St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-05-22
ON A BIG WHEAT FARM.
The Great Valley of the Red River of
the North Described by
Farmer.
A Farm OF 5000 Acres-How It i:
iyated--Prosperous Towns
Growing Up

Cultiyated--Prospero Towns
Growing Up
Mr.. w. F. Dalrymple of Dakota, who,
with his brother Oliver, is owner of the
largest wheat farm in the world, has been
visiting the city this week. In response to
inquiries made by reporter for the Mail
and Express, he gave some interesting par
tlculars OF how his farm is managed and of
the present condition of affairs in the terri
tory. The farm consists of $4,000 acres,
on 81, 600 OF which wheat was grown the
past season. 1t is in the valley of the Red
river of the North. on the West side of the
river, in the northern part of the territory;
and If estimated in oblong form, it would
make strip of land sixteen miles long by
fiue miles broad.
I'm addition to its being cultivated by
the most improved machinery" said Mr..
Dalrymple, ''the farm requires at certain
seasons between 900 and 500 men to aid in
blowing, harvesting, threshing and moving
the wheat. We own 500 horses, which are
also used on the farm, and in the busy part
of the season we employ about 300 more.
The yield averages twenty bushels to the
acre. 1t is sown IN the spring and taken
off in the fall. The kind is that known as
No. hard spring. 1t takes IT'S self-binders
to cut and bind it, and twenty-five steam
threSherS, running during the harvesting
season, to thresh it. These machines will
average 200 to l, 500 bushels day. The
seeding begins April 10 and the harvesting
three months latter. 1t is sown with the
aid of horses and machines. The farm is
divided into subdivisions of 1000 acres
each. and each is managed by superin-
tendent. All the superintendent are re-
sponsible to general manager, and all re-
port to him daily. This is done not only
by means of horses and buggieS. but also by
telephone, for telephone wire connects
every portion of division with its head
quarters, and each division headquarters is
connected by telephone and telegraph with
the general managers office. The latter is
connected by telegraph with the main tele-
graph lines of the country. Water is ear
ried through galvanized pipes to all the
headquarters by means of elevated tanks
fed from the river by windmills. There
are six railroad stations on the farm, on
the Northern Pacific and the Manitoba rail-
roads. The headquarters on each division
include large boarding house, a dwelling
house for the superintendent, a barn to ac-
commodate seventy-fve horses, large
granary and numerous OutbildingS.
WONDERFUL CHANGES IN TEN YEARS.
1.-THE valley of the Red river is something
enormous. 1t is 800 miles long by forty to
fifty miles wide. Ten years ago the whole
country along the west side, weere we are,
| was unoccupied, there not being 1000 acres
| under pillow for distance of 200 miles either
up or down the river. Now it is substan-
| TALLY one vast wheat field, settled, occupied
and improved A number of towns of from
1000 to 1900 inhabitants each have sprung
up and are rapidly growing. Fargo. on the
| river. has reached a population of from TO-
600 to $4,000 in a few years. Casselton,
which was started five years ago, has
now 5000 people, together with sew
eral churches, two graded schools three
| large grain elevators banks, newspapers
| and from twenty to twenty-five stores. The
river is navigable from Fargo to Lake Win
nipeg. At Fargo it is like the Chicago river,
about 200 feet wide. We have steamboat
! and seven bargeS that run to Duluth, on
Lake Superior, in connection with the farm.
| The land on each side of the river is rich,
fertile SOIL and rises less than a foot to the
mile as it recedes from the river. A little
! timber is to be found along the river, the
! trees being of oak, maple and ask, but it
| only extends inland few rods There are
| two railroads running up and down the val
| ley, its whole length. The valley is crossed
| by the Northern Pacific railroad and is
reached by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St.
Paul road at Fargo.
| 1.-THE nearest Indians we have are the
| Chippewas, who have reservation fifty
miles east of us. But they are quite
| friendly, and in fact the country is as safe
| from any Indian trouble as are any of the
| mbfe settled states. The spring we went
out there, nine years ago, remember that
Gem. Custer and his men passed through
| the valley On their way to the Black Hills,
and company of scouts was raised here
to accompany him. The Indians had been
moved from the valley short time pre-
vious to the west side of the Missouri, to
| reservation about 200 miles from US.
1.-THE climate of Dakota? 1t is particu-
larly healthy and invigorating, free from
all fevers and very uniform. 1t is no colder
in winter than at Minneapolis and st. Paul
The winters are cold, yet the effect is no
more severe than where the mercury is Is
or 90 degrees higher, because the atmos-
phere is SO clear and dry. Spring opens so
that farming begins by April Is and closes
about Nov. Is. This compares we'll with
New York and Pennsylvania. The winters
are more severe and continuous than here,
but are not much longer. We do not have
as much SNOW as falls 500 miles south of us,
because of the dry atmosphere, The sum-
mers are warm and pleasant, the air pure
and bracing. The territory will compare
well with Minnesota and and Iowa as to all
all the elements of productiveness. OuI
staples are wheat, barley. OATS flax and
roots. Native grasses flourish well and can
be matured in the smaller varities. Theresa
large and constant emigration to the terri
tory, coming in as fast as we can take care
Of ctiI
of land subject to presumption and home
stead, at $1.25 an acre for pre-empted land
and the condition of living on the land five
years if taken under the homestead law.
But know of lands in the valley that ten
years ago were worth only the government
price of S1.25 an acre, and now are readily
sold at S25 an acre. The emigrants are
prosperous. They get good buildings up
and several whom / know went there poor
five years ago are now worth 81, 600 and
SIS, 900 each. 1t is notable fact that the
opening of this country has been of vast
importance to the cities on Lake Superior
having caused them to grow, in proportion
to their size. as rapidly as those on Lake
Michigan, Bayfield, and Duluth, whose
harbors are at the end of the lake, have
now become very important Shipping ports.
AN ODD TEAM.
"Game and fishing? Plenty of both.
Among the game are wild ducks, prairie
chickens, deer, antelopes and elk, all of
which are to be found in abundance up and
down the valley. 1t used to be a great
hunting ground for buffalo, and in places
the ground was fairly white with their
bones, so much so that we had to cart them
away. An interesting instance of what we
get hold of once in awhile is that of two
large elkS which a resident of Earpo oan
tured. He yoked them together and drove
the team about the town for some time.
They had immense horns, twice the size of
any deer's, and called forth no end of atten-
ton. They were finally sold at st. Paul
for large price at the state fair.n
''What is the general opinion among the
people as to admission as state?"
lit is that they have the required popu-
latiOn and should be admitted. There ia