42 



business. He informed me that there had been no breakdown since lie- 

 started in the spring-time. 



Across the Prairies of North Dakota. — At 11 o'clock I left on the 

 Union Pacific for Dickinson, North Dakota, which I reached the same- 

 evening at 8 p.m. Close to Medora, in North Dakota, we entered the 

 famous Pyramid Park, or the region of the Bad Lands. Not far away, 

 in the valley of the Little Missouri River is the ranch upon which ex- 

 President Roosevelt lived for a number of years. Next morning, Mr. 0. G. 

 Grace, Superintendent of the Dickinson Experiment Station, kindly drove 

 me out to the farm. The weather was bitterly cold, and I confess I longed 

 for a mid-summer day in Pretoria. Even at this late date, 14th May, 

 a large number of people were wearing buffalo robes. In fact, Mr. Grace 

 informed me that the Russian settlers, of whom there are a large number 

 in this locality, wear fur coats more or less all through the year, which 

 indicates the rigorous nature of this climate. Four dry-farming stations 

 have already been established in North Dakota, namely at (a) Dickinson,. 

 (6) Edgeley, (c) Williston, (d) Fargo. 



The station at Dickinson is within two miles of the city limits — 

 a regulation as to distance having been inserted by the legislature. There 

 are 160 acres on this station. The ground was given by the people of" 

 the town and the surrounding county. The annual appropriation from 

 the State Government is $5,000, and this is expended in salaries, running 

 expenses, and wages. The Federal Government simply assists in the 

 matter of experts. The staff consists of the superintendent and two or 

 three hired men. This station is co-operating with the United States 

 Department of Agriculture, which furnishes two experts, one of whom 

 has charge of the dry-land work, and the other plant breeding. There is 

 a handsome eight-roomed house for the superintendent, a commodious 

 barn, and machinery shed. The revenue from the sale of seed grain- 

 amounts to $400 per annum. The average rainfall at Dickinson is sixteen 

 inches per annum. This station has been in operation for a period of 

 four years. The work may be summed up as follows : — The summer fallow- 

 has been given a thorough test and it has been found that an intertilled 

 crop, such as corn (maize), gives as good a result. Canadian field peas 

 and sweet clover have proved of special value for green manuring. 

 Experiments are going on in grain investigation, variety tests, rate of 

 seeding, and crop rotation. There is also considerable work in connection 

 with lucerne. Tests are being made with trees for this part of the prairie, 

 such as different varieties of pines, cottonwood, and box-elder. In regard 

 to wheat, the fife and blue stem varieties, the well-known hard spring 

 wheats, are mainly grown, but Durum wheat is being grown more and 

 more. No winter wheat is sold, as the climate is too severe. It is of 

 interest to note that North Dakota, at the present moment, is in a 

 transition state, that is, it is passing from ranching to small farming. 

 The Hereford, Shorthorn, and Aberdeen Angus, the Merino and 

 Shropshire are the prominent breeds of cattle and sheep respectively in 

 this section. In the neighbourhood of Dickinson I saw more steam- 

 traction and gasoline engines for ploughing than I had seen anywhere else 

 during my tour, and I was informed that a very large percentage of the- 

 prairie land of West and North Dakota will be broken up and seeded to- 

 wheat by these engines this coming season. 



The' following notes may therefore be of interest : — All sorts of traction > 

 engines are used for ploughing. However, those intended for both, 



