Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1878-10-09
A Beautiful Farm, Home.

in a scientific way, his profits are great
er and surer than those Of tho agricul
turist who has neither machinery nor
system; but it is the unreasonable Gus
tom OF many 10 sneer at all innova-
tons, and to look at all methodic vari.
atiosn upon old usages.as the fanciful
and Improbable schemes Of Missionaries
with more money than common sense.
1t Is the people who sheer that are usu-
ally most deficient in the latter quality,
however; and had they little more of
1t they might perceive that careful
bookkeeping and the adoption of i'm
proved methods and implements are ms
necessary in farming rs in any other
business.
In u side hollow of that hin from
which Litchtield first became visible to
us several very distinct echoes can be
obtained, and this responsiveness oftne
purple glens" gave name to this
farm. II is Echo Farm--a pretty and
POLITICALLY suggestive name, indeed,
which conjures up visions of loveliness,
and sets one t. dreaming of intertwin-
ing vines knitting their plant tendriis
and sweet-scented leaves through the
hospitasle porch and open lattice; the
checkered orchard Of fruity abundance,
the garrulous brook that never tires of
1t own monody; the reverberant hills
that appease life's turmoil with their
easy undulations; lofty barns messy
with age; and gathering mills down
IN the seclusion OF grassy hollows. But,
alas dear reader, model farming is not
idyllic of Arcadian;it Is inhexibly utilli-
tartan; it keeps all its buildings in Il per-
feet state Of repair; 1t subordinates the
picturesque, if it ever recognizes it; it
pulls down the old mill because that
structure is in the way of the rectangu-
lar new dairy; it diverts the brook from
Its ferny course into the most common
place of earthen pipes; it tears away
the vines that obscure the light, and it
looks upon every thing with pair of
most practical eyes set in n head that
weighs, measures, audits, and analyses
with chemical exactness. The pro-
prietor Of Echo Farm conducts it as n
A record is kept Of the
milk and butter produced by each COW
for each day, each month, each year;
all the feed is weighed, and the quinn
tity entered upon books, both that pur-
chased and that produced; and sep
crate account Is kept Of the yield Of
each field. Nothing is wasted, nothing
done by guessing, and nothipg passes
unrecorded. The implements are ofthe
latest or most approved model. Three
sets of "horse" hay-forks are in use, by
which hay is unloaded at tho rate of u
ton III four forkfuls and in four minutes,
including in some instances the carriage
of the hay 100 feet. The other machines
also embody some novel labor-saving
principles. No manure or fertilizers are
found necessary, except the 1900 loads
made upon the farm, and n sort of
muck, Of which there are several beds.
The history Of the farm is interesting.
A gentleman of education, intelligence,
and wealth came TO Litchfeld some
nine years ago in search Of summer
home. He had the most superficial
knowledge of farming, and entertained
no intention Of entering that business.
But, having purchased sixty-six acres
and cleared them, he purchased add
tional tracts, which became the nucleus
Of Echo farm, whose area Is now about
400 acres. His interest was enlisted in
the raising of choice stock; and. begin
ming with herd of five, he has grndu-
ally increased the number to 100. all the
herd being pure Jerseys, with authentic
and valuable pedigrees. The rocky
fields were cleared, laid out, and inclos-
ed by massive stone walls. Old and in
buildings or the consolidated
lands were demolished, and new ones
of improved pattern erected. In 1873
q barn GO feet by % was built; an adj
dition, 100 feet by 40, was made the fol-
lowing year: and in 1876 another addi-
ton was made, of 19l by 50 feet These
three buildings form the three sides of
the barn-yard. They are built of pine
upon massive granite foundations about
two feet wide, which are laid in cement.
All the woodwork is painted soft
drab color, even the proprietor's
residence, and the telegraph
poles that line the roadway. A desire
for simplicity and durability in prefer
ence to ornamentation or showiness is
visible everywhere; there is no litter,
and there are no gaps N the fences or
walls, which are from eighteen inches to
twenty-four in thickness, every crevice
being filled like a mosaic with stone
that exactly fits it. Care thrift, and in
genuity have acted like three charms.
When the fields ware being cleared,
such large quantities Of stones were
gathered that some perplexity arose as
to where they should be put. Many
hundreds of loads were used in the
of the buildings, in the
fences, and in the filling ravines, but
more remained, and these were deposit
ed upon several sterile hilocks Of no
value, where masses Of swamp grass