Rocky Ford enterprise., 1905-03-10
A Rocky FOrder on Visiting Terms
with the Vanderbilt Family.

/ '''' NbS N-NhNFDtt v aHhiJ.
To the Editor Of the Enterprise;
] Recently | had the very great pleas
ure Ci e visit 10 Fillmore, the rura
| home Of Geo. W. Vanderbilt. one al
| the not ! N.cIlthy men OF the United
states, .li tmoFe ia "A small but very
neatly constructed village two miles
southeAst Of ASheVIlle in western North
Carolina, and Just At the entrance oi
the Vanderbilt estate. owned and built
/ by that gentleman. The occasion of
my visit was the annual sale OF thor
oughbrod berkshire hogs, bred from
| imported stock. l received the inVi-
Jntion from j. II. Golay. foreman of
the agriculture department OF the es-
tate, who has property interests here,
and who's guest was for two days,
The sale occurred ON the l4th inst. AT
the "PiFsrrY," I'm IA tent large enough
10 accommodate two or three hundred
ueople, and heated by steam. Mr.,
Weston superintendent OF the estate,
manngrd the sale. with Col. Bailey "i
Chicago, ns nucIionecr. Each animal
offered was sold to the highest bidder
without any reserve bids, Forty-nine
brood HDwH We're sold at un average
Of Si27.tp each. The maximum price
was 500, and the minimum was
$50. There were very few bidders,
some ~ which We're by mnil and wire.
Mr. Collins Of Alabama. purchased
{
the finest types Of the berkshire that
! ever Hnw. \ ME" lunch was spread
for the people present. conFiFliug of
ham and turkey sandwiches Hnd Cof-
Zee. The management was somewhat
disappointed because 0f the inclcmrnt
weather. which detuirci quite num-
her Of r"rui".' competition being thus
con eHpouIinF'y bluutei,
Pe1ulr who have never visited the
Vanderbilt estate nav" lliil" conu"p-
tlon OF Its uIngriilo"uCr. Th" cAiIte
proper consists nf Il 900 HcrsH NJ ! nd
Fituntci on the sfTcnsh- Broad" Hui
Swnnnrnon rivers, the valleys of which
are very fertile and are made Z" pro-
du,c to thcIT greatest cNp"cIty. Al
Joining the $4,000 acres n 10000 acres
OF land which II yet IN lt4 NOR. priml-
tive state. The major portion or the
building arr situated between the two
rivers, consisting OF neat cottages Tor
the forrIncn and woTin"n OF the dlf-
fcrent departments. nll Of which nrr
connected with n splendid scw"r ayF-
tenn and ar. p-to-iHtr In every pnr-
ticiar, buildings for the dairy. plEEcry.
barns. grunnri-s. tooi-Ehcir, store
house. mechanical shops. etc. The cN-
terior of all are Of ''itucco" or "Prb-
BILE dash nS Il ir termed here. These
bu.!dInrr are distributed over confli-
cradle territory. 40 that the visitor II
not Impressed with the idcr of n toN. n
or city. Tn. dairy IL n marvel I" III"
uninitintci. II co-istE of 900 high
bred Jersey cows Of the Golden Lad
| strain. and the average weight of'bc-
tween twelve and thirteen hundred
rounds. housed In n very comfortnbi.
building. In two very large rooms al
this building IL n double row Of Iron
| stalls facing with pHssn.c way Tor
the attendants. The floors OF the en-
| tire building nr- cement with fnnnT-rr
or trou.hs of the same material
There IL Just room enough for each
animal. with short chain. drawn
close behind. from rtnii to stall To kccf
them In place. The creamery is close
~ connected. where they manufacture
| the highest grade of Jersey butter
The milk tests from g., to h.a per cont
butter fat. In connection with ths
dairy II large silo. and Ice plant. TIVE
very necessary Items In the manufac.
turc Of butter.
| I visited for n short time tho poui
try yards. which cover mn area OF ter
acres. Here I found some fnc srcci
mems Of quite "a number OF the stand
ard breeds. They had the appearance
Of being in charge OF nm experienced
"fnncicr." ms they looked thrifty an'
healthy.
Between the two rivers is twcn,.
miles Of macniHmizcd road. smoor
las n floor, on either side Of which 70
"A width OF ten fccn Is thickly set will
every variety Of Towering shrub tina
viii grow In this ciimnte. In summc
II g.ust be n marvel OF beauty.
! As to the Mansion" It Is simpl
indescribablc by novice. An arChi
cct Of note with time and space
might be able TO -!"c an idea Of '.
maGnlngante. bat not l. A buildin
and it's immedItic surroundings Int
which has gona t3.o0O.60o In cold cas-
Is something bcwildering. How
mortal man can ,nvcst that amount Q
money merely for display IL past M
comprehension. But am not In tn
columns Of your valuable pancr {
m"ralizc. Taking the Vanderbilt cE
tate ns n whole IL Il well worth ono
| 'hiie TO visit ana inspect. Biu
Mwuntniu's stately forests. ruahlnl
rivers, habblIng brooks and fcrtil
valleys are things OF beauty and
JOY forever
J. II. BURR.