i6 
BULLETIN 59. 
grazing country, but the hardships encountered by people 
in gaining a living in the crowded eastern states have pushed 
people into what the cow-man once thought his exclusive 
domain. After settlers got in, many found that, hard as 
conditions were on the plains, they could do better here than 
they could with the same capital in any other place with 
which they were acquainted. These men have built them¬ 
selves homes, and, in a measure, made the nomadic life of 
the old-time cow-boy an impossibility in the future. 
Nearly all the settlers have been compelled to turn their 
attention to stock raising, on account of crop failures during 
some years and low prices other years. The main drawback 
to grain raising in the region near Idalia is the distance from 
market. All wheat raised on that divide must be hauled in 
wagons from thirty to forty miles.- Considering these factors, 
almost any business farmer would decide to raise crops 
which could walk to market, or crops which could be con¬ 
densed. And nearly all who live there believe in doing this, 
even if they do not practice it. 
At present, on account of the demand for beef cattle and 
the confining work connected with dairying, only a small 
amount of butter is produced. But when the price of cattle 
goes down again the same natural business law which has 
forced people to go into cattle raising will compel them to 
turn their attention to the production of butter and cheese. 
Free range, cheap rough feed and inexpensive warm stables 
will help them to make winter dairying profitable. When 
they get to this, all products will be sent to market in con¬ 
densed form, and the importance of the problem of trans¬ 
portation will be reduced. The country can then support 
sufficient population to supply good schools for the children. 
Each family can have a small garden, a few fruit trees and 
some small fruit for home use. These can be irrigated from 
a well. Natural conditions, such as are used by Mr. James 
Howell, will probably be taken advantage of more freely 
than at present. People who are either unwilling or unable 
to adapt themselves to the new conditions will move away, 
and their places will be taken by others who are better 
adapted to the conditions. 
The valleys of the Big Sandy, the South fork of the 
Republican and the Arickaree may 'some day support quite a 
population. Much of the land near these streams is too 
sandy for profitable farming. But, if those streams were 
turned out of their courses and the water taken out into the 
uplands, and the storm water stored in reservoirs, large 
bodies of good land might be irrigated and hundreds of 
homes maintained in what is now merely a cattle pasture. 
