Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1878-10-02

Description Of Echo EARN, Near Litch-
field, Conn.-Agrtculture Sc1ene10cal.
" and systematically Pursued.
Why should farming not be scientifcf
Because the manufacturer labors in .
scientific way, his profits are greater and
surer than those of the agriculturist who
has neither machinery nor system; but
it is the unreasonable custom of many to
sheer at all innovations, and to look
at all methodic variations upon old
usages as the fanciful and improbable
schemes of Missionaries with more money
than common-sense. 1t is the people
who zneer that are usually most deficient
in the latter quality, however; and had
they a little more of it they might per-
ceive that careful bookkeeping and the
adoption Of improved methods and i'm
plements are as necessary in farming as
In any other business.
In q side hollow of that hill from
which Litchfield first became visible to
us several very distinct echoes can be
obtained, and this responsiveness of the
"purple glens" gave q name to this
farm. 1t is Echo Farm-a pretty and
POLITICALLY suggestive name, indeed,
which conjures up visions of loveliness,
and sets one to dreaningo of INTERVIEWING
virc knitting their plant tendrils and
sweet-scented leaves through the hospit-
able 20 oh and open lattice; the check
cred orchard of fruity abundance; the
garrulous brook that never tires of its
own monody; the r~everberant hills that
appease life's turmoil with their easy
fluctuations; lofty barns messy with
age: and Gathering mills down in the
see.usion of grassy hollows. But. alas!
dear reader, model farming is not idyllic
or Arcadian: it is infexibly utilitarian;
it keeps all its buildings in . perfect
state Of repair; it subordinates the pic
turesque, il it ever recognizes it; it pulls
down the old mill because that venerable
structure is in the way of the rectangular
new dairy; it diverts the brook from its
ferny course into the most commonplace
of earthen pipes; it tears away the
vines that obscure the light, and
it looks upon everything with
a pair of the most practical eyes set in
q head that weighs, measures, audits,
and analyses with chemical exactness.
The proprietor of Echo farm conducts
it as q mandatory. 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 quantity
entered upon books, both that purchased
and that produced; and a separate &C.
count is kept of the yield of each field.
Nothing is wasted, nothing done by
guessing, and nothing passes unrecorded
The implements are of the latest or most
approved model. Three sets of "horse'
hay-forks are in use, by which hay il
unloaded at the rate of a ton in four
! forkfuls and in four minutes, including
in some instances the carriage of the hay
$50 feet. The other machines also EN-.
body some novel labor-saving principles,
, No manure or fertilizes are found neces
sary, except the 1900 loads made upon
!, the farm, and a sort of muck, of which
there are several beds.
The history of the farm il interesting
A gentleman of education, intelligence
and wealth came to Litchfield 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 additional tracts
which became the nucleus of Echo
Farm, whose area is now about 40C
acres. His interest was enlisted in the
raising of choice stock, and beginning
with a herd of FIVE, he has gradually in
creased the number to 100, all the herd
being pure Jerseys, with authentic and
valuable pedigrees. The rocky fields
were cleared, laid out, and inclosed by
massive stone walls. Old and inadequate
buildings on the consolidated land were
demolished, and new one of improved
pattern erected. In 1873 q barn 66 feet
by Is was built; an addition, 100 feet by
40 vas made the following year; anc in
1875 another addition was made, of 191
to 50 feet. These three buildings form
the three sides of the barnyard. They
are built of pine upon massive granite
foundations about two feet wide, which
are laid in cement. All the woodwork
is painted asoft, drab color, even the pro.
prietor's residence, and the telegraph
poles that line the roadway. A desire
for simplicity and durability in prefer.
ence to o~rnamentati0n or showiness is
visible everywhere; there is no litter,
and there are no gaps in the
fences or walls, which are from eighteen
inches to twenty.four in thickness, every
~crevice being filled like . mosaic with .
stone that exactly fits it. Care, thrift,
and ingenuity have acted like three
charms. When the fields were being
cleared, such large quantities Of stones
were gathered that some ~perplexity
arose a. to where they should Be put.
Many hundreds of loads were used in
the foundations of the buildings, in the
fences, and in filling ravines, but moro
remained, and these were deposited upon
several sterile hillocks Of no value,
whore masses of swamp grass were laid
over them, and covered with q light
dressing of soil. Grass seed was sown
upon the soil, and it took well, soon
transforming the barren heaps to verdant
knolls, whose blades are remarkably
hardy. It was not o much for the sake
Of the land gained that the stones were
thus disposed Of, but 1t was rather to
prevent the formation Of nurseries for
weeds, shrubs, and brambles, which the
heaps would have quickly become.
Two and . half acres are planted with
hnnka -k:nk $50 <hn onlw rock~ f>I -