The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1869-12-25

itti SSttlCs
I'd. That man could be farmer an
not be slave.
With these two distinct ideas before him
he set about to work them out, mindless @
old rules and presidents. Within yea
he bought two thousand acres Of tho bes
wheat-land, opposite Hastings, and nea
Point Douglas, paying from $50 to 81
per acre. 1t was smooth, high, undulatin:
prairie, without a bush or tree, that ha,
borne only wild grass and flowers, and fe,
deer and cartridges for thousands of sue
cessive years. The surface soil is dark
warm, vegetable loan, two feet deep, ant
mixed with clay, lime, and sand. 1t has
deep clay subsoil, resting on limo-rocl
strata. The location is slightly and acces
sible, and is admirably described by tn,
raPturous 'FGail Hamilton - in her Wool
Gathering adventures of three years ago
Calls little sheep family, by the way, ha
long since been aismembered, and the loca
ton of her sheep-farm, a mile out of Hast
ings, become mostly unknown to the people
there.
ON HIS FARM.
In June, 1866, Mr.. Dalrymplo put in fif
teen breaking teams, with six heavy horses
each. They turned mile-long burrows, six
teen inches wide, and two and half deep
In forty-two days he had seventeen hun.
dred acres "under plough at an average
So an acre. He fenced his farm in three
divisions one of thousand acres, and
two of five hundred each. He set fourteen
miles of oak post-fence four boards high,
at cost of $500 milo. The larger divi-
sion, where he resides, he calls bis I" Grant
FARM and the other two his fisherman -
and "Sheridan farms. His stables and
5rain-houses are GO by 80 feet each, with
she'd and storing apartments on both sides
He uses his own farm implements, and uses
,he best. He has thirty stout horses, aver
sging twelve hundred pounds each, and
worth $500 span. He has pet names for
III, and keeps them fat. He hires his other
orce of warehouses as needed. lie has
fifteen farm wagons, and three private car
'iages for himself and friends. He keeps
wo cows for milk and cream. With the
of a hundred acre patch of clover
md timothy, and tritlc of gardening, he
rops only wheat Seed-time and harvest
'nly require his attention he is his own
nan, he says, nine months in the year.
lie keeps two responsible young men on
lis "Grant farm" at all times also the
wo ever-trusty and cheerful ebony girls
lie has an eighty-acre wood-lot bordering
lis prairie, equal in profit, he says, to two
ores of wheat.
SOWING WHEAT.
Mr.. Dalrymple attaches special import
nee to seed-sowing and sowing early. He
commences about the 10th of April, and
dispatches the whole in two weeks. He
lses twelve broadcast-seeders, which are
cllowed by twenty four drag teams. All
novo together in battalion order. under
ne supervision. His horses are in good
rim, the men make long days, and all are
AIRED for generously. lie puts in bushel
nd half of Scotch-fifc wheat to the acre.
lis last springs seeding took an even three
thousand bushels, and was finished in ex-
city twelve days.
HARyESTING.
Harvesting is the great event Of the year,
nd calls out the true Dalrymple talent and
Erecting energy. The idea is to secure the
argest measure of results in the shortest
pace of time to get the harvesting finish
d, the wheat to market, and the money
n pocket, while others are dawdling along
nder barn covers, or watching their field
tacks in terror Of fires and equinoctials.
'wo weeks before harvest, he advertises in
It. Paul for ono hundred and twenty-five
nen at $3.50 a day. lie has no trouble in
ecruiting good men who have worked in
he pineries or on river-rafts. They like
he excitement of great numbers. Harvest
pens early in July. Fifteen four-horse
Mccormick reapers move into the field to-
ether, following each other side by side,
ike the fight of wild geese through the
If. Ninety binders swarm ON these tracks,
Working in stations of sixths over sections
f mile. They are followed by shockers,
citing up bundles, by twos and twos, in
umbers of twelve. A mounted overseer
irects the whole. It is an inspiring sight
fifteen broad armed reapers plunging in
o sea of waving grain. Men and horses
o their best. If one falls behind, another
axes his place. Everything is provided
or, and no time lost Horses are washed
nd well-groomed at night. Men go into
he field at sunrise, and are called to dinner
t II lunch is taken out at 4, and supper
eady at dark. All feed at one table in the
ong rear wing. Aunt Minnie and Amanda
ave ample help, and are radiant with added
itchen glories, and two dollars day
hundreds of visitors come from afar to
Titness the great harvest spectacle. In
wo weeks the battle with the reapers is
ver, and sixty thousand wheat shocks
llecker the white harvest-fields.
There is no stacking When the reapcrs
ave finished, the whole force of men and
cams are turned over to the threshinc
machines and market-wagons. Four ten
orse- power and two steam power machines
re moved into line and ready for work.
The wheat is drawn straightway from the
hooks, put through the machines, emptied
nto bags, loaded OIL wagons, drawn to the
liver, lifted in the elevator, run through
he cleaner, spouted in barges, shipped to
and sold on arrival. All this
,oes on each day, as one act, under one sys-
EN- of direction. Every night the machines
re moved to new stations, and the fresh
traw burned. The men get two dollars
lay during the threshing Period, and work
S many hours as nature and daylight will
allow. In twelve to fifteen DAYS
he work of the thresners and market-wac
ms is ended.
Fall ploughing is simple affair with Mr..
)alrymple, and requires no extra supervi-
ion. 1t follows close upon the threshing,
me manager looking after all. Twenty
wo-horse ploughs are put into the stuble-
ield together. They move in order and in
sections three miles about. turniur Il fllrrow