History of Dakota Territory, volume III, Part 74

Author: Kingsbury, George Washington, 1837-; Smith, George Martin, 1847-1920
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1146

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In June of this year the cow, College Belle Wayne, of the Agricultural Col- lege, produced 3,338.1 pounds of milk which yielded 116.55 pounds of butter fat ; she was a five-year-old Holstein, and was claimed to be the second best in the world as a milk and butter producer. There was a great increase in the number

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SOUTH DAKOTA: ITS HISTORY AND ITS PEOPLE

of silos built in the state. On nearly every farm where many milch cows and other cattle were kept, these structures were erected.

About this time attention was called to the fact that the farmers of the country wasted annually through the careless breakage of eggs more than forty-five million dollars, and that this was only one of the many avenues of waste. It was stated that the time was near at hand when no farmer would be allowed to hold more land than he could farm along intensive lines. While each farmer regarded his own waste as insignificant, it became startling when multiplied by that of all the farmers in the country. As a matter of fact it was the citation of this wastage and its detailed presentation by the authorities that caused better methods and assisted materially to promote the prosperity which all now enjoyed.

The lecture course on intensive farming for the benefit of farmers was extended and was very elaborate this fall. Every important subject was duly covered. The best experts of the state visited all leading localities and dispensed the latest and best methods of conducting farm operations. Perhaps the most important questions were conservation of soil fertility and of moisture, pure seed, legume crops, fertilization, dry farming, irrigation, drouth resistant plants, teaching of agriculture in the common schools, fruit growing, forestry, etc. Governor Vessey set apart September roth and 11th on which to gather seed corn ; he urged by special proclamation the importance of this step and generally it was observed by corn growers. This year gave the state one of the greatest corn crops ever produced and much of its success was rightfully ascribed to the good seed used. It was a good year for the farmer-abundant products and high prices.

At the big land show held in Minneapolis in November, 1912, South Dakota was well represented by both soil and products. Hogs were more plenty in the state than ever before, and many were packed at the plants in Sioux Falls. The army worm had threatened the fields in August, but had been eradicated by the standard pest killers. Black Hills frauds in wolf bounties were uncovered this fall. The International Harvester Company established several demonstration farms in the state-one at Aberdeen with J. G. Haney in charge.

The closing out of many of the Scotty Phillips herd of cattle in the fall of 1912 removed almost the last of the big cattle range farms. The shipment of forty carloads late in the fall from Kadoka was the closing act here. The leasing privileges on the reservation were no longer available; quitting was a necessity. The few large range herds left were on the Cheyenne River, on Pine Ridge Reservation and in the southwest corner of the state. These were bound to go soon owing to the rapid settlement.

The state fair in 1912 was a great and conspicuous success. The people were happy over the blessing of a bountiful harvest and were liberal in their expendi- tures and pleasures. A striking feature was the large number of traction engines for all farm purposes and operations. The live stock exhibit was never better- hogs, cattle, sheep, horses and poultry. The exhibition of the experiment station at Brookings and the substations at Highmore, Cottonwood and Eureka riveted the attention and admiration of all-soil fertility, cropping systems, weed remov- als, fruit samples and varieties of alfalfa and grain were noteworthy topics. The dairy exhibits were varied, large and excellent. Cream testing was a strik- ing event every day. Silos and silage were well represented and duly inspected

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SOUTH DAKOTA: ITS HISTORY AND ITS PEOPLE

and studied. The School of Mines made a fine display of fossils and minerals ; it showed from the Bad Lands a fossil animal as large as an elephant-Bronto- therin ; also part of a fossilized three-toed horse, several fossil fish and several assays of state minerals. Present at this fair were Secretary of Agriculture Wilson, Governor Vessey and Governor Johnson of California, who was candi- date for vice president on the progressive ticket.

Rapid City held a fair of its own this year. One of the attractions was an alfalfa palace of unique construction and rare beauty. There were exhibits of corn, sugar beets, peanuts from the Bad Lands, melons, pumpkins, squashes and sixty varieties of apples grown in the Hills. The alfalfa exhibits were eventful. This year Mitchell celebrated the twentieth anniversary of its corn palace; many now called it the Corn Belt Carnival. It was even more attractive, interesting and useful than usual; there were many unique and surprising features that kindled the applause of the vast crowds. There were several district and many county fairs this year, and all contributed to the better farming movement.

In December the Better Farming Association assembled at Aberdeen and gave fresh instruction in many live farm topics. More farmer institutes than ever before had been held in all sections of the state. The wonderful benefits of better farming methods were shown in all their striking results. The two notable events this year, it was shown, were great crops and great output of gold. Bul- letin 139 of the agricultural college was studied by this meeting. It said that South Dakota's wasteful cropping system took from the soil in 1910 nitrogen and other plant food worth three times as much as the total gold output of the state-$8,000,000. It was taken from the soil and not returned by the husband- men, though partly returned by time and nature. Unless a still greater change was made in cropping methods great havoc would result in the annual products, it was declared. Professor Hume showed how the nitrogen could be returned to the soil by the legumes and by stable and barn manure. He said that the state should at once study soil conservation harder than ever or suffer unfigured damage and havoc. Two important steps were necessary: (1) To secure and distribute information on this subject and (2) to obtain more and better equip- ment for the teaching of scientific agriculture in the rural schools.

The products this year were-corn, 76,347,000 bushels, wheat, 52,185,000 bushels ; barley, 23,062,000 bushels ; rye, 312,000 bushels ; oats, 52,390,000 bushels ; flax seed, 5,323,000 bushels ; potatoes, 6,510,000 tons ; vegetables and fruit worth $2,500,000 ; hay, 3,450,000 tons, worth $17,250,000; dairy products worth $7,700,- 000 ; poultry and eggs worth $7,000,000 ; live stock worth $51,026,000; wool and hides worth $1,000,000 ; minerals and stone worth $9,200,000.

TOTAL STATE PRODUCTS

1900.

$106,500,000

1908

$185,434,000

190I.

113,652,750

1909

202,362,000

1902.

II9,949,000

1910.

181,188,000

1903.

136,124,000

139,281,000

1904.

116,792,000

1912

199,237,000

1905.

126,686,261

1913.

190,991,000

1906

145,812,831

1914.

212,423,000

1907.

160,232,344

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SOUTH DAKOTA: ITS HISTORY AND ITS PEOPLE

One of the most unique business plans in the country in 1913 was the extrac- tion of seeds from pine cones in the Black Hills. During the fall of 1912 Super- visor R. P. Imes, of the Black Hills Forest Reserve, purchased at Custer City and elsewhere an aggregate of 8,000 bushels of western yellow pine cones. From these cones about eleven thousand pounds of clean pine seed were obtained at an approximate cost of fifty cents a pint. The work of extracting the seed was continued day and night for about three months. The work required three shifts of men working in eight-hour shifts, inasmuch as the process required continuous care and attention. The work naturally divided itself into four distinct parts: (1) Opening the scale of the cones; (2) thrashing out the seed ; (3) cutting the wings loosened from the seed; (4) separating the wings from the pulverized seed and from other debris.

In the spring of 1913 the South Dakota State Bankers' Association was formally incorporated at Pierre. The purpose of the organization was the mutual benefit of the bankers of the state. The organization had no capital stock. The incorporators were F. C. Danforth, J. A. Danforth, J. E. Plett and F. L. Clisby. The headquarters of the association were at Clark.

At the legislative session of 1913 there was tacked on the live stock sanitary bill, almost at the last minute, an amendment which made it compulsory for the Live Stock Sanitary Board to appoint as deputies largely non-graduates of live stock schools. At a meeting of the Veterinary Association of the State, held at Mitchell, it was decided not to lower the professional standard by placing its members on the same level with non-graduates; its members thereupon took action not to act as members of the Live Stock Sanitary Board or as deputies. This led in the end to the resignation of the state veterinarian, whereupon O. C. Selby was appointed to that position. The situation led to a skirmish between the governor and the veterinarians. It was learned about this time that breeders who designed to ship stock from South Dakota into other states met with the refusal from authorities there to accept certificates of health front South Dakota veterinarians who were not graduates of a recognized veterinarian school. A bill introduced into the State Legislature concerning this matter passed the House, but was defeated in the Senate. This bill favored non- graduate veterinarian delegates, and again the measure encountered the oppo- sition of the State Veterinary Association which agreed again that no member of the association should act on the State Live Stock Sanitary Board or as a deputy. Owing to this attitude by the state authorities the live stock interests of the state were left in an unfortunate condition which would probably continue until the next sitting of the Legislature. At the same time stock men through- out the state were apprehensive of the disaster that would result under existing conditions should the foot and mouth disease secure a foothold in South Dakota.

There was a general demand throughout the state in the early part of 1913 that the Legislature should be liberal with all forms of agricultural advancement and that the agricultural college and the experiment stations should have charge of all progressive operations. Professor Hume addressed an open letter to Presi- dent-elect Wilson requesting that the next secretary of agriculture should be one who would co-operate with the agricultural colleges and experiment stations for the removal of the agricultural education from the control and influence of capital and corporations. This letter was aimed particularly at the two big cor-

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SOUTH DAKOTA: ITS HISTORY AND ITS PEOPLE

porations that recently had donated $1,000,000 each to the cause of agricultural education. He intimated that those corporations merely desired to gain the good will and control of farmers in order to make customers out of them. At this time Professor 'Hume again called attention to the fearful impoverishment of the soil going on in the state-how millions of dollars' worth of nitrogen and other plant foods were being taken away by corn, wheat and oats, and but compara- tively little was being returned. "Grow the legumes" was his prescribed remedy, the same to be used as a member of crop rotation schedules. It was at this session of the Legislature that Governor Byrne recommended a thorough revision of the laws relating to the practice of veterinary surgery ; the old law was ineffi- cient and odious.

Destructive fires in the Black Hills this year swept away many hundreds of acres of valuable timber and rendered many families homeless. Several town- ships near Custer were almost wholly devastated. The Missouri River at Pierre was the highest ever known early in April, 1913; the water stood at the sixteen-foot stage. Boats passed through the streets of Fort Pierre, which city resembled Venice with its gondolas. There was about a foot of wet snow on the ground.

The Western South Dakota Stock Growers Association held its twenty- second annual meeting at Rapid City, April 19, 1913. F. T. Craige, president, occupied the chair. He noted the great dearth of cattle, due to the passing of the range and to drouth conditions. He strongly urged farmers, owing to this fact, to engage in general agriculture-diversified farming. The resolutions adopted protested against placing meat and other agricultural products on the free list and favored federal control of the unappropriated grazing lands in semi-arid districts-a leasing system to be prepared similar to that in use in the national forest reserves. It was openly admitted at this session that profitable cattle raising in the future must come through diversified farming. Herds had so depreciated that profits therefrom had been reduced 40 per cent. Besides the price of breeders was higher than ever before-so high that cattlemen found it unprofitable to re-stock.

The great attraction of the second day of the meeting was an historic parade illustrating the growth and changes in South Dakota since the days when the Indian claimed the soil. Following a band came a party of forty Sioux chiefs dressed in all the splendor of savage paraphernalia, some on horseback and others on foot and all armed with bows and arrows or rifles and revolvers. A large band of Indian women came next dressed in equally savage feminine attire, leading horses hitched to teepee poles and lugging papooses and big bundles of camping outfit. Next came the settler in his prairie schooner, with his wife and children, driving a few head of cattle and sheep. The prospector followed with his juiney loaded down with mining tools and grub. Then came the cowboys representing the third era in Western South Dakota development. There were 100 of them, dressed in regulation style down to arms, lariats, Stetson hats and neck clothes. The homesteader occupied the next division and with him came all sorts of farm machinery and dairy utensils. Last came the students of the United States Indian schools, led by their own band, all neatly uniformed and marching with a precision that would be a credit to Uncle Sam's regular troops. It was a forceful illustration of the difference between the

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SOUTH DAKOTA: ITS HISTORY AND ITS PEOPLE

Sioux savagery of the past and the white civilization of the present. At the head of the procession were the parents and grandparents of the Sioux, garbed in their barbaric finery, while at the rear were their sons and grandsons marching in the dress and order of civilization-all accomplished within a little less than a generation-a world of savagery and privation transformed into a new world of peace and comfort and transfigured with the hope of immortality.

The year 1913 was extremely favorable for alfalfa and corn, as well as other products. The Brown County boys better farming survey was a feature, the boys making a trip over the county and inspecting, comparing and studying crops, conditions and prospects. They did not neglect to have a joyous time while thus engaged. A successful movement to improve the dairy industry of the Black Hills district was made this year; new dairy herds were added to many farms under the stimulus. The new seed law, a very important measure, came into effect. The State Bankers' Association reported most excessive and gratifying prosperity.

The Legislature of 1913 memorialized Congress to amend the homestead entry laws so as to allow male minors of eighteen years and over to qualify for entry and a bill to that effect was introduced by Senator Sterling. This year the State Game and Fish Commission set aside $10,000 from the game fund to establish a fish hatchery east of the Missouri River. At this time the Belle Fourche dam, reservoir and irrigation project was the admiration and pride of the whole state and served as a forceful illustration of what could be done elsewhere. At the meeting of the State Live Stock Sanitary Board in Sep- tember an examination of veterinarians was held. This fall many Chinese pheasants were distributed in pairs over the state. The potato crop was excellent. The farmers' short courses in agriculture covered all the leading branches of farm industry and were an immense help in spreading a knowledge of new and improved methods and operations. There was a special course on alfalfa and a regular one on household science. A big fire at Hot Springs in September destroyed several million dollars worth of property and rendered nearly two thousand five hundred persons homeless.

The state fair was one of the best, if not the best, ever held thus far. The attendance was larger than ever before-broke all state records. From forty thousand to fifty thousand people were present on the best days. The displays of cattle, sheep, horses, hogs, poultry and bees were never larger nor better. Owing to the large and attractive purses offered the races brought here many of the fastest animals in the country. The fake attractions were numerous and expensive to all who "bucked the game." The exhibit of state products by counties surpassed that of all former years and was alone ample evidence of the progress that had been made in productive methods. The corn palace show at Mitchell was even more varied and beautiful than ever and the attendance met the expectations of the managers. Here was elaborated the movement to "keep the children on the farm."

In September it was estimated that 200,000 acres of alfalfa were grown in 1913 with an average yield of 11/2 tons per acre. This crop thus gave 300,000 tons, worth $11 per ton or $3,300,000, not counting the seed, which sold readily at 18 cents per pound. This was the estimate of the Better Farming Association of Aberdeen. This year T. E. Rushton, near Spearfish, made $60 Vol. III-34

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SOUTH DAKOTA: ITS HISTORY AND ITS PEOPLE

an acre on his crop of 25 acres of alfalfa, not counting the benefit to the soil. The first cutting gave him 21/2 tons per acre. He let the second crop go to seed and harvested four bushels to the acre, which were worth from $10 to $12 per bushel-all amounting to $60 per acre or $1,500 for the crop. Other growers made as high as $125 per acre under favorable conditions.

For several years great efforts to check and prevent the ravages of hog cholera had been made and when the Department of Agriculture announced its double serum cure and said that 90 per cent of the animals treated were cured, it brought joy to all swine growers. The Legislature of 1913 promptly appropriated $5,000 to be used by the agricultural college to make the serum and experts were placed in charge of the process, which was under way by October. Dr. C. C. Lipp conducted the manufacturing operations. About this time a commercial concern at Sioux Falls undertook to make the serum, but was not countenanced until its managers were approved by the Government.

In October the bankers of South Dakota met and appointed a delegation to visit Washington, D. C., to protest against the passage by Congress of the pending banking or currency bill. J. C. Bassett, president of the Aberdeen National Bank, and H. C. Jewett, wholesale grocer of the same city, appeared before the Senate committee, Senator Crawford being present. The delegates said that the bill did not meet the conditions in South Dakota and Mr. Bassett declared that his institution would probably become a state bank should the currency bill become a law. He expressed the belief that the original reserve banks could not make 5 per cent unless they went into the general banking business.

The South Dakota forest law was approved by the Forestry Bureau of the Government owing to its requirement that the persons making the heaps of brush should burn them and leave the land clear. Other states were advised to adopt similar measures through legislation. In this state this was one of the require- ments of the land commissioner.

Complaint that the hog cholera serum was too slow in making its appearance came from all parts of the state late in 1913. Cholera in October was devasting nearly every county and the farmers were almost wild with excitement and dismay at the losses. In the absence of any real remedy they grabbed at straws by accepting the offers of fakers and they again were the losers. Later it was estimated that the state lost this year through cholera about forty-two thousand hogs. Dairy and alfalfa trains were run by the railroads to every important center of population.

The twenty-fifth annual meeting of the State Horticultural Society convened at Mitchell January 20, 1914. It was announced at this meeting that the fruit belt of the state was slowly being extended-that fruit trees were now doing well where but a few years before they could not have survived. Among the subjects considered were plant diseases, evergreens, potato diseases and all plant diseases and pests generally. For forests and windbreaks spruce, pine and red cedar were recommended.

The agricultural extension bill appropriating specific sums annually by the Government for the dissemination of scientific farm information by practical experiments and through publications came at an opportune time and was fully appreciated in this state: each state at the start was to receive $20,000

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SOUTH DAKOTA: ITS HISTORY AND ITS PEOPLE

per year. The total appropriation the first year was $480,000; this was to be increased until $3,000,000 was appropriated, after which the sum was to become permanent.

The State Improved Live Stock Breeders' Association met at Mitchell in January, 1914, there being present a large delegation. About the same time the State Poultry Association and the State Corn and Grain Growers' Association held their annual meetings. At these meetings alfalfa and sixty-day oats were important subjects of consideration. It was advised that these two crops should be sown together-ten pounds of alfalfa seed and twenty-four pounds of sixty- day oats to the acre. The oats would serve as a cover-crop for the alfalfa. The wonderful increase in the number of silos and a corresponding increase in the number of dairy cows were noted at this time. Silos had received their first big development in South Dakota in 1911, but they were now counted by the hundreds. Dr. N. N. Stoner conducted short courses in several counties during the early part of 1914; one was opened in Stanley County at Kadoka.

In March, 1914, a farmer of Bon Homme County sold three hogs and received in payment therefor a check for $128.20. He said: "That just about pays my tax. Back in 1895 my tax was not nearly as much, but I tell you it took more than three pigs to pay it." This circumstance showed the vast change for the better.

At this time the second silo-dairy-alfalfa train left Brookings for a trip of instruction over the state. It stopped at Mitchell, Woonsocket, Tulare, Mel- lette, Aberdeen, Ipswich, Bowdle, Selby, McBridge, Mclaughlin, McIntosh, Morristown, Lemmon, Eagle Butte, Dupree, Faith, Timber Lake, Isabel and other points.

At the close of the fiscal year 1913-14 there were 86 dairies in the state. Of these 17 were owned by stock companies, 35 by individuals and 35 by co-operative organizations. The largest produced 1,972,678 pounds of butter and the smallest 5,714 pounds. There were shipped out of the state 28,417,319 pounds of cream. The total value of dairy products was $9,152,697. Perhaps the most important question in 1914 was the control or prevention of hog cholera. By July the serum plant at the agricultural college was meeting the demands for that compound. The Sioux Falls Serum Company began to make it in the fall under a license and under the inspection of a Government veterinarian. For one year a short school course in the state had given special instruction on how to prevent or eradicate hog cholera and was under the management of the Government Bureau of Animal Industry. It was now planned to hold two more such sessions in 1914. This was decided upon after it became known how heavily the leading swine counties had suffered during the fall of 1913 and the spring of 1914. Lincoln County had lost approximately 10,707 head ; Turner County, 8,499 head; Hutchinson County, 9,849 head, and many other counties smaller numbers. In the summer of 1914 Harding County owned 73,027 sheep; Perkins County, 56,300; Butte County, 48,960. Brown County owned the greatest number of horses-20,238. Stanley County had 35,147 cattle; Lyman County, 34,707; Minnehaha County, 33,507. Beadle, Charles Mix, Hand, Hutchinson, Lincoln and Union each owned over 25,000 head of cattle.

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SOUTH DAKOTA: ITS HISTORY AND ITS PEOPLE

In 1904 commercial fertilizers costing $12,940 were used in the state; in 1914 the quantity used cost $11,294; it was used on 185 farms. All shipments of cattle were under the control of the State Live Stock Sanitary Board. In June the tuberculin test was made applicable to all cows and heifers brought to the state and there was a general inspection of all herds. A number of fields were inoculated for alfalfa this year, the experts from the agricultural college explaining the modus operandi. Good roads day was May 26th this year. The big drainage ditch near Vermillion, to cost $160,000, was planned this year. The Holden alfalfa special train crossed the state on the Milwaukee lines in June; two hours were given each town by the able speakers. As early as April pedigreed South Dakota sugar beet seed was in great demand all over the state and was supplied by the agricultural college in large quantities; this seed had been produced by Prof. J. H. Shepard, who by Burbank methods, had increased materially the sugar content of the beets. Tenant farming began to be considered this year for almost the first time. The silo-dairy-alfalfa trains traversed the state in April and May. The swine breeders formed a new organization at Mitchell in June.

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History of Dakota Territory, volume III, Part 74

Author: Kingsbury, George Washington, 1837-; Smith, George Martin, 1847-1920 Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company Number of Pages: 1146

Author: Kingsbury, George Washington, 1837-; Smith, George Martin, 1847-1920
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1146