The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-10-30
LARGEST FARM
 IN THE WORLD
TT CONTAINS soSoo ACRES ANDIs IN
 OKLAHOMA.

IN HE WUNkU TT CONTAINS so;ooo ACRES AND IS IN
 OKLAHOMA
 Ceor~e W. Miller Conducts One of the
 Most Perfect Establishments on
 Earth.
 0-.
 John H. Raftery in Chicago Tribune.
 in inc northern boundaries of Okla homa- where the summers are long and inc winters brief and mild. lies the largest farm in the world. It is the richest and most beautiful part of the land heritage Of the Otoe and Ponca Indians, who lease 1t to George W. Mil Ter, an American farmer, who Is cred ited with conducting the most perfect as well as the greatest agricultural es- tablishment on earth.
 The old name of the Miller farm was "ranch 101," and so 1t Is yet fondiy re membered by the pioneers of the Soutn west who knew the rich tract when is was only a vast cattle range. NOV ~ is a model farm. Five hundred miAes of barbed wire was used to inclose lt. Not an acre of it is left idle. Even tne native pastures have been supplanseu by fodder crops Nothing ts iets .o chance. The stock Is not permis.eu q. .. rustic" for its winter forage, nos famish for water during the occasionai droughts. IA, .or- lThe Miller farm. old ranch loi. con -taina over 50, 900 acres within It's pouh. dary fences It Is striking op9ec. Is..on in intensive, modern farming; enormous as is its acreage. 1t Is run with the nice accuracy of an up-to-oate factory. It is as much in contrast with the old, slipshod. scattering metnoos of ranch farming as the mooern ha. .n vestine machine is in contrast with the old scythe and hail of past centuries. There are now plenty of modern farms scattered over the Western States and Territories, but there is none so large, nome involving SO great an annual out lay of money and work as this.
 rarms Increased Rainfall.
 It is not many years since a Secre- tary of Agriculture of the United states described Oklahoma as semi-ario region" It is now admitted to De the finest wheat and corn growing land m thia country, and every year adds 10 its productivity in bushels and money. The advance of husbandry into this neu country was marked by cnansc In atmosphefic conditions, as well as change in the standard methods or farming. The upturning or the Nilei land, the planting of orcnaras anu shade trees, the raising or hrst c.ops, all helped to increase the percentag ot moisture in the air. and brought about a perceptibie change for the pet- fer in ttfe annual fall Of rain
 The Miller farm is the final retutation of an old theory that the SoutnWest would never be self-sustaining untii It's land was cut up into small tracts which must be irrigated and cultivated with intense assiduity. It Is the nnesl effectiveness of the rotation system of sowing anu barvesting. So prolific is its soil that nf sone field crops 1t raises three -in wear No irrigation has been attempt ed. and none is necessary It has oem- onstrated beyond question tnat' no matter how large the herd or cattie. if pays to raise winter fodoer anu to feed the animals during the trozeii months. 4. keen this vast farm in operation. o5 that total, nearly $25,oo0 is paid to the Indians of the Ponca and Otoe tribes aa rental and for their aid in gather- ing the harvests. In the course or wear 800 men are employed in blowing sowing, cultivating and harvesting the o,o00, bushels of grain which IS an nualiy shipped to market. or these not more than twenty-five are COWBOYS hroncho busters, and line riders The day of the hard riding, quick shooting nicturesoue .horseman of the prairles is gone: and in the having season the peaceful cowboys of the Miller farm may be found riding a sulky rake or oiling a traction engine.
 Even when he rides forth in the win ter, galloping his broncho across the white reaches of the farm, his Win chester and his revolver are not dang ling at saddle bow and belt. Instead he carries hammer at his pommel and A pair of wire nippers in his belt for he is riding the line" an occupa- ton which involves nothing more haz- ardous or adventurous, than the mend ing of the barbed wire fences. Instead of the whiskey bottle of the old days he carries an oil can to lubricate the vvinamills which pump drinking water for the cattle. He even wears derby hat. and the woolly chaps of the van- ished range are replaced with we'll fitting corduroys and military leggins
 Run Like a BRnlk.
 The two dozen farmers, the six ma chinists, the blacksmiths. even the dairvn,en of the big Miller farm out rank and outnumber the little com nany of cowboys and broncho busters Peace. discipline and perfect order nrevail. There Is nothing haphazard about the conduct of the establish ment. An office as large and as well appointed as that of a country bank is the executive headquarters of the Miller farm. Joseph Miller, one o1 the sons, is treasurer and financial manager. There are bookkeepers stenographers and clerks. The bis farm is held to a strict and economi- cal accounting, just as factory might be. Indeed, it is a kind of automatic wheat, corn, oats, barley, hay, cattle and pork factory. Every acre pro- duces at least one crop a year. The alfalfa fields yield three. Ten thou sand acres are sown to wheat each sea son. About 5000 are given over tc corn; sorghum hourishes on 1000 acres and oats, barley, millet, kaffir corn and cowpeas are alternated on 1000 acres more.