The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1881-10-14
Earmlers' Column.
Speed the PIOaU.o
The Largest Farm in the World.

The farm ofMr. Dalrymple, in Dakota Ter.
ritory, has wheat field containing 10000
acres. A correspondent of the Chicago IN
ter Ocean, August 10, thus reports an inter-
view with Mr.. Dalrymplc:
We asked for Mr.. Dalrymple, and he came
down from some room above; q slender, quiet
looking man, with a pen behind his ear,
whom you would judge to be schoomaster
or clergyman at sight. His hands were soft
and white-more accustomed to the book or
pen than the plow-and his face, were it 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 team hitched up to drive us
over "the place." | noticed he always call
ed it "the place"
In the meantime asked him a few oues-
tons. The first one was as to the yield this
year.
at was late spring." said Mr.. Dalrym-
pie" cat the time when we are usually put
ting in crop the place for miles around us
here was covered with water from the
melted snow, and you could have sailed
boat over a field where now there is
wheat that will yield. feared at one time
that the crop would be failure, but am very
positive now that the average per acre will
not be below twenty bushels"
slave you sold your wheat? ?"
Our plan is different from the ordinary
method. We are sending about three train
loads day to Duluth"
"How many bushels is that ?"
about 10000 bushels. We load vessel
at Duluth every two days and send it to Buff
falo, where it is sold on arrival'at the market
price"
what is that ?"
"The price to-day" said Mr.. Darymple,
consulting telegram, is "$1 81 at Buffalo
Freights are about 81 cents, so it nets us
about 81 bushel"
What will your crop amount to-"
II am expecting about 100000 bushels
Besides this we have about 10000 bushels of
oats, which we keep for our stock"
DO you keep stock enough to eat up 90
600 bushels of oats ?"
Mr.. Dalrymple smiled pleasantly and re-
marked that eight hundred horses and mules
eat up good many oats
How much does your crop cost you 2"
ut costs us about SO an acre to produce q
crop when we use our own stock and pay
our men by the month, but when we hire
men and teams by the day it costs us about
$San acre."
What do you pay your men"
I'VE pay $50 month for regular hands
and So per day for extra hands during har-
vest
what machinery have you going to day ?"
1.-TWO hundred self binding harvesters and
thirty steam threshers. These 200 harvesters
cut an average of 800 acres a day, and the
threshers turn out about 30, 900 bushels day.
AS fast as it is threshed we bag the wheat, cart
over there to the cars, empty the sacks and
send away three train loads daily"
Where do you keep your men?"
"lf you had been here at 5 o'clock this
morning you could have seen 800 men ut
breakfast, We keep forty cooks"
Mr.. Dalrymple explained at length how
this enormous business is conducted The
10000 acres under cultivation are divided
into five divisions of 5000 acres each. under
superintendent, who are responsible directly
to MIR. Dalrymple, the ommander.in.chief-
Each of these regiments is divided again into
battalions, with a foreman or major, who has
charge of 1000 acres. Under him arc three
companies having a captain and cultivating
a section, which is GAO acres of land Each
superintendent plants his crop and harvests it,
reporting from time to time to Mr. Dalrym-
pie, who directs and oversees the whole,
but spends the greater part ofhis time at the
office planning and calculating for the best
result from the smallest outlay. The SUPER
intendents are responsible for the good order
of their men, stock and machinery, and there
is decided rivalry between them as to which
can produce the biggest crop. When the
blowing commences in the spring the men go
out in gangs, each taking GAO acres, under the
direction ola foreman, who rides along on
horse back to see that the work is done
Everything is in the military style.