The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1914-01-01
BIG BUSINESS ON THE BIGGEST
FARM.

BIG BUSINESS ON THE BIGGEST
FARM.
How Things Are Run On The David
Rankin Lands in Atchison
County.
Here are some recent glimpses of
the largest tillable farm in the Unit
ed States, the $4,000 acre ranch of
the late David Rankin, near Tarkio,
Mo-, as it is being operated today,
says the Kansas City Star:
On the largest tillable farm in
America there is but one gang pillow,
pulled by a traction engine. One of
many lessons learned on the $4,000
acre farm of the late David Rankin,
near Tarkio, Mo-, is that a gang pillow
does not pay when diversified farm
ing-the raising of corn, wheat, oats
is followed. The experts who run
the big Rankin farm say that a gang
pillow is good thing In the wheat
fields of Kansas, where hundreds
of thousands of acres of wheat land
is to be turned over every year.
There the land is level, the burrows
are long, often miles in length. But
in Missouri and eastern Kansas,
where cornfields occupy large part
of the landscape, the gang pillow has
proved a failure. The corn rows are
short, the fields often are crossed
and recrossed by creeks and ravines so
that traction engine pulling brace
of plows cannot pass with convent
ence. But the greatest obstacle to
wholesale blowing in the corn coun-
try, according to the experiences at
the Rankin farm, lies in the fact
that gang plows provide an unneces-
sary vacation for the horses. On the
Rankin farm, where fourteen thous-
and or fifteen thousand acres OF corn
are cultivated every year it is neces-
sary to maintain several hundred
head of horses and mules to Guilt
yate the crops after they are plant
ed. While the gang plow, propelled
by steam, is turning over thousands
OF acres of rich corn, wheat and oat
hnd. the horses thus maintained for
the cultivation of the corn crop and
other farm work, stand idle. But
they are eating three meals in day
and kicking up their heels in ad5oin-
ing fields as the steam pillow goes
putting past. The tractor and the
gang plow is of no use in the ploW-
ing and the picking of the corn, and
the horses are. Hence it has been
proved on the big Rankin farms that
the tractor and the gang plow, IN
country where diversified crops may
be laised, is a delusiOn and snare,
and the tractor and gang pillow that
were sold to the Rankin farms by an
oily tongued stranger several years
ago have been entered on the ledger
of the Rankin farms in the reddest
ink that the bookkeeper has at his
disposal.
Horses and mules are not permit
ted to grow old on the Rankin farms.
Every year a sale is held and at this
sale every horse and every mule that
hes reached a respectable age, is dis
posed of. The United States govern
a,ent has figured that horse or a
mule reaches the maximum OF It's
usefulness at 8 years, but the maxi
mum is never reached on the Rankin
farms Practically every year the
stables on the ten ranches are re-
habilitated with practically an en-
tirely fresh population of work ami
mails, insuring the maximum OF Ell
fciency. At the last sale 357 horses.
ard mules we're sold and the pro-
>eeds of the sale Melted more than
$4,000. Buyers come from points
hundreds of miles distant to Tarklo
to attend these sales.
In the last three years twenty-five
sjlos have been built on the RANKIN
farms. There are nearly one hum
bred windmills. The first silos were
built of wood. 1t was found that
these silos were easily blown down
and that they were otherwise un-
stable, and for the last 1.-TWO years all
the silos have been built of hollow
lille. REINFORCED with concrete. 1t
has been more expensive, but more
economical. -..,-e b..
An eloquent argument for good
roads is furnished by the Rankin
farms. The farms extend from Tar
kfo up into Iowa, the distance from
~ne end to the other being twenty
I've miles. Five thousand cattle
we're fed on the farms this year.
fourteen thousand acres of corn
we're grown, three thousand of
wheat and three thousand of oats.
The crop from the thSee thousand
acres of wheat, which averaged be-
tween twenty-five and thirty bushels
10 the acre, was sold in Tarkio-the
only crop that is ever sold from the
Rankin FARMS The corn Is fed to
The cattle and the oats to the work
animals that keep the farm in opera
don.
Yet, Notwithstanding the vast acre
axe OF corn raised on the farm this
sear. ~ in other years. corn Will be
sd ON that part Of the big farm
vhich He rear TarkiC, and purchased
- TIE Rankin farms. Corn will be
pnrchaaeA 10 leed stock on some parts
from neaghSers ~ tseA 81 that part