and away leads all others in alfalfa production, 

 are constantly bettering their conditions and 

 chances for success by devoting larger areas to 

 its culture, as is conspicuously indicated in offi- 

 cial statistics compiled by the State Board of 

 Agriculture. For instance, in 1891 the total 

 returned was 34,384 acres; in 1901 its field 

 extends over 319,000 acres, showing a phenom- 

 inal increase in the ten years of over 828 per 

 cent. Even when first considered of sufficient 

 importance to be officially recognized as belong- 

 ing to Kansas' repertoire of crops, a canvass of 

 the returns for that year (1891) shows that with 

 the three exceptions of Atchison, Johnson and 

 Miami, each county devoted more or less land to 

 its growth, Finney county leading with 5,717 

 acres; while the counties ranging between that 

 number and 1,000 acres were Kearny, Chase, 

 Cloud, Gray, Lyon, Saline, Sedgwick and 

 Wabaunsee, and of those claiming an acreage at 

 all, Linn was among the smallest, having two 

 acres. Now, while not the foremost, Finney has 

 12,545, and Linn 261, and the three counties 

 mentioned as having none in 1891, have a total 

 of 621 acres. 



A Field of Alfalfa. 



50 



