46 THE PORTRAIT GALLERY 



A JOHN THE BAPTIST OF ALFALFA 



13. The introduction and widespread growth of alfalfa in the 

 middle west and southwest gave new life to the gradually waning 

 industry of the cattle range in the early nineties. The man behind 

 this movement who is almost wholly responsible for the great 

 success following the introduction of this plant is Foster Dwight 

 CoBURN, for twenty-one years secretary of the Kansas State Board 

 of Agriculture at Topeka. 



Mr. Coburn was born in Jefferson Co., Wisconsin, May 7, 1846, 

 and grew to manhood on a Badger farm. Although only a boy 

 in his teens he volunteered for service in the Union Army and 

 served the last two years of the War. He was a corporal in 

 Co. F, 135th niinois Volunteer Infantry, and upon reenlistment 

 was made sergeant-major of the 62d Illinois Volunteer Infantry. 

 In 1867 he settled in Franklin Co., Kansas where he secured 

 employment as a farm laborer. In 1869 he married and began 

 farming and improved stock raising for himself. 



In July, 1880, he was appointed assistant to Secretary J. K. 

 Hudson in the office of the State Board of Agriculture at Topeka, 

 and on September 13, 1881, he was unanimously elected to succeed 

 Mr. Hudson, who had resigned. On January 11, 1882, he was dis- 

 placed on a technicality, and became president of the Indicator 

 Publishing Co., and editor in chief of the Livestock Indicator 

 of Kansas City. This position was retained until 1887, when 

 he returned to his farming operations and acted as regent of the 

 State Agricultural College, following appointment by Governor 

 G. W. Click. In this capacity he was twice elected president of 

 the State Board of Regents. 



Mr. Coburn's early interests were with swine, and in 1877 he 

 published a volume on swine husbandry which was particularly 

 widely disseminated. In 1884 he was appointed sole judge of 

 swine at the Cotton States Universal Exposition at New Orleans, 



