i   'i. r -^  *<   ■*     - A.      ^:     „ -* - 'J- [___- —^— *- \ / ^ ~ N »-*—"—  _^~~—-^
VOL,. XIII.
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, DECEMBER 21, 1878,
NO. 51.
FOB SAMS.
FOR SALE—Whitney sewing machine needles, all
sires, at 30 cents per dozen.   Send order to INDIANA FARMER COMPANY. tf
FOR SALE—25 of the~best Chester White pigs I
ever saw, weigh from 100 to 225 lbs, atJIO for
choice, or »15 a pair Address, E. R. MOODY, Eminence, Kentucky.
FOR SALE—The   Farm Register and  Account
Book.   Complete method of keepjng farmae
^lOR  SALE—The
_   _ .     . . eplng _
counts. Prlcell each. Address INDIANA FARMER
COMPANY, Indianapolis.
J-
FOR SALE—Extra, No. 1 milch cow, 8 years old,
heavy with calf; and a Short-horn bull past 2
years old. Price, f!5 each. J. E. WALKER, La-
monff, Hamilton county, Ind,
FOR SALE—Short-horns—Fletcher s young Marys,
Phylis, Agathas, Brides, Gems, etc. Bulls and
heifers, choicely bred. Correspondence solicited.
E. C. THOMPSON, Lock Box 1, Edlngburg, Ind..
FOR SALE—150 Berkshires from my Imported herd.
Pigs weighing 40 to 100 pounds, flO; young sows,
|15 to $_a. They are as fi.no as the finest pedigreed
•tock.   WM. II. FALL, Lebanon, Boone Co., Ind.
FOR   SALE— 20 head of Poland China sow pigs,
6 months old, good color, well made, for $10 each,
to Introduce my stock.   This offer for 30 days. Boars,
Sood. 112; choice, 815 each; 5 to 6 months old.   A. W.
LOSS, Muncie, Ind,
FOR SALE—Large, high-bred Poland China pigs,
of both sexes, near doscend^"___ from the noted
pr!_e hogs Bismarck, Tom Cof Vin and Perfection.
My herd are healthy and vigorous. Prices reasonable. Satisfaction guaranteed. T. M. REVEAL,
Fisher's station, Hamilton county, Ind,
FOR SALE—Choice Poland China boars, ready for
service. Also, sows, bred to my fine boar,
young General Magie. Prices low. Short-horns at
beef prices. Address. L. H. AIKMAN, Dana, Ind.,
Box fi. .
W_-_*T_f-D.
11/ ANTED—Agents, for sale of Book ever}' Farm-
n     er wants.  See advertisement on 7th page.   J.
B.Haxin.        '       - eow
11/ ANTED—To exchange spring mattresses and
T v    lounges for country produce.   No, 45 Ma__;achu-
setts Avenue, Indianapolis.
WANTED—Agents, on salary, after 3 months
trial, on splendid commissions, to sell the new
medical book for families by the famous Dr. Hall.
Secure your territory soon. It will have a splendid
sale. Send |1 50 for complete outfit and contract for
exclusive agency. Only 1 township at a time given
to one agent. Ask for lst and 2d choice of territory.
ERED. X. HORTON A CO., Publishers, 66 East Market street, Indianapolis, Ind.
LOAJT-.
TO LOAN—Money, at the Farm Loan Offlce of T.
C. Day. Interest at a low rate and payable once
a year. No interest in advance. Commissions moderate. No charge for examination, abstract or vlew-
lngfarms. Address THOS. C. DAY, or W. C. GRIFFITH, 24 Thorpe Block, Indianapolis.   '
SITSC EUsAHitZOI"- ■,	
s
M. UOODE- Dei fe;' over 80 West Pennsylva
»   nla street.   Prices* reduced to suit times.
C.
C. BURGESS, Dentist.   Offlce in room 4 Va-
Jen*a Exchange Block, N. Pennsylvania St.
MONEY TO LOAN—Sums of S300 to {3,000 on improved    farms.    EUD:—  "
VINTON, Indianapolis, Ind.
proved    farms.     RUDDELL.   WALCOTT   A
I have some good farms for sale, and desire calls and
correspondence from parties ln quest of them.   G.
W. ALEXANDER, 36 East Market St.	
STRAYED—Two black match colts, three years
old (horse and mare) Dec. 7. Liberal reward for
any Information of them. A. B. A A. Gitkn, Frankfort, Ind.
• * A LLEN'S DRUG STORE, opposite Postofflce, is aa
_£__. good a place as you will find for anything ln
drugs, patent medicines, dyes, perfumes, toilet artl-
cles, etc.
KEAL ESTATE ADVERTISER tells all about
the Blue Grass Valley of Middle Tennessee.
Price 25 cents a-year. Published by E. M. COCK-
RILL, Real Estate Agent, Gallatin, Tenn.
||ii?e
SHOBT-HOBNS FOB PROFIT.
A friend, who has very thoroughly
tested the comparative value of beef cattle, says that his late experiments are the
most conclusive of any he has tried yet.
He" had several grades of Short-homs,
and an equal number of common steers,
of the same age. He gave them the
same feed, grazing and' treatment in
every respect. "When he put them into
market at the same time he found that
the lot of Short-horn grades had increased 70S pounds, while the lot of common steers had increased but 502 pounds
on the average. He sold his grades at 3 J
cents per pound, and could get but 2}
cents for the common steers. . This is a
plain case. Now let any one count the
difference, and decide whether he can
afford to fritter away his time and feed
with common stock, when he can buy
Short-horns, now so cheaply, to produce
grades with. Our friend assures us that
both lots of cattle were fair, representatives 6f their class.
A Heavy Calf.
Editors Indiana Farmer.
Quite a number of farmers bave reported through the Fabmer the weight
of their lambs and pigs, but I have not
'noticed any .freight of calves. I will give
the weight of a calf from one of my
cows, a 15-16 Short-horn, which weighed
when nine hours old, 118 pounds, which
I think is a good weight fora calf of that
age. The sire is a thoroughbred Shorthorn (Willie Dodge), now near five years
old. He from Lone Star, 14,743, dam
Minnie Dodge. If any one can beat that
weight at that age, I should like to hear
from them. ROBERT YOUNG.
Geetingsville, Ind.
 < — »	
Keeping Sheep at 75 Cents per Head.
- Editors Indiana Farmer:
I see in your issue of Dec. 7th, a query
from B. F. McG., of Montmorency, asking for address of party in Georgia who
can keep sheep at a cost of 75 cents per
hfead. If he will correspond with me I
think I can And him a responsible party
who will keep any number above 500 at
75 cents per head, if he is willing to risk
them in the hands of a Jay Hawker.
John T. Lett.
Garfield, Kan.
SALABLE
HOW     TO*1   BREED
HOBSEB.
In a conversation not long since with
the
-_-lS_"__ -OH
fca—a 7_6lnpany that constantly e-Iiploy
some 2,000 head of horses, he remarked
to the writer that his company had
learned by experience that it did not pay
to buy light horses. They had commenced
with the idea that a 900 to 950 pounds
horse was the size best suited to their
wants, but they gradually learned the
importance of greater weight, until
finally they had come to the point 1,100
pounds was as light a horse as they cared
to buy at any price. Many of the very
best horses are found to be not less than
1,200 pounds weight. In addition to this
they require them to be low, short-
legged, heavy, compact horses—pony-
built fellows, with the best of legs and
feet.
Now the horse best adapted to the use of
this company, is the horse best adapted to
all the other street car lines of the country. The three companies in Chicago,
combined, employ about 6,000 head. St.
Louis, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Boston,
New York, and Brooklyn, will probably,
each employ an equal number, to say
nothing of hundreds of other cities employing smaller numbers. Then, the
vast army of omnibus horses in the
towns and cities must be of a still
greater size, while the thousands of
trucks, baggage wagons, transfer wagons,
express wagons and others for moving
heavy freight about the cities, require
horses weighing not less than 1,400
pounds, and even those weighing 1,600
are still more highly prized.
These being the sort of horses that
commerce requires, it needs but a small
grain of common sense to perceive that
these are the horses for farmers to raise
for profit. The demand for horses of
average weight ia very limited indeed,
and is confined to light driving on the
road. And then to sell at all must be
of the very choicest quality—fast and
stylish—and only the very best among
them can be sold. The supply of such
horses is always greatly in excess of the
demand. It becomes then an interesting
question how these 1,200 to 1,600 pound
horses can be had with certainty. Happily we are not left to conjecture upon
this subject. There is a race of horses
that have for centuries been bred with a
view to rapid draft, and this is the Per-
cheron-Norman horse of France.
The omnibus horses of Paris which are
of this light type of tlie Percheron race,
have for years been the admiration of all
intelligent horsemen who visit that
metropolis, while the larger type are unequalled for heavy draft. In the quality
of the feet and legs as a race, they have
no superior, while in hardiness anil docility they stand confessedly, at least, the
equal of any other stock. They have
been so long bred to these points that
they transmit these with greater certainty than any other breed. Indeed it
is a conceded fact among all well-
informed men that there is no heavy
breed of horses in the world so weU
established as the Percheron-Norman of
France.
The way, then, to breed from our common stock the tort of horses that com
merce now demands is manifestly to
couple their mares with purely-bred
Percheron-Norman stallions. The result
is. almost always satisfactory when" the
-lia-j-B«<s\«it.
For the Indiana Fanner.
Stock Farming.
'■*. f BY PROF. B. T. BBOWJf.
-TSTPEoveprn'rOCK.
birniirj.. <W'j*->.%i^^.fematkftbV_aotthat-.whiloS-aii,
^ngs^^^"°W^s I r}a in „heir wl,d 8t*te mniain'for t
Percheron-Norman—sound andjhardy as tunes, the peculiar type of their species
a mit from head to foot. Such are the in all its distinctive peculiarities, domes-
horses that always prove successful in {ic animals become directly divided into
the stud, and to which every farmer. .... ,.~ . „ -_.„*__-..-]._.
can breed with a reasonable degree of varieties differing materially
certainty  that  the  produce will be a
salable horse at a good price.
THE SHEEP INDTJSTBY.
It is said that England has about
18,000,000 head of sheep, a large part
of which is grown for mutton- as well as
wool. Notwithstanding this, we exported
mostly to that country during last year,
300,000 pounds of fresh carcass mutton in
the refrigerator steamers, and shipped
live sheep to the value of over $200,000.
During three-quarters of this year we exported 128,860 head. We do not supply
our own markets with the demand for
wool by any means. Last year we im- [
ported over $6,000,000 worth of wool for
manufacture. We also imported many'
millions of dollars worth of foreign-made
woolen goods. This country is in its infancy in this industry. If we should
annually double our sheep for several
years still the demand would hardly be
supplied, either in wool or mutton. This
great industry should *be encouraged in
every legitimate way.
color,
! form, size, and aptitude to form peculiar
habits. This has been attributed to the
ever-varying circumstances under which
domestic animals are kept; and this is
probably the true solution of the
problem. It is observed that special
treatment, whether in plants or animals,
has a tendency to develop certain properties; and care in selecting those individuals to propagate from, in which the
desired peculiarity is most prominent,
will secure a variety which will remain
permanent as long as it is kept surrounded by the circumstances which
(produced it.    But we must remember
The Farcy.
Editors Indiana Farmer;
J. M. S.—The colt has the farcy, which
isone form of glanders, and bears the same
relation to that disease, that varioloid
does to small-pox in the human family.
The jockeys at the stables, and pretended
horse doctors, call it the "button farcy."
There are few diseases of the horse more
deceptive in character, or varying in
symptoms than this. Some times the
lumps do not appear, but there will be
very rapid swelling of the hind leg, and
when this is reduced, the other leg, or
the nose may suddenly swell, and the
horse be off his feed, and have a staring
coat, etc. Other cases will show the
lumps which J. M. S. speaks of, and the
animal may be well to all appearance.
The lumps may disappear without breaking, and weeks after suddenly appear
again. A horse may live for years with
the disease, and suffer no apparent inconvenience from it, while the one working by its side may bo suddenly carried off
by glanders, as the matter discharged
from these buds, coming in contact with a
crack or sore in tlie skin of the well
horse, may inocculate it with either farcy
or glanders. In the early stage of the
disease, it may be cured, but a case of
long standing, as the one mentioned,
will not be likely to yield to home treatment. It will be better to either kill the
colt, or place it in the hands of a skillful
veterinary surgeon.        Delos Wood.
North Madison, Ind.
heavy European draft horse
with Arabian courser. These
afterwards became wild on
the plains of Mexico and
Pampas of South America.
The Mexican mustang represents that degenerate race and
is probably a fair example of
the primitive horse before domestication changed his ty_n.
The production of
DIFFERENT VARIETIES
in our domestic animals gives
the stock farmer a choice as to
the special purpose or use for
which he raises stock. Horses
for draft, for farm work, for
the carriage, or for the saddle,
will require severally, special
properties and qualities, and
if the animals are raised for
tlie market, the present price
i\nd probable demandin future should be consulted before selecting the grade we
will raise. So, also,iWith cattle- If the purpose is to supply the beef market, a different selection should be made,
than that which we would
make if the stock is to be used
for dairy purposes.
Sheep are raised ' both for
mutton and for wool, and
both these objects are usually combined, though \>ne is
generally made primary and
the other incidental. If fine,
high-priced, wool is the chief
object, the small Spanish or
Saxon varieties will be selected, but the fle_h will be
of little value. If mutton is
the chief object, with a good
yield of medium-priced wool,
     (then the  Southdown,   Cots-
wold or Leicester breeds will be raised.
In none of our domestic animals has
cultivation made so great a change as in
the hog.   This relates not only to the
to bring it into market. Forty years ago,
we did well.'if we brought a hog up to
the weight of 250 pounds in 24 or 30
months, now the same weight is often
reached in 10 or 12 months. But this
question of improved stock has anothei
side that must not be concealed. As we
depart from the normal type of the
species, in any animal, we reduce the
vital force of that animal. That is, it
becomes less hardy, less able to resist the
inclemencies of winter and the vicissitudes of season, and more subject to diseases. Hog cholera is not the disease of
the ''woods hog" of 50 years ago, nor do
the semi-wild cattle of Texas suffer from
"Texas cattle fever," though they communicate it to our improved stock. I am
aware that this principle has been called
in question, but it rests on a physiological law, and every day's observation of
facte sustains it.
earlier age, but I must confess that Mr.
Bittinger has surpassed all other breeds.
I am familiar with the Chester White,
such as S. H. Todd, of Ohio, and E. B.
Moody, of Kentucky, raises, but havo
never seen such Cheaters as Mr. Bittinger has. I will not doubt the statement
but call the pig a very large Chester.
Dick Joves.
Columbus, Ind.
 . .   «-,    »	
CAUSE AND  CUBE OF HOG
CHOLERA.
Dr. Detmers, one of the commissioners
appointed by the government to discover the cause and cure of the swine
disease now prevailing, claims to have
made the discovery, and is at work on
his report on the subject. A writer in one
of our exchanges says that he believes
that he has found the cause of the disease, that it is in the countless multitudes of bacteria which swarm in the
blood, the serum, and all the diseased
organs and tissues. These monsters
(they are a ten thousandth by a seven
thousandth of an inch respectively, in
length and breadth) are not to be found
in any of the organs or portions of
healthy swine; but they were numerous
in the virus with which the healthly
swine were inoculated, and under which
a majority succumbed. Of course one
not up in such technical and scientific
subjects is liable to go wrong, and therefore without going further in this direction, let us turn to the commissioner's
advice on the subject of prevention and
cure.
Treatment and prevention.—There can
be no successful medication for the dis-.
ease; therapeutic treatment is out of the
question, and on this point the report
will be decisive. The remedial treatment
must be wholly one of-<lifio»*»*-—*,1-1"l»---
—~__- _____-_;_ >-_.„-- ■»-—J improved
Dr. J. P. Forsythe, owned a third interest in the horse Lord Clyde, and he
sold that for $316 72 to Keaton & Maris,
they being the former owners of two-
thirds of said horse.
that varieties are forced productions, and
that there remains an inherent tendency
to go back toward the primitive type of
the species. In the early days of Indiana, the pioneers brought with them the
various breeds of hogs which each pre-
1 erred, but in their new home they all
ared alike. They had the range of all
he wild woods—lived on the herbage of
ne forest in the summer, and its nuts in
lie winter, with but little attention from
beir owner till "killing time" came,
vlien they were often hunted down with
logs and guns like wild beasts. In a few
^ears all distinction of breed disap-
eared, or was merged in a new breed—
the woods hog." This was a close
iproximation to the original wild hog
, the European forests.
ADVANTAGES OF IMPROVED BREEDS.
There are many advantages in keeping
■oved breeds of stock—advantage
wh)ch [no stock farmer can afford to
overlook, but in purchasing fine stock
he mult not forget that the good treatment ind special care which produced
the vajriety must be continued in order
to maintain it; otherwise a tendency to
degenqrate will be developed, and in a
few generations, scarcely a trace of the
improved stock can be seen. Failing to
recognj/.e this law of varieties, much
dissatisfaction has been expressed by
many .who have invested in improved
stock at high prices, and neglected to
give the animals the care which their
grade demanded; and thus suffered the
improved properties to disappear in their
near, posterity. ' These men, very naturally "cdnclude that improved stock is a
humbug. The tendency to degenerate
with neglect is more manifest in hogs
than in other domestic animals. Cattle
hold the characteristics of their breed
well, and will exhibit the peculiar points
of the variety to which they belong even
after the neglect of several generations.
Horses, of all our domestic animals, retain longest both the figure and disposition of tlie strain to which they belong.
But even horses, if neglected, will be reduced to a uniformity of color and size,
as well as general shape. The Castilian
horses which the Spanish brought to this
continent at the time of the conquest of
Mexico and Peru, were of the Andalu-
sian  breed, which was a cross of the
Sales of Jersey Bed Swine.
J. P. Luse <fc Son, of Round Grove
Stock Farm, eight miles north of Montmorency, Tippecanoe county, Ind., report the following sales of Jersey Bed
Swine: To Perkins & Son, Goodland,
Ind., boar and sow; to Dr. Gurd, Middle-
fork, Ind., sow; to E. Merrick, Middle-
fork, Ind., sow; to E. W. Allen, Lafayette, Ind., sow; to James Standford,
White Co., Ind., sow; to F. M. Welsh,
Carthage, Mo., boar and two sows to M.
Liverngood, Waynetown, Ind., boar and
two sows; to A. Wilson, Lafayette, Ind.,
boar and sow; to A. A. Wentz, "Vinton,
la., boar and sow; to A. Itaub, Earl Park,
Tnd., boar and two sows; to E. Rankin,
l^ankin, 111., boar; to M. Bogardas, Pax-
ton, 111., boar and sow; to A. C. Eccles,
Greenwood, Ind., boar; to I. Markley,
Vera Cruz, Ind., boar; to Albert McCool,
Boonville, Ind., boar and sow; to. I. R.
Fletcher, Clarksville, la., boar and three
sows; to S. J. Rees, Modena, 111., boar.
surroundings, and bettered conditions of
life and living in every respect. When
herds are "attacked, they must be sequestered from other herds, or destroyed,
and when individuals are attacked, the
same course must be pursued. If thi_
professor does not say in so many words
that the rations must be changed from
ear to shelled corn, or corn meal to bran,
or ground oats, roots, soft food and other
similar diet, he is emphatic on the sub-
jfCi of a radical change of ration, which
amounts to the same thing.
A 420 Pound3 Cotswold Shieep.
The Cotswold sheep, Princess Louise,
imported by Cotton & Cliffe, of Staffordshire, England, last spring, is now owned
by McKay Bros, Indianapolis, and is on
exhibition corner, of Court and Delaware
streets. She took the first premium at
the Royal Agricultural Show, England,
in 1877, and in 1878 was the winner of
the gold challenge cup, at the Grand
Provincial Show, Canada. She also took
the first premium at the Chicago Fat
Stock Show just held—the first for the
two-year-old . ewe, and sweepstakes for
the same, and grand sweepstakes as
the best sheep in the show. She will be
three years old in the spring, and weighs
420 pounds. This winter she will be kept
with several others at Malott Park, near
this city. Messrs. Cotton & Cliffe intend
to export 2,500 Shropshiredown and Cotswold sheep to different parts in Illinois,
Indiana and Ohio for sale.
Big Chester White.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
I wish to ask Mr. Bittinger if he
weighed his Chester White pigs, or
guessed at the weight? What kind of
Chesters are they? Where did they originate? How does he care for them, and
what will buy them? I am breeding the
Poland China hog, and have been for the
past 15 years. I never have seen any hog
of finer growth, or that will mature at an
OUB HOG EPIDEMIC.
Can it be Prevented ln the FutureP
Editors Indiana Farmer:
Having been in the midst of the hog
"fever" while it has been killing hogs
by the hundreds, and lost half of my herd
by its ravages, I ask again, can its re-occurrence be prevented? I frankly confess
that I know of no sure preventive;
neither do I believe there is any never-
failing preventive, and why? First, all
diseased hogs do not have the same complaint, and what would prevent or euro
in one case will have no effect in another, and even the same disease does
not originate all over the country from
the same cause, and neither has any entire herd been affected alike. Some have
typhoid fever, some live until their lungs
are rotten, while others drop dead in their
tracks.
Secondly, there has been more painstaking and exertion made to prevent,
than there has to cure, and when all the
farmers of an entire community use
their utmost endeavors, they do not
leave many "stones unturned."        ,->
I will give you briefly tlie treatment
my herd received from the time corn was
just out of good roasting-ears;  I commenced by cutting up and feeding, stalks
and all, about one stalk to each hog at
first and gradually increased the amount
just so they would chew the stalks up
well, continuing this until corn would
do to snap, and when I took them from
grass I gave them access to the potato
patch and orchard, and when these were
cleaned up I fed them pumpkins and
kept rotten wood always within reach;
gave them char-coal, ashes and salt, all
they would eat the year round, with
pure spring water within easy access,
and slop and soap-suds regularly, with
moderate feed three times a day, and I
know that no diseased  hog was near
them.   But with all this care they all
got sick, and many of them died, and
some are sick yet.  There have been several hundred hogs lost in this neighborhood, old and young, of every breed, including Jersey Reds, as  well   as any
other.   Stock hogs are very scarce and
still dying.   Some people think it is because we have our hogs too fine, and say
we had better fall back on the old "elm
peelers" again; but I notice that they die
as quick as any.   The only hog I have
that has not teen sick is my premium
Poland China sow.   So it is no use to
argue that any breed can withstand such
any epidemic as we have had this fall.
J. V. V.
Springport, Ind.
Mr.J. II. Farrow, of Brainbridgejnd.,
sold in this market last week a fine lot of
Poland China hogs averaging 407 pounds.
>J«-