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THE SAND HILLS
OF NEBRASKA
Interest J no; Article by J. L. Crlnon,
KdlUr and Publisher Carl
son's Herat Itrvlew
In September, 1913, 0. L. Carl
Mn, editor and publisher of Carlsons
vRoral Review, published at Norfolk,
Nebr., published an article on "The
Sand Hills of Nebraska." This ar
ticle, which was recently re-published.
Is very interesting as well as in
structive. We re-print It herewith:
It has been agreed by the editors
nd publishers of Nebraska that dur
ing the month of September each
will write and publish a special ar
ticle, taking for a subject some fea
ture of Nebraska life, production or
development. Fearing that one of
the most Interesting districts of Ne
braska will be overlooked by others,
I am going to take as my subject for
this special article, the "Sand Hills"
of Nebraska.
.While this name Is largely a mis
nomer as generally applieu to many
parts of the state, it is usually made
to Include some fifteen counties, all
located In the central northern part
of the state. When I say that thet
term "sand hills" Is a misnomer as
generally used, I mean that many
parts of the so-called "sand hills"
are of a clay formation, and contain
no more sana than Is generally found
In clay soils, at least no more than
la necessary to make the clay pro
ductive of crops.
The Sand Hills of Nebraska offer
a rich field for study. As yet many
Nebraskans know little or nothing of
this region, and even our own soil
Investigators, and soil experts, have
passed over this district of the state
without any attempt to give the dis
trict more than a passing notice.
More has been done with reference
to studying the climate of this reg
ion than the soil and Its possibili
ties. It la definitely known that the
temperature decreases as one goes
westward and northward, the mean
temperature for the state being 48.5
degrees, the extreme west being two
degrees lower than the extreme east,
and th extreme north slightly less
than six degrees lower than the ex
treme south. Destructive hot winds
do not reach the Sand Hill regions,
aa they do In the extreme southern
part of the state. This year has
given excellent opportunity for stu
dying the hot winds and their effect
upon the crops of the several parts
of the state. This study discloses
the fact that soli has much to do
with the destructlveness of these
Hot winds. Thruout the state, with
out reference to latitude or longi
tude, crops suffered most in the dls
'tricts of clay soils, and the purer the
elay the more the crops suffered. On
the clay soils In the southern part of
the state crops suffered all the way
irom partial to total loss of crops
and especially true Is this of corn.
The only areas In the Sand Hills that
have suffered from dry weather thls(
year, are the clay soli areas. i
It will be Impossible in an article
such as this to devote much space to
the geology of this district. It may
be well that this Is so, since tnere is
such a wide difference of opinion on
this subject. All are agreed, how
ever, that this formation is the re
sult of the erosion and decomposi
tion or the Loup Fork formation.
This formation spreads over all west
ern Nebraska and is composed of
beds of clay, sand and limestone,
which when thoroly eroded and mix
ed by the action of the wind becomes
the fine sand or the Sand Hill dist
rict. The one element always want
ing Is humus. This has been pre
vented rrom forming because or fires
and the moving particles or sand In
earlier times. Since fires have been
prevented the soil has become bound
together with vegetation in the form
of native grasses. Nature is a great
healer, and if fires can be prevented
for a few years more, the Sand
Hills will become one or the best
grassed countries in America, espec
ially If we consider the quality of
grass. There Is a small area or sand
hills extending Into Lincoln county,
and also Dundy county, the latter ex
tending Into Colorado. For the pur
poses of this article only the district
north of the Platte river is consider
ed. Here the Sand Hills consist or
rounded dunes, saucer-shaped val
leys, clay valley lands, and extensive
hay flats, the latter subirrigated with
a water table quite near the surface.
The Sand Hills differ In agricul
tural value and Importance as do all
other soil formations. In no other
one characteristic can the value of
Sand Hill soil be foretold with such
certainty as In the substrata of wa
ter. In the poorest districts of this
region the water table will be reach
ed without encountering anything
but sand. In other districts the wa
ter will be reached underneath a
strata of clay. The latter Is the
more general rule of finding water,
and In this rormation the surface noil
is always productive. Agricultural
ly, the poorest soil Is found in the
eastern limit of the Sand Hill area,
the soil increasing In value as one
goes westward, until the clay lands
of western Nebraska are reached, ex
cept that the rainfall decreases with
longitude.
There is also a difference noticed
In the productive value of Sand Hill
lands between those drained to the
north, and those drained to the
south. The Sand Hills or north cen
tral Nebraska drain Into the Niobra
ra at the north and into branches or
the Platte toward the southeast. Im
mediately south or the ridge or high
est dunes are to be round the most
productive lands, and It is here one
finds more or the saucer-shaped val
leys, or flats, and a belt of clay land
from a few sections to several miles
In width. Most or these flats are
as rerttle and productive as the high
priced lands of Iowa and Illinois,
and many farms on such soils will
harvest better crops this year than
will $200 lands farther east.
Another district In the Sand Hills
of Nebraska call for special men
tion. These are the extensive and
valuable bay flats at the source of
the Elkhorn river system. Here en
tire townships will be round, all or a
very productive type or soli, and
with the water table but a few feet
below the surface. It Is such soils
that have made Newport, Bassett,
and other towns known to all Amer
icans for their Immense output of
hay of the highest quality. There Is
no failure of crop here, always an
income, and In the near future such
lands will command a very high
pries.
No district in America surpasses
the Sand Hills In water, either in
the quality, or the ease with which
It may be secured. The best of pure
sort water, and very cool, may be
had anywhere In this region at
depths or ten to fifty feet. The wa
ter is always found In gravel, and
with the exceptions of a few places
In the extreme eastern edge or the
district, under clay. The district Is
well watered with running streams,
which find their way to the Niobrara
or Platte rivers.
In dry hot. seasons such as the
present one, the agricultural value
or a country may be studied best.
The proof or the fact that the Sand
Hills district of Nebraska Is to play
an Important part in the future
wealth of the state and country is
seen this year in the millions of dol
lars worth of grass going to waste
for want or cattle to eat it. And
this grass is or excellent quality, as
seen In the quality and condition of
the cattle being grazed there. Sand
Hllls cattle have long been known in
the markets of the country, both
feeders and packers being quick and
ready buyers or them. There are
some 10.000 square miles or so-called
Sand Hills in Nebraska. Every
square mile Is capable of supporting
100 head or more of cattle. If this
region were stocked with cattle to
Its full capacity, a million head ol
cattle could be counted there. This
would represent a wealth of forty to
fifty million dollars no mean sum
in the wealth or any state.
Dairying, cattle, horses, hogs and
poultry are the hope or this district.
Alfalfa, all the clovers and melilo
tus (sweet clover) will grow on the
highest hill, and the seed rrop rrom
this plant and alfalfa are highly prof
itable. In the valleys as good corn
will be harvested this year as can be
seen anywhere in the corn belt. Veg
etables and especially potatoej are
equal to the best that can be grown
anywhere. The Sand Hills potato
has already made a place for itself
in all the markets of the country be
cause of its excellent quality.
The homesteaders for the most
part were men and women from the
shops and schools and railroads of
the country, who possessed no means
to lmprvoe their homes or stock
their land, and who possessed no
knowledge of the needs or possibili
ties or the country. This makes the
present need of the district men with
some money to stock their land, and
who possess some knowledge or
farming and stock growing. The
district will make no rapid progress
In the way of producing wealth until
a new type of owner secures the
land. Those or the first settlers who
came rrom farms and possess some
knowledge of farming and livestock
are making good. These are Inter
ested in the very best development
of the country, and are building
school houses, making roads, and in
many other ways are proving them
selves valuable assets of the district.
Another need or this district, as it
is or every other new part or our
country. Is a national banking or
currency system which does not pen
alize the first settlers, and first pro
ducers, or a new country by compell
ing them to pay a higher rate or In
terest than those who do not so much
need financial aid are compelled to
pay. It seems Impossible for these
settlers to obtain money at a lower
rate than ten per cent while the new
settlers of Canada, Costa Rica, Chile
and Argentina can obtain financial
aid at a four or five per cent rate.
No agricultural district of this coun
try can pay ten per cent interest on!
the productive capacity of the dist
rict, and yet these poor people who
need financial help so much are
compelled to pay a rate no country
can justify. This Is retarding the
progress of the district, and will re
tard it as can nothing else. No part
of the country Is more sure of re
turns on investments than the Sand
Hills of Nebraska, and if these peo
ple could secure money to finance
themselves at just rates their prog
ress would be most rapid.
With other editors in Nebraska I
have long advocated Nebraska in
vestments for Nebraskans. Those
who follow most closely to the lines
of their own latitude and climatic
conditions will succeed best in their
land investments. Millions of dol
lars have been invested In lands in
the far southwest by farmers living
inNebraska, Iowa and Illinois. I was
recently in western Oklahoma and
the Panhandle or Texas where farm
ers told me they had paid upto $25
an acre for land that would, not sup
port more than 25 cows to the sec
tion of land. Empty elevators, idle
grain mills, abandoned farms, and
rivers with no water, speak with a
greater emphasis than can my pen
of the roily or such unwise invest
ments. Why men will leave a coun
try known to them for years ror Its
certainty or crops for one or which
they know nothing Is one or those
unexplalnable things no man can
understand.
This district by reason or its rich
grasses, pure water, healthful cli
mate and cheap lands is singularly
fitted to make homes ror the renters
on high-priced lands farther east.
There is no reason why a renter
should not become his ow nlandlord
while such opportunities are his.
There Is no better way of solving the
landlord and tenant problem in rur
al America than for renters to buy
this land while It ran be had at a
low price. They will not only be
come their own landlords, but they
are sure of a double profit, the one
from the production of the land, the
other from the rise in the value of
the land. In a few years It will re
quire a large sum or money to buy a
section In the Sand Hills or Nebras
ka. Any land, anywhere In Ameri
ca that will produce the wealth these
lands are capable or producing will
not long rmain cheap. Today these
lands can be had at a very low price.
Those intending to buy and set
tle upon these lands will do well to
study the machinery needs or the
district. Much or the farm machin
ery used In Iowa and Illinois will not
be needed here. Such machinery as
dairying and stock growing require
will be the machinery needed by
them. This district Is preeminently
a livestock country, and to convert
the grasses or the country Into mon
ey should be the tlm or the farmer
here. There Is a place for a silo in
this country, and they are being
built quite rapidly. Pasture for
summer, alfalfa, melilotus and the
native hay ror winter, supplemented
with silage, will soon develop this
district Into a high class of independ
ent farmers, if good stock be pro
vided to consume this feed. Many
or the first settlers now have bank
accounts rrom the sales or cream and
poultry, and some or these had very
little to begin with.
Settled by men who mean busi
ness, who are not afraid of honest
labor, who fully appreciate the fu
ture possibilities of this district, the
Sand Hills of Nebraska will play an
Important part In the production or
Nebraska wealth ror all time to
come.
Iladley's Fame Soon Gone
V. O. Lawrence, an Oakland busi
ness man, was talking to the Rotary
Club about advertising.
"ir you want to get results you
must advertise continually," he Bald.
"The public forgets, just to prove
this to you, I will give a prize to any
man here who can tell me off-hand
who was President Taft'a running
mate at the last election. I'll ven
ture there isn't a man here who can
remember the name, although it was
a household word with all of us at
the time."
The speaker paused while the 100
men In the room pondered. Finally
one said:
"Do you know yourself who It
was?"
Lawrence laughed. "I do not."
he admitted. "I intended to call up
one of uthe newspapers to find out,
but I forgot It."
The question remained unanswered.
It haint what's In th' Baltimore
platform, It's what's in th' pantry
that interests the consumer. Th' fel
ler who mixes business with pleas
ure alius gits a red effect.
HI' UAL SCHOOLS
(Continued from Page Three.)
economy, since these reorganized
districts could be operated at about
one-half the present cost of our
county schools.
The consolidation of rural school
is a live subject at this time. The de
mand for consolidation is the result
of our want of a good system of dls
rtict organisation, or so organising
our districts that they do not servo
the purpose for which they were in
tended. If our districts were or
ganized along the lines Indicated in
figure 5, there would be no demand
for consolidation. Such a district
on the basis of the average size of
our farms would serve about 66 fam
ilies. This number of families could
support a good agricultural high
school, and the tax to support It
would be no heavier burden than
that now borne by the taxpayer liv
ing In the average rural school dis
trict as we have organised them. Ia
addition to supplying every educa
tional need, such a district would al
so supply the patrons with every so
cial and other need. In view of the
fact that our present rural school
districts are pronounced failures by
all who have studied the subject, la
not some such plan of reorganization
worthy or our most serious consider
ation? ,
As a people we are Inclined to
Judge values by the cost or things. '
One frequently hears the boast that
we pay more for education than any
other people, and yet those who
make this boast make no comparison
of what we get for our money as
compared with other peoples. True
it is that we spend more money In
education than the people or any
other country, yet there are several
other countries that are far ahead of
us In that they get more for their
money than we. We spend more
for government than any other peo
ple, but in many instances our in
vestment in this way is a mighty
poor one. We are constantly spend
ing money without getting any re
sults. We are all the time building
and planning ror the present, but
seldom build or plan ror the future.
Is It not time that we should begin
to exercise sufficient intelligence to
consider our future needs in all oar
school and civic work and planning?
Is not a change along these lines
well worth our most earnest consideration?
Death of Baby Girl
The baby daughter of Dr. and Mrs.
L. S. Campbell of Alliance died Tues
day night, after an illness of some
time. Neither Mr. nor Mrs. Camp
bell are in Alliance, it having bees
round necessary to take her to Calt
rornla on account or serious illness.
Death of Lizzie Dunn
Lizzie Dunn, daughter of Daniel
Dunn of Alliance, died Sunday morn
ing at Hastings. The body waa
brought to Alliance. The funeral '
was held this morning at 9 o'clock
from the Catholic church.
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4
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or
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$1
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Electric Start
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The New Regal Is a ral 6-passenger car. Five grown folks can
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Plenty of room for the driver, too, without hunching up his knees
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The design is modeled after that of a $6,000 foreign car which at
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112 Inches. Weight: Under 2,400 pounds with all equipment. Equipment: One-man top; Inside curtains; electric head-lights with dimmer attachment; electric tall-light; electric horn with button In center of
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WARD B. NORTON
Ag
emt
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