THE LARGEST FARM IN THE WORLD.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1588, 31 May 1887, Page 3

THE LARGEST FARM IN THE WORLD.

In the exlreme south-weat corner of Louisana lies the largest producing farm in the world. It runs 100 miles north and vouth and miles east and west, and is owned and operated by a syndicate of Northern capitalists, Their genera! manager (J, B. Watkins) gives an interesting account of this gigantic plantsticn, which throws the great Dalrymple Farm in Dakota into the shade oomp'i-teiy. “ The 1,500,000 acres of our tract,” Mr Watkins aa'd, “ was purchased in 1883 from the State of Louisana and from the United States Government. At Hint time it was a vast grazing land for the cattle of the few dealers in the neighborhood. When I took possession I found over JO,OOO heed of hr If wild horses »nd cattle. My work was to divide the immense tract into convenient pastures, establishing stations or ranches every six'miles. The fencing alone oost in the neighborhood of 50,000«lol. The land I found to be best adapted to rice, sugar, corn, and cotton. All our cultivating, ditching, etc., is done by steam power. Wo take a tract, say, half a mile wide for instance, and place an engine on each side. The engines are portable, and operate a cable attached to four ploughs, and by this arrangement we ere able to plough thirty acres a day with only the labor of three men. Our barrowing, planting, and other cultivation is done in a like manaer ; iu fact, there .is. not a single draught horse on the entire place. We have, of coarse, for the herders of cattle, of which we now have 16,000 hesd. The Southern Pacific Railroad run* for thirty-six miles through our farm. Wo have three steamers operating on the waters of our own estate, upon which there are 300 miles of navigable waters. We have an ice house, a bunk, a shipyord, and a rice mill.*