142 : TOM’S EXPERIENCE 
handsome showing. A mistake that many of them 
make is in not procuring trees from five to ten feet 
high to set out around their houses. They could get 
these without much expense, and they would add 
greatly to the beauty as well as the comfort of their 
homes. But you know that men generally, and es- 
pecially those in moderate circumstances, prefer to 
_ give their time to such work as will bring them the 
quickest profit in cash.” 
“Yes, that is true, not only here but IBIS 
and not alone of men of limited means but of all 
men. And while on the subject of profits, may I ask 
what crops, in your opinion, pay the best in Dakota?” 
‘‘ Wheat is generally supposed to be the most pro- 
fitable. The famous ‘ No. 1 hard’ yields anywhere 
from 20 to 40 bushels per acre, and commands in the 
markets the highest prices. It frequently brings 
from 10 to 15 cents more per bushe] than the best 
grades of other wheat. It makes the best flour in 
the world, is eagerly sought after by millers and 
grain-buyers, and the demand is always in excess of 
the supply. This being the case, wheat will proba- 
bly continue to be for a long time to come the ‘prin- 
cipal crop of Dakota. But I am not in favor of 
giving one’s attention entirely to any one crop, I 
believe strongly in mixed farming. Jn the long run 
it will be found far better for the land and more 
profitable for the farmer. The ‘bonanza farmers,’ 
as they are called, who cultivate tens of thousands of 
acres, and have a capital of hundreds of thousands 
