12 



FIELD OPERATIONS OF THE BUREAU OF SOILS, 1919. 



they had no knowledge of the crops best adapted to the soils and 

 climate; the means of conserving soil moisture by proper cultiva- 

 tion was not understood ; the system of combined stock ranching and 

 o-rain farming had not been introduced; and the general financial 

 depression then prevailing over the entire country caused low prices 

 for all agricultural products. All these factors contributed to the 

 failure of this period. 



The vacated land was taken up by ranchers, who combined stock 

 raising and farming. Since then many of the large tracts have 

 gradually been broken up as the population has increased, but the 

 greater part of the county is still used for the production of hay and 

 as pasture land. Most of the public land in the county passed into 

 private ownership many years ago. The resettlement of the re- 

 mainder was hastened by the passage in 1905 of the Kincaid Act, 

 which increased the size of homestead claims to 640 acres, and made 

 it possible to take up land valuable chiefly for pasture. Within a 

 short time after the passage of this act the remaining public land 

 passed into private ownership. 



The following table, compiled from the census, gives the acreage 

 and production of the principal crops of the county in 1889, 1899, and 

 1909, and shows the general trend of agriculture during the last 20 

 years : 



Acreage and production of the principal crops of Banner County, 1889, 1899, 



and 1909. 



Crop. 



Area. 



Yield. 



1899 



Area. 



Yield. 



Area. 



Yield. 



Com 



Oats 



Wheat 



Rye 



Barley 



Emmer 



Beans 



Flax 



Potatoes 



Other vegetables . 



Wild, salt, and prairie grasses . 



Grains cut green 



Coarse forage 



Tame and cultivated grasses. . 

 Alfalfa 



656 

 788 

 41 

 90 



56, 122 

 11,074 



6,477 

 398 



1,395 



Acres, 



1,581 



475 



1,635 



72 



35 



349 



677 



285 



1,351 



24, 401 



Tons. 

 4,964 



Bushels. 



10, 160 



4,070 



8,770 



340 



300 



147 



8,138 

 1,961 



836 

 1,467 



374 



7,414 



Tons. 

 4,250 

 1,670 



668 

 1,283 



358 



A cres. 



5,882 



8, 280 



6,297 



222 



141 



599 



17 



272 



383 



88 



17, 874 



560 



194 



3,193 



1,003 



Bushels. 



89, 884 



208, 184 



85, 306 



2,710 



3, 600 



12, 825 



■ 77 



1,520 



24, 697 



Tons. 



10, 487 



549 



263 



3,377 



1,520 



The table indicates that the early settlers depended largely upon 

 cultivated crops. From 1889 to 1899 corn was the leading cultivated 



