vol. ^sax.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., SATURDAY, JAN 26, 1884.
NO. 4.
Written for the Indiana Farmer. '—   -
AGRICULTURE IN FRANCE.
Agricultural Savings Banks and   How
They Are Managed.
Horse Breeding nnd Other Methods of
Agriculture.
Paris, January 5, 1884.
One great obstacle to French agriculture
lies In tho absenco of pecuniary credit for
tho farmer. lie is not considered a trader
by tho law, that is to say, he is not engaged in commerce and industry; cannot
1)0 declared a bankrupt; hence, if the
banks come to his assistance it is as a pri-
vnto individual. French agriculturists
complain that it does not pay them to borrow at 5 per cent. Those who adopt this
view belong to the class who after obtaining a loan, have not the skilled knowledge
for its profitable application, and that
which is too often the case, the loan is invested in other projects. Farmers who
borrow when thoy are on the road to ruin,
will find the lowest interest excessive.	
PROSPEROUS T-OMliARDY    .;
if* perhaps thebest cultivated Country in
Europe; there farmers are thriving. Thoy
lmrrow inoney at 7 or 8 per cent and remain not the less prosperous. The reason
is they know how to utilize it. SI. Leon
Nay, ex-finance minister, has just visited
I-ombardy to examine into the working of
the agricultural banks, to which the prosperous condition of the farmers is due. In
France, the standing economical and administrative vice is, that the State governs
everything, and everything goes to the
State. In Lombardy it is just the contrary. There each townland has its savings bank, which is at the same time a
loan fnnd, and fed by the local deposits.
These little banks are managed gratuitously, and loans are granted, not on the farmer's property,but on his value as a shrewd,
industrious and steady man. These attributes count almost for nothing in France
where tho security must be material.
Lombard}- is thus covered with a net
work of mutual loan funds, and these In
'urn are sustained by the grand central
popular bank,that advances money to cash
bills. The rate of interest, perfectly free,
never exceeds 8 per cent. Each depositor
or shareholder has his hand-book, aud the
amount therein registered can be at once
negotiated by means of the book, which is
"crip and ever the property of the bearer.
The chief bank of Milan has 228 of these
little saving-loaning banks, manipulating
a total of 21,000,000 of francs annually;
there is a total of 3.5*5,000 depositors—for
traders and artisans can co-operate as well
as farmers, representing an' aggregate of
^000,000 francs—all thrift, frugality without parsimony.
IIORSE UHK.KDIMO.
France has certainly not yet got Into the
•ocrct of horse breeding; however her government since 1G51, has been more or less
dabbling with solutions. In Austria, I.u-j-
«a and Germany, the State breeds, tears
and trains nearly all the horses required
'or the army.   In  France, the State mere
ly has regional studs, occupied by about
2,620 stallions, of which 218 are pure English and 187 pure Arab blood; there are
1,8G0 half-bloods. These stallions are sent
over tho country for use in breeding. But
while the goverment devotes much caro to
providing good sires, it pays no attention
to the mothers.
It is not thus in the countries as above
alluded to. Further, Austria, etc., aim tf)
obtain a light horse, suitable for all kinds
of work, the saddle as well as draft. Now
French agriculturists desire a hoary .animal, awkward,unenergetic and lymphatic,
something of tho mastadon typo perhaps.
Now a circumstance orer which they havo
likely no control, compels to this preference—the habit of employing two wheeled
carts, instead of tho four-wheeled wagon.
The two-wheeled vehicle in turn is necessitated by the nature of the roads. There
is great loss of power in the yoking of fire
or six horses in a tandem line to very
primitive carts.
France expends 20,000,000.francs annually for the remounting of her cavalry. All
this money could bo kept in tho country
did the army buyers offer a higher price.
As it is, all animals higher tban tho chartered rates are exported. Horses are set
to work too young in France, some at 18.
months, aird-sirbecomo prematurely used
up. Farmers would not be able to work
good blood colts at such a Jow age, hence,
they prefer heavy,   massive sires.
The army vets aro experimenting a new
inodo of proceduro; they purchase the
horses at three years of age, and pending
two years, allow them to have the run of
meadows in addition to the stable, feeding
them well and training at same time.
These two years of idleness, though costly, pay in the end, as tho animals endure
longer, having been spared premature
fatigue. It has been found, also, that colts
thus brought up remain peculiarly exempt
from the maladies of cavalry horses condemned over to remain so many hours
daily tied to tho manger.
While on tho subject of horses, I may
observe that in buying them tho seller's recommendation never receives any
weight. Ho is too well known to havo an
ax to grind. The intending buyer endeavors to obtain a private peep at tho animal
in the stable, take the horso unawares, as
when tho dealer is present it would appear
different. A look can thus bo obtained at
the animal feeding, its ago controlled, the
eye peered into to ascertain if tho owner
be mild or wicked. Care is taken to havo
the horso shown off, not on a littered run,
but ou a hard, or stone-covered road, making it at first walk, and next to stand in a
horizontal position. Then order a trot, observing well if the animal on turning
yields to a side, to relievo somo drawback
about tho feet. After tho run,listen to tho
respiration and note tho movement of the
Hanks, press the throat to prove a cough,
if the latter be frank and sonorous tbe
horse is in good health, if dry and short,
beware. In the case of saddle horses, the
purchaser ought to mount himself and remark if the animal replies to tho pressure
of tho knees and the spnr; if the buyer is
occupied with a pair for a carriage, bave
them put to.and take the ribbons yourself.
AMERICAN PORK.
The government has recovered from its
scare,   the  great hog question   is  settled.
American pork is again conditionally admitted into France. Never having cotn-
iniinicivted trichinosis to Americans themselves, or the English, it was a strango
conclusion to consider it would injison tho
French. All's well that ends well. Hut
salicylic acid is now in as illogical a position as American pork; tho acid, in addition to l>eing a powerful antiseptic, is efficacious in tho treatment of foot nnd.mouth
disease, yet tho government prohibits its
uso as if il wero dynamite.
thk roon i.ri-vrio.N
is ever at tho front. M. l.ayot confirms
his experiments, that the addition of a little phosphate of lime to tho rations of
young horses, stimulates their development. Many farmers havo laid in supplies of leaves of the elm, linden and willow—avoid thoso of tho ash, as thoy aro
astringent, for the winter feeding of sheep.
Chemically, such leaves aro ranked in
point of nutrition, on a par with ordinary
meadow hay. Though palm cako and
meal are excellent fatting substances, Professor 'Holdefleiss, of Darmstadt, finds tho
meal less rich in fatty matters than tho
cake. In the latter ease.tho oil is extracted
by pressure; in the former by chemical
agents. The mean per contago of fatty
principles in the cake is 12. Attempts aro
again.being made to popularize the use of
Chestnuts for feeding stock. Mixwd with
the ordinary rations in the proportions of
two pounds daily for sheep, and 10 for eat-
tle.ciiestnnts have given fair results. They
are tannic and bitter, and hence liablo tb
induce constipation, but they impart no
special liavor to milk, and add firmness to
tho llesh.
SORGHO
has never really taken in Franco; it was
in 1851 that theFrench Consul at Shanghai
sent a number of tho plants for experiment. It was introduced-with too many
flourishes of trumpets. However, it was
from tlie industrial, not tho fodder point
of view, that its culture was advocated.
It was thus brought into competition with
maize and beet. Sorgho requires rather
much care, and is cultivated as maize.
Tho soil must not be poor, nor made too
rich; tho climate must have at least a
mean temperature of G9 degreos for 150
days; associated with theso conditions,
must be a fair amount of humidity or irrigation, for Sorgho is a tropical plant. Tho
plant grows to 0 and 11 feet high, in a tuft
of 8 to 10 steins, of which two or three
bear the seed. Ur. Sicard has discovered
that tbo saccharine substanco disappears
from the summit of the plant pending tho
maturation of tho grain, whilo it continues
to acctiminulatc in tho stem. The experiments of Riot and Soubeiran confirm, that
on removing tho ears of maize before their
maturity did not increase tho secretion of
juice in the stem more than 2per cent. The
same remarks apply to sorgho. Bear in
mind,_thematuraitionof the plant must not
l>e confounded with its natural desiccation,
aprocess quitodistinct, and taking place at
a different epoch. In France the yield of
sorgho is about 25 tons per acre, giving 25
per cent of its weight of juice, th.it which
represents about 19 cwts of orystaleizable
sugar. But this corresponds to tho yield
of beet sugar and tho latter can be worked
more easily, and above all, moro surely.
For forage, tilled like maize, 50 tons per
acre have been reaped; the plant must bo
cut before the steins harden and the knots
get woody. It is chopped and mixed with
bran. Some suggest to dry it liko haj\
Its great competitor however is maize.
HAWTHORN" HEDOES
along fields and railways, arc being utilized. At every six feet distance a good
hawthorn is allowed to grow above the
clipped surface; on this a sprout of a pear
tree is grafted, and trained in the form of
a pyramid will soon  yield excellent fruit.
A beet sugar manufacturer at Eichhofen,
undertakes to buy roots at 12 francs a ton
all round, plus an Increaso for roots above
a fixed richness.
WHEAT AND OORN.
Condition   of   tho   Coming  Wheat
Crop—Increased 'Production
In  India- Corn   Crop
of 1883.
Iteports from the various sections of this
and other  Western Stales generally agree
in statement that   tho coming wheat crop
went under the winter snows in good condition.   It  has been   generally   well protected  during lhe  extreme cold   weather
Willi abundant  snow, and up to this timo
tho   winter weather   has not   harmed tho
plant.   It is stated   by such ns   have carefully observed, that   last fall and the winter thus far have been nlmllitir to tho season
which   preceded   tho great  wheat crop of
1871).   Though the temperature in January
18711 but once wAs very low (22° on tbo 3d),
the   range  was high   for tlie   month.   Of   '
course the crisis of tho crop is to be passed
yet, for it  is  tho  February  and   March
weather   that most   usually   damages the
crop.   We only  know that  the condition
of the crop is good to this date. .....,_.
It is an imjK>rtant fact to the wheat •
growers of America to know that wheat'
production in India is rapidly Increasing.
That country in 1874 exported a little over
1,000,001. bushels only, whereas in 188:! the
wheat exjiort from India amounted to over
50,000,000 bushels. It went to countries
for tlie most part that have boen buyers
of our surplus. If this increase shall go
on as in the past few years, it means a
strong competition in the foreign markets.
This fact may account in some measure
for tho low prices in tho face of tbo short
cropof 1«K1. But as thero is a demand for
about 00 per cent of our surplus at home
and only 10 per cent abroad, theso facts -
suggest the wisdom of fostering our own
manufacturing industries so as to increase
the home demand.
Of the corn crop of 188:i tho advance
sheets of the report of the National Department of Agriculture say:
One feature of the corn-growing in 1883
should prove a lesson to tbe farmers of tbe.
country.   The general use of seed corn in
tho West  grown   in lower  latitudes, thu
planting of Nebraska  seed in Minnesota,
of Kansas seed in Illinois, has demonstrated
the folly of attempting lo ae.limato Southern   maize   in   more 'Northern   districts.
Much of the loss from   frost would have
been  avoided   had   seed   been   carefully
selected from the  l>«_st corn   grown in the
immediate  neighborhood.   The whole of
the corn grown in l*>S3in Miehigan, Wisconsin,   Minnesota  and Dakota, added to
half of  that grown in Ohio. Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska, would make an
aggregate equal to a fourth of   the whole
crop;   therefore a possible, depreciation of
40 percent in all of ltjwould be equivalent to
a 10 per cent reduction in the value of tho '
entire crop.   Tho   Illinois  agent (Fisher)
makes the quality 31   per cent  less  than
an average in that State.   The preliminary
estimate of tho corn crop for 1KS3 shows in
Illinois,  acreage" 8,151,)t>3,  being    Larger
tban any other  State;   yield per acre, 25;
bushels, 203,7*0,500.   In Minnesota,   acreage 727,155;   yield per acre, 20.8;   bushels,
15,121,800. The total corn crop of the country* was 1,-51,000,835, the acreage being 68,-
30*1,880.   The total wheat crop of tho country was 420,].">-l,5O0, tho  acreage  being 36,-
393,319.   In Minnesota the acreage was 2,-
5'J7,9W;   yield per acre, 12.3;   bushels, 33,-
373,200, b'eing a Larger yield than   for any
other State, except  California, where the
yield  was 30,322,000 bushels, the acreage
being 2,791,000, or 13bushels perac.ro.   In'
Illinois the yield was 11.5 per acre..