VOL. XIX; '■';' ■'V*•:,S j   INDIANAPOLIS, IND., SATURDAY, FEB. 16,1884.
gj.
NO. 7.
STATE WOOL "GROWERS. I
Report of Semi- Annual Meeting.
TUe Wool Growers of the State inet|ln
lilth semi-annual session at the rooms of the
State Board of Agriculture, In this city bn
Saturday, Jan. 31, immediately after the
adjournment' of the ; Swine Breeders, an
account of whose proceedings was glvjan
In last week's Parmer. About one-half
of the whole membership of 150 wete pre-
eut. As the association meets twice a year,
the amount of business to be transacted at
this meeting was not large and occupied
but two half-day sessions. • Reports from
officer-, were satisfactory.- A number .of
communications were read: One' from
Hon. C. Delano, of Ohio, President of the
National Wool Growers, urged action upon
the tariff question, emphasizing the importance of an official expression from the
convention; another from1 the National
Association asked for $50 - for its sypport-^
referred to a ooniJM-ttoe.: .another from T.,
\V. W Sunman favored a • public Bheartng"
to be held in- the spring. ,']'IJ'[ "J, < _,,
president's address' '
lion. Molding Beeier,,2pt*l!Slds\nt of the
aHsoclation, ln.hls address stated that, not^
withstanding State legislation roncernlng
dogs, and national legislation' edfieWning
tariff, both detriinentaVto "sheep interests,
there were evidently not a few determined
to persevere. At present wool growing
was under a cloud, bnt he saw no sufficient reason yet to quit the business] The
close margin that a wool and mutton
grower now has to work on renders it ncces-
■ sary, however, that the shepherd use his'
best skill and Judgment.- He .recommended that they sell all their dulls ind
keep none-but the best. By so doing they
can command remunerative prices! The
practice of raising grain exclusively on a;
farm is ruinous, and besides we are^meet-
lng heavy competition in our exports of
wheat, etc., and in consequence beef and
mutton are commanding higher prices,
lie thought that 20 sheep could be put bleach 80 acres in the State and made to pa^
for themselves without care. .We have
22,000,000 acres of land In the State, [or say
1*3,000,000 available, which means an easy
possibility of 4,000,000 sheep/ or 3,000,000
more than we how have. Mr.1 B. also
recommended the establishment of brahch
societies over the State, one in each' county,
with a view to disseminate knowledge and
promote the industry. • - \        v," \
HON. LEE M'DAN-I-L,    ''-. j
of Rush county, read an  interesting paper
upon "Scab."   He Bald: •
Scab has baffled the skill of the best veterinary physicians. It Is allied to the
itch in humans and mange in the dog, and
js a skin disease. What I think is properly mange is generally and wrongly'called
*cab. It is a spontaneous disease, generated by dirt, rain and hot sun, causing the
sheep's back to break t_pen and become
sore, but without the. presence ofa'single
_ parasite. This ls not scab, It is mange.
The appearance is different; in mange the
pustules, or sores have a red, bloody tinge
about the edges and are depressed ,in the
center, while in the case of the scab they
•"•reraised instead of being dented. Scab,
I believe, ls allied to the smallpox1, Itis
ss contagious and as malignant. Its' origin
is in an insect that penetrates the skin and
jays eggs for hundreds of larvae. Whfen
taese begin to develop, the sheep.becomes
iretf ul, has fever and drinks much water.
The diseased parts have a very offensive,
peculiar odor. With this knowledge any
good flock master can tell by examination
whether his sheep. have scab or not. I
think the contagion will stay for years in
a locality where the disease has been, just
as with smallpox. I do not think wo
should ever attempt to cure the scab, for
lt is dangerous to the man and hard to do.
and tbe result is never satisfactory. A
sheep that has once been afflicted with
scab will always show it in hide and wool.
My advice ls to sell every sheep von have
on your farm as soon as you find they are
infected. It will ■ not pay to try to cure
them. Get rid of. them. The remedies
advised are many and' dangerous. As a
preventive I should dip tEe sheep each
year, just after shearing, ln a strong solution of tobacco, with a little sulphur added. This will prevent both ticks and
scab.
Quite an animated dlscnssion followed
Mr. McDaniel's paper, regarding the propriety of selling diseased sheep, the opinion of the speakers being decidedly
against him. It was pretty generally concluded that diseased sheep should be cured
and then sold and the place disinfected.
Mr. MoD. agreed to the Justice of this
method.' '• ' ,:*    " *
.'.''■'■.'*• o.'btars, "( ' . "' ','; ."
of Simpsonvllle, Ky.,, presented paper upon the ,'Care and Management of Breeding Ewes and Lambs," in which he gave
tho results of a large part of his long experience. He recommended the breeding
of only the best, and said that lambs
should be dropped from Jan. 15 to Mar. 1
of each year. One ram should serve 40 or
50 ewes iu a season. Early lambs are
stronger and thriftier than late ones and
wean earlier, allowing the ewe. to make
better use of the fresh grass., Fresh ewes
should be fed' on good ,. pasture and
kept with- their lambs away* from
the rest of the flock. Their feed should b«!
such as will produce' mllk.. A small enclosure should be made forthe lambs,
with feed troughs around the sides. Dock
at from two to four weeks! Shear dams
about April first If weather ls favorable.
If they have ticks dip them in a tobacco
solution. A little sulphur given in feed
occasionally , is good. Wean lambs at
four to five months and put on grass with
oueold sheep left with them. '   ,u
'..'...,,. prop, latta,  ; .;
of Purdue University, was present and
was called on for a speech. He said he
considered it essential to the best work ot
Purdue to have some live stock of all kinds
and the best breeds there, and he hoped to
see sheep ■ represented' before long.' The
University, has not now the necessary
funds to purchase or care for more stock
than "they now have; bnt hope • to be in
belter condition in the near future. '  ;;   i ;
FRIDAY MORNI-sTO.      -■■<■-'
At the morning session Nixon Henly,
of Morgan county, read a paper on . '.'The
Best Sheep for Wool and Mutton.!' . We
were unable to obtain'a copy of his address, and can only say that he favoreid
the Cotswold, all things considered. .Other
members were inclined rather to the
Southdown as the best general sheep.
• It Was decided that a sheep shearing
festival be held at the fall1 grounds in this
city ln the spring, and a Committee was
appointed to look after the arrangements.
The sum of $25- was donated toward the
enterprise. A number of premiums are to
be awarded by a Committee of Judges to
be hereafter seltwWd. :   "
. Appropriate resolutions on the death of
John M. Bray, Deming, Ind., who was a
member of the association and who was
killed in the terrible railroad accident at
the bridge over White river on the Air
Line road, Jan. 31, were passed.
The Committee on the question ofthe
restoration of the tariff on wool (law of
1807) reported In favor of It, and the report
was adopted. The reason of the Committee was that th«re is an unjust discrimination in the tariff laws against the
farmers, and that by restoration of the
tariff law of 1807 this mould be partially
adjusted so far as the agriculturist is concerned.
OFFICERS,
were chosen as follows: President, C. T.
Nixon, Indianapolis; vioe-president, I. N.
Cotton, Traders Point; secretary, I. J.
Farquhar, Trenton; treasurer, J. L. Thompson, Arana.
The convention adjourned to meet, the
last week in May.
8TATE STATISTICS. :
The following items from the recent report of State Statistician Peele will ibe
found interesting, although they are not
complete. Many of the township trustees
fait to make reports and the figures given
are based bn 880 reports "while there should
be 1,017:   - • • ■ : i. |". :
THE WHKAT CHOP        ' '   '    • i
shows an average yield of 10 3-10 bushels
per acre for the whole State. Based upon
tho reports of 886 out, of 1,017 township
trustees, the yield In wheat on 2,049,200
acres in 1883 was 31,405,57* bushels, against
an area of 3,0-3,340 acres, and a production
of 46,928,643 bushels for 1882. The highest
yield for anyone county is 1339,030 bushels,
in Posey, but her area of 60,807 acres does
not make her average over 13 7 10 bushels
per acre. The highest average was attained
by St. Joseph county, which, on an area of
63,321 acres, produced 810,509 bushels, an
average Of 18 7-10 bushels to the acre. : Lagrange, with 17 1-4 bushels, stands second,
and Elkhart and Kosciusko show a fraction over 17. The average in 38 other
counties ranges below 10 bushels to the
acre; in 10 counties it reaches between 10
and 11 bushels; in nine counties between
11 and 12; in five counties it shows 13
bushels; in three counties between 14 and
15, and in two counties 16. bushels. The
second tier of tbe northern counties shows
the largest average, while some of the best
wheat counties in previous years show a
remarkable falling off in the yield.
CORN, OATS, ETC.
The area in corn was 3,125,376 acres,
against 3,312,683 last year, and the production was 89,699,237 bushels, while in 1882 It
was 115,099,797 bushels. The yield shows
an average of only about 23 bushels to the
acre. In thirty counties the average is
about 30 bushels, while in forty other
counties it reaches between 20 and 30,' and
in a few counties only it falls below 10
bushels to the acre. Posey county shows
the highest average, producing on an area
of 49,451 acres 2,113,355bushels, being43 2-10
to"the acre,'whlle Vanderburg oounty, on
an area of only 21,892 acres produced 934,540
bushels, making an average of 40 6-10.
Knox county averaged 40 4-10 bushels per
acre.   '    ■ ...
The area of oats.was 456,280 acres, from
which was harvested 19,567,789 bushels.
This yield of oats in 1883 was tho largest
per acre ever grown in the State. The
same is true of clover and timothy. The
acreage in clover was 939,615 ■ and the tons
produced were 1,628,519. The acreage in
timothy was l,167,323,and 1,831,137 tons of
hav were producod.    ■'■■■■■
•The Irish potato crop is by far the largest
ever reported iu tho State. The area was
87,100 acres and the yield was 8,353,415!
bushels, against a yield of 7,244,88* bushel*
ia!8S2.
There are 11,487,814 rods of tile drainage,
while ln 1882 there were 9,524,297 rods.
The acreage of timber land Is reported at
4,412,008, while in 1832 there were 4,585,012
acres.
The salaries of county superintendents
and the cost of teachers' institutes aggregated $89,583. The cost of criminals and
prisoners in the county Jails was $137,982;
the maintenance of the poor $489,801; and
the expenses on account of the State bene- .
volent and reformatory institutions were
$54,370.
TAXES AND DEBT. -   "
The totals on the duplicates for the dlf- ~
ferent purposes are as follows: County
tax, $4,253,544; township, $291,136; special
school, $1,455,540; road. $1,446,570; total
State tax, $2,790,889; all other taxes, $2,-
030,250; , total for all purposes, $11,730,596.
The amount of delinquent taxes, with the
penalty. Interest, etc., Is $1,777,252. The
total valuation of real and personal property is $797,912,665. The total debt of the
State is $4,852,608.34
TUB MANUFAOTDRINa INTERESTS.
In the statistics on manufacturing, it Is
shown that there are 12,442 establishments*
in the State, which have a capital invested
of $52,453,955. The value ot the raw material used In 1883 was $96,904,306, and the
value of the manufactured product from
the raw material was $160,527,282. Em- *
ploymentis given to 78,940 persons. The
increase in - the number of establishment.
since 1880 has .been 1,244. There are Ul
manufactories of agricultural Implements,
giving employment to 2,714 persons, and
the value ot. tneir-manuifactnred-procliicUi .
is $1,875,792.
. .   BANKS. •"„ '
There are 98 national banks in Indiana,
and they  have a capital stock amounting -
to tho aggregate of $54,708,571.01.
THE RAILROADS.
The statistics on railroads show an assessed valuation of all property ln ' the
State of $53,480,932. During the year 341.75
miles of main track were built, and there
are now 5,240.19 miles of railroad in the
Stase. Improvements were made on the '
right of way at an expenditure of $1,318,-
528. The valuation of the rolling stock Is
$10,742,250. The number killed ln "accidents whioh occurred during the year .
from causes beyond the control of the
railway companies were 17, and 84 - were
injured. Those killed by their own carelessness numbered 104, and injured, 305.
The amount of damages recovered aggregated $3,954 90.
SOCIAL STATISTICS. '._ ^
In 1883 there were 2,169 persons naturalized ln Indiana. Of these 1,044 were from
Germany, • 207 from England and Wales,
207 from France, 116 from Ireland, and 77
from Scotland. The divorces granted during the year numbered 1,227, of which 756
were to the wife, 361 to the husband, and
110 were not stated. The decree iu most
cases was granted on the complaint "failure to provide" and "neglect." ..        , .   .
There are 4,162 church organizations and -
3,749 church buildings in the State. The
total membership is 460,714. The value of
the property ls $12,590,986. The salaries
paid, the ministers aggregate $1,045,337.
The other church expenses amount to
$349,292. The missionary and other charitable contributions during the year aggregated $224,859. There are 22,747 Sunday-
schools, with an average attendance of
224,447 pupils.
MABI0H C0TTHTY A. AHD H. SOCIETY.
The February  meeting  Of  the Marion
county A. and H. society will  be held on
Saturday  next/the 23d in the State Board
rooms.   Mrs.' Bolton  will-finish'her description  of scenery   along  the   Rhine'
which  was commenced  at last  meeting.'.
This being  the occasion of the' culinary,
exhibit, the'usual  program  of exercises
will probably be somewhat reduced.   It ls .
understood that after the award of premiums is made the society will resolve itself
into a testing committee and  so continue
until the cakes, plea and  things have disappeared.