The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-10-30

The ehipplnk ok 8TaAhs SeesASs e--~'~fs hogs, and other products of this mon ster farm is conducted in the most de- iiberate and methodical manner. Ex- traordinary provisions for the storage of crops and for the care of live stock have been made, 90 that the proprietor or Ranch 1o1 is able to send his pros. ducts to market at the most advan- eageous times The nearness of the railroad and the proximity of such markets as Kansas City and Chicago add to his profits by reducing the chance of shrinkage to minimum, en- abling him to calculate the results of his years business to e mathematical nicety. Se
 Other Giant Farms.
 There are many other farms com ducted on equally perfect lines. but there Is none other in a compact tract of so great an acreage. The famous Sherman farm of Kansas is the near est approach in size and completness to It. For many years the Dalrynple farm in North Dakota, near crookston. was the largest single tract of culti- vated farm land in the world. Orig inally it comprised 75.o0o acres, but 1t has been largely subdivided. and. while 1t is rated as among the richest and most valuable wheat land in the world, yet 1t cannot be regarded as q complete single farm. such as corn farm of Tafkfo. Mo, known as the Rankin farm. contains 10000 acres, all planted to the yellow staple. It. too. 10 e foremost example of the most scientific methods of husbandry.
 The wonderful success of these vast farming establishments has, in measure. reversed the judgment of those who predicted that the time had passed for the big land owning farm. CT. and that the day was at hand when farming must be done on a small, ac. curate and intensive scale to be profit. able at all The Miller farm. or Ranch 1o1. complies with the forecasts of the scientific agriculturists in many ways. It is farmed lntensively and with accuracy, but in it's great extent and its marvellous profitabfeness 1t has upset the calculations of those who believed that wholesale farming had passed forever.
 There Is no question that modern machinery is chiefly responsible for the continued and growing success of the few farms of more than 5000 acres now operating in this country A visit to any of the big farms mentioned. in this article will astound the obser- yer who remembers the methods of harvesting or blowing which obtained even ten years ago. Machines drawn by twenty horse teams through a twen- ty-five acre wheat field will cut thrash reclean. and sack the whole yield of the tract in a single day. This sur prising contrivance completes its work as> 1t goes along, leaving the grain sacked iR the field ready to be hauled to market.
 sixty horse power traction engine is used on some Of the largest farms. It is capable of blowing. sowing. and narrowing In one operation. and will thus complete the preparation of a six ty acre field in one day. Draggin sixteen blows after it. 1t will do as much work in day as sixteen plow- men working sixty-four horses could do in the same space of time Steam driven machines for almost every branch of farm work have been inven- ted and adopted by the modern farmer. Besides the saving of wages and the absence of wastful handling besides the | superiority of the actual work done and the accuracy with which 1t can be forecasted, these stationary and trac- tion farming machines enable the far mer to make and store his harvest in | one-fifth the time required by the old | methods. What is thus saved by es- | caping damages and losses on account of storms, bad weather, and delays in | marketing cannot be accurately esti-
 mated. but 1t is one of the chief causes of the phenominal financial success of | such big farms as are described or mentioned above.
 Recent Agricultural Advance. While Ranch 101 Is now looked upon
 as the model bonanza farm of all the world yet 1t is but the culmination, the
 
 i less successful predecessors. It is
 chiefly interesting to the agriculturist | on account of the fact that, the vast | scale upon which its operations have l been conducted, 1t has demonstrated | and perfected many advanced theories l of the absolute science of farming. The Miller farm has spareo neither l effort nor expense to arrive at an ac- curate knowledge of the ultimate pos | abilities of the new region in which | 1t is located. It has encouraged and supplemented all the experimental work of the government and of the State and Territorial agricultural col leges throughout the southwest. It | planted large tracts to such crops as l sorgum, kaffir corn, alfalfa and Johnson
 grass at a time when the old timers | flounted the theory that these drouth
 resisting plants would not only thrive during dry seasons but that they would 1 in time. became eficacious in retaining | moisture in the soil and delivering 1t for suspension in the atmosphere. | The great width of Ranch 101 In l Oklahoma afforded a special and un- | foreseen chance to observe the gradual hut evident atmospheric changes which | tbe induction of strange vegetation brought about. The western reaches of the vast farm did trench upon truly "semi-arid" region. but with the spread of vegetation. with the extension of dry sod crops the high, dry plains of the further edges of the farm became richly productive of fodder crops that l were until then practically unknown In
 that section.
 First North Dakota Corn.
 The Dalrymple farm in North Dakota l achieved a similar service in that sec ton by proving for the first time that corn could be successfully grown In l Xka III