The Newtown bee., 1880-03-10
Harvesting on a Large Dakota Farm.


 Ride over these fertile fields of Da- kota, and behold the working of this latest triumph of American genius. You are in sea of wheat. On the farms managed by Oliver Dalrymple are I3,O 900 acres in one field. There are other farmers who cultivate from I60 to 5000 acres. The railroad train rolls through an ocean of grain. Pleasant the music of the ripping waves as the west wind sweeps over the expanse- We encounter squadron of war chariots, not such as once swept over the Delta of the Nile in pursuit of an army of fugitive Israelites, not such as tine warriors of Rome were wont to drive, with glittering knives projecting from the axles to mow aswath through the ranks of an enemy, to drench the ground with blood, to cut down the human race, as if men were noxious weeds, but chariots of peace, doing the work of human hands for the sustenance of men. There are twenty-five of them in this one brigade of the grand army of ll5, under the marshalship of this Da- kota farmer. A superintendent upon superb horse, like brigadier direct ing his forces, rides along the line, ac- companied by his staff of two on horse back. They are fully armed and equipped, not with swords, but the im- plements of fpeace-wrenches, hammers, chisels. They are surgeons in waiting, with nuts and screws or whatever may be needed.
 The brigades'of horse artillery sweeps by in echelon-in close order, reaper fol- lowing reaper. There is a sound of wheels. The grain disappears an in stant, then reappears; iron arms clasp it, hold it moment in their embrace, wind it with wire, then toss it disdain- fully at your feet. You hear in the rat ting of the wheels the mechanism say ing to itself, See how easy can do it!n
 An army of $ 'shockers" follow the reapers, setting up the bundles to ripen before threshing. The reaping must or dinarily all be done in fifteen days, else the grain becomes too ripe. The first fields harvested, therefore, are cut be- fore the ripening is complete. Each reaper averages about fifteen acres per day, and is drawn by three horses or mules.
 The reaping ended, threshing begins. A gain memory goes back to early years, to the pounding out of grain upon the threshing floor with the fail-the slow, tedious work of the winter days. Poets no more will rehearse the music of the fail. The picture for February in the old Farmers Almanac" is obsolete. Sep ttf6rthhfef hf dding an it's btu 6r 766 bushels per per day, driven by a steam-engine of six l teen horsepower. Remorseless that sharp-toothed devourer, swallowing its food as fast as two men can cut the wire bands, requiring six teams to supply its demandl And what cataract of grain pours from its spout, faster than two men can bag it!
 The latest triumph of invention in this direction is straw-burning engine, utilizing the stalks of the grain for fuel.
 The cost of raising wheat per bushel is from thirty-five to forty cents; the average yield, from twenty to twenty five bushels per acre. The nearness of these lands to Lake Superior, and the rates established by the railroad-fifteen cents per bushel from any point be- tween Bismarck and Duluth-give the Dakota farmers wide margin of profit.
 Since the first furrow was turned in the Red River valley, in 1870, there has been no failure of crops from drought, excessive rains, blight, mildew, rust, or other influence of climatology. The chinchbug has not made its appearance; ; the grasshoppers alone have troubled the farmers, but they have disappeared, and the fields are smiling with bounty. With good tilth, the farmer may count upon a net return of from eight to ten dollars per acre per annum. The em- ployment of capital has accomplished g. heneficent end, by demonstrating that the region, instead of being incapable of settlement, is one of the fairest sections of the continent. Nor is it a wonder that the land offices are besieged by emi- grants making entries, or that the sur veyors find the lands "squatted" upon before they can survey them; that hotels are crowded; that on every hand there is activity. During the months of May, June and July, 1879, the sales of govern ment land were nearly FOG, GOO acres, and the entries for the year will probably aggregate l, ,5OO, ,000, taken in homestead, pre-emption, and tree claims. There are other millions of acres, as fair and fertile, yet to be occupied.-C. c. Co6fn, i,s Hd7per's Mdg0sSsse.