il )L. XIX
\2> IjTOIANAPOLIS, IND., SATURDAY, MARCH 15, 1884.
NO. 11.
u,f. Indiana Farmer^ \;'CV>
FRENCH METHODS:
.Us of Investigation and Experl-
i.nt by French Agriculturists.
,kt>, Ensilage,  Feeding,  Bedding*,
1'hjlloxera, Vine Bugs, Etc.
Current Farm News.
by J. P. T.
COTTON CAKK.
n"iiiary combinations for the feeding
I, make rapid progress, since farmers
gether to purchase the materials at
mntain head, through the banks
afford them accommodation; the
#i at the agronomic stations, prove
i powerful means to have sound
ts, as the latter are analyzed in sam-
iil then in bulk, before delivery be
it!. It is thus that cotton cake is
g way, not only mixed with maize
'or fattening, but with various meals
.etch, and barley, for milk' cows.
*t ly cotton cake in favor is that
jt .'.corticated cotton seeds from Ainer-
It is the safest and the only cotton
tff hat ran be employed without danger
sal mg animals. Unbarked cotton cake,
,S<| Hour, is oflered at a very low price ;
iM be avoided, as it contains fila-
• of cotton or cellulose, which from
indigestibility are inimical to the
tion of either milk or meat. Thus,
-jwifateil cake contains 15 per cent of
* matters, and 43 of albuminoids; in
***!idi?corticat_d  state,  not more than
Jf of these percentages. A mixture
m favor for milk cows, consists of
ourths pound each of pea and vetches
half a pound of barley meal and one
of cake. This feed of three pounds
n in moieties, morning and evening,
» cattle leaving and  returning to
KNS1LAOK.
.Jl ensilage of green fodder In silos or
*"• ^.continues to be one of the forei
„ nestions in the agricultural world;
«** now passed out ol the domain of ex-
-nt and ridicule, and become a con-
Si   'Jl:   ;e?itwas only in 1852 that the
* fwrof the plan, M. Goffart, of Bur-
I ■v>1°gne, first commenced his trials
I f„"?en'»tlon of the green stems of
j"    «trenches made in  ordinary soil.
•ural commissions and inspections
*»evers have since borne unani-
.„  .^'mony to the success of his dials   t Jf?i    er t0 encourage a system so
5 loli ' pi?<'Vcal advantages, several
to S,agn.cultural societies of France
n -entr, pnzef for the trench-preserva-
3     nsilage of fodders.
I ■S?/iite?ard trenched the yield of
H m i„„ f ,er in an ordinary sUo,
M ^'"eep,,so inches wide  at bottom
** *a.H?Li?,P*,a,nd55J'ards  lo"g-   The
W. WW^S"?" by shrinking.
b *!ilnrl eh''^ yards long,  contained
II Cnp~,acres,of -wi clover. The
« ,e^e,!,fou"tla|l the clover to  be
6 alioholila j1 ear brown ™l0Ti giving
1 i'litvOl^od°r; the animal, eat it
* or L ,.,.'• ™a.ard recommends that
_ latim. «heninl,;aU «ower, and
B •andw,^ther'u,mid than dry for
fi! '-Wi.?* the clover,  the bitter
^tinM*',0*310^ his pits, 22x10x7
«% Mr distul«*-y Pulp, to the
** ot Jun».' out between the 5th
seed irf»?na,when commencing
It *nr-f.ity'si:!C tons of stuff were
^~'ow _.?,! °?* weU* "M. Gnibe'rt
""**»!tor W8 results, though he
"expected to find his clover only a heap . of
manure. He had tbe clover trodden down
In tho silo by bullocks.
The commission concludes that all clovers
and aftermaths can be perfectly trenched,
as well as other green forage; that the
trenches exact no outlay of capital; that it
Is at the moment of flowering such forage
ought to be mown, as lt. then contains its
maximum of vegetable"-humidity; that
neither rain nor dew affects the pitting,
but on the contrary, if too dry it does not
keep so well. The employment of salt is
not necessary, nor is a mixture with dry
matters, cut straw, chaff,. etc., required.
Silos constructed ln masonry and cement
give good results, but no special system of
trench can be recommended; that ought to
depend on the region, the surface and subsoils, and the climate., The chief ends to
secure consist in the exclusion of air and
water; the pressing of the matter In the
trench with regularity, and covering It
with a pressure of eight to ten. cwts. per
square yard. Cutting before trenching is
not indispensable, save in the case of forage
with thick stems. In nutritive value, silo
food approaches most to winnowed fodder,
but is more assimilative. In the case of
milk-cows it Is a beneficial ration.
FOOD RATIONS FOR STOCK.
It Is the usual practice with housed stock
to commence the rations with hay,
and then having cleaned the troughs, supply the water, to be followed next by roots,
etc. This plan, or order of giving . food
supplies, has been called, in question. At
the agronomical station of Kiel, where the
cattle can drink when they please, the rations were distributed thus, twice a day:
Hay, cake, rootsand straw, lt was observed
that the cows only drank after having
eaten the roots (mangolds), and that as
soon as the special drinking trough was
refilled, they commenced again to drink
"With avidity. Only occasionally an animal
drank a little water after consuming straw.
31. PASTEUR.
The agriculturists of the Department of
Loiret have presented M. Pasteur with a
spedid objet d'Art—subject, Youth—in
honor of the benefits his discovery of vaccinating cattle against the eharbon malady
has conferred' upon them: Since they
have practiced his discovery they fear no
longer the disease.
HERRING AS MANURE.
The herring boats, on returning to
France after the season's fishing, proceed
to re-cure the fish; the refuse Is available
for manure. This is not in high request
from the quantity of salt it contains, 50 per
cent. It is suggested to wash the refuse
two or three times in water to carry off the
excess of salt, and then dry the debris,
which contains \\V, per cent of nitrogen
and 8 of phosphoric acid. The fatty matter, 38 per cent, and which is of no use to
tbe plant could be separated bv treatment
with sulphuret of carbon, which would
enhance the nitrogenous value of the
manure.
HORSE BEDDINO.
Messrs. Lavallard, of tbe Genera] Omnibus Company, assisted by Profassor de
Muntz, have been occupied Bince two
years experimenting on the relative value
of saw-dust, peat and straw as littering for
horses, and their importance as manures.
The conclusion is that saw-dust, from white
deal, ranks first, then peat mould, and
lastly straw.
ROI.I.ER CARTS.
A roller cart, though not exactly new in
idea, is becoming a favorite in the case
where the cutting np of meadow land by
ordinary wheels, during the transport of
top-dressings, is undesirable, especially
when mowing machines are intended to
be used. It is an ordinary cart, arranged
to be fixed on a roller of two or three
joints.
•J P1IYI.LO.VKRA.
T>e Society for the Encouragement of
National Industry has awarded its first
prize of frc. 12,000, to M. Faucon, Ior his
plan of resisting the ravages of the phylloxera, by autumnal submersion of the
vines and good spring manurihgs. The
plan is now applied to 50,000 acres of vineyards,    which  signifies an assured  pro
duction of more than half a million gallons of wine yearly. It is -regretable to'
learn that there are 200,000 acres of vineyards capable of being flooded, but that the
proprietors decline to so treat.
VINE BTJQS.
M. Gaillat, of Beaune, has produced the
latest remedy against the vine bug. Accepting as true that fire purifieth all
things, he has invented a small hand-machine, weighing three pounds, called a
llambeur, which injects a flame of petroleum a distance of ten inches. By a system
of cocks, this llame can be directed as desired, and a hood protects it from being
deviated by the wind. It is thus between
November and February, and during a
dry period, that he singes vines attacked
with the phylloxera, destroying their eggs,
etc. The same cure can be applied to any
trees affected with insects, regulating the
action of the flame to the delicacy of the
stems. It is capital for blistering off old
coats of paint and scorching of walls
of stables or apartments where an infectious malady has taken up its abode.
Paris, France, March 1.
_\xt %\%x\.x.
Postal Card Correspondence.
INDIANA.
- -Kosciusko Co., March U:—Stock health}*.
Some snow yet. E. M. I.
Vermillion Co., March 8.—Wheat looks
bad.   Hogs scarce. F. If.
Hancock Co., March 8.—Wheatprotected.
No sod broken yet. S. S. B.
Spencer Co., March 8.—Wheat fair. No
farm work done to date. J. A.
Gibson Co., March 8.—No buds swelling,
yet.   Wheat under snow. E. J. ,
Clinton; Co., March 8.—Wheat safe for
1884.   Hogs and "beef  cattle   verv scarce.
F_."H.S.
S witz erl and Co. ,March 8.—Bad weath er
gi-eatly depresses those who lost fences, etc.,
by the flood. C. G. B.
. Washington Co., March 8.—Wheat
promises well; that on low ground somewhat frozen ont. W. W. M.
^Crawford Co., March 8.—Wheat under
show and trees coated with ice. Work
suspended.   No oats sowed yet.   J. M. J.
Posey Co.—Wheat in good fix; peaches
all killed, but apples not hurt. Stock in
good condition"; feed plentiful. Snow four
inches deep and still snowing. J. S.
Putnam Co.—The ground freezing has
injured wheat very much. Cattle are doing well here; hogs are scarce, and corn
also. We hope for a good crop this year.
The fruit is damaged some butnotsomuch
as the people. W. V. C.
LaPorte Co. March 0.—Plenty of snow
and good sleighing; sleds have rnn most
of the time since Dec. 14. Wheat on the
ground in good condition. Corn scarce
and high from 55 cents to 65 cents per
bushel, and old corn worth more than
new;,teaming and business mostly good,
' Mrs. B."A. D.
Knox Co.—Wheat is injured by excessive freezing and thawing. Stoclthas wintered well, and is scarce. We have a great
deal of fine stock in this county. Peaches
and small fruit mostly killed, but I think
there will be plenty of apples. There was
a fine crop of corn raised here last season.
We have a genial soil. This would be a
good country for Eastern farmers to emigrate to. E. J. C.
Whitf. Co.—The floods have not hurt us,
and although we raised a poor corn crop
there is an abundance of other feed. The
open ditches that have been made in the
last few years are doing-us a great deal of
good, but no doubt they help to flood the
Wabash bottoms. Several gravel roads
are being made in the county. Great
numbers of ground mice have lived in the
corn shocks this winter andjwasted much
corn. They will likely damage us in corn
planting. Seed corn fo very scarce here,
last month's cold having damaged it.
.    ■_..'■.    -J.M.M. -•
Wayne Co.,  March 8 No  farm  work
done yet. Weather Is very rough, have
had snow and rain for two weeks with
mercury from 32° to -4". Wheat has a flne
covering of snow and the prospect never
better in March. Fruit trees are not badly '
winter killed. Stock is in good condition but are not doing well this kind of
weather. Horses all kinds very high, few
selling. A large acreage of corn will be
planted here this season. W. L. T.
Wayne Co., March 5.—Wheat looks
tolerably well, as it has been covered with
snow the better part of the winter, and
has not seriously Injured bv freezing.
There still remains some corn In the field.
Farmers are waiting for spring to set in,
and commence plowing; there has been
little or no plowing yet. Stock have win
tered tolerably well. Hogs are scarce on
account of poor corn crop. Last year farm
hands received from flu to 820 per month.
F. S. L.
XEBBASKA.
Lancaster Co. March 4.—Spring comes
upon us accompanied with a vigorous
March breeze. The past winter has been
dry and cold. It has been a splendid season for feeding cattle and hogs have fattened finely. •     . C. F. C.
Custer Co., March 8.—Our winter has
been quite pleasant, coldest day 14° below
zero. Stock that has been fed during the
winter is looking well. Our wheat and oats
crop the past year was good; corn did not
mature well, consequently we have plenty
of soft corn for cattle. M. T. M.
I_.I_TXOI.S.
Ogle Co., March 6.—Winter wheat is all
right so far. The fall was nice up to the
15th ofJDec.,' when we got the first snow and
the ground has not been bare of snow
since. ■ We have been having tho best of
sleighing all the time and no bad blizzards
this winter. We have not had a particle
of mud so far. Corn was the poorest crop
for forty years, not  enough for home use.
L. H.,
MIKSOUJtl.
Worth Co. March 5.—Wheat looks bad,
on account of cold weather and little snow.
Hogs scarce; feed plenty. Stock doiug
well. Peaches killed and other fruits
damaged; some trees killed.     H. B. W.
condition of the weather in the state
of indiana, for the week ending friday night, march 7.
Indiana.
Counties.
Allen 	
Cass 	
Clark..	
Clinton. „.
Crawford-	
Fayette .......
FrankUn...	
Gibson	
Greene.. ....
Hamilton......
Hancock. ..
Harrison........
Henry .....
Howard.........
Jay.... ,	
Jefferson	
Jennings -.«..,
Kosciusko	
Lawrence	
Monroe.	
Montgomery.
Morgan.........
Pntnam	
Randolph .	
Kuan „.
Spencer. ,
Switzerland...
Vanderburg..
Vermillion...
Wabash.........
Warrick _.
Wasningtoa«
Wayne-..™.
Tempera- So. clear 4  tj_i„ „-.„..._
ture.      clo'dyday.   Rain or snow.
217.7
20.7
23.4
17.0
26.6
20.5
-.*!
25.3
22.6
«"_
21.1
19.9
26.0
23.3
23.0
23.3
10.3
2M
17.0
21.3
26.5
M.5
19.4
26
2t>._
21.1
;;.. _
3.0
5.3
2.5
0.3
3.0
-.0
3.0
6.0
5.9
S.O
0.3
4.0
3.5
4.5
2.7
•*.-
0.3
2.5
3.0
4.5
5.0
2.8
0.0
5.0
5.5
1.8
4.0
Hannah McManaman, aged 52, wife of
Wm. McManaman, dropped dead on Friday evening while at her usual household
work, near Waynesburg, 15 miles southwest of Greensburg. . '        . ,