The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1878-09-30
AGRICULTURAL.
Somr Notable Farms,

dant capital, the most sterile SOIL, as expert
ence has shown, may be made to blossom as
the rose. The most stubborn clay yields to
under draining swamps are transformed in
to fertile meadows; and sandy soil, by judi
cious use of fertilizers, is made to yield
bountifu harvest. Capital which has hither-
to been invested in railroads and manufacture
ing enterprises seems likely now to be diverted
to the development of agriculture. The war
built up our manufacturing interests in excess
of the present needs of the country, and the
work of constructing railroads has also been
overdone. Already we begin to hear OF large
grain, stock and dairy farms in which vast
sums are invested, and which are conducted
on true business principles. Eighteen miles
north of Fargo, Dakota Territory, is an es-
tate OF 100, 900 acres, known as the Dalrympe
farm, and owned by Mr.. Dalrympe of st.
Paul, Gen. Geo. W. Cass of New York, B. P.
Cheney of Boston, and j. L Grandin Of Penn
sylvanis, So far operations on this farm have
been confined mainly to wheat growing The
farm is managed with something of the sys-
tenn that is employed in dir citing the divisions
of an army. 1t is cut up into divisions of
1000 acres each, and these are managed by
experienced superintendent and foremen,
the finances of each department being brought
under a regular and separate system of book
keeping. Mr.. De'rymple is genera manager
of the whole.
The area of ground under crop this year is
$4,000 acres. Next yer the area will be in
creased to 10000 acres. he spring wheat
was sown the latter part of March and the
fore part of April. The first of it was cut Ju-
ly 18th, and twelve days after that the work
OF the reapeIs had been finished, and miles
upon miles of wheat she cks covered the plains.
In bringing this crop to perfection, Mr.. Dali
rymple has employed nearly SO head of horses
aud mules, 80 broadcast 81 feet seed-sowers,
100 14inch ploughs, 200 steel-pointed har-
rows, Is 40-inch cylinder threshers and clean
ers, Is 10.horse power steam engines, 80 self
binding reapers, and force of about AGO men.
These 80 machines, when in motion, cut and
bound with wire 1000 large bundles every
minute.
A. correspondent of the Chicago Times, to
whom we are indebted for the foregoing facts,
writing under date Sept. 2nd, says
"Threshing was begun few days ago, and
as l stood in the midst of this stubbe plain
to-day, and watched the smoke curling up
from steam machines miles and miles away,
and fancied they looked as vessels look when
steaming far out over the lake in front of
Chicago. thought to myself what magnif-
cent "desert' this is! Near by me was su-
perintendent who was talking through tele-
phone with another superintendent some
three miles away. Near him sat an operator
who was sending despatch to another part
of the farm.
Mr.. Darymple said that he expected the
yield to average twenty-five bushels per acre,
which would give total of 325, OC0 bushels,
worth just that many thousand dollars, two
thirds of which would be net profit. 1t is
all No. wheat, and Mr.. Dalrymple said he
had just declined an offer by the Miller's As
ISOLATION of Minneapolis Of 90 cents per BUSH
ell for $4,000 bushels. He is shipping from
his firm tn nuluth and fhanoo tn Nau VOrk
twenty cars of wheat every day.
My establishment at what had seen WIS
nothing compared with that which I expert
enced upon being told by Mr.. Dalrymple that
it was his purpose to carry forward the de-
velopment of his farm until he should have
put 40, coo acres under the plough, and brought
his yearly production OF wheat up to round
million bushels. Dalrymple's is not the only
large farm hereabouts. There are at least
half dozen others which number from 1000
to 1000 acres under cultivation. The num-
Der of farms embracing from 100 to 400 acres
under cultivation is very large"
At San Jose, California, Gen. Naglee, a
graduate of West Point, and who served
through the Mexican and civil wars, has
settled down to show the world what one
man may do in developing great national
interest. His estate comprises within about
$50 acres of land a model farm, park, and
vineyard. The vineyard was planted In 1859.
1t consists Of $4,000 vines on thirty five acres,
and yields about 300 tons of grapes per annum.
Gen. Naglee turns the whole product to
brandy. 1t takes from twelve to fifteen and
halt pounds of grapes to make a gallon of
wine, and five gallons of wine to make gal
lon of brandy. Gen. Naglee has now from
10000 to 5000 gallons of brandy stored away
in packages of $4,000 to 1900 gallons. As
the liquor does not mature perfectly under
twelve years, the capital required aud the
risk involved in operations of this kind are
very great. The Naglee brandies are abso-
lutely pure, and that guarantee accompanies
= every drop that leaves the establishment
The General insists that they are not only
pure-a thing that can be said of no other
brandy in the word-but that they are supe-
rior to the French brandies, because made
from superior grape. Gen. Naglee's en-
ployees are Chinese exclusively, and he finds
them faithful and efficient in all the work, re-
quiring extreme delicacy and accuracy, to
which he puts them. They never take
drop of liquor and are perfectly honest and
reliable. Like all heavy employers on the
Pacific coast, his praise of the cheap and dos
cile Asiatc is unstinted. What money and
science and pluck combined can do to carry
the wine interest of California beyond the
period Of experiment Gen. Naglee will do.
What capital and energy, and last, but not
least, printers ink, may do, may be seen in
Vineland, New Jersey. 1t is not farm, but
flourishing town; but it grew from the soil
and fruit raising is still its chief industry, 80
that it fairly comes within the scope of this
article. The growth and prosperity of Vine
land seem unlike anything of the kind out
side the world OF fable. In 1851 it was will
derness of scrub oak and underbrush, as
wild as the widest and with NO human habi-
tation near. Charles K. Lands, Philadel-
phia lawyer, bought it up, drove in stakes,
laid it out in town, and printers ink did
the rest. With the numerous young shade
trees which line the avenue and stand at an
giles in the gardens, the place has the appear
ance OF a town in the woods. The trees have
all been planted since the founding of the
settlement in 1851, that being duty epjoined
on every purchaser of lot or lots by Mr..
Lands, the founder.
The town has now about II 900 inhabitants.
1t has industries of almost every sort. 1t has
good society; it has twenty-three public
schools and four high schools; it has one of
the finest hotels of any town of its size in the
county; it has 70 miles of public road it has
nine shoe factories, three manufactures of
straw goods, five carriage factories, two pearl
button factories, one glove factory, one COM
poslte leather factory, two sash and blind
factories, three saw and planning mills, one
book-bindery and paperbox factory, two
clothing factories, one shirt factory, one pock-
ct book factory. one crate and fruit box facto-
ry, one ink factory, two sorghum molasses
factories, one candy factory, two tin shops and
one rope-walk. 1t has man who has started
the industry of silk cocoon raising, and who
has demonstrated by specimens that the
thing can be done; it has man who has
begun TO raise almonds; it has man who
has started raising peanuts; it has man
who has commenced to make molasses out
of sweet cornstalks.
Aside from all these, the great industry in
which every person seems to be engaged
fruit-raising- goes on. The fruit farms
range from five to forty acres. The total
amount of money brought into the place
this season from cultivated blackberries alone
was $43, 100. The raspberries brought in
$15, 120; strawberries $500. The great crop
this season in the way of fall fruit is the
pear crop. 1t is estimated there will be 3d.
600 bushels In Vineland alone. The esti-
mate given to apples is % 200 bushels, which
is considered fair crop tor the town, and to
peaches $4,000 bushels. One of the chief
fruit products of Vneland is this year almost
failure. The grape crop. by means of
which the Vineland Wine Company turns
Jo 81, r