Omaha daily bee., 1881-09-01
JOHN RAvMOND'S LUCK,
Fifty Thousand Dollars Worth
of Wheat From a Ffty-fve
Thousand Dollar Farm.
A Visit to a Model Ferm--The
Harvesters at Dinner and I'm
the Field.
SrccInl cor. o. rhe Inter oecan.

FARGO, ID. T., Aug. 1a.-What is
known as the Raymond farm is de-
clared to be perfection in crop, eqrp-
ment and management. Il lies twelve
miles northwest of Fargo, and CON
tains about 5000 acres. it is maEaged
by John Il. Raymond, United States
Marshal, cone of the men God
made, as they say up here, and is
owned by him and Mr.. Greene, a
banker of Jackson, Miss.
Mr.. Raymond is an Illino;san, and
went to the war as 4 member of Gen
eral Logan's old regiment, the Thirty
FIRST Illinois, enlisting at Rekin. He
vas one of the "boy veterans" enter
ing the war at the age of 1G, and
serving with honor until the dissolu-
tion of the armies, when Inc settled in
Mississippi. Captain Raymond is we'll
known as the last nan who spoke to
General Mcpherson before the %latter's
death. He was only q few feet from
the General when he fell, and taken
prisoner by the squad that killed him.
The political revolution in Mississippi
and the overthrow of the Republican
party there by the impeachment and
resignation of Governor Ames, de-
stroyed his business, and he concluded
to go where
THE BESP1SEB CARPET-BAGGER
was welcome. He sought the office of
United States Marshal for Dakota, in
order to secure q foothold, and after
securing the appointment, and look
ing the territory over, concluded to
settle in Fargo and become q land
owner. In company with MIR. Greene
and old Mississippi friend, he,bought in
August, 1879, eleven sections of land,
comprising 5000 acres.
"For four sections" said MIR. Ray
mond, whom j asked for a history Of
his farm, (Which had been cultivated
one year, we paid 49, 80 an acre; for
che new land we paid So an acre to
the railroad company. We sold three
sections of the new land to Marshal
Field, of Chicago, and now have about
5000 acres in farm"
"When did you get your first
CROP"
"This year. Last fall we broke
three sections, 1000 acres, for seed
ing, and put up u buildings"
''What is your crop going to be-"
"We will have an average of TWEEN
ty-6re bushels to the acre. or about
D $4,000 bushels of wheat"
"What was your entire invest
mentF"
THE ENTIRE INVESTMENT. r
before we receive q return from
crop we will have invested 500
600. That includes the purchase of
our land, the erection Of five barns,
a dwelling house, an elevator capa-
BILE of holding 1OO, 900 bushels of
wheat and oats, all the stock and ma
chinery necessary to run the farm,
and all the cost of breaking the land,
planting and reaping the crop, and
delivering it at the market"
"That is, you will have expended
SOD, 900 on your way from the North
r Pacific railroad land Office to the
market with your first crop"
"That is just the size of it; but
you must remember that we have
owned our farm two years, and that
the first year it was idle, SO that we
lost the interest on our money by not
%cultivating it,"
"And now what are you going to
make on your first crop2"
"We have 1000 acres in wheat,
and enough in oats to keep our stock.
We will get about twenty five bushels
to the acre, which will be 80, 00C
bushels from tie entire place We
will save out our seed wheat for next
year, and can then sell the crop fol
about 500 600"
THAT is your dividend upon a $780,
600 investment"
DIVIDEND OF 30 L CENT.
eyes, a two years dividend; abou,
30 per cent. for two years, or 45 pei
cent. for me-. If we had worked the
farm last year we should have made as
large a crop, and perhaps larger, foi
that was a better year."
"If you had put your entire G,O0t
acres in wheat, you would have re.
ceived Just three times the crop you
will actually harvest"
"Very likely. The land is all alike,
and there is no reason why it should
not yield alike"
"How much more wouldit have cost
you to have cultivated the whole i'll.
stead of a thirdT'
"About 81. 300 or 49, 90 for every ex-
ira acre, or a total, calling it the max
imum figure, of S32, 600"
Sand you would have harvested
100 900 bushels of wheat, instead of
10000, and got $4,000 as your
profits OF an investment of $S7 600,
instead of $780, 900 as a profit upon
an investment of 500, 000l"
YES; assuming, of course, that we
had the same crop. The bigger the
farm, the bigger the profits. This
year We will break up 1000 acres
more, and expect to double our profits
without further investment in the way
Of buildings or machinery"
"Have you figured up what your
first crop has cost you outside of what
may be considered permanent i'm.
provementsi'
COST OF THE FIRST CRoP
eyes, i can tell very nearly. II
cost us just about an even ten dollars
an acre to make our first crop. II
will cost less to make the second, be,
cause there is one less blowing. II
takes from 81 to IS an acre to get of
a crop, with prudent management"
Show many hands and horses dc
you work.
FIFTY mules and horses, and about
fo~rty-fve men,"
What do you do with them IN the
winter"
''Send them all to the pineries, the
lumber regions of Minnesota, under
my foreman, who goes along to sec
that they are well treated. We gel
$l2, 90 a month for each mule for sia
months in the year, that is $50. ano