Show WAND AND Of DRY fARMING TURNS SALT LIE LAKE COUNTY SAGEBRUSH PRAIRIE PIRI INTO A RICH GOLDEN COLDEN WHEAT NAT FIELD BY GEORGE W. W YEA WEAVER To transform tho lOlin rolling prairies from fron froma frona a sagebrush covered dej crl to a i waving wa golden profit yielding wheat field to chanc change the tho lonesome howl of or the thc cr ot to the protecting bark buk of th the farmers farmer's trust trusty watchdog o and the thc whirr of the rattlesnake to th tb tho buzz of the CI in ing machinery is s 's tho the dream of a 3 t number num nuu- ber her of enterprising farmers in jn the th southern south south- em ern part of Salt lt Lake hake county Their anticipations are arc In a fair way to be realized realised jud judging from tho results of their first year ye s a work Eight hundred hun hun- dred died acres of heretofore arid lands havo been forced by the aid of dry laud farming fanning to yield over lm hels of first class milling wheat The history of dry r farming fanning in this locality lo Jo- I is js a story tury of hard harel work workS hard barr luck I determination pluck a l continual 1 fight a against Hint obstacles obstacle and discouragement weather and poverty po but with a victory victor in sight t. t It wa was over oer ten years ago Ito when n those who were foremost in today today's s Iry In farm farmin farming ing in success began the tho struggle against t tho arid land b. uv by entering tho th barren tract lying ling tho Utah tab and Salt Lake Lak canal and the Oquirrh mountains in quarter sections under the homestead act ad from Uncle Sam At that time tim man many of them lived in dugouts and to fulfill fulfil their contract with tho government o All 11 of them have ha known what t it is s to ha have e a Hm limited amount I moun t nf of food on hand baud and md little prospects of cf an more To ro live Jive meant hard bard work in the neighboring neighboring neigh neigh- borin boring settlements luring during the tho farming months antI and frugality frugally during the remainder remainder re re- of the tho year year became the general general gen ten eral order of things In this way they struggled d on for two or three years and bj- bj dint of sacrifice and economy one ono or two of them m had saved enough to j I ground would nouM hold hoM enough moisture to toI I I mature Ji a l crop not nol sown Iown heavier ier than i forty ronn Bounds s to iho acre bettor better than it if the grain was sown heavier pr I When the last 13 quarter section was fin- fin th tim tho promoters and workers TS drew drewa a deep drep rel sigh of relief anil like tb the tired tire and ROIl waited for or the result re re- re- re I. I suit sult of or their labors Thi heavy Y fall r rains in come came nn and started I the tho wheat growing growing and anil everything e looked bright ht Bv Ry midwinter a a n- great reat deal of the tho crop had boon k killed h by the i intermittent thaws and hard frosts but bitt I when hn the tho warm winds anti and rains of spring camo caine it was found that a fair nir I had been saved sn I II Despite DI pit tho heavy hea of the I jack rabbits upon the tho outer edges Cl s of the fields firMs the grain train soon grow grew into a be beautiful Ulti fit ful green groon ina macs s waving wain in the tho win wind When it hail had attained a bei height ht of tf about thirty inches it bf began bogan an to head had out ant in a away way s-ns n that made the tho farmers farmers' hearts glad la anti and was gradually h n d to a deep golden area HC of wheat by the hot sun of or orI July and InrI August u 1 t. t I S s Wonderful Machine I In the tile meantime mc the tho promoters had gained enough confidence in tho the proposition proposition to invest a n little more money Th The Tho most modern harvester ster and thresher was purchased at a cost COit of thon thousands of dollars which was used lI in in connection irm with ith their steam engine n ine and they wore were ready rf for or the tho e harvest t It was at the close of thi this that I 1 went at the special in invitation tation of Freeman Lloyd Llo to see sec the workings of the wonderful wonderful won wun- which gathered gath gath- mechanical monster ered credo threshed and sorted the tho grain all allin allin allin in ono one operation The station tation of m is' is reached bv by tho R. R 0 G. G W W. and md is about eighteen l miles nilles from Salt Lake City A er very A. A Y S w T ry i r 11 4 to c t S S S S 4 JACK RABBITS USED TO PLAY 1 IN SAGEBRUSH WHERE THIS MACHINE THRESHED WHEAT THIS WEEK do a little liWo experimental dry farming Alas their efforts were not not well re rc- rc warded First Discouragement The Tho grain was planted in the fall and I came up tip well nell under un er the autumn rains rains but an nit unusually hard winter killed a t large amount of it In the tho spring the jack rabbits ell pl havoc oc with it and the tIme hot sun of luno uno an and July Jul coupled with no rain made mado what remained a n dismal failure Nothing daunt daunted cd the they tried n again ain tho t following Year jear using the thc experience they had gained in the tho former fonner one oue but success did not crown their efforts Torts Some two years afterwards s one dry arr farmer disco discovered red that by plou ploughing hing the ground round deep ono year and letting it la lay Idle lle ann and ab absorb orb al all the moisture until the following fall and then Ulen plough it again n nto to about the same depth it would hold enough h moisture to mature a small crop All the owners of the prairie however howe ero ero handicapped for funds and it was easily figured out that no horse power coul could 1 produce tho the desired results and to operate an any other kind would involve the expenditure of several thousand dol dol- lars And Ancl so 50 the tho matter rested until somewhere some where in the semi arid lands lauds of th the middle maiddie mid maid dIe dle west scientists discovered disco and matured ma mn- tar tar-ed a hardy kind of wheat that would stand tand both drought and cold cod and by bJ a l certain system of or cultivation mature a good crop crop About the 6 sam time tho the steam plough plou b. b ea sagebrush grubber and steam thresher were ere invented iD implements implements ments revolutionized dr dry farming operations operations opera opera- and mado made possible tho cultivation on of theretofore barren lands This good news was sent Bent all over Or the tho world printed in all the nc news s and farm pap papers rs and it was as only onla a question of a n. short time until it reached the patient dry dr farmers at Riverton Ri in southern Salt Lake count county They Got Together Freeman Lloyd o oua of the tho dr dry laud land pioneers of this place was no doubt the first man to start things going A car care care- ful reader cloo ob observer eT er an and a deep thinker bo ho had eagerly devoured our every every- everything thing pertaining to dry farming n experiments ments meats and as lS a result had a n fund of pointers and results that was c convincing n What had been accomplished elsewhere S could be bo accomplished hed here at home he ho hoa a argued ed His explicit confidence in ill the thc theland theland land in in his neighborhood and in the tto success success suc sue cess of the thA project gained him many fol fol- fol lowers Jowers lIe Ho p put t all his time tune and energy into tho the proposition an and got got all all the thc section quarter owners interested sted A Amass mass meeting was called at which nearly Dead everyone e in the tho surrounding t set get settlements was present and tb the subject of having a modern dry farm Tho The result of oi tho the conference was that Thomas P P. Page Thomas Nichols Preman Pre Freer man Lloyd Henry Brown George W. W Bills and aud one ono or two two other influential residents of the the- neighborhood were appointed ap rap pointed as ns a committee to investigate in th the proposition position Jr and aud secure J financial 1 help Their success was astonishing and in ina in I I Ia Ia a Yer very er short time tho the Jordan ordan T aile Dry I Farming company compan compana was wa incorporated cl for or I The farmers put 1000 acres of I land into the Ow company compan valued at 7 7 an acre and anil the financiers furnished the I I rest of the capital I An order was immediately given for foran J I Im I an m immense steam engine and n a fur 20 I row plough With thi this outfit fifty acres a I. I day could ouM be le ploughed I I Troublesome Sagebrush I The day dav of its arrival nl was a time of much rejoicing cint in this community and j when wen in a day or two it was sas r ready for I I trial it its initial tri triES was witnessed t d' d bv by bundre hundreds There was wa only o one ouo o draw back the Ule ploughs would not out emit out the I I sagebrush Another nother delay dclay was t sarv arv while a grubbing machine hinc was pur pur- I I chased This implement when len secured scoured wn was was fastened rl in in th the front of the tho engine au and cut ut off oIT the brush at a regulated depth The harro barrows barrow s lo to lay Jay th the ground down lown even cn were wm fa fastened on behind the plough and everything e was ready for forthe forthe the operation After th the plough pitmen nail and harrow barrow a n hl hoc hav rake was wn taken over over o tIme till ground round gathering th the brush into windrows windrows wind wind- rows where it was WI burned In this manner acres were Wf cleared and aud made ready read for or planting b by the fall faU of 1907 A large number of teams were hired from the s surrounding in settlements and the tho grain sown o by by b. drills It hind hall been discovered by Lr this time tb that tho the I I pleasant half hour hours hour's 6 drive e pa past green grecu lucero lucern and gol golden cn groin gram fields an and prosperous prosperous pros pros- I looking farmhouses and across the two irrigation canals that have ha made mado the thc valley alley to blossom us as the tIme proverbial rose rosc bro brought mo me to the tIme edge of what was formerly known as the prairie This name can cart no longer be bo applied I I to this section of land Jand Hereafter it will vill ever vcr he be known as the dry liry farming farmin I district 1 paused on its threshold shod and marveled at tho changes in iu its outlines since I hunted jack rabbits there in mv youth Where were all 11 the tIme old landmarks landmarks land land- marks I had known so oO well wen l All had vanished and in their places was one field of bri bright bt yellow stubble almost as asfar asfar far as the eye O could reach Over 0 to the north the homo baton of Mr r. r Lloyd and aDd the immense barns harn erected by the company compan to house Its e expensive machinery loomed up lii against l the horizon I i Then He Dreamed Half way up Ull tho the field black smoke moke I was being belched out b by the horse 40 power steam monster and the whirr of tho thrashing machinery machiner came pleasantly pleasant pleasant- ly Jy to the ears on tho the autumn breeze For some time I stood there drinking in the landscape nail and conjuring in In amy 1113 mind what chat at the final re result of this enterPrise enterprise enter enter- I prise would be he I 1 saw sa the thc forty five I thousand acres in this tract of heretofore heretofore hereto hereto- fore barren land transformed into one fruitful field fiel of golden wheat To barvest harvest hare bar vest it would bo ho the work of a dozen machines liI like c the time one before me To hold tho time result would make malo hundreds of granaries groan oan and to turn it into time tho stair staff of life ife would mean meau the erection of several se flour Hour mills It would only onh he be natural for fur a community of this kind Ii to centralize in one spot t and and the net result of oi th this g would ouM be a n town to larger I than any aim in iu the county outside of Salt Lake City with schools churches iu industries industries indus indus- us tries and other evidences of the most advanced civilization ci and prosperity And then too the money money paid for th this s enormous quantity of gram grain n would finally find its way to Salt Lake and would woul add greatly to to that cit city city's s 's s finances How Big Machine Works My r- r re er was interrupted b by the toot toot of tho the which engine was coming steadily down the north stretch of the field A drive of ten minutes brought us Ug to together and Mr Ir Lloyd after af after ter giving the en engineer ineer the stop si signal a camo came down from front the tho machine and toward to to- ward me mc with outstretched han hand After Alter a a. short talk ho in invited ted mo me to I take taka a ri ride rido o on the won wonderful erful thrashing n machine and after niter I 1 was securely seated seated seat seal ed cd gave c a the start tart si signal nal to tho time engi engi- neer Instantly th the hugo huge engine with dr drive c wheels over cr three feet wide started started start start- ed cd steadily forward and all tho the machinery machin machin- cry ery was in motion The Time foot twenty swath sath of grain was run into the hun hungry r maw of oC the machine machino b by ba a system of can canvases canvases can can- vases running running over O wheels Here Herc it was thrashed in ill the rr regulation lation war vay the straw being dropped drooped out of the land from front the rear end ud of the machine machine ma- ma chine chiM and the golden grain being ele dc- dc j I ate to the tIme top where it poured in a aI steady stream into the two bushel sacks I I I I I I placed to receive c it After be being leing nJ sewed up by b an attendant attendant attend attend- ant tho tIme sacks were placed on a n chuto chute on the off side of the machine to ho bo carneil carried car car- neil ried to the lower er end od of the field Just Tutt to think of the old and new now methods of harvesting made ones one's head dizzy No 10 binding no rio shocking no noI hauling no stacking no laborious pitching pitch pitch- tug inS to the thresher r no unpleasant straw 1 stacking sucking amid amiel chaff and dust and md no back breaking carrying of grain to the tho blu All these operations were performed performed per per- formed by uy a machine of rare mechanical construction at tho the some same time thuc It was wasI truly wonderful We l were Wf nil fill of 1 twenty five minutes time the round and the making trip trill n were n almost through so n that hint mo one an c-an Tf readily see tec w-berc w a whole morning nt would bo lie lieS S in ill making a trip at the be be- I ginning It Tasted Good When th the f starting 5 was Tas gained I sampled the wheat in till limo toot good 0 oM oil fashioned ay by way by eating Rtin a handful handful- and atmil found it t ii to tn 1 be Ire a good hard rain After A tr climbing fifteen feet feel l k to tn earth t l had bad a 1 talk tatk with Hh Mr Ir Lloyd and antI he expressed himself about as ns follows fol foJ fol- fol lows 8 1 Oh Oh yes we tc re very fr ry well pleased with time tIle crop 11 Why hiv in sonic some places it I ran as high a as eighteen and twenty bu bushels bels to the aTe aero aud the average yield will b be bo about t twelve bushels to the time acre This is very ery goor good when ben eer every everything ever ever- timing thinS is taken into consideration in inexperience in- in t experience p weather and other things We Wo expect however howo to do much better J next year The company has invested in about in equipment and general lI fa fa- fa chilies el We h have hc c harvested har a n little littleover littleover over o bushels of gram grain which at atthe atthe the time market price will net us That isn isn't t so worse is it ill The average cost per acre will not exceed when we have everything c running smooth smoothly so you can n see sec e a n fair harvest will III yield the owners 0 a handsome |