Richardson County, Nebraska - Agrtcri.ture and Stockraising, 1917 (part 1 of 2)

Agrtcri.ture and Stockraising

Richardson county originally was covered with a luxuriant growth of prairie grasses, with marginal areas of timber along the streams. The first settlers located along the edges of first bottoms, where there was an abundant supply of fuel.

During the first few years vegetables, corn, and wheat were grown for the subsistence of the family. As claims were permanently located and conditions became more stable, the farmers began to break the prairie land for the more extensive production of corn and wheat, with some oats for stock feed. A wide variety of vegetables was grown. Some hemp was produced, but this crop was soon abandoned. No clover, timothy, or bluegrass was grown while the country was agriculturally new. Up to about 1874 the farmers produced spring wheat and corn as their main cash crops, and some oats, winter wheat, rye, barley, buckwheat, and flax. Very few cattle and hogs were raised. The yields reported by the early settlers were in many cases higher than at present, but with poor methods of farming- the yields soon decreased. The prices of crops were very low and as a result the farmers generally were poor.

Wheat and corn continued the important cash crops, but within the last twenty to twenty-five years agricultural conditions have graduall}- improved and today most of the farmers are thrifty and prosperous. The dairy industry, the raising of hogs and cattle, and the feeding of beef cattle have no doubt been important factors in this progress, I)ut the impro\ed conditions are due chiefly to better methods of handling the soil.

In 1879 corn was the most important crop in the county. The 1880 census reports eighty-six thousand seven hundred sixty-six acres in ctjrn and thirty-one thousand five hundred seventy-nine acres in wheat. Oats are reported on about six thousand acres, and barley on something over three thousand acres. Hay was cut from a total of fifteen thousand four huntlred ninety-two acres. After 1880 spring wheat declined in importance, as owing to tlie poor yields of this crop it was found more profital)le to grow corn. The chinch Inig. the grasshopper, and gnnvino; wheal continuously on the same land for many }ears in succession were the main causes for the poor yields of this crop. Hay was an important crop, and some rye, buckwheat, and tobacco were grown. The orchard products were vahied at nine thousand three hundred twenty-eight dohars, and market-garden crops at fifty-one thousand nine luindred sixty dollars.

By 1890 the area in corn had increased to one hundred fifteen thousand seven hundred eighty-live acres and the area in oats to twenty-one thousand eight hundred twenty-six acres. Wheat is reported in the census of 1890 on only ten thousand two hundred and twenty-tliree acres. Hay was grown on twenty-seven thousand and twenty-four acres. r}e on nearly two tliousand acres, and barley on less than five hundred acres. Potatoes are reported on nearly one thousand ti\e hundred acres. Market-garden products and small fruits had a total value of only two thousand and seventy-five dollars.

From 1889 to 1899 there was a steady advance in the acreage of all the staple crops. In the 1900 census alxjut one hundred and thirty thousand acres are reported in corn, twenty-nine thousand acres in oats, and twenty thousand acres in wheat. Of the hay crops, wild grasses, reported on about eighteen th(jusand acres, tame grasses on about ten thousand acres, and alfalfa on nearly one thousand acres were the most important. The acreage in r}e, barley, and buckwheat was small. There were about two hundred and fifty thousand apple trees in the county, nearh one hundred thousand grapevines, and about seventy-five thousand peach trees. Of the live-stock products, animals sold and slaughtered were valued at one million one hundred sixty-seven thousand four hundred and ninety dollars, dairy products at sixty-five thousand four hundred seventy-four dollars, and poultry at ninety-four thousand eight hundred ninety-six dollars. From 1899 to 1909 there was an increase in the number of acres of wheat and a decrease in the acreage of other crops, especially corn.

At present the production of grain is the cliief tvpe of farming in Richardson county, though dairying and the raising of hogs and other live stock are important industries. Corn, oats, wheat, timothy and clover mixed, alfalfa, and wild grasses are the chief general farm crops. The tendency is to grow less corn and more wheat and leguminous crops.

Corn is by far the most important crop in acreage, and is the principal money crop. The 1910 census reports corn on one hundred and three thousand three hundred eightv-six acres. There are about two acres of corn to every acre of all other cereals combined, even though the acreage has declined considerably in the last decade. About one-half the total area of improved farm land in Richardson county is devoted to the production of com. The crop is grown on practically all the soil types of the county, but does best on the Marshall silt loam. The average yield for the county is about thirty bushels per acre. Reid's Yellow Dent and Iowa Silver Mine are the most popular varieties. About eighty-five per cent, of the corn is listed, some is check-rowed, and in a few cases the crop is double-listed. Most of the corn is sold, though a large part is fed to hogs and beef cattle. It is the general practice to pasture the corn lands after the ears have Ijeen removed. There are only a few silos in the county.

Oats rank second in acreage to corri, and the area in this crop seems to be increasing steadily. In 1909 there were twenty-five thousand and ninet)'-three acres in this crop. Most of the crop is fed to horses and mules ; the remainder is sold largely in local markets, though some is shipped to Kansas City. White and Green Russian, Kherson, and Swedish Select are the principal varieties grown.

The third crop in imiMrtance is wheat. The census of 19 10 reports twenty-one thousand eight hundred seventy-one acres devoted to this crop. About 1895 ^^'^^ state experiment station demonstrated the superior qualities of a variety of Russian winter wheat known as Turkey Red, and this has almost entirely displaced the spring varieties formerly grown, as it produces better yields, can be sown in the fall, a time of the year when it does not interfere with other farm labor, and matures before the .season of dry weather and hot winds. Wlieat is strictly a cash crop, and most of it is sold directl\- fr(im the threshing machine to local elevators. Most of it is shipped later to Kansas Cit\'. A small proportion of the crop is storetl in farm elevators or granaries, and held for higher prices. Scarcely any wheat is grown for lionie use. the flour used in tiie county lieing shipped in. Tiie value of cereal crops is reported in the 1910 census as two million iliree hundred forty-si.x thousand seven hundred eighty-seven dollars, and of other grains ancl seeds as ten thousand three hundred forty-eight dollars.

Timothy and clover mixed is the most important ha}' crop It is re])orted in the census of 1910 on eleven thousand three hundred twentvnine acres. During the progress of the survey excellent stands of this croii were seen, though it is reported that in dry years the crop is not nearly as good. In dry seasons considerable difiiculty is experienced in obtaining a good seeding of clover. There arc reported four thousand seven hundred ninetv-nine acres in timothy alone, three thousand three hundred and six acres in clover alone, seven thousand seven hundred and three acres in wild grasses, two hundred ninety acres in millet and one hundred sixty-one acres in other tame grasses. Some red-clover seed and timothy seed are produced. Ordinarily clover yields two to four bushels of seed an acre and timothy, four to eight bushels. Practically all the hay is fed to work stock and cattle, with a small part sold in local towns and some hay shipped to outside markets. Large quantities of hay are imported from the West.

Alfalfa Passes The Experimental Stage

The growing of alfalfa has passed beyond the experimental stage, and this promises to become the principal hay crop of the county. In 1909 there were seven thousand seven hundred twenty-two acres in alfalfa. The crop does well both on the upland and on the well-drained bottom-land soils, three and sometimes four cuttings being obtained each year, with a total yield ranging from three to five tons per acre. Most of the crop is fed to cattle and work stock, and some is used as hog pasturage. Alfalfa hay is not shipped out of the county, except from a few farms where it is the main cash crop. It is sent chiefly to Kansas City and St. Joseph, and sells for twelve dollars to fifteen dollars a ton. The total value of hay and forage crops is reported in the census of 1910 as five hundred thirty-two thousand five hundred nineteen dollars.

The less important crops of Richardson county are potatoes, barley, rye. kafir, sorghum, and buckwheat. Potatoes are reported in the 1910 census on nine hundred forty acres. The production is inadequate to meet the local demand.

Trucking receives but little attention, owing to the distance from large markets. Some vegetables are grown on a commercial scale near the cities and \illages of the county. The 19 10 census reports the value of vegetables produced in the county in 1909 as eighty-three thousand six hundred eightytwo dollars.

Most of the farmers have small orchards of apple, plum, peach and pear trees. These fruits do well when properly cared for, but owing to lack of care the trees in most orchards are gradually dying and less apples are produced now than ten years ago. There are several commercial orchards in the county, mainly in the vicinity of Falls City and Shubert. Though the blufi" zone of the Missouri river is admirably adapted to apples, it has tew commercial orchards, owing to the fact that it is too far from railroad points. In the vicinity of Shubert the apples are sold through the Central Fruit Growers Association; in other localities they are sold direct by the producer. Most of the apples are shipped to points in western Nebraska, Kansas, and South Dakota.

Apples of the better grades are stored in Omaha for shipment at the time of greatest demand. The culls are made into cider and vinegar, and bring from twenty to thirty cents a hundred pounds. Graded apples sell for an average of two dollars and fifty cents a barrel. The principal varieties of apples grown are the Ben Davis, Winesap, Jonathan. Mammoth Black Twig, Missouri Pippin, Grimes, York Imperial, Gano, Duchess, and Wealthy. There are approximately eight hundred acres in commercial apple orchards. Only a few pears are produced commercially. The value of all orchard products, including small fruits and nuts, is given in the 1910 census as fifty-four thousand two hundred twelve dollars. The number of apple trees is given as one hundred seventy-five thousand one hundred seventy-nine, with about sixty-seven thousand peach trees and about thirtyfive thousand grapevines.

First Commercial Apple Orchard

Elias Beaver, who came to Richardson county in the sixties established the first commercial apple orchard on a farm six miles southwest of Falls City. Mr. Beaver was a skilled orchardist and the success of his orchards fully established the fact that very fine commercial apples could be successfully grown in this section of Nebraska.

The late Henry W. Shubert was the pioneer orchardist of the northern part of the county and his son, A. G. Shubert, of Falls City, set out the first apple trees in that part of the state in an orchard intended for commercial purposes. The success of the Shubert orchards has induced others in that section to plant orchards. Shubert Brothers have continued the work started by their father and now have the largest orchard acreage in the county and probably in the state of Nebraska. Their trees are cared for scientifically and cultivation of the soil with staple crops is continued until the trees are large enough to bear commercial crops of fruit.

Allan Franklin, of Barada, established a splendid orchard in Barada precinct and the work is carried on b\' his sons, who are thorough-going fruit men and orchardists who have made a pronouncetl and well-paving (17) success of the orchard business. The FrankHn orchards present a splendid appearance at all seasons of the year and the crop outlook in this year (1917) is gratifying. The fruit from the Franklin orchards commands a ready sale at high prices.

In 1896 Henry C. Smith established an orchard which has been a pronounced success. Napoleon DeMers has a hne small orchard in the northeast section of Falls City - and there are many well kept small orchards scattered about the eastern part of the county. However, it has been demonstrated that the large, scientifically-kept commercial orchard pays best.

Weaver Brothers, A. J. and Paul B. Weaver, have two hundred acres of bearing orchard, the output of which is sold to the same buyers year in and year out at top prices. Weaver Brothers planted their first commercial orchard in 1893 and their success has been well merited. Both A. J- and Paul B. Weaver are recognized authorities on apple growing in this section of the country and there is published in connection with this chapter an address delivered by A. J- Weaver upon fruit growing at the Missouri Valley Industrial and Farmers Congress in December, 19 14, which is a classic in itself and ably portrays the methods used and jiecessary for the successful cultivation of apple orchards. There is shipped from the Weaver Brothers" orchards each year from fifty to seventy-five cars of select fruit to Minnesota buyers in Minneapolis, St. Paul and Chicago. The fruit produced in these orchards each year from fift\- to seventy-five cars of select fruit to the famous orcliard country of the Northwest and brings equally high prices. The value of the orchard products produced in the Weaver Brothers' orchards will range from twenty-five to thirty thousand dollars annually, and a force of skilled workers are constantly engaged in the orchards which received the direct supervision of the owners.

Horticultural Society

Henry C. Smith was instrumental in organizing the first Horticultural Societ}- in the count}" as early as 1872. The first meeting of the society, with Mr. Smith as secretary, was held in the city hall on September 18 and i<) lit that year. A fine exhibit of fruits, jellies and flowers was made l:.v the different fruit growers in the ciuuit}- and it was decided to hold quai^terly meetings of the ^society.

Dairying, Live Stock And Poultry

Dairying is receiving increased attention. Most of the fanners keep dairy cows, chiefly Shorthorn grades. The number of cows per farm varies from three to ten, with upward of forty on the dairy farms in the vicinity of Falls City. A few farmers keep no dairy cows. J\Iost of the dairying is carried on during the summer months, and in the winter not enough milk and butter is produced for home use. Most of the cream is separated on the farm. The surplus cream is shipped mainly to St. Joseph, and some is sent to Lincoln, Omaha, and Kansas City. The local creamery at Falls City handles a small part of the cream. Some butter is made on the farms and sold at local markets. The average price obtained for butterfat in the summer is twenty-five to twenty-eight cents per pound, and in the winter thirty to thirtytwo cents. The 1910 census reports the total value of all dairy products, excluding home use, as $124,021. The number of dairy cows on farms reporting dairy products is 6,726.

There are some herds of beef cattle, mostly on the farms in the southwestern part of the county, on areas of Rough stony land. The cattle are mainly of Shorthorn and Hereford bi'eeding, though there are some herds of Polled Durham. A number of farmers feed one or two carloads of cattle, obtained from stockyards, with good returns. In other cases a few head are fattened on the farm each year, and sold when prices are most favorable. Alost of the beef cattle are marketed in St. Joseph and Kansas City. The 1910 census reports 19,246 other cattle and 1.219 '^alve^ sold or slaughtered.

Considerable attention is being paid to the breeding of farm and draft horses. Nearly every farmer raises one or two colts each vear, and some as many as six. In this way the farmers supply their own work stock, and occasionally have a team to sell. The Percheron and Clydesdale are the favorite breeds. About one-fourth to one-fifth of the colts are mules. The census of 1910 reports a total of 1.848 horses and mules sold.

There are only a few flocks of sheep in the county, though some sheeji are shipped in from Kansas Cit\- for feeding. There is one large goat ranch, carrying about one thousand head, in the northeastern part of the county, on the Knox silt loam. The iqio census re])orts 6.960 sheep and goats sold or slaughtered.

The raising of hogs is the most important li\-e-stock industrv. Xearh every farmer fattens from twenty-fi\-e to thirty hogs each year, and some as many as one hundred and fifty. On tenant farms not nearly so many hogs are kept, which is also true of other Hve stock. Pork production is profitable, though cholera is prevalent and reduces the profits considerably. Most of tlie hogs are marketed in St. Joseph and Kansas City, and some in Omaha. Xearlv everv farmer butchers enough hogs to supply the home with meat the year round. Poland China, Duroc-Jersey, and Berkshire are the leading breeds, though there are very few registered herds. According to the 19 lo census 46,982 hogs were sold or slaughtered in 1909. The total value of all animals sold and slaughtered is reported in the 1910 census as $1,875,319. According to the same authority the total value of poultry and eggs is $240,815. Practicallv ever\- farmer keeps a small flock of chickens, ranging from forty to one hundred and fifty. Most of the eggs and poultry are handled by the two poultry establishments at Falls City. The dressed chickens are shipped mainly to Buffalo and New York. About thirty-two carloads of chickens and ninety carloads of eggs are sln'pped out of Falls City each }ear.

Considerably more attention is paid to the adaptation of crops to the different soils than ten years ago. The farmers realize that the Marshall silt loam and Carrington silt loam are best suited to corns, wheat, oats and grass. They recognize that the Knox silt loam and steep slopes of the Shelby loam are best suited to alfalfa and for use as pasture. The Wabash soils are generally recognized as well adapted to corn and less well suited to the small grains, and the same is known to be true of the other l)ottomland txpes. The topography of the Rough stony land makes it suitable only for grazing.

The stubble land generally is plowed in the fall, either for winter wheat or corn. Corn land usually is li.sted and sometimes double listed where the crop succeeds itself. If the field is put in oats, it is either double disked or the oats are sowed broadcast between tlie rows of corn. \'ariations and modifications of the alwve practices are common. It is necessary to exercise considerably greater care in the preparation of the seed beds on the heaxier tvpes of the countv. .\ little barnyard manure is used. Tt is a])|)lied to corn or as a topdressing for winter wheat. .As a rule the barn van! is cleaned twice a year, but on many farms a large part of the manure is wasted. Green manuring is not practiced and scarcely any C(^mmercial fertilizers are used. According to the census of 1910,' the total ex-

The fann buildings, especially the houses, usually are well painted and kept in good repair. There are many large, modern houses in the count}-. The barns are usually small, but as a rule are substantial and well kept. Hedge fences, established before the introduction of barbed wire, are common. Most of these consist of Osage orange. Most of the cross fences and some boundary fences are of barbed wire, though woven wire is coming into more general use.

The work stock consists mainly of medium-weight draft horses and mules. There are only a few gasoline tractors in the county. On most farms the four-horse hitch is used. The farm equipment consists of gang or sulky plows, disk harrows, straight-tooth harrows, drills, listers, corn planters, mowing machines, cultivators, rakes, hay loaders, stackers, binders. and wagons. Thrashing-machines are favorably distributed for use by the iarmers in all sections immediately after harvest.

Definite systems of rotation are followed by only a few progress! \e farmers. The general tendency is to keep the land in corn two or three years or even longer, following with one year of oats, and from one to three years of wheat. Occasionally the wheat land is seeded to clover for two or three years, and then planted to corn. Of late alfalfa is taking the place of clover, and occupies the land from seven to ten years, or longer. On farms where there is no permanent pasture, clover and timothy fields usually are pastured the second year.

There is an adequate supply of farm labor, but it is rather difificult to secure efficient help. The usual wage paid is twenty to thirtv-five dollars a month with board and washing. Most of the laborers are hired from March i to October i or December i, though a few farmers employ labor by the year, because it is easier in this way to get efficient men. Where the\' are hired only to October i the laborers are paid additional rates of three to three and one-half cents a bushel for husking corn. The daily wage for transient labor during han^est time ranges from two to three dollars per day, with board. The farmers are beginning to hire married men with their families, and the owners furnish them with tenant houses, milch cov/s. chickens, gardens, and fruit. Under this plan the wages range from thirty to forty dollars a month. Most of the farm work in the countv, however, is performed by the farmers and tlieir families. The expenditure for la1x)r in TQOQ was $314,735;.

Anerage Size And Value Of Farms

Most uf the farms in Richardson county contain one hundred and sixty acres. There are a few as small as eighty acres, and several ranging from four hundred to several thousand acres. According to the 1910 census, about ninety-five per cent, of the area of the county is in farms, and of the land in farms eighty-six per cent, is improved. The average size of the farms is 157.9 acres. About fift\-three per cent, of the famis are operated by the owners and practically all the remainder by tenants. Both the cash and share systems of renting, as well as a combination of the two, are practiced, the share system being most popular. Cash rents vary from three to six dollars an acre for general-farm land, depending largely on the character of the soil. Under the share system the owner receives two-fifths to one-half the products of the farm when the tenant furnishes all implements and stock. Where the land is not so productive the owner furnishes one-half the work stock and tools and there is an equal division of crops. In the combination system of cash and share renting the permanent pastures and lands not used for crops are rented for cash.

The value of farm land in Richardson county ranges from twenty to two hundred dollars an acre, depending on the nature of the soil, the topography, improvements, and distance from railroad points. The lowest-priced land is in the blufT zone of the Missouri river, and the highest-priced in the vicinity of Falls Cit\-. In the 19 10 census the average value of farm land is reported as $80.71.

While there are man\- large farms in Richardson county and some extensive land holdings the large estates which are farmed under the direct supervision of their owners are small in number. Among the largest individual farmers of the county is Weaver Brothers, A. J. and P. B. Weaver, who own and farm directly over three thousand acres of land located in Richardson county. The land is farmed according to the latest scientific agricultural methdds adapted to the land cultivated. .\ small army of men is em|)l(iyed in the farm work and in this \ear (1917) sixty men are on the pa\- roll, whicli will exceed $40,000 annuallv. Weaver Brothers market from fifteen hundred to two thousand head of hogs annually and produce and feed fur the market over five hundred head of cattle each vear.

The Miles ranch, located in the vicinity of Dawson, in a southerly direction, embraces a total of five thousand acres of land operated in a body as one great farm. This famous ranch was established by the late Col. Stephen B. Miles in 1856 as a place to recuperate the hundreds of horses and mules used in the mail and stage-route traffic conducted by Mr. Miles for years by contract with the United States government. It was the first of the great ranches established west of the Missouri river and is now owned by Joseph H. Miles, son of the founder.

The Miles ranch house is one of the best-built farm houses in this section of Nebraska and the materials which went into the making of the residence were obtained from the forests along the banks of the Nemaha river by the builder. The Miles house is built entirely of native lumber, cut and finished on the place ; and everything about the construction of the residence is of native materials, even to the stair rails, the newel posts and the inside woodwork, which is of native hardwood. At the time this residence was completed, in 1867, there were no railroads for transportating material, and the windows, doors and shingles of the building were transported from St. Louis by boat and then hauled to the ranch.

One of the finest barns in the country, built entirely of native lumber and stone obtained on the ranch is found on tlie Miles ranch. This barn is modeled after the famous Pennsylvania of bank -barn and no nails whatever are used in its construction. The timbers are morticed and fastened together with wooden pins. The barn is in a remarkable state of preservation, notwithstanding the fact that it was Iniilt in 1861 bv the late S. B. Miles.

Twelve ranch or tenant houses are located on the farm for the housing of the present tenants, and which were used up to three years ago ( 1914), for the housing of the many hands who were employed in doing tlie ranch work. The ranch is equipped with its own private grain elevators and water system, a stand pipe having been erected which would do credit to a small town, and gives sufficient pressure to reach the tops of the highest buildings. The water supply is obtained from wells and an immense cistern, having a capacity of two thousand barrels.

The ranch proper consists of five thousand acres in all, although ]\Ir. Miles's holdings in the county total fifteen thousand acres in all. Fifteen hundred acres of the land is planted jearly to corn and produce from forty to sixty bushels of corn to the acre, making an average total of over seventyfive thousand bushels yearly. This year (191 7) there has been harvested five himdred acres of wheat, which produced from twenty to forty-eight bushels of grain to the acre, or an average of thirty-five bushels to the acre, making a total of seventeen thousand five hundred bushels of wheat. Three hundred acres were sown to oats, which produced from forty to si.xty bushels to the acre. One hundred acres of barley were harvested, which gave a good yield. F(3ur hundred acres of tame hay or timothy were cut. which yielded fifteen hundred tons. The ranch has over three hundred acres of natural growth timber, which furnishes all the lumber used in erecting new buildings or .sheds and making repairs. There are fifteen hundred acres of pasture land. The ranch is bisected by the south fork of the Nemaha river, which causes the only waste land in the entire ranch. The private Miles drainage ditch was only recently completed (in July, 191 7). for a distance of three miles through the ranch bottom lands, at a cost of nearly twenty thousand dollars.

Three hundred head of fine fat cattle are marketed yearly from the rancli, all of which are thoroughbred stock such as Hereford. Shorthorn and .\ngus breeds. From one thousand to fifteen hundred hogs of the Poland China and Duroc -Jersey breeds are marketed annually. The ranch has always prided itself in producing only pure bred stock.

The Margrave Ranch

Tiie Margrave ranch, consisting of several thousantl acres of land in the southeastern part of the county and in Brown county, Kansas, was established by the late W. .\.. Margrave and is operated by the Margrave Corporation, under the direct supervision of William A. and James Margrave. The shipping headquarters of the ranch are located at Preston and the ranch proper is located a few miles east and south of Preston.

Orcharding

Address made by Hon. A. .J. Weaver, of Falls City, before the Missouri Valley Industrial and Farmers' Congress, held at St. Joseph, Missouri, in December, 1914, and later given before the State Horticultural Association at Lincoln. Nebraska, and printed in Horticultural journals and widely published as the best article on scientific apple grovi'ing ever presented in the middle west.

Ladies aud Gentlemen: Bill Nye once said ttiat he was not much of a spealver, liimself, but that he was a good extemporaneous listener, aud after the interesting and instructive addresses already made to this congress, I would prefer to continue as a good listener; and I feel that in attempting your further instruction I am but illustrating Joseph's dream, that after the feast came the famine. However, as one deeply interested in the puiposes of this congress, I am glad to join in this wonderful conservation movement, aud today I want to congratulate St. Joseph uix)n placing at the head of this movement Col. R. M. Bacheler, who is a real benefactor of your city. For months, when he should have been thinking of his own business, his own pleasure and comfort, he has been siJending weary hours for the success of this congress. Such men are never repaid, only in the consciousness of a public duty well performed. How well Colonel Bacheler's duty has been performed toward St. Joseph, and the great country tributary to it, the success of this meeting attests.

Congress Representative In Character

There is in attendance here, and uix>u this program, representatives of every imiwrtant business aud industry in the Missouri valley, from high railroad officials to bankers and farmers. And we are particularly pleased to learn that the great railroad systems in the Middle West are interested in the work of this congress. A few years ago the.se railroads were in politics, and at this time of the year vvere guardians of our I.«gislatures and were electing our United States senators. Today they are strictly in legitimate business. They are sending out demonstration trains for better grain, grasses and live stock, promoting good roads aud assisting materially in the uplift of agriculture, and in e.\tending the limits of this empire of wealth and prosperity. The attendance of W. C. Brown, ex-president of the New York Central Railroad, and the trained experts of the different railroads, clearly demonstrate that we are entering upon a new era.

St. Joseph, The Natural Center

Repeating what I said to this congress last year, it is proper that St. Joseph, Missouri, should be the center of this new movement in the Missouri valley ; St. Joseph, the inspiration and life of the early histoiy of the Sliddle AVest, where the first pony exiDress started blazing the trail westward across the continent ; St. Joseph, the stay and support of this great valley when reverses and set-backs came, and now the leader and first on the firing line of this new movement; St. Joseph, full of romance and history, full of wealth and conservatism, yet as full of real men and progress, combining enough of the Xew England spirit, the old life of the South, the newer life of the free West, and the real spirit of the age, to make it the magnificent center of this great agricultural empire. St. Joseph, our banking, live-stock and mercantile center, we thank you for this congress aud for the hospitality extended to ns.

Natt-Re Makes The Whole World Kin

It has been lieautifully sjiid that -'Nature makes the whole world kiu." aud not long ago, as I looked out of my window from the eighth .story of your beautiful hotel. 1 thought how true this was. I saw the smoke rising from a liuiuUetl smoliestacks, rei)resenting the industrial life of this city. I saw the smolce from tlie railroad yards and the great paoking plants of South St. Joseph. I looked back of these and saw nestling in the wooded slopes churches and school houses and homes. Back of these, for hundreds of miles, I knew extended fertile farms, the basis of all our wealth ; and I thought how everything went back to nature and the soil and how all these things were dependent one upon the other. Tour industries would he silent, your railroads would become disused streaks of rust if it were not for these farms surrounding you. On the other hand, without these great railroads, which are the arteries of commerce and trade, and these packing plants, which are the farmers market, agriculture would stagnate, in fact it would never have been born upon these prairies.

American Peace And European War

Then I contrasted all this peace and progress and prosperity with the conditions across the water, where half the world is at war, where nation grapples at the throat of nation, where men are mere pawns of monaix'hs and where human life and property, by the thousands and tens of thousands, are being daily swallowed up in the terrible vortex of war.

It is said that Confucius, the great Chinese statesman, once traveled in a distant part of the empire which was infested with ferocious wild beasts. One day he came upon a woman weeping bitterly and stopping to inquire the cause of her grief, learned that her husband had recently been killed by a tiger. "Why," asked the Chinaman, "do you remain in a province infested with such danger?" "We have a good governuient here," was the woman's reply. "Behold," exclaimed the sage, "a bad government is more to be feared than the rapacious tiger." Today in peaceful and prosperous America we can exclaim with the Chinese sage: "A bad government is more to be feared than the rapacious tiger." For fifty years every farmer in Europe has carried a soldier on his back. Today he struggles with the weight of two or three, and next year, or the next, when this cruel war is over, and the terrible and appalling cost in men and treasure is reckoned, the load will be intolerable; for his nation, whether victor or vanquished, will be hopelessly in debt and its citizen, nominally free, will be a tax vassal for a lunidred years to come.

America Fortunate In Heb Isolation

America, fortunate in her isolation, doubly fortunate in her form of government and the genius of her people, thrice fortunate in her wonderful resources of mines and forests and fields; practically free from debt, with the wholesome inclination to spend her resources for better homes and better food, for agricultural and other colleges, for better roads and the hundreds of other things conducing to her happiness and prosijerity. rather than upon vast armaments and navies ! America, wonderful America I We. a handful of your peaceful citizens, engaged today in St. Joseph, in quiet conference concerning the pursuits of peace, salute you as truly the "Land of the free and home of the brave.". The land of the free, because we are free from the military systems of the old world, and because we, the people, are the real sovereigns, and our public officials our servants, and not our master.s. The land of the brave, because we are brave enough to be just to every man beneath our flag, and every nation on earth. Our flag has floated over Cuba and Mexico, but not for conquest. It is the emblem of iieace on eartli and good will to men, and when its mission in foreign lands is performed, it comes home with all the honor and dignity and justice which it took .-iway.

merely mentioued these tbiugs to emiiliusize the traiuiuility miuI prosperity, wbiili we as a nation are enjoying, and for whicb we should be thankful. In this connection I might add that this conference represents a territory which iu size and wealth would be an empire in Europe. Each of its magnificent counties would be a principality. In fertility of soil, iu climate, in the character and intelligence of its people, the Missouri Valley country Is the equal of the best of Europe. In population we are deficient, but population Is fast increasing and to meet this added responsibility we are iu conference today as an Intelligent citizenship, to devise the best ways and means for Hie future of our industrial and. farming activities.

The Crime Of Auricultitre

The past is gone, and with it its train of mistakes. One of these was in mining our soil instead of farming it, in selling its fertility at wholefsale In grain Instead of in concentrates of meat. Another was in neglecting clover, alfalfa and the other legumes. Another was iu allowing out lands to be gullied and washed into the sea. Another was in trying to produce beef and pork on much coru and little roughage. Another was in planting orchards, then allowini,' the cattle, hogs and Insects to destroy them. Another was in raising wheat year after year on the same laud, and then corn, year after year on the same land. Coburn of Kansas, in referring to the average of thirteen to fifteen bushels per acre on Kansas wheat land once said. "Men write of the 'Shame of Cities" and the 'Crime of Society,' but this Is the 'Crime of Agriculture"." These old methods were sad mistakes, and were indeed costly, not only to the individual, but to the aggregate wealth of the community. And today we congratulate ourselves and the country that we are teaching and practicing better ways.

We know now that we nnist farm and husband the land instead of mining It. We liuow now that if we would preserve the fertlity of the soil, we must handle live stock and market our crops In the form of beef and ikh-U and mutton. We know now that clover and alfalfa are as necessary to the life of our laud as red blood is to the life of our bodies. We know now what nitrogen and humus .ire. and that they are the soil's capital. We know now that lands which wash away ue\er return, and that ugly ditches, like ugly wounds, are not only unsightly, but are sometimes fatal. Fields have been ruined by being gullied and washed to pieces. Xature"s remedy is grass. We know now that cornstalks in a silo are better for the fanner and his herds than cornstalks in winter-swept and suow-bound fields: and that we must save this and all other roughage, if we are to handle live stock successfully on high-priced land. We know now that the hog is a grazing animal and that alfalfa should be on his bill of fare the year round. He should not only have alfalfa pasture from April to November, but should be fed alfalfa hay the rest of the year in racks, the same as cattle. We know that while the hog is growing we should furnish him with this cheap iirotein ration, but that when he is fattening on a full feed of coru, .ilfalfa hay should be suiiplementetl with a coueeutrated protein ration in the form of tankage. Feed a hog all the alfalfa he will eat and at the present price of corn you cut off tweuty cents on ever.\- bushel. We know now that every hog-yard should have its cement feeding floor, for every bushel of corn fed on a feeding floor saves a pound of pork. We know now that lice and worms are the two greatest enemies of the hog raiser, and that these are easily controlled. We know that the great hog scourge can be prevented by vaccination, and that the man who proiJerly guards his hogs need spend no sleepless nights on account of hog cholera. These observations are made from some cxiierionce in the hog business. Weaver Brothers raise two thousand hogs every year, and we believe that bogs and alfalfa are the mr>st profitable combinations on the farm.

Yes, we used to tbink that aiiybixly couUl l>e a fanner. We kuow l)etter uow. It requires as luiR-b or more braius to farm successfully as it does to succeed in any other business. We used to think that we had to sow and reap like our fathers. We know better uow. We eveu change our owu methods in the light of our own experience. We used to think that orchards were planted to grow snialJ. imperfect and .scabby apples. We know better uow. A new age is here, and, regardless of our (X"cupations, we should be iu sympathy with it. Xo matter what our'vocation, we are all farmers in this country, in the sense that it is our one great community business and asset. Farming is the basis of all wealth, and especially in the Middle West, and we should doff our hats to the modern, uivto-date farmer, and accord to him the dignity and worth he merits as one of our most useful citizens.

I have been requested to deliver at this session^ a brief address upon orcharding in the Missouri valley. While I am but incidentally engaged iu raising apples, and would rather talk about hogs and alfalfa, silos and cattle raising and general conservation of the soil, yet orcharding, and particularly apple raising, is a great industry in this section, and if given the s;ime attention as grain or live-stock farming, would become a notable industry and highly profitable. I make this statement from my own observations of the orchard business in the Missouri valley, and i)articularly my experience iu southeastern Nebraska, where Weaver Brothers own and control and operate over two hundred acres of apple orchard. We produce annually from thirty-five to one hundred ear-loads of apples, aud sell ou an average more thau twenty thousand dollars worth of apples each year. These orchards will produce annually a net average revenue of ten thousand dollars a year or fifty dollars an acre. This takes into consideration the original investment, the frost damage in occasional years aud unfavorable seasons, both as to production aud markets. The average orchard in this section and particularly the small orchard, is not profitable, aud on the ordinary farm may be considered as a liability instead of an asset. This is because of the failure to properly care for the same. Success iu the orchard business will come only with proper cultivation, fertilization, pruning, .spraying, proiier grading, and reasonable ability to market the crop. In other words, commercial apple raising is a business and must be handled on business principles, if it is to succeed. An orchard handled in this way will not only yield a nice profit, but will afford a great deal of pleasure to the man engaged iu it. The apples produceil in this section are the equal, if not the superior, iu flavor and quality of any produced in the United States, and the fruit from sprayed and cared-for oi'chards is eagerly sought by the buyers for the best city markets.

Fortunately the values of our best apple lands, which .ire the hill or bluff laiiils adjacent to the Mi.ssouri river, have never been inflated and can be purchase<l from fifty to one hundred twenty-five dollars au acre. Fpoii this Ii.-isis orcharding Is a safe business venture, particularly so wheu we consider the inflated values of orchard land in the irrigated sections, from which points the freii-'lit rate to Minneapolis ami Chicago is as much per bushel box .-is it is for a tbroc-li\islicl barrel from St. .Joseiili u> the same markets.

A large fruit dealer from .Minneapolis, who has just returned from the ra<ifiicoast, and who is familiar with every detail of the bu.siness told me last September, that the orchardists of the Missouri valley, who es<'aped the expense of irrigation and the exiiensive long haul, were the masters of the apple situation, and that all that was uecessju-)- to the highest success was proper methods. I might add that the highest compliment I have ever had, as au orchardist. was paid uje when this man, iiitrocUioecl uie to two large orclianlists of the Yakima valley, Washiugtou, .as one of the very few men in the southwest who knew how to raise and pack apples. These two men, one of them an ex-superior court judge, were in Minneapolis to sell their crop of Western box apples. I dou't know what success they had, but after a thirty-miuute conference with the fruit merchant, I sold him thirteen cars of Nebraska apples, and have in previous years in less time, sokl him as many as thirty cars, and always at a satisfactory price. Our apples are sold year after year to the same parties, on the same basis as your grain merchant sells No. 1, No. 2, or No. 3 wheat and corn, and with no dispute over the grades and quality. liaising apples under these conditions in the Missouri valley, where natural conditions are almost ideal, makes the business a desirable one. 1 will now discuss the essentials necessary for the production of good apples, as practiced in our own orchards.

We spray our orchards thoroughly. We siiray three, and sometimes four times during the season. The first is the dormant spray, before any foliage has appeared, with either Bordeaux mixture or lime and sulphur. We prefer the lime and sulphur. We use Bordeaux spray after the foliage appears, as it produces a rusty appearance of the apple, especially ou the Ben Davis variety. These sprays are used as a fungicide, controlling all diseases of a foreign nature, such as scab, scale and kindred diseases. For the dormant spray one gallon of lime and sulphur should be u.sed with twelve to fourteen gallons of water. Where Bordeaux is used it should consist of four pounds of copper sulphate, four pounds of lime and fifty gallons of water.

The next most important spraying is what is known as the blos.som spray, which is a combination of lime and sulphur and arsenate of lead, the arsenate of lead being the recognized insecticide for all leaf-eating insects, and the one great apple pest, the codling moth. This sjiray is made by using lime and sulphur diluted, one to thirty-five, into which is added three pounds of arsenate of lead to fifty gallons of water. This spray should be applied with a pressure of from two hundred to two hundred and fifty ix)uuds so that the poison spray will be forced into the calyx cup of every blossom. The spray nozzles should be attached to the siiray rod with a forty -five degree elbow, so that every blossom eau be reached from any angle.

The man handling the spray rod is the "man behind the gun." Carelessness and indifference here may cost an orchardist hundreds of dollars. Every inside and top blossom should be reached. To do this continuous driving with the sprayer is impossible. The machine should be stopped at each tree so that thorough work can be done. If the blossom spraying is not thorough and complete, the apples will be wormy, no matter how many sprayings you give later. I will briefly explain the reason for this,

The codling moth is of a browni.sh color and about one-half inch in length. It deposits its eggfe on the bark of the tree and on its foliage shortly after the ]ietals of the blossom falls. These eggs are white specks about the size of a small pin head. Tiny worms which hatch from these eggs gradually work their way to the small apples and through the cal,vx cup mto the apple core. If the spraying has been thorough this calyx cup is full of poison and the little worm dies from poison food without getting into the apple.

In this latitude there are generally two broods of these worms, the second brood appearing in from forty to sixty days after the first. This brood conies from the fullgrown worms surviving from the first. After about three weeks spent in the apple these survivors come out. seek a biding place and here spin cocoons and change to

In the South, and sometimes here, this operation is repeated a third time, hence more spraying is necessary in some sections and seasons than iu others. In this latitude we have been able to control the moth with two poison sprays, one immediately following the first at the time of the calyx spray. This catches the late bloom and also any of the earlier bloom missed in the first application.

To spray successfully and economically, the orchardist should provide himself with a first-class high-power spraying outfit. We use in our orchards seven iwwer machines, one New Beau machine, with a magueto and six Cushmaus, manufactured in St. Joseph, Missouri.

Pruning

Next in importance iu the care of an orchard is systematic and heavy pruning. Do not do it all in oue year, but do part of it every year. Keep the tops cut bade, the center cleaned out and the lower branches cut away, so that the air and sunshine will be admitted. After doing this have your pruners take stepladders and go around the tree, thinning the sides of the tree which are liable to become too bushy. This side trimmiug is very important, a lesson which we have learned within the last few years. In this connection, however, I would caution the orchardist against cutting away too many side branches on the south and west. These parts of the tree get enough sun in any event to properly color the fruit and too much pruning on the south and west may subject the limbs and trunk of the tree to injury from the hot summer sun. We keep all water sprouts out of the trees by sending a foreman with eight or ten boys through the orchard, the last of June each year, and with gloved hands all sprouts are rubbed off with no injury to the tree, and at small expense.

In pruning leave no stubs as these are a source of infection from disease and borers. Stubs do not heal readily as the wound is too far from the sap circulation of the tree. Many orchards have been ruined and are being ruined by the stubs left in pruning. The limbs should be taken off close to the trunk or at the fork. Paint every wound at once, that means within two or three days. If you allow the wood to dry and check you have left an opening for disease, insects and the weather. We have always used white lead and oil, colored with lamp black, to produce the tree-trunk color. The last two seasons we used a pruning compound, an asiili.ilt paint, which h.id been recommended to us, and found it very satisfactory.

We prune only in May and June, and iu any event ncit l;\tcr tli;ni the middle of July. These are ideal mouths, both for healing and painting. In tlie winter tinii' wounds cannot always be proni]itly i)ainteil .-ukI :ire siili.i(H-t to the killing ]irncess of zero weather.

After a tree is put in shai)e and proiwrly triunned, a little work each year will keep it in good condition. I would urge on every orchardist the necessity of making pruning secondary only to spraying. AVe have learned that we caiuiot grow both wood and good fruit on the same tree. We have .ilso learned that fancy ,i|iiiles do not grow in dense foliage.

As spraying and pruning are the Siamese twins ut' orcharding. «i are culliv.ition and fertilization likewise twins in the same family are well colored, fair size and free from worms but you will have larger apples, more of them an year by adding proper cultivation and fertilization.

We use tlie ordinary disk as soou as the ground is dry and free from frost and tlicii harrow after every rain. This keeps a dust mulch in the orchard aud conserves all the moisture. This cultivation should be kept up until the middle of July, even until the first of August. If there is any sod in the orchard this should be plowed up, and then the disk and harrow used.

Every bearing orchard should be systematically fertilized. We use the ordinary barnyard manure every year, where available. When not, we use nitrate of soda and get even better results. Tliis year we used a carload of nitrate of soda purchased of Swift & Company, St. Joseph. Some day we expect to have a soil analysis made in all our orchards aud then supply only those elements in which we are deficient. We have secured excellent results, however, from the ordinary manure. A few years ago we manured, heavily, ten acres in one orchard. Since then we have noticed the increased yield and superior quality to the very tree row. This was the best investment we ever made in the orchard business.

We contend that by conserving the moisture by cultivation, aud feeding the tree.-i by fertilization we can raise apples every year, barring loss by frost. We have been raising apples every year from the same trees for the last three years and if we can continue this for the next three years, will be quite sure that this continued production is from proper cultivation and fertilization.

By spraying and pruning, the tree is kept healthy and vigorous; by cultivation and fertilization, there is enough moisture and strength of soil to set healthy and strong fruit buds every year.

Curry The Trees

Each spring the hanging bark on the trunk and limbs of the trees should lie removed. This should be done just before the dormant spray. This clinging bark furuishes a breeding place for insects, worms and disease. For its removal we use the ordinary mud currycomb, the surface of which has no sharp points but consists of circular pieces of corrugated tin. These can be purchased at any hardware store and are the best things we have found for this work.

The old uncared-for orchards in this country are dying as if by an eiiideniic. Some day we will wake up and find that the only orchards which are left are the commercial orchards, which have received proiJer ca.re and attention. The flat- and round-headed borers are doing this deadly work. P^ach sununer we go through our orchards and cut away all diseased parts, dig out the borers and cvit away the affected part back to the live wood and bark, disinfect the wouuds with Bordeaux mixture and paint the wounds.

The round-headed borer works in the wood, the flat-headed borer works between the wood and the bark and keeps killing back the bark. Poor pnining. esiiecially where stubs .ire left, is responsible for much of the trouble from borers.

There is also considerable Illinois canker in the orchards of this territory, which esiiecially affects the Ben Davis. The same treatment is recommended and by use of the Bordeaux spray at the dormant stflte, and the use of lime and sulphur, combined with arsenate of lead, as a summer .spray, it is claimed that the ravages of this new disease can lie kept in check. We have thoroughly tried this treatment and in normal years had fair success, but the last two dry seasons have .shown the weakness of such trees, aud where a tree is much affected, we recommend its destruction.

The planting of an orchard should be with great care as to distance between the trees and the selection of varieties. Apple trees should be planted forty feet apart and upon good ricli ground. This will eiwble the trees to develop to good size aud give room for work iu the orehanl. There is also sutHcieut room to grow crops between the rows during the productive iieriod, aud thus raise the orchard at small expense.

As to the selections of varieties, 1 would plant one-sixth Winesap, one-sixth Jonathan, one-sixth Delicious, one-sixth Grimes Golden, one-sixth Blaektwig and one-sixth Ben Davis. In a small orchard it might be advisjible to increase the Jonathan and Winesjip. but in a larger orchard I would limit these varieties, on account of their propensity to drop before the proper packing season. The .separate varieties should be planted in separate blocks on account of economy in picking and packing.

The figures I have given in this address as to the production and returns of our orchards are based on the Ben Davis variety, nine-tenths of our trees being Ben Davis, and we never regretted this proportion, notwithstanding the i)rojudice existing in some sections against the Ben Davis apple. On account of the serious ravages of Illinois canker during the last two dry seasons, however, we would not lie enthusiastic about planting too many of this variety.

The Ben Davis is really .1 high-class commercial apple. The Ben Davis may be an inferior apple in the East, but in the Jllssouri valley it grows to perfection, attains size and color, has few superiors as a cooking apple, is a large and regular producer, and packs, ships and stores better than any apple that we can raise.

The foregoing observations on orcharding are but the essentials of this important industry. There are many other interesting phases of this business, but I will not discuss them owing to lack of time. One thing, however, I would emphasize, and that is that profitable fruit crops are not the gifts of Providence any more than the other crops we grow.

In conclusion. I desire to say th.-it orcharding in the Jlissouri valley country is but in its infancy, and that the time will come when the famous orchards tributary to the .Missouri river will be famed the world over, and their fruit will not only add wealth to the owners and this section, but will bring health and happiness to iieoples who are not so fortunately situated as we are.

Apple Orchards

Who had the honor of planting the first fruit tree in Richardson county has not been recorded in the annals of the pioneers. The presumption is fair that some of the ox-teams that treked covered wagons into this section in 1855, holding all the hopes and possessions of the incoming settlers, had stowed awav some plants, herbs and small fruit trees from the home land. \\'hile manv of the new homeseekers and makers were from distant states and lands, tliere were many also from nearby Missouri, sections of wliich had been settled from thirty to fifty years and already enjoyed some of the home comforts that come with the possession of a fruitful orchard. However, after the start was made a few years only were required to find sdine fruit trees growing near the dwelling house of the thrifty citizens. Of course, there were those who had been born to the inheritance of a nomadic and shiftless frontier sort of life, who failed to plant even the cottonwood and box-elder aud seemed to prefer the bleakness of the wind-swept prairie to the groves and orchards that soon sprang up around the buildings of the settlers from Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New England. No thought was given to commercial orchards at that early day. The plaritings were of a few trees to a very few acres. This land was too remote from markets to think of anything but trying to supply the needs of tlie planters. The Germany colony that settled in the wooded hills along the IMissouri river and founded the town of Arago, in 1858, were impressed with the idea that where forest trees grew so luxuriantly that fruit trees would also do well. They had occasion to remark the abundance of wild fruits such as crab apples, plums, pawpaws, cherries, haws, mulberries, grapes, strawberries, gooseberries and many other kinds, and after the first year's experience in farming in 1859 or i860 sent to Buffalo, New York, from whence they had come, for fruit trees. The treasurer and general agent of the Arago colony at the time was Hon. Gust Duerfeldt, Sr., still residing at the age of eighty-5ix on the farm he settled upon in Barada township in 1858. It was through him that the trees were purchased from the eastern nurser}' and he may be regarded as the first fruit-tree agent in the county. A number of farmers planted small orchards from the trees so obtained, some of the trees are yet alive and producing fruit, but most of the trees were of varieties that did not respond to the change in climate and soil and have long since been displaced for varieties that proved better adapted to the new situation. While the settlers along the ^lissouri river bluft"s took early to the planting of fruit trees, the people who were forced to take the open prairie lands, because all the wooded hills had been gobbled up by the first comers, were in doubt about trees doing well and because of this doubt and the high price of the trees and the lack of money were much slower in starting.

Influence Of Down-East Farmers

There was not much done towards planting small orchards on these prairie lands until after the new settlers began to pour in from the country east of the Mississippi river, about 1870. Then in a few years it was not difficult to tell the homestead of a man who was born and reared on the frontier from one of the down-east farmers, who surrounded his buildings with fruit trees and groves and settled down to grow up with the ccnuitry and develop its agricultural and horticultural possibilities, while the fron- (18) tier's man liad it in his blood to love cows, ponies, dogs, and herds, and nearly always had a ramshackled, run down, shiftless, treeless sort of a surrounding to his habitation. Between the planting of an orchard and the eating of fruit therefrom from five to ten years intervened and it was back to old .Missouri in the neighborhood of St. Joseph that many an early settler went with a load of corn to exchange for apples before his own began to produce. This trading of corn and wheat and money for Missouri apples went on from the settlement of the country to 1880, with this difference, that after about 1875, the Missourians came with loaded wagons seeking a market and Init few from this county crossed the Missouri river seeking fruit. About 1880 the local orchards were able to supply the home trade, but for some years longer wagon-loads of Missouri apples went through this c(nmty seventy-five to one hundred and fifty miles west to the newer settlement where fruit was scarce: but after a while the Missouri apples and the apple wagons disappeared and the Nebraskan who wanted apples came to Richardson county and, finding all and more than he could carry away, returned home ladened, spreading the news of a new land of Egypt to which all might come and be satisfied, with fruit. It was probably this wagon traffic in apples that attracted the attention and induced some to plant larger orchards, believing that for many years, and perhaps always, there would be a market for this fruit in the semi-arid portions of this state. The farm journals, nursery men, tree agents and agricultural lecturers, at least since 1875. had persistently preached the planting of trees and orchards. This free advice had some effect, for there were but few fanns on which an orchard of some size was not planted, but it was not until about i8go. or later that rirchards of much size were planted in this county. Then there was an era of planting, but after several years it was apparent that there was considerable labor and care necessary to start an orchard: that there were hail storms, insects, rabbits, mice, weeds and droughts to fight and guard against and loss of grain crops on the land set apart for orchards, and the enthusiasm for this method of getting rich quick and without work, lessened and has never been regained. Then as the orchards grew and began to come into bearing there was an occasional frost or an unseasonable vear when the fruit was poor, undeveloped, wormy and unsalable. .-md in the vears when there was a good crop the markets were overstocked and the pvke was so low that the (Orchard was a burden and many were tempted to uproot them. :is a few did.

Conservation Of Orchards

With the muhiplication of bearing trees the insects and fungus enemies increased and it appeared that the growing of apples was destined to be an unprofitable business, but just then a new light dawned on the owners of a few orchards. They had heard of spraying and they took the trouble of going to see what other orchards had done both East and West, and were convinced that spraying was necessary to produce salable fruit. The late Henry C. Smith was one of the first to undertake spraying. Congressman Pollard had government experts sent here to demonstrate the benefits. Slowly the idea soaked in so that now no one expects to raise first class apples without spraying. Then along came a dry, hot year and notwithstanding the spraying the fruit was inferior, lacking both size and quality, then it occurred to Smith that the fruit grower in the arid region not only sprayed his trees but also cultivated the soil and conserved the moisture. He acted upon the theory that such a plan might also be of advantage here. The first year's trial dispelled all doubt. From that demonstration, both spraying and cultivation have come to be accepted dogma with up-to-date orchardists. The Weaver and Smith orchards have ))een through very dry seasons, in both 1911 and 1912, yet the fruit was full}' developed and uninjured by the drought, whereas the uncultivated orchards in the same locality produced small, defective apples, although they were sprayed.

But there is still something more that is necessary for rm orchardist to understand, if he is going to get any profit. He must have the business capacity to sell his product for what it is worth, for, of what avail is it to him to prune, spray, cultivate and grow a perfect apple and then sell it to some scalper at the price of cider apples. Ex}>erience, organization and a selling combination, among fruit growers in this locality, will take care of that after a while. It has been said that Richardson countv alone produced more car-loads of apples than some of the Northwestern states whose fame is world wide as apple producers. In igii six hundred cars were shipped out, while TQ12 has a record of one thousand cars. There are several differences to l)e taken into account in considering the capacity of Richardson county to produce apples, in comparison with a Northwestern state that grows its apples under irrigation in favored spots on hill tops adjacent to deep valleys that drain the frosty air into their recesses and allow the hill tops to escape harm. The valley lands here are unsuitable as orchard sites also, but the whole of Richardson countv is in the rain 1>elt and all is eood apple land except the rive^valley^. and so far as expansion of the business is concerned it would be easier for Richardson county to produce tiity thou?aiid cars of apples in a year than it would for Oregon. Idaho or Utah, for the acreage in those states that is suited for apples is verv- restricted because of lack of water and suitable land in juxtaposition.

After it is all said and dtme there is no better place to embark in the apple business than right here, for the same amount of attention and care devoted to orcharding will produce as g<X)d an apple as is grown anywhere in the \\'est: then this localir\- has the advantage of nearness to large markets and less expensive maintenance charges in the way of water, tax and fertilizer. It is quite as necessar}- to fertilize the soil in an orchard here as an}-where. if good crops of fruit are to be expected yearly. The experience of the most successful apple producers show that ^-igorous growth in the tree can be maintained that way and this vigor is what tells in the qualitv- and quantity- of the fruit.

The most persistent and difficult to eradicate of all the enemies of the apple tree is the borer. Sprapng and prmiing help some in the control of this pest anil danger, but a close examination of each tree is necessarv- to locate the borer and he must be dug out and the wound treated scientifically or great injiuA- follows and death results, if the borer is allowed to work out his life hisior\- in that tree and girdle it. Many imagine that orchards are subject to other ailments, but the holding of such opinions is the result of incomplete invesrigati«^. The borer is at the bottom of it when a tree dies in this counrv- from other than accidental causes.

Previous to the digging of the drainage ditches through the rich botttwn lands of the main stream of the Xemaha river and the nonh and south forks of the Xemaha. the bottom lands, alth.-ugh the richest in the world, were unproductive to a great extent: w^.rth ver>- linle for farming purposes, and valued ver\- low in dollars and cents, and were subject to frequent overflow. The old channel of the Xemaha and its two forks is ver\- crooked and inadequate to carr>- the great volume of water which comes dow-n the valley in time of hea\-A- rains in the spring and simimer season. The farmer who trieil to sow a crop did so with the chances against liim. the .>lds being in favor of the river overflowing and destro\-ing the crop before it was ready to harvest. It was to be expected that someone or group of individuals would eventually undertake to redeem this vast acreage of appearently worthless land and make it fit for crop production by removing the flood menace through the digging of drainage ditches. The movement began in 1903, when the first agitation for a drainage ditch was commenced. Then it was discovered that Nebraska had no laws providing for incorporating drainage districts, and also that permission had to be obtained from the federal government in order to incorporate the Indian lands along the lower stretches of the Xemaha within the district. These difficulties were overcome, however, and drainage district Xo. i \vas successfully undertaken and the ditch pushed to completion. Three drainage districts Xos. I, 2. and 4. are now in successful operation in Richardson county, and a second attempt is now being made to revive the defeated project for drainage district Xo. 3. wliich is intended to drain the overflow lands of the Muddy river.

Drainage district Xo. i Ijegins at the mouth of the Xemaha river, where it empties into the Missouri, and drains the Xemaha valley as far as Dawson. The river, before the completion of the drainage ditch, had a total length of sixty-five miles from Dawson to its mouth. This distance has been shortened to a length of thirty-one miles, and vast benefit to the contiguous lands has been noticeable. Fifty-three miles of public highway were affected and the benefit to the highways has l^een estimated by engineers to exceed seventy-seven thousand dollars. Thirty thousand acres of rich land are directly affected and drained by the completed ditch. The fall of the stream as it flows through the new channel has an average of three and one-half feet to the mile. The project was started at a time when there were no drainage laws on the statutes of the state v)f Xeliraska. The promoters of the undertaking, hi i\\ ever, succeded in ha\ing a wise law enacted by the state Legislature and the work moved onward to a successful conclusion.

The Legislature of Xebraska at the session of 1905, enacted a drainage law mi^re comprehensive than any then existing in the statute books - if this .state. This drainage act. with subsequent amendments, is found in Statutes of 1907. Compiled Statutes of Xebraska. Chapter eighty-nine, .\rticle four. Sections one to thirtv->even.

Under the provisions of this statute the owners of about sixteen thousand acres of wet and overflowed lands signed articles of association and organized themselves into a drainage district with outlines embracing twenty-six thousand acres and presented a petition to the district court of Richardson county, asking to be declared a public corporation of Nebraska. After ail the parties whose lands or interests were affected were brought into court and after proper hearing on all contested matters, the court entered a decree on the 14th of February, 1906, duly establishing and forming the organization into drainage district No. i, of Richardson county, Nebraska, as prayed for by the petitioners, with boundaries as modified by the court, and declaring the drainage district a public corporation of the state.

On the 17th day of March thereafter the landowners of the drainage district assembled at the court house in Falls City, and elected as a board of supervisors, Daniel Riley, R. E. Grinstead, J. H. Miles, C. F. Pribbeno and J. P. Mooney, to carry out the provisions of the drainage law and the purpose of the drainage organization. The board qualified and organized by electing J. H. Miles, chairman, and J. P. Mooney, secretary, and employed .\. M. Munn, a drainage engineer, to make the survey, maps, plats, estimates, schedules and plans required by section 9 of the drainage act.

In December, 1906, the engineer filed his report with the board and notice was given to all parties affected as required by section 13 of the act. and on Fe1)ruary 2, 1907, and subsequently hearings were had upon the oljjections and claims filed under sections 14 and 15, and upon the conclusion of the hearings and the equalization of the assessments on April 27, 1908, the lx)ard levied the same assessments against the land and other propert}' in the district and certified the same to the county clerk as provided in section 18. The engineer reported that other lands than those incorporated originally by the decree of the court would be benefited by the drainage improvement and these, by a subsequent proceeding in the district court instituted under the provisions of section 1 1 were added to the district and notice was also given of the assessments upon these added lands and a hearing was had thereon.

^^'ithin the limits of the district were found certain lands belonging to members of the Iowa tribe of Indians and the Sac and^Fo.x tribe of Indians. Tliese lands could not be taxed under existing laws. To permit these Indian lands to be reclaimed, the Congress of the United States enacted a law, ajjproved June 14. 1906, the title being- as follows: ".\n act to enalile the Indians allotted lands in severaltv within the boundaries of district No. i, in Richardson county, Nebraska, to protect their lands from overflow, and for the segregation of such of said Indians from their tribal relations as may be expedient and for other purposes." The lands have all been allotted, and the funds segregated, but the secretary of the interior has held back fifty-seven thousand dollars belonging to these Indians against the Indian lands.

When drainage district No. i was established and declared a public corporation by decree of court, February 14, 1906, the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad took an appeal to the supreme court from the order including its roadbed in the district and making the railroad company an involuntary member of the political organization known as drainage district No. I. In the supreme court the railroad company assailed the constitutionality of the act under which the district was organized. No such question has been raised in the lower court, and when the railroad company first disclosed its purpose in its brief filed in April. 1907, attacking the drainage law on that ground, the board of supervisors thought it wise to suspend active work until the supreme court passed upon the question presented. On December 7, 1907. the court filed an opinion holding the act constitutional in respect to the points on which it was assailed, but the second contention of the railroad company that it was not "A necessary party to the proceeding in the district court to declare the drainage district a public cor];)oration," was sustained.

Before the landowners organized this drainage district they appealed to the powers at Washington for expert assistance to determine for them whether the wet, submerged and overflowed lands of the Nemaha river could be reclaimed and protected. The department of agriculture sent C. G. Elliot, engineer in cliarge of drainage investigation, who looked the situation over and reported that the work was feasible and the valley could l)e reclaimed at reasonable cost. After the survey by A. M. Munn, the engineers employed 1)y tlie drainage board, had been reported, the board called to his assistance C. G. Elliot, expert drainage engineer, who approved the ])lans and estimates of the engineer in charge of the work. The estimates were lilieral. and the report set out that the works and improvements formulated and agreetl upmi could l)e constructed safely within the estimates, the total estimated cost being $285,900. The number of acres in tlie district are as follows : .Sac and Fox Indians, 2,392.72 : Iowa Indians, 378.67; other lands, 26,630.90; total, 29,402.29.

cents an acre. These lands were assessed for state and count)- purposes at a valuation of twenty-five to fifty dollars per acre, while the adjoining uplands were assessed at from fifty to one hundred dollars per acre. In addition to assessments against the lands the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad was assessed $16,014; the Missouri Pacific railroad, $3,500; the county, on its public roads, $18,600, a total of $38,114.

On June 15, 1908, the board of supervisors authorized the issuance of negotiable bonds to the amount of $260,000 to defray the immediate cost of the undertaking, the bonds to bear date of June 30, 1908, and to mature in different years; the first bond being redeemable or reaching maturity on July I, 1913, and the last portion of the issue reaching maturity on July I, 1927. The bonds were issued by the board of supervisors, who were as fcillow: Daniel Riley, chairman; J. P. Mooney, secretary; R. E. Grinstead, J. H. Allies, \\ F. Pribbeno. A. R. Keim, attorney, and A. ]\I. Munn, engineer.

The drainage ditch was completed in 1913. just five years after the actual work of dredging was begun. Bonds to the amount of $202,000, bearing interest at six per cent, were issued. The grand total cost of the ditch to date has been $297,564.

Thomas Wilkinson, of Dawson, is the present chairman of district Xo. I, and C. F. Bucholz is secretary. Since the completion of the ditch many landowners have supplemented the work by ditching and tiling their own lands as individuals and are reaping considerable benefits from the venture in the way of increased crop yields. Over one thousand acres of land in the bottoms are now tile drained and other owners are making preparations to lay tile for the purpose of more rapidly draining the snil in time of heav)- rains.

The drainage on the main channel of the Xemaha river has not lieen a complete success, because of the fact that too much of tlie old channel of the stream was used. In the further dredging of the south fork of the Xemaha the district is getting away from this method and is dredging an entirely new channel, it being noticeable that in places where the old channel was abandoned entirely it very rapidly filled up and the new stream was worn deeper I)y erosion, thus making a more rapid current to carry awav the >uiplus flood waters.

own account through his land on the upper end or terminus of district No. I. Mr. Miles completed three miles of ditch, which is of vast benefit to his bottom ranch lands.

Drain.4Ge District No. 4

Drainage district No. 4 begins at the terminus of the Miles ditch and continues to the county hne for a distance of six and one-half miles. This ditch drains a total of three thousand four hundred acres and the flowing water has a fall of four feet to the mile and is now in charge of County Engineer J. F. Relf. The estimated cost of this ditch is fifty-nine thousand dollars. The work in this district is well under way and is being dredged along plans formulated from knowledge gleaned from the dredging of the ditch in district No. i. John E. Wissler is chairman of the Iward of supervisors in this district.

Drainage District No. 2

Drainage district Xo. 2 extends from Dawson to the county line northwest of Humboldt and embraces a total of five thousand eight hundred acres.

County Fair And Agricultural Exhibits

The Richardson county fair ceased to be an institution in the year 1894. During the long career of the fair and agricultural exhibit it was easily the most popular institution in this section of Nebraska. The first fair was organized in 1867 and the fair grounds were laid out at Salem in one of the most picturesque and beautifully wooded spots in the ^^'est, along the banks of the Nemaha river. Nature has so endowed this spot, located just to the east of the town of Salem, that it was a natural recreation ground shaded with great, natural forest trees and well watered and carpeted with velvety blue-grass. A splendid race-track, one-half mile in circumference, was laid out, and for years the race meets were exciting and interesting e^-ents in connection with the fair. An impetus was given to the breeding of racing animals and fine live stock, and many of the old-time horsemen lired horses which became famous the country o\er for speed and endurance on the track. The late John ^^^ Holt was one of the prime movers in the establishment of the county fair; Ralph Andersun served as president of the Fair Association for a number of years; many of those who were prominently identified with the association have gone to their rewards in the hfe eternal and owing to the lack of recorded data available concerning the history of the county fair it is impossible to give any very authentic account of the various fairs which were held for nearly thirty 3ears on the Salem grounds.

The county fair was an institution to which people looked forward during the year, when, with the crops laid aside and care thrown to the winds, entire families would gather at Salem for the one great event of the whole year. Everybody deemed it necessary to attend the fair and there were hundreds of exhibitors at each annual session. The Salem fair was - the annual reunion and home-coming meet for the greater part of southeastern Nebraska during the heyday of its prosperity. With the coming of the nineties and the advent of the chautauquas in the' land the popularity of the county fair gradually waned and the yearly chautauqua has taken its place. The county fair ceased to exist after 1894 and the chautauqua then came into its own. The first chautauqua in the county was held at the Salem fair grounds and soon became an even more popular institution than the annual fair. Before the popularity of the automobile had reached such a great height, as high as ten thousand people attended the Salem chautauqua and a large part of this number lived in tents throughout the session. Such famous men as Gen. Fitzinigh Lee, General Gordon, Gov. Bob Taylor, of Tennessee, T. Dewitt Talmage, and Sam Jones, the great evangelist, were among the attractions during the early years of the chautauqua. Of late years several chautauquas are held in the county each season, practically every town in Richardson county having its list of attractions during the late summer season, and it is evident that tlie chautauqua has come to stay as an established institution. Attempts to resuscitate the county fair at different times oi late years have not been successful.

Agricui.Turai. Development Of Richardson County

A thousand years ago the Indian recognized these beautiful valleys, the gently undulating uplands and the sunny hillsides as the land of homes. The mighty Missouri, the winding Nemahas and the wandering creeks pro- \-ided wood, shelter and water.

of the great unknown and recuperated their forces before plunging into the terrors of an unpathed wilderness. The flowing waters, sheltering timber belts and the luxuriant pasturage recuperated their stock and put energy into the human heart. When the first real homemaker rafted across the river and ascended the bluffs of the western shore, he turned his eyes back toward the Eastern home. He remembered those groves, orchards, productive fields; he thought of the well-filled granaries, those splendid gardens and all the comforts of that far-off land. But as he turned his face to the West the rising sun of that splendid morning dashed a golden glow over the landscape, the fogs lifted from the valleys of the Nemahas and drifted off into the azure of a perfect day; the emeralds of the hills and plains caught a little of the gilt of the sunlight, the darker sombers of the timber belts lay enticingly winding away, the prairies were dotted by the golden flowers of the gumweed, the crimson of the phlox, the tawn of the lily, the purity of the plum and the chokecherry. The wild cucumber was just clambering over tlie tops of the underbrush along the streams, and the clematis clung more sturdily to the chosen tree, while the wild grape flung its flaunting tendrils graspingly towards the swaying bough, putting forth the bloom that should later be followed by the purple fruits of autumn.

There he saw the deer, antelope, and buffalo; he saw the plover, wild duck, the honking goose and the everpresent grouse. And as the rising sunlight began to simmer the ether of the plains, his vision blurred, and in the optimism of the hour a new and a greater land lay smilingly before him. He saw the homesteads spring up over the land, he saw the fields of waving corn, the herds of cattle: he saw the wild fowl translated into flocks of poultry and, vision of visions, he saw a thousand spires of smoke arising from tlie firesides of a thousand homes.

Then the development went on, and he beheld the church spires as they pointed upward, he saw the children playing about the school maid, as she cared for them and moulded them into characters of worth. He saw more than corn and wheat, cattle, hogs and fruits; he saw a great commonwealth producing sturdv men and women, to go forth building a greater and a better nation than the world had ever known.

Who was the first man to grasp the plow and urge his strong oxen across the wild sod and watch the ribbon of chocolate loam that strung out its productive length as he trailed across a chosen plot of ground? Xo man knows; his name is not recorded, bnt the inspiration and example of his act, the success of his achievement, taught a thousand imitators, and unawares a great agricultural industry sprang up.

Forty years ago we visited one of the real pioneer homes of Nebraska, it was on the north bank of Porter run, and the owner was a pioneer of the true type.

He iiad dug out a cavern and walled it with stones from the creek, a joint of pipe projected through the roof at the north end, a door opened to the sunny end on the south. In one room they had lived and reared a family of boys and girls. Far and near it was l^nown as the dug-out of Tommy Hodkins. The nearby timber provided his fuel, the spring on the creek the water, the luxuriant grass the food for his oxen, the wild meat .of the plains his food, supplemented by a little flour or meal transported in the earlier days from Nebraska City. Few of the children from those very earliest homes ever stayed to enjoy the fruits of their fathers" exertion and ambition. They inherited the wild instinct of the pioneer ; they loved the open lands, and the encroachments of the second brigade of settlers drove them on into the lands of the setting sun. But this type of home was the first and it was a comfortable retreat from the blasts of winter.

The breaking plow was the first requirement in the way of farm machinery; it was a long-beamed, low-built affair and had a long curving mouldlxiard that gently turned the sod and left it in an unbroken ribbon. It had a standing cutter and a depth-gauging wheel at the end of the beam. Then came the "grasshopper" plow. It had long rods curved in mouldboard fashion that turned the sod, and the share was a flat steel blade that sat ]ierfect1y flat in the furrow and cut a root or stem in parallel stroke.

T have followed both these plows down the long furrow and ha\e often sorrowed as they turned a plover nest, with its speckled eggs, (ir caught a full dozen prairie chicken eggs and whirled them under the sod. Sometimes it was different when a two-foot rattlesnake came buzzing ui> with the sod and the driver jumped swiftly over the handles and onto the lieam to avuid the poison fangs. The little six-inch lizard often left his tail wriggling in the gra.'ss and hurried off to shelter. The swift, darting liluerncer glittered in the sun as he sped more swiftK" than an\- reptile and disappeared in a nearby clump of redroots or weeds. The redroot was a familiar weed in those days, and I often heard the judgment of a piece of ground placed on the number of redroots that infested it. But as a bo)- I considered them only a plow-duller that forced me oftener to pound out the clay. They were helped in this by the shoestring, a lowly plant that sent long, stringy roots through the soil and the sound of their cutting was disquieting to the driver and discouraging to the team.

The plover were so plentiful that I have often knocked them over with a handy redroot or the whip I carried to urge the team. The chicken of the prairies crowed and strutted within a rod of me as I hitched and began tlie morning work. The quail was more plentiful than today and many deplore the passing of those splendid fowl of the prairies. I ha\'e I if ten noted the great green-headed mallards as they sank into some nearby pool and at noon, while the team rested, it was common sport for the jiicineer to crawl up to the slough-grass border and with his old shotgun, drop a couple of the fine birds.

The pioneer had no modern disc and no harrow of sufficient cutting ])ower to pulverize those sods, hence he was compelled to let them rot through tlie long summer, stopping his plowing on that account about the first of July or at least by the middle of that month. Then in September, or preferably .\ugust, he l)ackset the sod, cutting a little deeper and throwing u|) an inch or so of fine soil on top of the sod. Then with a wooden liarrow with perfect))- round teeth, he harrowed the field and sowed his wlieat. broadcasting in the earlier vears and sowing with a hoe-drill later (in. I can remem1)er the stir the first press-drill made some thirty years ago.

The big-bcader was the instrument of harxesting. We had three long lieader-boxes on wagons. These boxes were sitled with house siding, and luu! tlie oft^ side some two or three feet the higher; and woe be to the driver who piled tlie wheat too high on the high side, as the whole wagon would upset w itli ease. This heading-machine was propelled by si.x or eight horses that walked side by side heliind the machine and pushed it through the fields, a long sickle cutting the grain that fell on the carrier and was elevated to the wagon. Tlie Marsh harvester came about 1881. the wire binder a little later, but it was not :\ success, ai^^^iut few were used ; the Marsh harvester lasted but a few }ears and was driven from the field in short order b\- the twine-binder.

Favored Sites Of Early Homes

Along the ^Missouri bluffs there were nooks and corners among the hills that afforded sites for some of the tirst pioneer homes. The timber provided the logs and the old log house of the Eastern states was common as well as dug-outs in the hills. The hunting was good and helped wonderfully in the agricultural development, as the sale of furs often was the largest money income the pioneer had. In those sheltered nooks he could raise corn and vegetables, and the tobacco patch was no uncommon sight. The plums, grapes, choke-cherries, gooseberries and wild raspberries afforded a fair fruitage. The fish was plentiful, but the real agriculture never started in that locality. Among the native fruits we must not. forget the pawpaw that appealed to the emigrant from Indiana as no other. There are still groves of this tree along the bluffs and I have many times dined on the pawpaw.

Perhaps we should not forget the old water-mills that helped forward the agricultural progress of this country. They sprang up along the Xemahas and afforded the pioneer a chance to secure flour and meal at home; here he could go with his grist some three or four tim.es a year and get his grain ground. I have often driven to Luthy's mill west of Humlx)ldt. on the Nemaha, and stayed until my turn came to get a grist ground.