1903 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



23 



good part of the winter; and with the help 

 of those immense stacks of alfalfa right out 

 in the field he could make those cattle sleek 

 and fat, ready for deliver}' in the Chicago 

 markets. The plan had not fully materializ- 

 ed yet; but why shouldn't it work, and he 

 and the other fellow make good money? he 

 asked, and why shouldn't they? 



Now having looked over the alfalfa-field 

 let us go up to the ranch itself, or. rather, 

 to the center of it, where is located the 

 largest dairy barn in the world, probably. 

 It is 317 feet long by 96 feet wide, having 

 34- foot posts. It has an immense silo in 

 connection, and through the center of it run 

 tracks for carrying the feed for the cattle 

 without any pitching or handling from stall 

 to stall. It will accommodate 350 cows 

 without t3'ing. There is another shed at 

 right angles to it, 568 by 48 feet. This will 

 hold 600 tons of hay; and cattle, how many 

 it will stable I do not know. In connection 

 with the ranch there is a corn-crib that 

 holds more than 10,000 bushels of corn; a 

 grain-bin 240 by 16. On the ranch are 57 

 dwelling-houses in which live the workmen 

 and their families. In one part of the 

 ranch up on the hills where the land has 

 hitherto been perfectly worthless for any 

 purpose whatever, Mr. Watson has thriftj'- 

 grovving orchards. The wise heads in the 

 vicinity said it would be no use to set out 

 trees on those barren wastes — "wouldn't 

 nothing grow there." But," allee samee," 

 he has shown that fruit cnn be grown there 

 successfully. His 5000 cherrjs 3000 plum, 

 and 7000 peach trees all testify to his re- 

 markable mastery over the climate and the 

 soil. What he has done in showing the 

 possibilities in this semi-arid country 

 without irrigation has been worth millions 

 of dollars to Nebraska. The great Union 

 Pacific Railroad recognizes his work, and 

 seems disposed to offer him every facility 

 for the carrying-out of his plans. 



A little the other side of the dairy barn 

 was an immense creamery, and Watson's 

 butter is known all over that part of the 

 country. An expert has this in charge; 

 and what Mr. Watson does not know about 

 the business, this man does. 



In connection with the other departments 

 is an immense poultry' establishment. Mr. 

 Watson has called in an expert poultry- 

 grower, who had, I believe, at that time, 

 1000 chickens, all of them growing thriftily, 

 and without disease. It is the intention of 

 Mr. Watson, I believe, to have ultimately 

 10,000 chickens on the ranch at a time. 

 They are housed and taken care of in a 

 modern waj' in small flocks in a place. 



The bee business of the ranch was on a 

 comparatively small scale, but Mr. Watson 

 proposed with the advice and help of Mr. 

 Wilson to take it up extensively. "Just 

 think," he said, "of five thousand acres of 

 alfalfa all in bloom at once, and bees enough 

 to get the honej', and the bee-range all 3'our 

 own I Don't you think I could get some hon- 

 ey?" As he said this his eyes fairly 

 gleamed with enthusiasm. Said he, "Mr. 



Wilson and I will make some money, eh?" 

 And that reminds me that Mr. Watson 

 goes into partnership with all t'he heads of 

 his departments giving them in addition to 

 their salary a share in the crops, and, as 

 he said, "What is wjv business is theirs al- 

 so. I don't have to nag 'em to make 'em 

 hustle, for they hustle for themselves, and 

 that's the waj' I do business with my good 

 men." . 



I believe this is the largest ranch in the 

 world, under one man. There are other 

 ranches controlled by stock companies that 

 are much larger. Indeed, I believe there 

 is one alfalfa-ranch within about 40 miles 

 of Denver — well, it seemed as if I was 

 about an hour in riding through it, and 

 that too in a Pullman car at full speed. 

 But here is a genius at Kearney, Isleb., 

 who has been able thus far to spread him- 

 self over several lines of industry, and who, 

 through his great faith in himself and in 

 the soil, has mnde every one of these lines 

 pan out well. The land in the vicinity had 

 come up in value since Mr. Watson has 

 demonstrated what it can do; and he is as 

 anxious that ever}' one else in his locality 

 should do as well as he; for he takes pride 

 in exploiting new schemes and showing the 

 world how it can make a living off the soil. 



Perhaps I can give the reason of some of 

 Mr. Watson's success by giving a few of 

 his sayings; for as I talked with him he 

 uttered great truths every now and then; 

 and after I got on the train I jotted down 

 as many as I could remember. Here are a 

 few of them: 



"I shall be dead a long time, and I be- 

 lieve in making the most of opportunities 

 while 1 live." 



" There are some men who never move 

 fast enough to keep out of their own dust." 



This sentiment bubbled over while we 

 were driving with the wind through a cloud 

 of dust, the dust keeping pace with us. As 

 he hurried up the horses he went on to tell 

 that a man to suit him was one who could 

 keep out of his own dust, who could make 

 things move and get good results 



As we drove past some ground that had 

 not been plowed up, covered with weeds 

 ( and there are weeds that grow on that 

 great ranch simpl}^ because there are not 

 men enough there to take care of them) , Mr. 

 Watson said: "I believe in the usefulness 

 of even weeds, because they make us 

 work." Then he went on to txplain that a 

 certain kind of weeds would loosen the soil 

 when plowed under, and make an excellent 

 fertilizer. He did not believethe greatCrea- 

 tor put all these so-called nuisances on earth 

 without some purpose. It was the business 

 of every one of us, he thought, to find out 

 what that purpose is, and utilize it b}' turn- 

 ing the weeds into money. 



While we were talking about whether the 

 ranchmen would in time cut alfalfa just as 

 it is in bloom, Mr. Watson gave it as his 

 opinion that we need never worr}' about 

 that. Alfalfa grows so thriftily that we can 

 not keep up with it. Nine times out of ten 



