Text

HC 107 • K2 A8 1898
WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH KANSAS?
GOVERNORS,
OWNERS,
EDITORS
AND OTHERS
SPEAK THEIR MIND ABOUT IT.
CHARLES R. GREEN COLLECTION
HC
107
K2
A8
1898
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company

“WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH K A N S A S ?”

PUBLISHED BY THE

PASSENGER DEPARTMENT SANTA FE ROUTE.

July, 1898.
W
978.1
A555w
15629

Rand McNally Printers, Chicago

Wellington Public Library
121 West 7th St.
Wellington KS 67152

COMIN’ BACK TO KANSAS.

They’re a comin’ back to Kansas,
They’re a crossin’ on the bridge;
You can see their mover wagons
On the top of every ridge.
On the highways and the turnpikes
You can hear their wagons hum,
For they’re comin’ back to Kansas,
And they’re comin’ on the run.
Who’s a comin’ back to Kansas?
Why, the migratory crowd
Who left the state some months ago
With curses long and loud;
And they swore by the Eternal
That they never would return
To this Kansas land infernal
Where the hot winds blast and burn;
Where the rivers run in riot
When they want it to be dry—
Where the sun so fiercely scorches
When they want a cloudy sky.
So they loaded up the children
And they whistled for the dogs;
Tied a cow behind the wagon,
To the butcher sold the hogs;
Hitched the ponies to the schooner,
Turned her prow toward the east,
Left this beastly state of Kansas
For a land of fat and feast.
Did they find it? Naw—they didn’t!
Though they roamed the country o’er,
From the lakes up in the Northland
To the far-off ocean shore;
And they found that other sections
Had their tales of woe to sing;
So they’re humpin’ now for Kansas
At the breakin’ forth of spring.

—Harmon D. Wilson, Topeka, Kansas.


MORE TROUBLE FOR KANSAS.

“The troubles of Kansas always take the shape of a superfluity of something. The sun and moon are natural necessities, but in Kansas in occasional seasons they become excessive. When grasshoppers come only once in twenty or thirty years it is noticed that there are too many of them. When neither locusts nor drouth have combined then the state has been time and again stricken by a dangerous plethora of agricultural productions, too much corn, too much wheat, too much hay, a surfeit of cattle, a glut of hogs, sheep till you can’t rest, and more sorghum than than there are barrels to put it in. The tiller of the soil is overwhelmed, surrounded, bewildered and discouraged with profusion.

“It is disagreeable to appear as an alarmist, but the truth must be told; Kansas is in trouble again. This time, the difficulty, from which there seems no immediate prospect of relief, is too much money. The banks are growing purple in the face from congestion. The accounts which come from the financial centers of Kansas are most distressing. The banker, pale but firm, sits behind his counter while the flood of currency rises to his chin and threatens to drown him. The chronic symptoms are a determination of deposits to the vaults without any corresponding relief in loans through the circulating system. There can be but one result—financial apoplexy. Says a leading banker in Topeka, who a few years ago was an active member of the State Aid Committee, to distribute food to the drouth sufferers: ‘This bank has $75,000 of home money that it would like to loan on good security, but people won’t borrow it.’ And Topeka is no worse off than its neighbors. Says the same banker, a perfectly reliable man: ‘There is a bank in Atchison with less than half a million dollars in deposits that has $407,000 in its vaults.’ Here is the misery of the financial situation in Kansas summed up in a word —four times as much money as she knows what to do with.

“What renders this state of things more deplorable is that the evil is of home origin. Formerly money poured into Kansas from the East, creating all sorts of complications, but the events of the last few years have checked this inflow and the hoard of eastern Shylocks who desolated the state by loaning their money out there had been turned back. But now the Kansas banker is being ruined by home deposits. A baleful light is shed upon the financial future of the state by the observation of the Kansas banker who says that ‘Kansas had been getting money of its own faster than it has even had use for to pay debts,’ to which he sadly adds: ‘There is now more money in the country than there has been for a long time.’

“Of course, it would be useless to attempt to disguise the gravity of the situation. Everything about Kansas is bound to come out. The worst is now known. The money is in the state, the deposits steadily increasing in the banks, the rate of interest is falling, and from one end of Kansas to the other the tale of woe is passed from one bank to another: ‘Too much money.’ ”—Kansas City Star.

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REPLIES OF PROMINENT KANSANS.

“Kansas has passed the experimental stage. The eastern half of the state has long been known as the garden spot of the Missouri Valley. The river counties offer peculiar advantages to horticulturists. The central west, or semi-arid portion, where experiments were carried on for a long time and at great expense in the useless endeavor to demonstrate the practicability of growing ordinary crops in that country, has finally found its true place in the agricultural world. The introduction of alfalfa and kaffir corn and similar crops, demonstrates that these products can be grown with a degree of certainty that has already established the agricultural interests of that part of the state on a firm basis. It has been thoroughly demonstrated that the returns from labor expended in agricultural pursuits in this portion of the state are as reasonably certain as any other portion of the country. The western part of the state, of course, has gone back to its original use as a grazing country, and there is probably no section of the United States that offers better advantages for the stock-grower and cattle man.

“The upbuilding of the manufacturing interests in the coal and iron regions are establishing a home market for much of our produce and in the years to come will no doubt assume an importance in commercial interests that is at this time very little appreciated.

“The Kansas schools and the Kansas churches are the glory and pride of the state, and should be a large consideration in the thoughts of people desiring to change their place of residence and build anew a home for themselves and their families.

“With the records of the past and the prospects of the future, certainly Kansas offers a smiling welcome to all who may come within her borders seeking to better their condition.”

HON. J. W. LEEDY,
GOVERNOR OF KANSAS, APRIL 15, 1898.

“Few who have not given the matter careful consideration realize the great extent of Kansas. From its territory could be carved a commonwealth as large as Illinois, leaving the remainder with more territory than New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts combined. A state as large as Indiana could be taken from it, and still leave remaining more territory than is embraced in the states of Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Jersey. We could make four states as large as Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland and Delaware united, and still have land enough left for a good sized farm. If the state were divided into two great states, one embracing the western part and the other the eastern part, either of which would be as large as Virginia, and the eastern one retained the name, you would no longer hear of drouthy Kansas.

“No stronger evidence can be afforded of its resources than to point to its almost unparalleled development the few years it has been settled. When the territory of Kansas was organized in 1854, not a white man except the few at Indian agencies and Indian missions, had a home on her soil. When the state was admitted into the Union in 1861, it had but 107,000 inhabitants. It had practically no agriculture, trade or commerce. So that its


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present development can properly be said to be the growth of the past thirty-six years. In 1861 it had no state institutions, and no means with which to erect any. Now it has a fine State House, a State University, of which every citizen is proud; an Agricultural College, and a Normal School, equal to any to be found in states no older; Institutions for the Blind, the Deaf and Dumb, and the Insane; a Soldiers’ Home and a Home for the Orphans. It has its Penitentiary, its Reform Schools and its Reformatory.

“Educational interests have been kept steadily in the forefront. The total value of school property thirty-five years ago was but little more than $10,000. During that period it has increased until today it exceeds $10,000,000. Then the entire state had but 8,600 enrolled children of school age, employing but 319 teachers. To-day there are nearly 500,000 in the state of school age, with 12,000 teachers. Then the total amount raised for schools for the year was scarcely $8,000. Now the people of the state cheerfully pay $4,500,-000 for the support of their magnificent school system. Then the school houses were few and far between. Now our rich prairies are dotted over with school houses until the number exceeds 9,000 which are actually owned by the school districts. In addition to this, forty colleges, academies and private schools expend nearly $200,000 annually. The endowment for our school system has been wisely husbanded and judiciously managed until we have interest-bearing securities, amounting to nearly $7,000,000, and our State Educational institutions have separate endowments of $1,000,000 more.

“We have 8,900 miles of railroad in operation, exceeding that of any other state in the Union, Illinois and Pennsylvania alone excepted. We have more mileage than the Empire State, New York; over 1,000 miles more than all the New England States combined, with their population of five and one-half millions and the accumulated wealth of more than a century as the manufacturing center of this continent. Along these lines of transcontinental railways there have sprung up more than 100 centers of population, containing nearly four hundred thousand (400,000) people, domiciled in thrift, with churches, school houses, court houses, water and light plants not excelled in towns of equal population in any state in the Union.

“In the quantity and value of farm products and live stock there has been a marvelous increase. In 1862 the value of the wheat crop was but one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. In 1897 it exceeded thirty-four million dollars. The value of the corn crop was then but two million dollars, while in 1897 it was over twenty-eight million dollars. In addition to these two great staple crops Kansas raised in 1897 one million six hundred thousand bushels of rye; over five million bushels of potatoes; over twenty-three million bushels of oats; one million seven hundred thousand bushels of barley; more than fifteen and a half millions of dollars worth of hay and forage. The production of cheese and butter and milk amounted to over five million dollars. The total value of horses, mules, cattle, sheep and swine in the state exceeded ninety-four million dollars.

“Kansas is fast pressing to the front as the great fruit state of the Union. Thirty-five years ago there was not a bearing orchard in the state. In all the eastern part of the state the prairies are dotted over with fine orchards, producing an abundance of choice fruit.

“The mining industries of the state, though in their infancy, are fast assuming proportions of great importance. There are being worked in the state over 200 drift, slope and shaft mines, with a large number of strip mines. The output of coal nearly reaches that of Missouri, which stands first

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among the coal producing states west of the Mississippi river, and is considerably in excess of Colorado. More than 10,000 miners and others are given employment in this industry alone.

“In some counties large deposits of zinc and lead have been found, and are being rapidly developed, giving employment to laboring men, and adding largely to the wealth of the state. Around Galena and Empire City are the richest lead and zinc producing mines in the world, and yet so little has been said on this subject that their real worth and value to Kansas is but little appreciated outside the state. More than $12,000,000 worth of lead and zinc ore has been mined and marketed within a radius of two and a half miles of Galena. The future development of these mines will only be limited by the demand for these metals. Thousands of acres of rich mineral lands in this section of the state are as yet undeveloped.

“Within a few years a large deposit of salt has been discovered in the state and rapidly developed, until now it can be safely said that the salt deposit of Kansas ranks among the largest in the world. Already more than $3,000,000 of capital is invested in the business, and the output is more than 2,000,000 barrels.

“The growth of the cattle industry has been marvelous, and the development of the stock yards in the thriving and enterprising city at the mouth of the Kaw has been without a parallel in the history of the country. They are the model yards of the United States, and as a stock market rank second only in the country in magnitude and amount of business, being exceeded only by those in Chicago.

“Kansas has suffered in the past from the wild schemes of reckless adventurers and has no desire to repeat its former experiences. But for a large class of young men in the older states who are seeking homes; for that increasing number who are frequently compelled to change climate for their health; for those who desire to obtain cheaper lands for their children who are fast approaching majority, the state offers superior advantages, with her large territory, comprising at least two-thirds of the state as yet untouched by the plow, with every opportunity to obtain homes in good neighborhoods with all the refining influences of churches and schools. With our productive soil, and health-giving climate, and cheaper lands, it is possible for a man to obtain land and build up a home for himself and live out here, where he could not where these conditions do not exist.
“To the capitalist who desires to make safe investments, or who wishes to develop the rich resources that abound, is offered every inducement, and at no time in the history of the state could investments be as safely made with stronger assurances of satisfactory returns.”

HON. E. N. MORRILL,
EX-GOVERNOR OF KANSAS, APRIL 5, 1898.

“Kansas is an empire in itself. Over a million and a half of people are enjoying the blessings of the commonwealth. We have passed through some reverses, and it is often said that we are a country and a people of great extremes; extremes in climate and extremes in politics; but there is little that can be said of the climatic influences of Kansas except what may be said in praise. Kansas people call the state the ‘Italy of America,’ and it is a recorded fact that Kansas has more sunny days than any other state in the Union. The roads are excellent. Sixty miles per day in a light wagon is a frequent experience. The soil is resourceful, and abundantly pays the labor ex-

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pended upon it. Kansas is known as the ‘grasshopper state;’ and yet the grasshopper scourge came but once and lasted only one season. We have had drouths; but so has Iowa, so has Illinois, and so has every other state in the Union. The rainfall is sufficient for the production of crops. In the early settlement of the state the pioneers found the climate so delightful, and the soil so productive, that some sought to live with the least possible labor, expecting to grow rich from herds of cattle, and with little cultivation of the soil. As might have been expected, some of these failed. Some went away in despair, and advertised the state as worthless. But such things were also true of other states. History is repeating itself in Kansas. Only a few years ago it was said that the domestic grasses could not be grown in Kansas, but today, in eastern Kansas, there are many fields of timothy and clover and Kentucky blue grass. More recently alfalfa has come, and brought with it the greatest possible promise; and from the east to the extreme west the green alfalfa fields are seen on every hand. While it must be admitted that the western part of the state is not so well adapted to raising corn, the farmers have learned that sorghum, alfalfa, and the varieties of kaffir corn are fast supplying this need. I am told that the present value of sorghum seed is fifty cents per bushel, and this plant will produce from 20 to 50 bushels of seed per acre, in addition to forage in the way of fodder. When sown broadcast it yields from four to ten tons per acre, and there is no better feed for Kansas cows. It is believed by many that it has sufficient fattening finalities to make good beef without the addition of grain feed. It has also been demonstrated that kaffir corn can be ground into meal, fed in the seed, or in the fodder, and utilized in every way in which farmers are accustomed to use Indian corn.

“The recent adaptation of these products will revolutionize Kansas farming, but the end of investigation and adaptation has not come yet. The agricultural department of the general government has only this year brought from the dry lands and plains of Russia and Siberia the seeds of a number of forage plants which, it is believed, may be vastly important in the continued development of these western plains. (I am already in receipt of a five pound package of bromus inermus, a new grass seed which the department has kindly forwarded.)

“Tobacco will yet be successfully grown in southern Kansas; peanuts are already produced; the Irish potato yields abundantly, and the sweet potato marvelously. I have a small orchard of almond trees which were imported from California, and from which I confidently expect a crop of nuts during the coming season. The pecan is indigenous to Kansas, and whenever the man appears who has courage to wait on the growth of this tree, or faith in thus providing for the future, pecan orchards will become a part of the horticulture of Kansas. The English walnut can probably be grown in the southern part of the state; cherries are common; grapes prolific, and prunes a probability. Peaches are unsurpassed in flavor and all desirable qualities. Plums and apricots as well as most varieties of small fruits do well.

“In our geographies, in school days, we learned about the great American desert, but now we have learned something of its wonderful resources; of its wheat, and fruit, and corn, and cane; of the cattle upon its hills and in its valleys. In 1889 two hundred and seventy-four million bushels of Kansas corn, sufficient to load a train of cars extending from New York City to the Golden Gate. In 1891 thirty-six million dollars worth of fattened animals for slaughter. In one year seventy million bushels of wheat; the most wonderful crop that ever responded to rain and sunshine and toil. Live

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stock nearly one hundred million dollars annually. Dairy products five millions. The enormity of these figures astonishes and surprises the world.

“But our wealth is not alone on the surface. We boast the greatest zinc smelter in America. We supply one-third of all the metallic zinc in the United States. The product of the smelters of one Kansas town in one year amounted to two and a half million dollars. Our rock quarries embrace five colors and qualities of limestone; gray, yellow and brown sandstone, and two kinds of marble. Five counties, in 1S91, produced nearly sixty-seven million bushels of coal, estimated at four million dollars; thus exceeding by some hundred thousands the total coal output of our sister state, Missouri. The kitchens, parlors, shops and factories of half a score prosperous towns are heated, lighted, and motive power supplied by a never ceasing flow of natural gas, which, last year saved the people sixty thousand dollars in fuel. During the same year we produced seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars’ worth of salt, and a dozen localities are ready to increase this output when transportation rates will justify their doing so. A great salt bed underlies the central part of the state, estimated by geologists to be sixty miles wide, two hundred long, four hundred feet deep, and ninety-five per cent. pure. There need be no alarm about the financial condition of our people if salt will save us. Our gypsum entered into the construction of the palaces of the World’s Fair at Chicago, and now finds a market in most of the great cities of the world; the annual output amounting to three hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Eight hundred and thirty-five tons of fine white plaster of paris, known as ‘Keene’s Cement,’ is yearly manufactured in Medicine Lodge. Sixty-one counties of the state produce excellent clay for common pressed and vitrified brick, while fourteen are pregnant with the best material for drain tile and pottery. Ten million vitrified brick were produced in 1892; and several factories are engaged in the manufacture of drain tile and brown earthernware. Mineral paints, ochers, and other similar products abound in unlimited quantities, and of different character from those which are found in other states of the great Mississippi valley. Notwithstanding our mines and quarries are largely undeveloped, the annual output of the mineral resources of Kansas is nearly ten million dollars. And thus is our future prosperity foreshadowed.

“But there is room for industry, and labor, and capital. Farm lands are cheaper and returns greater for the value than in any other state of the Union. In many cases during the past year the wheat crop paid the full purchase price of the land and left the buyer a surplus. But the promise this year is greater. Our people are inspired and hopeful, and as fast as possible are acquiring these lands for themselves. The Kansas homes of the future are to be ideal homes, for there is no limit to the ambition of the Kansas man.”

HON. L. D. LEWELLING,
EX-GOVERNOR OF KANSAS, MARCH 25, 1898.

“The record of Kansas is so well known that but for the fact she has been outrageously misrepresented in the East during the past few years, I would deem it unnecessary to utter a word in her praise, or defense. She has made her own history, and every true Kansan is proud of it.

The state embraces as great a proportion of rich productive soil as can found in any territory of equal size, in a compact body, on this continent. Without entering into details to prove it, I think that the broad statement

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will not be denied that Kansas, though she has not yet reached her thirty-ninth birthday, in the production of the three great staples, corn, wheat and oats, justly ranks with the greatest states in this Union. Fruit and vegetables of every variety grown anywhere in a mild climate, such as we have here in Kansas, are produced in greatest abundance and of the best quality. The cheapness of her lands, the productiveness of the soil, the excellence and healthfulness of her climate, makes Kansas peculiarly the land of the home-seeker.

‘‘When compared with the cost of establishing a home in the older states east of the Mississippi, the necessary outlay here is but little. In Kansas nature has paved the way. There are no rocks here to be gathered into piles. No logs to roll or stumps to pull. No swamps to drain, no ditches to dig; no tile to lay, no expense for fertilizers, and in ‘herd law’ districts, no outlay for fences. Here are millions of acres of rich land yet untouched by the plow. All that is needed is an application of the generous hand of industry to prepare the ground, sow the seed, and gather a harvest, the value of which is frequently greater than the cost of the land upon which it is grown.

“Kansas is well watered. The Kaw, Smoky Hill, Solomon, Republican, Missouri, and Blue Rivers and their tributaries supply the northern half of the state, while in the southern half we have the Arkansas, Marmaton, Marais des Cygnes, Neosho, Cottonwood, Walnut, Fall Rivers and their tributaries. While Kansas may properly be called a prairie state yet it is true that on the bottom lands along many of her rivers and even smaller streams may be found large quantities of excellent timber. Immense deposits of bituminous coal of the best quality are found in almost every county in the southeast quarter of the state, while the counties of Cherokee and Crawford have become noted for their wonderful production of zinc and lead.

“The mild climate of Kansas, her millions of acres of splendid grazing lands make this the most successful stock raising state in the Union.

“In railway mileage she ranks fourth among the states. Just think of it! Less than half a century ago she was a wild unsettled territory in the possession of the Indians and buffalo. Now she has more miles of railway than the great state of New York; more than the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Delaware and Maryland combined. Every one of her one hundred and thirteen counties excepting only six, are traversed by one or more of these great arteries of commerce and civilization.

“I doubt if there is a citizen of Kansas to-day who could be counted as a millionaire, when measured by the standard of dollars and cents, but the state is alive with millionaires measured by the standard of upright, sober manhood.

“Our common school system is unexcelled. The State University at Lawrence takes high rank among like institutions in the older states, and the same may be said of the State Normal School at Emporia, while the State Agricultural College at Manhattan is claimed to stand at the head of the list of agricultural colleges in the United States. The institution for the education of the deaf mutes of the state, located at Olathe in Johnson county, reflects great credit upon the state, while the same compliment is due to the School for the education of the Blind, located in Kansas City, in Wyandotte county.

“Kansas laws, as a whole, are liberal and just. While they do not oppress the rich, they do uphold, protect, and encourage the poor man in his efforts

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to secure for himself and family a home. I have resided in the West all my life. During the last fifteen years I traveled through all the states, and I simply speak the truth when I say that it is my candid judgment that Kansas offers more advantages to the homeseeker than any other state in this Union.”

HON. JOHN P. ST. JOHN,
EX-GOVERNOR OF KANSAS, MARCH 29, 1898.

“I regard eastern Kansas the ideal farming and stock raising section of America.

“A residence of forty years and most of that time engaged in raising stock and farming in eastern Kansas has demonstrated to me that it is one of the very best agricultural and stock raising sections of the United States.

“I have visited all the important agricultural states of the Union and can think of no other place where so many advantages are combined to make it the most profitable farming and stock raising section of our country.

“The climate is dry, healthy, invigorating and very pleasant, with sufficient rainfall to grow and mature all crops; while wells and springs furnish pure, healthy and sparkling water for man, and an unlimited supply for stock in the many beautiful streams and water courses that cross-section eastern Kansas.

“We have very short winters, early and pleasant springs; farming operations commencing early in March, while stock are generally turned out on good pastures in April. The summers are warm enough to raise and mature the crops. The weather is not excessively hot or depressing, while the fall months are warm and pleasant with no cold or severe weather much before Christmas. The nice fall weather makes it very easy to harvest the crops and do the necessary farm work, and greatly cheapens the cost and lessens the care and feeding expenses of the farm stock.

“The clovers, timothy, blue grass and many other grasses flourish in most luxuriant abundance. All fruit that can be produced in the north temperate zone can be grown here, and seem to be at home in this locality.

“The record that Kansas has made in the production of the cereals places her in line with the most productive sections of this or any other country. Kansas is a part of the great corn producing section of America, a section that has no rival and will never have a successful competitor, in the production of corn and the meat foods of the world.

“Kansas is a natural home for the stock raiser and stock feeder. It produces grasses in abundance and corn by the hundred millions of bushels which is mostly used at home to feed and fatten the millions of dollars’ worth of cattle and hogs feed for slaughter. Thirty-five millions of dollars was the record for cattle and hogs sold for and slaughtered at Kansas City alone in 1897. This takes no account of the sheep fatted and sold for slaughter, nor poultry or dairy products which are estimated only by millions.

“This all presupposes and proves the fertility of Kansas soils, and there certainly can be no doubt on this important consideration when it is known that nearly every valuable product of the soil that can be produced in the north temperate zone can be successfully and profitably grown in eastern Kansas. Those who locate in Kansas and own their farms do not after wish to exchange for a home in other lands.”

HON. GEORGE W. GLICK,
EX-GOVERNOR OF KANSAS, APRIL 30, 1898.

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“I have been a citizen of the territory and state of Kansas for thirty-nine years, and have visited every locality within its borders.

“Taken all in all as a desirable state in which to live, Kansas has no superior.

“The climate is mild, the soil is rich, deep and fertile, water is plentiful, the grasses nutritious and altogether produce the finest grade of cattle and horses, the best quality of wheat, oats, corn, rye and other farm products, the most delicious fruits, the greatest variety of grapes, berries and other things essential to the comforts and wants of the people.

“We have good schools, colleges and churches, suitable and convenient for everybody.

“The best quality of farm lands can be leased or purchased on reasonable terms A good market for almost everything produced is within reach.

“Vast fields of coal abound in many localities, while in southeastern Kansas there are inexhaustible mines of lead and zinc. No state has a more perfect network of railroads coursing their way through every county and affording transportation facilities for producers and consumers. All our state institutions are completed and in successful operation. And our people generally are contented and prosperous as the people of any other state or country on the face of the earth.

“These are but a few of the many advantages offered by Kansas to persons desiring homes in a new agricultural and stock growing state. To the newcomer the right hand of fellowship is always extended.”

HON. SAM’L J. CRAWFORD,
EX-GOVERNOR OF KANSAS, MARCH 25, 1898.

“In my judgment, after twenty-seven years’ residence, Kansas offers greater inducements to homeseekers than any other state. Our climate is healthful, due to our geographical location, altitude, short, mild winters, pure air, water and abundant sunshine. Our long seasons and the fertility of our soil especially in the valleys, make farming extremely profitable; while our vast extent of fine grazing lands, with abundance of water, timber and shade along the innumerable streams make almost perfect conditions for stock raising and feeding.

“The growing of seventy million bushels of wheat is a single season, and a crop of corn, oats, flax and hay in like proportions, together with a great output of cattle, hogs, horses and mules, illustrates the wonderful producing power of the state, capable of almost indefinite extension.

“I reside in a county organized years after the close of the war, and yet there is scarcely a farm in it more than ten miles from a railroad station, showing the great extent of our railway development, assuring good markets and good prices to the producers of the state.

“Our production, while chiefly confined to farming and stock, is more diversified than many suppose. Kansas has long been a leader in the production of salt, coal, lead and zinc; and has, in the last few years, developed oil and natural gas in commercial quantities. There is one oil refinery now in successful operation, while natural gas is in general use for fuel and lights in numerous towns and cities of the state. The present time is certainly very favorable for those seeking homes in Kansas. The state is fast recovering from the severe depression of the past several years, common throughout the whole country. The great crop of last year brought good prices and the

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present season promises still better results. The stock interests are also very prosperous. Prosperity for Kansas is here, and here to stay.

“The prices of our lands have been extremely low for the past several years and are now, in fact, very cheap, considering their actual producing power. They are yet within easy reach of men with moderate means. In the nature of things prices must increase in the near future to something near the actual value of such lands. There is already, in some counties, a marked upward tendency in prices, which must inevitably be the case generally during the present year. The feeling all over the state now is cheerful and confident.”

HON. LYMAN U. HUMPHREY,
EX-GOVERNOR OF KANSAS, APRIL 18, 1898.

“For over twenty years I have been a resident of Kansas and during that time I have been a careful observer of its development and growth; have observed its drawbacks and disadvantages and have carefully compared them with its advantages, opportunities and wonderful resources and have arrived at the conclusion that to-day no state in the Union offers greater inducements or has brighter prospects for becoming in the near future a commonwealth of the most independent, intelligent and prosperous home owners on earth. Our state has passed through its pioneer stage, which is always a period of uncertainty, of many failures and the expenditure of large sums of money without adequate return. The pioneer in any country must learn through experience, which is always an expensive teacher.

“We have also passed through our ‘boom’ period, the wrecks of which are scattered everywhere. Commencing in 1880, for a period of seven or eight years, money and immigration flowed into Kansas in a constant stream; new enterprises, new towns, and in fact cities sprung into existence in a day. No project appeared too visionary or chimerical to investors who ran after the Kansas man seeking a place to invest his millions. Thus urged, our people pressed on to the West until almost every quarter section of land within our borders was taken up and portions of our state that were never calculated for anything but a grazing country were settled by agriculturists who sought to rear homes in a desert. A few years of phenomenal rainfall in this western country resulting in good crops strengthened the belief that it was destined to become a great field for agricultural pursuits, and this in turn enabled land owners to borrow money upon their possessions. The good crop years were followed by a succession of complete failures which caused every one who could, to mortgage his land for all he could get and in nine cases out of ten the land thus mortgaged in western Kansas was abandoned. About this time, i. e., 1888, the ‘boom’ collapsed, money and immigration ceased to flow into our state; the opening of Oklahoma on the south caused thousands of our people to leave the state and the flow of money was turned to the East in payment of interest on the vast mortgage and bonded indebtedness created during the period of rapid development. This indebtedness aggregated at that time not less than three hundred and fifty million dollars, two hundred and forty millions of which consisted of real estate mortgages. The interest on many bonds and mortgages defaulted and the cry was raised that Kansas was bankrupt and her people were threatening repudiation. As a result all enterprise for a time came to a standstill, a temporary paralysis took possession of many portions of our state and people, but this was of
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short duration. The citizenship of Kansas is composed, in the main, of men and women who are capable of surmounting difficulties. A determination to liquidate their indebtedness (brought about partly because of the fact that their eastern creditors refused to renew their loans and were demanding payment) took possession of them and for eight years this process of liquidation has been in progress until today Kansas stands in the front rank of debt paying people, having in that time discharged over two hundred million dollars of indebtedness and demonstrated that our state has the most wonderful recuperative powers of any portion of our country.

“Our banks to-day have nearly fifty million dollars of deposits, the highest in the history of the state. It should be remembered in this connection that Kansas City, Mo., practically the metropolis of Kansas, is not included in this statement. This fact should be taken into consideration when making comparisons with Nebraska, which has Omaha within its borders. Another point in connection with our present deposits is the fact that very few belong to eastern people whereas ten years ago twenty per cent of our deposits were time deposits from the east. A conservative estimate would place the amount of our bank deposits owned at this time by our farmers and stockmen at twenty-five millions, one-half the total.

‘‘Our state has been thoroughly pioneered, our resources are known and their development from this time on will be steady and without loss. We have abandoned the extreme western portion of our state for agricultural purposes and have turned it into a vast pasture for the growing of stock. Stock raising will be the permanent business of that section in the future and wheat will be grown, to the extent of from one hundred to one thousand acres by many, as a pastime or side issue.

“We do not expect, nor do we desire a return of the ‘boom.’ Our growth in the future will be permanent and our development systematic. We have our wheat belt, in which a single county has produced in one year five million bushels; our corn belt, in which a county had produced over ten million bushels in one year; our grazing belt, with a million cattle; our fruit belt, in which all kinds of temperate zone fruits are grown successfully; our mineral belt, coal, lead and zinc, the latter being the most extensive in the world; our salt deposits three hundred feet thick; our oil and gas fields. In the eastern half of the state all farm products are profitably grown. Tame grasses are grown in all portions of the state; timothy, clover and blue grass in the east; alfalfa in the west. Forage crops, such as sorghum, millet, kaffir corn, etc., produce abundantly. I know of no territory two hundred by four hundred miles in extent where a greater variety of products can be successfully grown or a greater number of industries can be profitably conducted than in Kansas. No more opportune time than the present was ever presented for the selection of a home in Kansas.

“As a result of the reaction from ‘boom’ prices, lands and other property in our state depreciated in price far below their actual worth or value and to-day the home seeker can procure at a very reasonable price an ideal home without being subject to the uncertainties incident to pioneering. We have demonstrated our ability to lift a mountain of debt with the products of our farms; the tide has turned in our favor and undoubtedly in the near future lands possessing the natural value and situated so favorably with reference to transportation facilities and markets as Kansas lands are, will advance in price. The man possessing from two to four thousand dollars can purchase a good one hundred and sixty acres capable of supporting an average family surrounding them with all the comforts of life, with something left for a
15

‘rainy day.’ The man with less money can secure time with easy payments and a low rate of interest on deferred payments.

“Owing to the long time in which both spring and fall planting can be done here, a man usually farms twice as many acres as is farmed by one man in such states as Indiana and Illinois. Kansas invites the farmer of the east who is laboring to pay interest on a large mortgage, the tenant farmer who can never accumulate sufficient to purchase a home in the east at existing high prices, the man whose farm is too small to enable him to divide with his boys, and all others who desire good homes, to visit us, look us over, examine our resources, and become one of us.”

HON. JNO. W. BREIDENTHAL,
BANK COMMISSIONER OF KANSAS, APRIL 23, 1898.

“There never was a time when the outlook here was brighter than at present; never a time when people of other states seeking a new location could find it to greater advantage and with better prospects than are now possible in Kansas. Their productiveness considered, our best lands for all purposes of agriculture, horticulture and stock growing are wonderfully low, and they present possibilities as investments alone, and on their merits as such, that make them very inviting. Such a condition of affairs, or to so great an extent, can scarcely exist again.

“In the markets of the world nothing in the line of commodities is more staple than the various meats and animal products, and these, profitably produced, must be made chiefly from the grasses. Kansas is Grasses’ empire; whether by grasses we mean corn, blue-stem, timothy, clovers, blue grass, sorghum, millets, alfalfa or grama. From these are evolved hundreds of commodities for which the world constantly hungers with an appetite that feeding only makes greater. Commodities, too, that when ready to be sold do not have to be bartered at the crossroad store for kerosene, saleratus and horse-shoe plug, but are as staple in all the markets of civilization as are pounds sterling or California bullion—always good for liberal advances on consignments. The geological and hydrographic surveys show the state as well-nigh built over vast sheets of crystal water, and tireless winds, full of self-renewing energy are readily harnessed for its drawing whensoever and wheresoever they are bidden. No one, probably, questions our producing the pasture and hay grasses in the greatest abundance, and the fact that in the last ten years we have grown more than 1,500 million bushels of corn, about 362 million bushels of wheat, and 336 million bushels of oats, demonstrates what we can do in the way of grain, and that our average annual production of soil products has been more than 136 million dollars in value, points out that with our genial climate we have well-nigh a paradise for those seeking homes and opportunities for success, not only in agricultural lines but innumerable others, dependent upon a prosperous agriculture.

“A state evolved within a third of a century from a range of wild animals and wilder men, with such a record as these statistics show, can well stand with pride in the presence of any and all claiming agricultural preeminence; yet her past achievements are but a hint of future possibilities. Any reverses encountered in the previous years have but prompted to new and better endeavor and a determination to overcome the obstacles with which only experience could make our people familiar.

“There is undoubtedly a great future for the dairy interest in Kansas. With our excellent grasses, the tremendous quantities of Indian corn, the

16

sorghums, etc., that we can raise for forage and grain, also for ensilage, affording succulent milk-producing food throughout the winter, there can scarcely be a limit to our possible dairy output. In no department of stock husbandry are we likely to have greater length or reach than in the cultivation of the cow and all she is capable of in enhancing the comfort, health, wealth and happiness of mankind, from the cradle to second childhood. The many well-to-do communities in this and other lands where dairying is a leading industry indisputably prove that, wisely conducted, it has yielded a continuously higher prosperity than almost any other line of farming. It not only, as a rule, gives better and more frequent returns in cash, but it enables the farmer to maintain and even to increase the fertility of his land. It is an industry that, followed up to its full possibilities, will mean millions of dollars added to the state’s assets through the production of high-class staples, for which our capacity is practically immeasurable.

“In my judgment there has never been such an auspicious time for the ambitious, industrious, and willing worker, American or foreign, to take up his abode in Kansas and begin carving out for himself and his a home, a competence, and an identity as now presents itself. Lands will never again be so reasonable in price nor will opportunities probably ever again be more numerous or inviting for ground-floor investment in any one of our one hundred and five splendid counties.

“To be sure we have varied and unmeasured resources in our mines of coal, zinc, salt, oil, natural gas, etc., of interest to nearly every class who seek for new opportunities or would make them, but these cannot be touched upon, much less enumerated or described in a brief recital.

“Those who seek to better their conditions should come and see for themselves. To see is to believe.”
F. D. COBURN,
SECRETARY OF THE KANSAS STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE,
MARCH 24, 1898.

“I have found in my experience covering seventeen years in sheep and cattle growing that Kansas is one of the best, if not the best, state in the Union to engage in this line of business, and it offers greater inducements to-day than ever before. The experimental stage has been passed, the business is on a solid and sure basis, new comers have the experience of others for their guidance, and no mistakes can be made by an intelligent and thrifty man who is willing to take good, wholesome advice from people who have been through the development of a new country.

“The western part of Kansas is a natural sheep country; the short buffalo and grama grass furnishes most excellent pasture the year round; feed is necessary only in storms or when snow is on the ground. It has the best of water in unlimited quantities, generally short, mild winters; is nearest to the second largest market in the world, and enjoys freedom from all diseases. In the years I have handled sheep the wool nearly paid our running expenses and the increase was our net gain. Merino is the best breed of sheep to handle in flocks, yielding better and heavier fleeces, and having rugged constitutions are easy keepers. To be successful in handling sheep requires patience and watchfulness—especially in the lambing season—good faithful herders, and as close attention as any other business requires. Some of the best money ever made was in the sheep business in 1881 and 1882, and the chance is as good now as then. Wool commands a fair price and mutton is one hundred per cent, higher. Land and ranches can be had at a very low
17

figure. To a man adapted to the handling of sheep I would say from my own experience Kansas is the state of all others I would select. And the same may he said of cattle. The western half is the home of the cow and her offspring. And the central and eastern portions are the feeding and maturing ground for the steers that furnish beef to the world.

“I am frank to acknowledge that there is no business I like so well, or in which I have found the profits so satisfactory, as the raising and growing of cattle. In the last nine years our cow herd has paid an annual net profit of fifty per cent; others have done equally well, and some better. I cannot recall a single failure, where stock have been properly looked after. In those years we have not fed on an average of over six weeks any winter. We have found the Short Horn or Durham and Hereford the best breeds of cattle to handle. They make the best beef and are hardy and thrifty, with fine shape and attractive appearance. Owing to the good water everywhere available by springs, creeks or windmill, and the healthy altitude and sweet nutritious grasses, disease among the herds in western Kansas is unknown.

“As to winters, we have some without a storm of any consequence, and we have others with several storms and blizzards, generally of short duration; then shelter and feed are needed and should be had in plenty. Experience has demonstrated that of all the forage plants alfalfa readily takes the lead. It grows profusely along the river and creek valleys, and on high land where irrigation is possible, cutting three and four crops each season, averaging about four tons per acre for all the crops. The early and late pasture is simply wonderful, and must be seen to be appreciated. It is the first green field in the spring and the last one in the fall. Next on the forage list is sorghum and kaffir corn. Should the season prove favorable from four to six tons can be cut on each acre. After they are once out of the ground dry weather does not kill them, though they may cease to grow, and the first rain will cause them to spring into renewed life. I have never seen a season when these valuable forage crops did not thrive on high as well as low land. The red kaffir corn seems to be the favorite variety. Millet can also be raised with almost a certainty each year.

“In conclusion will say the future of the stock business never looked brighter than it does to-day. The stock growers of Kansas are enjoying life, are prosperous whether handling sheep or cattle. To any who may think of embarking in the stock business I will say we have room for you, room for at least three times the population we now have. You will need some capital, ambition and energy. Land and location can be had cheaply. There is every inducement here for the right kind of a man. In looking the field over I believe the farmer-ranchman is the most independent person in the country. He is raising beef, a common necessity for the people of the world. The cow is his factory, the calf the output, and they defy competition. In the meantime he is living on the fat of the land. Poultry, eggs, best of milk, sweetest of butter, his own garden, no house rent, low taxes, good air, health, school and churches within reasonable distance. It is my opinion that were the profits and the surroundings of the modern Kansas ranchman generally known the state would soon have many new men in the business. Our thousands of acres adapted to stock grazing would all soon be occupied, and it is my judgment the time is not far distant when such a condition of affairs will prevail in western Kansas.”

CAPT. JOHN H. CHURCHILL;
DODGE CITY, KANSAS, APRIL 4, 1898.
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"The four hundred and more creameries, skimming stations and cheese factories representing an investment of from $600,000 to $800,000 with an annual output variously estimated at from $7,000,000 to $8,000,000 is an assuring evidence that the dairy business in Kansas is firmly rooted; and why should it not be with so many natural advantages for it? Namely, a mild climate, constant sunshine, vast areas of grazing lands, and an abundance of milk-producing feeds raised at a less expense than probably anywhere else in this country.

“Then, again, Kansas is so situated geographically that its dairy products can be marketed not only in the seaport cities of the east, but as well through the large consuming markets of the south and west, thus affording a market nearly, if not as good, as any dairy section in the United States.

“The creamery system of dairying has been given, as it were, the right of way in the building up of the industry thus far, and justly so, because it enables the farmers with their herds of ten and twelve and fifteen cows to receive practically the same price for their milk products (by delivering them to a near-by creamery or skimming station) as a larger dairyman of the fifty to one hundred cow type.

“It has been my privilege to be connected with Kansas creameries for the past twelve years, and naturally I have been interested all along to know how the prices paid by Kansas creameries to their milk patrons compare with the prices paid in the so-called eastern dairy districts; and with a careful compilation of these figures I find that our prices have ruled not to exceed eight per cent, less at any time, while quite frequently (especially during certain seasons of the year) at practically the same price.

“Then along the same line I have carefully estimated the cost of feed; taking into consideration, of course, the value of our land and my conclusion on this estimate has been that it costs from thirty to forty per cent more to feed and take care of a dairy cow in the eastern dairy districts than what it does in Kansas.

“Then there is another feature that enters into the profit side of our dairies that we cannot lose sight of in discussing the question, and that is the value of its by-products—the skim milk and buttermilk for feeding purposes both for hogs and calves, either one of which the wise and progressive Kansas farmer fully appreciates. I wish I had the space to illustrate more clearly this item of the one highly adapted resource to Kansas agriculture. Suffice it to say in conclusion, that with a herd of from ten to fifteen cows, by raising all the calves that they will drop each year as well as a small bunch of hogs, the farmer who will apply a reasonable amount of intelligence and energy can make a more comfortable living, aye, more money and with less risk than in any other state in the Union. Our cow has appropriately been called the ‘Kansas Queen;’ ere long I surmise (if not already) our dairy farmer will be the ‘Kansas King.’ ”

J. E. NISSLEY,
SECRETARY AND TREASURER NATIONAL CREAMERY AND BUTTERMAKERS’ ASSOCIATION, APRIL 2, 1898.
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Kansas has some of the richest cement beds in the world and furnished nearly all of the cement for the exterior of the World’s Fair buildings.

Kansas has the biggest orchard in the world, and furnishes apples for the royal households of England and Germany.

Kansas ships walnut logs to Paris, and had the largest walnut log on exhibition at the World’s Fair.

Kansas has salt mines that are richer than those of Michigan and ships many car loads a day.

Kansas has a large number of flouring mills that ship their product direct to Liverpool and Glasgow.

Kansas raises over three bushels of corn for every man, woman and child in the United States.

Western Kansas last year turned the tables and shipped potatoes to the great potato state of Colorado.

Kansas has millions of acres that are underlaid with an unlimited supply of petroleum.

Kansas produced John R. Gentry and Joe Patchen, the two fastest pacers in the world.

Kansas has a railroad mileage that is only exceeded by that of two states in the Union.

Kansas cattle and hogs nearly always “top” the live stock markets.

Kansas has raised more wheat in a single year than any state in the Union.

Kansas lead mines produce thousands of tons of metal each year.

Kansas has bituminous coal mines in half a dozen counties.

Kansas has one of the largest silver smelters in the world.

Kansas can raise enough grain and garden truck to supply a million more residents without half trying.

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KANSAS AGRICULTURALLY IN 1897.

PRODUCTS—QUANTITIES AND VALUES.

Quantities Values
Winter and Spring Wheat.....................bu. 51,026,604 $34,385,304
. Cdrn........................................ 152,140,993 28,555,293
Oats....................... 23,431,273 3,828,192
Rye.................................... 1,661,662 559,821
Barley ................................ 1,772,426 362,753
Buckwheat................................... 14,313 7,872
Irish and Sweet Potatoes...............-... 5,342,480 2,644,001
Castor Beaus............................... 49,082 46,627
Flax....................... 1,198,882 959,105
Cotton ....................................lbs. 69,675 4,230
Hemp........................................ “ 77,900 4,180
Tobacco....................................- 172,900 17,290
Broom Corn................................. “ 19,418,650 402,669
Millet and Hungarian........... tons 709,546 1,973,226
Sorghum, for syrup.................-.......gals 1,271,152 418,858
Sorghum, Kafir Corn, Milo Maize, and
Jerusalem Corn, for forage... ... .................. 6,189,031
Tame Grasses...................-........................ .. 3,048,933
Prairie Grass........................................... - 4,305,688
Wool Clip................................. lbs. 762,464 91,495
Cheese, Butter, and Milk ............................... 5,259,752
Poultry and Eggs sold...................................... 3,850,997
Animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter . ............ 37,781 078
Horticultural and Garden Products and Wine..... 1,429,860
Honey, Beeswax, and Wood...................... ........... 208,403
Total Value of Products............................... $136,335,258

LIVE STOCK—NUMBERS AND VALUES.

Numbers Values
Horses and Mules.............................. 888,346 $ 26,340,702
Milch Cows. .............................. _ 552,438 15,983,333
Other Cattle.................................. 1,603,943 39,182 746
Sheep......................................... 222,703 570,574
Swine......................................... 2,399,494 11,997,470

Total Value of Live Stock.................. $94,074,8S5
Grand total ............................. $230,410,143...

INDEBTEDNESS CANCELED IN 1897.
(Estimated by the State Bank Commissioner.)
Mortgages...................................................... $25,000,000
Bank............................................... ........ 5,000,000
$30,000,000

TEN TEARS OF KANSAS AGRICULTURE.

The following table was prepared by the State Board of Agriculture, showing the agricultural products of Kansas for each of the last ten years, 1888 to 1897 inclusive, with the yearly yields and values of each, the aggregate yields of five principal grain crops, and aggregate values of all agricultural products, except live stock, on hand:
1888 1889 1890 1891 | 1892 1893
Quanti- ties. Values. Values. Quanti- ties. Values. Quantities Values, | Quantities Values Quanti- ties. Values. $ 10,954,110 78,821 32,621.762 6,488,342 410.809 171,875 9,283 2,951,587 313,083 33,056 2,366 648,047 2,400 1,235,511 1.913,338 1,699,999
Winter Wheat, bushels Spring Wheat, bushels Corn Oats, bushels Rye, bushels Barley, bushels Buckwheat, bushels Irish Potatoes, bushels Sweet Potatoes, bushels Castor Beans, bushels Cotton, pounds Flax, bushels Hemp, pounds Tobacco, pounds Broom Corn, pounds Millet and Hungarian, tons Sorghum, for syrup or sugar 16,135,120 589,597 168,751,087 54,665,055 3,199,110 113,585 49,984 8,199,004 670,878 122,502 645,000 1340,222 167,300 335,400 27,385,800 943,0780 11,750,996 346,817 52,395,948 12,470,908 1,350,759 40,325 40,298 5,234,356 670,878 122,502 51,600 1,206,199 8,365 33,540 958,563 3,997,517 3,106,188 34,130,048 1,189,803 273,883,321 47,922,889 5,850,080 175,405 69,900 187,520 511,900 173,600 419,400 23,749,800 863,428 19,329,574 588,127 51,649,876 7,651,812 1,536,998 47,829 41,994 3,892,229 412,266 240,835 40,952 1,200,305 8,680 41,940 831,243 3,453,712 4,217,757 27,940,401 860,813 51,090,229 29,175,582 2,274,879 247,918 42,988 2,817,288 243,147 302,677 589,200 2,173,800 73,500 242,400 24,665,100 393,399 $ 22,819,415 591,133 21,491,916 9,174,400 1,136,463 123,959 42,988 3,152,514 243,147 378,350 47,136 2,717,263 3,675 24,240 739,953 1,777,893 2,355,854 56,170,694 2,379,959 139,363,991 39,904,443 5,443,030 1,006,280 44,874 5,483,900 404,442 114,644 445,500 2,049,055 172,900 219,600 28,261,450 633,405 $ 40,997,417 1,599,342 48,057,979 10,594,457 3,528,680 411,910 40,387 2,689,637 848,776 143,305 35,610 1,639,244 8,645 21,960 918,497 2,533,620 2,060,423 70,035,980 1,502,926 138,658,621 43,722,484 1,042,613 3,812,954 62,808 4,257,504 300,000 81,987 145,300 1,245,555 32,900 222,600 34,016,950 493,648 38,534,426 2,157,335 42,889,849 11,140,224 1,697,057 1,407,983 47,106 3,438,042 330,000 102,483 10,171 1,058,721 1,645 22,260 1,105,550 1,974,592, 1,935,341 24,634,414 193,109 118,624,369 28,194,717 1,063,019 467,882 12,378 4,217,118 313,088 28,745 33,800 762,409 24,000 49,818,823 457,240
Sorghum, for forage or seed
Milo Maize tns 34,670 tnsl28,857 tns 26,962 121,345 450,998 80,886
Kafir Corn
Jerusalem Corn
Timothy
Clover
Blue Grass
Alfalfa Orchard Grass 387,812 2,326,872 395,967 1,583,868 535,621 3,749,347 401,610 2,008,200 700,613 3,503,065 580,544 3,483,264

Prairie under fence Live Stock Products 2,188,707 7,748,377 37,284,446 2,456,984 7,370,952 40,762,487 2,145,060 2,175,352 8,674,821 40,072,672 1,810,506 1,369,945 4,062,517 45,724,667 2,890,517 2,374,479 8,232,251 42,853,833 2,207,013 1,521,106 5,775,606 51,225,616 1.898,427
Horticultural Products, etc 2,112,374
Totals
$143,257,768 §147,051,496 $121,127,645 8169,810,850 $164,648,947 § 122,570,557
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TEN YEARS OF KANSAS AGRICULTURE — Continued. YIELDS OF Wheat. Corn. Winter and Spring. Bushels. Bushels. 16,724,717 168,754,081 35,319,851 273,88852 28,801,214 51,090,229 58,550,653 139,363,991
1894 1895 1896 1897 Aggregate Values 1888 1889 1890
Quanti- ties. Values. Quanti- ties. Values. Quantities. Values. Quantities. Values. for 10 Years. 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 74,588,906 138,658,621 24,827,523 118,624,369 28,205,700 66,952,833 16,001,060 201,457,396
Winter Wheat, bushels Spring Wheat, bushels Corn, bushels Oats, bushels Rye, bushels Barley, bushels Buckwheat, bushels Irish Potatoes, bushels Sweet Potatoes, bushels Castor Beans, bushels Cotton, pounds Flax, bushels Hemp, pounds Tobacco, pounds Broom Corn, pounds Millet and Hungarian, tons Sorghum, for syrup or sugar 28,175,656 30,044 66,952,833 18,385,469 978,658 582,393 10,680 4,995,181 326,974 40,338 6,400 1,043,418 178,300 15,967,655 421,606 $11,285,808 11,992 25,354,190 5,071,543 404,982 232,509 6,408 3,123,993 195,189 40,338 384 1,043,418 17,830 510,376 1,737,018 1,975,914 15,512,241 488,819 201,457,396 31,664,748 1,655,713 1,690,545 6,598 7,635,866 372,429 22,857 286,400 1,630,530 145,600 282,800 60,511,360 611,160 $ 7,255,571 207,547 46,189,772 5,620,188 623,625 441,431 3,101 2,506,358 137,714 22,857 17,184 1,286,471 7,280 28.280 1,223,159 2,050,786 2,533,952 27,153,365 601,523 221,419,414 19,314,772 998,897 1,169,539 8,401 7,778,097 292,784 34,701 44,950 1,581,897 42,224 169,400 16,580,400 691,197 $ 13,016,229 240,964 35,633,013 2,706,652 283,724 220,861 4,478 2,138,297 106,769 27,760 3,146 948,838 2,111 16,940 268,815 2,073,591 2,132,273 50,010,374 986,230 152,140,993 23,431,273 1,661,662 1,772,426 14,313 4,130,021 212,468 49,082 69,075 1,198,882 77.900 172,900 19,418,650 ! 709.546 i $ 33,798,012 586,692 28,555,293 3,828,192 559,822 362,754 7,872 2,529,082 114,920 46,628 4,181 959,106 4,213 17,290 402,669 1,973,226 2,332,116 $209,742,158 6,408.770 384,839,598 74,749,7 I8 11,532,919 3,461,4306 243,915 31,656,095 2,867,747 1,158,114 212,760 12,707,612 44,632 226,680 8,193,906 23,485.293 24,349,808 1896 1897 Totals.. Yearly 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892. 1893 1894 1895 1896 27,754,888 221,419,414 51,026,604 152,140,993 361,751,116 1,532,350,254 averages 36,175,111 153,235,025 YIELDS OF Oats. Rye. Bushel. Bushels. 54,665,055 3,199.110 47,922,889 5,850.080 29,175,582 2,274,879 39,904,443 5,443,030 43,722,484 4,042,613 28,194,717 1,063,019 18,385,469 978,658 31,664,748 1,655,713 19,314,772 998,897
Sorghum, for forage or seed 1897
Milo Maize bu 110,070 but 258 912 49,531 629,456 134,168 tns 53,491 tns639,993 tns 99,670 125,450 1,686,389 262,278 33,698 1,323,172 27,599 87,614 3,440,274 71,757 I37,430 1,358,789 29,089 112,290 4,076,217 87,267 496,230 10,283.334 636,356 Totals Yearly ..336,381,432 27.107,661
Jerusalem Corn Timothy bu $68,337 averages 33,638,143 2,716,766 DAIRY PRODUCTS.
Clover
Blue Grass Alfalfa Orchard Grass 598,857 3,593,142 464,234 1,972,994 571,067 1,998,760 813,049 3,048,934 j27,268,446 Table showing values of Butter, Cheese, and Milk sold (Milk other than for Rutter and Cheese) for a term of 10 years—1883-1897:
Other Tame Grasses Prairie under fence Live Stock Products Horticultural Products, etc 1,431,346 5,735,948 50,708,712 1,493,042 1,153,757 i 3,461,271 48,591,362 2,248,764 1,592,447 3,981,144 45,210,213 1,675,788 i1656,034’ ... 4,305,688 46,983,923 1,638,264 | 59,348,7605 449,417,931 | 19,619,755 1888 i 1889 1890 1891 j 1892 Value Years. Values. $ 5,094,674 1893 $ 4,846,738 4,451,927 1894 4,870.480 4,145,555 1895 4,510,631 4,958,961 1896 4,937,885 4,665,497 1897 5,259,752
Totals . Total S47,742,100
$113,355,891 $128,503,784 $116,290,011 $136,335,268 Annual average value $ 4,774,210
Grand total, $1,362,951,818; annual average, $136,295,181.
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23

OVER THERE IN KANSAS.

Papers had a lot to say, sneerin’ like o’ Kansas,
Welt it to ’em every day, chuckin’ fun at Kansas,
Air just full o’ slander darts From the busy eastern marts—
’Nuff to break the people’s hearts, over there in Kansas.

That’s where fierce cyclones are born, on the plains o’ Kansas,
Every word a word o’ scorn, fur the folks in Kansas.
Hoppers darkenin’ the sun,
Dozens of ’em weigh a ton,
Seem to think its lots o’ fun crackin’ jokes at Kansas.

Now it’s come their time to laugh, them folks out in Kansas,
Givin’ easterners the gaff ’bout affairs in Kansas.
Fields a bulgin’ out with wheat,
Corn for all the world to eat,
Other crops that can’t be beat, over there in Kansas.

Trains a haulin’ out the stuff from the plains o’ Kansas,
Railroads can’t get cars enough for to empty Kansas.
Ort to see the farmers grin,
Stroke the lilacs on their chin,
As the cash comes rollin’ in, over there in Kansas.

Women singin’ songs o’ glee, ’bout ol’ fruitful Kansas,
Babies crowin’ merrily everywhere in Kansas,
Purty gals a buyin’ clothes,
Toggin’ out from head to toes,
Style! You bet your life she goes over there in Kansas.

When the cares o’ day is done, on the plains o’ Kansas,
An’ the kids begin to yawn, sleepy like in Kansas,
Farmer wipes his glasses blurred,
Reads a chapter of the Word,
Then kneels down and thanks the Lord that he lives in Kansas.
—Daily Denver Post.

WELLINGTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
(620) 326-2011 (fx) 326-8193
121 WEST 7th ST.
WELLINGTON, KS 67152

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KANSAS COUNTIES ON THE SANTA FE.
In the following pages will be found, arranged in alphabetical order, mention of the principal counties of Kansas which are traversed by the lines of the Santa Fe Route, giving location, area, geographical description, name and population of chief towns and statistics of principal agricultural and other products for 1897; supplemented in many cases by editorial extracts from newspapers published in those counties; also a brief incidental word regarding the adjacent localities of Oklahoma and the valley of the Arkansas River in Colorado:

ALLEN COUNTY.
Situated in the southeastern part of the state, in the third tier of counties north from Indian territory, and second west from Missouri; area 504 square miles; population 14,441. The principal towns are Iola, the county seat population 2,145, Humboldt 1,682, and Carlyle 800. The principal streams are the Neosho and Marmaton rivers. Bottom lands comprise about ten per cent of the total area, and average one and one-half miles in width. All the streams are skirted with belts of timber, which average about one-mile in width on the Neosho River and larger creeks. Springs are plentiful everywhere, and well-water is easily obtained at an average depth of 25 feet.

The heart of the gas belt is in this county, centering at Iola. The native mineral products are limestone, sandstone, fire-clay, marble, gypsum, and mineral paint.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 3,008 acres; 57,152 bushels; value, $44,007.
Corn, 88,147 acres; 1,498,499 bushels; value, $329,669.
Oats, 12,234 acres; 195,744 bushels; value, $31,319.
Irish potatoes, 771 acres; 38,550 bushels; value, $19,660.
Sorghum, 226 acres; value, $2,198.
Flax, 14,071 acres; 98,497 bushels; value, $78,797.
Broom corn, 1,064 acres; 452,200 pounds; value, $11,305.
Millet and Hungarian, 6,695 acres; 11,716 tons; value, $35,148.
Kaffir corn, 3,939 acres; 19,695 tons; value, $59,085.
Timothy, 11,044 acres; clover, 4,071 acres; blue grass, 1,879 acres; alfalfa 91 acres; other tame grasses, 578 acres. Total tame hay, 9,414 tons (1896): value, $35,302. Prairie grass, fenced, 46,417 acres; 25,307 tons (1896); value $65,798.

Horses, 8,691; value, $234,657. Mules and asses, 1,117; value, $42,446. Milch cows, 6,516; value, $182,448. Other cattle, 13,708; value, $328,992. Sheep, 610; value, $1,372. Swine, 30,284; value, $151,420.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $424,672; poultry and eggs sold, $52,616; cheese, $1,040; butter, $31,617; garden products marketed, $2,933; horticultural products marketed, $12,283; wine manufactured, $1,106.

Fruit trees in bearing: 122,015 apple; 1,657 pear; 32,404 peach; 5,831 plum, and 8,566 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 64,449 apple; 1,752 pear; 13,617 peach; 2,360 plum, and 2,761 cherry. There were 59 acres in berries.

“The climate is temperate and even, not addicted to extremes of either cold or heat. During the winter just ended the lowest temperature was eight degrees above zero, and that was reached on only two days. A high temperature is frequently experienced in the summer, of course, but it is always mitigated by a cooling breeze, particularly at night. In no other part of the north temperate zone can one work out of doors so many days in the year.

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“Total failure of crops, either from drouth or flood, has never been known here.

Corn, broom corn, Kaffir corn, blue grass, clover, timothy, flax, oats, rye, millet and all manner of vegetables are raised here with as much certainty as in any of the older States. It is an especially good fruit country, Allen county apples having taken premiums at nearly all the great expositions in this and neighboring States.

“It is a great stock country, raising, feeding and selling annually hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of horses, cattle and hogs. Railroads traverse the county so that from every part of it stock can be placed on the city market within five or six hours after loading.

“Iola is the center of the greatest natural gas field on earth.

“Natural gas is supplied at a nominal price, only $1.00 a month being charged for cook stoves and the same for heaters. Gas lamps cost but five cents a month each.

“Three hundred new residences were built here last year. Four new business blocks are now under construction. New people are coming in every day.”—Iola Register, Allen Co. April 30, 1898.

“The numerous streams give a large area of the county a very fine quality of “bottom” land and this land is considered among the finest farming land in the State. The soil is a black rich loam and on the “bottom” lands the vegetation is rank.

“In the low lands a great deal of fine wheat is grown, but the main crops are flax, corn, oats and hay. Thousands of acres have been “put down” in tame grasses until it is one of the best money crops the county has. Of corn the county has always been among the foremost in the State.

“In spite of the large amount of corn that has always been grown we have never shipped any considerable amount out of the county. The low price of farming lands compared with the price which has prevailed in the east, has made it possible to feed cattle and hogs here. Thousands of acres are given up to pasturing and caring for cattle. So large has been the number of cattle and hogs fed in this county that a few years ago, in spite of the fact that we ranked that year fourth in the amount of corn, we were compelled to ship corn into the county. The amount of money that has been made on the cattle business has led nearly every farmer in the county to engage in the business to a greater or less extent.—Iola Farmer's Friend, Allen Co., June 17, 1898.

“Crops are sure in Allen county, and big corn and wheat yields are the rule, not the exception. Besides the finest of farming lands the county is richly blessed by nature for stock raising.

“The raising of fruit is followed successfully, climate and seasons alike contributing to its success as to other branches of agriculture.

“Humboldt, La Harpe and Iola are provided with natural gas, which is used in many manufacturing enterprises. The factories provide a market for the farmers’ produce which is worth many dollars to them each year.” —Humboldt Leader, Allen Co., April 15, 1898.

“To give some idea of the magnitude of the daily capacity of our gas wells we will state that 20,000 cubic feet of Iola gas has the same heat unit as one ton of coal, and the. total output is equal to 5,000 tons of coal daily. Two hundred and fifty cars or twelve trains of coal a day would not furnish as much power and heat as the Almighty has placed here under a rock pressure of 305 pounds to the square inch within the reach of all for a mere song. The field has been developed within a radius of ten miles east and west and four miles north and south.”—Western Sentinel, Iola. Allen Co., May 27,1898.

ANDERSON COUNTY.

Situated in the fourth tier north from Indian Territory, and the second west from Missouri line. Area, 576 square miles. Population, 14,100. The principal towns are Garnett, the county seat, population 2,238, and Colony, 700.

Surface gently rolling. Bottom lands comprise about ten per cent, of total area, and average one-half mile to one mile in width, Timber bluffs along

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the creeks average from 40 rods to a mile in width. The largest stream is Pottawatomie Creek. The county borders on the gas belt, and there has some development of gas within its limits.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 2,059 acres; 32,944 bushels; value, $25,696.
Corn, 86,195 acres; 1,379,120 bushels; value, $344,780.
Oats, 8,887 acres; 195,514 bushels; value, $33,237.
Rye, 213 acres; 2,769 bushels; value, $1,107.
Irish potatoes, 814 acres; 36,630 bushels; value, $25,641.
Sorghum, 681 acres; value, $6,169.
Flax, 13,368 acres; 93,576 bushels; value, $74,860.
Millet and Hungarian, 2,344 acres; 3,516 tons; value, $8,790.
Kaffir corn, 2,645 acres; 9,257 tons; value, $27,771.
Timothy 15,160 acres; clover, 3,721 acres; blue grass, 1,791 acres; alfalfa 124 acres; other tame grasses, 981 acres. Total tame hay, 9,267 tons (1896) value, $34,751 (1896). Prairie grass, fenced, 48,625 acres; 30,785 tons (1896)
Value 80,041 (1896)

Horses, 8851; value, $256,679. Mules and asses, 1,293; value, $45,255; Milch cows 7,295; value, $169,230. Other cattle, 16,807; value, $436,982.

Sheep, 756; value, $1,701. Swine, 31,473; value, $157,365.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $544,501; poultry and eggs sold, $38,609; butter, $38,616; milk sold, $10,116; garden products marketed, $2,227; horticultural products marketed, $1,221; wine manufactured $1,996.

Fruit trees in bearing: 111,372 apple; 2,187 pear; 35,751 peach 6191 plum, and 13,580 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 46,719 apple; 1,890 pear; 8,636 peach; 2267 plum, and 4,462 cherry. There were 57 acres in berries.

“Anderson county, with its numerous and never-failing streams, its almost countless springs of pure, cool, healthy water; its ample timber belts and natural groves; its abundance of native grass and its thoroughly proven adaptability to tame grasses, is one of the best regions for stock growing in the United States.

“Its broad valleys with their rich, deep, black soil, good for any crop, and the gently-rolling uplands, varying from deep, dark loam, excellent for corn to the strong red limestone soil, the very best for small grains, render it unsurpassed for the production of cereals.

“Fruit of all kinds, large and small, succeeds admirably, and for quality and quantity seldom disappoints the most sanguine horticulturist.

“Five railroads insure good markets and rapid transportation.

“Nine enterprising and prosperous villages, besides Garnett, furnish excellent market facilities and conveniences for trade.

“Anderson county offers most desirable homes for those who come to us from any direction, with all the advantages of modern civilization. Farm and city property is cheap, and can be bought on easy terms. It presents a splendid field for investment.”—Kansas Agitator, Garnett, Anderson Co April, 1898.

“The chief industry of Anderson county is farming and stock raising; the principal item of trade being fat livestock. The next in importance is the raising of feed and forage for livestock, which brings to this county a vast amount of western grown stock to be fatted for market. Horses, cattle, hogs, sheep and poultry grow and flourish in this section, and are reared with little expense.

“The county is well watered, and has a fair quantity of native timber growing along the streams. It lies in the natural gas belt of eastern Kansas and presents a rich field of operation for outside capital, the gas being suitable and abundant for fuel, light and manufacturing purposes.”—Republican Plaindealer, Garnett, Anderson Co. May 27, 1898.

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ATCHISON COUNTY.

Situated in the second tier south from the Nebraska line, and the first west of the Missouri River. Area, 423 square miles; population, 25,017. The principal city is Atchison, the county seat; population, 15,501.

Surface gently rolling, except where prominent bluffs occur along the Missouri River. Bottom lands average one-fourth mile to one and one-half miles in width, and comprise 15 per cent of the total area. Timber is found on all of the streams, the belts varying from one-fourth to one and one-half miles in width. The county is well supplied with small streams, the most important besides the Missouri River being the Independence, Delaware and Stranger Rivers.

Limestone, coal, and clay suitable for manufacturing brick for building and vitrified brick for paving, are found; vast quantities of both pressed and vitrified bricks have been manufactured near the City of Atchison. Springs are abundant, and well-water is found at an average depth of 25 feet.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 15,445 acres; 216,230 bushels; value, $155,685.
Spring wheat, 1,266 acres; 12,660 bushels; value, $8,482.
Corn, 70,349 acres; 1,618,027 bushels; value, $323,605.
Oats, 16,723 acres; 334,460 bushels; value, $53,513.
Barley, 587 acres; 9,392 bushels; value, $2,254.
Irish potatoes, 2,092 acres; 75,312 bushels; value, $29,371.
Sweet potatoes, 202 acres; 12,120 bushels; value, $6,666.
Sorghum, 343 acres; value, $2,410.
Castor beans, 292 acres; 2,336 bushels; value, $2,219.
Cotton, 29 acres; 5,075 bushels; value, $304.
Flax, 1,029 acres; 9,261 bushels; value, $7,408.
Millet and Hungarian, 1,016 acres; 1,778 tons; value, $4,089.
Kaffir corn, 104 acres; 520 tons; value, $1,560.
Timothy, 13,813 acres; Clover, 4,876 acres; blue grass, 13,404 acres; alfalfa, 345 acres; other tame grasses, 133 acres. Total tame hay, 12,834 tons (1896); value, $48,127 (1896). Prairie grass, under fence, 7,831 acres; 3,213 tons (1896); value, $8,353 (1896).
Horses, 5,509; value, $192,815. Mules and asses, 936; value, $39,312. Milch cows, 5,641; value, $169,230. Other cattle, 7,962; value, $191,088. Swine, 16,912; value, $84,560.
Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $214,040; poultry and eggs sold, $33,488; butter, $51,832; milk sold, $15,410; garden products marketed, $20,256; horticultural products marketed, $10,565; wine manufactured, $8,331; honey and beeswax, $815.
Fruit trees in bearing: 150,024 apple; 2,880 pear; 22,263 peach; 3,332 plum, and 10,769 cherry.
Fruit trees not in bearing: 70,691 apple; 3,154 pear; 10,859 peach; 1,882 plum, and 4,904 cherry. There were 509 acres in berries.

BARBER COUNTY.

Situated in the middle of the first tier of counties north from Oklahoma. Area, 1,134 square miles; population, 5,740. The principal towns are Medicine Lodge, the county seat; population, 1,095; Kiowa, 893; and Hazelton, 319.

The surface of the eastern half is undulating, some portions nearly level; the western half is broken with bluffs along the streams. The bottom lands in the eastern portion are from one-half mile to two miles in width, but narrower in the western half. The bottoms comprise about 20 per cent of the total area. Timber belts average one-half mile in width.

The county is well supplied with streams, the chief of which is Medicine River. Springs are abundant, and well-water is reached at an average depth of ten feet on the bottom lands.

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Excellent fire-clay is found in several localities from 8 to 25 feet below the surface; also brick clay. This county contains some of the largest gypsum deposits in Kansas.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 18,005 acres; 144,040 bushels; value. $105,149.
Spring wheat, 280 acres; 2,240 bushels; value, $1,523.
Corn, 63,934 acres; 447,538 bushels; value, $111,884.
Oats, 923 acres; 17,537 bushels; value, $3,156.
Rye, 388 acres; 3,880 bushels; value, $1,435.
Irish potatoes, 141 acres; 4,230 bushels; value, $2,580.
Millet and Hungarian, 2,499 acres; 4,998 tons; value, $17,493.
Sorghum, 13,228 acres; value, $66,882.
Milo maize, 76 acres; 304 tons; value, $912.
Kaffir corn, 21,548 acres; 86,192 tons; value, $258,576.
Alfalfa, 1,453 acres. Total tame hay, 12,098 tons (1896); value, $45,367 (1896). Prairie grass, under fence, 18,545 acres; 2.416 tons (1896); value,

Horses 6,547; value, $163,675. Mules and asses, 1,042; value, $36,470 Milch cows, 3,256; value, $91,168. Other cattle 33,237; value, $731,214. Sheep 4,600; value, $10,350. Swine, 12,831; value, $64,155.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter $341,637, poultry and eggs sold $15,713; wool clip (1896), $1,560; cheese, $325; butter. $13,981; milk sold, $241; garden products marketed, $3,541; horticultural product marketed $2,776; wine manufactured, $306.

Fruit trees in bearing; 12,901 apple; 605 pear; 87,340 peach; 2,869 plum and 4,646 cherry.
Fruit trees not in bearing: 16,384 apple; 2,361 pear; 12,589 peach; 1849 plum, and 1,707 cherry.

BARTON COUNTY.

Situated in the central part of the state. Area, 900 square miles; population, 12,436. The chief towns are Great Bend, the county seat; population. 2,292; and Ellinwood, 684.

The surface of the south half is level, and the north higher and somewhat broken. Bottom lands on the Arkansas River and Walnut Creek average from two to seven miles wide, the proportion being about 40 per cent, of total area. Narrow belts of timber are found along the streams, and timber is cultivated in all portions of the county. Well-water is easily obtained at a depth of ten feet on the bottoms. There are several minor springs in addition to Arkansas River and Walnut Creek. Salt beds are found south of the center and north of the Arkansas River. Near Great Bend a bed of rock-salt of excellent quality has been penetrated to a depth of 100 feet.

Magnesian limestone and fire-clay are found in the northern portions. Several large irrigation enterprises are in operation and being established. This is a prominent dairy county.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 184,043 acres; 2,944,688 bushels; value, $1,855,153.
Corn, 67,219 acres; 403,314 bushels; value, $96,795.
Oats, 2,971 acres; 47,536 bushels; value, $9,982.
Rye, 3,352 acres; 43,576 bushels; value, $13,508.
Barley, 1,598 acres; 30,362 bushels; value, $7,286.
Irish potatoes, 678 acres; 16,272 bushels; value, $10,088.
Millet and Hungarian, 3,374 acres; 5,061 tons; value, $15,183.
Sorghum, 6,697 acres; value, $31,800.
Milo maize, 423 acres; 1,269 tons; value, $3,807.
Kaffir corn, 7,012 acres; 21,036 tons; value, $63,108.
Alfalfa, 1,565 acres. Total tame hay, 8,099 tons (1896); value, $30,371

*
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(1896). Prairie grass, under fence, 75,212 acres; 15,793 tons (1896); value, $41,061 (1896).

Horses, 10,327; value, $320,137. Mules and asses, 1,313; value, $45,955. Milch cows, 7,076; value, $198,128. Other cattle, 11,342; value, 249,524. Swine, 11,069; value, $55,345.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, 123,253; poultry and eggs sold, $56,412; cheese, $467; butter, $135,455; milk sold, $6,414; garden products marketed, $2,087; horticultural products marketed, $667.

Fruit trees in bearing: 25,146 apple; 1,571 pear; 24,923 peach; 5,549 plum, and 19,400 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 24,196 apple; 2,716 pear; 9,333 peach; 4,250 plum, and 13,018 cherry.

“Last year brought over three millions of dollars into Barton county alone, and this county is but one, in the center of the great agricultural region of the west. If present prospects continue till harvest this county will pocket over four million dollars from the crop of 1898. All along the great trunk railways of Kansas and especially along the valley of the Santa Fe line the prairies are a vast field of the finest wheat and alfalfa ever seen anywhere.

“Everywhere you go you can see evidences of a permanent growth, and the people are using every available day to improve and beautify this the most pleasant and healthful state in the American Union.”—Barton Beacon, Great Bend, May 19, 1898.

BUTLER COUNTY.

Situated in the south central part, in the second tier north from Oklahoma. Area, 1,428 square miles. This is the largest county in the state, and is larger than the state of Rhode Island. Population, 21,887. The chief towns are Eldorado, the county seat, population, 3,715; Augusta, 1,032; and Douglas, 800.

The surface of the western part is principally bottom land and gently rolling prairie, while the eastern portion in many places is broken and rough. The river and creek bottoms average from one to two miles in width, and comprise 15 per cent, of the total area. The timber belts vary from one-fourth mile to three-fourths mile in width. There are several streams, of which the Walnut River is the principal.

Magnesian limestone is abundant, and is quarried and shipped at several points. Gypsum is found in the western townships.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 7,202 acres; 122,434 bushels; value, $83,255.
Corn, 187,873 acres; 1,878,730 bushels; value, $432,107.
Oats, 20,156 acres; 524,056 bushels; value, $99,570.
Rye, 185 acres; 3,330 bushels; value, $1,332.
Irish potatoes, 1,144 acres; 45,760 bushels; value, $22,880.
Flax, 3,142 acres; 18,852 bushels; value, $15,081.
Broom corn, 184 acres; 55,200 pounds; value, $1,380.
Millet and Hungarian, 18,285 acres; 22,856 tons; value, $52,568.
Sorghum, 7,673 acres; value, $41,524.
Milo maize, 174 acres; 565 tons; value, $1,695.
Kaffir corn, 11,714 acres; 38,070 tons; value, $114,210.
Timothy, 134 acres; blue grass, 374 acres; alfalfa, 7,755 acres; other tame grasses, 113 acres. Total tame hay, 16,196 tons (1896); value, $60,735 (1896). Prairie grass, under fence, 197,769 acres; 71,117 tons (1896); value, $184,904 (1896).

Horses 14,546; value, $407,288. Mules and asses, 1,526; value, $53,410. Milch cows, 10,578; value, $296,184. Other cattle, 42,458; value, $1,103,908. Sheep, 15,069; value, $37,672. Swine, 74,078; value, $370,390.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $1,040,823; poultry and eggs sold, $73,698; wool clip, $16,241 (1896); cheese, $146; butter, $66,855; milk sold, $8,731; garden products marketed, $3,749; horticultural products marketed, $4,758; honey and beeswax, $1,052.


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Fruit trees in bearing: 182,827 apple; 4,314 pear; 158,864 peach; 17,144 plum, and 39,015 cherry.
Fruit trees not in bearing: 53,966 apple; 2,664 pear; 15,219 peach; 2,912 plum, and 6,838 cherry.

“ ‘What about grasshoppers?’ did you say?

“Well, my friend, I witnessed a visitation of ‘red legs’ in 1868; and again in 1874; but they came late in the summer both years, and did but little real harm. I have lived in Kansas forty-one years and have not seen a red legged locust or grasshopper—the migratory kind—in twenty-four years. We have the ordinary native hopper, but hardly enough of them for the turkeys in the fall.

“ ‘Tornadoes?’

“Never saw a tornado, cyclone or twister in all these forty-one years. Kansas is occasionally visited by them, but 1 never had the good fortune to go up against one. Kansas has fewer twisters than any of the Missouri valley states.

“ ‘Drouths, hot winds and crop failures?’

“Kansas was visited by a severe drouth in 1860. That was thirty-eight years ago. An Indiana farmer, at my elbow, says he has not failed in producing a corn crop in Butler county since he commenced farming here, which was in 1870. A country that don’t fail on corn in twenty-eight years ought to be counted a first-class farming country. Altitude and a moderately dry climate makes Kansas the greatest winter wheat state in the Union; and a dry climate is what gives us the finest pasture and the greatest degree of health for man and beast. A dry climate gives us our alfalfa fields, kaffir corn, fine fruit and vegetables, splendid roads and everything else to make the farmer prosperous and happy.

“ ‘What about land?’

“A Clifford township farmer drilled two and one-half bushels of sorghum seed to the acre on eighty acres of prairie. He cut his crop with a mower and put it in cocks. He fed two hundred and forty head of two-year-old steers from the first of December till the middle of April, on the sorghum obtained from the eighty acres; and he did not give them a mouthful of other feed during the time. They went on to grass the middle of April in fine condition, as his neighbors will bear witness. Do you know of any ten or twenty dollar per acre land anywhere under the sun that will produce a greater tonnage to the acre of first-class feed? I think not.

“ ‘What about hogs?’

“There are hogs that run wild in the hills of Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee that feed on mast that are very lean, and when butchered are very fine flavored; but next to these the Kansas hog takes the blue ribbon. Our alfalfa fed hogs that go on the pasture for six or eight months before being full fed are all that can be desired in a hog.

“ ‘How about other things?’

“Oh, we grow flax, oats, barley, hemp, buckwheat, millet, potatoes, tobacco, clover, blue grass and the like; in fact we produce most everything from the soil of Kansas. We have the finest mutton in the world to go along with our beef and pork; and when it comes to horses and mules, all one has to do is to look at the hitch-racks, in any of the country towns Saturday afternoons, to be convinced that no country produces finer horses.

“ ‘What do we live on?’

“If you imagine, for a moment, that a Kansas man don’t know when pig's jowl and spinach are ripe you greatly mistake. We stick to beef and mutton, ham and eggs in the spring till spring chicken, new peas and potatoes, strawberries and the like begin to come in. When the cows get out into the knee-deep wheat or alfalfa fields we get butter and cream as yellow as the dome of the National Library building in Washington. Then we have black bass and croppie in our rock bottom streams, wild ducks, plover, prairie chickens, ’possums and quail, thirty and forty pound turkeys, native wines and every other imaginable thing that is good. Kansas people are the best fed people in the world. In fact they work less and get more out of life than any people
anywhere.

“A man who owns a three or four hundred acre farm in Kansas is counted

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well off. I can give you the names of a great many young men who came to Kansas twenty-five or thirty years ago with nothing, who are well off to-day.

“No state has better railway facilities and no farmers anywhere are furnished better or cheaper freight and passenger accommodations. Church and school buildings are as thick as blackberries, while ninety per cent of our population is native born American. The towns are grown up with trees while every well regulated farm house is surrounded with clumps of timber. Kansas is a beautiful country.”—El Dorado Republican, Butler Co., April 26, 1898.

“Butler county contains as fine farming lands as can be found anywhere. The valleys of the Walnut, White Water and tributary streams are the richest in the world and most of them under a high state of cultivation. While all lands are taken and owned, yet there is considerable land for rent, and at fair rentals. The principal crops are corn, wheat, oats, millet, kaffir corn and sorghum. But little grain is shipped out, cattle feeding creates a home market for all surplus crops raised by the farmer and at good prices. The cow and hen are important factors in the income of nine-tenths of the homes of Butler county. The farmers are learning the value of creameries, eggs, butter, alfalfa and kaffir corn and the wisdom of a diversification of crops. The man who is industrious and economical can gain a good livelihood, if not a competency here, and with greater ease than in the east.”—Industrial Advocate, El Dorado, Butler Co., April 22. 1898.

“No state in the Union has been so extensively advertised as Kansas. Friends have praised her, enemies have maligned and misrepresented her, foes have trodden her good name under foot, the wicked have reviled her, the careless and ignorant scorned her, admirers have flattered and lovers sung her praises until from east to west, north to south, across the sea, from the rising of sun to the setting thereof the name of Kansas is a household word and she reigns to-day the brightest star in the galaxy of statehood. A queen upon her throne, with an army of as loyal subjects as ever vowed allegiance to a crown. Yet there are those who refuse to believe, when shown her beauty, fruitfulness and wealth and it is to this class principally these lines are directed.

“No fairer land exists under the sun than Kansas. Her fertile valleys, undulating plains, her hills and woodland, threaded by silver streams, make up a scenery grander and more inspiring than ever artist’s pencil sketched or poet wrote in song. The climate is healthful and life-giving, her thousands of fertile acres but await the tickle of the hoe of the husbandman to yield their richness in fat harvests of golden grain, or furnish luxuriant pasture to the cattle on a thousand hills. Her people are as happy as can be found in any commonwealth. Too much cannot be said in praise of the natural resources of Kansas, her churches, schools, colleges and other institutions of learning, the high degree of culture attained by her people, and the advance she has made socially, morally and educationally.”—Industrial Advocate, El Dorado, Butler Co., Kansas.

CHASE COUNTY.

Situated in the center of the eastern half of the state. Area, 750 square miles; population, 6,783. The most important towns are Cottonwood Falls, the county seat, population 770; Strong City, 976; and Elmdale, 375.

The surface of the northern and central portions is gently rolling, with occasional bluffs along the streams; the southern portion is broken and hilly. Bottom lands average along the creeks three-fourths mile in width, and along the rivers two and one-half miles, comprising about 12 per cent, of the total area. Timber belts average three-eighths mile in width.

The Cottonwood River is the principal stream, and furnishes excellent water-power, which is utilized at several points. Springs and small streams are abundant.

Limestone is largely quarried for building purposes, and brick is manufactured from the clay found along the Cottonwood. Coal also has been found.

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STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 2,857 acres; 51,426 bushels; value, $35,998.
Corn, 50,518 acres; 505,180 bushels; value, $141,346.
Oats, 3,017 acres; 54,306 bushels; value, $10,318.
Rye, 164 acres; 2,624 bushels; value, $1,233.
Irish potatoes, 605 acres; 32,670 bushels; value, $10,335.
Flax, 2,092 acres; 12,552 bushels; value, $10,041.
Millet and Hungarian, 4,190 acres; 6,285 tons; value, $19,797.
Sorghum, 4,229 acres; value, $23,983.
Kaffir corn, 3,033 acres; 11,373 tons; value, $34,119.

Blue grass, 383 acres; alfalfa, 5,753 acres; other tame grasses, 77 acres. Total tame hay, 10,210 tons (1896); value, $38,287 (1896). Prairie grass, under fence, 126,120 acres; 23,160 tons (1896); value, $60,216 (1896).

Horses, 5,144; value, $128,600. Mules and asses, 579; value, $19,107. Milch cows, 2,242; value, $62,176. Other cattle, 23,106; value, $646,968. Swine, 17,154; value, $85,770.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $820,316; poultry and eggs sold, $17,997; cheese, $412; butter, $17,667; garden products marketed, $2,805; horticultural products marketed, $2,475; honey and beeswax, $1,326.

Fruit trees in bearing: 46,762 apple; 1,967 pear; 35,287 peach; 3,561 plum, and 9,142 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 25,191 apple; 641 pear; 9,961 peach; 1.029 . plum, and 2,720 cherry.

“This is just the climate for agricultural pursuits and stock raising. The fall and winter, generally short, are dry and bracing. An occasional light drifting snow occurs, lasting two or three days, at which time it is necessary to feed and shelter stock. The soil on the upland is similar to that in the valleys and from one to five feet deep.

“The county has many sites unsurpassed in the whole state for the raising of grapes, peaches, pears, and all fruits susceptible of cultivation in this climate. Those who have made experiments with vineyards and orchards say that the finest fruit can be produced here." — Chase County Leader, Cottonwood Falls, April 21, 1898.

“Is there such another region under the heavens? Who can conceive who has not seen it that, standing on the banks of the Arkansas, with the water perhaps ten feet below your feet, you can behold a region of country as far as the eye can reach and hardly a mole hill to obscure the vision. Farm houses, orchards and cultivated groves, the only intervening obstacles to vision. No more beautiful valleys exist than along our streams.

“After forty years’ residence in Kansas and in this beautiful valley of the Cottonwood, we can truly say that when we travel east our desire is to return to our Kansas home. A farm on one of our beautiful valleys, with its inexhaustible, deep and rich alluvial soil, is a delight and pleasure to work. From our experience we believe we can safely say that with proper cultivation we can average crops with any state in the Union. We believe there are no more drouths in the growing season, and we do know far less rain in the season that we do not need it. For natural roads we know no region having better. The millions of bushels of grain raised in Kansas evidences her wonderful fertility of soil and climate. The amount of cattle and hogs marketed by Kansans is a surprise to all who examine the records. For churches, and especially schools, we stand second to none. We will venture to say that of the home born no state can excel us in the per cent of intelligence and education. All visitors to Kansas are astonished at the degree of general intelligence. There are more newspapers to the population circulated in Kansas than any state in the Union.”—The Reveille, Cottonwood Falls, Chase Co., April 21, 1898.

CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY.

Situated in the first tier north from Oklahoma and the fourth west from the Missouri line. Area, 651 square miles; population, 9,993. Sedan is the county seat. The principal towns on the Santa Fe route are Cedar Vale, population, 640; Peru, 300; and Chautauqua, 300.

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Surface of the southern portion is undulating, though broken and irregular along some of the creeks. The northwestern part is level. The bottom lands on the larger creeks average one mile in width, and on the smaller streams from one-fourth to one-half mile. All the streams have timber belts, and some of the uplands have beautiful natural groves. Streams and springs are abundant; well-water is found at a depth of from 15 to 20 feet.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 12,317 acres; 246,340 bushels; value, $187,218.
Corn, 65,018 acres; 1,496,396 bushels; value, $344,171.
Oats, 4,384 acres; 149,056 bushels; value, $23,848.
Rye, 82 acres; 1,640 bushels; value, $656.
Irish potatoes, 457 acres; 21,479 bushels; value, $12,672.
Sweet potatoes, 24 acres; 1,560 bushels; value, $904.
Castor beans, 771 acres; 5,397 bushels; value, $5,127.
Flax, 1,596 acres; 11,172 bushels; value, $8,937.
Millet and Hungarian, 3,18O acres; 7,155 tons; value, $19,960.
Sorghum, 2,037 acres; value, $15,650.
Kaffir corn, 3,256 acres; 13,024 tons; value, $39,072.
Alfalfa, 3,481 acres; other tame grasses, 57 acres. Total tame hay, 5,208 tons (1896); value, $19,530 (1896). Prairie grass, under fence, 35,105 acres; 13,990 tons (1896); value, $36,374 (1896).

Horses, 7,351; value, $249,934. Mules and asses, 960; value, $33,600. Milch cows, 6,388; value, $172,476. Other cattle, 16,413; value, $459,564. Swine, 22,780; value $113,900.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $298,954; poultry and eggs sold, $34,400; butter, $30,203; garden products marketed, $3,932; horticultural products marketed, $4,314; wine manufactured, $681; honey and beeswax, $567.

Fruit trees in bearing: 96,864 apple; 2,921 pear; 49,774 peach; 12,562 plum, and 15,604 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 22,853 apple, 882 pear; 5,801 peach; 1,842 plum, and 2,672 cherry. There were 90 acres in berries.

CLARK COUNTY.

Situated in the western middle part of the first tier north from Oklahoma. Area, 975 square miles; population, 1,440. The chief towns are Ashland, the county seat, population, 459; and Englewood, 200.

The Cimarron flows through the southern third of the county, and Sand, Kiger, Bear, Day, and Bluff Creeks, all living streams, are its confluents on the north. The broad valleys of these streams make this section of the county an undulating low land. The northern portion is a high, rolling prairie, broken by Bluff Creek, with hills and rough lands. This county is principally adapted to cattle business.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 1,939 acres; 25,207 bushels; value, $15,124.
Corn, 3,143 acres; 56,574 bushels; value, $19,800.
Rye, 389 acres; 5,835 bushels; value, $2,334.
Barley, 507 acres; 9,126 bushels; value, $3,650.
Broom corn, 115 acres; 57,500 pounds; value, $862.
Millet and Hungarian, 1,140 acres; 2,565 tons; value, $7,695.
Sorghum, 5,395 acres; value, $25,471.
Milo maize, 78 acres; 390 tons; value, $1,170.
Kaffir corn 4,795 acres; 23,975 tons; value, $71,925.
Alfalfa, 775 acres; other tame grasses, 12 acres. Total tame hay, 2,524 tons (1896); value, $9,465 (1896). Prairie grass, under fence, 1,297 acres; 1823 tons (1896); value, $4,739 (1896).

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Horses, 2,060; value, $55,620. Mules and asses, 146; value, $5,402. Milch cows, 909; value, $24,543. Other cattle, 15,324; value, $306,480. Swine, 757; value, $3,785.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $99,993; poultry and eggs sold, $2,341; butter, $3,746.

Fruit trees in bearing: 735 apple; 43 pear; 5,971 peach; 392 plum, and 635 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 1,942 apple; 88 pear; 2,074 peach; 255 plum, and 417 cherry.

CLOUD COUNTY.

Situated in the eastern middle part, second tier south from the Nebraska line. Area, 720 square miles; population, 16,366. The chief towns on the Santa Fe route are Concordia, the county seat, population, 2,927; and Miltonvale, 500.

Surface rolling, with very little rough land. The river and creek valleys are from one to three miles in width, the bottoms comprising about 25 per cent of the total area. The timber belts along the streams are narrow averaging from ten rods to one-fourth of a mile in width. Well-water is reached at a depth of 30 feet. The Republican River is the principal stream

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 25,654 acres; 513,080 bushels; value, $323,240.
Corn, 165,200 acres; 2,973,600 bushels; value, $416,304.
Oats, 26,783 acres; 562,443 bushels; value, $73,117.
Rye, 514 acres; 9,252 bushels; value, $2,960.
Barley, 144 acres; 2,304 bushels; value, $552.
Irish potatoes, 786 acres; 33,798 bushels; value, $17,912.
Flax, 80 acres; 800 bushels; value, $640.
Broom corn, 55 acres; 27,500 pounds; value, $550.
Millet and Hungarian, 3,392; 5,936 tons; value, $14,840.
Sorghum, 6,606 acres; value, $43,066.
Kaffir corn, 6,621 acres; 23,173 tons; value, $69,519.
Alfalfa, 4,696 acres. Total tame hay, 10,633 tons (1896); value, $39,873 (1896). Prairie grass, under fence, 85,329 acres; 14,478 tons (1896); value. $37,642 (1896).

Horses, 11,765; value, $376,480. Mules and asses, 792; value, $27,720 Milch cows, 8,161; value, $228,508. Other cattle, 17,246; value, $413,904. Sheep 227; value, $567. Swine, 37,154; value, $185,770.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $339,166; poultry and eggs sold, $67,551; butter, $80,079; milk sold, $7,408; garden products marketed, $2,174; horticultural products marketed, $1,590; honey and beeswax $1,325.

Fruit trees in bearing: 68,832 apple; 889 pear; 45,889 peach; 3,716 plum and 21,730 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 24,451 apple; 818 pear; 20,139 peach; 1,263 plum, and 5,495 cherry.

COMANCHE COUNTY.

Situated in the western middle of the state, first tier north from Oklahoma. Area, 795 square miles; population, 1,277. The principal towns are Coldwater, the county seat, population, 700; and Protection.

The general surface is nearly level, with bluffs on some of the large streams. Bottom lands vary from one to three miles in width. Narrow belts of timber occur along the streams. Never failing springs are numerous, and well-water is found at a depth of 20 to 50 feet. The Cimarron River is the principal stream.

Magnesian limestone, sandstone, gypsum, fire-clay, and red and yellow ochers are found in this county.

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STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 2,691 acres; 32,292 bushels; value, $21,958.
Corn, 7,344 acres; 40,392 bushels; value, $14,137.
Rye, 448 acres; 4,928 bushels; value, $1,872.
Irish potatoes, 23 acres; 851 bushels; value $553.
Broom corn, 260 acres; 156,000 pounds; value $1,950.
Millet and Hungarian, 568 acres; 568 tons; $1,704.
Sorghum, 3,758 acres; value, $19,759.
Kaffir corn, 6,217 acres; 20,205 tons; value, $60,615.
Total tame hay, 957 tons (1896); value, $3,588 (1896). Prairie grass, fenced, 3,740 acres; 1,257 tons (1896); value, $3,268 (1896).

Horses, 1,743; value, $48,804. Mules and asses, 203; value, $5,887. Milch cows, 862; value, $21,550. Other cattle, 11,204; value, $257,692. Sheep, 2,987; value, $6,720. Swine, 1,326; value, $6,630.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $86,182; poultry and eggs sold, $3,760; wool clip, $2,800 (1896); butter, $4,319.

Fruit trees in bearing: 1,010 apple; 38 pear; 9,493 peach; 672 plum, and 602 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 1,512 apple; 147 pear; 2,347 peach; 348 plum, and 475 cherry.

COFFEY COUNTY.

Located in the third tier west from the state of Missouri and the fourth north from Indian Territory; area, 648 square miles; population, 16,027. The principal towns on the Santa Fe Route are Burlington, the county seat, population 2,434; Lebo 538, and Waverly 548. The surface is gently rolling, there being but few portions too rough for cultivation. The bottom lands average from one to two miles wide, and comprise 13 per cent, of the total area. Timber belts are from one-fourth to one-half mile in width. The main stream is the Neosho River. There are many springs, and well water is reached at a depth of 20 feet.

Sandstone and magnesian limestone are found along the ravines and on the hill sides, and are extensively quarried. Red ocher and fire clay are also found in some localities.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 6,883 acres; 130,777 bushels; value, $98,081.
Corn, 108,588 acres; 1,520,232 bushels; value, $395,260.
Oats 14,916 acres; 193,908 bushels; value $32,964.
Rye, 270 acres; 5,940 bushels; value, $2,673.
Irish potatoes, 1,153 acres; 66,874 bushels; value, $44,805.
Sweet potatoes, 14 acres; 868 bushels; value $694.
Flax, 11,080 acres; 66,480 bushels; value $53,184.
Millet and Hungarian, 3,407 acres; 5,964 tons; value, $17,892.
Sorghum, 2,856 acres; value, $19,633.
Kaffir corn, 4,607 acres; 17,276 tons; value, $51,828.
Timothy, 9,179 acres; clover, 4,475 acres; blue grass, 3,835 acres; alfalfa, 757 acres; other tame grasses, 1,048 acres. Total tame hay, 10,446 tons (1896); value, $39,172 (1896). Prairie grass, fenced, 99,602 acres; 51,038 tons (1896); value, $132,698 (1896).

Horses, 11,956; value, $322,812. Mules and asses, 1,274; value, $38,220. Milch cows, 8,718; value, $244,104. Other cattle, 25,586; value, $665,236. Sheep, 1,214; value, $3,945. Swine, 35,582; value, $177,910.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $817,279; poultry and eggs sold, $58,090; wool clip, $1,181 (1896); cheese, $388; butter, $52,133; milk sold, $2,899; garden products marketed, $3,335; horticultural products marketed, $6,314; wine manufactured, $2,036; honey and beeswax, $895.

Fruit trees in bearing: 167,255 apple; 2,654 pear; 53,080 peach; 11,803 plum, and 21,244 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 68,247 apple; 1,910 pear; 18,498 peach; 3,680 plum, and 6,145 cherry. There were 101 acres in berries.

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“There is no spot on earth where a poor man, especially the farmer, can make a living and a home and be surrounded with the comforts of life half so quickly as in the rich Sunflower State. Climate, timber, water, and the finest and richest soil on earth are among the leading advantages that this great state offers to the homeseeker. Thousands of the comfortable homes that dot over rich valleys and broad and fertile prairies have been built with no other capital than an honest heart and stout and willing hands. Fully two-thirds of the fine farm homes and ranches that are spread over this domain like a beautiful panorama have been made by men who came to this country empty handed, but with a firm resolution to make life a success and to provide for those dependent upon them.

“These same advantages still remain for others. Land in many places is still cheap. A little for a beginning and then the application of frugality, economy and industry will soon accomplish the balance. In a few short years your possessions will blossom as the rose.

“There is no country, owing to her climate, that can produce successfully so many kinds of crops. There is no vegetable on earth but what can be grown here, and tame grasses and field grains of every sort are in their natural element. Berries and fruits of all kinds thrive and do well and make enormous yields. In addition to plethoric yields in agricultural lines, think of the wonderful advantages and resources that come from the swine, sheep, and fatted cattle, the never failing cow and the productive broods of poultry. To the immigrant we say come and see this wonderful country and be convinced that what we tell you is the truth. In all this great state there is no brighter spot nor one that offers more natural advantages than our own Coffey County.”—Burlington Jeffersonian, Coffey County, May 6, 1898.

“No state in the Union offers better advantages to those desiring to follow the vocation of farming or stock raising than Kansas. Our short, mild winters make it possible for all kinds of stock to be carried over from fall to spring with but little shelter and mostly on rough feed, while the more rigorous climate of the states east of the Mississippi River require shelter and close attention for at least three months in the year to enable cattle to go through the winter. With us the winter is the best part of the year, to those who turn their attention to the dairy business, and a family keeping two or three cows can depend on getting enough clear profit from them to keep up all the grocery bills during the winter months. The hen is also a great factor with us and puts in her ‘best licks’ during the winter season when she knows that her product is in greatest demand. The range of crops in Coffey County is wider than in most counties on account of diversity of soil and other climatic influences. The county is one of the best wheat growing sections in the west, and is also well adapted to corn, oats and all kinds of fruits, broom corn and stock raising, and especially adapted to fruits of all kinds.”—Burlington Independent, Coffey County, April 1, 1898.

COWLEY COUNTY.

Situated in the eastern middle part of the state, in the first tier north of Oklahoma; area 1,112 square miles; population 27,009. The principal towns are Winfield, the county seat, population 4,455, Arkansas City 6,578, Burden 508, and Udall 300. Winfield is the converging point of five lines of railroad and Arkansas City has an extensive trade with the surrounding country. The Arkansas River supplies excellent water power at this point. Rolling prairie the eastern half being hilly and rough. Bottom lands are very wide on the Arkansas River, averaging five miles. On the Walnut they vary from one to two miles in width, and on the smaller creeks from one-quarter to one-half mile. Timber belts average from one-fourth to one mile in width. Good springs abound and well water is obtained at a depth of 20 feet east of the Walnut, and 25 feet west of that river. No portion of the county is without water courses.

Magnesian limestone is extensively quarried for building purposes, ana some gypsum is found in the western part of the county, near the Arkansas.

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STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 60,892 acres; 1,278,732 bushels; value $920,687.
Corn, 141,608 acres; 2,832,160 bushels; value, $509,788.
Oats, 17,535 acres; 613,725 bushels; value, $85,921.
Rye, 722 acres; 17,328 bushels; value, $6,931.
Irish potatoes, 1,055 acres; 63,300 bushels; value, $31,650.
Sweet potatoes, 55 acres; 4,400 bushels; value, $2,376.
Flax, 295 acres; 2,655 bushels; value, $2,124.
Broom corn, 305 acres; 175,375 pounds; value, $4,384.
Millet and Hungarian, 7,802 acres; 17,555 tons; value, $48,276.
Sorghum, 6,129 acres; value, $52,545.
Milo maize, 338 acres; 1,352 tons; value, $4,056.
Kaffir corn, 6,608 acres; 26,432 tons; value $79,296.
Alfalfa, 3,904 acres; other tame grasses, 225 acres. Total tame hay, 3,692 tons (1896); value, $13,845 (1896). Prairie grass, fenced, 143,739 acres; 37,144 tons (1896); value, $96,574 (1896).

Horses, 14,393; value, $460,576. Mules and asses, 1,352; value, $54,080. Milch cows, 9,815; value, $274,820. Other cattle, 34,753; value, $903,578. Sheep, 913; value, $2,282. Swine, 37,603; value, $188,015.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $471,902; poultry and eggs sold, $74,126; wool clip. $651 (1896); butter, $71,351; milk sold, $8,680; garden products marketed, $10,784; horticultural products marketed, $6,025.

Fruit trees in bearing: 172,648 apple; 7,309 pear; 183,942 peach; 17,286 plum, and 31,411 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 50,769 apple; 2,607 pear; 23,512 peach; 4,909 plum, and 4,719 cherry. There were 161 acres in berries.

“Kansas is the haven to-day for the agricultural unfortunate. Be he the drouth-stricken toiler from the southwest, the flood sufferer from the Mississippi, Missouri or Ohio valleys, the ague-shaking planter from Arkansas and Louisiana, or the frozen-out farmer from the Dakotas and Minnesota. None of these extremes are in the list of Kansas moods.

“Kansas is the haven for the manufacturer. More natural water power, much of it undeveloped, lies within the boundaries of Kansas than any other state. Coal and natural gas fields invite the factory where spindles shall hum or lathes turn.

“Kansas is the natural location for the fine stock raiser. Kentucky’s blue grass section is limited to a small area, but the alfalfa and clover section of Kansas is infinite. More racers and record-making horses are coming from Kansas to-day than from Kentucky.

“Kansas wheat fills the elevators of the world. Kansas beef feeds the peaceful of our own land, the armies in the field, our own armies and Europe’s. Kansas corn fattens this beef and then supplies the visible markets of the grain centers. Kansas hogs and sheep and chickens provide sustenance for millions.

“Kansas is now the center of activity, where honest toil is quickest rewarded, and where the dreams of the toilers are soonest realized.”—Democrat-Dispatch, Arkansas City, Cowley Co., June 10, 1898.

“The immigration this year will be even greater than last year. They are not coming from foreign countries, but from the overcrowded section of the east, where access to natural opportunities is almost impossible. They are a desirable class of immigrants, and Kansas welcomes them.

“Opportunities here far surpass those of the east. Good farm land can be bought now at from $10 to $20 per acre. Such prices, however, will not long prevail. Land will be higher here as the tide of immigration advances. The resources of Cowley County are not confined to wheat. It is a great corn producing county, and facilities for stock raising are unsurpassed. Kansas is traveling toward the stars pretty rapidly just now, and is not having many difficulties, either.”—Industrial Free Press, Winfield, Cowley Co., May 26, 1898

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DICKINSON COUNTY.

Situated in the eastern central portion, third tier south from Nebraska line; area 851 square miles, population 20,8O8. The principal towns are Abilene the county seat, population 3,331, Solomon City 800, and Enterprise 900. Rolling prairie, with but few bluffs or bad lands. River bottoms average two miles in width, and those of the creeks one mile, comprising in all 20 per cent of the total area. Timber belts along the streams average from 40 rods to one-half mile in width. Well water is reached at an average of 30 feet. The Solomon River is the principal stream.

Limestone, paint clay, fire clay and gypsum are found, and from the last named large quantities of stucco or plaster are manufactured.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 84,727 acres; 1,186,178 bushels; value, $806,601.
Corn, 122,340 acres; 2,202,120 bushels; value, $396,381.
Oats, 30,664 acres; 582,616 bushels; value, $99,044.
Rye, 3,087 acres; 49,392 bushels; value, $14,817.
Barley, 498 acres; 7,968 bushels; value, $1,912.
Irish potatoes, 1,188 acres; 59,400 bushels; value, $32,670.
Sweet potatoes, 70 acres; 4,410 bushels; value, $2,646.
Sorghum, 8,331 acres; value, $75,351.
Millet and Hungarian, 7,077 acres; 17,693 tons; value, $41,578.
Kaffir corn, 11,731 acres; 58,655 tons; value, $175,965.

Timothy, 106 acres; clover, 56 acres; blue grass, 179 acres; alfalfa, 1,745 acres. Total tame hay, 6,927 tons (1896); value, $25,976 (1896). Prairie grass, fenced, 110,718 acres; 38,901 tons (1896); value, $101,142 (1896).

Horses, 11,994; value, 323,838. Mules and asses, 705; value, $21,855. Milch cows, 12,736; value, 394,816. Other cattle, 33,206; value, 763,738. Sheep, 8,706; value, $23,070. Swine, 37,903; value, 189,515.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $451,239; poultry and eggs sold, $71,674; cheese, $9,471; butter, $207,497; milk sold, $48,258; garden products marketed, $4,519; horticultural, $1,489; wine manufactured, $731; honey and beeswax, $970.

Fruit trees in bearing: 110,351 apple; 5,919 pear; 74,668 peach; 8,674 plum, and 23,316 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 31,926 apple; 2,500 pear; 16,557 peach; 2,821 plum, and 4,491 cherry.

“All Kansas is experiencing a revival of the cattle industry that is almost equal to the famous craze of a third of a century ago, when the ranges of this part of the state were covered with the herds that came up from Texas. Now the herds are not coming by the slow methods of driving over the cattle trails, but are hurried in special trains. The rush for cattle began about a year ago last November and is now at its height. The herds that are shipped into this state are bought up rapidly. The farmers take them at prices that were two years ago thought beyond the possibilities, and the banks in many instances loaned more on them than the same stock would have sold for at the time.

“Mr. Grant G. Gillett brought to Woodbine ten train loads at once last fall. Later he purchased 18,000 cattle in a day. He has handled already nearly 100,000 head, placing most of them with feeders in Central Kansas, and has made such handsome profits that he has in the short space of twenty-four months and at the age of thirty years become one of the wealthiest men in the county, or, indeed, in Central Kansas.

“Another Dickinson County man who has made a success is C. A. Stannard of Hope, who has gone into the business on the basis of making a herd of thoroughbreds that would attract the best patronage. He went to New York and Ohio and purchased the best stock to be secured. Several prize winners at the World’s Fair were added to his possessions, and there is not to be found anywhere a better lot of Herefofds than he possesses. He has added to his possessions many fine buildings and his profits have been very large, as his sales have been made to men all over the state.

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“W. H. Hollinger of Rinehart has one of the best farms in the state, but he has gone into cattle more extensively in the last year than ever before. He has handled on feed about 1,000 head and they have made him a small fortune.”—Abilene Daily Reflector, Dickinson Co., March 2, 1898.

“The dairying industry is fast coming to the front in this county, there being already twenty creameries located in the county’s limits. Farm lands are quoted at from $12 to $20 per acre. The wheat crop for Dickinson County for 1898 is estimated at from one and a half to two million bushels.”—Enterprise Journal, Dickinson Co., June 16, 1898.

CRAWFORD COUNTY.

Situated in the first tier of counties west from the Missouri line, and the second tier north from Indian Territory; area 592 square miles, population 40,649. The principal towns are Girard, the county seat, population 3,003, Pittsburg 12,195, Walnut 550, and Frontenac 1,500. Surface gently undulating. Bottom lands from one-half to one mile in width, and comprising 15 per cent, of the total area. Timber belts border all the streams, and average from one-quarter to three-quarters of a mile in width. Well water is reached at an average depth of 20 feet.

Limestone and sandstone are abundant; also fire clay and potters’ clay. Coal is mined in nearly every part of the county, and is used for home manufacturing and for shipping abroad. The largest zinc smelters in the United States are operated at Pittsburg and in the vicinity, giving employment to a large number of persons. Next to agriculture the mining of coal and lead and the smelting of zinc are the principal industries.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 26,897 acres; 349,661 bushels; value, $265,742.
Corn, 69,880 acres; 1,327,720 bushels; value, $292,098.
Oats, 25,576 acres; 588,248 bushels; value, $100,002.
Rye, 99 acres; 1,485 bushels; value $519.
Irish potatoes, 829 acres; 58,030 bushels; value, $28,434.
Sweet potatoes, 31 acres; 1,798 bushels; value, $1,222.
Castor beans, 396 acres; 3,564 bushels; value, $3,385.
Flax, 5,078 acres; 40,624 bushels, value, $32,499.
Hemp, 52 acres; 36,400 pounds; value, $2,002.
Tobacco, 11 acres; 7,700 pounds; value, $770.
Millet and Hungarian, 1,555 acres; 2,333 tons; value, $6,999.
Sorghum, 844 acres; value, $5,360.
Kaffir corn, 689 acres; 3,445 tons; value, $10,335.

Timothy, 14,559 acres; clover, 1,756 acres; blue grass, 2,182 acres; alfalfa, 19 acres; other tame grasses, 79 acres. Total tame hay, 7,459 tons (1896); value, $27,971 (1896). Prairie grass, fenced, 27,052 acres; 13,786 tons (1896); value, $35,843 (1896).

Horses, 7,538; value, $226,142. Mules and asses, 1,163; value, $38,379. Milch cows, 5,006; value, $140,168. Other cattle, 12,258; value, $257,418. Sheep, 1,619; value, 3,642. Swine, 20,664; value, 103,320.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $236,967; poultry and eggs sold, $39,652; butter, $42,096; milk sold, $10,995; garden products marketed; $10,531; horticultural, $8,741; wine manufactured, $793; honey and beeswax, $2,908.

Fruit trees in bearing: 143,089 apple; 2,237 pear; 24,292 peach; 11,240 plum, and 13,011 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 34,798 apple; 822 pear; 4,094 peach; 2,006 plum, and 1,763 cherry. There were 190 acres in berries.

“The fertile soil and temperate climate of Kansas offer inducements to enterprising husbandmen that are not to be found in many of the states east of

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here. She produces the grain and provender that fattens the hogs and cattle to feed half a dozen states. Her flour is found in the markets of nearly all the states and in many foreign countries.

“Crawford County not only has fine agricultural lands, but is rich in mineral wealth, having produced last year, according to State Mine Inspector McGrath’s report, 1,590,620 tons of coal. In addition to agriculture and mining, we have no small amount of manufacturing enterprises, such as mills, foundries, and smelters, that give employment to a great many men.”— Idependent News, Girard, Crawford Co., May 12, 1898.

DOUGLAS COUNTY.

Situated south of the Kansas River, second tier from the Missouri line; area 469 square miles, population 25,251. The principal towns are Lawrence, the county seat, population 10,914, Baldwin 1,068, Eudora 700, and Lecompton 550. Surface undulating, with but little waste land. Bottom lands averaging one mile in width, and comprise about 20 per cent of the total area. Timber belts are found along all of the streams, some of them a mile in width. Springs are found in all parts of the county, and well water is reached at an average depth of 25 feet. The Kansas River is the principal stream.

Limestone is extensively quarried for building purposes, and potters' clay and fire clay are found in small quantities.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 16,869 acres; 236,166 bushels; value, $170,039.
Spring wheat, 2,011 acres; 20,110 bushels; value, $10,658.
Corn, 75,258 acres; 1,655,676 bushels; value. $347,691.
Oats, 8,868 acres; 230,568 bushels; value, $39,196.
Rye, 385 acres; 5,775 bushels; value, $2,136.
Irish potatoes, 4,753 acres; 323,204 bushels; value, $113,121.
Sweet potatoes, 138 acres; 10,488 bushels; value, $4,195.
Flax, 4,818 acres; 33,726 bushels; value, $26,980.
Hemp, 17 acres; 10,200 pounds; value, $561.
Millet and Hungarian, 1,134 acres; 2,268 tons; value, $7,371.
Sorghum, 739 acres; value, $6,771.
Kaffir corn, 530 acres; 2,120 tons; value, $6,360.

Timothy, 19,318 acres; clover, 7,327 acres; blue grass, 7,651 acres; alfalfa.
396 acres; other tame grasses, 2,452 acres. Total tame hay, 18,895 tons (1896): value, $70,856 (1896). Prairie grass, fenced, 31,263 acres; 14,097 tons (1896); value, $36,652 (1896).

Horses, 11,488; value, $367,616. Mules and asses, 1,141; value, $44,499. Milch cows, 8,811; value, $255,590. Other cattle, 15,664; value, $360,272. Sheep, 1,053; value, $3,159. Swine, 43,117; value, 215,585.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $600,281; poultry and eggs sold, $39,630; wool clip, $819 (1896); cheese, $3,474; butter, $98,843; milk sold, $11,637; garden products marketed, $12,062; horticultural, $19,440; wine manufactured, $1,698; honey and beeswax, $2,286.

Fruit trees in bearing: 159,706 apple; 8,245 pear; 50,251 peach; 8,314 plum, and 16,180 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 120,375 apple; 16,671 pear; 95,468 peach; 23,620 plum, and 14,311 cherry. There were 461 acres in berries.

“In the presence of the figures contained in the report of the State Board of Agriculture for the past year one is prepared to believe there may be more truth than jest in the statement that Kansas will ‘forward a carload of canceled mortgages’ to the forthcoming exposition at Omaha as a token of her returning prosperity.”—Lecompton Sun, Dourjlas Co., April 1, 1898.

“Douglas County is densely populated and its people are all well to do, wide-awake, energetic rustlers. The farming and fruit growing interests are

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the money makers. The farm crops consist of wheat, corn, potatoes, oats and vegetables, values ranging in the orders given, while many lesser crops are raised at a profit. The Wakarusa Valley is the finest wheat growing valley in the state, while the Kaw River Valley is one vast field of potatoes and truck gardening.

“As for fruit, the uplands surrounding Lawrence are covered with orchards and vineyards and fields of small fruits. During last season, for three months, an average of 3,000 crates of berries (strawberries, raspberries and blackberries) were shipped out of the county daily, netting the growers not less than $1.00 per crate.

“Live stock raising is no small industry. An average of five carloads of hogs per day are marketed from the county, to say nothing of the train loads of cattle that are fattened upon the blue grass pastures and corn by the farmers"— Lawrence Jeffersonian, Douglas Co.. June 2, 1808.

“Douglas County is an agricultural paradise. Every portion of it is watered by good streams, many of them large ones. We can’t raise a phenomenal crop every year, but we never have a failure. A farmer is sure of a steady income, whether he is growing wheat or corn in the bottoms and valley's or raising cattle on the uplands. The greatest early potato district in the country is in the Kaw Valley, adjoining Lawrence. Stories of the product and returns made by potato growers in this neighborhood are too marvelous for belief by a stranger.

“The small fruit industry in this vicinity has become an enormous one. During the season the express cars on every train leave Lawrence loaded full.”— Lawrence Gazette, Douglas Co., June 1, 1898.

EDWARDS COUNTY.

Situated in the western central portion, third tier north from Oklahoma; area 612 square miles, population 3,024. The principal town is Kinsley, the county seat, population 700. Surface gently undulating, much of it nearly level. The bottom lands of the Arkansas River average about three miles in width and comprise about 25 per cent of the total area. The amount of native timber is small, but fine groves, from ten to forty acres, upon the timber culture entries are dotted all over the county. Good well water is readily found at a depth of from 10 to 15 feet in the Arkansas Valley and 25 feet on the prairies.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 37,057 acres; 444,624 bushels; value, $293,451.
Corn, 23,595 acres; 235,950 bushels; value, $51,909.
Oats, 6,507 acres; 110,619 bushels; value, $19,911.
Rye, 1,616 acres; 21,008 bushels; value, $6,722.
Barley, 1,063 acres; 26,575 bushels; value, $5,846.
Irish potatoes, 155 acres; 9,300 bushels; value, $5,859.
Broom corn, 418 acres; 156,750 pounds; value, $2,743.
Millet and Hungarian, 2,799 acres; 4,199 tons; value, $11,967.
Sorghum, 5,078 acres; value, $28,118.
Milo maize, 143 acres; 500 tons; value, $1,500.
Kaffir corn, 3,428 acres; 11,998 tons; value, $35,994.
Alfalfa, 2,930 acres. Total tame hay, 7,040 tons (1896); value, $26,400 (1896). Prairie grass, fenced, 30,102 acres; 5,260 tons (1896); value, $13,676 (1896).

Horses, 3,022; value, $90,660. Mules and asses, 267; value, $8,811. Milch cows, 2,358; value, $66,024. Other cattle, 9,642; value, $202,482. Swine, 3,084; value, $15,420.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $56,120; poultry and eggs sold, $17,504; butter, $15,083; milk sold, $724.

Fruit trees in bearing: 3,378 apple; 568 pear; 18,456 peach; 2,687 plum, and 2,771 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 6,672 apple; 664 pear; 5,199 peach; 2,434 plum, and 3,256 cherry.

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This year's crop will practically put individuals of the county out of debt. While there will be a few who will still owe for farms or improvements, the indebtedness will be held by our own people and it will no longer be necessary to borrow from abroad. The market for foreign money is practically done for now.”—The Kinsley Mercury, Edwards Co., June 3, 1898.

ELK COUNTY.

Situated in the southeastern part of the state, second tier north from Oklahoma; area 651 square miles, population 10,655. The principal towns are Howard, the county seat, population 1,088, Grenola 608, Longton 624, and Moline 527. Surface rolling, and in some places hilly and bluffy. Bottom lands average one mile in width, and comprise 20 per cent, of the total area. Timber belts along the Elk River average one-quarter of a mile in width. Good springs are numerous, and well water is found at an average depth of 20 feet.

Limestone, sandstone and coal to a limited extent are found in this county.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 4,692 acres; 107,916 bushels; value, $83,095.
Corn, 81,182 acres; 1,704,822 bushels; value, $358,012.
Oats, 1,106 acres; 33,968 bushels; value, $6,193.
Irish potatoes, 475 acres; 31,350 bushels; value, $21,945.
Flax, 7,088 acres; 49,616 bushels; value, $39,692.
Broom corn, 115 acres; 63,250 pounds; value, $1,581.
Millet and Hungarian, 6,161 acres; 12,322 tons; value, $33,885.
Sorghum, 4,738 acres; value, $23,612.
Kaffir corn, 6,547 acres; 22,914 tons; value, $68,742.

Timothy, 212 acres; clover, 204 acres; blue grass, 614 acres; alfalfa, 2,837 acres; other tame grasses, 81 acres. Total tame hay, 7,409 tons (1896), value, $27,783 (1896). Prairie grass, fenced, 88,758 acres; 26,795 tons (1896); value, $69,667 (1896).

Horses, 8,479; value, $296,765. Mules and asses, 1,260; value, $50,400. Milch cows, 7,441; value, $208,348. Other cattle, 24,696; value, $691,488. Sheep, 1,105; value, $3,315. Swine, 26,397; value, $131,985.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $777,969; poultry and eggs sold, $36,807; butter, $35,336; milk sold, $1,208; garden products marketed, $2,767; horticultural, $4,047; honey, $547.

Fruit trees in bearing: 101,601 apple; 3,106 pear; 64,776 peach; 16,910 plum, and 18,083 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 34,343 apple; 1,228 pear; 6,375 peach; 4,504 plum, and 4,189 cherry. There were 64 acres in berries.

“All varieties of field crops are raised successfully; fruit abounds, and in no place in Kansas do tame grasses prosper as here. Alfalfa is particularly a successful crop, thousands of acres now being raised in the county and no difficulty whatever is experienced in securing a stand, one seeding usually be ing successful.

“While Elk County successfully produces all kinds of grains and in this respect stands among the leading counties of the state, still her great industry is stock raising, and this is the natural result of the advantageous combinations which it possesses, namely, immense and never-failing corn crops, abundant and well-watered prairie pastures, a large acreage of tame grasses and, best of all, permanent water, conveniently located in well-protected feed lots.

“While there are a few men and companies extensively engaged in stock raising and feeding, the greater part of the stock is raised and fitted for market by the farmers, who find mixed farming the safest and most profitable business. In this manner of conducting their farms, the farmers have a market for their grain and forage crops on the premises and are never at a loss to find a market for their ‘home-fed’ stock, at the highest market prices.

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“Poultry products and milk and butter are important items to our farmers, each season recording a large increase in these lines.

“The individual mortgage indebtedness, which has been reduced during the past seven years over 75 per cent., continues to be paid off at the rate of $15,000 per month, and at no time in the history of the county have the people been in better financial condition than at the present writing. Individual deposits in Elk County banks are over three hundred thousand dollars.

“Lands remain remarkably cheap. Pasture lands can still be had at from $2.50 to $6 per acre, upland and slope farms at from $5 to $15 per acre, according to improvements, and bottom and second bottom farms can be purchased at from $15 to $50 per acre.”—Elk County Citizen, Howard, May 12, 1898.

ELLSWORTH COUNTY.

Situated in the central part of the state; area 720 square miles; population 8,896. The principal towns on the line of the Santa Fe Route are Ellsworth, the county seat, population 1,342, Thomas, Lorraine and Holyrood 200, the last named being an important grain market. Surface gently rolling prairie, with high table lands between the streams. The bottom land of creeks and rivers varies from one-quarter to two miles in width, and contains 10 per cent, of the total area. Timber belts average about one-quarter mile. Springs are numerous in all portions of the county, and well water is reached at a depth of from 20 to 60 feet. The Smoky Hill River is the largest stream.

Magnesian limestone, red and brown sandstone, mineral paint, fire clay, potters’ clay, gypsum and red and yellow ochers are found in this county. A good quality of salt also is mined.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 95,397 acres; 1,812,543 bushels; value, $1,232,529.
Corn, 57,956 acres; 695,472 bushels; value, $159,958.
Oats, 566 acres; 11,886 bushels; value, $2,496.
Rye, 634 acres; 10,778 bushels; value, $3,664.
Irish potatoes, 640 acres; 12,800 bushels; value, $7,552.
Sweet potatoes, 17 acres; 1,071 bushels; value, $899.
Broom corn, 613 acres; 183,900 pounds; value, $3,678.
Millet and Hungarian, 695 acres; 1,390 tons; value, $3,475.
Sorghum, 4,737 acres; value, $19,123.
Milo maize, 138 acres; 552 tons; value, $1,656.
Kaffir corn, 9,164 acres; 36,656 tons; value, $109,968.
Alfalfa, 441 acres; other tame grasses, 15 acres. Total tame hay, 6,535 tons (1896); value, $24,560 (1896). Prairie grass, fenced, 131,706 acres; 11,822 tons (1896); value, $30,737 (1896).

Horses, 6,297; value, $201,504. Mules and asses, 705; value, $24,675. Milch cows, 3,715; value, $104,020. Other cattle, 27,380; value, $657,120. Sheep, 411; value, $1,233. Swine, 11,870; value, $59,350.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $455,674; poultry and eggs sold, $49,449; cheese, $564; butter, $30,780; milk sold, $413; garden products marketed, $1,077; horticultural products marketed, $1,250.

Fruit trees in bearing: 17,491 apple; 526 pear; 21,395 peach; 3,036 plum, and 9,375 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 12,474 apple; 922 pear; 8,688 peach; 1,548 plum, and 4,308 cherry.

FINNEY COUNTY.

Situated in the southwestern part of the state, third tier north from Oklahoma; area 864 square miles, population 3,353. The principal town is Garden City, the county seat, population 1,583. About one-third of this county is level uplands, and nearly all susceptible of irrigation from the Arkansas River. Springs are not abundant, but well water is obtained at from 50 to 100 feet on the uplands, and in the Arkansas Valley at a few feet below the

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surface. The Valley of the Arkansas is from four to six miles wide, and contains all the. bottom land in the county.
Limestone and sandstone are found in large quantities, and brick and potters' clay and gypsum in limited quantities.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 8,195 acres; 24,585 bushels; value, $13,275.
Spring wheat, 286 acres; 1,716 bushels; value, $1,063.
Corn, 876 acres; 10,512 bushels; value, $3,153.
Oats, 914 acres; 10,968 bushels; value, $1,974.
Barley, 1,938 acres; 13,566 bushels; value, $2,848.
Irish potatoes, 95 acres; 3,420 bushels; value, $1,846.
Sweet potatoes, 70 acres; 6,300 bushels; value, $2,835.
Broom corn, 210 acres; 105,000 pounds; value, $1,575.
Millet and Hungarian, 802 acres; 1,203 tons; value, $3,007.
Sorghum, 11,977 acres; value, $54,364.
Milo maize, 319 acres; 1,276 tons; value, $3,828.
Kaffir corn, 2,035 acres; 8,140 tons; value, $24,420.
Jerusalem corn, 634 acres; 2,536 tons; value, $7,608.
Alfalfa, 11,726 acres. Total tame hay, 14,681 tons (1896); value, $54,978 (1896). Prairie grass, fenced, 7,876 acres; 1,325 tons (1896); value, $3,445 (1896).

Horses, 3,337; value, $76,751. Mules and asses, 173; value, $4,325. Milch cows, 1,838; value, $51,464. Other cattle, 9,803; value, $215,666. Sheep, 3,505; value, $9,638. Swine, 1,711; value, $8,555.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $49,154; poultry and eggs sold, $8,491; wool clip, $2,602 (1896); cheese, $3,920; butter, $8,388; milk sold, $739; garden products marketed, $2,680; horticultural products marketed, $2,402; honey and beeswax, $2,094.

Fruit trees in bearing: 6,139 apple; 384 pear; 19,741 peach; 21,897 plum, and 2,462 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 10,559 apple; 187 pear; 3,953 peach; 5,782 plum, and 2,012 cherry.

“Finney County leads Western Kansas in acreage, number of tons, amount of seed, and in land still adapted to the raising of alfalfa. We have tens of thousands of cattle ranging over our prairies and turning the nutritious buffalo grass into food for man and wealth for the owners of the herds. And we irrigate here. The broad Arkansas River flows entirely across our county from west to east, and carries down to us such quantities of water that by the aid of our canals and laterals we can laugh to scorn the inhabitants of the unfortunate locality where they are always looking for rain. We are independent as a nation, but the man in Finney County who operates a farm 'under the ditch’ is the most independent inhabitant of the Almighty’s footstool. He is free from all cares of weather even. He can tuck his trousers up to his knees and go joyfully forth in the morning and cause the water to flow just where he wants it, and when he has enough he shuts her off and returns thanks for his greatest of all blessings—his lucky star that guided him to Kansas. And then it rains, too, sometimes, but never more than enough.

“We do not make a specialty of farming in this county, outside of the river bottom, but devote most of the upland to the stock industry. Feed can be raised in any part of the county in as great quantities as the man cares to sow and reap. We raise any kind of fruit that anybody ever saw grow in the temperate zone, and it’s good fruit, too.

“We have good schools, good water, good people, good government and good health. We are at an elevation of a trifle over 2,800 feet, which insures an abundance of fresh air and an entire freedom from malaria and everything of that sort. We always have a breeze, which is not only refreshing, but is of great value in running our innumerable windmills.

“We have a good class of native-born American citizens, and we have lots of room for more of them. Bottom land under irrigation can be purchased at from $10 per acre up. Upland can be had at from $75 per quarter section up.” — Garden City Sentinel, Finney Co., April 1, 1898.


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FORD COUNTY.

Situated in the southwestern portion, fifth tier of Colorado, and second north from Oklahoma: area 1,040 square miles, population 5,196. The principal town is Dodge City, the county seat, population 2,097. Surface nearly level, with few bluffs and but little rough lands. Bottom lands comprise 10 per cent, of the total area, and are confined to the Valley of the Arkansas River, which varies from one to two miles in width. A small fringe of timber grows along some of the streams.

Magnesian limestone, sandstone, fire clay and gypsum are found in this
county.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 20,772 acres; 290,8O8 bushels; value, $194,841.
Spring wheat, 133 acres; 1,064 bushels; value, $585.
Corn, 11,190 acres; 134,280 bushels; value. $32,227.
Oats, 7,319 acres; 175,656 bushels; value, $3S,644.
Rye, 2,029 acres; 28,406 bushels; value, $9,942.
Barley, 2,783 acres; 61,226 bushels; value $14,694.
Irish potatoes, 143 acres; 6,149 bushels; value, $4,427.
Millet and Hungarian, 2,078 acres; 3,117 tons; value, $8,883.
Sorghum, 4,106 acres; value, $26,177.
Milo maize, 51 acres; 204 tons; value, $612.
Kaffir corn, 5,224 acres; 20,896 tons; value, $62,688.
Jerusalem corn, 52 acres; 208 tons; value, $624.
Timothy 5 acres; clover 19 acres; alfalfa, 4,277 acres; other tame grasses,
50 acres. Total tame hay, 9,101 tons (1896); value, $34,128 (1896). Prairie grass, fenced, 25,434 acres; 5,607 tons (1896); value, $14,578 (1896).

Horses, 3,742; value, $97,292. Mules and asses, 231; value, $5775. Milch cows, 2,579; value, $72,212. Other cattle, 8,565; value, $188,430. Swine, 2,017; value, $10,085.


Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $34,857; poultry and eggs sold, $9,960; cheese. $4,330; butter, $12,828; milk sold, $1,784; garden products marketed, $1,026; horticultural products marketed, $865.

Fruit trees in bearing: 2,281 apple; 237 pear; 20,768 peach; 7,352 plum, and 3,973 cherry.

Fruit trees not bearing: 4,178 apple; 504 pear; 1,164 peach; 3,608 plum, and 4,943 cherry.

“Western Kansas offers inducements to men of small or ample means with energy and industry. The citizens of this portion of the state are now in a prosperous condition. Exclusive farming is not pursued, but cattle raising is the principal occupation of nearly every settler. The raising of grain was successful last year, and from indications there will be good crops this year; but the people of this portion of the state do not rely upon agriculture entirely any more they find that the profits from cattle raising and dairy products are abundant and sure. The dairy interest is being encouraged, and nearly every settlement or city has a milk separator, and creameries have been established at many principal points. With the abundant range for cattle and the certainty of raising feed every year, has placed the cattle and dairy business in the foreground.

“On all bottom lands the alfalfa plant grows vigorously and abundantly without irrigation, and yields two and three crops a year. Alfalfa grows on uplands, and if carefully planted will grow well and yield good returns. The particular advantages in this part of the state in the raising of hay and all feed products, makes it desirable for the cattle and milk industry. Farmers with small ‘bunches’ of cattle are doing well, and they are also adding to their thrift by producing butter, eggs, chickens and all kinds of fowls. There is always a good market for this class of farmer’s produce.

“The raising or horses and mules is receiving an impetus. Animals reared here are of stronger fiber and better lung power than the animals raised in states of lower altitude and greater humidity.

“Anywhere water is easily obtained in sufficient quantities for stock and domestic use. With abundant winter and summer range and water, the dairy-

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man will find this portion of the state well adapted to his business. The prices paid for dairy products equal those prices given at points farther east.

“The climate of western Kansas is unsurpassed anywhere. Its healthfulness is proverbial. The winters are mild generally, and the summers are delightful. The salubrity of the climate is beneficial to everybody. People who suffer with lung diseases are benefited and cured here. The death rate is low.”—Dodge City Globe-Republican, Ford Co., April 14, 18198.

FRANKLIN COUNTY.

Situated in the eastern part of the state, in the second tier from the Missouri line, and the fifth from Indian Territory; area 576 square miles, population 22,415. The principal towns are Ottawa, the county seat, population 8,005, Williamsburg 513, Pomona 650, and Wellsville 500.

Surface is a gently undulating prairie. The bottom lands of the creeks average one mile in width, and on the Marais des Cygnes they widen to two miles. Timber belts average one-half to one mile in width. Springs are plentiful, and well water is reached at an average depth of 25 feet. The Marais des Cygnes is the principal river.

Limestone, sandstone and paving stone are quarried. There are also deposits of mineral paint, cement rock, fire clay and coal, the last named being mined in excess of the local demand and shipped to other points.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 5,672 acres; 85,080 bushels; value, $62,108.
Corn, 94,551 acres; 1,607,367 bushels; value, $353,620.
Oats, 9,462 acres; 208,164 bushels; value, $39,551.
Rye, 82 acres; 1,394 bushels; value, $571.
Irish potatoes, 1,550 acres; 99,200 bushels; value, $42,656.
Sweet potatoes, 16 acres; 1,200 bushels; value, $660.
Castor beans, 233 acres; 1,631 bushels; value, $1,549.
Flax, 6,965 acres; 48,755 bushels; value, $39,004.
Tobacco, 61 acres; 42,700 pounds; value, $4,270.
Millet and Hungarian, 2,551 acres; 4,464 tons; value, $11,829.
Sorghum, 1,146 acres; value, $8,016.
Kaffir corn, 976 acres; 3,904 tons; value, $11,712.
Timothy, 26,003 acres; clover, 4,713 acres; blue grass, 5,219 acres; alfalfa, 56 acres; other tame grasses, 3,752 acres. Total tame hay, 20,014 tons (1896); value, $75,052 (1896). Prairie grass, fenced, 39,432 acres; 19,072 tons (1896); value, $49,587 (1896).

Horses, 11,485; value, $298,610. Mules and asses, 1,064; value, $35,112. Milch cows, 7,795; value, $218,260. Other cattle, 21,019; value, $546,494. Sheep, 816; value, $1,836. Swine, 39,893; value, $199,465.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $749,414; poultry and eggs sold, $51,058; butter, $65,133; milk sold, $3,054; garden products marketed, $5,157; horticultural products marketed, $14,770; honey and beeswax, $1,511.

Fruit trees in bearing: 126,906 apple; 2,376 pear; 31,297 peach; 6,405 plum, and 15,931 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 70,831 apple; 2,496 pear; 6,528 peach; 2,893 plum, and 3,296 cherry. There were 328 acres in berries.

“The original prairie with us is a thing of the past; the various varieties of the tame grasses having supplanted it. Clover, all varieties, red top, blue grass, timothy and other grasses now have a larger acreage than anything else. This country is a stock producing one. The principal portion of all grain raised being marketed in hogs, cattle, horses, etc. Flax seed, the grass seed and wheat form the principal products marketed directiy.”— Weekly Globe, Wellsville, Franklin Co., May 13, 1898.


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GRAY COUNTY.

Situated in the southwestern part of the stale, fourth tier east from Colorado and second north from Oklahoma. Area, 864 square miles; population, 1,105. The principal towns are Ingalls, the county seat, population, 100; and Cimarron, 500.

The surface is generally level, the only bottom lands being on the Arkansas River, which flows through the northern half of the county in a southeasterly direction.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 2,779 acres; 33,348 bushels; value. $21,676.
Corn, 1,368 acres; 15,048 bushels; value. $4,815.
Oats, 446 acres; 11,150 bushels; value. $2,230.
Rye, 285 acres; 3,420 bushels: value. $1,094.
Barley, 1,683 acres; 28,611 bushels; value. $6,294.
Millet and Hungarian, 790 acres; 1.383 tons; value. $4,149.
Sorghum, 1,991 acres; value, $11,475.
Kaffir corn. 1,807 acres; 5,421 tons; value, $16,263.
Alfalfa, 1,918 acres. Total tame hay, 2009 tons (1896); value, $7,533 (1896). Prairie grass, under fence, 1,438 acres; 775 tons (1896); value, $2,015 (1896).

Horses, 1,550; value, $31,000. Mules and asses, 83; value, $1,909. Milch cows, 1,036; value, $27,972. Other cattle, 2,108; value, $44,268. Swine, 509; value, $2,545.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $65,779; poultry and eggs sold, $3,551; cheese. $3,702; butter. $2,793.

Fruit trees in bearing: 410 apple; 5,265 peach: 901 plum, and 333 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 2,715 apple; 1,631 pear; 3,2S7 peach; 1,741 plum, and 371 cherry.

GREENWOOD COUNTY.

Situated in the southeastern part of the state, third tier north from Oklahoma and the fourth west from Missouri. Area. 1,155 square miles; population, 15,157. The principal towns are Eureka, the county seat, population, 2,209; Fall River, 450; Madison, 623; and Severy, 500.


Undulating prairie, with bluffs and rough lands along the streams. 10 per cent, is in bottom land, the valleys averaging from one-half to one mile in width. Timber belts are from 40 to 80 rods wide. Springs are found everywhere, and well-water is reached at an average depth of 22 feet. The county is well supplied with creeks and rivers, the Verdigris and Fall Rivers being the principal streams.

Blue limestone, magnesian limestone, sandstone, marble, mineral paint, cement, fire clay and coal are found.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 1,082 acres; 22.722 bushels; value. $17,495.
Corn, 127,786 acres; 2,939,078 bushels; value, $764,160.
Oats, 1,689 acres; 50,670 bushels; value, $10,134.
Irish potatoes, 1,206 acres; 72,360 bushels; value, $50,652.
Flax, 1,685 acres; 10,110 bushels; value, $8,088.
Millet and Hungarian, 4,577 acres; 5,721 tons; value, $17,163.
Sorghum, 2,943 acres; value, $24,144.
Kaffir corn, 22,256 acres; 66,768 tons; value, $200,304.
Timothy, 373 acres; clover, 807 acres; blue grass, 5,828 acres; alfalfa, 5,359 acres; other tame grasses, 29 acres. Total tame hay, 8,856 tons (1896); value, $33,210 (1896). Prairie grass, under fence, 220,255 acres; 52,779 tons (1896); value, $137,225 (1896).

Horses, 11,245; value, $337,350. Mules and asses, 1,568; value, $54,880. Milch cows, 8,406; value, $252,180. Other cattle, 59,121: value, $1,655,388. Sheep, 2,827; value, $7,067. Swine, 41,863; value, $209,315.

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Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $1,217,766; poultry and eggs sold, $44,544; cheese, $542; butter, $39,526; milk sold, $1,479; garden products marketed, $4,545; horticultural products marketed, $2,575; wine manufactured, $2,053.

Fruit trees in bearing: 117,840 apple; 3,411 pear; 64,892 peach; 13,495 plum, and 16,892 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 70,224 apple; 7,707 pear; 10,816 peach; 3,329 plum, and 5,281 cherry. There were 78 acres in berries.

“Everything that is planted grows in abundance and there has been no failure in crops for years.

“Tributary to the Verdigris are numerous small streams with small valleys of rich and productive soil, that are in the hands of frugal and prosperous farmers. The uplands surrounding the valleys are well adapted to the growth of all the cereals and tame grasses. Greenwood county and especially the northern portion is known as the finest cattle country in the state and with the first advent of grass thousands of head will be turned upon the fertile hills of the upper Verdigris. Farmers as yet are only experimenting with alfalfa, but from the success attained there is no doubt that it will be the coming feed for winter and excellent pasture for summer. Fruit in abundance is raised on all cultivated lands."—Madison Star, Greenwood Co., April 1,1898.

“The writer has spent more than fifteen years in this state and the last two years have been spent in Greenwood county. A visit to the real estate agencies in this city some weeks ago revealed so many rare offers in farm lands suitable for close cultivation and large crops or for stock raising or for mixed farming that we wonder how they can fail to find takers. The only reason we can assign is that people in states east of the Mississippi River do not know Kansas nor her resources and opportunities. Here are vastly better lands with more desirable conditions in nearly every respect, a better climate, less liability to failure in crops, easier to cultivate, equally good school and church privileges and more enterprising people, and those lands can be had at prices that astonish one. They range in prices from $5 per acre up to $50. Let no one imagine that the writer is guessing at these conclusions. He was raised on an Illinois farm and has seen much of Kansas life in rural districts and makes these statements as a matter of conviction and is ready to verify them to anyone who wants the evidence.”—Eureka Union, Greenwvood Co.

HAMILTON COUNTY.

Situated on the western border in the third tier north from Oklahoma. The Arkansas River flows through the middle of this county. Area, 972 square miles; population, 1,443. The principal towns are Syracuse, the county seat, population 400; and Coolidge, 200.

The northern portion is generally level; the southern rolling prairie. Bottom lands are from two to four miles wide. Artificial groves have been planted in several parts of the county.

White magnesian limestone is found in large quantities; also gypsum; and there are indications of coal.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 1,210 acres; 13,310 bushels; value, $9,982.
Spring wheat, 211 acres; 2,321 bushels; value, $1,624.
Corn, 516 acres; 7,740 bushels; value, $2,089.
Rye, 1,214 acres; 15,782 bushels; value, $6,470.
Broom corn, 330 acres; 132,000 pounds; value, $1,320.
Sorghum, 1,880 acres; value, $7,520.
Milo maize, 477 acres; 1,431 tons; value, $4,293.
Kaffir corn, 730 acres; 2,190 tons; value, $6,570.
Jerusalem corn, 567 acres; 1,701 tons; value, $5,103.

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Alfalfa, 2,422 acres. Total tame hay, 2,409 tons (1896); value, $9,033 (1896). Prairie grass, under fence, 6,127 acres; 1,426 tons (1896); value, $3,707 (1896).

Horses, 1,503; value, $27,054. Mules and asses, 96; value, $2,400. Milch cows, 938; value, $25,326. Other cattle, 4,528; value, $99,616. Sheep, 437; value, $1,201. Swine, 319; value, $1,595.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $256,540; poultry and eggs sold, $28,246; butter, $3,380.

Fruit trees in bearing: 741 apple; 955 peach; 1,151 plum, and 271 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 2,242 apple; 149 pear; 3,090 peach; 947 plum, and 361 cherry.

“Within the past eighteen months the Amity canal, the largest irrigation enterprise in the state of Colorado, with ample capital back of it was built into and half way across our county. The canal leaves the Arkansas River in Prowers county, Colorado, about forty miles west of the state line. The canal is 128 miles long owing to its winding course in following the grade as near as practicable, and to give a faint idea of the character of the work done on the canal headgate and dam at the river and as an additional guarantee that the same will not be permitted to lag in the process toward completion, it is but necessary to call attention to the fact that the Amity canal, exclusive of auxiliary reservoirs, etc., cost upward of half a million dollars.

“About a year ago the Great Plains Storage & Reservoir Co. secured the right to rebuild and enlarge the La Junta & Lamar canal and the right to use all surplus water passing through the enlarged ditch. This work was prosecuted with so much vigor and energy that water is now running through the La Junta & Lamar canal into the five large reservoirs which are situated forty miles west of the state line and twelve to eighteen miles north of the river. These reservoirs cover an area of 13,000 acres. The reservoirs when filled will hold water enough to irrigate 200,000 acres of Kansas land twelve months in the year without drawing from the river.

“With irrigation under a perfect and exhaustless water supply, under our sunny skies with climate unexcelled for health and longevity, Hamilton county will become the farmer’s paradise. Enough has been done under our smaller systems of irrigation to show the wonderful fertility of the soil when combined with water, and what we lack here in the way of practical demonstrations along this line can be abundantly attested at Rocky Ford and other districts longer under the beneficent influences of Arkansas river water.

“The creamery industry is still in its infancy in this part of Kansas but there is no doubt that it will develop into immense proportions when the lands under the Amity begin to settle up.”—Syracuse Journal, Hamilton Co., April 1, 1898.

“But a few years ago southwest Kansas was considered by the weary, thirsty traveler in his journeyings from the states to the Pacific coast, a ‘wilderness waste,’ an uninhabitable desert. Then no sound of human voice was heard except the war whoop of the hostile Indian who had pitched his ‘tepee’ in some sheltered spot along the banks of the Arkansas. Buffalo by the tens of thousands roamed over the illimitable prairie fattening on the nutritious buffalo grass that carpeted the earth from the foot hills of the Rockies to the Walnut River in Kansas. The coyote, jack rabbit and prairie dog held uncontested possession of a region larger than some empires. Heretofore a lack of rainfall has been the only drawback to the rapid development of this county, but that is now being largely overcome by the building of numerous ditches for conducting the water from the Arkansas River to the beautiful table lands and to the immense reservoirs which are being constructed in numerous places for the storage of water, both from the freshets and local showers. The average rainfall of this county for the past twenty years has been about seven and one-half inches, but it often comes either too late or too early to benefit the growth of crops; but our system of water storage will enable us to save the water which is ample for agricultural purposes if it can be applied at the right time.

“Hamilton county is the most favorably situated to receive the benefits to accrue from the immense water storage that is being constructed in eastern Colorado as we are the first county in Kansas through which all the water let out must flow. Hamilton county already has several ditches which are
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being used to the great benefit of the lands lying under them, while hundreds of cattle range and thrive on the nutritious grasses produced on the non-irrigable lands.”— Syracuse Republican, Hamilton Co , April 22, 1898.

HARPER COUNTY.

Situated in the middle of the first tier of counties north from Oklahoma. Area, 810 square miles; population, 9,236. The principal towns are Anthony, the county seat, population 1,040; Harper, 1,020; and Attica, 553.

Slightly rolling, with long, gentle slopes. Fifteen per cent, of the area is in bottom lands, averaging one mile in width. There is very little timber. Springs are plentiful, and well-water is reached at an average depth of 15 feet. The county is well supplied with streams.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 80,104 acres; 1,121,456 bushels; value, $751,375.
Spring wheat, 423 acres; 3,384 bushels; value, $2,131.
Corn, 101,424 acres; 608,544 bushels; value, $133,879.
Oats, 7,878 acres; 181,194 bushels; value, $32,614.
Rye, 2,055 acres; 34,935 bushels; value, $13,624.
Barley, 341 acres; 6,820 bushels; value, $1,705.
Irish potatoes, 237 acres; 7,347 bushels; value, $4,187.
Broom corn, 225 acres; 112,500 pounds; value, $1,687.
Millet and Hungarian, 3,912 acres; 7,824 tons; value, $20,733.
Sorghum, 4,313 acres; value, $22,951.
Milo maize, 117 acres; 380 tons; value, $1,140.
Kaffir corn, 8,855 acres; 28,778 tons; value, $86,334.
Alfalfa, 527 acres. Total tame hay, 1,568 tons (1896); value, $5,880 (1896). Prairie grass, under fence, 59,814 acres; 3,322 tons (1896); value, $8,637 (1896).

Horses, 6,867; value, $192,276. Mules and asses, 1,107; value, $38,745. Milch cows, 3,755; value, $112,650. Other cattle, 12,412; value, $297,888. Swine, 16,876; value, $84,380.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $329,842; poultry and eggs sold, $44,500; wool clip, $1,614 (1896); cheese, $840; butter, $52,726; milk sold, $6,922; horticultural products marketed, $1,085.

Fruit trees in bearing: 36,296 apple; 1,858 pear; 136,933 peach; 15,878 plum, and 12,041 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 20,508 apple; 2,156 pear; 9,692 peach; 2,671 plum, and 4,598 cherry. There were 57 acres in berries.

HARVEY COUNTY.

Situated in the eastern middle part of the state, third tier north from Oklahoma. Area, 540 square miles; population, 16,452. The principal towns are Newton, the county seat, population 5,272; Halstead, 1,071; Burr ton, 695; and Sedgwick, 652.

Even prairie, rolling in the southeastern portion, with sand hills in the northwestern corner. Bottom lands average from one-fourth to three-fourths mile in width, and comprise about 30 per cent of the total area. Timber belts along the streams vary from ten rods to one-fourth of a mile wide. The Little Arkansas River is the principal stream.

Magnesium limestone, brick clay and gypsum are found.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat 56,899 acres; 1,137,980 bushels; value, $773,826.
Corn 94,401 acres; 660,807 bushels; value, $145,377.
Oats 14,875 acres; 476,000 bushels; value, $80,920.


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Rye, 2,055 acres; 34,935 bushels; value, $13,624.
Irish potatoes, 588 acres; 27,636 bushels; value, $15,199.
Millet and Hungarian, 3,832 acres; 4,790 tons; value, $17,962.
Sorghum, 2,826 acres; value, $16,070.
Kaffir corn, 2,757 acres; 8,271 tons: value, $24,813.
Alfalfa, 1,535 acres; other tame grasses, 254 acres. Total tame hay, 3,485 acres (1896); value, $13,068 (1896). Prairie grass, under fence, 71,675 acres; 21,000 tons (1896); value, $54,600 (1896).

Horses, 9,240; value, $249,480. Mules and asses, 793; value, $24,583. Milch cows, 8,010; value, $240,300. Other cattle, 17,221; value, $361,641. Sheep 1,461; value, $3,652. Swine, 31,312; value, $156,560.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $329,842; poultry and eggs sold, $44,500; wool clip, $1,614; cheese, $532; butter, $280,144; milk sold, $2,579; garden products marketed, $2,469; horticultural products marketed, $2,483; wine manufactured, $1,741.

Fruit trees in bearing: 85,471 apple; 4,665 pear; 77,528 peach; 12,016 plum, and 21,184 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 30,613 apple; 3,018 pear; 9,799 peach; 2,344 plum, and 3,892 cherry. There were 47 acres in berries.

‘‘Wheat, corn, oats, rye and barley can be grown with the best results, also vegetables of all kinds; apples, quinces, peaches, pears, cherries and all sort of berries.

“Outside of the suburbs of the city land is cheap, and ten acres well tilled and carefully cultivated are sufficient to support an average family. Vegetables can be grown superior in size and quality to those of almost any other section of the continent. Turnips, beets, squash and potatoes grow under any circumstances favorable, and grow to enormous size; their richness and value for food make them an article which is always in demand at the city markets. Cabbage is raised here extensively and the heads obtain great growth while no extra care need be taken of them during the growing season. Melons grow to a large size and attain a flavor scarcely reached in any other section in the west.

“The average production of the leading field crops in Harvey county are as follows: Corn from 25 to 40 bushels per acre; wheat 20 to 30; oats from 50 to 60 bushels per acre; barley from 20 to 30 bushels per acre, and beans from 15 to 20 bushels per acre.

“The evenness of climate, the abundance of pasturage, the presence of running streams, make Harvey a most desirable county for stock raising. Horses and cattle three years of age have attained their full growth.

“Some of the stockmen have many thousands of dollars invested in stock of different kinds while some have only a few head, yet with good management a handsome fortune can be made in five or ten years, though the number is small with which you start.”—The Evening Kansan, Newton, Harvey Co., May 18, 1898.

HODGEMAN COUNTY.

Situated in the southwestern part of the state, fourth tier east from Colorado and third north from Oklahoma. Area, 864 square miles; population, 1,644. The principal town is Jetmore, the county seat, population 300.

Undulating prairie. Springs are scarce, but well-water is reached at a depth of 35 feet. The Pawnee River is the principal stream. The bottom lands average three-fourths of a mile, and comprise ten per cent of the total area.

The county contains a good quality of sandstone, and limestone and gypsum in small quantities.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 17,686 acres; 159,174 bushels; value, $103,463.
Corn, 5.481 acres; 43,848 bushels; value, $9,208.
Oats, 1,825 acres; 20,075 bushels; value, $4,015.
Rye, 1,694 acres; 20,328 bushels; value, $6,504.

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Barley, 3,426 acres; 68,520 bushels; value, $15,759.
Irish potatoes, 106 acres; 2,650 bushels; value, $1,325.
Broom corn, 115 acres; 57,500 pounds; value, $862.
Millet and Hungarian, 2,491 acres; 3,737 tons; value. $9,342.
Sorghum, 5,823 acres; value, $29,365.
Kaffir corn, 1,936 acres, 5,808 tons; value, $17,424.
Jerusalem corn, 99 acres; 297 tons; value, $891.
Alfalfa, 127 acres. Total tame hay, 1,232 acres (1896); value. $4,620 (1896). Prairie grass, under fence, 13,367 acres (1896); 2,080 tons; value. $5,408 (1896).

Horses, 2,642; value, $52,840. Mules and asses, 131; value, $3,144. Milch cows, 1,896; value, $51,192. Other cattle, 5,591; value, $117,411. Sheep, 8,279; value, $19,455. Swine, 799; value, $3,995.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $26,827; poultry and eggs sold, $5,111; wool clip, $6,373.

Fruit trees in bearing: 415 apple; 2,935 peach; 1,685 plum, and 567 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 675 apple; 1,786 peach; 420 plum, and 660 cherry.

“We cannot understand why so many men will rent farms throughout the east, when they have been unable, during the past few years, to get one dollar ahead. A great many of them, we dare say, do not come out at the end of the year with enough money to pay up their hills. It is a mystery to us why such men do not come west where land is cheap and secure a home. With a quarter section of land in Hodgeman county, which can be bought at from $200.00 up, a team of horses, a few farming implements, a few chickens and a few cows a man can make an independent living for himself and family. There are now four skimming stations running in the county, and it is not very difficult to secure land in a reasonable distance of any one of them. Hodgeman county has thousands of acres of good grass going to waste every year. This had just as well be utilized by more cattle or sheep as to be going to waste. We are told by sheep men that there is ample room in the county for more sheep, and that there is good money to be made.”— Western Herald, Jetmore, Hodgeman Co , May 18, 1898.

“With the limited amount of rain we usually have, the country is better adapted to stock raising than to farming, but our observation has been that the two should go together. We have seen as fine a crop of corn, or small grain growing here as anywhere on earth. There is perhaps not a county in western Kansas better adapted to stock raising, when it conies to range and plenty of good water, still there is abundance of both not utilized. There are still a number of places where a reasonably large tract of land can be secured either by purchase or lease. Or if a man wants to start on a small scale he can buy a quarter section of land for as low as $200.00 near one of the four skimming stations, and with a few head of cows and a few chickens he can enjoy life with but very little effort.”—Western Herald, Jetmore, Hodgeman Co., May 26, 1898.

JEFFERSON COUNTY.

Situated in the northeastern portion of the state, third tier south from Nebraska, and second west from Missouri River. Area, 568 square miles; population, 18,146. The principal towns are Oskaloosa, the county seat, population 1,025; Valley Falls, 1,262; Nortonville, 800; and Meriden, 600.

Undulating prairie, with but few rough lands. The bottom lands comprise about 15 per cent, of the total area, averaging one-half mile wide along the creeks and two and one-half miles along the Kansas River, which is the principal stream. The Delaware River also enters the county on the north. Timber belts vary from one-fourth to one-half mile in width. Springs are not numerous, but well-water can be reached at a depth of 30 feet in almost any portion of the county.

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STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 6,425 acres; 89,950 bushels; value, $62,965.
Corn, 102,962 acres; 1,956,278 bushels; value, $371,692.
Oats, 15,082 acres; 301,640 bushels; value, $48,262.
Rye, 277 acres; 4,709 bushels; value, $1,930.
Irish potatoes, 3,735 acres; 197,955 bushels; value, $69,284.
Flax, 3,834 acres; 26,838 bushels; value, $21,470.
Broom corn, 53 acres; 31,800 pounds; value, $954.
Millet and Hungarian, 4,143 acres; 7,250 tons; value, $24,287.
Sorghum, 847 acres; value, $11,724.
Kaffir corn, 220 acres; 770 tons; value, $2,310.

Timothy, 19,566 acres; clover, 8,477 acres; blue grass, 16,332 acres; alfalfa, 239 acres; other tame grasses, 105 acres. Total tame hay, 14,745 tons (1896); value, $55,293 (1896). Prairie grass, under fence, 26,016 acres; 13,796 tons (1896); value, $35,869 (1896).

Horses, 10,945; value, $328,350. Mules and asses, 1,635; value, $57,225. Milch cows, 8,910; value, $267,300. Other cattle, 20,936; value, $523,400. Sheep, 628; value, $1,884. Swine, 40,700; value, $203,500.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $781,343; poultry and eggs sold, $55,145; cheese, $10,394; butter, $112,003; milk sold, $10,667; garden products marketed, $24,763; horticultural products marketed, $3,802; wine manufactured, $1,617; honey and beeswax, $2,299.

Fruit trees in bearing: 132,601 apple; 4,055 pear; 52,519 peach; 4,298 plum, and 14,389 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 86,837 apple; 4,172 pear; 21,397 peach; 3,434 plum, and 5,469 cherry. There were 83 acres in berries.

“Jefferson county is an ideal region for general farm and stock interests. The principal farm crops are grass, hay and corn. Oats, wheat, flax, potatoes and other crops also occupy an important place. Fruits of all kinds yield abundantly. Apples lead all other fruits, northeastern Kansas having the largest apple raiser in the world. Other parts of the country less favored in this particular fruit receive their supply by the carload from this locality.

“Blooded stock is each year gaining in its importance, so that this locality is rivaling the famous blue grass regions of Kentucky. The best breed of horses, cattle and hogs are in the possession of our farmers who realize the importance of this industry.

“Farmers are realizing that the best crib that can be used for storing their immense crops of corn is the beef steer of which within a radius of five miles of Nortonville probably 3,000 head are being fed for local and foreign markets.

“Dairy interests have greatly increased in the past few years, so that the 'sister to the steer’ is getting her full share of care and attention. Cheese and butter products from this locality reach the leading markets of the country and command good prices. The ‘helpful hen’ and other domestic fowls amply repay the attention given them.

“Improved methods in management in the past few years have brought their own reward to the farmers. New houses have been built, old ones have been painted, commodious barns have been erected, and best of all, mortgages have been paid off.”—Nortonville News, Jefferson Co., April 15, 1898.

JOHNSON COUNTY.

Situated on the eastern border, first county south of the Kansas River. Area, 480 square miles; population, 17,553. The principal town is Olathe, the county seat, population 3.369.

High rolling prairie, with black loam soil. Bottom lands average one-half mile, and comprise ten per cent of the total area. Timber belts range from 40 rods to one mile in width. Good springs are plentiful in all sections of the county and well-water is reached at an average depth of 25 feet.

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STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 16,349 acres; 245,235 bushels; value, $183,926.
Corn, 71,026 acres; 1,420,520 bushels; value, $320,719.
Oats, 16,287 acres; 374,601 bushels; value, $59,936.
Irish potatoes, 3,318 acres; 255,486 bushels; value, $114,968.
Flax, 8,929 acres; 71,432 bushels; value, $57,145.
Millet and Hungarian, 238 acres; 595 tons; value, $2,082.
Sorghum, 231 acres; value, $1,791.
Timothy, 23,249 acres; clover, 16,596 acres; blue grass, 18,796 acres; alfalfa, 129 acres; other tame grasses, 12,937 acres. Total tame hay, 23,777 tons (1896); value, $89,163 (1896). Prairie grass, under fence, 5,815 acres; 4,333 tons (1896); value, $11,265 (1896).

Horses, 7,954; value, $286,344. Mules and asses, 1,426; value, $57,040. Milch cows, 6,579; value, $210,528. Other cattle, 15,459; value, $340,098. Sheep, 3,635; value, $10,905. Swine, 36,646; value $183,230.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $619,137; poultry and eggs sold, $34,070; wool clip, $753 (1896); cheese, $916; butter, $64,222; milk sold, $28,456; garden products marketed, $12,705; horticultural products marketed, $29,644; wine manufactured, $16,065; honey and beeswax, $2,002.

Fruit trees in bearing: 88,395 apple; 2,536 pear; 26,408 peach; 4,992 plum, and 10,208 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 69,709 apple; 4,282 pear; 11,946 peach; 4,694 plum, and 5,961 cherry. There were 236 acres in berries.

KEARNY COUNTY.

Situated in the southwestern part of the state, second tier east from Colorado and third north from Oklahoma. Area, 864 square miles; population, 1,093. The principal towns are Hartland, the county seat, population 100; and Lakin, 258.

Surface level or rolling. The Arkansas River flows through the southern half, its valley being from four to six miles wide, and containing nearly all of the bottom land.

Sandstone and blue limestone from which lime is made, are quarried, and beds of gypsum also are found.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 2,674 acres; 18,718 bushels; value, $12,541.
Spring wheat, 557 acres; 3,899 bushels; value, $2,651.
Corn, 948 acres; 10,428 bushels; value, $2,502.
Rye, 636 acres; 8,268 bushels; value, $2,893.
Irish potatoes, 58 acres; 1,392 bushels; value, $1,113.
Broom corn, 185 acres; 74,000 pounds; value, $1,110.
Sorghum, 4,115 acres; value, $24,858.
Milo maize, 330 acres; 1,320 tons; value, $3,960.
Kaffir corn, 948 acres; 3,792 tons; value, $11,376.
Jerusalem corn, 1,380 acres; 5,520 tons; value, $16,560.
Alfalfa, 6,620 acres. Total tame hay, 5,457 tons (1896); value, $20,463 (1896). Prairie grass, under fence, 5,359 acres; 928 tons (1896); value, $2,412 (1896).

Horses, 1,375; value, $34,375. Mules and asses, 107; value, $2,568. Milch cows, 640; value, $17,920. Other cattle, 2,585; value, $56,870. Sheep, 2,418; value, $5,440. Swine, 1,225; value $6,125.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $15,272; poultry and eggs sold, $1,955; wool clip, $581 (1896); butter, $3,057; garden products marketed, $2,200.

Fruit trees in bearing: 4,405 apple; 400 pear; 6,962 peach; 1,629 plum, and 613 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 7,312 apple; 352 pear; 2,987 peach; 2,507 plum, and 1,244 cherry.

“By the aid of irrigation, lands in Kearny county have demonstrated for years what can be done when under a good system of cultivation. The most pronounced characteristic of this county, from a farmer’s standpoint, is the

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immense fields of Alfalfa from which our farmers regularly harvest three cuttings each year, and frequently four - each cutting representing a ton and a half to two tons per acre , of the finest quality if prime hay. Too much can not be said about the value of alfalfa as choice feed for cattle and all kinds of stock. It is a substitute of the most satisfactory character for grain, and
cattle, hogs, sheep and horses fatten on it readily and keep in good condition.

Seed your land to alfalfa, feed to improved breeds of cattle, sell your cuttle at prime beef prices and you will accumulate wealth. The same rule will apply to hogs and sheep, and whether the farmer confines himself to one class or embraces all three, he has open to him a promising field for money making. Already nearly 10,000 acres of alfalfa are growing luxuriantly in this county and there are many thousand acres that are waiting the coming of thrifty farmers and stock raisers to increase this acreage of magnificent grass.

“Indian corn, the kaflirs, Jerusalem and other grains are grown in this county, besides oats, wheat, millet. rye and barley. So we might say truthfully that general farming can be done here as elsewhere in the state, but a combination of alfalfa and stock insures safe and sure returns and much less hard work.

“Of the numerous fine orchards in Kearny county, that of C. H. Longstreth, near Lakin, will serve as an illustration of the success of fruit raising on irrigable lands; an orchard of eighty acres in apples, pears, peaches, plums, cherries, apricots and grapes which sell in the markets of Colorado at a premium.

“Dairying has too long been one of the neglected industries in tins favored land. The grass is here, the cows are here, alfalfa stimulates and keeps up fine flow of milk, and our farmers are anxious to induce practical dairymen to occupy the field which promises undoubted success to enterprising parlies who realize a good thing when they see it.

“Lands can he bought from $5 to $20 per acre, and no more favorable time will ever present itself to secure homes and farms under such favorable circumstances.

“As an easy, profitable and pleasant occupation, no business offers greater inducements in the alfalfa regions on a small investment than bee culture. The bloom of the alfalfa plant—from May until October—furnishes a constant and steady flow of raw material for the bees to manufacture into golden nectar that astonishes those unacquainted with the labors of the industrious bee F. P. McAlister, one of the pioneers and the largest bee-keeper in the county, has for several years 'put money in his purse’ by giving his time and attention to sixty or more stands of bees located on his two-acre farm within the corporate limits of the city of Lakin. From his colonies during the past season he secured nearly seven thousand pounds of pure strained and comb honey which finds a cash market as fast as harvested.”— Lakin Investigator, Kearney Co.

KINGMAN COUNTY.

Situated in the middle of the second tier north from Oklahoma. Area, 864 square miles: population, 10,416. The principal town is Kingman, the county seat, population 1,709.

Rolling prairie, the proportion of bottom lands being about 15 per cent, of the total area. The valleys of the Ninnescah and Chikaskia Rivers average about one mile in width. There are a few small lakes and abundant springs are found in several portions. Well-water is reached at a depth of from 12 to 25 feet.

Red sandstone is quarried for building purposes. Mineral paint is found in large quantities. Inexhaustible beds of gypsum exist: also vast beds of rock salt. Fire-clay and coal to a limited extent have been found.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat. 41,339 acres; 578,746 bushels: value, $353,035. Corn 122,891acres; 491,564 bushels; value, $108,144. Oats, 3,238 acres; 51,808 bushels; value, $10,879.

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Rye, 636 acres; 8,268 bushels; value, $2,893.
Irish potatoes, 356 acres; 8,544 bushels; value, $5,040.
Millet and Hungarian, 4,792 acres; 4,792 tons; value, $11,980.
Sorghum, 3,859 acres; value, $20,848.
Kaffir corn, 8,252 acres; 28,882 tons; value, $86,646.
Alfalfa, 407 acres. Total tame hay, 1,139 tons (1896); value, $4,271 (1896). Prairie grass, under fence, 55,347 acres; 14,545 tons (1896); value, $37,807 (1896).

Horses, 8,323; value, $224,721. Mules and asses, 1,126; value. $40,536. Milch cows, 5,108; value, $143,024. Other cattle, 19,283; value, $539,924. Sheep, 1,573; value, $369,655. Swine, 24,592; value, $122,960.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $448,178; poultry and eggs sold, $28,327; wool clip, $546 (1896); butter, $31,835; garden products marketed, $1,456; horticultural products marketed, $1,325.

Fruit trees in bearing; 39,349 apple; 1,580 pear; 144,609 peach; 17,578 plum, and 13,398 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing; 23,416 apple; 2,559 pear; 21,349 peach; 2,370 plum, and 4,905 cherry. There were 60 acres in berries.

“Where the county is adapted to mixed farming and stock raising there you will find wealth and prosperity. Such a county is Kingman, and we challenge any one to point to one man who started in here with a bunch of cattle and stuck to them, who has failed to make money. Fully fifty per cent of our prairie has never been touched with a plow, and to-day is furnishing rich pasturage for our cattle which are nearly up to the hundred thousand. The advantage of cattle raising is not alone to those who handle cattle. To the wheat raiser it means a good price for his straw stacks which to-day are as staple as the wheat itself. To the corn farmer it means a paying price for every shock of fodder he puts up. Kingman is preeminently a cattle county, not for the reason that we cannot successfully raise grain, for we can. There is no better wheat county in the state, and corn is as sure a crop as any county in the state, save, perhaps, a few on the Missouri River. Fruit does exceedingly well, and peaches, plums, grapes, cherries, apricots and small fruits grow in abundance, and of the finest quality. Apples on the bottom land do fairly well.

“Yet taking the cheapness of cattle raising into consideration, our nutritious grasses and sparkling water, the beef steer and his sister are the individuals to tie to in Kingman county. This is an ideal stock county. No place in the world will the grass put on flesh faster. The steer that has to be tailed up in March is good beef in June.

“For winter feed nothing is better than cured sorghum, a crop that never fails, and makes all the way from three to eight tons to the acre. No matter how wet or how dry, hot or cold, the harvest is as sure as the seed time, and not even the timothy and clover of the east can touch it as a rough feed for cattle. Of course we raise hogs. Cattle and hogs go together, and hardly a train leaves the county that does not haul a car of Kingman porkers ready for the shambles.

“Next to cattle, wheat brings our farmers the most money. Plenty of acres last year made from thirty to forty bushels and brought from seventy to eighty cents per bushel, and at present prospects for another big crop very flattering. The acreage this year is fifty per cent greater than last. Briefly summed up, we are only half way east and west across our great state, being south of the center. We are in a climate that insures light winters, which means shorter periods to feed stock.

“Stock, grain and fruit men are here who came years ago without a dollar and are to-day well off.

“We have thousands of acres of sub-irrigated lands, with splendid pure water from three to six feet, which makes corn on the bottoms a sure thing. We raise as much wheat to the acre as any county in the state; have a large per cent of our land yet covered with the famous life-giving and flesh-producing grasses; have a market at home for every bushel of corn raised, every pound of hay and rough feed; have more cattle than any county of its size in the state; have four lines of railroad that connect with the through

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lines north, east, west and south; have over a hundred schools, church societies, and lodges world without end; have the largest rock salt mine in the west and are underlined with veins of salt that are inexhaustible; have cheap land which can he bought all the way from five to twenty-five dollars per acre, and above all else have one of the healthiest spots to be found anywhere—no fever and ague, no malaria. Life here is worth living.”—Kingman Journal, Kingman Co., April 8, 1898.

KIOWA COUNTY.

Situated in the western middle, in the second tier of counties north from Oklahoma. Area, 720 square miles; population, 2,010. The principal town is Greensburg, the county seat; population 515.

Rolling prairie, with few streams and little timber. The Medicine Lodge River and several of its small tributaries have their source in the southeastern portion. Sand and Cavalry creeks rise in the southwestern portion and flow southward.

Lime stone, sandstone and extensive beds of gypsum are found in this county.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 17,798 acres; 70,192 bushels; value, $44,922.
Corn, 19,264 acres; 77,056 bushels; value, $19,264.
Oats, 403 acres; 8,060 bushels; value, $1,450.
Rye, 1,780 acres; 17,800 bushels; value, $7,120.
Barley, 1,538 acres; 30,760 bushels; value, $6,152.
Broom corn, 361 acres; 108,300 pounds; value, $2,166.
Millet and Hungarian, 1,721 acres; 3,442 tons; value, $8,605.
Sorghum, 6,588 acres; value, $35,9S6.
Milo maize, 272 acres; 816 tons; value, $2,448.
Kaffir corn, 5,299 acres; 15,897 tons; value, $47,691.

Alfalfa, 109 acres; other tame grasses, 200 acres. Total tame hay, 9,398 tons; value, $35,242. Prairie grass, fenced, 58,792 acres (1896); 2,178 tons; value, $5,662.

Horses, 2,646; value, $60,858. Mules and asses, 401; value, $13,233. Milch cows, 1,262; value, $35,336. Other cattle, 8,432; value, $185,504. Swine, 2,609; value, $13,045.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $91,131; poultry and eggs sold, $4,421; butter, $6,680.

Fruit trees in bearing: 1,683 apple; 216 pear; 19,102 peach; 1,160 plum, and 935 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 2,212 apple; 210 pear; 12,657 peach; 2,022 plum, and 1,123 cherry.

LANE COUNTY.

Situated in the middle western part of the state, third tier from Colorado, and fourth north from Oklahoma. Area, 720 square miles; population, 1,664. The principal town is Dighton, the county seat, population 304.

Rolling prairie. Bottom lands average one-half mile in width, and comprise 8 per cent, of the total area. There is but little timber, and few small streams.
Gypsum is found in all parts of the county.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 34,937 acres; 244,559 bushels; value, $153,854.
Spring wheat, 332 acres; 1,610 bushels; value, $998.
Corn, 2,552 acres; 17,864 bushels; value, $5,537.
Oats, 763 acres; 7,630 bushels; value, $1,907.

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Rye, 574 acres; 3,444 bushels; value, $1,033.
Barley, 9,082 acres; 81,738 bushels; value, $15,530.
Irish potatoes, 57 acres; 1,767 bushels; value, $1,236.
Broom corn, 110 acres; 44,000 pounds; value, $660.
Millet and Hungarian, 338 acres; 507 tons; value, $1,267.
Sorghum, 2,183 acres; value, $9,218.
Kaffir corn, 1,308 acres; 3,924 tons; value, $11,772.
Jerusalem corn, 57 acres; 171 tons; value, $513.
Alfalfa, 430 acres. Total tame hay, 516 tons (1896); value, $1,935 (1896). Prairie grass, fenced, 9,539 acres; 1,060 tons (1896); value, $2,756 (1896).

Horses, 2,101; value, $48,323. Mules and asses, 196; value, $6,076. Milch cows, 988; value, $26,676. Other cattle, 2,578; value, $59,294. Sheep, 425; value, $1,062. Swine, 867; value, $4,335.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $20,153; poultry and eggs sold, $4,174; butter, $5,945; garden products marketed, $663.

Fruit trees in bearing; 1,647 apple; 30 pear; 1,122 peach; 1,322 plum, and 178 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing; 2,524 apple; 78 pear; 4,031 peach; 1,172 plum, and 359 cherry.

LEAVENWORTH COUNTY.

Situated in the northeastern part of the state, bordering on the Missouri River. Area, 455 square miles; population, 35,568. The principal city is Leavenworth, the county seat; population 21,536.

Surface undulating, the eastern portion along the Missouri River being hilly and broken, while the west and southwest are rolling prairie. The bottom lands comprise 25 percent, of the total area, and average one mile in width.

Limestone and sandstone are found in large quantities, and are extensively used in manufacturing lime, and for building purposes. Red and yellow ocher exist; also cement, potters’ clay and bituminous coal.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 16,105 acres; 241,575 bushels; value, $181,181.
Spring wheat, 215 acres; 2,150 bushels; value, $1,505.
Corn, 64,405 acres; 1,545,720 bushels; value, $370,972.
Oats, 10,457 acres; 313,710 bushels; value, $59,604.
Rye, 383 acres; 6,128 bushels; value, $2,451.
Buckwheat, 100 acres; 1,000 bushels; value, $550.
Irish potatoes, 4,747 acres; 265,832 bushels; value, $111,649.
Sweet potatoes, 29 acres; 1,914 bushels; value, $1,014.
Flax, 993 acres; 8,937 bushels; value, $7,149.
Millet and Hungarian, 1,671 acres; 2,507 tons; value, $9,401.
Sorghum, 1,207 acres; value, $21,555.
Kaffir corn, 82 acres; 410 tons; value, $1,230.
Timothy, 14,618 acres; clover, 8,008 acres; blue grass, 37,035 acres; alfalfa, 66 acres; other tame grasses, 5,843 acres. Total tame hay, 19,279 tons; value, $72,296. Prairie grass, fenced, 11,061 acres; 7,417 tons; value, $19,284.

Horses, 9,660; value, $328,440. Mules and asses, 1,646; value, $65,840. Milch cows, 7,711; value, $231,330. Other cattle, 14,293; value, $385,911. Sheep, 1,445; value, $4,696. Swine, 30,316; value, $151,580.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $480,581; poultry and eggs sold, $35,756; wool clip, $579 (1896); butter, $51,859; milk sold, $22,991; garden products marketed, $10,334; horticultural products marketed, $31,872; wine manufactured, $16,915; honey and beeswax, $1,800.

Fruit trees in bearing: 199,212 apple; 4,108 pear; 27,335 peach; 3,637 plum, and 7,609 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 216,015 apple; 4,148 pear; 12,529 peach; 3,137 plum, and 3,693 cherry. There were 339 acres in berries.

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LYON COUNTY.

Situated in the central middle part, fourth tier west from the Missouri line, and fourth north from Oklahoma. Area, 858 square miles; population, 24,124. The principal city is Emporia, the county seat; population 8,263.

The timber belts of the streams average one-half mile in width, and the uplands have many artificial groves. Flowing springs are found in all portions, and well water is reached at an average depth of 22 feet. The Neosho River is the principal stream.

Blue limestone, white magnesian limestone, sandstone, fire clay and potters' clay are found.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 2,343 acres; 53,889 bushels; value, $40,416.
Spring wheat, 1,270 acres; 8,890 bushels; value, $5,334.
Corn, 129,804 acres; 1,947,060 bushels; value, $467,294.
Oats, 5,777 acres; 109,763 bushels; value, $21,952.
Rye, 613 acres; 4,904 bushels; value, $1,716.
Irish potatoes, 2,111 acres; 111,883 bushels; value, $66,010.
Sweet potatoes, 58 acres; 4,756 bushels; value, $2,853.
Flax, 1,649 acres; 13,192 bushels; value, $10,553.
Millet and Hungarian, 8,054 acres; 16,108 tons; value, $56,378.
Sorghum, 5,664 acres; value, $42,356.
Kaffir corn, 7,769 acres; 31,076 tons; value, $93,228.

Timothy, 1,574 acres; clover, 1,182 acres; blue grass, 1,695 acres; alfalfa, 5,143 acres; other tame grasses, 129 acres. Total tame hay, 9,407 tons (1896); value, $35,276 (1896). Prairie grass, fenced, 245,926 acres; 50,686 tons (1896); value, $131,783 (1896).

Horses, 12,395; value, $322,270. Mules and asses, 1,281; value, $38,430. Milch cows, 9,232; value, $267,728. Other cattle, 38,469; value, $1,000,194. Sheep, 1,681; value, $4,622. Swine, 39,408; value, $197,040.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $1,215,425; poultry and eggs sold, $71,970; cheese, $2,932; butter, $52,872; milk sold, $9,431; garden products marketed, $16,308; horticultural products marketed, $16,530; wine manufactured, $2,435; honey and beeswax, $1,904.

Fruit trees in bearing: 161,295 apple; 3,101 pear; 72,634 peach; 15,186 plum, and 19,703 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 116,176 apple; 3,217 pear; 13,811 peach; 3,111 plum, and 6,144 cherry. There were 128 acres in berries.

“It will take 125 miles of fence to enclose Lyon County. In such a fence would be found 27,000 people who are honest, sober and industrious and are practically out of debt. They have on deposit in the banks in three towns $1,442,000. This money comes almost entirely from farmers and merchants, for—aside from the round house at Emporia—there are virtually no industrial enterprises in the county. During the year last past these deposits have increased 25 per cent, and the mortgaged debt has decreased materially in that time.

“In this county, besides the million and one-half dollars, the people own 50,000 head of fat cattle, with two hogs following each steer. There are 175,000 acres of the best land lying out of doors under cultivation, and the big crop is corn, the Lyon county cornfield being 129,804 acres. It takes 15,000 horses to plow this corn, and the horses feed on 5,777 acres of oats. The corn and 6,000 acres of alfalfa furnish the Sunday feed for the cattle, but an empire of the best prairie grass in the world gives them a wholesome everyday diet. The soil of Lyon County and its neighbors is particularly adapted for grass growing. The grass roots mat thickly in the sod and when the rain comes it soaks through the mat, but does not dry up quickly. The mat protects the moisture and holds a store of water for the summer's use. There has not been a grass failure in Lyon County, nor a total crop failure, for a generation.”—Emporia Daily Gazette, Lyon Co., March 21, 1898.

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McPherson county.

Situated just east of the central part of the state, in the fourth tier north from Oklahoma. Area, 900 square miles; population, 20,760. Among the principal towns are McPherson, the county seat; population 2,680, and Canton 450.

Rolling prairie, a little broken toward the north and nearly level in the center. Seven per cent of the area is bottom lands, which average from one-half to one mile in width. Timber is not plentiful: the belts along the streams average about 20 rods in width. The county is moderately supplied with streams, and well water is reached at an average depth of 25 feet.

Limestone, sandstone and gypsum are found in this county.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 132,941 acres; 2,525,879 bushels; value, $1,717,597.
Corn, 125,024 acres; 1,875,360 bushels; value. $375,072.
Oats, 26,010 acres; 624,240 bushels; value, $106,120.
Rye, 3,492 acres; 59,364 bushels; value, $18,996.
Irish potatoes, 1,218 acres; 45,066 bushels; value, $24,335.
Flax, 430 acres; 2,580 bushels; value, $2,064.
Broom corn, 8,552 acres; 4,489,800 pounds; value, $112,245.
Millet and Hungarian, 5,874 acres; 10,280 tons; value, $37,522.
Sorghum, 5,824 acres; value, $32,672.
Kaffir corn, 7,731 acres; 23,193 tons; value, $69,579.
Alfalfa, 3,354 acres; other tame grasses, 265 acres. Total tame hay, 9,614 tons (1896); value, $36,052 (1896). Prairie grass, fenced, 104,238 acres; 31,961 tons (1896); value, $83,098 (1896).

Horses, 14,498; value, $422,442. Mules and asses, 984; value, $33,456. Milch cows, 9,752; value, $292,560. Other cattle, 26,451; value, $555,471 Sheep 530; value, $1,245. Swine, 38,817; value, $194,085.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $617,820; poultry and eggs sold, $70,864; wool clip, $315 (1896); cheese, $384; butter, $224,833; milk sold, $20,622; garden products marketed, $2,175; horticultural products marketed, $1,271; wine manufactured, $2,598.

Fruit trees in bearing: 122,538 apple; 4,954 pear; 74,850 peach; 13,055 plum, and 31,775 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 38,498 apple; 2,080 pear; 13,349 peach; 3,231 plum, and 6,505 cherry. There were 36 acres in berries.

MARION COUNTY.

Situated in the eastern middle part, in the third tier north from Oklahoma. Area, 954 square miles; population, 20,420. The principal towns are Marion, the county seat, population 1,764, Florence 1,226, Peabody 1,585. and Hillsboro 700.

The western portion rolling prairie, the eastern portion somewhat hilly and broken. The bottom lands average about one mile wide; on the Cottonwood River from one-quarter to one-half mile wide; on the smaller streams timber belts are narrow.

Magnesian limestone is quarried at several points. Gypsum is found in large quantities in the western portion, and has been manufactured into stucco, cement and fertilizer. Fire clay also has been discovered.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 72,337 acres; 1,302,066 bushels; value, $898,425.
Corn 127,037 acres; 1,524,444 bushels; value, $365,866.
Oats, 36,886 acres; 1,217,238 bushels; value, $206,930.
Rye, 1,315 acres; 19,725 bushels; value, $7,692.
Irish potatoes, 1,073 acres; 54,723 bushels; value, $31,192.
Sweet potatoes, 32 acres; 1,760 bushels; value, $968.

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Flax, 2,913 acres; 20,391 bushels; value, $16,312.
Broom corn, 154 acres; 46,200 pounds; value, $924.
Millet and Hungarian, 10,531 acres; 26,328 tons; value, $65,820.
Sorghum, 7,989 acres; value, $55,263.
Kaffir corn, 3,767 acres; 13,184 tons; value, $39,552.
Alfalfa, 4,913 acres; other tame grasses, 116 acres. Total tame hay (1896), 10,430 tons; value, $39,112. Prairie grass, fenced, 70,412 acres; 42,330 tons (1896); value, $110,058 (1896).

Horses, 12,269; value, $331,263. Mules and asses, 488; value, $15,128. Milch cows, 11,106; value, $310,068. Other cattle, 31,615; value, $790,375. Sheep, 1,965; value, $5,895. Swine, 35,367; value, $176,835.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $831,402; poultry and eggs sold, 81,729; wool clip, $2,362 (1896); butter, $59,126; milk sold, $25,959; garden products marketed, $3,311; horticultural products marketed, $33,408; wine manufactured, $2,518; honey and beeswax, $657.

Fruit trees in bearing: 86,838 apple; 4,326 pear; 66,945 peach; 8,489 plum, and 21,077 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 64,350 apple; 4,549 pear; 13,447 peach; 2,502 plum, and 6,092 cherry.

“This state is the legitimate haven for the man with brain and muscle who wants to invest them to pay big dividends. While opportunities abound in all vocations, the ones most prolific are those for the farmer and stock grower. Land is so cheap that the eastern renter can come here and pay for a farm with the money that he now pays in a couple of years for rent. Then he will have his own home, and be monarch of his domain. He will be in an independent situation, and prosper just as much, in proportion, as the energy he expends. Kansas is now the paradise of America for the industrious man with a few hundred dollars to invest. It will not always be so, for these cheap lands must increase in price before long. They are bargains too good to remain unclaimed.”—Florence Bulletin, Marion Co., April 8, 1898.

“Marion County is located centrally in the wheat and corn belt of the state, and for nearly twenty years its producers have followed the profitable plan of feeding live stock and shipping most of their grain in this shape.

“The exports of Peabody comprise more fat cattle and hogs than anything else, while wheat comes next best. Besides the large numbers of cattle raised in this vicinity, many thousands of feeders are brought from Texas, Colorado, New Mexico and western Kansas every year, and fattened for market on the corn which is produced here so abundantly. The exports of cattle, hogs and wheat are estimated to average not less than half a million dollars yearly, and the butter, eggs and poultry to a hundred thousand dollars a year.

“All the lands in this vicinity are owned by private individuals, most of whom took the lands from the government as homesteads over twenty-five years ago, and a large portion of these homesteaders now occupy the same farms, are well fixed financially and have the comforts of life about them.
A good indication of this is that nearly all the farmers have one or more buggies or carriages, and some have several.”—Peahody Gazette, Marion Co.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

Situated in the first tier north from Indian Territory, and third west from the Missouri line. Area, 648 square miles; population, 25,209. The principal towns are Independence, the county seat, population 3,852, Cherry Vale 2,325, Coffeyville 4,729, and Elk City, 980.

Undulating prairie, with occasional mounds and high lands. Bottom lands average one and one-half mile in width, and comprise 25 per cent of the total area. Timber is plentiful, the belts along the streams ranging from a few rods to one mile in width. Well water is reached at an average depth of 25 feet. The Verdigris is the principal stream.

Coal is mined in the central portion. Sandstone, limestone, potters’ clay, brick clay, petroleum and natural gas are also found.

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STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 41,535 acres; 706,095 bushels; value, $529,571.
Corn, 71,110 acres; 1,564,420 bushels; value, $32S,528.
Oats, 13,248 acres; 384,192 bushels; value, $69,154.
Rye, 294 acres; 5,292 bushels; value, $2,010.
Irish potatoes, 566 acres; 31,130 bushels; value, $20,234.
Sweet potatoes, 27 acres; 2,052 bushels; value, $1,436.
Castor beans, 178 acres; 1,068 bushels; value, $1,014.
Cotton, 231 acres; 57,750 bushels; value, $3,465.
Flax, 2,695 acres; 13,475 bushels; value, $10,780.
Broom corn, 215 acres; 129,000 pounds; value, $2,580.
Millet and Hungarian, 3,162 acres; 7,115 tons; value, $23,123.
Sorghum, 2,525 acres; value, $26,682.
Milo maize, 54 acres; 229 tons; value, $687.
Kaffir corn, 4,413 acres; 18,755 tons; value, $56,265.

Timothy, 686 acres; clover, 311 acres; blue grass, 838 acres; alfalfa, 579 acres; other tame grasses, 130 acres. Total tame hay (1896), 2,997 tons; value, $11,238. Prairie grass, fenced, 47,537 acres; 16,586 tons (1896); value, $43,123 (1896).

Horses, 8,127; value, $219,429. Mules and asses, 1,319; value. $44,846. Milch cows, 5,553; value, $155,484. Other cattle, 11,257; value, $292,682. Sheep, 391; value, $1,075. Swine, 22,244; value, $111,220.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $265,200; poultry and eggs sold, $37,774; butter, $43,581; milk sold, $3,518; garden products marketed, $8,412; horticultural products marketed, $3,033; wine manufactured, $549.

Fruit trees in bearing: 121,282 apple; 3,764 pear; 51,338 peach; 14,473 plum, and 18,742 cherry.
Fruit trees not in bearing: 35,572 apple; 1,275 pear; 11,093 peach; 2,986 plum, and 3,272 cherry. There were 203 acres in berries.

“Go where you may, in town or country, you will find indubitable evidences of plenty. Substantial farm buildings surrounded by fruit and ornamental trees, well cultivated fields, and well-kept herds, endless lines of corn shocks and enormous stacks of wheat straw. Our predominant features are farms and farm life. For all time farming will probably remain the chief occupation of the people of Montgomery County, but the railroads and business centers will be to the farmer of the near future better local markets than they have ever been. The discovery of the great gas fields of the Verdigris Valley, from which already the three principal cities of the county are supplied, is now attracting the attention of those who will use the gas to make into commercial forms the raw materials of all this region, and each city will become a swarming hive of workers that will be fed from the fields surrounding it.

“Nearly half a hundred gas wells are furnishing the people of the three largest towns with an abundance of gas for heating, lighting and all kinds of manufacturing purposes. There are over eight hundred stoves in Coffeyville using natural gas for fuel, and hundreds of families use it for both light and fuel. Every industry in the city is run by natural gas. Nothing but natural gas is used by the big mills, elevators, ice plant, straw board mill, the vitrified brick plant, the foundries, machine shops, planing mills, and, in fact, every place where fuel is required.”—Gate City Independent, Coffeyville, Montgomery Co., April 26, 1898.

“When we first knew Kansas its great deposits of coal, zinc and salt had not been made known. We rode over the very ground where most of these treasures lay buried and saw only the rich prairies waiting to give the emigrant a welcome and yield to his labor an abundant harvest. We have seen these hidden treasures brought to light until now in the production of the articles mentioned the state stands very high among the mineral producing states of the Union. We doubt not that in the years to come many portions of the state now regarded as strictly agricultural will be found to be richer beneath the surface than on it. Within a few years past, in our own immediate section of the state, treasures never dreamed of have been brought to light by the discovery of oil and gas.

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“These deposits have been tapped in places in the second and third tiers of counties from the east, all of the way from Kansas City to the south line of the state. As yet but little has been done in the way of prospecting, but enough is known to warrant the belief that the oil and gas belt of Kansas is one of great extent and marvelous richness, which only awaits development to prove it second to none in the United States. The immigrant may well turn his attention to the oil and gas region. He will find it the very best farming region of the state, with prices still very low and based only on agricultural values, and he may with good reason believe that in buying a farm in this region the richest portion of his purchase is out of sight, under the ground.

Montgomery County ought especially to attract his attention. It is one of the very best agricultural counties in the state, and oil and gas have been found in all portions of it. These lands, with their known and unknown wealth, are held at very low prices.”—Daily Reporter, Independence, Montgomery Co., March 31, 1898.

“We have short, mild winters, a long period of delightful, refreshing sunshine, a growing period of 180 days without a killing frost, and an average annual rainfall of 36 inches, favorably distributed through the crop-growing season. This long period of growing weather with frequent showers, is favorable for the growth of grass, alfalfa, corn and other forage crops. With low priced pasture lands, cheaply produced forage, an abundance of oat and wheat straw and cheap corn, it is the ideal live stock district, and stock raising is one of the most profitable branches of farm industry, and supplements our prolific grain fields which occupy most of the river and creek valleys, and what are known as second bottom and slope lands, although many profitable farms are upon the higher prairie lands.

“Montgomery County is not only in the rain belt, and in the corn belt, and in the wheat belt, and the fruit belt, but we are in the natural oil and gas belt.

“Our 25,000 people are mostly from Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio and Missouri, with a liberal immigration from the eastern, northern and a few southern states, and in intelligence, morals and enterprise will compare favorably with those of the states named. The whisky and beer traffic is regarded by our laws along with horse stealing and other crimes, and not a legalized saloon exists in the state—the traffic being illegal and under the ban of society and the law.

“The towns of the county have telephone and telegraphic connection with each other, and the 165 miles of railway in our county is so distributed that there is not a farm eight miles from a station, and live stock loaded in the afternoon is placed on the Kansas City market the following morning.

“A list of fifty wheat fields last season showed an average yield of 24.4 bushels per acre. However, corn is king, and other crops are as prolific and profitable, and growers have made $300 per acre from berries, and orchards are productive.”—South Kansas Tribune, Independence, Montgomery Co.

NEOSHO COUNTY.

Situated in the southeastern part of the state, in the second tier north from Indian Territory, and second west from Missouri. Area, 576 square miles; population, 19,308. The principal towns are Erie, the county seat, population, 1,214, Chanute 4,153, and Thayer 576.

Rolling prairie, 20 per cent of it being bottom land, which, on the Neosho River averages two and one-half miles wide, and along the creeks from one-quarter to one mile wide. The county is well supplied with native timber; the belts along the streams average one-half mile. On the uplands are many artificial groves. Springs are not numerous, but well water is reached at an average depth of 20 feet. The Neosho River is the principal stream. The southwestern portion produces petroleum and natural gas in considerable quantities. Limestone and sandstone exist everywhere, and are quarried extensively. Brick clay is found and utilized in nearly all of the towns. Coal is mined in limited quantities in the southern portion.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 2,362 acres; 393,754 bushels; value, $287,440.
Spring wheat, 500 acres; 6,000 bushels; value, $4,080.
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Corn, 89,170 acres; 1,783,580 bushels; value, $33S,880.
Oats, 21,637 acres; 476,014 bushels; value, $71,402.
Rye, 308 acres; 5,544 bushels; value, $1,884.
Irish potatoes, 749 acres; 41,195 bushels; value, $21,833.
Sweet potatoes, 22 acres; 1,320 bushels; value, $897.
Castor beans, 1,153 acres; 9,224 bushels; value, $8,762.
Flax, 9,932 acres; 69,524 bushels; value, $55,619.
Broom corn, 315 acres; 126,000 pounds; value, $3,150.
Millet and Hungarian, 4,887 acres; 9,774 tons; value, $29,322.
Sorghum, 1,163 acres; value, $10,445.
Kaffir corn, 3,333 acres; 11,665 tons; value, $34,995.

Timothy, 6,263 acres; clover, 830 acres; blue grass, 1,023 acres; alfalfa, 136 acres; other tame grasses, 128 acres. Total tame hay (1896), 6,658 tons; value, $24,967. Prairie grass, fenced, 44,787 acres; 22,635 tons (1896); value, $58,851 (1896).

Horses, 10,745; value, $268,625. Mules and asses, 1,188; value, $35,640. Milch cows, 7,301; value, $197,127. Other cattle, 13,256; value, $304,888. Sheep, 948; value, $2,370. Swine, 27,466; value, $137,330.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $294,650; poultry and eggs sold, $74,792; wool clip, $669 (1896); butter, $60,384; milk sold, $729; garden products marketed, $4,359; horticultural products marketed, $2,570; honey and beeswax, $1,007.

Fruit trees in bearing: 159,443 apple; 2,681 pear; 44,453 peach; 13,149 plum, and 14,504 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 61,754 apple; 3,584 pear; 7,701 peach; 3,827 plum, and 3,871 cherry. There were 131 acres in berries.

“Not only are improvements extending through the towns, but to farms and ranches as well. The various papers are calling for creameries, canning factories and other institutions, which always speak well for the prosperity of a community. The ranches are becoming well stocked with cattle, sheep and other stock. Every year adds hundreds of acres to the already large orchard area, and, taken all around, the prospect never was brighter, even before the panic.”—Thayer Independent News, Neosho Co., April 15, 1898.

“Neosho County offers every natural inducement to good farmers who have the means to buy a farm. Many well-improved farms that are now rented can be bought for $12 or $15 an acre. This county will average with any in the state in every respect. The soil varies from the deep rich bottom to the lighter upland. It is well supplied with water, timber, stone and railroads, and is out of debt.”—Chanute Morning Sun, Neosho County, April 5, 1898.

“Perhaps at no time in the history of Kansas were the signs more favorable for a large immigration than at present. The marvelously large wheat crop produced here last year and the flattering prospects for another crop of the same kind this season will no doubt bring thousands of people from the over-crowded east to Kansas, where they can procure cheap lands and escape the long and rigorous winters of that section, and at the same time raise larger crops of all kinds of grain. There have been comparatively few people located in the west in the past ten years, owing to the depressed times, but this is going to change. In fact the change is already here, and the advance guard is beginning to arrive. During the coming summer and fall we predict that large bodies of landseekers will be with us and anxious to secure homes in our state. Woodson County ought to, and no doubt will, secure its full share of newcomers. Its location is a favorable one, being about 120 miles from Kansas City, and a part of that fertile country known as ‘Southeastern Kansas/ celebrated for its rich soil, fine climate, big crops, luscious fruit, thoroughbred cattle and hogs, rich grasses, good water and enterprising and thrifty citizens. The land is cheap here now, but prices are on the upgrade.”— Neosho Falls Post, Neosho Co.

NESS COUNTY.

Situated in the middle western part of the county, in the fourth tier north from Oklahoma and fourth east from Colorado. Area, 1,080 square miles;

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population, 3,861. The principal town is Ness City, the county seat, population 869.

Surface nearly level; bottom lands not very clearly defined, as the rise from the streams is gradual. Timber is not plentiful, ranging from three to forty rods in width, and mostly confined to the Walnut and its south fork. Few springs exist. Well-water is reached at an average depth of 35 feet.

Magnesian limestone in abundance, and smaller quantities of gypsum and coal are found.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 67,009 acres; 603,081 bushels; value, $385,971.
Spring wheat, 579 acres; 5,790 bushels; value, $3,589.
Corn, 10,821 acres; 129,852 bushels; value, $32,463.
Oats, 1,847 acres; 27,705 bushels; value, $6,372.
Rye, 1,305 acres; 15,660 bushels; value, $4,698.
Barley, 10,519 acres; 157,785 bushels; value, $31,557.
Irish potatoes, 178 acres; 5,340 bushels; value, $4,005.
Broom corn, 169 acres; 76,050 pounds; value, $1,330.
Millet and Hungarian, 3,770 acres; 5,655 tons; value, $16,965.
Sorghum, 6,309 acres; value, $35,743.
Kaffir corn, 2,809 acres; 9,129 tons; value, $27,387.
Jerusalem corn, 337 acres; 1,095 tons; value, $3,285.

Alfalfa, 121 acres. Total tame hay, 6,989 tons (1896); value, $26,208. Prairie grass, fenced, 95,805 acres; 3,212 tons (1896); value, $8,351 (1896).
Horses, 5,758; value, $120,918. Mules and asses, 404; value, $11,716. Milch cows, 3,135; value, $84,645. Other cattle, 5,366; value, $118,052. Swine, 2,832; value, $14,160.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $32,234; poultry and eggs sold, $11,673; butter, $33,268; milk sold, $3,532.

Fruit trees in bearing: 1,188 apple; 2,994 peach; 3,671 plum, and 1,366 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 1,630 apple; 113 pear; 2,753 peach; 1,124 plum, and 1,648 cherry.

OSAGE COUNTY.

Situated in the eastern part of the state, third tier west from Missouri, and fifth north from Indian Territory. Area, 720 square miles; population, 23,939. The principal towns are Lyndon, the county seat, population 935; Osage City, 2,776; Burlingame, 1,526; Carbondale, 847; Quenemo, 712; Mel-vern, 461; and Scranton, 1,423.

Rolling prairie, but a small per cent, being unfit for cultivation. Bottom lands average three-fourths mile in width, and comprise ten per cent, of the total area. The county is well supplied with native timber belts, which along the streams average three-fourths mile wide. Good springs are not numerous. Well-water is obtained at a depth of from 15 to 40 feet. The Marais des Cygnes River, which crosses the southern half, is the principal stream. This is one of the leading coal producing counties, the western half being underlaid with a good quality of bituminous coal a short distance from the surface.

Magnesian limestone, blue and gray limestone, sandstone, gray marble, mineral paint, fire-clay and potters’ clay are found.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 2,376 acres; 47,520 bushels; value, $32,788.
Corn, 133,865 acres; 2,275,705 bushels; value, $477,898.
Oats, 7,161 acres; 164,703 bushels; value, $34,587.
Irish potatoes, 1,477 acres; 57,603 bushels; value, $25,345.
Sweet potatoes, 13 acres; 1,196 bushels; value, $645.
Flax, 4,516 acres; 36,128 bushels; value, $28,902.
Broom corn, 75 acres; 31,875 pounds; value, $637.

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Millet and Hungarian, 8,322 acres; 20,805 tons; value, $67,616.
Sorghum, 2,433 acres; value, $19,322.
Milo maize, 54 acres; 229 tons; value, $687.
Kaffir corn, 3,378 acres; 13,512 tons; value, $40,536.

Timothy, 8,389 acres; clover, 6,926 acres; blue grass, 2,180 acres; alfalfa, 965 acres; other tame grasses, 110 acres. Total tame hay, 9,053 tons (1896); value, $33,948 (1896). Prairie grass, under fence, 98,539 acres; 24,546 tons (1896); value, $63,819 (1896).

Horses, 13,748; value, $384,944. Mules and asses. 981; value, $33,354. Milch cows, 10,664; value, $309,256. Other cattle, 32,140; value, $835,640. Sheep, 2,120; value, $4,770. Swine, 47,569; value, $237,845.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $992,576; poultry and eggs sold, $61,299; butter, $61,164; milk sold, $13,457; garden products marketed, $6,241; horticultural products marketed, $2,439; wine manufactured, $9,341; honey and beeswax, $1,652.

Fruit trees in bearing: 246,265 apple; 3,537 pear; 57,140 peach; 8,201 plum, and 19,305 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 56,478 apple; 2,085 pear; 10,619 peach; 1,629 plum, and 3,663 cherry. There were 83 acres in berries.

‘‘History does not record a total failure of crops in this region, and no portion of this vastly productive state is better adapted to diversified farming than is northern Osage county. Wheat, corn, oats, rye, potatoes, beans, peas, etc., are the staple products of our farms, while all kinds of grasses and vegetables are grown in great abundance.

“Fruit, such as apples, pears, peaches, apricots, plums, grapes, and berries of every kind is grown with unqualified success, and furnishes a profitable and never failing source of income for many of our farmers.

“One orchard in this vicinity contains one thousand acres of apple trees, the greater number of which are now bearing fruit. This orchard gives employment to many people during the picking and shipping season.

“Cattle raising and feeding for market is carried on extensively by many Osage county farmers, thus furnishing an excellent home market for the large class of agriculturists who confine their efforts to ‘cropping’ their land. Corn, oats, hay and feed of all kinds command better prices here than the general markets afford, because of the enormous home consumption.

“An excellent quality of coal is mined in this vicinity and can be purchased for almost a nominal price, thus making fuel a non-expensive factor in the economy of housekeeping. It is taken from a depth of eight to twenty feet, and gives employment to many men and teams.

“Thousands of cattle and hogs are shipped from this point annually, and numberless carloads of fruit, cereals and other products of the farm find their way to distant markets.”—Lyndon Journal. Osage Co . May 19, 1898

’’There is room in Osage county for a population of 40,000. With our deposit of good bituminous coal, our nearness to the timber region of Arkansas, the cotton fields of Louisiana and Texas, the iron mines of Alabama, being in the heart of the finest agricultural region in the world, there is no reason why Osage county, within the next few years, should not take rank among the leading manufacturing counties of the United States.

“If the advantages of this county could be brought to the notice of those seeking locations for the manufacturing of farming implements and wearing apparel, we believe the population would be largely increased. Our farms are very productive, although the prices are not high. The average value of farm lands is about $20 per acre. Improved uplands range from $15 to $25, bottom lands from $25 to $40. Rental values are from $1.50 to $3 per acre.”— Osage County Chronicle, Burlingame, March 31, 1898.

OTTAWA COUNTY.

Situated in the eastern middle of the state, in the third tier south from the Nebraska line. Area, 720 square miles; population, 10,571. The principal town is Minneapolis, the county seat, population 1,480,

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Undulating prairie, with a small area of rough lands on the divides, with long, rolling slopes to the uplands along the streams. Bottom lands on the Solomon and Saline, which are the principal streams, average three miles in width, and those of the creeks from one-half to one mile in width, comprising 25 per cent, of the total area. Abundant water power is furnished by the Solomon River.

Limestone, red sandstone, red, orange and yellow ocher, fire-clay and potters’ clay are found.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 48,306 acres; 1,014,426 bushels; value, $710,098.
Corn, 96,874 acres; 1,549,984 bushels; value, $294,496.
Oats, 6,122 acres; 122,440 bushels; value, $22,039.
Rye, 672 acres; 13,440 bushels; value, $4,972.
Irish potatoes, 479 acres; 20,118 bushels; value, $13,076.
Sweet potatoes, 12 acres; 780 bushels; value, $585.
Millet and Hungarian, 853 acres; 1,706 tons; value, $5,118.
Sorghum, 10,011 acres; value, $51,189.
Kaffir corn, 6,385 acres; 28,732 tons; value, $86,196.
Blue grass, 12 acres; alfalfa, 2,725 acres. Total tame hay, 8,616 tons (1896); value, $32,310 (1896). Prairie grass, under fence, 84,324 acres; 16,753 tons (1896); value, $43,557 (1896).

Horses, 8,529; value, $255,870. Mules and asses, 856; value, $29,960. Milch cows, 5,747; value, $172,410. Other cattle, 32,076; value, $801,900. Sheep 5,411; value, $12,174. Swine, 20,160; value, $100,800.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $639,392; poultry and eggs sold, $37,512; butter, $61,386; milk sold, $6,823; garden products marketed, $2,120; horticultural products marketed, $930.

Fruit trees in bearing: 40,538 apple; 902 pear; 39,446 peach; 2,349 plum, and 14,458 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 20,149 apple; 1,268 pear; 12,573 peach; 1,079 plum, and 4,618 cherry.

“Kansas real estate to-day offers the best, safest and surest field for investment of anything in sight. The cattle industry alone has assumed such proportions in the state as will for many years keep real estate up to the present notch, in the face of any and all conceivable contingencies. Kansas farmers have got the question of feed raising down to a fine art. This they have accomplished by experimenting with the different species and varieties of forage plants, until they have discovered the kinds best suited to Kansas soil and climate, and also the best methods of planting and handling the same.

“Their success in this direction enables cattle men to be sure of obtaining sufficient feed of some kind to carry their cattle through the winter; therefore as the land is sure to furnish feed for the cattle the cattle are sure to so use up the products of the land as to make farming profitable, even should staple crops fail. Kansas is on her feet again, and is going to stay there.”—The Better Way, Minneapolis, Ottawa Co , May 12, 1898.

“Go in any direction and it is wheat, wheat everywhere. Of course we will except the pasture lands that are covered with great herds of cattle and the fields now being listed to corn.

"This year there is enough wheat in Ottawa county which, if harvested and marketed at good prices, will in many cases amount to more than the prices now placed on the land.”—Minneapolis Review, Ottawa Co., May 12, 1898.

“It is probable that the coming year will see a larger immigration to the state of Kansas than has been known for ten years past. The Kansas farmer is receiving a just and adequate return for his labor and capital, and every class of industry in the state is flourishing and prosperous. The outlook for the future is particularly bright and the state seems to have entered upon an era of prosperity that far exceeds anything that has yet been known in her history. The advanced prices of all kinds of agricultural products, the high prices of cattle and hogs have turned the attention of farmers to an industry

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which, while it has never in any manner languished, has never reached such proportions as at the present time. Every acre of pasture land commands a good price for grazing purposes and the vast herds that are being fed brings to the farmer good prices for his forage and feed. The discovery of gas is attracting capital, anxious for investments in manufactories and various industries and competent judges have passed their verdict that the gas belt of Kansas is superior to any in the United States, not excepting the Indiana fields. There is no better water power in the state than is afforded by the many streams of Ottawa county, and among the best is the Solomon River. The magnificent valley that stretches away on both sides of the stream for miles, with its well cultivated farms teeming with vegetation presents a striking picture of prosperity, thrift and industry. The streams furnish an abundant power for mills, and water for the thousands of cattle that graze and fatten on the pastures that line their borders, while upon the thousands of acres of farming lands is raised wheat and corn to fill the granaries of a nation Minneapolis Message, Ottawa Co., April 7, 1898.

PAWNEE COUNTY.

Situated in the western central part of the state, fourth tier north from Oklahoma. Area, 756 square miles; population, 4,206. The principal town is Larned, the county seat, population 1,215.

Rolling prairie; south of the Arkansas River nearly level. The bottom lands of the Arkansas average four miles in width, and with the other valleys constitute 25 per cent of the area. Springs are numerous. Well-water is reached at a depth of from six to ten feet on the Arkansas bottom, and twenty feet on the uplands. The Arkansas River crosses the county from the southwest to the northeast.

Magnesian limestone, sandstone, fire and potters’ clay and ocher are found.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 116,594 acres; 1,399,128 bushels; value, $909,433.
Spring wheat, 159 acres; 1,272 bushels; value, $763.
Corn, 20,249 acres; 121,494 bushels; value, $29,158.
Oats, 7,282 acres; 138,358 bushels; value, $24,904.
Rye, 2,073 acres; 20,730 bushels; value, $6,426.
Barley, 4,192 acres; 75,456 bushels; value, $15,091.
Irish potatoes, 166 acres; 4,316 bushels; v alue, $3,021.
Sweet potatoes, 12 acres; 780 bushels; value, $592.
Broom corn, 568 acres; 227,200 pounds; value, $3,976.
Millet and Hungarian, 4,856 acres; 6,070 tons; value, $18,210.
Sorghum, 5,338 acres; value, $41,849.
Kaffir corn, 4,310 acres; 12,930 tons; value, $38,970.
Jerusalem corn, 64 acres; 192 tons; value, $576.

Blue grass, 10 acres; alfalfa, 365 acres. Total tame hay, 8,975 tons (1896); value, $33,656 (1896). Prairie grass, under fence, 31,962 acres; 5,646 tons (1896); value, $14,679 (1896).

Horses, 4,626; value, $115,650. Mules and asses, 351; value, $9,828. Milch cows, 2,630; value, $81,530. Other cattle, 7,113; value, $170,712. Sheep, 684; value, $2,052. Swine, 1,956; value, $9,780.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $34,219; poultry and eggs sold, $11,891; cheese, $1,302; butter, $16,678; garden products marketed, $1,667.

Fruit trees in bearing: 11,137 apple; 1,657 pear; 6,845 peach; 5,105 plum, and 4,359 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 7,800 apple; 1,838 pear; 2,382 peach; 4,352 plum, and 1,673 cherry.

“All fruits suitable to the climate are grown here. The apple orchard, peach, plum and cherry are found on nearly every farm. The soil is especially adapted for vegetables such as are commonly used by canning factories. These

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are raised by the carload by the aid of irrigation, and nearly every well-regulated farm has from one to many acres of vegetables under irrigation. Wheat is the principal product, and is sown anywhere from the middle of September until December. The acreage sown to wheat last fall is estimated on good authority to be about 170,000 acres and the plant was never in a better condition. The crop of wheat last year if divided up between Pawnee county’s citizens would give every man, woman and child 332 bushels of wheat, or $249. To handle this enormous crop it took 2,798 cars, or 139 train-loads of 20 cars each, making a string of cars nearly 20 miles long.

“Very best improved lands range in price from $10 to $20 per acre, while stock ranches and unimproved land can be had from $2.50 to $8.00 per acre.” — Tiller and Toiler, Larned, Pawnee Co., February 11, 1898
.
“The Larned creamery is one of the notable features of the county and readily consumes all the milk furnished by the 2,630 cows in the county.

“The Montgomery nurseries are among the largest in the west.

“Irrigation has received the attention of many of our best farmers during the latter years and several large irrigation plants are in operation in the county. E. E. Frizell last year watered thirty acres of alfalfa, twenty-five acres of apple orchard, ten acres of cabbage and five acres each of Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes and onions.
“There are several large apple orchards in the county that have produced immense yields. There were 116,594 acres of wheat in the county last year, which it is estimated yielded ten bushels to the acre, making a total yield of 1,165,940 bushels of wheat. This estimate is believed to be below the general average and that fully 2,000,000 bushels of wheat was raised in Pawnee county last year, much of which is yet in the hands of the producer.

“Col. William Scott, of Larned, recently sold to an agent for a Liverpool firm 20,000 bushels of Pawnee county wheat, 15,000 bushels from the Kingsley ranch and 5,000 bushels from the Chalfant ranch, for the average sum of eighty-seven cents per bushel. The wheat was shipped to Galveston, Texas, and from there to Liverpool, England, to be converted into flour by the English millers.

“Mr. Louis Artz, a farmer living on the upland five miles north of Larned, two years ago bought his farm of 260 acres under a heavy mortgage. His first year’s crop was a failure, and Mr. Artz begged the mortgage holder to take the farm and release him, but he refused to do so. Last year Mr. Artz raised enough wheat on the land to pay his mortgage and leave him over $3,000 clear.

“Seeman’s Bros., living northwest of Larned, had 1,000 acres in wheat from which they threshed 23,000 bushels and for which they received an average price of seventy-five cents per bushel.

“Mr. M. K. Krider, near Rozel, this county, put in 450 acres of wheat in the fall of 1896, doing all the work himself. He harvested therefrom 9,000 bushels of wheat which sold at an average price of seventy-two cents per bushel.

“Spier Bros., of this county, rented one hundred and twenty acres of land in the county which they put into wheat in the fall of 1896. Last spring the owner of the land offered to sell it for $1,200. The Spier Bros, harvested from it last summer $2,535 worth of wheat.

“Mr. Frank Frorer, the owner of a flour mill at Lincoln, Illinois, bought several years ago several thousands acres of Pawnee county land, known as the Fort Larned reservation, a portion of which he put under cultivation. In the fall of 1896 he put 4,000 acres into wheat which yielded about 80,000 bushels last year. This he had shipped to his Lincoln mills from which he made his best grade flour. Mr. Frorer has also about 1,000 head of cattle upon his land and raised last year 300 calves.

“Another Pawnee county farmer walked out of the Larned Keystone mills one day last summer with a check for $7,000, which represented only a part of the wheat raised on a 1,200-acre farm. The farmer had 4,000 bushels more to sell. The first thing he did with his money from last year’s crop was to fit out his family with clothes, and then he bought two carriages and a piano, and invested his surplus funds in more Pawnee county land.

“Pawnee county is one of the best stock raising counties in the state, there being several large ranches upon which fine thoroughbred horses and cattle are bred. It is also the feeding ground for large numbers of western

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cattle. Large herds of Colorado and New Mexico cattle are now being fed here for the Kansas City and Chicago markets.
“The sun never shone on a more contented people than those of the Arkansas and Pawnee valleys. They are upon a substantial footing, the greater number of them are out of debt, while many belong to the creditor class.’’— Eagle Optic, Larned, Pawnee Co., April 8, 1898.

PRATT COUNTY.

Situated in the southern middle part of the state, second tier north from Oklahoma. Area, 720 square miles; population, 6,018. The principal town is Pratt, the county seat, population 1,045.

Rolling prairie, nearly all fit for cultivation. Bottom lands comprise about eight per cent, of the area, and range from one-fourth to one mile in width. Small native timber is scattered along the margins of the streams, and cultivated groves dot the uplands. Springs are not plentiful. Well-water is reached at an average depth of 20 feet. There are few important water courses, the Ninnescah River, and Turkey and Elm creeks being the principal streams.

The county is underlaid with salt beds. Gypsum is found in the southern portion.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 52,668 acres; 368,676 bushels; value, $235,952.
Corn, 77,708 acres; 310,832 bushels; value, $83,924.
Oats, 3,500 acres; 21,000 bushels; value, $4,410.
Rye, 487 acres; 2,922 bushels; value, $1,051.
Barley, 1,703 acres; 28,951 bushels; value, $6,658.
Irish potatoes, 82 acres; 1,312 bushels; value, $813.
Broom corn, 1,971 acres; 591,300 pounds; value, $11,826.
Millet and Hungarian, 2,615 acres; 3,923 tons; value, $9,807.
Sorghum, 4,621 acres; value, $23,301.
Milo maize, 185 acres; 555 tons; value, $1,665.
kaffir corn, 10,525 acres; 31,575 tons; value, $94,725.
Alfalfa, 76 acres. Total tame hay, 4,417 tons (1896); value, $16,563 (1896). Prairie grass, under fence, 35,442 acres; .3,015 tons (1896); value, $7,839 (1896).

Horses 5,304; value, $132,600. Mules and asses, 775; value, $24,800. Milch cows, 2,657; value, $74,396. Other cattle, 4,202; value, $88,242. Swine, 10,395; value, $51,975.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $54,393; poultry and eggs sold, $20,053; cheese, $930; butter, $21,924; milk sold, $1,130; garden products marketed, $2,645; horticultural products marketed, $1,161.

Fruit trees in bearing: 12,894 apple; 2,380 pear; 75,820 peach; 5,883 plum, and 7,835 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 12,963 apple; 663 pear; 17,588 peach; 2,467 plum, and 3,266 cherry.

“As a slight indication of what our wheat harvest is, we give below a list of the harvesters sold here, to be added to the great number already owned by our farmers:

“S. H. James sold thirty. D. W. Blaine sold seventeen Continental headers ten 12-foot binders, and twenty-eight McCormick binders. He also sold ten steam threshers complete and two individual separators and an engine.

“The Hopper Hardware Company had eighteen orders for harvesters and had to stop because they could not get orders filled at the house, so great was the demand.

“In addition to our abundant harvest this is an excellent cattle country. Hogs grow into mountains of pork. Sheep do well. Feed in abundance with but little labor to produce it. Poultry never did better anywhere. It is also a good horse country.”—Pratt County Union, Pratt, June 30, 1898.

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RENO COUNTY.

Situated in the middle part of the state, in the third tier north from Oklahoma. Area, 1,260 square miles. Population, 26,416. The chief towns are Hutchinson, the county seat; population, 8,324; Nickerson, 1,296; and Sylvia, 400.

Surface gently undulating, some portions nearly level. The valley of the Arkansas has an average width of five miles,—in some places spreading out to ten. On the Ninnescah and smaller streams the bottom lands average one-half mile in width. Small fringes of timber occur. Springs are abundant in all sections, and well water is generally reached at an average depth of ten feet on the bottoms and thirty-five feet on the uplands.

Limestone, sandstone and mineral paint are found. Extensive deposits of rock salt exist below the surface, which, at Hutchinson are worked on a large scale, employing vast capital, and giving employment to a great number of men.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 50,264 acres; 1,005,280 bushels; value, $674,537.
Corn, 276,384 acres; 1,658,304 bushels; value, $315,077.
Oats, 12,240 acres; 281,520 bushels; value, $59,119.
Rye, 2,778 acres; 44,448 bushels; value, $18,223.
Irish potatoes, 822 acres; 37,812 bushels; value, $21,174.
Sweet potatoes, 158 acres; 10,428 bushels; value, $6,256.
Castor beans, 100 acres; 600 bushels; value, $570.
Broom corn, 5,213 acres; 1,824,550 pounds; value, $41,052.
Millet and Hungarian, 5,234 acres; 9,160 tons; value, $32,060.
Sorghum, 9,672 acres; value, $72,985.
Milo maize, 105 acres; 341 tons; value, $1,023.
Kaffir corn, 1,731 acres; 7,789 tons; value, $23,367.

Alfalfa, 3,574 acres. Total tame hay, 11,364 tons (1896); value, $42,615. Prairie grass, under fence, 145,370 acres; 27,573 tons; (1896); value, $71,689 (1896).

Horses, 17,471; value, $506,659. Mules and asses, 2,300; value, $75,900. Milch cows,11,614; value; $348,420. Other cattle, 36,425; value, $801,350.
sheep, 24,448; value, $55,008. Swine, 67,600; value, $338,000.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter $714 194; poultrv and eggs sold, $66,056; wool clip $1,870 (1896); butter, $156,764; milk sold $17,306; garden products marketed, $22,605; horticultural products marketed, $35,836; wine manufactured, $1,411.

Fruit trees in bearing: 141,460 apple; 7,272 pear; 218,451 peach; 30,837 plum, and 32,993 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 280,713 apple; 8,223 pear; 46,771 peach; 8,998 plum, and 12,136 cherry.

“Western Kansas is now being utilized for the purpose for which nature designed it. I have lived in western Kansas and eastern Colorado since 1868, and I have noted the changes in conditions and population since then. After the buffalo disappeared a period of stock-raising followed. The country was open. The land was owned by the government, and range was free, and large herds were the rule. The population was thin; only an occasional ranch disturbed the monotony of the plains. Railroads were few, and in some instances cattle were driven hundreds of miles for shipment. The cattle baron rivaled the old-time Croesus in wealth.

“But about 1885 some magician waved a magic wand, and a change came almost in a twinkling of an eye. The plains were dotted with the white sails of the prairie schooner. The granger, of whom the cattle baron and his booted and spurred retainers (the cowboys) always spoke with derision, was abroad in the land. In his wake there followed the widow and maid, the young lovers (on adjoining quarters), the town-site boomer, and the office-seeker, all filled with one ambition: to grow up with the country and get rich. The farmer planted and sowed, but hot winds came when the corn

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was greenest and the wheat in the milk, and in forty-eight hours the prospects for a magnificent crop had disappeared. The fainthearts soon left, and the more determined followed later, and only the men with iron nerve and resolutions were left. They noted that in times of direst distress there were two friends who never deserted them—the cow and the hen. They began to economize, and every dollar was invested in young cattle. Alfalfa came as a blessed boon, and the river and creek bottoms were soon covered with its lovely green, and the air became redolent with its sweet perfume. Corn planting was abandoned, and kaffir corn and sorghum were substituted and found never-failing crops, and were splendid feed for cattle, supplementing the buffalo-grass that has proved the best range grass in the world. Men whose only raiment a few years ago consisted of a pair of old 'pants’ and a hopeful smile, who could not pay their personal obligations, can now draw $500 or $1,000, and have it honored at its face. The ranchman with alfalfa can find ready sale for his hay; and he can get all the cattle he wants without cash, if he has feed. I know farmers who have bought 100 head of cattle without one cent of money, their only capital being a rick of sorghum, a straw pile or two, and a good range covered with the good old buffalo-grass that furnishes food all the year round.

“The possibilities of western Kansas have been changed into certainty. It is a first-class grazing country. The dream of the early settler will not be entirely realized. The country will be divided into small ranches of not less than a section in each. A good fence will surround each, and a portion of each ranch will be devoted to raising kaffir corn, sorghum, etc. Windmills will pump water, not alone for stock, but to furnish a pond filled with fish, and to irrigate gardens and fruit trees, that will cluster around the happy, independent home of the western Kansas ranchman. The cattle baron, the town-site boomer and the man who would farm in western Kansas have passed into the same obscurity that envelopes the Indian and buffalo.

The country is especially adapted for the raising of cattle; perhaps not adapted for the butcher’s block, as it is not easy to raise the grain necessary to fatten them; but as a country for the production of feeders it is certainly unsurpassed. It is not necessary that the people of western Kansas confine their energies entirely to the raising of cattle for the market. The dairy products are entitled to consideration, and are receiving it in all portions of this section of the state. The railroads that a few years ago penetrated sections of the country in which the people were too poor to do more than look at the cars as they passed are now each day loaded with cans of butter-fat being taken to the creamery. Men and women who a few years ago did not know what it was to have an extra dollar now each day drive into the little town in which the skimming or separating station is located with cans of milk, and receive in exchange therefor good hard, legal-tender money. The small rancher will not do as the old cattlemen did, turn out their milch cows on the range, but will tend and care for them, and will find the milk and butter a great source of revenue.

The western Kansas ranchman of to-day has not, and his successor will not, forget the Kansas hen. In the pure air of the western prairies the Kansas hen develops to a surprising and luscious degree, and her eggs are the finest and richest in the land, and a source of revenue to the owner as well as a contribution to the table. Great has been the change in the country and in the towns. Look at Dodge City: a few years ago a wild and woolly western town; saloons on every corner; gambling-houses in full blast. Now a quiet, peaceable, prosperous town of 3,000 people, good schools, seven churches. The pulpits filled with eloquent divines, and not a saloon in town.

“In five years every foot of ground west of the 100th meridian in Kansas will be under fence. Everybody will be well-to-do and happy, and all the world will have learned that western Kansas is no longer synonymous with busted booms, blasted hopes, poverty and desolation.”—C. M. Beeson, in Western Homestead and Tribune, Hutchinson, Reno Co., April, 1898.

“Kansas has paid off more mortgages during the past year than any other state in the Union. There is not another state in which the bank reserves are so enormous and in which the farmers have made so many improvements. In this immediate vicinity we do not feel the infiatus so much, for the reason that last year was particularly a wheat year and this a corn country

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But taking the state as a whole, there is none we believe that can show up with Kansas. While prices in the East are still pedaling down the steep, here has at least been a halt. The omens of another westward immigration appear and altogether we are the happiest people in the Union this year.”— Hutchinson Gazette, Reno Co., May 31, 1898.

“Shortly before Senator Plumb died he made the statement that by the year 1900 Kansas farm lands would be worth $100 an acre, or be equal in value to the ruling price of similar land in Illinois, Indiana and other of the central and eastern states. The general depression of 1893 to 1897 stopped the development of this proposition, but this year will see a big step toward the fulfillment of the prediction. There is reason for it. Land in central Kansas is only held at $10 to $30 an acre, and yet it will produce more corn and wheat per acre than will the old land in the eastern states. The advance in prices and the large crops of the last three years have made Kansas farmers comparatively wealthy and the prices they put upon their real estate are raising and will increase still more rapidly with the demand coming from the immigration now pouring into the state.

“The Kansas farmer with less capital can own more land, stock it better and cultivate it easier than the farmer in the eastern states. He is close to the great pasture land and cattle-producing country of the west and can feed his corn at home and ship it on the hoof. That is the reason why corn has been as high or higher in Hutchinson the last year than it has been in Chicago. That is the reason why the farmer who looks to the future sees the advantage Kansas has over states further east, because more money is being made here and can be made here than there.

“Kansas is now an old state. The wheat fields, the corn fields, the orchards, the alfalfa, the broom corn, the cattle, the hogs, the sheep, the cow and the hen have been doing business in Kansas for a number of years. The figures show they are money makers and the bank accounts of the farmers prove the correctness of the figures. Kansas was once a state of borrowers. Now our people are becoming creditors and plutocrats. This is resulting in a vigorous effort to get hold of this money-making farm land while it is cheap and before it advances to the price of an investment based on the profits. The men who are getting hold of Kansas land now will make money as naturally and as easily as the men did who owned and held onto the raw land of Illinois fifty years ago.”—Hutchinson Daily News, Reno Co., May 23, 1898

“Last year's harvest in Kansas attained a bounteousness' that made the farmers independent of this year’s harvest. They do not need this year’s crop to pay interest, eat three times a day and buy pianos. If the crop failed the farmer’s wife could still have a spring bonnet and go to church in style. Many farmers have money to spare and can hold their wheat against the highest price.”— Taron Weekly Press, Reno Co., June 9, 1898.

REPUBLIC COUNTY.

Situated in the eastern middle of the northern tier of counties. Area, 720 square miles. Population, 16,059. The towns on the Santa Fe route are Kackley, population, 200; and Courtland, 400. Belleville is the county seat.

About 75 per cent is undulating prairie; the remainder of the country is level, but with good drainage. Bottom lands average two miles in width on the Republican River, and from one-half to one mile on the creeks, and comprise ten per cent of the total area. Timber from four rods to one-half mile. Springs are very plentiful, and well water is reached at an average depth of thirty feet.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 7,076 acres; 141,520 bushels; value, $96,233.
Spring wheat, 155 acres; 2,790 bushels; value, $1,729.
Corn, 203,662 acres; 7,739,156 bushels; value, $1,315,656.
Oats, 24,366 acres; 974,640 bushels; value, $136,449.
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Rye, 2,159 acres; 43,180 bushels; value, $14,249.
Barley, 181 acres; 2,896 bushels; value, $695.
Irish potatoes, 1,453 acres; 107,522 bushels; value, $48,384.
Broom corn, 457 acres; 239,925 pounds; value $5,998.
Millet and Hungarian, 5,774 acres; 10,105 tons; value, $20,210.
Sorghum, 4,370 acres; value. $27,946.
Kaffir corn, 5,641 acres; 16,923 tons; value, $50,769.
Alfalfa, 2,667 acres; other tame grasses, 147 acres. Total tame hay 14,291 tons (1896); value, $53,591. Prairie grass, under fence, 70,955 acres; 11,985 tons (1896); value, $31,161 (1896).

Horses, 13,054; value, $391,620. Mules and asses, 1,467; value, $51,345. Milch cows, 7,752; value, $232,560. Other cattle, 13,285; value, $318,840. Swine, 48,069; value, $240,345.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $319,869; poultry and eggs sold, $94,677; butter, $60,193; milk sold, $3,821; garden products marketed, $945; horticultural products marketed, $2,463; honey and beeswax, $1,487.

Fruit trees in bearing: 128,076 apple; 2,061 pear; 66,986 peach; 7,306 plum, and 28,722 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 58,662 apple; 1,494 pear; 19,123 peach; 2,135 plum, and 6,642 cherry.

RICE COUNTY.

Situated in the central part of the state, fourth tier north from Oklahoma. Area, 720 square miles. Population, 13,724. The principal towns are Lyons, the county seat, population 1,426; Sterling, 1,934; Little River, 400; Geneseo, 300, and Chase, 300.

The western portion nearly level; the central and eastern moderately rolling. Bottom lands comprise 15 per cent, of the total area, and average from one to five miles in width. Timber belts along the streams vary from 50 feet to one-third of a mile in width. Springs are abundant in all portions of the county. Well water is found at an average depth of 25 feet. The Arkansas River crosses the southwestern corner.

Limestone, sandstone, red ocher and salt are found.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 98,834 acres; 1,581,344 bushels; value, $1,012,060. (16 bu average)
Corn, 114,881 acres; 804,167 bushels; value, $168,875. (7 bu average)
Oats, 5,993 acres; 125,853 bushels; value, $21,395.
Rye, 1,439 acres; 23,024 bushels; value, $10,360.
Barley, 181 acres; 2,896 bushels; value, $695.
Irish potatoes, 673 acres; 16,825 bushels; value, $10,936.
Broom corn, 5,646 acres; 2,540,700 pounds; value $57,165.
Millet and Hungarian, 2,865 acres; 2,865 tons; value, $8,595.
Sorghum, 3,669 acres; value, $25,001.
Kaffir corn, 5,641 acres; 16,923 tons; value, $50,769.
Alfalfa, 1,830 acres. Total tame hay, 5,976 tons (1896); value, $22,410. Prairie grass, under fence, 85,460 acres; 15,311 tons (1896); value, $39 808 (1896).

Horses, 11,327; value, $351,137. Mules and asses, 1,581; value, $55,335 Milch cows, 67,156; value, $182,412. Other cattle, 16,102; value, $402,550 Swine, 30,183; value $150,915.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $270,303; poultry and eggs sold, $60,720; butter, $52,889; milk sold, $8,868; garden products marketed, $6,604; horticultural products marketed, $1,456.

Fruit trees in bearing: 65,069 apple; 2,553 pear; 66,849 peach; 9,332 plum and 29,632 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 45,137 apple; 4,776 pear; 14,529 peach; 3729 plum, and 14.038 cherry.

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“H. B. Newman, living half a mile north of our city, raised 1,750 bushels of wheat on forty acres of land last year; Dr. D. II. Snowden, four miles northwest of town, had over forty bushels to the acre, and Dr. Potter, adjoining town on the south, had forty-two bushels per acre.

“Now while these crops are of course above the average, they go to show what careful and scientific culture of our soil renders possible and is an incentive to all our farmers to put in fewer acres and give better care to them. In the line of other crops, broom corn comes in as one of the most sure and lucrative, as it ordinarily produces from one-quarter to one-third of a ton of brush per acre, while the fodder is one of the best of forage crops. The country tributary to Sterling is noted for being the greatest ‘dwarf’ broom corn section in the world. Since the first settlement of the county in 1872 there has not been a failure of corn in this part of the county, last year being the nearest to it, but there is quite a surplus now, even from that short crop. Our county is well supplied with all kinds of stock, of the best varieties.

“Emil Daenzer, living two miles west of our city, has during the past two years cleared over $2,000 from a 10-acre orchard, most of which are peach trees, and many others have done equally as well.

“While our mineral resources are not equal to some other localities we can boast of having salt enough underlying our county to supply the entire globe for a period of 1,000 years, as the deposit is over 400 feet deep on an average throughout the county which is equivalent to 7,808,979,200,000 cubic feet of pure crystallized rock salt. This body of salt is being attacked by the Sterling Salt Co. to the extent of about 200 barrels per day, while the Lyons Rock Salt Co. of that city are also digging a few small holes in the deposit at that point. Central Kansas Democrat Sterling, Rice Co. April 2, 1898.

“A ride of several miles out through the country a few days ago convinced us that we have a pretty fair specimen of a Klondike right here in Rice county, without the trouble and expense of seeking it in the frozen and , almost inaccessible regions of the north. The wheat fields—and a large proportion of Rice county’s seven hundred and twenty square miles is taken up with wheat fields—are looking fine, and the abundant rains are making them every day look finer.

“Cornfields are doing what they can to rival the wheat, and will do better by and by as the chilly days of spring—the enemy of the chinch bug— give way to the warm days of summer, the friend of the corn.

“Besides these two staple crops a good part of Rice county’s wealth is hoed out of her gardens, dug up from her potato fields, picked from her fruit trees and berry bushes, pulled in her broom corn fields, and all these look as promising as the wheat and corn.

“The ‘helpful lien,’ the ‘beef steer and his sister, and the portly porker are all very important constituents in the making-up of Rice county wealth producers.

“The raising of horses and mules for market in the east and south is a paying industry to those who are engaged in it.

“Several creameries and skimming stations are in successful operation and bring to the farmers who patronize them a larger sum of money with less labor than caring for the milk and making butter at home.—The Lyons Republican, Rice Co., May 27, 1898.

RUSH COUNTY.

Situated in the western central part of the state, fifth tier north from Oklahoma. Area, 720 square miles. Population, 5,321. La Crosse is the county seat. The towns on the Santa Fe route are Rush Centre, population 190; Timken, Nekoma and Alexander.

Undulating prairie; bottom lands average one mile in width, and comprise 20 per cent, of the total area. There are very few springs. Well water is obtained at an average depth of twenty-five feet. Walnut Creek, the principal stream, crosses the county a little south of the middle.

Magnesian limestone, shell-rock limestone, fire and potters’ clay and gypsum are found.

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STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 135,858 acres; 1,630,296 bushels; value, 1,108,601.
Corn, 17,247 acres; 172,470 bushels; value, $48,291.
Oats, 4,633 acres; 64,862 bushels; value, $14,918.
Rye, 1,291 acres; 15,492 bushels; value, $5,267.
Barley, 4,829 acres; 67,606 bushels; value, $16,225.
Irish potatoes, 344 acres; 14,104 bushels; $9,590.
Tobacco, 25 acres; 12,500 bushels; value, $1,250.
Millet and Hungarian, 4,668 acres; 5,835 tons; value, $17,505.
Sorghum, 7,152 acres; value, $32,266.
Milo maize, 73 acres; 219 tons; value, $657.
Kaffir corn, 2,573 acres; 7,719 tons; value, $23,157.
Jerusalem corn, 370 acres; 1,110 tons; value, $3,330.
Total tame hay, 13,390 tons (1896); value, $72,712. Prairie grass, under fence, 43,190 acres; 3,355 tons (1896); value, $8,723 (1896).

Horses, 5,762; value, $161,336. Mules and asses, 440; value, $14,080. Milch cows, 3,360; value, $90,720. Other cattle, 6,074; value, $127,554. Sheep, 212; value, $636. Swine, 3,548; value, $17,740.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $53,206; poultry and eggs sold, $27,232; cheese, $469; butter, $17,394; milk sold, $5,284.

Fruit trees in bearing: 2,118 apple; 226 pear; 1,690 peach; 5,682 plum, and 6,071 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 2,629 apple; 1,664 peach; 1,294 plum, and 3,798 cherry.

SALINE COUNTY.

Situated in the eastern central part of the state, fourth tier south from the Nebraska line. Area, 720 square miles. Population, 15,853. The principal towns on the Santa Fe route are Salina, the county seat, population 5,656, and New Cambria.

One-third of the surface is nearly level, one-third undulating, and the remainder high and broken. Bottom lands vary in width from one to eight miles, frequently attaining the latter width in the valleys of the Smoky Hill, Saline and Solomon rivers. Timber belts are from 40 rods to one mile in width. There are many artificial groves on the upland farms. Springs are not plentiful. Well-water is found at depths varying from 30 to 60 feet.

Limestone, sandstone, fire clay and gypsum are found.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 89,617 acres; 1,613,106 bushels; value, $1,145,305.
Corn, 70,407 acres; 633,663 bushels; value, $133,069.
Oats, 7,772 acres; 132,124 bushels; value, $25,103.
Rye, 1,844 acres; 27,660 bushels; value, $9,404.
Barley, 173 acres; 2,768 bushels; value, $664.
Irish potatoes, 792 acres; 20,592 bushels; value, $11,325.
Broom corn, 855 acres; 470,250 pounds; value, $7,053.
Millet and Hungarian, 1,349 acres; 2,024 tons; value, $7,084.
Sorghum, 5,242 acres; value, $32,277.
Kaffir corn, 4,237 acres; 16,948 tons; value, $50,844.
Alfalfa, 5,269 acres. Total tame hay, 10,536 tons (1896); value, $39,510. Prairie grass, under fence, 53,740 acres; 20,870 tons (1896); value, $54,262 (1896).

Horses, 9,670; value, $270,760. Mules and asses, 694; value, $22,208. Milch cows, 5,868; value, $176,040. Other cattle, 19,226; value, $538,328. Sheep, 13,353; value, $40,059. Swine, 22,285; value, $111,425.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $342,957; poultry and eggs sold, $49,075; cheese, $681; butter, $33,573; milk sold, $5,220; garden products marketed, $5,009; horticultural products marketed, $1,109.

Fruit trees in bearing: 74,648 apple; 3,948 pear; 35,981 peach; 5,787 plum, and 13,187 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 24,400 apple; 1,781 pear; 14,533 peach; 2,448 plum, and 5,083 cherry.

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“In Saline county during the year 1897 there were recorded 369 releases of mortgages on real estate, not counting assignments. Dining the same period there were 242 new mortgages, or renewals, recorded, leaving a balance of 127 in favor of improved times. This one item indicates that while some people may have suffered, there has come the blessedness of freedom to others.

"There has been a falling off in marriages. We secured from the probate judge the record for 1896 and 1897, and find that our young people have been remiss in their duty to themselves and their country. With more money in their pockets the young men seem to have run to better clothes and submit to single lives while the young women with a blessed resignation await another failure of crops when these same young men will seek the loving consolation of a tender-hearted wife. Only think! Fifty less marriages, and many of these old people who have stolen a brief moment from their contemplation of the grave to fritter away their feeble lives in connubial bliss. The young men must get a move on them.

“There seems to have been neglect of another very important thing, the county has provided comfortable quarters, board and lodging, for a certain class of citizens, and yet the sheriff reports only seventy-one boarders during the year. Knowing the strict attention to duty on the part of our sheriff, this small number must be ascribed to improved morality on the part of our people. During five months the greatest number confined was two, while during one month the roaches were the sole occupants of our bastile.

“In this city possibly the best indication of the business of the two years is the amount of cash receipts at the post-office. The increase has not been great, being $15,469 against $14,056 for 1896, but it has been an increase.

“The money orders sold in 1896 amounted to $28,943, while the orders sold in 1897 were $34,932. The money orders paid in 1896 were $50,061 and in 1897 they aggregated $60,616. This certainly speaks well for the improved condition, for the bank drafts and express money orders show as great a proportionate increase, if not greater." — Salina Herald, Saline Co., January 7,
1898.

SEDGWICK COUNTY.

Situated in the eastern middle of the state, second tier north from Oklahoma. Population 38,651 The principal cities and towns are Wichita, the county seat, Population 20,160; Valley Center, 393; Clear Water, 500; Cheney, 304; Garden Plain 300, and Goddard.

Surface gently rolling prairie. Fifty per cent of the total area is in bottom land, the valleys averaging seven miles wide and frequently on the Arkansas river, spreading out to ten and twelve miles. Timber belts along the streams average one and one-half miles in width. Springs are not numerous. Well water is reached at a depth varying from ten to fifty feet.

Limestone, fire, potters’ and brick clay and gypsum beds are found.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 82,984 acres; 1,493,712 bushels; value $1,000,787.
Corn, 211,251 acres; 1,267,506 bushels; value, $253,501
Oats, 28,457 acres; 768,339 bushels; value, $138,301.
Rye, 1,692 acres; 30,456 bushels; value, $10,355.
Irish potatoes, 1,299 acres; 80,538 bushels; value, $42,685.
Sweet potatoes, 350 acres; 26,950 bushels; value $14,014
Broom corn, 65 acres; 26,000 pounds; value, $650
Millet and Hungarian, 6,051 acres; 12,102 tons; value $36,306.
Sorghum, 3,309 acres; value, $27,059.
Kaffir corn, 3,884 acres; 15,536 tons; value, alfalfa, 4,389 acres.
Timothy, 91 acres; clover, 64 acres, blue grass, 98 acres $20,347 Prairie grass, acres. Total tame hay, 5,426 tons (1896), value, $20,347 (1896) Prairie grass, under fence, 160,593 acres; 40,906 tons (1896); value, $106,355 (1896)

Horses, 19,283; value, $617,056. Mules and asses, 2,015; value, $76,570.
Milch cows, 12,093; value, $338,604. other cattle 25,873; value, $569,206. Sheep, 10,227; value, $30,681. Swine, 68,301, value, $341, 505.

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Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $762,522; poultry and eggs sold, $79,414; wool clip, $5,038 (1896); butter, $124,204; milk sold, $46,644; garden products marketed, $35,611; horticultural products marketed, $34,208; wine manufactured, $7,333; honey and beeswax, $566.

Fruit trees in bearing: 182,363 apple; 8,932 pear; 158,767 peach; 18,820 plum, and 37,633 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 74,742 apple; 5,238 pear; 28,991 peach; 7,249 plum, and 10,881 cherry. There were 183 acres in berries.

“There is more health and wealth and all around contentment to the square mile in Kansas than can be found in any other section of the globe. Especially is this true of sunny South Kansas, where no farmer lives beyond the sound of a railway whistle or his children ever get out of sight of a school house. There is a circumscribed section of South Kansas, consisting of a half dozen counties, of which Wichita is the center, that raises one-fifth of the entire wheat product of a state famed for its immense wheat yield; that contains one-eighth of the state’s population, and one-ninth of its voters. It is a section without hills or hollows, where the plow meets no obstructions, where the self-binder moves as steadily as a ship under sail, and the whirr of the steam thresher ceases only with the shadows of nightfall. This magnificent but half occupied domain of blue-ribbon hogs, monster steers and record-breaking horses is criss-crossed by railway lines reaching from county seat to county seat, connecting all the bright towns between, and is watered by wood-fringed streams innumerable. The discontented farmer is the exception, the unhappy townsman hard to find. There is prosperity for the business man and accumulation for the husbandman. Every season of the year is perfection in its way. The mild winters are bright with open sunshine, the summers fanned with ozone-ladened breezes that do not go down when the stars come out, lull during the night nor fail at midday.

“Kansas and Oklahoma want a million more men, for which additional number there is an abundance of room and opportunity. This magnificent heritage has but to be seen to be appreciated and desired. No practical agriculturist can behold the countless contiguity of its homes, grain fields and orchards, the illimitable sweep of its prairies and pasture lands, and ever forget or cease desiring to possess.”—Wichita Daily Eagle, Sedgwick Co., March 30, 1898.

SCOTT COUNTY.

Situated in the western part of the state, third tier east from Colorado and fourth north from Oklahoma. Area, 720 square miles. Population, 1,108. The principal towns are Scott, the county seat, population 229; Grigsby, and Halcyon.

Undulating prairie with sand hills in the extreme southeastern portion. There are but few water courses, Ladder creek being the most prominent. Several large basins have streams running into them during the wet seasons.

Magnesian limestone, gypsum and cement rock are found.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 21,099 acres; 105,495 bushels; value, $70,681.
Spring wheat, 496 acres; 1,984 bushels; value, $1,190.
Corn, 523 acres; 4,707 bushels; value, $1,176.
Oats, 1,565 acres; 9,390 bushels; value, 2,347.
Barley, 4,366 acres; 30,562 bushels; value, $6,723.
Millet and Hungarian, 351 acres; 439 tons; value, $1,426.
Sorghum, 3,143 acres; value, $12,752.
Kaffir corn, 959 acres; 1,077 tons; value, $3,231.
Jerusalem corn, 329 acres; 987 tons; value, $2,961.
Alfalfa, 206 acres. Total tame hay, 235 tons (1896); value, $881,

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Horses, 2,198: value, $59,346. Mules and asses. 74; value, |1924. Milch cows, 1,206; value, $34,974. Other cattle, 1,930; value, $44,390. Sheep, 1,791; value, $4,029. Swine. 1,035; value, $5,175.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter. $l,995; poultry and eggs sold, $3,365; wool clip, $994 (1896); butter. $2,493.

Fruit trees in bearing: 229 apple; 68 pear; 849 peach; 583 plum, and 644 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 1,936 apple; 129 pear; 1,412 peach; 1,787 plum, and 1,507 cherry.

SHAWNEE COUNTY.

Situated in the northeastern part of the state, third tier south from Nebraska line and fourth west from the Missouri River. Area, 558 square miles. Population 49.986. ranking second in the state in this particular. The principal cities and towns on the line of the Santa Fe are Topeka, the capital of the state, population 31,842; Wakarusa. Pauline. Tecumseh and Spencer. Topeka is the county seat, as well as the capital of the state, and is one of the largest commercial centers. Among the buildings located in and near this city are the capitol, the reform school, one of the insane asylums, and the post-office and court building. It is the intersecting point of four railroad systems.

Rolling prairie with a few high hills and bluffs. The bottom lands of the Kansas and Wakarusa rivers are from one to three miles wide, and with those along the creeks, comprise 31 per cent of the total area. Timber belts along the streams average three-fourths of a mile wide. Springs are abundant; well water is reached at a depth of from ten to forty feet. The Kansas River crosses the county a little north of the middle.

Blue and gray limestone and lire and brick clay are found in abundance.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 1,292 acres; 24,548 bushels; value, $17,920.
Corn, 104,95S acres; 1,784,286 bushels; value, $339,014.
Oats, 6,543 acres; 143,946 bushels; value, $25,910.
Rye, 112 acres; 2,016 bushels; value. $766.
Irish potatoes, 3,090 acres; 142,140 bushels; value, $58,277.
Sweet potatoes, 284 acres; 12,212 bushels; value, $5,495.
Flax, 192 acres; 1,728 bushels; value, $1,382.
Broom corn, 195 acres; 87,750 pounds; value, $2,632.
Millet and Hungarian, 3,270 acres; 5,723 tons; value, $10,030.
Sorghum, 2,135 acres; value, $17,035.
Kaffir corn, 986 acres; 3,944 tons; value, $11,832.

Timothy, 4,020 acres; clover, 5,442 acres; blue grass, 2,495 acres; alfalfa, 1,115 acres; other tame grasses, 1,003 acres. Total tame hay, 5072 tons (1896) value, $19,020. Prairie grass, under fence, 83,821 acres; 38,872 tons (1896), value, $101,067 (1896).

Horses, 14,328; value, $415,512. Mules and asses, 2,O38; value, $69,292. Milch cows, 9,966; value, $308,946. Other cattle, 20,162; value, $544,374. Sheep, 3,810; value, $11,430. Swine, 30,522; value, $152,610.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $580,904; poultry and eggs sold, $48,291; cheese, $13,152; butter, $67,547; milk sold, $18,936; garden products marketed, $33,396; horticultural products marketed, $25,177; wine manufactured, $2,260; honey and beeswax, $1,221.

Fruit trees in bearing: 207,779 apple; 2,797 pear; 56,166 peach; 7,459 plum, and 20,680 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 130,720 apple; 3,586 pear; 23,425 peach; 3,977 plum, and 7,207 cherry. There were 701 acres in berries.

"Kansas is admirably located for taking advantage of the best markets in the country. Kansas City is nearly as good a market for farm products as Chicago, and it is destined at no distant day to be the controlling market in this country for stock and meat products. The opening of the shipping ports

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on the Gulf of Mexico furnishes Kansas an export market with a short and easy haul to tide water that will add a material increase to the profits of Kansas farmers, while the mountains and mining districts on the west must draw the great bulk of their supplies from Kansas as the nearest locality where they can be obtained. The present low prices of lands cannot continue very long, and good farm lands surrounded with such natural resources and having the advantages of such good markets must rapidly increase in value until they reach $75 and $100 an acre, prices at which no better lands are sold in states only a few hundred miles further east.”—Advocate and News, Topeka, Shawnee Co., April 6, 1898.

“Agriculturally, Kansas, like ancient Gaul, may be divided into three parts. The eastern third, which is as safe for general agriculture as any part of the United States, and which, in fact, offers better inducements to the farmer, gardener and husbandman than any like amount of territory between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

“The middle third has as rich soil as the eastern third, but is more subject to drouths. Here farming pure and simple is reasonably successful, but liable to failure.

“The western third is subject to high wind, hot winds and drouths, so that the man who puts his trust in farming, straight, may succeed by spells, but will wear gunny sacks sooner or later if he stays with it. If the resident in this locality, however, sticks patiently and methodically to the beef steer and his sister, he may ride in a chaise by and by and fill his lungs with as pure ozone as the Lord ever furnished the children of men.

“On the eastern third of the state every kind of grain, fruit, beast and fowl known to the temperate zone can be grown in abundance. In this section is the largest apple orchard in the world and thousands of men scattered from the Nebraska line to the Indian territory are getting rich from the product of their apple trees. This section of the state holds the record for the tallest stalk of corn exhibited at the Centennial.

“In the eastern third all sorts of tame grasses flourish and fat cattle, blooded horses and corpulent swine are plenty in every county.

“In this region is the natural gas belt beginning in Miami county and extending southwest to the territory line. In this belt is found enough gas to feed the furnaces of a thousand manufactories and at a cost so low that no other fuel can stand in competition. The south half of the eastern third is underlaid with coal, zinc and lead, and in this territory are located the largest zinc smelters in the United States.

“In the counties of Wilson, Neosho, Montgomery and Chautauqua is found petroleum equal to the best oil of Pennsylvania or Virginia.

“The central third of the state is sometimes visited by drouths and hot winds, but when things come its way central Kansas raises crops which astonish the world. Last year the county of Sumner alone raised 4,585,060 bushels of wheat, or in round numbers 200 bushels for each man, woman and child in the county. The value of the wheat crop alone in this county was $3,117,840.80, or about $136 per capita. The past year was a poor year for corn; but four counties in central Kansas produced 25,500,000 bushels, or enough to load 51,000 cars and make a trainload so long that when the caboose pulled over the Kansas line the engine would be whistling for Chicago.

‘’Central Kansas has raised the biggest steer ever exhibited, the swiftest pacer ever put on the track and as fine hogs as ever went to market.

“Central Kansas has only fairly started in the salt business but last year the plants at Hutchinson alone made ten million barrels and there is enough left under the ground to turn into brine all the fresh waters of the world.

“The western third of the state for health, cattle and jackrabbits has no superior in either hemisphere. The prices of land in the eastern third vary from $10 to $60 per acre. In central Kansas the prices run from $2 to $30 per acre and in western Kansas ranches can still be picked up at from $1 to $5 an acre.

“The farmers of Kansas the past year have paid more debts, and deposited more money in the banks than the farmers of any other state in the Union.

“The grass in Kansas can grow faster and her cattle can take on fat quicker than in any other state.

“Her hens can lay easier, her hogs can squeal louder and her jackrabbits

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can jump further than on any other portion of God’s footstool with which we are familiar.

“Her wheat makes better hour and her corn makes more solid pork than the corn of almost any other part of the Mississippi valley.

“The state has more creameries in proportion to the population than any other state in the Union, and Kansas butter, in a competitive test, has knocked the most elevated fruit on the prize persimmon tree. The product of the Kansas cow graces the tables of royalty and the meat of the Kansas swine, cut down in the flower of his youth, feeds the armies which support European thrones.

“Altogether and finally we may say that Kansas just now is all right so far as her agricultural and industrial resources are concerned.”—The Mail and Breeze, Topeka, Shawnee Co April 2, 1898.

STAFFORD COUNTY.

Situated in the south central part of the state, third tier north from Oklahoma. Area, 792 square miles; population, 8,099. The principal towns are St. John, the county seat, population 865; Stafford, 640; Dillwyn, and Macksville.

Rolling prairie, nearly all adapted to cultivation. Bottom lands comprise 15 per cent of the total area, and average one mile in width. The amount of timber is small.

Brick clay exists, and gypsum beds are found in nearly every portion.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 71,453 acres; 857,436 bushels; value, $574,482.
Corn, 94,587 acres; 662,109 bushels; value, $139,042.
Oats, 2,074 acres; 35,258 bushels; value, $6,346.
Rye, 1,384 acres; 16,608 bushels; value, $6,144.
Irish potatoes, 196 acres; 4,704 bushels; value, $3,292.
Sweet potatoes, 46 acres; 2,300 bushels; value, $1,840.
Broom corn, 3,142 acres; 942,600 pounds; value, $18,852.
Millet and Hungarian, 3,281 acres; 4,101 tons; value, $10,252.
Sorghum, 5,154 acres; value, $27,215.
Milo maize, 241 acres; 723 tons; value, $2,169.
Kaffir corn, 6,105 acres; 18,315 tons; value, $54,945.

Alfalfa, 352 acres. Total tame hay, 9,121 tons (1896); value, $34,203 (1896). Prairie grass, under fence, 42,006 acres; 7,355 tons (1896); value, $19,123 (1896).

Horses, 7,017; value, $210,510. Mules and asses, 1,435; value; $50,225. Milch cows, 4,279; value, $119,812. Other cattle, 9,614; value, $221,122. Sheep, 17,641; value, $39,692. Swine, 11,615; value, $58,075.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $175,720; poultry and eggs sold, $23,652; butter, $28,562; milk sold, $2,166; garden products marketed, $1,550; horticultural products marketed, $1,104.

Fruit trees in bearing: 22,914 apple; 981 pear; 67,683 peach; 5,919 plum, and 17,650 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 27,377 apple; 2,903 pear; 14,199 peach; 4,633 plum, and 11,251 cherry.

“The principal crops raised in this county are wheat, corn and broom corn, all of which are produced in large quantities. We have never had an entire failure and the past few years all crops have been good. A large per cent of the corn raised here is fed to cattle and hogs which, when fattened, are shipped east.

“We have a never-failing supply of the purest water all over this county which can be obtained any place by boring a hole and driving pipe down; no open well to get impure and have to be cleaned out.

“We have many orchards of fruit, such as apples, peaches, pears, cherries, etc., most of which are just getting old enough to bear, and an abundance of 6

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small fruit—strawberries, raspberries and blackberries, all of which produce abundantly.

“Good farms can be purchased at from $5 to $15 per acre, according to location and amount of improvements.”—
The Republican, Stafford, Stafford Co., May 20, 1898.

“Stafford county is very nicely located, two hundred and fifty miles south and west of Kansas City.

“The soil is principally a dark, sandy loam, very rich and fertile. Being located in the great bend of the Arkansas River, Stafford county has a water supply second to none. Water is obtained at from six to thirty feet and is of the finest quality, and the supply inexhaustible.

“The two principal industries are farming and stock raising. The quality of our soil renders it very easy to cultivate, and enables a man to plant and cultivate two or three times the number of acres of land that it is possible for the same man to do in the eastern states.

“The principal grains raised are wheat and corn, both of which do well. A great many people imagine that corn cannot be grown successfully this far west, but we can refer to farmers who have never failed to raise a crop of corn in this county during the past eighteen years. We always have a good market for our corn in the west, and the price is never but a few cents lower right here on track than the same is in Chicago. Our principal crop however is wheat, which is produced in large quantities and at a very small cost as compared with the cost of raising same in the eastern states. There are thousands of acres of land in this county for sale at from five to eight dollars per acre when the same quality of land produced from fifteen to twenty dollars’ worth of wheat per acre last year.

“For those who prefer stock raising rather than farming, Stafford county offers superior advantages in the way of cheap grazing lands (large bodies of which can be purchased as low as five dollars per acre), thus enabling the man of small and limited capital to obtain a large range for little money. Our climate is very fine for stock raising, the winters being mild, thus reducing the loss to the minimum. It is but a very small task and requires but a few acres of land to produce sufficient kaffir corn, sorghum and millet hay and fodder to winter one hundred head of cattle. In addition to the advantages offered for raising cattle for the market we have in operation within this county five skimming stations, or separators. While this industry is in its infancy in this county, it has been tested by numbers of our best farmers and found to be very profitable.”—The Capital, St John, Stafford Co., April 8, 1898.

SUMNER COUNTY.

Situated in the eastern middle of the first tier of counties north from Oklahoma. Area, 1,188 square miles; population, 22,684. Wellington, the county seat, has a population of 3,158; Caldwell, 1,402; South Haven, 465; Argonia, 376; Oxford, 665; Belle Plaine, 659; Mulvane, 724.

Undulating prairie, in many places nearly level; bottom lands average a width of two and one-half miles, and comprise 20 per cent, of the total area. Timber belts along the streams are from five rods to one-half mile in width. Springs are not plentiful. Well-water is found at a depth of from ten to forty feet. The Arkansas River flows across the northeastern corner, and has the Ninnescah River and Cowskin Creek for tributaries.

Limestone, sandstone and potters’ clay are found in small quantities, and a fair quality of marble is quarried. Gypsum beds have been developed, the product being well adapted for use in building and for cement in plaster. Mineral paint, salt and mineral springs are also found; and a large quantity of rock salt has been found at a depth of 225 feet.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 229,253 acres; 4,585,060 bushels; value, $3,117,840.
Corn, 171,536 acres; 2,229,968 bushels; value, $490,592.
Oats, 22,927 acres; 779,518 bushels; value, $148,108.
Rye, 1,985 acres; 39,700 bushels; value, $14,689.

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Irish potatoes, 775 acres; 55,025 bushels; value, $29,163.
Sweet potatoes, 56 acres; 5,040 bushels; value, $2,721.
Broom corn, 107 acres; 64,200 pounds; value. $1,123.
Millet and Hungarian, 4.221 acres; 7,387 tons; value, $24,007.
Sorghum, 5,848 acres; value, $37,445.
Kaffir corn, 5,321 acres; 19,953 tons; value, $59.859.
Alfalfa, 1,516 acres; other tame grasses, 105 acres. Total tame hay, 2,915 tons (1896); value, $10,931 (1890). Prairie grass, under fence, 127,214 acres; 14,919 tons (1896); value, $38,789 (1896).

Horses 16,949; value $508,470. Mules and asses, 2,106; value, $84,240. Milch cows, 8,696; value, $243,488. Other cattle 19,169; value, $440,887. Sheep, 660; value, $1,485. Swine, 45,391; value, $226,955.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $464,952; poultry and eggs sold, $88,178; cheese, $1,667; butter, $75,051; milk sold $5,537; garden products marketed, $5,731: horticultural products marketed, $5,600.

Fruit trees in bearing; 140,613 apple; 7,465 pear, 39,530 peach; 3,298 plum, and 9,167 cherry.
,
Fruit trees not in bearing: 36,961 apple; 5,316 pear; 39,530 peach; 3,298 plum, and 9,167 cherry. There were 58 acres in berries.

“Sumner county last year produced $459 for each man woman and child residing within its limits. Of course each man woman and child did not receive that much, either in money or kind, but such would have been the case had the total productions been turned into money and an equal distribution made. The total value of products and live stock fo. 1897, was $10,397,934.

“We sold, last year, products of all kinds to the value of $7,384,547, and
have a reserve of crops and stock amounting to $3,013,387. The result is our
banks have a plethora of money -- hard cash -- mortgages have been paid off, homes hae been refurnished, our children are receiving more educational advantages, and happiness hovers over a prosperous, contented people." -- Caldwell News, Sumner Co., May 26, 1898.

“The soil of Sumner county is fertile and land is comparatively cheap. The price ranges, in a general way, from $10 to $30 per acre. A few highly improved bottom farms sell for more, and an occasional piece of upland sells for less. It is no uncommon thing for a man to buy a farm in this valley and sell one crop of wheat for more than enough to pay for it.

“All kinds of stock do well here and very little trouble is experienced from disease. Our eastern brethren who raise sheep would be relieved of the trouble and expense they suffer from 'foot rot' and other diseases that prevail among their flocks, if they would bring then sheep to Kansas. Such a thing as scarcity of feed was never known in this part of the Arkansas valley.

“Alfalfa is being generally sown, and the results would surprise the farmer who raises hay in the older states. Three good crops ln a year is the rule and not the exception. It has no superior as pasture. Hogs thrive on it and need only a little corn to fit them for market.

“Dairying is increasing rapidly, and is bound to become a leading industry. A field of alfalfa and a few cows make the farmer independent. Our location right in the center of the United States our proximity to the great mining regions of the Rocky Mountains, insure an unlimited demand and a remunerative price for dairy products. Mulvane Record, Sumner Co. April 1, 1898.
WABAUNSEE COUNTY.

Situated in the center of the eastern half of the state, third tier south from Nebraska. Area 804 square miles; population 12,192. The principal towns on the Santa Fe Route are Alma the county seat, population 1,078; Eskridge, 700; Wabaunsee, Fairfield, Halifax and Harveyville 200.

The general surface of the eastern and western portions is gently undulating; in the southwestern slightly rolling and nearly level, in the central and northern portions high hills and bluffs occur, which are particularly adapted to grazing. The bottom lands average one mile in width, and com-


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prise 15 per cent, of the total area. Timber belts vary from a few rods to one-half mile in width.

Mill Creek, which empties into the Kansas River on the northeast, and its central and west branches form the principal streams.

Limestone underlies the entire county, and is quarried in many places. Large quantities of a superior quality of cement have been found, and mineral paint deposits have been reported. Fire-clay, potters’ clay and coal also exist.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 5,514 acres; 88,224 bushels; value, $63,521.
Corn, 104,108 acres; 1,769,836 bushels; value, $336,268.
Oats, 4,844 acres; 87,192 bushels; value, $16,566.
Rye, 165 acres; 2,970 bushels; value, $1,039.
Irish potatoes, 1,114 acres; 40,104 bushels; value, $20,854.
Sweet potatoes, 302 acres; 18,724 bushels; value, $8,987.
Flax, 378 acres; 3,024 bushels; value, $2,419.
Millet and Hungarian, 7,022 acres; 15,800 tons; value, $39,500.
Sorghum, 1,238 acres; value, $7,966.
Kaffir corn, 649 acres; 3,894 tons; value, $11,682.
Timothy, 780 acres; clover, 364 acres; blue grass, 805 acres; alfalfa, 4,295 acres; other tame grasses, 1,119 acres. Total tame hay, 12,168 tons (1896); value, $45,630 (1896). Prairie grass, under fence, 116,892 acres; 46,316 tons (1896); value, $120,421 (1896).

Horses, 9,355; value, $271,295. Mules and asses, 614; value, $20,876. Milch cows, 8,655; value, $259,650. Other cattle, 33,703; value, $909,981. Sheep, 9,051; value, $20,364. Swine, 41,028; value, $205,140.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $1,213,576; poultry and eggs sold, $48,956; cheese, $3,555; butter, $41,292; milk sold, $1,399; garden products marketed, $2,055; horticultural products marketed, $4,326; wine manufactured, $6,110; honey and beeswax, $2,093.

Fruit trees in bearing: 108,942 apple; 2,377 pear; 37,906 peach; 6,026 plum, and 13,427 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 50,195 apple; 2,017 pear; 15,421 peach; 2,140 plum, and 5,861 cherry.

“Scarcely a bushel of corn or oats, or a ton of alfalfa or prairie hay, is shipped out of the county. In fact, much corn is shipped in. We feed it all to our cattle and hogs, for this is a stock county. Thousands of acres of native grass pasture, watered by springs and streams, makes this a cattleman’s paradise.

“Creameries, skimming stations and cheese factories at convenient stations over the county make dairying pay large profits. Forty thousand sheep are fed annually in the north part of the county and the owners are getting richer each year.
“Most of the people here came with almost nothing. To-day we have no very poor people and no very rich ones. In our forty years’ history, there have been no complete crop failures. We have had a few hard years, but no county averages better. A young man with nothing stands as good a chance as he ever did. Work and brains will make him independent, as it has made hundreds before him.’’ — Alma Enterprise, Wabaunsee Co., April 8, 1898.

WILSON COUNTY.

Situated in the southeastern part of the state, second tier north from Indian Territory and third west from Missouri. Area, 576 square miles; Population, 15,044. The principal towns on the Santa Fe Route are Fredonia, the county seat, population 1,686; Coyville, 300; and Neodesha, 1,765.

The eastern portion undulating, with occasional mounds; the central and western uneven, with numerous bluffs, and the northwestern interspersed with timbered hills and small canons. The bottoms average one mile in

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width, and comprise 20 per cent of the total area. The timber belts vary from one-third to one-half mile in width, and there are artificial groves on the uplands. Springs abound in all sections, and well-water is reached at an average depth of 25 feet. The Verdigris crosses the county in a general direction from northwest to southeast.

Limestone, sandstone, potters’ clay, oil and natural gas all exist here in large quantities, and have been extensively developed.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 7,968 acres; 159,360 bushels; value, $124,300.
Corn, 87,540 acres; 1,838,340 bushels; value, $349,284.
Oats, 5,227 acres; 130,675 bushels; value, $23,521.
Rye, 282 acres; 5,076 bushels; value, $2,182.
Irish potatoes, 657 acres; 36,792 bushels; value, $20,971.
Castor beans, 641 acres; 7,692 bushels; value. $7,307.
Flax, 5,419 acres; 32,514 bushels; value, $26,011.
Tobacco, 36 acres; 25,200 pounds; value, $2,520.
Broom corn, 501 acres; 175,350 pounds; value, $3,507.
Millet and Hungarian, 6,586 acres; 11,526 tons; value, $32,849.
Sorghum, 1,766 acres; value, $7,946.
Milo maize, 148 acres; 481 tons; value, $1,443.
Kaffir corn, 5,902 acres; 19,181 tons; value, $57,543.

Timothy, 2,154 acres; clover, 686 acres; blue grass, 512 acres; alfalfa, 1,180 acres; other tame grasses, 383 acres. Total tame hay, 5,811 tons (1896); value, $21,791 (1896). Prairie grass, under fence, 57,224 acres; 20,513 tons (1896); value, $53,333 (1896).

Horses, 8,439; value, $253,170. Mules and asses, 1.,338; value, $44,154. Milch cows, 7,004; value, $196,112. Other cattle, 14,751; value, $413,028. Sheep, 235; value, $705. Swine, 26,750; value, $133,750.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $402,333; poultry and eggs sold, $46,383; cheese, $228; butter, $40,782; milk sold, $1,978; garden products marketed, $2,957; horticultural products marketed, $1,407.

Fruit trees in bearing: 139,869 apple; 2,831 pear; 30,724 peach; 8,488 plum and 13,988 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 47,876 apple; 1,029 pear; 7,377 peach; 2,182 plum, and 2,693 cherry. There were 76 acres in berries.

WOODSON COUNTY.

Situated in the southeastern part of the state, third tier west from Missouri and third north from Indian Territory. Area, 504 square miles; population, 9 547. The chief towns on the Santa Fe Route are Yates Centre, the county seat, population 1,548; Neosho Falls, 715; and Toronto, 700.

Rolling prairie, the central portion somewhat hilly. Bottom lands average one and one-half miles wide, and comprise ten per cent of the total area. Timber belts along the streams are from one-fourth to one mile in width. Good springs are not plentiful; well-water is reached at a depth of from 20 to 40 feet.

Sandstone, limestone, fire and brick clay, and coal to a limited extent, is found.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 1,780 acres; 35,600 bushels; value, $27,056.
Corn, 48,150 acres; 722,250 bushels; value, $187,785.
Oats, 5,000 acres; 100,000 bushels; value, $19,000.
Rye, 147 acres; 2,793 bushels; value, $1,061.
Irish potatoes, 545 acres; 23,980 bushels; value, $11,949.
Flax, 2,235 acres; 15,645 bushels; value, $12,516.
Broom corn, 81 acres; 24,300 pounds; value, $516.
Millet and Hungarian, 2,530 acres; 3,795 tons; value, $11,385.

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Sorghum, 1,008 acres; value, $9,456.
Milo maize, 50 acres; 200 tons; value, $600.
Kaffir corn, 5,090 acres; 20,360 tons; value, $61,080.
Timothy, 2,530 acres; clover, 990 acres; blue grass, 244 acres; alfalfa, 843 acres; other tame grasses, 208 acres. Total tame hay, 2,635 tons (1896);’value, $9,881 (1896). Prairie grass, under fence, 77,280 acres; 44,475 tons (1896); value, $115,635 (1896).

Horses, 6,155; value, $166,185. Mules and asses, 624; value, $20,592. Milch cows, 5,200; value, $140,400. Other cattle, 13,095; value, $366,660. Sheep, 2,325; value, $5,812. Swine, 17,690; value, $88,450.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $226,825; poultry and eggs sold, $26,445; wool clip, $6,055 (1896); cheese, $582; butter, $19,959; garden products marketed, $1,230; horticultural products marketed, $1,030; honey and beeswax, $564.

Fruit trees in bearing: 72,815 apple; 845 pear; 29,245 peach; 4,925 plum, and 15,985 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 24,485 apple; 610 pear; 6,965 peach; 1,250 plum, and 2,310 cherry. There were 53 acres in berries.

“A drive through the country at this time cannot but impress one with the wonderful beauty of the Woodson county prairies. A view from an elevation through the clear air of an early morning is magnificent, and affords a pastoral scene of unexampled loveliness. The writer knows of hundreds of beautiful farmsteads with full equipment of orchard and shade trees that eight or ten years ago were unbroken prairie.

“But what Woodson county needs is more people. Her farms are too large. Too much of her area is devoted to pasture or grass land. More acres should be in cultivation; more acres planted to orchard, more acres to tame grasses — in fact more intense utilization of the properties of the soil. With an area of 504 square miles it has less than nineteen persons to the square mile. Hundreds of families could find homes in Woodson county and with a little capital to start with or continued sacrifice without capital could create valuable farms from the cheap prairie lands.

“The Advocate would like to see more people located here; more stock raised; more dairying carried on; more small fruit cultivated, to the end that the material wealth of the county may be developed and utilized.”— The Farmers' Advocate, Yates Center, Woodson Co., June 3, 1898.

“Woodson county is 102 miles southwest of Kansas City, the second stock market and packing center of the world, thus giving a near-by market for cattle, hogs and everything raised upon the farm. Taking into consideration the cheapness and fertility of the soil and the abundance of water in the numerous streams which course through it, it is one of the best stock raising and agricultural counties in the state. The soil is well adapted for the growth of all the tame grasses and the prairie grasses never fail. Corn is the staple crop, and all small grains do well, the yield of corn, oats, wheat, rye and other grain comparing favorably, as the government statistics show, to the older states, such as Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, where land brings from $60 to $120 per acre, while in Woodson county it can be had from $10 to $30. Hogs, cattle, horses and mules raised on the $20 land of Woodson county bring as much as those of Illinois or Indiana raised on $80 land—and the same is true of all other farm products.”—News, Yates Center, Woodson Co., May 20, 1898.

WYANDOTTE COUNTY.

Situated on the eastern border, at the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers. Area, 153 square miles; population, 59,479, Wyandotte county being the first county in Kansas in this particular. The principal cities and towns on the line of the Santa Fe Route are Kansas City (a separate corporation from Kansas City, Mo.), population 41,150; and Argentine, 5,908. This city contains extensive shops, and is the rolling-stock headquarters of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe system. It also contains one of the largest silver, lead and gold smelters in the world.

Surface undulating, with high bluffs along the Missouri and the south

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bank of the Kansas Rivers. Bottom lands vary from one to two miles in width, and constitute 20 per cent of the total area. There is considerable timber in all sections except the northern. The belts along the streams average two miles in width. Springs abound, and good well-water is found at an average depth of 35 feet.

Several varieties of limestone, and sandstone cement rock, and fire-clay are found in abundance. Also, another clay from which aluminum is successfully made on a large scale. Mineral springs of valuable medicinal properties have been discovered at several points, and there are indications of the development of coal mining.

STATISTICS FOR 1897.

Winter wheat, 5,078 acres; 96,482 bushels; value. $77,185.
Corn, 15,820 acres; 490,420 bushels; value, $112,796.
Oats, 2,951 acres; 76,726 bushels; value, $17,646.
Irish potatoes, 7,610 acres; 631,630 bushels; value. $290,549.
Sweet potatoes, 235 acres; 19,505 bushels; value, $8,777.
Sorghum, 57 acres; value, $859.

Timothy, 2,123 acres; clover, 3,345 acres; blue grass, 6,406 acres; alfalfa, 79 acres; other tame grasses, 531 acres. Total tame hay, 3,894 tons (1896); value, $14,602 (1896).

Horses, 3,391; value, $118,685. Mules and asses, 668; value, $26,720. Milch cows, 2,538; value, $81,216. Other cattle, 3,805; value, $83,710. Sheep, 1,980; value, $5,445. Swine, 10,973; value, $54,865.

Value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $105,175; poultry and eggs sold, $18,358; cheese, $3,160; butter, $11.218; milk sold, $46,926; garden products marketed, $126,264; horticultural products marketed. $121,336; wine manufactured, $9,103.

Fruit trees in bearing: 112,541 apple; 1,490 pear; 24,068 peach; 9,355 plum, and 10,944 cherry.

Fruit trees not in bearing: 79,903 apple; 49,670 pear; 25,127 peach; 10,944 plum, and 17,235 cherry. There were 1,148 acres in berries.

“Although the smallest county in the state, Wyandotte is the banner fruit and potato county in sunny Kansas. A large portion of the land along the Kaw River is broken and hilly and ten years ago it was counted good for nothing but pasture; but to-day it is being bought up by horticulturists from many of the older states.

“Some eight years ago an old Quaker friend of the writer’s from Indiana purchased forty acres of this broken land among the jack-oak bushes about four miles from Argentine and paid for the land by cutting the poles and hauling them to the city for firewood. He came here in a covered wagon, with a Bonaparte team and a tar bucket dangling from the coupling pole, and to-day he owns a 40-acre fruit farm for which he has refused $10,000 cash and also has a good fat bank account. This man is a hustler, and God helps those who try to help themselves. Every one of his forty acres is in fruit— his strawberries are the earliest, his grapes the sweetest, his peaches the largest, his cherries the reddest, his pears the juiciest and his maiden blush apples are the color of old-fashioned roses.

“But there are others!

“Twelve years ago corn was the principal product along the river, and to-day there is not five acres of corn raised in the Kaw valley from Argentine to Holliday.

“Potatoes! “Potatoes!! POTATOES!!!

“They are planted earlier and mature quicker in the Kaw valley than any place on earth. In many instances during the past eight years, renters in the bottoms have put out a good crop of potatoes and purchased the farms with the single crop paying $50, and frequently as high as $100 per acre.

“Argentine is distinctly a laboring man’s town where the dinner pail brigade answers the steam bugle call at 7 a. m., but the fruit and potatoes in the country are adding to her prestige abroad. In less than two months buyers from the east will be on hand as usual bartering for the crops in Wyandotte county, and the local markets of Kansas City and Argentine are unsurpassed.” —Argentine Republican. Wyandotte Co..May 12, 1898

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LAY OF THE KANSAS HEN.

We have read of Maud on a summer day,
Who raked, barefooted, the new mown hay;
We have read of the maid in the early morn,
Who milked the cow with the crumpled horn;
And we’ve read the lays that the poets sing,
Of the rustling corn and the flowers of spring;
But of all the lays of tongue or pen,
There’s naught like the lay of the Kansas hen.
Long, long before Maud rakes her hay,
The Kansas hen has begun to lay,
And ere the milkmaid stirs a peg,
The hen is up and has dropped her egg;
The corn must rustle and flowers spring If they hold their own with the barn-yard ring.
If Maud is needing a hat and gown,
She doesn’t hustle her hay to town,
But goes to the store and obtains her suit With a basketful of her fresh hen fruit;
If the milkmaid’s beau makes a Sunday call,
She doesn’t feed him on milk at all,
But works up eggs in a custard pie And stuffs him full of a chicken fry;
And when the old man wants a horn,
Does he take the druggist a load of corn?
Not much! He simply robs a nest,
And to town he goes—you know the rest.
He hangs around with the cliques and rings,
And talks of politics and things,
While his poor wife stays at home and scowls,
But is saved from want by those selfsame fowls;
For, while her husband lingers there,
She watches the cackling hens with care,
And gathers eggs, and the eggs she’ll hide,
Till she saves enough to stem the tide.
Then hail, all hail, to the Kansas hen,
The greatest blessing of all to men!
Throw up your hats and emit a howl
For the persevering barn-yard fowl!
Corn may be king, but it’s plainly seen,
The Kansas hen is the Kansas queen.
A. A. Rowley, in the Topeka “ Mail and Breeze"
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KANSAS SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND CHURCHES.

Number of children of school ages................................. 495,250
Amount expended for school purposes...............................$4,407,446
Estimated value of school property................................$9,395,231
Bonded indebtedness of school districts...........................$3,372,163
Number of teachers employed....................................... 11,616

The number of schools (including those in towns, cities and country districts, but not including colleges, universities or private institutions of learning) located in Kansas counties traversed by the A., T. & S. F. Ry. is 5,280, divided as follows:

Allen, 81; Anderson, 97; Atchison, 84; Barton, 99; Butler, 165; Barber, 92; Cowley, 153; Comanche, 40; Clark, 38; Chautauqua, 99; Crawford, 124; Coffey, 99; Chase, 66; Cloud, 113; Douglas, 87; Dickinson, 127; Edwards, 43; Ellsworth, 76; Elk, 90; Finney, 40; Ford, 59; Franklin, 101; Greenwood, 114; Hamilton, 17; Harvey, 75; Hodgeman, 47; Harper, 84; Jewell, 163; Jefferson, 100; Johnson, 97; Kearny, 19; Kingman, 95; Kiowa, 44; Leavenworth, 79; Lyon, 113; Lane, 46; Marion, 122; McPherson, 121; Montgomery, 109; Ness, 74; Neosho, 101; Ottawa, 98; Osage, 119; Pawnee, 64; Pratt, 77; Reno, 158; Rice, 100; Rush, 69; Republic, 125; Shawnee, 104; Saline, 90; Stafford, 89; Scott, 30; Sumner, 190; Sedgwick, 165; Woodson, 69; Wabaunsee, 88; Wyandotte, 42.

The following statistics regarding Kansas universities, colleges and academies located on or closely adjacent to the A., T. & S. F. Ry. are compiled from reports of June 30, 1896: University of Kansas, Lawrence, 1,000 students; State Agricultural College, Manhattan, 647; State Normal School, Emporia, 1,745; Baker University, Baldwin, 840; Bethany College, Lindsborg, 437; College of Emporia, Emporia, 121; College of Sisters of Bethany, Topeka, 220; Cooper Memorial College, Sterling, 143; Enterprise Normal Academy, Enterprise, 53; Fairmount College, Wichita, 107; Kansas Wesleyan University, Salina, 420; Lane University, Lecompton, 157; Lewis Academy, Wichita, 201; McPherson College, McPherson, 243; Midland College. Atchison, 119; Ottawa University, Ottawa, 225; St. Benedict’s College, Atchison, 152; St. John’s Military School, Salina, 41; St. Mary’s Academy, Leavenworth, 60; Soule College, Dodge City, 122; Southern Kansas Academy, Eureka, 65; Southwest Kansas College, Winfield, 248; Washburn College, Topeka, 214; Bethel College, Newton, 85; Central Normal College, Great Bend; 'Harper Normal School, Harper, 42.

The number of church organizations in Kansas counties along line of A., T. & S. F. Ry. aggregates 2,183, divided as follows} Allen, 38; Anderson, 51; Atchison, 46; Barton, 31; Butler, 56; Barber, 19; Cowley, 78; Comanche, 9; Clark, 7; Chautauqua, 31; Crawford, 61; Coffey, 52; Chase, 30; Cloud, 36; Douglas, 54; Dickinson, 66; Edwards, 15; Ellsworth, 31; Elk, 29; Finney, 14; Ford, 15; Franklin, 55; Greenwood, 49; Hamilton, 19; Harvey, 41; Hodgeman, 16; Harper, 29; Jewell, 41; Jefferson, 49; Johnson, 45; Kearny, 6; Kingman, 29; Kiowa, 25; Leavenworth, 45; Lyon, 55; Lane, 8; Marion, 31; McPherson, 36; Montgomery, 51; Ness, 14; Neosho, 47; Ottawa, 27; Osage, 54; Pawnee, 13; Pratt, 21; Reno, 67; Rice, 45; Rush, 13; Republic, 45; Shawnee, 85; Saline, 32; Stafford. 19; Scott. 3; Sumner, 72; Sedgwick, 85; Woodson, 30; Wabaunsee, 26; Wyandotte, 86.
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OKLAHOMA.

The “boomer” on the southern border of Kansas evolved Oklahoma. At first it was an annex to Kansas; it was a branch establishment. Now the population is about equally composed of north and south, east and west; but the “formerly of Kansas” man is still largely in evidence. Thus it is fitting, in a book devoted to Kansas, to briefly mention Oklahoma.

It produces cotton equal in fiber and weight to that of Texas, and grows as good corn as Kansas does, with favorable rains. Cattle find excellent grazing grounds on the western plateaux. The apples have the tint and size and flavor of the apples of the Ozarks; the peaches grown here are as delicious as California’s best; the wheat has a firm berry, and melons mature as rapidly and have as exquisite a flavor as the noted Georgia product.

Farmers who came here five years ago practically penniless now have valuable possessions earning a big per cent, on the investment. Almost fabulous stories of rich yields may be found printed as everyday news in nearly every issue of the Oklahoma papers.

Less than a decade ago the Indian ruled here. That was about all he did. His careless attempts at farming disclosed the richness of the soil and the excellence of the climate. As fast as he was driven out and obliged to take his land in severalty there sprang up a succession of farms and ranches, villages and cities, bewildering in extent. Everything was new. It was a great chance for the man with a plow and a pair of mules. That man to-day has several mule teams and hires men to drive them, and has money in the bank. He is a capitalist in a small way. Notwithstanding hard times and one year of discouraging drouth, Oklahoma has prospered as a child of Kansas ought to, and to-day it stands in line with Kansas and Texas, welcoming the homeseeker.

The territory is rapidly filling up; but there is yet room for many thousands of settlers. In the longer settled portions the bulk of the lands have been entered under homestead laws. There are many large tracts in the western section not pre-empted. The common plan is to buy out the holder of a claim. The owner may sell for a song, if tired of civilization; in any event, the prices are not exorbitant. A good quarter-section claim, reasonably near a shipping point, with sod broken, and a part of the land fenced, may be bought for $300 to $700. Improved farms, in rich and populous counties, are worth $2,000 to $7,000 for each 160 acres. Raw land in the “Strip,” or along the Panhandle, or in the southwestern counties, brings from $1.50 to $3 per acre. It is reasonable to assume that prices will never again be as low as now.

Oklahoma is both an agricultural and a stock-raising country. The stock ranges are mainly confined to the western part, where the prairie is thickly carpeted with blue stem, grama and buffalo grass. Immense herds of cattle are also grazed on contiguous Indian reservations, and fattened for market with Oklahoma and Kansas corn.

It is a fine winter wheat country. Flour made from Oklahoma wheat took the blue ribbon at the World’s Fair. In the western counties—the semi-arid section—kaffir corn is grown for both feed and flour. Cotton thrives luxuriantly on the warm, red, sandy soil of central and southern Oklahoma, and is extensively raised. The handling of cotton employs considerable labor.

It is the home of all kinds of temperate zone fruits. The only drawback thus far is the problem of marketing the fruit quickly and profitably—a question that all horticultural countries have to solve.

All kinds of live stock flourish here. The winters are short. If animals are protected from occasional “northers” they can be carried through in good condition and at little expense.

The eastern portion is thickly wooded and there are coal beds near by in the Indian Territory. Building rock is plentiful in several counties. Mineral deposits are being prospected and developed, Salt is known to exist in large quantities,

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The climate is agreeable. While it is true that warm weather begins early and stays until late in the fall, constant breezes serve to mitigate the effect of the sun’s rays and the nights are quite comfortable.

The rainfall is heavier in the southern and eastern sections than in the northern and western. In Oklahoma county (south central) the rainfall in 1897 was nearly 33 inches, and in 1892 it was as much as 42 inches. Barring the western semi-arid belt, the rainfall is well distributed throughout the year, and can be reasonably depended upon during the growing season. There has only been one severe drouth since the country was opened, and previous to that time only one drouth in two decades.

Detailed crop statistics are not available. It can be stated that Oklahoma contains nearly 22,000,000 acres of land, mainly composed of rolling prairie, interspersed with rich river bottoms and a few hilly districts. The bulk of this imperial domain is easily susceptible of cultivation or is adapted to grazing. The principal streams are the Arkansas, Cimmaron and Canadian, with their numerous tributaries. Living springs are abundant, and well water is reached not far from the surface. Water is more plentiful than is commonly supposed.

The present population is not far from 300,000. The most thickly settled communities are on and near the Gulf line of the A. T. & S. F. Ry., which bisects the territory from north to south. Oklahoma City, Guthrie, Perry, Ponca City, Norman, Newkirk and Edmond are the principal towns on this part of the line. Guthrie is the capital of the Territory. Alva and Woodward are the chief towns on the Panhandle branch of the A. T. & S. F. Ry., which traverses the cattle ranges of the northwestern section of Oklahoma. These towns vary in population from 1,500 to 12,000.

The public school system of Oklahoma, like that of Kansas, is the pride of her people. It is ably supplemented by a state university at Norman, a normal school at Edmond and an agricultural college at Stillwater.

There are good openings at several stations on the A. T & S. F. Ry. in Oklahoma for the establishment of flouring mills, ice plants, planing mills, box factories, cotton gins, creameries and other like enterprises.

Differing from most new countries, it possessed a good system of transportation before an acre of ground had been broken, and as an Oklahoma pioneer one may begin with railroads, schools, churches, daily papers and all other aids to comfort already established. The Santa Fe runs its Texas passenger and freight trains through the heart of Oklahoma, affording satisfactory service and rates. Other roads tap other parts of the Territory.

‘‘What is true of South Kansas is, generally speaking, true of Oklahoma. South Kansas and Oklahoma are one in climate and in soil, in products and in prosperity. Klondike nor California, the unending winters of the Dakotas and of the northwest, nor the countries of continuous heat of the far south, for permanent homes, health and happiness, are to be thought of on the same day with South Kansas and Oklahoma. All that these sections lack of being the wealthiest and most desirable home domains, of being constituent empires of material, industrial and commercial power, is the addition of a sufficient number of inhabitants to occupy and fully utilize their numerous natural advantages. For every farmer and live stock raiser that we have now there is room and opportunity for another. No lands of equal productiveness and of advantageous environment, in the world, are as cheap. What is true of the lack of men to occupy, to cultivate and to prosper in the country is true of the want of men in the towns. Double the number of each and the importance and value of the whole is quadrupled.”—Wichita (Kansas) Daily Eagle.

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ARKANSAS VALLEY OF COLORADO.

In this term is included a region nearly two hundred miles in length, extending westward from the Kansas-Colorado state line to Canon City, Colorado. The altitude varies from 5,268 feet at Canon City to 3,450 feet at Holly. The soil is a sandy loam, of great depth. There is practically no timber. The river lies out under the open sky, with wide views on either hand.

Before the railroad came the valley was sparsely settled by a few cattlemen and ranchers. To-day the traveler sees broad ribbons of green and gold pushing in upon the brown buffalo grass. The green is mainly alfalfa; the gold is ripening wheat or yellowing corn. Every few miles there is a flourishing town or village. Pueblo is an important manufacturing and commercial city and La Junta is a railroad division point.

This change from barrenness to plenty has mainly occurred within the last five years and rests on two things—mines in the mountains and water in the river. Mines and railroads are responsible for Pueblo, a city of 35,000 inhabitants. Water is the basis of La Junta, Lamar, Holly, Las Animas, Rocky Ford and other growing towns in that vicinity—not in the sense that the Arkansas River is here navigable, but because it furnishes an abundance of water (heavily surcharged with soil-building and crop-fertilizing-materials) that can be easily and economically applied to growing crops.

Given a rich soil and favorable climate, the only other requisite for the successful production of crops is a sufficient supply of water at the right time. Irrigation permits the agriculturist to turn on moisture as conveniently as the city man operates a lawn hose. Farming is thus made an exact science.

There are to-day in the counties of Fremont, Pueblo, Otero, Bent and Prowers 650,000 acres under irrigating ditches, and of that number fully 365,000 acres are cultivated. Adjoining is found several millions acres of free grazing land. It is estimated that canal enterprises now projected will put nearly a million acres under irrigation in these five counties by the year 1901. The canals not only water the bottoms but wind in and out among the table lands. If supplemented by a system of storage reservoirs, there is hardly a limit to the irrigation possibilities here.

Irrigation enables a man to earn as much on twenty acres in Colorado as could be netted from one hundred and sixty acres back east. That this is so the following facts, culled from many others of a similar nature, testify:
B. F. Rockafellow’s orchard of 72 acres near Canon City will yield this year 10,000 barrels of apples. From a 10-acre orchard in Fremont county $7,000 worth of apples were gathered last year. Another orchard, seven times as large, will produce 11,000 barrels of delicious apples this season. Sixteen cherry trees yielded $170 net for their fortunate owner in 1897. Canon City alone markets about 15,000 crates of strawberries annually, while the grape product for 1898 is estimated at 60,000 baskets; the fruit growers here received $160,000 for their fruit crop last year. When the 20,000 acres planted to fruit up and down the Arkansas valley all comes into full bearing the resultant wealth will be gratifying. Orchards give fair returns after the fifth year, and apples come into full bearing seven years sooner than in the Missouri valley. Only one failure in fruit is recorded here during 25 years. Fruit is all right as a money-maker.

The main acreage is in fodder crops, alfalfa leading. The yield of alfalfa is said to be never less than three tons per acre; it is often six tons and is worth $3.50 to $5 per ton.

All vegetables do well. The marketing of 100 tons of tomatoes from 13 acres at a profit of $1,000 is not uncommon, the product being absorbed by local canning factories. But the spectacular crops worth in advertising many times their actual cash value, are watermelons and canteloupes. Rocky Ford is the king of the melon district. A “Watermelon Day” show is held here every Twelve thousand tons of watermelons were shipped last year from 500 acres in this neighborhood; and 600 acres of canteloupes netted $100 per

93

acre. Several hundred carloads have been contracted for this year. Honey is also an important product. The bees feed on alfalfa, and the honey has a delicate flavor and color. The 1898 yield may reach half a million pounds.

There are 150,000 head of sheep in Otero county and 50,000 in Bent county. The first-named county also has 75,000 head of cattle, while Bent shows up with an equal number. Prowers is also largely stocked with sheep, cattle and hogs. In summer the herds and flocks wander over the prairies, feeding on the succulent native grasses; in winter they are rounded up and fattened in the alfalfa pastures.

In Pueblo and Fremont counties there are extensive and profitable beds of coal and marble; also large deposits of petroleum.

Good unimproved land, with water rights, commands $30 to $100 per acre. Bearing orchards bring as much as $400 an acre. These prices are not exorbitant when it is remembered that the average yield of apples is 300 barrels per acre, of wheat 35 bushels per acre, and of oats 50 bushels—and that two crops of melons usually pay for the land.

It is estimated that there are now 100,000 persons living in the Arkansas valley of eastern Colorado, one-tliird of the number being on farms and stock ranches. This population is being rapidly added to.

The climate is favorable; winters comparatively short: a large proportion of sunshiny days permitting of work outdoors nearly all the year. While the price of land is greater than in non-irrigated districts, a comparatively few acres will suffice, and the total investment is not burdensome. Owners of large tracts are subdividing them and offering favorable terms to actual settlers. The idea is to encourage moderate holdings.

A man possessing a little ready cash, good health and the capacity for hard work intelligently ordered, together with the love of an outdoor life and some knowledge of the raising of fruits and grains, ought to acquire a competence in the Arkansas valley of Colorado. The shiftless man will not succeed anywhere.
Outline Map of Kansas.
Including Counties, County Seats and Lines of the SANTA FE ROUTE.
St. Francis
CHEYENNE
Atwood
RAWLINS
Oberlin
DECATUR
Norton
NORTON
PHILLIPS
Phillipsburg
Smith Center
SMITH
Mankato
JEWELL

REPUBLIC
Belleville
Washington
WASHINGTON
Marysville
MARSHALL
Seneca
NEMAHA
Hiawatha
BROWN
DONlPHAN
Troy
Sherman
Goodland
Colby
Thomas

Hoxie
SHERlDAN
Hill City
GRAHAM
Stockton
ROOKS
Osborne
OSBORNE
Beloit
Mitchell
Concordia
CLOUD
CLAY
Clay Center
Riley
Manhattan

POTTAWATOMlE
Westmoreland
Holton
JACKSON
Atchison
ATCHISON
Jefferson
Oskaloosa
Leavenworth
Leavenworth
WYANDOTTE
Kansas City
Olathe
JOHNSON
Lawrence
DOUGLAS
Shawnee
Topeka
Alma
Wabaunsee
Junction City
GEARY
Abilene
DICKINSON
OTTAWA
Minneapolis
LINCOLN
Lincoln
RUSSELL
Russell
ELLIS
Hays
Wakeeneny
TREGO
Gove
GOVE
Russell Springs
L0GAN
WALLACE
Sharon Springs
GREELEY
Tribune
WICHITA
Wichita
Scott
SCOTT
LANE
Dighton
NESS
Ness City
Rush
LaCrosse
Barton
Great Bend

ELLSWORTH
Ellsworth
Salina
SALINE
Lyons
Rice
McPHERSON
McPherson
MARION
Marion
MORRIS
Council Grove
Cottonwood Falls
CHASE
LYON
Emporia
OSAGE
Lyndon

Ottawa
FRANLIN

Paola
MIAMI
LINN
Mound City
Garnett
Atchison
Coffey
Burlington
Ft. Scott
BOURBON
Iola
ALLEN
Yates Center
WOODSON
Girard
CRAWFORD
Erie
NEOSHO
Columbus
CHEROKEE
LABETTE
Oswego
Independence
MONTGOMERY
Fredonia
WILSON
CHAUTAUQUA
Sedan
Howard
E LK
Eureka
GREENWOOD
El Dorado
Butler
Newton
HARVEY
Hutchinson
RENO
Wichita
SEDGWICK
KINGMAN
Kingman
Stafford
St John
Winfield
COWLEY
Wellington
SUMNER
Anthony
Harper
Medicine Lodge
BARBER
Coldwater
Comanche

Pratt
PRATT
Larned
Pawnee
Greensburg
KIOWA
Kinsley
Edwards
Jetmore
HODGEMAN
Dodge City
Ford
Ashland
Clark
Meade
MEADE
Cimarron
GRAY
FINNEY
Garden City
Santa Fe
HASKELL
SEWARD
Liberal
Kearney
Lakin
Hamilton
Syracuse
Johnson
STANTON
Ulysses
GRANT
Hugoton
STEVENS
Richfield
Morton
EXPLANATION :
Creameries
Skimming Stations
Cheese Factories
Skimming Stations and Cheese Factories
Creameries and Cheese Factories
Creameries and Skimming Stations
No Dairy Industries here
Comin’ Back to Kansas...................................................... 3
More Trouble for Kansas.................................................... 4
Replies of Prominent Kansans :
J. W. Leedy, Governor................................................ 5
E. N. Morrill, Ex-Governor.........................................5, 6, 7
L. D. Lewelling, Ex-Governor.......................................7, 8, 9
John P. St. John, Ex-Governor.................................9, 10, 11
Geo. W. Glick, Ex-Governor........................................... 11
Sam’l J. Crawford, Ex-Governor...................................... 12
Lyman U. Humphrey, Ex-Governor.....................................12. 13
J no. W. Breidenthal, Bank Commissioner.......................13, 14, 15
F. D. Coburn, Secretary of Agriculture............................15, 16
Capt. John H. Churchill, Stock Grower..............................16, 17
J. E. Nissley, Sec’y National Creamery & Buttermakers’ Association. 18
Kansas Agriculturally in 1897.............................................. 20
Ten Years of Kansas Agriculture..........................................21, 22
Over There in Kansas .................................................... 23

KANSAS COUNTIES ON THE SANTA FE :

PAGE.
Allen...................... 24, 25
Anderson........................25, 26
Atchison........................ 27
Barber..........................27, 28
Barton..........................28, 29
Butler ..................29, 30, 31
Chase.........................._31, 32
Chautauqua ..................32, 33
Clark........................33, 34
Cloud.......................... 34
Coffey___.................. 35, 36
Comanche........................34, 35
Cowley.......................36, 37
Crawford................... 39, 40
Dickinson....................38, 39
Douglas.................... 40, 41
Edwards.................... 41, 42
Elk...................... 42, 43
Ellsworth...................... 43
Finney..................... 43, 44
Ford.........................45, 46
Franklin..................... 46
Gray........................... 47
Greenwood.......................47, 48
Hamilton ................48, 49, 50
Harper......................... 50
Harvey................... 50, 51
Hodgeman................... 51, 52
Jefferson ...................52, 53
Johnson......................53, 54
PAGE.
Kearny....................... 54, 55
Kingman..................55, 56, 57
Kiowa........................ 57
Lane.........................57, 58
Leavenworth................. 58
Lyon .......................... 59
McPherson....................... 60
Marion.......................60, 61
Montgomery...............6l, 62, 63
Neosho...................... 63, G4
Ness........................64, 65
Osage.......................65, 66
Ottawa.................._66, 67, 68
Pawmee...................68, 69, 70
Pratt........................... 70
Reno.....................71, 72, 73
Republic................... 73, 74
Rice.........................74, 75
Rush.........................75, 76
Saline.................... 76, 77
Scott................... 78, 79
Sedgwick ................. 77, 78
Shawnee................. 79, 80, 81
Stafford.....................81, 82
Sumner .....................82, 83
Wabaunsee................. 83, 84
Wilson.......................84, 85
Woodson......................85, 86
Wyandotte...................86, 87
Lay of the Kansas Hen.................................................... 88
Kansas Schools, Colleges, and Churches................................... 89
Oklahoma..................................................................90, 91
Arkansas Valley of Colorado..............................................92, 93
Map of Kansas Counties................................................... 94
Dairy Map of Kansas...................................................... 95