Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1861-08-08
AN ILLINOIS FARM.

AN ILLINOIS FARM
Charles d. Bragdon assistant-editor of The
Rural NeT Yorker, gives long and interesting
account of the farm of Isaac Funk, of Mclean
county, Illinois:
The home farm now consists Of 20, 500 acres in
one body. There are 5000 acres more in the
county, making altogether %, 900 acres owned
by him in this county of Mclean. About half
ofthis land was purchseda at Government prices:
the other half at prices ranging from S5 to $50
per acre. The most of this land is paid for. A
recent purchase of 100000 worth of land from
the Illinois Central Railroad Company, is not
quite paid for. During the present year pay
ment will be completed. The stock on the farm
to-day (July l0th) is as follows: 900 beef-cat-
tie, ready for market, where they will be driven
as fast as the market will warrant; 200 cows
with calvesj 400 stock cattle 800 sheep, of the
middle class of wool 500 head of swine, beside
the pigs, which he does not count 240 horses
and mules, one year old and upward, and 60
sucking colts. He has 1000 acres under the
plow, 600 acres i'll meadows, and the balance
inclosed for pasture. Three thousand acres of
these pasture lands are in tame grasses-blue
grass, timothy, clover and red top. In seeding
for pasture, he would seed with timothy, clover
and runs all other grasses out. Meadows are
quickly ruined by it, and have to be plowed.
In the East, timothy in meadow quickly runs
clover out; here the clover is the strongest
lived. 1t triumphs uver the timothy. Blue
grass pastures are very valuable for Fall, Win
ter, and early Spring pasturage, but they should
not be fed during the Summer when they are to
be so used Horses and mules Winter well on
blue grass half the Winter frequently they
get nothing else. Sheep cost little if they have
such pasture they frequently live on it exclu-
sively. Mr. Funk thinks sheep with proper
accommodations for shelter, and with an abun-
dance of blue grass pasture, would pay larger
per centum profit on the amount of capital in
vested, than any ather kind of stock, except
mules. But he has never entered largely into
the handling of sheep, because they require
more care and involve greater amount OF la
Dor than he could command in short, as he ex-
pressed it, he has "never been fixed for it."
He believes Gu tie, all in all, give more profit
than hogs-that it pays better TO feed and mark
ct them on the whole-because the market is
more stable and uniform. Mules are the best
paying stock-hetter than sheep, on the same
amount Of capital invested"
All this has been accumulated since 1924,
when Mr.. Funk settled here upon eighty acres
of land, having arrived with his brother from
Ohio with only 1929 in cash.
According to Mr.. BrNgdon, this great cattle
lord, now Ga years old, works like common
laborer, and lives in poorer house and palmer
manner than some men of much less preten-
sions.
"HOto he Winters Cattle.-Mr. Funk usually
winters over from 700 to 900 head of cattle,
and stall.feeds for early Spring market from 300
to 800 head He markets his stall-fed cattle
about the lst of April. He buys cattle all the
time whenever he can DO so proftably. Those
he sells in the Summer and Fall are generally
three years old. The class he stall-feeds are
generally four years old. The Eastern reader
will think it a queer kind of stall feeding, when
he is assured that not one of these animals go
inside stall, or are tied up during the Winter
A little further on we will give Isaac Funk,s
definition of stall-feeding He prefers to buy
cattle (steers) the Spring they are two years old
They usually cost then, if good ones, from $l8
to S25 per head These are kept one Summer
one Winter. and the half the next Summer,
when they are in condition to market, and will
average from S45 to S52 per head. He winters
his cattle on shocked corn. The steers that
are to be wintered, through and marketed in
midsummer are strong-fed. Those that are to
go to market the lest of March or first of April
are 'stall-fed.' The difference in the two modes
fed gets all he can eat and good deal more,
while the one that is Stronghold gets enough to
keep him thriving finely all winter-gaining in
flesh and growing, too. The corn is drawn
from field on wagons, to the pasture or lot
where the cattle are herded. One man feeds
from IS to 100 head. And this care occupies
him from early morning till late at night. He
rises and eats breakfast by candle-light, and
draws corn with from two to four yoke of oxen
the amount of team depending upon the condi-
ton of the soil-all day, and returns and eats
his supper by candle-light again. Mr.. Funk
says the true way to feed is to provide two fields
for each company of cattle. Feed the cattle in
one field to-day, and in the second tomorrow
tomorrow turn one hog for every strong fed or
two hogs for each stall-fed animal into the field
in which the cattle were fed to day changing
each day, the hogs following the cattle. He
says an acre of good corn will winter one bullock
if strong fed il sialled it will require one acre
and a half per bullock. The cattle have no
other feed, and no protection except timber, if
they happen to be feeding near it. Salts his
stock with this feed about every third day, and
provides them plenty of water. Beef if fit to
go to the New York market sells here SO to "a
per cwt., gross packing cattle at 50 to 250 per
cwt., gross.
Grain Grooing.-But little wheat or oats are
grown on this farm. Corn is the principal crop
cultivated. Mr.. Funk is down on wheat cul-
ture and down on growing grain of any kind
to draw to market. He says man worth five
or six thousand dollars may soon sink it in
heat-groNing. And he asserted that ifa man
grows crop of corn yearly, and being too poor
to buy stock and feed it, sells it in the shock on
the ground where grown, at 10 cents per bushel
he will be worth, at the end of five years, dou-
BILE the money that his neighbor will who grows
the same amount of corn and draws il five miles
and sells il at 25 cents per bushel WHY P
Because the man who draws the corn five miles
loses time, labor, wear and tear of team and
wagons, gets his money in driblets and it goes