Show RAILROAD OFFICIAL TALKS ABOUT FARMING the gentleman remarks are later esting go but do cot not apply to all section of ake west G W martin general freight and passenger agent for the rock laland island at it colorado lap princa pr inRa in a lent speech showing the rapid development of the intermountain west said I tho its in tho west are in choir tb ir li tifaney dancy many passed through this country only a few low years ago when hardly a corn torn field or ore a wheat field was tobe to bo seen the native sod was practically unbroken and at tha time it ww 1 stock grazing pur purposed posea po s C 0 now let lot Us compare the condition conditions existing prior to tho the advent of the rait raila road and the farmer and these ex existing isLing today the cattlemen claim it takes 20 acres of our native pasture io to feed and keep a steer in good condition conditi further it takes three years to perfect a steer for the market the value of the steer when ready for the market is GO 60 which would equal 1 per acre per year revenue from the land when it was wa used for grazing purposes only this year your wheat creps have averaged about 15 bashela per acre which at ita its present value of 1 I a bushel gives a gross revenue yield of say 15 an acre assuming the average revenue of other crops will be equal in value 0 to your wheat v heat crop which I 1 think is a reasonable assumption S ou get a gross r revenue v denue iron from sour 5 our lands of 15 V an acre as against 1 per acre before the ad vent of the railroad and the farmer before the native eod sod was broken your lands were wort worth op on an au average of from 2 to 3 per aure re now their range from 10 to 30 per acre with every project of increased value as the is further de ve loped by this comparison it is not my purpose to discourage stock rai raiding qing on the contrary thi thu important feature should bo ando a part of the farming problem not based on 20 acres to one steer but rather 20 steers to one acre or as near that ratio farming can make it in these comparisons there is to be considered a fact of still more import ance that of homes when this country is i fully developed ta ca it will be in time there will ill be or more hom homes es for every one that existed before the advent of the tho railroad find and the tamer |