'ntmsfrial (topics. 
WESTERN NOTES. 
BT B. W. 8TEWART. 
John T. Alexander—Hio Great Farm. 
This gentleman lias attracted as much at¬ 
tention, for the U&t few years, as it' lie had 
been Secretary of State; und.as A. B. Dick¬ 
inson used to say," A man who knows how 
to breed and feed animals is fit for President 
of the United State*,” he would seem enti¬ 
tled to this consideration; for he not only 
knows how to feed animals, but bow to use 
80,000 acres of land for that purpose, and 
make it a* good a profit per acre as do the 
small fanners. This is truly a “ big thing," 
and it naturally creates more surprise than 
any mechanical or manufacturing business 
upon so large a scale, because the general 
opinion lnts been that farming, unlike other 
business, must be done on so few acres that 
the farmer can personally superintend nil its 
operations. But this opinion is founded on 
the supposition that Agriculture cannot be 
reduced to the order and system applied in 
great manufacturing establishments—* theo¬ 
ry which will disappear as educated mind, 
intellect and energy shall take possession of 
this field of labor. There is probably, no 
sphere of human activity where intelligent 
order and system can he used to greater ad¬ 
vantage. 
Mr. Ai.kxa.ndek is one of our purely self- 
made men, born in West Virginia in 1830, of 
parents who emigrated to this country from 
the North of Ireland, and who bad to make 
their way here by their own energies, lie 
was reared in the school of hardy enterprise 
and pract ical effort, rather than in the school 
of books. His father removed to Steuben¬ 
ville, Ohio, in his childhood. Much of his 
early education was obtained in assisting his 
father and others in purchasing and driving 
cattle from Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio 
to Philadelphia and New York; and these 
journeys were not a lew hours upon a freight 
train, but often consumed two months in 
the slow movement of animals to a distant 
market. This disci])line was not lost upon 
the hoy. With a ready, practical turn of 
mind, he profited by this intercourse with 
men and experience with animate, studying 
carefully the points in both, till he began to 
feel himself competent to purchase on his 
own account. 
He removed to Illinois in 1840, and there 
commenced his first ventures in the stock 
trade. Succeeding In those, he purchased a 
quarter section of land near Jacksonville, 
Illinois, and feeling his way gradually along, 
added section to section until about 1864, 
When this farm had grown to nearly 0,000 
acres. This farm is mostly laid clown to 
grass—blue grass, timothy and clover—and 
carries a very large amount of slock. It 
produces grasses of such excellent quality, 
and remains green so late In the season, that 
cattle keep in good condition on pasture 
till mid-winter. This farm is most pleas¬ 
antly situated, has received liis personal at¬ 
tention, and become his “ Home Place.” 
In the meantime he had become a bold 
but sale operator in cattle, having fulfilled 
Urge contracts with the Government for 
the delivery of beeves to supply the army. 
Time, with him, was a most important 
element ill all transactions, and he always 
made his connections, fulfilled his part, of 
the contract with such promptness and de¬ 
cision as gave him great advantage over his 
dilatory competitors. Business grew upon 
his hands to such an extent that in 1806 he 
purchased 33,500 (which he lias since in¬ 
creased to 27,000) acres in Champaign Co., 
Ill., of Mr. Suuvant, for $300,000, to feed 
his cattle upon. These two farms were 
stocked with their 5,000 head oi cattle, and 
a quarter million bushels of corn raised per 
annum to feed them on in winter; yet the 
oversight of all this did not exhaust his 
business energy and capacity, but he has 
for several years been the largest purchaser 
and shipper of cattle in the United States, 
lie is the first man who, being obliged to 
use railroads for transportation, on a colossal 
scale, has been able to command his own 
terms, by offering his immense patronage to 
rival routes. In a war between these com¬ 
peting roads, one of them sought to break 
him by offering lower its* to rival ship¬ 
pers ; but, having foresee, us contingency, 
he protected himself agains it, and came 
out triumphant, over all Combinations. 
In 1869, under a contract to ship an aver¬ 
age of 1,000 cattle per wide, he sent 54,000 
head to New York. Tins is the largest 
number of cattle ever bundled in a year by 
one man. 
Texas (tattle. 
The most unlucky enterprise over under¬ 
taken by Mr. A. was that of purchasing 
Texan steers to graze on his large farm. 
These Texans, bringing with them that fatal 
disease to our native cattle, spread it among 
not only his own herd but those of his neigh¬ 
bors. His losses in native cattle were about 
500 head, besides involving him in expen¬ 
sive and unpleasant, law-suits with his neigh¬ 
bors for damages. There was a time in 
1868 when the excitement ran so high 
among the people along the road where he 
had driven these Texans to his great farm, 
that threats were freely made to take sum¬ 
mary vengeance upon Mr. Eaton, his Super¬ 
intendent. 
The precise manner in which this disease 
is communicated by the Texans to our 
native cattle is yet in dispute. Mr. Eaton, 
than whom no man has more thoroughly 
studied It in a practical way, still holds to 
t he tick theory of propagation. These Tex¬ 
ans, when arriviug in warm weather, are 
covered with thousands of ticks, which soon 
mature, and falling off on the grass, reproduce 
themselves in countless myriad’s, attaching 
themselves to the blades of grass, and arc 
eaten by the thousand. When fresh Texans 
are turned into a pasture with native cattle, 
and allowed to remain a month, if the na¬ 
tives are then removed to a fresh pasture, 
where no Texans have been, no disease re¬ 
sults, hut if t hey remain long enough for the 
ticks to reproduce themselves upon the 
grass, they are sure to take th« disease. 
Thus showing that it is not the excrement 
of, nor contact w ith the Texans that pro¬ 
duce the disease. Texans brought into the 
country in the winter, when they have no 
ticks, propagate no disease. 
Mr. Alexander's experience with Texans 
sliows that several months of the most favor¬ 
able part of the season are required to get 
these lank, ill-fed cattle in a thrifty condi¬ 
tion ; and that to make it a paying business 
they must arrive so as to he turned on the 
first grass in spring, and become renovated 
and reinvigorated on our succulent grasses 
during summer, when, with a course of corn 
feeding in the fall, they might be made 
marketable animals. But if brought here in 
winter, they cannot stand out-door feeding. 
And, on the whole, it requires so much 
effort and so much expense to food them 
here for market, that they can only be profit¬ 
ably handled when fitted for market where 
they are raised, and scut forward without 
any re-l'eeding. 
Urond I,it iiit m. —111 w Great Farm.—How it 
is lllunntfd. 
This is, no doubt, the largest actually cul¬ 
tivated farm in the United States; and, 
therefore, some account of it and its interior 
workings will he of interest to farmers. This 
farm has been often mentioned by visitors, 
but we have never seen any adequate de¬ 
scription of its management, it is situated 
iu the southeast part of Champaign county, 
Illinois, about, one hundred and forty miles 
from Chicago, being seven miles from cast to 
west, and about six and one-fourth miles 
from north to south—containing 27,000 
acres. In riding over it we were forcibly 
reminded of what much of Western New 
York would be without its timber. Fifteen 
thousand acres of the eastern and northern 
portions of it rise into gentle swells and bil¬ 
lows of most agreeably undulating laud. A 
view from one of these beautifully rounded 
elevations—giving the eye a sweep of miles 
of pleasant fields, filled with hundreds of 
cattle of variegated colors, feeding upon 
those rich, green swards, made so by culti¬ 
vation—is enough to fill the soul of a frail 
man with covetousness of land. 
We do not wonder that the Eastern man, 
who has been content with one hundred to 
three hundred acres, becomes enlarged in 
his ideas, when his eye sweeps over these 
broad prairies, ami that his desires at, once 
swell to thousands instead of hundreds. And 
if any man is disposed to censure Mr. A. for 
unwarranted ambition ill appropriating to 
himself so much of the earth’s surface, before 
this judge passes final sentence, let him 
come, on a mellow autumn day, and stand 
on one of these beautiful swells, and take a 
view of its magnificent, surroundings, his 
eye resting and lingering upon all its at¬ 
tractions and temptations, and if his purse 
should warrant, he \) Ill be more likely to 
ask Mr. A. on what terms he would sell, 
than why he had bought it. It is a farm us 
remarkable for its fertility as for size. There, 
is. really, not a waste acre on it—although 
portions of it appear quite level; yet the 
flattest has a fall of forty to sixty feet to the 
mile, and is capable of being thoroughly 
surface drained by four furrows of the great 
plow through each sag. There are, per¬ 
haps, 12,000 acres of this level land. This 
land is in most admirable shape to be opera¬ 
ted as a single farm, and it is to be hoped 
that the opportunity will not, here lie lost of 
Showing that farming may be successfully 
carried OH Upon such a colossal scale; and 
that all its details may be executed in the 
completes! manner, at. a reduced cost per 
acre, and with a result of profit not reached 
upon small farms. No equal space of laud 
can be found where this experiment can be 
better tried. We will see how far the work¬ 
ing of this farm has been satisfactory. Mr. 
M. L. Sut.ivant began by putting Up a few 
rough buildings in 1859, and removed to it 
in I860. He placed the building called 
“ Headquarters ” near the center of the 
farm. Mr. S. displayed great energy, and 
with the assistance of Mr. Chas. L. Eaton, 
as General Superintendent, broke and put 
under cultivation some 18,000 acres in six 
years. This farm is still under the superin¬ 
tendence of Mr. Eaton, who thoroughly 
comprehends the true 
8 y«t<'fii of Working: 
so immense a plantation. It is subdivided 
into six stations—a boarding-house for each 
subdivision or station; and each of these 
stations it from two to three miles from 
“ headquarters.” These station houses are 
arranged with due regard to Yankee con¬ 
venience, each being upon runners, so that 
twenty to thirty yoke of oxen can move it 
where the work is most pressing for the year. 
Fifteen to twenty-five men are employed at 
each station, under a competent foreman, 
who is responsible for the work confided to 
him. Each of these station foremen is un¬ 
der the direction of a general or farm foreman 
and reports to him, who in turn reports to 
Mr. Eaton, the General Superintendent. A 
male cook is employed at each station, but 
the bread i» all baked and distributed from 
headquarters, and all the supplies are there 
given out. Each station foreman is charged 
with what he receives, and every month a 
balance sheet is made out for each station as 
well as headquarters. These foremen all 
meet and era mine these accounts, and thus 
a strife is produced among them to see which 
shall be most economical in expenses. 
The cost of board for each day’s work, 
actually performed, during the year, is thirty- 
four cents. This includes every person on 
the hu m. The cooking is all done by men 
—only two women on the farm. It will be 
seen that the distance between the head¬ 
quarters and the, different stations renders 
ordinary communication too slow for expedi¬ 
tious business; and Mr. Eaton devised a 
system of 
Sigunln 
for common daily routine. These consist of 
baskets of different sizes and colors. Each 
of these stations is visible from headquarters, 
and the first signal run up in the morning, 
signifies, “ all right,” if such is the case. 
Others signifying—' 1 want a man,” “ want a 
horse,” “ want farm foreman,” superintend¬ 
ent," Ac., Ac. The key is very simple, and 
enables the foreman to go where he is want¬ 
ed without any loss of travel; and a man at 
headquarters can see the whole situation of 
the 27,000 acres in five minutes.— [Tj/ bo 
continued. 
tc]b\ ferops. 
sward, harrow thoroughly lengthwise the ^ 4 4 
furrows; mark in the same direction one (l i)C IttlTIitlt. 
way three feet anda-half apart; plant about 
six hills to the rod in the row ami just four — - 
kernels to the hill. If from two to three ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 
kernels grow it is a great plenty. Run the - 
cultivator twice in the row, as close to the The apiarian who understands the princi- 
corn as possible; the same with the plow, pies of bee keeping, does not confine liim- 
Don’t expect that witn your feeble might self to any set method, but practices various 
you are going to pulverize the ground to any ways. I will give two ways which I like 
great extent with the hoe, but just go through as well as any 1 practice: 
and cut down the weeds as often as neces- 1. Take a new hive, containing as many 
sary. frames as the hive you use; set the hive in 
I forgot to say, put on ashes and plaster a convenient place; take all the frames out; 
at the rate of six bushels of unleached ashes open as many old populous colonies as you 
and one of plaster to the acre, us soon as have frames in your hive, and take one of 
planted, and, my word for it, you will beat the center frames from each of them full of 
the Onondaga Chief on the same ground. 1 comb, bees, brood and honey, and set them 
have grown corn, without a failure, for the into the new hive, closing it up so that none 
past twelve years, and have averaged over of the bees can fiy out until these different 
forty bushels of seasoned corn to the acre, lots of bees, thus put together, become ac- 
without manure, on this poor soil of Rich- quainted with each other. On the evening 
ford. The past season I raised nine lnm- of the second day, about sundown, open the 
dred and twelve bushels of ears on six acres, entrance so that they can fly out and work 
without manure, weighing over forty pounds their new location. As soon as you put the 
to the bushel; husked it in nine days, and different lots Of bees together, give them a 
so dry that the last husking would not heat queen ; for while they are thus con fused and 
when ground in bulk. This piece was full strangers, they will not fight each other nor 
of thistles and barn grass on an old pasture, interfere with the queen. Be careful in lak- 
It was plowed eight inches deep—one day’s ing out the frames of brood, not to get the 
work to the acre. Throe days’ harrowing old queen on them. The empty frames from 
put. on it; or six days; four days’ work the new hive are used to fill the open space 
planting; two days’ work to ash and plaster left in the old hives by the removal of the 
it; two days’ work cultivating; one and full ones. In all methods ol artificial swarm- 
a-half days’ work plowing out; to one-hall ing the time gained by giving the queenless 
day’s work putting up twine; twenty-four part a fertile queen is equivalent to a small 
bushels of ashes and six bushels plaster were swarm. 
put’on it; seven days’ work cutting it up; 2. In the middle of the day, when the 
the lnisking nine hundred and twelve bush- young bees are out at play, open a populous 
els, at five cents per bushel, cost $45.60; stock and take one frame of honey, and the 
cribbing same cost $9. frame which has the queen on it, (which is 
Richard Jewett. usually a center frame containing brood,) 
Richfield, Tioga Co., N. Y. nut these, in an empty hive, filling out, with 
HOW WHEAT BECOMES 0HESS. 
We find the following in a Canada paper 
in support of the theory that wheal turns to 
chess, and print it as a matter of record, and 
not with a view of opening up a discussion 
of the subject. We are anxious to see an 
instance, well authenticated iu a most un- 
get-rouud-able manner, when the plant from 
a wheat seed has borne chess. Here is the 
theory :—“ The roots of the wheat plant are 
of two kinds, seminal and coronal. The 
seminal or lap-root which proceeds from the 
grain supplies the elements ot fructification, 
or gives the grain character to the plant; 
the coronal or lateral roots draw from the 
earth the elements contributing to form 
the body or straw of the plant. When 
at a certain stage of the growth of the wheat 
plant the seminal or tap-root is broken or in¬ 
jured by the Hessian fly, pasturing,freezing, 
excessive rain, or the passage of a heavy 
wagon, the character of the plant is changed ; 
the seminal supply for its proper I’nieliflca- 
t ion is incomplete or cut off, and the product 
is a vegetable abortion, i. e., chess. The lap 
or seminal root, from the manner of its 
growth, can he, and is frequently injured or 
destroyed wit bout seriously injuring the late¬ 
ral or coronal roots. Jn pasturing, the strain 
on the lap-root is direct, from which it is fre¬ 
quently injured or broken, while the coronal 
or lateral roots, in consequence of the strain 
being indirect, yiekl sufficiently to save them 
injury. The upheaval of the soil from freez¬ 
ing has precisely the same effect on the semi¬ 
nal root, and for the same reason, while the 
coronal roots are comparatively uninjured. 
Sometimes, however, freezing and thawing 
destroy the coronal as well as the seminal 
roots; this, of course,involves a total loss of 
the plant, and is probably the most frequent 
cause of the failure of the wheat crop in the 
Middle and Western States. 
--- 
CORN CULTURE. 
A Tiojra County Fawner Tells How lie 
Does It. 
Looking over an old number of the Coun¬ 
try Gentlemen, dated September 20th, I860, 
I find an article, oil page 187, from the pen 
of George Geddes of Onondaga Co., N. 
Y., on the cultivation of maize. Now, I 
always have great satisfaction in reading 
anything from his pen; he has such a 
straightforward way of stating tilings; but 
when he tells farmers to sow their corn three 
feet and a-half both ways, planting six or 
seven kernels in a hill, I beg them try a little 
piece in this way:—After plowing, if green 
FIELD NOTES. 
Norway Oat CtmtructB iu Iowa. 
You and all of the Rural New-Yorker 
readers know something about the Ramsdell 
Norway Oats. These oats were sold to many 
farmers in Iowa, for $7.50 per bushel, on 
condition that the farmers would receive for 
the oats they should raise from this seed, $1 
per bushel. Some farmers have about 700 
or 800 bushels on hand, grown from this seed 
and cannot sell them. They have to pay 
their notes for the oats they bought of Rams¬ 
dell A Co. None of these farmers have 
received one cent for their oats to this date. 
Be so kind as t o let all Rural readers know 
that there are at present, agents going 
around and selling these oats on contract, 
the farmer giving his note for the purchase, 
payable in money; and these notes are sold 
to other parties, who will collect the money 
for them in the fall, and these farmers may 
keep their oats till, I don’t know wliat time. 
The contractors do not call for them, and 
the farmer cannot sell them; if he does, these 
swindlers will sue him for damages. 
Please put these few lines in your paper, 
for the benefit of many of your readers.—A 
Subscribek, Van Buren, Imca. 
Blond Turnip Beet. 
M. W. Gunn, La Salle Co., Ill., writes the 
Prairie Farmer that he thinks this the best 
beet for stock; that 1,000 bushels per acre 
can he grown, and believes they would con¬ 
tain as much nourishment as twice the 
amount of mangel wurzels, with half the han¬ 
dling. He says:—"Of course I he land must lie 
well manured, to produce such crops; but 
it will not pay to raise root crops for stock 
without, immure. To grow beets, carrots, 
etc., I would turn over well manured meadow 
in August, then plow and thoroughly pre¬ 
pare the land the next June, and sow in drills 
twenty inches apart, and thin the plants to 
six inches apart in tho row. In this way 1 
believe we can succeed in raising the largest 
amount of roots per acre, with the least 
amount of weeding.” 
Quitch Grass, 
The Rye grass of \V. H. G., Chester, Pa., 
lots of bees, thus put together, become ac¬ 
quainted with each other. On the evening 
of the second day, about sundown, open the 
entrance so that they can fly out ami work 
their new location. As soon as you put the 
different lots of bees together, give them a 
queen ; for while they are thus con fused and 
strangers, they will not fight each other nor 
interfere with the queen. Be careful in tak¬ 
ing out the frames of brood, not to get tho 
old queen on them. The empty frames from 
the new hive arc used to fill the open space 
left in the old hives by the removal of the 
lull ones. In all methods of artificial swarm¬ 
ing the time gained by giving the queenless 
part a fertile queen is equivalent to a small 
swarm. 
3. Iu the middle of the day, when the 
young bees arc out at play, open a populous 
stock and take one frame of honey, and the 
frame which has the queen on U, (which is 
usually a center frame containing brood,) 
put these in an empty hive, filling out, with 
empty frames and set it on the old stand, 
moving the old stock a rod or so away. 
Most of the bees will go to the new hive; 
still there will enough remain to keep the 
old stock in a prosperous condition, ll you 
give them (the old stock) a queen, insert, the 
two empty frames in place of the full ones 
removed, in the center of the hive. If you 
do not give them a queen, put them on the 
outside of the rest, then they will not be 
filled with comb till they raise them a queen; 
as the frames filled with comb without a 
queen are pretty sure to contain drone comb. 
In this way you have a swarm as good as a 
natural one, with the difference that they 
have two well filled frames as a start in their 
now home. Eight days after the division, if 
no queen is given the old stock, open it and 
cut off all the queen cells but one. 
“How early in the season will it do to 
form now colonies?” As soon as the Hive is 
crowded with bees, and they are gathering 
honey. 
“ Is there no danger of taking the only 
queen from the old swarm, thus leaving it 
penniless.” Iu all methods of artificial 
swarming, the old or new swarm will be 
queenless, unless provided with a queen. If 
not provided with one, they will raise one 
from l lie brood which they have in the hive. 
“ How many swarms may be taken from 
the parent swarm in one season ?” As a gen¬ 
eral thing, one good swarm from one old one, 
is enough to be profitable; yet, if you are a 
skillful apiarian, you can multiply your 
sLoclts to almost aiiy desired extent. With 
the first method given, you can make a new 
colony from the old ones, every four or live 
days, as long ns the honey season lasts. In 
four or five days from the time of making, 
you can treat the new one in the same way. 
“By what means can the queen he cap- 
IS •.. . I....Kc .v..d 
is, without doubt, as you think, the Quitch |)u ; c ], t s mck twenty-four hours after dr 
grass. It is very difficult to get rid of in a ing. If you have none, they will raise o 
loose soil. 1 would say to himPlow the from the' brood. The new swarm shoe 
land and harrow it well; the roots will fol¬ 
low the harrow ; clean the harrow each time 
you get to the end of the field; when you 
have finished rake them together and burn 
them, or feed to sheep; then turn some 
queens are easily found, but the black ones 
are usually shy. 
"Can a swarm he artificially obtained 
from a common board hive?” You can 
make swarms by driving, although you will 
not be sure of getting the queen. If you 
do not get the queen the first time,you must 
put the bees back and try again another day. 
It you do not get the queen the bees will 
become uneasy; but if they remain quiet, 
you may know that the queen is with them. 
Jl yOU have a sealed queen cell, give it to 
the old stock twenty-four hours after driv¬ 
ing. It tarn have none, they will raise one 
limn the' brood. The new swarm should 
stand where the old one did before driving, 
that being moved a few feet distant. 
Borodino, N. Y. G. M. Doolittle. 
Wintering Bees. 
H. A. K., in Bee-Keepers’ Journal, says: 
along. Do not plow any more during the the pees cluster and winter well out 
summer, hut run the cultivator and harrow of doors. Hereafter, in giving advice about 
through it as often as you can, and let the wintering bees out of doors, we shall favor 
sheen assist you.—C. N., San Jose, Cal. some such protection above with sheets of 
suuep assist, .> > f 0 ] L between the tramos and walls of the 
. hive in front and back, and the side honey 
Preparation lor Corn 1 anrins. caS( .’ fl | le d with cut straw, or some Other 
At a recent meeting ot the Orleans Uo. absorWn g material. Inbox hives, an upper 
Farmers’ Club, at Albion, the plowing and chamber dr box should be filled with straw, 
preparation of corn ground was discussed at and the entrance contracted, to keep out 
length, and the sense of the Club announced mice. In the North, bees are most safely 
.0 be that land ... no,, be.v«, over 
six inches deep for corn; that corn should w ; rc c lotb. The holes through the top of 
be planted on a clover sod, and that the land box bives should be covered with wire cloth, 
should be thoroughly prepared, and most of : and the hives inverted and set ou half-inch 
the cultivating done before planting.” 1 strips. 
