The Hancock Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Ohio) 1857-1870, 1869-09-17
A Great Illinois Farm,

cause OF human liberty anu Il9ut.
A Great Illinois Farm,
A correspondent of the Chicago
Tribune contributes to that journa
full and interesting account OF tht
weltknown Broadlands farm, o
26,500 acres in the southeast corne
of Champaign county, originally the
property of NJ. L. Sullivant, but pur
chased for about 100000 in 1866
by John T. Alexander. the presen
owner-a man who migrated from
Ohio to Illinois in 1841, with little
beside his own energy to back him
and whose present fortune has beer
made out of cattle and farming
Broadlands has been under the man
agement of G. L. Eaton. Mr.. Alex
ander remaining on his former farm
in Morgan county. We extract anC
condense IS follows:
Mr.. Eaton estimates the capacity
Of his farm, when it is well stocked
to the cultivated grasses, at ter
thousand head for summer pasturage
1t is six miles from east to west, and
nearly seven from north to south,
occupying something over town.
ship. On the west are two pastures,
one and a half by three miles, OF
$3.50 acres each. One of these pas
lures is to be trench-plowed for corn
in the spring of 1870, and the other
in 1871. This will complete the
breaking of the whole 2G, 500 acres.
TO the east of these pastures is a
strip of corn halt mile wide. On
the south side, sections 50, 81, 35
and SO are in corn, excepting 400
acres in winter wheat, 200 OF cats,
100 of rye, and 120 of Hungarian
grass. On the east side, sections 13,
"a and % are also in corn. After
deductlng the small grains and wet
spots, which could not be prevented
this rainy season, there are not less
than 5000 acres in corn, which now
gives promise of averaging not less
than fifty bushels to the acre, or an
aggregate of quarter of a million
of bushels from one farm, which. in
addition, grazes four thousand fat
cattle. In addition 20 this, several
hundred acres we're sown to corn
and the sod turned over, while some
was dropped into tee furrow. This
had made very good stand and will
be pastured in October. About one
thousand bushels of seed corn have
been used this spring.
The corn has been cultivated this
season with the::double shovel plow
up to the last time, which is to be
done with 8 small turning plow.-
About half the corn is drilled with
Browns corn drill and the other half
planted in hills, with the Union,
Brown and Vandeveer planters, but
none of it is check-rowed- The drill
is preferred. Six hundred acres
were replanted on account of the deep
planting at the beginning. Shallow
planting would have saved that ex-
pense and produced better crop.
The breaking-plows are mostly
''sod-plows," but the long mold
board pillow is preferred, and will be
used hereafter, as the sod plow is
better adapted to "raw" than pas
tured prairie. The plows are mostly
from the Peru factory of j. d. Brews-
ter. The bill for plows of all de-
was, in 1867. $500; 1868,
$1,000; and in 1869, $500. The rol
ers are made on the farm, of oak
plank, and banded with iron. The
larrows are also made on the farm,
Is a blacksmith and carpenter shop |
ire in constant use. The harness is
llso made and repaired On the farm
twenty five wagons, six mowers,
With dropper attachment for the
grain, are made for the grass seed,
,f which 1000 bushels are to he saved
his season Hay-stsckers, rakes,
md one thr sbing.machine make up
be .l.st of implements. !
Fifty yoke of oxen and fifty spaa
# horses and mules make up the !
cams.
The superintendent. ; general
brennan, six foremer, 3 book-keeper,
baker, a blacksmith, carpenter,
butcher, two tradesmen, seven cooks
md about one hundred and twenty
men, make the operating department.
The farm is divided into seven de-
The headquarters are in
.he centre, and the six stations are
ocated at convenient points on the
farrn. From ten to twenty men are
kept at each of these, together with
the teams and tools required. One
cook is stationed st each point, who
draws daily supplies from headquar-
ters, as is done in the army.
The 1st of March 1000 head off
Texan steers we're landed at Horner
Station-by river to Cairo, and then
by rail. Many OF these steers arei
now go,d beef, and will all be sent
to New York within the next. shree
aud their places supplied
mainly by purchase of Inferior fatten-
ed stock sent to the Chicago market.
Mr.. Alexander MAKES regular pur-
chase of five thousand head of fat
stock weekly N Chicago, to ship to
New York. The inferior stock will
be sent to this farm for fall feeding
on pasture and corn, and will all be
closed ont by the 1st of February,
when a new supply. of Texas cattle
will take their place. Thus two sets
of steers are fed annually on this
farm--one exclusively on grass and
one on grass and shock corn. About
fifteen hundred tons of hay are fed to
the teams and the few hundred head
that cannot be sold and which 60
eyer 70 the as1t season. There ere