They Called the Prairie Worthless. He Planted Wheat Anyway.

It has been the general opinion that the extensive prairies south of Tacoma, while presenting a beautiful and picturesque appearance, were unfit for agricultural purposes by reason of the gravelly nature of the soil.

S. C. Walker, government immigration inspector, conceived the idea last year of buying some of the lands and conducting agricultural experiments thereon. The results have been so marvelous that they are attracting considerable attention.

Western Land Agent Cooper, of the Northern Pacific Railway Company, from whom some of these lands were purchased by Mr. Walker, instructed A. B. Leckenby, the expert agriculturist in the employ of the Northern Pacific, to make an examination of the results obtained by Mr. Walker. The following is taken from Mr. Leckenby's report in the Tacoma Ledger:

"There is substantial evidence that at least some of the gravelly prairie land is capable of growing useful and profitable crops. S. C. Walker has a farm at Roy, in which he takes great pleasure and of which he is justly proud.

Last year he had a crop of bluestem wheat which yielded sixteen bushels an acre, sixty-four pounds to the bushel, No. 1 hard wheat.

The quality is faultless and the yield is good. Some of it was the first crop on the ground, while some had yielded a crop for four years.

The farm is a mile northwest of Roy in a grandly picturesque and inviting spot. Some of the land has a black sand on top, but all appears to be almost clear gravel near the surface, but that does not seem to retard the crop.

Mr. Walker has 300 acres of wheat in one field, presenting every indication that a larger yield will be obtained this year than last.

It is the finest, most uniform field of wheat I have seen for years. The blades are three to four inches high, dark green, strong and vigorous. About eighty acres of that wheat is seeded with clover and timothy, which could not be better if made to order.

Let those who are interested, or think the statement overdrawn, visit the spot.

This land needs thoughtful culture to make it improve. Careless farming will injure it more than most other lands. There is no country more inviting for residence. Its permanent natural beauty, healthfulness and freedom from mud are great inducements for home-builders.

It is not likely that all the land is equally good, while some is probably better; yet it is my opinion that all or nearly all will respond to proper treatment and make a delightful country for a large population.

If some winter-growing legume is planted that will grow during the moist, cool weather, subsisting, as they do, principally upon air and water, they will build up the land until it will become very productive. There is a reason why Mr. Walker succeeds and others fail, and I think it is very easy to ascertain the cause in both cases.

One thing Mr. Walker has done that is different from those who have failed, he has prepared a fine seed-bed which has retained the plant food prepared by the action of air on that from which plant food is supplied, the same operates to conserve moisture when most needed. If Mr. Walker had used the Campbell sub-soil packer, after plowing, the improvements would have been more marked and risk of loss by crop failure lessened.

Mr. Walker plants his wheat in the fall, using a variety that matures early, so that his crop is ready for harvesting early in the summer, before the dry season has set in. Spring wheat would undoubtedly be a failure on lands of this character for lack of sufficient moisture to mature the crop.

The conversion of the thousands of acres of gravelly prairies in Pierce county into wheat fields will add much to the wealth of the county. Mr. Walker is to be commended for his enterprise and the example which he has set for other owners of these lands."