BIG SPRING PRAIRIE. 89 



Corn was the crop most commonly grown, but it 

 was found from experience that only three payng corn 

 crops could be grown on any area consecutively. The 

 first year's yield was excellent in quantity and quality; 

 the second year's good; and the third year's fair. Af- 

 ter the third year the yield was small, and of inferior 

 quality. Wheat and oats were tried, but generally 

 proved unsuccessful, as they would go down before they 

 ripened on account of the lack of silicates and potash 

 in the soil. On limited portions where the muck is not 

 deep and, where, at the same time, there is a clay sub- 

 soil, wheat and oats can be successfully grown. These 

 crops prove successful also in immediate vicinity of the 

 sand dunes, as the soil here is quite sandy. 



In a field just north of new road No. 2, clover was 

 sown as an experiment, but it did not flourish very 

 well, as too many weeds seemed to be able to gain a 

 foothold and thus crowd out the clover. Several of the 

 areas formerly cultivated have been sown to a mixture 

 of grass-seeds, and furnish excellent pasturage. If not 

 too closely pastured, these areas seem to possess the 

 power of preventing other forms of vegetation from 

 gaining much of a foothold. When too closely pas- 

 tured, partially bare spots are produced, and here other 

 forms of vegetation establish themselves and gradually 

 encroach upon the pasture land. The large pasture 

 field in the western part of prairie is a good example of 

 the former, while the pasture indicated by A on Map 

 XL is a good example of the latter. 



In 1895 the Wild Rose Celery Farm was estab- 

 lished by Mr. W. C. Johnson, now deceased. Being a 

 practical gardener and celery grower, and being ac- 

 quainted with the nature of various other drained 

 marsh areas of the state, he recognized the value of 

 this prairie land, which, before this time, was valued at 

 about $10.00 an acre. After Mr. Johnson demonstrated 

 its fitness for celery and onion culture, the land rose 



