Litchfield enquirer., 1880-03-11
3.- .tt .l8ar-gr fGT33E ttt III Litchfield County Men in the West.

o7 Lltchtield County Men in the West.
 We clip from the Hays City Sentinel, the following account of a Kansas stock ranch owned by emigrants from this county-two of the company being sons of Samuel G. Beach Esq, of this place, and the other native of Norfolk: T ,s...,.,q.,f.. 7.sfs t.,. ,f
 thorough description of the stock enter prise of this section, and particularly of Ellis county, would furnish material for columns of interesting matter. While thissection of Kan sas IS known as an agricultural region, the in- vestments and proceeds of live stock have thus far in our history overbalanced the pursuits of farming. Little has been written of the de- tail of this branch of our industries, and the Sentinel, in series of papers, proposes to give it's readers the benefit of a careful iuvestlga- tion of methods, successes, failures, and de- scriptions of the best ranches within the borders of the county. Starting at the head of the list of prominent stock growers, we find Eldridge, Beach & Co.,, located in the south east cJrner of Ellis county. J. B. Eldridge, one of the firm, lssa prominent banker of Nor folk, Connecticut, living there, and giving the details in Ellis county but the benefit of a semi-annual visit. The resident members of firm are ". E. and E. s. Beach, both from Norfolk, where they were engaged in mercan- tile pursuits, and from the confession of the brothers, knew about as much of western stock rasing as the man in the lunar luminary Mr.
 W. E. Beach came to Hays in 1877, viewed the surrounding country, and at once closed the purchase of 5000 acres of Kansas Pacific lands in the southeast township of the county
 From that time began the development of a ranch which now stands beyond question the foremost in western Kansas Without going into details of thls rapid and costly develop ment, our reporter gives the results of two days inspection under the guidance of Mr.
 Eldridge, who is now visiting the ranch, and the Beach Bros | .-r 'f ie
 The land of the ranch ranges across the low banks of the Smoky river, taking in on either side the broad bottoms and abrupt declivities of the bordering country, and possesses the ad
 vantages of natural shelter, abundance of water, and a broad sweep of pasture. By subsequent purchases the acres have been swelled to 6400, of which number 5000 are now enclosed by post and wire fence, and used for pasture. This fence if stretched in a continu- ous line would reach IS miles. The adapta- bllity of this class of enclosure has been fully demonstrated At this writing 78O head of cattle are quartered within the enclosure. and the herd has come through the winter thus far with but the loss of one COW, and with but little iced in addition to pasture. The meth cd of this firm is to start with Texans and grade up the stock by breeding to thorough breds They now" have dozen pure bred shorthorn bulls, and the mark of blood upon the strong bunch of yearlings and calves is very plain. The day of raising low grades for cheap market has passed, and the largest profit is now to be found in the well-bred, highly-fed animal. With the intent of stall
 feeding hundred steers next winter, 200 acres of corn, 300 acres of millet, and roots, such as turnips and beets, will be placed in ground owiready. These gentleman expect to turn off an astonishing profit through this system next season. Their cattle are in fine condition, and even now grain would fit them for marketin short time. While the primary object was raising of stock, the firm now has 2SO acres of winter wheat in fine condition, and expects to SOW, at least 400 acres the com ing falk ss.. ao- -s afase1-- Fd'
 But we started to give description of the appointments of the ranch. When the Beach Bros, came to Hays they brought with them ideas of comfort decidedly at varience with the spirit that sees luxury in a dug out, and the best of stock shelter in shale walled can- on. Their costly residence in town and the entire completeness of their ranch testify this feeling. On slight elevation from the Smoky they have erected @ good szed two-story house, surrounded it with neat fences, trees, and garden spots. Down nearer the river are their solid stone wall corrals large stone barns, stables, calf pens, feed ricks, $50 feet of stone shedding, roofed watertight with shingles, implement sheds, bins, racks, storage rooms and numerous other appendages. A windmill and water tank supplies each of the pens and sheds with pure water; and throughout the ar- engagements for comfort to man and beast are perfect. stone granary having capacity of 5000 bushels will soon be finished, and other improvements are on the program for the pres cnt year. Many thousand dollars have been expended by these enterprising gentlemen, and they propose to go on with the work until everything is reduced to the point of greatest convenience and comfort, and then undoubted- iy their profits will commence We presume we may convey an idea of the condition of this ranch by saying that from the breaking blows to the saddle girths everything is of the latest model and first-class. ."