Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1881-06-30
4 BIG FARM.
Wheat Farm Of $4,000 Acres In Dn-
kotn, and How IL IL Worked.


spondent gives the following interest
ing particulars about one Of the largest
farms in that immense Territory:
A great deal OF interest has attached
Of late years 10 scientific farming on
large scale. have seen nearly all the
big farms in Dakota, but have not yet
made up my mind as TO the practical
bility or profit of mammoth farming.
Ono of the best big farms in Dakota
B Mr.. Dalrymple's. 1t consists Of
D,oOO acres and cost from forty cents
to 80 per acre five years ago. The
taxes are ten cents per acre per annum
Tor school, road and county purDoscs.
There IL no government tax. The farm
Is laid of into 5000 acre tracts with
superintendent over each division. He
has foreman and gang foreman under
him. The superintendent subdiyjdes
his 5000 acres into $500 acre lots and
these also have forcmcn. All the bugi.
ness is conducted on regular vouchers.
and all supplies are drawn on requi-
sitions, the same as in the army. The
division foreman gives all orders. Money
Is paid on time checks, and each worE.
man receives his money whenever he
wants it. Mr.. Dalrymple is cultiyating
25, 600 acres, and 5000 acres is being
added each year. The crops are sowed
in April, and about three weeks are
taken for the planting season. Wheat Of
the Scotch Fife variety is planted, and
one bushel and twenty quarts is gown
per acre. All the planting is done bv
machinery. 1t takes 400 head Of horses
and mules to plant the crop. One seed
sower plants about 200 acres, and each
narrower about 100.
The new land is broken after the cron
is in, and the breaking i. generally
commenced carly in May. The land
produces No. hard Fife wheat. and the
yield Is twenty to twen'y.four bushels
per acre.
The cutting Of the crop commences
August /, and ll5 automatic binders
and haryesters are used. OF these 100
are Woods patent and fifteen McCor-
mack's The shcaycs are bound with
wire. The threshing- machines used
are twcnty-one in number. The crop
is cut in twelve days, and about one
thousand bushels per day j. threshed
on each threshcr. The thrcshers take
gang Of twenty-five men and twenty
horses for each, to haul wheat TO the
machines and then to the cars. No
stacking is done on the farm. As many
as fifty cars per day are loaded with
wheat at this farm, the average per car
being 400 bushels. An expert on horse
back attends each two haryesters when
they are at work.
The seed wheat Is taken from tho
new land and all the surplus grain is
put into market Immediately after har.
vest. The first yield of wheat from the
land IS usually the best: the average
weight of wheat raised on this farm is
hfty-nine pounds. The workers on the
farms are mostly Norwegians, Scandi.
navians and Germans. In the spring
months they are paid SIS per month
and board, during the cutting season
s2.25 per day and board, during the
threshing season - per day and board.
and in the fall S2j per month and
board. In winter only one man for
each forty head Of horses is retained
IN sei'iee, and he is paid $50 per
month.
In breaking the first farrow is about
four inches deep; TIA, land is then
backed over the same ground. The
average plowcd 10y each man per dav is
about two and onc-half acres. and the
distance travelled eighteen miles. After
the ground is backsct it is narrowed
and left lay until the next spring.
Every four years timothy and clover j.
10 be sowed and plowed under TO recu.
perate the land.
The cost of raising wheat on this
farm is sll per acre the first year and
81 thereafter At an average of twenty
bushels per acre the interest on the
money invested is seventy-five cents
per acre on the basis that the land is
worth Sl2 per acre. At this rate We
perceive wheat can be grown and sold
at fifty cents per bushel and the farmer
still make good living. To put up
good buildings, bins and machinery.
plow and SOW new land, costs 80 per
acre, TO which il we add So, the orig.
inal cost of the land, IL brings the land
up to sl2 per acre, which is not exees-
sive for a good farm. Mr.. Dalrymple
gives the following as the basis Of the