Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-09-17
FESTIVE HENRICO FARMERS
A rUCKAHOE.CLUB OUTING.

60 the Farm OF Mr.. singeriy-- Butter
Makers.
Correspondence OF the Richmond Dispatch.l
PHILADELPHIA, Sept. Is. 1885.
Eight trayel-stained virginians ar
rived here yesterday morning and took
possession Of the Continental Hotel
breakiast.room. They were members
of the Tuckahoe Farmers Club, of
Henrico county, and their names were
registered as follows: B. Puryear, pre-
sident; II. Theodore Ellyson, secreta-
ny; Milton Cayce, A. W. CARRIER, r.
Il. Chaffin. DIR. j. G. Beattie, W. Z.
Grant, and Harry Bcattie. They came
on North on tour Of inspection Of the
model farms which abound in this Sec
ton of the country.
The Tuckahoes had hardly break
tasted when they were waited upon and
rendered the hospitality Of the city by
Mr.. William NJ. Singerly, editor Of the
Record, and Mr.. Moses p. Handy, edi-
tor of the Daily Netcs. The event of
the day followed when the visitors, I'M
der escort Of several journalists, took
a Reading railroad train for Mr.. Sin
gerly's farms, near Givynedd, Mont
gomery county. Mr.. Singerly was I'M
able to go along himself, but was ably
and agreeably represented by his sons
in-law, Messrs. William Ralston Balch
and j. Mccartney, and Messrs. Gillian,
Norris, and Bailey, OF his editorial
staff. An eighteen-mile ride through a
beautiful undulating country studded
with railway stations and dotted with
tasteful cottages brought the party to
GivyDedd.
Mr.. Singerly, the host OF the occa-
sion. is a remarkable man and one of
the foremost citizens of Philadelphia.
He seems to have a hand in nearly
everything that is going on here. His
newspaper. the Record, has the finest
house and the largest circulation in
Philadelphia; his street-railway invest
ments are large; he builds several
hundred houses a year to provide
homes for workingmen to buy on easy
terms his farms are models /; his herd
of cattle has few superiors, and he has
just built one Of the prettiest theatres
in the country.
But it was the farms which interested
the Tuckahoes. There are three or
four Of them, and it took all day, with
intervals for refreshment, to look over
the seven hundred acres. Mr.. Jason
Sexton is the farm manager, and every
thing visible on the property testifes
to his ability. His speciality and
Mr.. Singeny's hobby is the raising
of fine cattle for butter-msking. The
barn in which the cattle are housed,
and which they never leave except for
exercise or breeding purposes, is an
immense structure three stories high,
and measuring 2l4x42 feet, with a con-
siderable annex. In the stalls are one
hundred and twenty-five thoroughbred
Holstein cows, and the whole number
Of blooded cattle on the place is proba-
bly, 800. Over every COW is her name
and number in the herd-book, and tag
in her ear also carries her number.
The pride Of the stables is Constance
s.. the famous animal that gave eighty
three pounds Of milk in one day, beat
ing all other two-year-old records. Mr..
Singerly is said to have refused 10000
for this COW; certainly he would not
sell her for that amount.
Convenient to the stables are two
immense silos, one Of which has ca
pacity of three hundred tons, and will
supply food for over hundred cattle
for whole winter. DR.. Beattie was
particularly interested in this part Of
the exhibition, while DR.. Puryear piled
Mr.. Sexton with questions about the
COWS, and Mr.. Chafiin compared this
big barn with his own. Next the party
went to the creamery, where there is a
machine which, by centrifugal force,
takes the milk as it comes fresh from
the cows and strips it Of every particle
Of cream before it has time to rise to
the surface. The sheep-pens were also
viewed with interest; also the horse
stable, with its array Of fine trotters.
During the afternoon superb
luncheon was spread in the dining
room Of the house farm for the visitors.
Mr.. Balch doing the honors in behalf of
Mr.. Singerly. 1t was feast that would
have gladdened the eye of any one
everything from frozen oysters to cof-
fee, and wines more than our temperate
party could consume. At the close
Professor Puryear proposed Mr.. Sing
erly's health in a neat speech. Coming
back to town, Mr.. Singerly's hospi-
tality was further shown in an invita-
ton to the whole party to the opening
of his theatre. The Tuckahoes were
in fine feather when they left here this
morning for New York. THE.