The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1869-08-23

"Rural," the able agricultural cores
pendent of the Chicago Tribune, con-
tributes to that journal full and In
teresting account OF the well known
Broadlands farm, of IT, 500 acres in the
southwest corner of Champaign county,
originally the property of NJ. l.. Sull-
want, but purchased for about S4OO, 600
in lS66 by John L. Alexander, tue pres
ent owner-a man who migrated from
Ohio to Illinois in lS4l, with little be
side his own energy to back him, and
whose present fortune has been made
out of cattle and farming. Broadlands
has been under the management of Z.
l.. Eaton, Mr.. Alexander remaining on
his former farm In Morgan county. We
condense as follows:
Mr.. Eaton estimates the capacity of
his farm, when it is well stocked TO the
cultivated grasses, at ten thousand head
for summer pasturage. 1t Is SIX miles
from east to west, and nearly seven from
north to south, occupying something
over a township. On the west are two
pastures, one and half by three miles,
of 1880 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 800 acres. To the east
of these pastures is q strip OF corn half
q mile wide. On the south side, sections
SO, "a, 50, and SO are in corn, excepting
400 acres in winter wheat, 200 of oats,
100 of rye, and 100 to Hungarian grass.
On the east side, sections IL, "a and %
are also in corn. After deducting 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 aver
aging not less than fifty bushels to the
acre, or an aggregate of quarter OF
million of bushels from one farm, which,
in addition, graZes four thousand fat
cattle. In addition to this, several hun
dred acres were sown to corn and the
sod turned over. while some was drop
ned into the furrow. This had made q
very good stand, and will be pastured
in October. About one thousand bush
ella of seed corn have been used this
spring.
The corn has been cultivated this sea-
son with the double-shovel plow up to
the last time, which is TO be done with
o small turning pillow. About half the
corn is drilled with Browns corn drill
and the ether half planted in hills, with
the Union, Brown and Vandeveer Plant
ers, 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
% L.. L.. ,,oll II
preferred, and will be used hereafter, as
the sod. pillow is better adapted to raw"
than pastured prairie. The plows arc
mostly from the Peru factory of J. d.
Brewster. The bill for plows of all de-
and 1869, $500. The rollers are made on
the farm, of oak plank, and banded with
iTen. The harrows arc also made on the
farm, as a blacksmith and carpenter
shop are in constant use. The harness
is also made and repaired on the farm
Twenty-Five wagons, six mowers, with
dropper attachments Cor the grain, are
made for grass seed of which 1000
bnshels are to be saved this season.
Hay-stsckers, rakes, and one threshing
machine make up the list of implements.
Fifty woke of oxen and fifty span of
horses and mules make up the teams.
The Superintendent, general fore
man, six foremen, book keeper, a ba-
ker, blacksmith, carpenter, butcher,
two tradesmen, seven cooks and about
one hundred and twenty men, make the
operating department. The farm is dl-
vided into seven departments. The
headquarters are in the centre, and the
six stations are located at convenient
points on the farm. From ten to twenty
men are kept at each of these, together
with the teams and tools required. One
cook is stationed at each point, who
draws daily supplies from Headquarters.
a. is done in the army.
The LIST of March 1000 head of Texan
steers We're landed at Horner Station
by river to Cairo, aud then by rail
Many OF these steers are now good be-f
and Will all be sent to New York within
the next three months, and their places
supplied mainly by purchase of inferior
fatted stock sent to the Chicago mar.
ket. Mr.. Alexander makes a recnIar
purchase of FIVE thousand head Of fat
stock weekly in Chicago, to shin to
New York The inferior stock will be
sent to this farm for fall feeding on pas.
ture and corn, and will all be closed
cut by the LIST 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
nay are fed to the teams and the few
hundred head that cannot be sold and
winch go over to the next season There
arc now on the farm about three hun.