Daily Los Angeles herald., 1881-12-29
Farming in Dakota.


Farming in Dakota.
"Yes. sir,u resumed the Dakota
man. q the crowd of agriculturists
drew back from the bar and seated
themselves around little table.
"Yes, cir, we do things on rather q
siseable ecale. I've seen a man on
enc of our big farms start out in
the Spring and plow q straight fur
row until Fall. Then he turned
round and harvested back"
"Carry his grub with him."
asked . Brooklyn farmer, who
ralnes csbbages on the outskirts?
mo cir, they follow him up
with q steam hotel and have relays
Of men to change plows for him.
We have some big farms up there
esntlsmen. A friend of mine own
ed one on which he had to give a
mortgage, and I pledge you my
word, the mortgage was due on one
end before they could get it record
ed At the other. You zee IL was
laid Of in the counties"
There was Q murmer of astonish-
msnt, and the Dakota man contin-
ued:
az got q letter from O man who
lives In my orchard, just before l
left home, and 1t had been three
weeks getting to the dwelling
house though 1t Travelled day and
night.
Distances are pretty wide up
there amt they~ inquired New
Utrecht agrioulturist.
"Reasenably, reasonably" re-
Piled the Dakota man. "And
the worst Of it is
Il breaks up families 80. Two
years ago I eaw whole family
Frustrated with grief. Women
ysllipg, children bowling and dogs
barking. One Of my men had his
camp truck packed on seven four.
mule teams, and he was around
bidding every body goodbye"
"Where was he going2" asked q
Grsvesend man.
"He was going half way across
the farm to feed the pigs" replied
the Dakota man.
"Did he ever get back to his
family?"
ut isn't time for him yet" re.
turned the Dakota gentleman.
s'Up there we send young married
couples to milk the cows and their
children bring home the milk"
IT understand you have fine
mines up that way" ventured a
jamaica turnip planter.
"Yes, but we only use the quartz
for fencing" said the Dakota man,
testing the blade of his knife with
his thumb preparatory to whiting
St on his boot. "It wouldn't pay
% crush IL, because we can make
more money on wheat. I put in
5000 townships of wheat last
6pring."
"How many acres would that
bsf''
1--WE don't count by acres. We
count by Townships and counties
Ny yield was $e8, ,000, 600 on wheat
alone, and Pm thinking of break
ing mp from eighty to hundred
more counties next season."
"Hew did you get the help for
such extensive preparationsy"
sskod the New Utrecht man.
ssOh! labor lie Cheap replied the
Dakota man. "You can get all
you want for from $29 to $87 a day.
In fact I never paid over $38."
s'Is land cheap?"
mo, land is high. Not that 1t
oests any thing, for it don't; but un
der the laws Of the Territory you
have got to take 30 much or none.
Iwas in luck. I had friend in
Ysnkten who got bill through
the Legislature allowing me to
take 42O, 600 square miles, which is
the smallest farm there.
The Brooklyn Eagle gives the
above, and considers 1t pretty steep
figures. AS Galveston expects to
get thirty feet of water over her
bsfs and export all of the Dakota
crops Of wheat over the Dakota di-
vision of the "Texas Midland
Route" yet to be inaugurated in
the no distant day, we reproduce
it-merely remarking that Texas
10 the only State In this
country which can ''see" Dakota
and 'sgo several better" Our
farms are not even computed by
Townships, pnt by counties. several
Of which are larger than the State
Of Rhode leland; while we never
speak Of any man as a farmer who
don't own more real estate than
exists in the State of Connecticut.
He is only q gardiner. Try again,
Mr.. Eagle man, and the next time
you want to say something big
about farming, cast your eagle
eyes upon Texas, where we used to
have law that prevented counties
from organizing with less than 900
square miles OF area.