Middletown transcript., 1870-02-19

bought two thousand acres of the best
wheat land, opposite Hastings, and near
Point Douglas, paying from 81 so to $15
an acre. 1t was smooth, high, undulating
prairie, without bush or tree that had
borne only wild grass and flowers, and fed
| deer and partridges for thousands of sue
cessive years. The surface soil is dark,
warm, vegetable loan, two feet deep, and
mixed with clay, lime and sand. 1t has
deep clay subsoil, resting on lime rock
strata. The location is slightly and access
sible.
In June, 1866, Mr.. Dalrymple put in
fifteen breaking teams, with six heavy
horses each. They turned mie-long fur
rows, sixteen inches wide, aud two and
half deep. In ~ days he had seventeen
hundred acres under plough" at an
average cost of $3 an acre. lie fenced
his farm in three divisions; one of thou
sand acres, and two of five hundred each
He set fourteen miles of oak post-fence
four boards high at cost of $400 mile
His stables and grain houses are 60x30
feet each, with shed and storing apart
ments on both sides. He uses his own
farm implements, and uses the best. He
has thirty stout horses, and worth $500
span. He has pet names for all and keeps
them fat. He hires his other force of
work houses as needed. He has fifteen
farm wagons, and three private carriages
for himself and friends He keeps two
cows for milk and cream. With the cxccp-
tion of a hundred-acre patch of clover and
timothy, and trife of gardening, he crops
only wheat Seed-time and harvest only
require his attention he is his own man.
he says, nine months in the year. He
keeps two responsible young men on his
farm at all times: also two cver-trusty and
cheerful ebony girls. He has an eighty
acre wood-lot bordering his prairie, equal
in profit, be says, to two acres of wheat.
Mr. Dalrymple attaches special impor-
tance to seed-sowing and sowing early
He commences about the 18th of April
and dispatches the whole in two weeks.
He uses twelve broadcast-seedcrs which
are followed by twenty-four drag teams.
All move together in battalion order, un-
der one supervision. His horses are in
good trim, the men make long days, and
are all cared for generously He puts in
bushel and a-half of Scotch fife wheat to
the acre. His last springs seeding took
an even three thousand bushels, and was
finished in exactly twelve days.
Harvesting is the great event of the
year and calls out the true Dalrymple tai
ent and directing energy. The idea is to
secure the largest measure of results in
the shortest space of time; to get the har-
vesting finished, the wheat to market and
the money in pocket, while others are
dawdling along under barn covers, or
watching their fields in terror of fires or
equinoctals. Two weeks before harvest
he advcrtises in St. Paul for one hundred
and twenty-five men at s., day He
has no trouble in recruiting good men
who have worked in the pinerics on river
RATS. They like tho excitement of great
numbers. Harvest opens carly in July.
Fifteen four horse Mccormick reapers
move into the field together, following
each other side by side like the flight of
wild geese through the air. Ninety bind
ers swarm on their tracks, working in sta
tions of mile. They are followed by
twos and twos, in numbers of twelve. 4
mounted overseer directs the whole. Il
is an inspiring sight-fftcen broad-armed
reapers plunging into sea of waving
grain. Meu and horses do their best If
one falls behind another takes his place
Everything is provided for and no time
lost. Horses are washed and well groom
ed at night. Men go into the field at sun
rise, and are called to dinner at IL lunch
is taken out at 4, and supper ready at
dark All feed at one table in the long
rear wing. Aunt Minnie snd Amanda
have ample help, and are radiant with ad-
| ded kitchen glories, and two dollars day
Hundreds of visitors come from far to wit
ness the great harvest spectacle. In two
weeks the battle with the reapers is over
and six thousand wheat-stacks checker the
wide harvest fields.
There is no stacking. When the reap
ers have finished, the whole force of men
and teams are turned over to the threshing
machines and market-wagons. Four ten
horsepower and two steam-power ma,
chimes are moved into line and ready for
work The wheat is drawn straight away
from the shocks, put through the ma
chimes, emptied into bags, loaded on wa
gons, drawn to the river, lifted in the ele-
vator, run through the cleaner, spouted in
bags, shipped to Milwaukee, and sold on
arrival. All this goes on each day, as
one act under one system of direction.
Every night the machines are moved to
new stations, and the fresh straw burned
The men get two dollars day during the
threshing period, and work as many hours
as nature and daylight will allow, In
twelve or fifteen days the work Of the
threshers and market wagons is done.
Fall ploughing is a simple affair with
Mr.. Dalrymple, and requires no extra su-
pervision. 1t follows close upon the
threshing, one manager looking after all.
Twenty two-horse ploughs are put into the
stubble-feld together. They move in or
der and in sections three miles about,
turning furrow twelve inches wide and
each wear a little deeper than hefore To