The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1900-02-08

the talisss corn and probably the best In
OF fe c's Mr.. clifford has waterways be-
tween pastures. He has seventy 1--we
N iiss Of large bitches through the farm
and has Thousands Of miles OF Smaller
duches In ABORTION 10 this he n now
pul tin In drtin tile. The soil taken
back over the nslds. and thus the fields
have been raised little BY little ~ tho
ditshing work went on. The work n still
going on, but 10 will take years to put oil
the tract into cultivation.
Mr.. clifford has between 800 and 400
tenement houss on the farm, and the
population 10 probably 5000 psopls.
He has q spur on the farm from the
nearest railway and ships his products
direct to the markets. The land, when
In state Of cultivation. Ia ~ pro
rs sny In Indiana and IL worth from $50
70 $50 an acre. IL cost Mr.. Ginord from
81 to 81 60 an acre. Mr.. Clifford lives at
Leroy Templeton, few years ego the
Popullst candidate for Governor, owns q
farm Of 5000 acres In Newton county,
and IL said 20 raise more corn ana cattle
every year than any other man In the
States. Less than ten years ago the state
sold the land for n cents an aore. The only
crop then was bullfrcgs and malaria. A
drain thirty feet wide and eight feet deep
was constructed, and the land soon be-
came productive. Mr.. 1empletou paid
SIC an acre for IL and would not take less
than $50 an acre now. Year before last
Mr. 1smpirton raised 100, COD bushels OF
corn on his farm. he cleared ti6. 900 on
the years crop. During she year 1ust
ended he faised 5000 bushels OF corn.
He has more than a thousand cattle on
the farm. He employs fifty men to look
after sthe work.
7ha Alien Gregory farm, which IL now
being dividsd among the heirs, includes
$500 scres. The William Kent farm,
80 Invest Of Fair Oaks. consists Of ., 500
acres. Ths- N comprises nearly 10000
acres aud lies parallel along tina Aonson
Railway from Fair Oaka to Rose Lawn.
The farm Of II. w. Cooley, who recently
fell dead In his oiiios In Chicago, has al
most 9, 900 acres, and last year IL produced
nearly 100, COD bushels of corn. Browan
Bros. OF Crown Point have farm Of
about 8 900 acres The Hamlet Hay Com
D my has about $1,000 acrss near Hamlet.
nelson morris has 10, ooo acres. and ". u,
Shelby of Graud Bap'ds has nsarly 1900
acres. Portions CT these farms are In
,tate Of cultivation. The tenants are
largely Polanders, Swsdes, Ger mans and
Hoilanders.
one OF these larg, farms 10 owned and
managed BY q woman. che IL Mrs.. Jep-
nile Conrad, and owns 1900 acres In
Newton county. She farms every acre OF
1t, conducts big oattls business. breeds
horses for the Chicago market and Ia
m ing q great deal Of money. She IL
woman Of about IS and has all the gracea
of her ss2. But shs looks after her farm
and vaft business personally. not trust
ing any one TO attend to 1t for her.
The land is worth from $40 to $50 per
acre.
Many years ago Adam Earl and Moses
Fowler owned the largest farm there ever
was In Indiana. Before the war they ac-
quired q stretch Of II. 90 acres in Jasper
almost all the vast prairie lying from the
north Of Boswell To rae Sumner holdings
Fowler held apout %, 200 acres In his ON n
name, and Earl had the remainder. which
centred In and around Eayl Park. They
farmed together. During tae war they
grazed and stocked it With tens or taous-
and OF cattle and filled large Govern
mnt contracts. Their Benton county
interests caused than to push the Indian
apolis and Lafaye cite Line through their
lands, Fowler caused the county seat to
be moved. and built the present town OF
u oyvler on the eastern border Of his farm
by making land donations and giving
sic. COO toward the erection OF q court.
house. After n while Fowler Earl dis
solved tnsrship. and the former bs-
gan to sell OF his land. Bowler bad In
view the perpetuation OF his great estate,
and his will ma1e provision that IL should
not be OUT up for twenty years The will
was broken, and the farm divided AMI
large parts OF IL sold. Fowler a. Karl got
sonc of this land by Government entry,
but most Of 1t was bought at S., "a and
s. an acre. 1t IL today In the best corn
producing section Of the State, and Is
worth from $50 to $40 an acre. Fowler
died millionaire, and Earl was worth
about $500. 600 when he died two years
ago.
The sumner farm, north OF the Earl
holdings, was even larger than the Fowler
tract. Ii compI ised about 1900 acres
The land has bsen di vided since Summers
death. He was reputsi to be as wealthy
as Flower, and died leaving his estate to
three children. Insy are Jesse Sumner
of Milford, ILL.,. and Mrs. Jane Hawkins
ard Mrs. Jennie Caldwell Of Earl Park,
Rant0n ocuntv.