The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1881-09-28
THE LARGEST FARM M TH WORLD.

THE LA GEST FA IK KN THE WORLD.
Miles Long and One MILE
Wxds-shx Thousands Bush.
efs OF Wheat and Ninety Thousand
Bushels of OATS
Special Correspondence Of the Chicago Inter Ocean
FARGO, d. C. August 13,-Can you i'm
agine a wheat-feld Of 80, 900 !? Thirty thous-
and acres of slender golden stems, each bear
ing cluster of yellow heads bowling and nod
ding as If in acknowledgement Of admiring
chances. If you cannot fancy such a pic
ture, you perhaps will admit that it must be
one of the most sublime and fascinating
scenes the human can witness.
I stood this morning at the centre Of the
largest farm in the world the largest piece
of territory ever cultivated under the direc-
ton of q single man. AS far as the eye
could reach north, south, east or west. there
was nothing visible but the bluest of blue
sky, the reddest of red barns, the great awk-
ward looking threshers with their smoke be-
grimed engines besides them, the whirring
harvesters, and miles after miles Of wheat.
If this farm We're
STRETCHED OUT I A RIBBoN
half a mile wide it would reach as far as from
Chicago to Milwaukee. Ii it were in a sim
gle rectangular piece, 9 mile in width, it
would be forty-fve miles from end to end,
and there is not q fence, not q tree, not q
bush only an occasional strip of green
across the golden that marks the existence
of a road or section line.
Near US was q little white house where the
''storekeeper" lived-the commissary Of a
great army, for an army it is-and we in
quired Of the gentlemanly Mr.. Mandel how
we could get across to the Office Of Mr.. Dali
rymple. Heimpressed q mule team that hap
pened to drive up for supplies and sent us to
headquarters.
There was q cluster of great red barns, an
acre or two Of cabbages, beets, onions and
waving corn q lazy looking windmill that
swung around IS indifferently as if a regi-
ment of thirsty men were not working in the
field, land a cozy cottage, plain put comfort
able. We raped at the door and were shown
into the parlor. The room was handsomely
surnlshed, with some evidences of luxury,
no more han are found in the houses Of
fore handed farmers all over the West.
HOW DALRYMpLE LooKs.
We asked for Mr.. Dalrymple, and he came
down from some room above a slender,
quiet-looking man, with . pen behind his
ear, whom you would take to be q school
master or q clergyman at sight. His hands
were soft and White-more accustomed to
the book or pen than the ploW-and his face,
were 1t not covered with beard,
was not SO much burned as mine.
He met Us cordially, invited us to
spend the day and dine, and suggested that he
would have q team hitched up to drive US
over sStbe place."
7 noticed that be always called it 'sthe
place"
Tn the meantime / asked him a few ques-
tons. The first one was as to the yield this
year.
TT was a late spring. said Mr.. Dalrym-
lie. sAt the time when we were usually
putting in a crop the place for miles around
us here was covered with water from the
melted snow and ice, and yon could have
sailed q boat over a field where now there is
wheat that will yield
TWENTY BUSHELS TO THE ACRE.
T feared at one time that the crop would bea
failure, but am very positive now that the
average per acre will not be below twenty
bushels
"Have you sold your wheat 2"
s'Our plan is different from the ordinary
method. We are sending about three train
loads q day to Duluth"
How many bushels is that?'
ssAbout $4,000 bushels. We load a vessel
at Duluth every two days and send it to Buff
falo, where it is sold on arrival at the market
price"
sWhat is that ~
1.-THE price today said Mr.. Dalrymple,
consulting q telegram, lis S1.27 at Buffalo.
Freights are about tWenty-seVen cents, SO it
nets us about 81 a bushel."
"What will your crop amount to
II am expecting about GOO, 900 bushels.
Besides this we have about &C, 000 bushels of
oats. which We keep for our stock
do you keep stock enough to eat 10000
bushels OF oats up
Mr.. Dalrymple smiled pleasantly and re-
marked that 800 horses and mules eat up
good many oats.
THE COST or IT.
ttHoW much does your oats cost you z
TT cost us about GO an acre to produce 9
crop when we use our stock and hire
our men by the month, but when we hire
men and teams by the dag il costs about On
ssbbe an acre.
sfWhat do you pay men 2
I'VE pay $50 q month for regular hands