1897 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
659 
light stirring of the surface soil as one of the most 
practical ways of preserving soil moisture and keep¬ 
ing the plants in an active growing condition till the 
period for blanching arrives. It is said that some of 
the celery seed which is put on the market is produced 
in warm climates. By starting the plants under 
glass in January or February, the seed may be 
ripened in the field that same season. It is easy to 
believe that such treatment, when it is followed for 
several generations, will have a tendency to change 
the celery from a biennial habit to an annual, espe¬ 
cially when the celery is started under glass, so that 
it may be planted in the open ground early in the 
season. On this account, some market gardeners 
will not knowingly buy California-grown seed, but 
prefer to buy northern-grown seed, or raise their 
own. It is poor economy to buy cheap seed regardless 
of how it has been grown. s A beach. 
THE DAKOTA WHEAT FIELDS. 
ARE THEY IS DATOER OF EXHAUSTION? 
It seems to eastern people, judging from theory at least, that 
sooner or later, the continued growing of wheat on the western 
fields, will tend to exhaust the soil. Have you observed, either 
in the growing of straw or grain, anv indication that the land is 
losing its fertility,? If there are such indications, wbat element 
seems to give out first? Are you doing very much with clover or 
similar crops for the purpose of renewing these wheat fields? 
Or have potash or phosphoric acid been used in the way of fer¬ 
tilizers? We do not see how these western soils are to keep up 
their immense yields of wheat, year after year, unless something 
in the way of fertilizers or manures be added. It may 
be possible to keep things going for a good many years 
by the U9e of clover, but it looks to us as though the 
time would come, when at least, small amounts of pot¬ 
ash would be needed. 
My views have been gradually but de¬ 
cidedly changed during my seven years’ resi¬ 
dence in North Dakota. Whatever remarks 
I may make regarding the problem of the 
fertility on the western plains, it will be 
understood that I am drawing my observa¬ 
tions from that great continuous wheat field 
in the valley of the Red River of the North, 
forming the boundary between Minnesota 
and North Dakota. I have said continuous 
wheat field; I mean continuous in extent. 
In North Dakota alone, we have a wheat 
field 200 miles in length, and from 20 to 40 
in width in the great valley. Minnesota 
has nearly a like amount, and it extends 
far away, into the British provinces. In 
North Dakota alone, we have between 3,000,- 
000 and 4,000,000 acres of wheat land in 
this single valley, which is capable of pro¬ 
ducing from 50,000.000 to 75.000,000 bushels 
Of wheat annually, and at the same time 
leave enough land available for other agri¬ 
cultural purposes. I believe that the main 
crop of this valley will continue to be wheat, 
supplemented by general farm crops, and 
the gradual introduction of clover to serve 
as food for a great dairy belt, and as an 
alternating crop with wheat for restoring to 
the soil humus and nitrogen. I am told of a 
wheat field near one of the boundary line 
forts that has grown wheat almost con¬ 
tinuously for 60 years, and is still producing 
bountiful crops. This does not look much 
like soil exhaustion in the near future. But 
can we continue to draw water continuously 
from a pitcher without replenishing it ? I answer 
most decidedly, no. Do not lose sight of the fact, 
however, that this pitcher of water (soil) is deeper in 
North Dakota than in the eastern farms. The soil of 
a wheat field I recently examined was sampled to 
the depth of three feet before reaching a perceptible 
change in physical condition, and even the subsoil 
below this point would have passed, in many parts of 
the country, as a good surface soil. What a body of 
fertility this represents from which to draw plunt 
food. Farming, then, in such a region, becomes a 
question of mining from Nature’s great storehouse the 
fertility that has been storing up for countless ages. 
How shall this be done most effectually and with the 
least waste ? By placing brains upon each quarter 
section, and leaving this brainy farmer to work out 
the problem from generation to generation. Good 
tillage is the first essential. Thorough cultivation is 
practiced only on the small farms. In 1896, a quarter- 
section farmer acquaintance of mine had a yield of 
33 bushels of wheat per acre, and the adjoining 
fields, miles in extent, of one of the North Dakota 
bonanza farmers, gave scarcely 16 bushels per acre. 
The one made money, the other found small profit 
at the prevailing low prices. The one cultivated, 
the other was skimming the surface. 
In our valley soils, there will be found, in general, 
an abundance of potash, but phosphoric acid and 
humus with its available nitrogen will first feel the 
effects of continuous wheat cropping. The small 
farmer will supply the humus and its stock of nitrQ- 
gen by growing clover. “ But,” says one, “ clover 
has not done well in the past.” True, but there has 
been little need for it; nevertheless, farmers are 
growing it successfully, and I never saw better fields 
of clover in New York State than were grown on the 
Station Farm at Fargo the present year. Its intro¬ 
duction will be gradual but continuous. Clover does 
not seem to thrive well on the new prairie soil, but it 
has gradually worked its way across the country at 
an average rate of five miles per year. It will reach 
North Dakota by the time farmers are ready to grow 
it. In fact, it is at our gateway now, ready for admit¬ 
tance to those who need it and know how to manage 
it. I have never believed in purchasing a single 
pound of nitrogen fertilizers for general farm prac¬ 
tice. (Intensive farming and truck gardening, I am 
not dealing with.) A kind and all-wise Providence 
has placed the great storehouse of nitrogen within 
our reach, and from this man can and should draw 
an abundance. 
How came such a store of nitrogen in the virgin 
soil of the Red River Valley ? The abundance of wild 
legumes that grew every where on the unbroken 
prairie have been slowly but silently drawing from 
the atmosphere a store of nitrogen for ages and ages. 
Brains, typified in man, should do likewise, through 
the introduction of cultivated legumes. But thorough 
culture will always be the great key note, the key¬ 
stone as it were, to successful wheat growing in this 
valley. Phosphate will come to be added, to some 
extent, but with good culture, that will not be in the 
present generation ; with poor cultivation, it is needed 
now. This soil averages much finer than any other 
soil with which I am acquainted, hence the plant food 
is more 'available but at the same time, the fineness 
of the soil makes necessary more thorough tillage to 
prevent composting. Wheat growing, then, in North 
Dakota Red River Valley is an attempt on the part of 
farmers to mine successfully from 15 000 to 20,000 
pounds of phosphate, and from 40,000 to 50,000 pounds 
of potash from the first three feet of each acre of our 
soil. To do this successfully, the farmer must keep 
up the humus and nitrogen. Will he do it? Yes, 
when a man is placed upon every quarter section of 
land in this valley, and the wheat is transformed into 
flour in the State. k. f. ladd. 
North Dakota Experiment Station 
(To be continued.) 
GOOD POINTS OF THE WHITE WYANDOTTES. 
Probably, for eggs alone, no other breeds of fowls 
are so popular, the country over, as the Leghorns 
and Minorcas. Yet they do not fill the bill for those 
who wish a general purpose breed. The latter class 
want a heavier, attractive carcass, hens that will 
hatch and raise their chicks, and having the ability 
to withstand severe weather. Probably no other 
breed has had so wide a distribution in this country 
as the P. Rock. Of later introduction is the Silver 
Wyandotte, which has become very popular. But 
still later came the White Wyandotte, which The R 
N.-Y. has already predicted to be the coming busi¬ 
ness breed of America. In some points, this breed 
excels the P. Rock, while it, probably, falls behind 
it in none. In color, of course, it is much like the 
White P. Rock. At Fig. 280 we show an excellent 
illustration of the purebred White Wyandotte cock, 
Napoleon, bred by the Chemung Valley Poultry 
Yards. The following from the cold Northeast, very 
clearly and fairly states the good points of this breed: 
“ I have bred the B. P. Rocks for prolific layers of 
dark brown eggs, for several years, and think that 
the P. Rock will put more dollars into the farmer’s 
pocket than any other variety—exoept one. I can’t 
find very much fault with my P. Rocks as layers, as 
they paid me $2 03 each above expenses for the year 
’96. By selecting the earliest layers each season as 
breeders, and the dark brown eggs for hatching, I 
have a strain of P. Rocks that will lay as many eggs as 
the Brown or White Leghorns, and give eggs in 
December and January, when eggs are eggs and the 
Leghorns are frozen up. 
“ But the breed that to my mind, is far ahead of 
the P. Rock, for the farmer or any one that keeps 
poultry for profit, is the White Wyandotte. Tbe hens 
of this breed are as good layers as the P. Rocks ; I know 
this, as I have the two breeds side by side. They 
have a low, flat comb that will not freeze in winter, 
a valuable point here in the New England States ; 
clean, yellow skin and legs, free from dark pin 
feathers, and for the table, can’t be beaten. The 
breast is plump and full, where the P. Rock i s 
liable to be a little sharp and wedge-shaped. 
The White Wyandottes have quiet disposi¬ 
tions, are easily handled, make excellent 
sitters and mothers, lay large, dark-colored 
eggs, and are very small eaters. If one takes 
i.ny pride in the appearance of the flock, I 
am sure that the Wyandotte, with its snowy 
white plumage, clean, orange-yellow legs 
and beak, and bright red comb, forms a 
pleasing contrast to the variety of shades 
found in a flock of P Bocks. The perfect 
hen has not yet been produced, but in the 
large brown-egg strain in White Wjandottes, 
more good qualities are combined than in 
any other breed.” kdgar h. Merrill. 
Maine. 
TUBERCULOSIS IN KANSAS CATTLE. 
The daily papers have been printing some 
startling statements about an outbreak of 
tuberculosis at the Kansas Agricultural 
College. The facts are that tbe first re¬ 
corded case of this disease in the college 
herd, occurred in 1890, although there were 
occasional deaths as far back as 1880. In 
1894, five cattle were tested with tuberculin. 
One animal reacting, was killed and fouEd 
to be diseased. Several other cows subse¬ 
quently showed the disease. In 1896, the 
entire college herd was tested, and out of 
52 cattle, 18 reacted, indicating that they 
had tuberculosis. Thus, the disease has 
steadily made its way in this herd, and it is 
now doubtful whether any of the 58 expensive 
animals on the farm are free from tubercu¬ 
losis. It is also probable that the sheep and 
hogs are infected, and it is believed that 
the barnyard and feed lots are alive with dis¬ 
ease germs. The Board of Regents of the Agricul¬ 
tural College, in view of this fact, have adopted the 
following resolutions : 
That employees and students be prevented from sleeping in or 
near the barn. 
That all persons living on the line of the run or creek, receiving 
water and offal from the barn, be at once notified of the danger 
to themselves and their stock. 
That all milk taken from the college herd of cows be not used 
either for dairy purposes, or for food for animals of any kind. 
That neither cattle, hogs nor sheep be purchased for the use 
of the college, or experiment station connected therewith, until 
after, by thorough tests and examinations, it shall be ascertained 
that the disease of tuberculosis has been eradicated from the 
college farm. 
That neither cattle, hogs, nor sheep be sold from the college 
farm until after this investigation. 
On October 20, an examination and test of the farm 
stock will be made in the presence of the college 
authorities, a veterinarian from the United States 
Department of Agriculture, and prominent stockmen. 
It is evident that the stock at this college is in a 
dangerous condition, and prompt measures will be 
taken to stamp out the disease. It will certainly be 
interesting to learn how the barns and yards are to 
be made safe for new animals. If possible, we hope 
that efforts will be made to keep some of these dis¬ 
eased animals under the best sanitary conditions to 
see whether they cannot be cured or, at least, helped 
by proper care and treatment. This has been done 
at the New Jersey Station with considerable success, 
and also at the Connecticut Agricultural College. In 
Denmark, Prof. Bangs recommends this treatment for 
animals not seriously affected. It seems to us un- 
TYPICAL WHITE WYANDOTTE COCK. Fig. 280 . 
