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LEXINGTON GROWS WITHOUT WATCHING
0
VOL. I "
LEXINGTON, OREGON, THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 20, 1906
NO. 52
LfXINGTON
W
EAT
DRY FARMING THE HOPE OF
THE WEST
A METHOD OF PRODUCING BOUNTIFUL CROPS,
WITHOUT IRRIGATION, IN SEMI-ARID
REGIONS
BY JOHN L. COWAN
(JULY NUMBER CENTURY MAGAZINE)
(Continued from last week)
under the management of Superinten
dent W. P. Snycter. He has proved
not only that as good crops can be
grown on those parched and wind
swept lands as In the irrigated valleys,
but also that perhaps the most profita
ble way of utilizing those crops Is In
the raising and fattening of hogs and
cattle. The extension of dry farming
therefore, will not mean the extinction
of the great stock raising Industry of
the Western public land states, but It
will mean its cotlnued growth, with the
distribution of the profits among many
thousand's of small farmers, Instead of
among the comparatively small num
ber of wealthy and arrogant cattle
owners. When the arid lands have
been reclaimed, they 'will support many
times the number of cattle that now
I raze 'upon them, although the open
range will no longer exist, and the
great cattle ranches that now cover
areas as large as Eastern counties will
be cut up Into multitudes of small
farms. At the North Platte agricul
tural sub station, brome-grass, Kaffir
corn, Kherson oats, emmer, and cane
yield abundantly, and alfalfa is consid
ered one of the most profitable of all
crops. Durum wheat is there shown
to yield three times as much per acre
as the common varieties. An attempt
is now being made to develop a winter
' variety of durum. If this Is accom
iplished, Western wheat growers will
have nothing to fear from the compe
tition of Canadian or Argentine har
vest fields.
At the Fort Hays experimental sub
station of the Kansas State Agricul
tural College, four cuttings 'of alfalfa
were obtained without irrigation last
year; and, although corn is regarded
as particularly unsuited to that locality,
yet last year's crop averaged forty-five
bushels to the acre. At this station it
has also been demonstrated that sugar
beets can be grown as successfully and
as profitably In arid as in irrigated
lands. The yield In tons per acre is
smaller, but this is fully compensated
for by the greater sugar contents. Ap
ples, peaches, pears, plums, cherries,
and a great variety of forest trees
thrive upon the simplest application of
dry-farming principles upon these plain
lands, which are naturally treeless and
devoid of other vegetation than bunch
grass and sage-brush. .
The most surprising thing connected
with the subject of dry-farming Is the
unwillingness of the average Western
farmer to give it a fair trial. It would
naturally be supposed that men whose
utmost labors barely suffice to wrest a
livelihood from the parched and unwill
ing acres they own would be eager to
adopt any method that gave promise of
better results, or at least to Imitate
the methods of their neighbors, who
with no better land, yet tobtaln results
many times greater.
Before the Pomeroy model farm
was started at Hill City It was adver
tised for six weeks that Mr. Campbell
would explain his methods of soil cul
ture at a free public meeting In the
court-house. The hall was crowded
with farmers, some of whom traveled
for many miles in order to attend. Of
the whole assemblage, only two adopt
ed the lecturer's recommendations.
These have been fully as successful as
he has been, raising good crops every
year. The others listened, shook their
heads, and went their way unconvinced
They still cling to old fashioned Tneth-
ods, such as have wicked tens of
thousands of farmers in every locality
between central Kansas and California,
and have never yet given satisfactory
results west of the Missouri River.
As a class, farmers are the most
conservative men In the world. Most
of those who left Eastern farms to
build new homes in the Western land
of promise argue that the methods
their fathers and grandfathes employ
ed must neccessarlly be the best
methods, regardless of conditions that
differ as widely as the antipodes. Full
of bigotry and prejudice, they set their
faces like flint against what they term
"new fangled notions." A good many
of them, it Is feared, shrink from the
unceasing toil and unremitting watch
fullness demanded by the new system.
In any event, it has been observed that
those who have been in the West for
many years can only rarely be persuad
ed to give dry farming a fair trial.
They will not even read dry farming;
literature, or visit a model farm or anr
agricultural experiment station to in
spect the results attained by rational
methods.
Newcomers in the West, however.
are nearly always willing to learn and
profit by the experience of others, and .
the younger element among the farm
ers hail dry farming as the dawning of
a new era. It is the young men who
have given to scientific soil culture the.
impetus It has received at Cheyenne,
Julesburg, Limon, and other places. It
Is the young men, also, that are re
sponsible for the aggressive campaign
being conducted by the Campbell Dry-
Farming Association, organized last
October, with headquarters in Denwri.
Its object is to spread the dry-farming-
propaganda until every acre of arable-
(Continued on page 4.),
TOKTURK BY MVAGK3
"Speaking of the torture to which
some of the savage tribes in the
Philippines subject their captives, re
minds me of the intense suffering I
endured for 3 months from inflamma
tion of the kidneys," says W. M. Sher
man, of Cushing, Me., "Nothing help
ed me until 1 tried Electric Bitters,
three bottles of which completely cured
me." Cures Liver Complaint, Dyspep-
sla.Blood disorders and Malaria; and
restores the weak and nervous to ro-
bust health. Guaranteed by W. P,
McMillan, druggist. Price 50c.
WAS A VtfP.Y SICK BOY"
But Cured by Chamberlain's Colic,
Cholera and Diarrhoea Remedy
"When my boy was two years old
he had a very severe attack of bowel
complaint, but by the use of Chamber-'
Iain's Colic, Cholera and Diarrhoea
Remedy we brought him out "all right,"
says Maggie Hickox, of Midland,- Mich
This remedy can be depended upon in
the most severe cases. Even cholera
infantum is cured by it, Follow the
plain printed directions and a1 cure is
certain. For sale by W. P.'-McMillan,
Drug Store.
LEACH BROTHERS GREAT SEPTEMBER i
ARGAIN SALESBETTER TAKE ADVANTAGE
c3
8
Special sale on Cotton Blankets. We offer you a fine double
Cotton Blanket for 75 cents. A little wider and heavier Blanket
for 85 cents. 4 and 5 pound Blankets from $1.25 to $1.75.
Special fine lot of Ladies Rain Coats fust arrived. Value from
$12.50 to $20.00. We are offering on account of short crops at
prices that will simply astonish you, from $5. to $12.50.
Special on Ladies 15 cent black cotton hose, per pair, ' 10 cents
Wall Paper stock is complete and prices are correct.
We can save you money on your fall order for groceries. Call d-
and see and take advantage.
Hardware? Yes, we sell a little hardware too.
In Paints and Oils we can furnish you anything you want at
close figures.
Don't averlook us when you want Implements and Vehicles,
remembering that we sell everything you use, eat and wear.
CLOTHING PRICE TO MOVE THEM
5.00 Suits for - -;,'. 3.75
6.00 . " " - : - - - - 4.50
7.00 , " " . - - - - 5.25
9.00 " " - - - - 6.75
10.00 " .... 8.50
12.00 . . . . 9.00
14.00 " " - - - - 10.50
15.00 " " - - - 11.25
16.00 " " - - - - 12.00
17.00 " " - - - - 12.75
18.00 " " ' - - - 13.50
20.00 " " - - - 15.00
Stwm's
All. Boys and Children s clothing 1-4 off.
"For cash of course"
The Famous Blue Ribbon
Shoes for Girls and Boys
included in this sale.
ALL SHOES REDUCED
All $1.00 Shoes go at ' -
1.25
1.35
1.50
1.75
2.00
2,25
2.50
2.75
3.00
3.25
3.50
4.00
4.50
5.00
5.50
6.00
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Above Prices are for "Cash Only."
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ers
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