River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1914-07-02
ST. CR0IX COUNTY
GUERNSEY PICNIC

Steck Farm owned by Lloyd Run
dell, June 5th- 1914.
1t would be hard to imagine a
worse day for an open air picnic.
Instead Of one of those rare days
in June" the day opened more like
a september morn" and a dark
one at that. Rain had fallen for
three days and did not stop until
eight O'Clock picnic morning. The
sun did not get a '1ook in" during
the entire day, making it a poor
day for the camera fiends. Tt
add to the above, the cold wind
blew from the northeast and ev-
eryone wore an ~overcoat. In spite
Of the weather, over five hundred
people were in attendance and had
the weather been favorable, there
would have been two thousand
or more.
The object of the st. Croix
County Guernsey picnic is to pro-
mote better farming, stock rails
ing, dairying and to awaken en-
thusiasm in the Guernsey. How
they are succeeding will be told
later.
We arrived early as we had
heard much of the st. Croix Stock
Farm with it's hundred head of
pure bred Guernseys, and we wish
ed to look it over, for just now
there is an especial interest in the
Guernsey owing to the fact that
"May Rilma," a Guernsey has e
Gently broken the worlds record,
having made 1O7 5pounds of but
terfat in one year, winning over
her Holstein competitor by some
twenty pounds.
The ST. Croix Farm consists Of
400 acres, located three miles from
the village of Roberts. Although
most of the roads were muddy,
the frequent use of the King road
drag had put the road from Rob
erts in such fine shape that the
recent rain had but little effect
on it.
Of the four hundred acres, three
hundred sixty acres Ire almost
level and the remaining forty
slightly rolling are Kept in per-
naneat pasture.
What we considered one of the
most beautiful sights we yer saw
was upwards of sixty pure bred
Guernsey yearling h%eifers, both
imported and home bred, in this
pasture. We secured pictures OF
them taken a few days before.
While looking at them we stopped
and thought, where could n find
another such a herd of young
stock as uniform in size, color and
conformation. Probably there are
not half a dozen in the United
States.
We next inspected an eighty
acre field of corn. Think of an
eight acre field of corn as far
north as st. Paul; yet the eighty
acre field on this farm last year
was considered the best in the
State.
Over two hundred little pigs are
on the place. Two thousand dol
lars worth of hogs e sold last
year and there is now a crib of
corn that has not been touched.
When asked how such corn was
raised, we were told that over
five hundred loads of anu a
year were hauled and the eighty
acres that produced the corn pro-
duced two hundred sixty eight
loads of clover hay the year be-
fore.
We next inspected the herd
bulls. No one knows the value Of
the dairy sire any better than the
Rundell brothers, not even Mr..
Griswold who spoke in the after
noon on the "Dairy Sire" The
four Rundell brothers of Living
ston, Hammond and Roberts, own
their bulls together, although they
live three hundred miles apart,
they exchange with each other
to avoid in-breeding. Besides their
three Langwater bulls they re-
Gently imported "Clara's Sequel +"
paying the highest price ever PAID
for a Guernsey Sire on the island.
The present herd bull on st. Crolx
Farm is "Langwater Princeling,"
who is half brother to "Dolly Dim
pie" and has for his dam Lang
water Princess" who is the best
two year old daughter of king OF
the May and has a record OF SIX
hundred fifty-one pounds OF Dut-
terfat at two years OF age. The
cows on st. Croix Farm are a use
full lot and are making good A. X.
records.
The crowd began to arrive about