excellence. The average yield per acre is about 140 bushels.

" Sorghum has been quite extensively raised in this county, yielding from two to three hundred gallons per acre. Undoubtedly its cultivation will be continued with more or less success, so long as sugars shall command their present high price.

" The absence of the choice, cultivated fruit of the more eastern States is, in a measure, supplied by the variety and great abundance of wild fruits which abound in every thicket throughout the county. Crab apples are everywhere present ; and a species of wild l)lura, scarcely inferior to the cultivated fruit, abounds everywhere in the county. The wild grape-vine grows luxuriantly and yields profusely, in every wooded glen. Strawberries grow and thrive on the prairies. Gooseberries and wild currants abound in the woodlands along the Le Sueur Eiver, and blackberries and red and black raspberries spring up in the outskirts of every grove and woodland. Numerous young apple-tree orchards have been planted in the county, two of which have already borne fruit. The gentlemen who have succeeded in raising apples in the county are Philo Woodruff, of Blooming Grove, and W. G. AUyn, of Janesville.

" In regard to vegetables, the annual vines, squashes, pumjtkins, etc., thrive remarkably well, and nowhere are finer melons to be found than in the patches which constitute a part of every garden and homestead in the country. The wild fruits, with the tomato and pie plant, form a good substitute for the apple and other fruits of the older States.

" There is no other State or country which can excel Waseca County in raising turnips, rutabagas, beets, carrots, cabbages, parsnips, etc. The yield of these useful vegetables is so enormous as scarcely to be credited by those who have never witnessed it. Rutabagas are raised very extensively by some farmers for feeding stock.

"There is no lack of native nutritious grasses in the county, both for pasture and for hay. Even the highest prairie can be mowed, yielding one ton of hay to the acre and often two, while the bottom lands along the streams frequently yield three and sometimes four tons to the acre. The prevailing grass in the county is what is called red-top bluejoint, a variety that is almost, if not quite, equal to the best varieties of cultivated grasses. Persons arriving here from the East any time in August with cattle to provide for, will always find sufficient grass from which to make any needed quantity of hay, as the grass retains its nutriment until the frost strikes it. The county is already noted for being one of the best in the State for stock-raising.

" The general excellence of the grasses of the county is manifested in the fine quality and general healthf ulness of all kinds of stock, whicli forms so large a portion of the farming capital of the county. The number of horses in the county on the 1st day of June, 1866, was 1,473 ; assessed value, $78,091. The whole number of cattle on the same date was 4,985 : assessed value, $74,863. Official reports of dairy productions in the county show an average yield of 72 pounds to each cow, while in Iowa shows an average of only 47 pounds, and Illinois 42 pounds.

" Quite a number of our farmers have turned their attention to sheep-raising. According to official reports, the number of sheep in the county June 1, 1866, was 1,925 ; asessed value, $9,169. The average of wool per sheep is 4 pounds, which would give 23,700 pounds at a cash valuation of $11,850. The general dryness and healthfulness of the climate, the abundant supply of pure water, the vast extent and richness of free pasturage, make this one of the finest locations in the world for raising sheep.

"The number of hogs in the county, as reported in June, 1866, was 1,658, at an assessed value of $4,207. Hogs, like all other animals in Waseca County, are healthy and thrive well. Pork fattened here is peculiarly sweet and healthy."

Since the data of the above, wonderful advances have been made in the line of agri cultural productions, and the county has a large surplus of nearly every farm commodity to ship to other markets. The State reports for 1886 show that there was raised in Waseca County the previous year, 651,566 bushels of wheat on 46,681 aci'es, an average of nearly 14 bushels to the acre ; 382,690 bushels of oats on 11,333 acres, or an average of nearly 34 bushels to the acre; 279,727 bushels of corn on 8,791 acres of ground, or about an average of 32 bushels to the acre. There were raised the same year, 24,536 bushels of barley ; 3,030 of rye ; 55,065 of potatoes ; 80 bushels of beans ; 4,842 gallons of cane syrup ; 4,608 tons of cultivated hay ; 967 bushels of flax-seed ; 73,684 tons of wild hay; 656 bushels of timothy seed and 1,357 bushels of clover seed are reported for the same time ; and also 55,065 bushels of potatoes. Only some 634 pounds of grapes were raised, and 3,621 bushels of apples. Dairy products for the year 1885 aggregated : butter 332,030 pounds, and 100 pounds of cheese, from 4,586 cows ; while in 1886, 13,830 pounds of wool was shorn from 2,694 sheep, in the spring alone, although some 10,000 pounds came off the backs of the same animals the fall previous. There were in 1886, 1,523 farms in the county.

Agricultural Societies

Several efforts have been made to sustain agricultural societies, or those of a kindred nature previous to the formation of the present one, with variable success. The first effort in this line was in 1870. During the summer of that year an organization was formed known as the Waseca County Agricultural Society, with WiUiam Brisbane as president, and B. S. Lewis, secretary.

At a meeting held on the 3d of September, the same year, it was decided that a county fair should be held that fall under their auspices, and having determined the date, the society appointed E. Bennett, S. B. Williams, O. Powell, H. Vincent and P. Mc- Dermott as a committee to propose the general arrangements for the said fair. On the 6th and 7th of October, 1870, the first county fair in Waseca County was held. There was a large attendance the second day, and considering the short time emplo\'ed in getting it up, and the extremely limited notice the people had to prepare articles for exhibition, it was a decided success. The exhibits were moderately numerous, except in the matter of cattle, which was rather slim. President Brisbane dehvered an address to the people in his usual happ}' vein, the usual speeding of horses took place, and the brass band, for whom conveyance thi'ough some mistake had been neglected, rode into the grounds on a one-ox wagon, and joy and pleasure beamed on every face.

The following year a second fair was given, but the thing proved a failure and the association, growing discouraged, abandoned their further efforts in that line. A few of the members, however, some years later organized farmers' fairs and farmers" societies, both with the idea of following the European fashion of having a fair or market day once a month, but somehow it never proved much of a success. Some yeai-s later a sort of agri cultural society was formed, but no fairs were held. In September, 1886, however, at a meeting held then, H. H. Corson being president, the name was changed to that of the Agricultural, Mechanical and Industrial Society of Waseca County. The membership fee was fixed at one dollar. At this time Charles San Galli was treasurer and Michael Sheeran secretary. On a motion made it was decided that stock of the association, should be issued in five dollar shares and a committee appointed to solicit subscriptions.

On the 25th of September a meeting was held, and it was then decided to hold a county fair on the 13th and 14th of October following. Dr. H. J. Young and WiUiam Everett were appointed a committee to see to the construction of fence, stalls, sheds, etc. ; H. H. Corson and John McWade, as committee to arrange premium list; Edward Castor and I. C. Trowbridge, committee on track ; and the following ladies committee on floral hall : Mrs. Wilham Everett, Mrs. I. C. Trowbridge, Mrs. E. E. Dun woody, Mrs. D J. Bickford and Mrs. J. 0. Chandler. John McWade, Obediah Powell and Austin Vinton were detailed as committee on privileges, and Thomas Bohen, Harry Bird and Charles McKenna on trotting. The fair was held as advertised and was a success, the attendance being quite encouraging, and the societ}' intend to repeat the experiment this year (1887) . Edward Bennett was superintendent of cattle and horses; Patrick Murray, of swine, sheep and poultry, and John S. AbeU, of farm machinery.

Anti-Hoese Thief Association

The Waseca County Anti-Horse Thief Asciation was organized in February, 1864, the meeting for that purpose being held at the courthouse, in Wilton, on the 16th of the month above named. William Brisbane was called to the chair, and E. A. Smith made secretary. Settling down to business, the chair appointed D. L. Whipple, B. A. Lowell and E. B. Stearns, a committee of three to draw up and present a constitution for the society. Shortly after the said committee presented a draft of their labors, which was adopted with some slight amendment. Organization having thus been effected they proceeded to an election of officers, which resulted as follows : Di\ M. S. Gove, president ; William Brisbane, vice- ])resident ; E. A. Smith, secretary.

The first members of the association were Asa G. Sutlief, William Brisbane, George Brubaker, Noah Lincoln, B. A. Lowell, Eri G. Wood, J. A. Heath, William Roddle, W. H. Young Sr., Joseph Bird, D. L. Whipple, Henry Watkins, Myron Blackman, J. K. Myers, E. A. Smith and M. S. Gove.

dent of the Waseca Anti-Ilorse Thief Association, who died December 1, 187i. His devoted and unswerving attachment to our society during its entire existence has endeared him to its members ; and in his deatii his estimable family have lost a loving husband and father, the community' and State a valuable, self-sacrificing, public spirited citizen, and our society one of its most influential and leading members, and one who was loved most bv those who knew him best."