The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1877-06-28
of course no precautions can save him
from flights of the insect.


one of the members. and entirely UNI
der the control of the General, contains
thirteen thousand acres of splendid
land, both tillage and pasture. not
however in one body.
The farm is close to Sheldon on the
Sioux City and st. Paul 4. K.
There are this year. on the farm,
two thousand acres under crops. 800
Of wheat, 200 of barley $40 Of flax; 300
of oats, 200 of corn, 40 of peas and
forty eight acres set out with young !
trees doing splendidly. The herd law
is in full force here. l saw some beau
tiful. healthy rows of trees, set out
around the fields, one row strait as an
arrow and half a mile in length.
The resident farmer is Mr.. John l..
Kenny. formerly of Chatfeld. Fillmore
county. He is the right man in the
right place and an old companion III
arms. of General Bishops.
| spent a great portion of the day
driving over this big farm with Genl.
Bishop and Mr.. Kenny. The crops
here looking as healthy as if there was
not a grasshopper within thousand
miles. nevertheless they had been
pretty thick on some fields and were
kept down at a cost, for all the crops.
of about 5000 and the poorest of the
wheat looked good for fifteen bushels
to the acre.
Il was long under the impression
that farming only paid the men who
held the ploW, l believe still, that
this is true of small farms and here
in the west. we consider two hundred
acres small farm.
But tillage farming on large scale
not to gpeak of stock farming, VIII
pay a man who does not hold the plOW
who does not even reside on the farm
and has to employ an overseer.
After all this is only one extra man,
for a man with large farm even if
he is one able and accustomed to work
will be much more proftably employed
in attending to a general supervision
of the work he, undoubtedly. will
have to employ others to do.
All this is very clearly demonstrated
by General Bishops experience in
: farming at Sunnyside. during the
grasshopper years too. He is a close
; calculator. and knows each year, to a
fraction. the amount the crop has cost
him and the amount it brings in. Il
borrow the money at ten per cent. in
the spring.. said he to me. ''that
works this farm. charge this ten per
cent. to the crop. together with .
per cent. for the wear and tear OF
machinery. | charge the crops with
every cent laid out. (and mind you
the money SO laid out is charged, as
told YOU with ten per cent? salary OF
farmer included. Well in the fall
: pay my notes and what is over is my
profit.
..How about the proft!' | asked
II will tell YOU he answered. III
1874 had Il section under wheat
mind "A was one of the grasshoppe
wears in this country. | sold TIL
wheat | raised for so cents a bushe
and when it was delivered in thu
al I aln l,-f
two hundred dollars" Last year hi
: clear profit on seventy acres of whea
: was $4,000. it stood him delivered a
the elevator So ID cents bushel.
Adjoining Sunnyside farm, in O
: Brien and Sioux counties, are othe
9 large farms. belonging to parties i
: the east. over which Genaral BishO
has supervision. in all. he has charg
of three thousand acres of tillag thi
: seasons. The country where a
these big grain fields were. wher
~ school bells ring. and church steeple
le point to Heaven. General Bishop tol
- me. he passed over in the spring {
u 1871. making his way ahead of tn
surveyors who were TO follow afte
~ and survey the line of railroad. to |
built close to where the pretty town
~ Sheldon now stands. the Gener;
- sighted. from IN elevation on til
prairie. Il claim shanty. made for
and found Il squatter who informe
the General. that his nearest neig
= ! horS were one man twenty mill
:. south Of him and another thirty ti'
: miles north of him. The clai
I shanty is AZ ruin now the squatt'
- gone to Washington Territyry. cro'
deJ out by the march OF civilizatit
$ that actually brought neighbors $
= lclose ID him that he could see thei
= houses from his shanty.
M ID. OBJ.
lis II iii small .,f L -.