Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1895-02-15
n Review.

Last week we hrlefly mentioned that
Mr. Wright Was making extensive im-
provemsnts and contemplated erecting
more buildings this spring on his farms.
Since then We have made little more
explicit investig t,lUn. and IA the mag
u!tude of his farming Interests were p
revelation to NJ. We feel that The in
formation will be If interest To our
readers.
But, really. did Nou ever stop u
thipk of the difference between the
Alma OF today and the Alma ot Ten Of
aven Eve years ago? Just Tun over in
your mind the improvements made dur
ing this period The number of new
residences. the improvements in our
stores and the increase Of business, as
we'll AS the general Improvement Of the
town and you Will ue aOie 10 appreciate
that while Alma has had 30 boom, shs
mas prOspered, improved anu shown "a
steady advancement every year.
What is true Of the village. is equally
true of the surrounding country
Drive out from town in any direction
and note the improvements uf the
farms. Fields have been cleared
stumps have been removed. low lands
have been drained, barns and houst 8
have been improved, fences have been
roads have been drained
and graded until now the farming sec
tion about Alma is in AS nigh a state of
as any section OF the state
For these improvements we are iargel,
indebted to Mir. y ". Wright The
yearly OF thousands upon
of Goods of wood b. the
Wright House and Sauitarium, has
done much to clear up the land within
a radius of ten miles, and every indi-
yidual land holder has seemed 10 be-
come inspired b. the example set him,
doing, III almost every case. all that
Was III his power 10 improve lis farm
in order to be IN Geeping with those
around him.
But we started 10 point out some
acts about Mr.. Wright $ personal
farming interests with which YOU may
not be familiar. lie haa twelve farms
within & radius of i've miles ol Alma,
comprising III round numbers 1850
acres. lie can start ont from the
Wright House corner, make circuit
Of six miles and drive the entire dis.
tance, with the exception OF about
Ihree-quarters Ot mile, on his own
and. The buildings on these farms
are substantial and cOmmodious. Some
)f the barns AID Out-buidings being
larg-, aud every appliance
and convenience tor successfully carry
ing on farm work IS employ ed
tlr, Wright Is - thorough believer IN
understanding, having put n,. during
the past years, over 80 ctT loads of tile,
varying IN SIZE from three 10 eight
inches. Perhaps you can better rea.ze
what this means by thinking OF it as a
ditch varying in depth from TWO AID
Jue.hai To SIX feet, and extending
from Alma 90 Grand Rapids distance
)i 20 miles, ahd representing total
c1st of $1,000. In addition 10 the
arge amount Ut labor employed ln tins
understanding work, ne has n constant
employ ment, during the summer sea-
son, from eight To tfleen men engage d
Ia pulling stumps and clearing land.
stumps or low wet holes allowed on
lis land Every foot must be utilized
aud made 10 yield something. lie does
lis farming as he does his business,
and Systematically. No ex-
is tolerated, and at the
same time nothing Is allowed 10 SO TO
waste. Every thing must be cleaned
np: No piling of o.d rails or rubbish
4 lowed: No fences or gates out OF re-
pair, no farm implement Left out IN
ram or weather, and above all, every
animal must be well fed and warmly
housed. When in town, he makes the
rounds, 10 matter what the weather
may be, az least once daily, personally
everything and giving in
5iructiOns what To do.
Ii is said by his farmers that nothing
escapes his eye. and he knows how 1t
should be done and wants 1t done
exactly that way.
So much for the farms and buildings,
but let us see what there is OH the
farms at the present writing:
There is total of 81 persons, 20
horses, l37 cows, 73 young stock. 80
steers, being fatted for spring market,
i7i sheep and go swine
You can now realize something of
the extensive farming interests being
carried on by Mr. Wright. lie Is the
same Mr.. Wright who gave us the
Opera House Block, the FIGURING Mill,
tue Creamery. the Wright House, the
College and the Sanitarium. tie has a
residence right here Ia the village aud
a..IlS 4hta nia Enpnu lNa Ennu xx.s