The daily gazette., 1881-10-05
DALRYMPLE's BIG FARM.


thousand acres of slender golden stems,
eaon bearing cluster of yellow beads,
Dowing and nodding as If in acknowl-
edgement OF admiring glances. II you
cannot fancy such picture, you per.
maps will admit that it must be one of
the most sublime scenes that the hu.
man eye can witness.
$40 d this morning at the centre of
the largest farm in the world the
largest piece of territory ever cultivat-
ed under the direction of single man,
AS far as tho 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-iooking threshe-s, with their
smoke. begrimed engines beside them,
the whirring harvesters and miles
after miles of wheat. If this farm were
stretched out like ribbon, half mile
wide, it would reach as far as from
Chicago to Milwaukee. IL it were
single, rectangular piece, mile in
width, it would be forty-dve miles
from end to end, and there is not a
fence, not tree, not bush only an
occasional strip Of green across the
golden that marks road or section
line.
Near us was a little white house
where the storekeeper llved-the com.
missary Of great army, for an army
1t island we inquired of the gentle
manly Mr.. Dalrymple. He impressed
a mule team that happened tc drive
up for supplies, and sent us to head
quarters.
There was a cluster of .great red
barns, an acre or two of cabbages,
beets, onions and waving CON; lazy
looking windmill that swung around
as indifferently as if regiment of
thirsty men were not working in the
field, and cosy cottage, plain but
comfortable. We raped at the door,
and were shown into the parlor. The
room was handsomely furnished, with
some evidences of luxury, but no more
than are found in the houses of Store
handed" farmers all over the West.
We asked tor Mr.. Dalrymple, and he
came down from some room above q
slender, quiet-lonking man, with a pen
6enlnd his ear, whom you would Judge
to be schoolmaster or clergyman at
sight. His hands were soft and white
more accustomed to the book or pen than
the plough-aDd 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 term
htched up and drive us over the "place."
L noticed he always called 1t the
"place."
In the meantime l asked him few
questions. This first one Vas as to the
yield this year.
at was late spring." said Mr.. Dalrym-
pie. cat the time when we are usually
putting in crop, the place for miles
around here was C .vered with water
from the melted snow, and you could
have sailed boat over field where
now there is wheat that will yield. l
feared at one time that the crop would
be failure, but am very positively now
that the average acreage will not be be-
low twenty bushels"
''Haye you sold your wheat?"
"Our plan is different from the or
diDaTy method. We are sending abou.
three train loads day 10 Duluth"
"How many bushels is that?"
"About 10000 bushels. We load a
vessel ct Duluth every two days and
send 1t to Buffalo. where it is sold on
arrival at the market price"
"Wbat is thal?"
"The price to-day" says Mr.. Dalrym-
pie, consulting a telegram, "is $l.27 at
Buffalo. Freights are about twenty seven
cents, SO it nets us about ST. bushel."
"What will your crop amount to?"
81 am expecting about 100000 bush
els. Besides this we have about 90, 900
bushels Of oats, which we keep for our
stock"
ado you keep stock enough to eat up
10000 bushels of oatsp"
DR.. Dalrymple smiled pleasantly and
remarked that 800 horses and mules eat
up good many oats.
"How much does your crop cost
you :"
at costs us about So an acre to pro
duce a crop when we use cur own
stock and pay our men by the month,
but when we hire men and teams by
the day it costs us about $S an acre."
"What do you pay your men ?"
"We pay $50 month for regular
hands, and ~ per day for extra hands
during harvest"
"What machinery have you going
to-day ?''
"Two hundred self. binding harvest
ers and thirty steam threshers. These
200 harvesters cut an average of 2,800
acres day, and the threshers turn
out about 80, 900 bushels day. As
fast as it is threshed we bag the wheat,
cart it over there to the cars, empty
the sacks, and send away three tram
loads daily"
"Where do you keep your mem"
'If you had been here at O'Clock
this morning you could hove seen 60(
men at breakfast. We keep forty
cooks.''
Mr.. Dalrymple explained at length
how this enormous business is con-
Quoted. The 80, 900 acres under cult
vation are divided into five divisions o.
5000 acres each, under superinten.
dents, who are responsible directly t.
Mr.. Dalrymple, the oommander-in'
chief. Each of these regiments is di.
vided :again into battalions, with &
foreman or major, who has charge ol
1000 acres. Under him are three
companies, each having captain and
cultivating section, which is 64(
acres of land. Each superintendent
plants his crop, and harvests it, re-
porting from time to time to Mr.. Dal
rymple, who directs and oversees thu
whole, but spends the greater part o
his time at the Office planning ant
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