Winter losses were very heavy at times, but usually the profits on the

HISTORY < )F WESTERN NEBRASKA

animals that survived were large. Grain farming began to replace open-range ranching about 1884, when settlers began to take up the alluvial lands along Bordeaux creek and White river. A little later homeseekers from the vicinity of Sidney, to the south, settled upon the table and park lands. At that time the nearest railroad points were Sidney to the south and Valentine to the east. By the end of 188b settlement had spread to all parts of the county. A large percentage of the tillable land was brought under cultivation, and it is probable there was as much land in cultivation before 1890 as there is at the present time. Corn, cats, and potatoes were grown for home use, but wheat early became the money crop.

At the present time the smooth land of the White River Valley is largely held in comparatively small farms devoted to grain production, general farming, and, to a small extent, dairying. The remainder of the area is utilized by stock farmers and ranchers, many of whom cultivate only sufficient lands to produce grain and hay for feed.

The most extensively grown crop is corn, which occupied 16,532 acres. In 1910 wheat

One H

or Dawes County Spuds

and oats both ranked above corn in acreage, but the latter crop has been increasing. A few farmers raise more corn than they require and sell the surplus in the community. Corn is used for feeding hogs, cattle and horses. The demand is greater than the supply, and there is a large annual importation from the corn belt.