610 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



A Texas man, happening to be in the group, and not wishing to be outdone in statement, 

 replied: &quot;That s purty good as to size, but way down South, where I come from, we can t 

 raise pumpkins at all.&quot; 



&quot; Why not? &quot; was asked. 



&quot;Because the vines grow so fast that the pumpkins wear out dragging along the 

 ground! &quot; was the reply. 



The description of some of the famous large farms of the country might seem to those 

 who were not acquainted with the real facts, as being almost equal in extravagance of state 

 ment to the above; and, indeed, when we consider the almost unlimited resources of the 

 country for production, and the possibilities of those yet undeveloped, we are lost in the 

 computation of the immensity of the prospect. 



The Dalrymple Farm. This noted farm the largest in the world consists of 

 from seventy thousand to a hundred thousand acres, all of which are under the supervision 

 of Mr. Oliver Dalrymple, the celebrated wheat-grower of the Red River Valley. It now 

 embraces the Case, Cheney, Alton, and Grandin farms the latter alone containing 40,000 

 acres, and is located on the west bank of the Red River, ab&amp;lt;5ut 25 miles north-west of Fargo, 

 Dakota. This immense farm is managed on strictly business principles as, indeed, all 

 successful farming must be, whether on a large or small scale and is under the direct super 

 vision of Mr. Dalrymple, who, from his office, can communicate by telephone at any moment 

 with each of his agents in charge of the different sections. It is said to contain nearly 40,000 

 acres under cultivation, more than two-thirds of which are in wheat, the remainder being in 

 oats and barley, while new land is being constantly broken to increase the acreage under cul 

 tivation. 



The reapers employed are the self -binding harvesters, of which there are 125 used in 

 the harvesting of the entire crop, each requiring three horses or mules, and reaping twelve 

 acres or more per day. The grain is threshed in the field, the threshers being operated by 

 steam, and, like all the other kinds of work, is done with the utmost system. The estimated 

 yield is about 1 8 bushels per acre of wheat and 90 of oats, the wheat crop alone averaging 

 about 432,000 bushels, which is about 900 car-loads, or 45 train-loads of 20 cars per train. 

 This immense crop is generally expected to net 60 cents or more per bushel at the farm. 



Mr. James Biggar of England, one of the delegates sent to Canada recently to report on 

 that country as a field for the settlement of agriculturists, paid a visit to a department of this 

 farm, of which he writes as follows: 



&quot; Next day we drove over the Dalrymple farm. On this division they had about 12,000 

 acres in crop last year, yielding on an average about 1 9 bushels per acre. We first saw on 

 the horizon a dark line which, as we approached, proved to be a gang of thirteen double 

 plows, each drawn by four horses, and turning 2 furrows, 1 5 inches each in width, and 3 to 4 

 inches deep, going after each other on a furrow a mile long. On another section, seven 

 double and six single plows were at work, and on another eleven double plows drawn by four 

 mules each. The horses were similar to second-class bus horses and showed signs of work; 

 but the mules were in fine condition, and seemed to stand the work much better than horses. 

 The sight was one not easy to be forgotten. In surveying the vast, unbroken prairie there 

 was a sense of loneliness and a doubt of its value as an agricultural subject, but the rich, 

 black soil being turned up, the strong, clean stubble of the former crop, and the fact of its 

 suitability for cropping being thus practically demonstrated, dispelled the idea of wildness, 

 and brought back a feeling of admiration for the enterprise and system of that style of 

 farming. 



There are four or five steadings on the farm, with excellent accommodation for men and 

 horses. The implements were also put past in capital order. In one shed we saw fourteen 

 self-binders and four or five steam threshers. In another, nineteen seed-drills and a pile of 



