Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 1912)
THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE tumn and through a large portion of the winter months, and contain enough of the qualities of grain to serve as a fattener to a degree that is not possible with any other known pastur age. In adidtion to the stock-raising industry, hay is produced- in quantities, and a great part of the region is open to the successful culture of alfalfa. The acreage of thi3 later product is grow ing yearly, both in the valleys where the plant sustains itself from the subterranean waters which underlie the greater part of the state and under the still more favorable conditions of irriga tion. The dairying Interests of north western Nebraska are commanding increased attention also, creameries being established at important points on the railway and thus creating a convenient market for all the cream that can be produced. Nebraska's Schools and Churches The school system of Nebraska Is established on a most desirable basis (the state shows the lowest percent age of illiteracy), the school funds being based on the wise provisions of the early settlers by which a lib eral allotment of public lands was made for school purposes. These lands have grown in value with the growth of the state and thus created a liberal educational fund. Churches, too, are numerous and If"" T-r-i ; - ft r -, t' T i - - - i- - - v i v. - , . . u(. --rq ; l ' . . - . - . , ; ... .-. .... , , V '.-' .'.s.-'i.,-! -. V- ..." V -M . ' H ; - - - , a Sugar Cane in Nebraska' flourishing. There are several live and typical western towns situated in the counties affected by the pro visions of the Kinkaid bill along the line of the Chicago & North Western Railway, including O'Neill, Bassett, Ainsworth, Valentine, Rushville, Chadron and Harrison. In these and other towns along the lines of the Chicago & North Western Railway good business opportunities are offered to the merchant, me chanic, farmer, laborer and profes sional man opportunities which will largely increase with the growth of the country and the opening of the public lands now taking place. The former United States land re ceiver at O'Neill says regarding the lands tributary to these towns that are available for homesteading under the Kinkaid act: "Generally speaking, these lands are first-class grazing lands. In my judgment almost any of the lands available in my district are worth at least $5 per acre for grazing pur poses. If a man will go at it right I am satisfied there are sections available that can be made to care for more than 100 head of cattle the year around ; that is, small tracts can be had that will produce oats, millet and other rough feed for the winter, while the cattle will graze from eight to nine months of the year." Growth of Tonus and Cities Hand in hand with this agricul tural growth, its towns and cities are growing in wealth and population to an equal degree. As an instance of this the census of 1900 shows that the largest In crease in population in the United States was in South Omaha, where the percentage of increase for ten years was 222.5 per cent. Omaha, Fre mont, Lincoln, Norfolk and a score of other cities located on the Chicago & North Western Railway also show a healthy growth each year that places the Nebraska farmer within easy reach of the best markets for his products. Ne braska produces a quarter of a billion bushels of corn every year, with an average yield for twenty-one years of thirty bushels per acre and 50,000, 000 bushels of wheat, with an in creasing acreage devoted to this crop each year. Live stock from the range finds ready market et South Omaha, the third largest meat-producing and live stock market in the United States; Sioux City, where large yards and packing houses are also located, and at Chicago, all of which are reached by the fast stock trains of the North Western Line. But the agriculturist's greatest attention at present is given to those diversified features, such as the development of ths rapidly growing dairy industry, features of western agricultual progress that are bringing to the farmer and merchant an incense in land values and general prosperity that is unprecedented. Nebraska Conditions Are Very Favorable for Live 5tock By H. R. Smith, Professor of Animal Husbandry Nil r N THE past Nebraska farm ers have given most of their attention to the grow ing and selling of grain crops rather than the feeding of live stock. No doubt this has been the prevailing practice because the earli est settlers who came to this state had no capital with which to pur chase farm animals, more particu larly cattle and sheep in large numbers, and the soil was so full .of humus, or vegetable mold, that grain crops could be grown year after year on the same land with no apparent decrease in fertility. So long as this could be done and a fair price se cured for the grain ' at the elevator there was little disposition to feed stock, even though the. necessary capital accu mulated later. During recent years, however, farmers are finding out that fields continuaVy cropped for a long pe riod are beginning to show signs of a decline in fertility and that the rotation of crops and the feeding of stock is the surest and cheapest way to avoid anything further of this kind. Not only this, but those farmers who have had manure to put back on the land note a decided- improvement even over the virgin fertility.. The demands of the times call for large yields, and live stock on the farm makes this possible without financial sacrifice in realizing on the crop if discretion is used in the management of herds. Nebraska's Climate Further, a better understanding of the eoil and climate in Nebraska makes it very evident that the con ditions are unusually favorable for stock feeding; in fact, unsurpassed :i 1 - v 4, pl, 1 i Vi . A Typical Nebraska Flock of Sheep in Corral by any state in the union. There is nothing which makes housing more necessary than cold storms. Ne braska has but little snow in the winter and cattle and sheep can be fed outdoors here just as successfully as under cover in the more humid states east; then, too, the soil is naturally open and well drained to make feed lots free from objectiona ble mud of the time. Shipping facilities are excellent and stock cat tle and sheep can be Bent from the range ter ritory in western Ne braska and states be yond without excessive cost to be forwarded to the eastern markets after a short period on feed In the eastern or farming section of the state. The very fact that Nebraska Is In the western part of the corn belt, where this crop is by far the most impor tant one, is the chief reason why the state is exceptionally promising for the feeding of stock. Corn is shipped east, "A