Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1882-09-14
LARGEST FARM IN THE WORLD.

LARGEST FARM IN THE WORLD.
We have received very interesting
history and lengthy account of the
management of the "Burr Oaks farm"
located mainly in Ford county, Illinois,
sixteen miles east of the Chicago, Alton
and st. Louis railroad, which is said to
he the largest farm in the world, and its
owner, Mr.. HIRAM SHELLEY, of ROehes-
ter, New York, is, by virtue OF the pro-
prietorship of it and several other ex-
elusive plantations, called the largest
farmer in the world. In glancing
over the sketch of the great
landed estate we gather the
following points concerning it,
which may be of interest to eur many
agricultural readers. This farm once
belonged to NJ. L. SULLIvANT, and was
for time famous as the "Sullivant
farm" devoted exclusively to corn and
yielding in the year 1871, 100000 BUSH
els of that grain. But big farmers are
pretty sure to fail, unless they manage
their business with minute system and
very close economy-and this was the
fate of SULLINANT. Three poor crops
in succession. brought him to ruin in
1877, and his magnificent domain OF
10000 acres passed into the hands Of
Mr.. SIBLEY, who had loaned nearly
S5OO,COO on it. He at once began
to change the character OF the farm
and the methods of conducting it. In-
stead ofhiring all the work done, he let
out sections of it, 50 to $40 acres each, to
tenants, and gave them a share of the
crop raised. He put up a house and
barn on each tract, and there are now
l46 farm tenants located on the estate,
all of them doing well. The whole do
main is eight miles long by as many
wide, and from one point of view forty
farm-houses and barns, all belonging t.
it, can be counted. The soil is black
loan, very fertile and adapted 10 al
kinds of grain, grass, fruits and roots
This year there is 1900 acres plant
ed in corn, 2,4OO in flax, l,46O
in oats, 645 in rye, 800 in millet,
% in potatoes, 40 in eucumbers, 1920 in
meadow and $3.50 in pasture. There
are ninety orchards on the place and %
acres in garden vegetables. There are
l,O29 horses and mules owned by ten
ants, and 60 others employed by Mr..
SHELLEY; 100 head of cattle, l,220
sheep, and ], l35 hogs. The cattle aud
sheep are kept together in $500 acre
pasture. Mr.. SIBLEY has brought from
the East 700 young cows Of good breeds,
and sold them to his tenants mt cost, for
the purpose of assisting each one to
start milk herd. They have multi
place. The products of the farm last
year were 225,OOO bushels of corn,
10000 bushels of flaxseed, $4,000
bushels of oats, 5000 tons of hay, so
head of cattle and 600 hogs sent to mar
ket, and five car loads of miscellaneous
seeds. y large amount of money has
been expended in equipping the place
with agencies and appliances for the
economical conduct of business. There
are 65 corn cribs with a capacity Of 25O,-
900 bushels; an elevator of 10000 bush
els capacity, with a fifty-horse power
steam engine, in the centre of the do
main on the Wabash, st. Louis and Pa
cific railroad; fiaX-mill, feed mills, q
seed warehouse, school houses, churches
and a good hotel. Over 100000 worth
of machinery and implements
have been placed on the
farm by Mr.. SIBLEY himself and all
farm work is done on the most ap
proved and efficient methods. TIL
farm is inelOsed with 90 miles Of hedge,
it has 400 miles of bitches, system of
good roads, two beautiful lakes AMI
groves. When Mr.. SHELLEY took pp>-
session of the place in 1877, it was sup
posed to be worth SIS to So an acre; 1t
is now estimated at $40 an acre, and the
proprietor has refused SO an acre for
part of il. An illustration of the high
value set upon timber in that prairie re-
giOn is the fact that the limited areas
covered with trees are held at 500 an
acre. The advance in value of the
lands composing the domain has, there
fore made the investment an advan-
tageous one to the proprietor, as it is
worth now more than it originally cost
him with the expenditures upon it
added,