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VOL. XIX. ■4-_£V INDIANAPOLIS, IND., SATURDAY, JULY 26,1884. NO. 30. *^>.*u*U4iui.r^hkH;{. .y^_-ys Farm Insurance-." BV JOHN M. STAHL. Is*:i*v« in insuring property against tu* si3l..» Imam, but I am inclined to n-.l tlu we farmers uot infrequently in- ..•^■xinst those contingencies which it _«.»_•,_..__ our j-ower to avoid. Themib- *e.« m iujstwted to my mind by the ac- •.•_*i_it.y daily paper of the burning jJ«f*t.il (arm buildings ' by lightning. •.ie'-i'y l.iltand the cyelono it may bo rj.-ii.it!*. to guard agninst; yet It ls com- t dt »u|.i«*-s.l that lightning rods afford »-.;»ritive protection from lightning. iilue* It L. dearly impossible to guard *,T.s»;:»nd therefore the farmer should iv.f» s-plitst destruction by tli owe Btorim. ,/..a-l. !»'»•«• now prepared to see some of tho is ■•,.»..**« presented by farm insurance. TV '.inner Insure*, against lass from lire , v_.it that from any other cause; yet .•.jt t« tin reason in the wide world why Amir's buildings should burn, unless .* -n l.r. by an incendiary. Kven lu tho - . l»| .itv, fire must lie, in nine cases .; .>t !<-n, the result of gross negligence on i, |art uf wiuie one. The burning of :.. '.'-.r-tiy lia-tlio-onio so common that it is »sTj_*'t as a matter of course, when it •v..!! l«>nftho rarest occurrence. We t;tr, ■** that lire will consume; then why ■..-a it lucM-ape? In tho city tho bulld- -.p sr* crowded together and lire Is readi- . *■ mmmilcaled fnim one to tho other; !-.r.i.sutnliiga litiildiug may not be the *»__l of any i«rclcssness whatever on the W, Mihi- owner. Here, too, it is necos- vy \.i bave very hot fires in the largo %i__'4_a*-ltiriiigestablishments, where ma- -*___;» Jry as tinder Is constantly lying »'.<;t: and these fires are attended by em* .*. who have no interest ln the prop- -,t il suke anil are careless and indlf- "7,: t*> ifniliable losses occasioned by .".r negligence; again fires may often -.:**ithnnt any fault on the part of the .T.f... the property destroyed. In tho -;r vhcr*> i- a large criminal class that i »s rot hesitate at incendiarism, espoci- i.r »h<-n Jnllamed by whisky—always tTif.i plentiful;* building may bo set ■ttifhy nn nie dissolute character out of tr.-.i. for somo fancied wrong, and v».t«t this the owner of the property •u- . enanl. Hut in the country thoso '%'..'.i,_.« do not exist; and as a result of i* lifontit conditions, I claim not only i« -.he-re should be fewer fires in the -s:s:\ than there are, but that the farmers «■■■'-.'•! not injure themselvo against fires •.■«-■•, thu**. caused by lightning or incen- '*r.'m. Karm buildings are Isolated; 1 f ■'■it t,-* not they should lie. Tlie barn «*'-.;M never I* so near the house that fire ■«)« rt.nininnlcated from ono to tho <a»r: nor the granary so near the liatn s.;*» from Uie one would reach the **«r. Some of the outhouses are ncce*. sr; p'tr-l near the house; but their *sh»t« .mall compared with the l*arn «■■( mrnry. On the farm there need be "**--,;t> likelihood of fire being comma- »■*>! Itvim onebnllding to another. On -»!i*5n there are no hot fire* for manu- Vrtr.sj pnrposns required; and what N* i*» nMvimnry are generally attended - -j ft* members of the family, who are *-*% interested in seeing that they do no harm. And we would certainly be very slow to confess that on our farms could be found a criminal class equal in all that is to be feared to the criminal class of the city. Fires must be the result of carelessness, pure and simple. They originate in defective flues; but why allow Hues to be defective when it is known that they are dangerous? Or fires aro started by the children playing with this dangerous element; but It U certainly gross carelessness to allow thechlldreu to play with fire. Fires aro occasionally started by smoking about the barn or stock sheds; but every farmer knows that to do this is gross carelessness. And when tlie matter is sifted down to cold, hard facta, it will bo found that fires In tho country, except those arising from lightning and Incendiarism, aro the result of a greater or less degree of carelessness. Then why are there so many fires In the country? Why are farmers bo careless aliout the mutter? Simply liecauso they are insured. The farmer Insures his property; and though his conduct might not lie considered criminally careless, he Is much less careful than he was liefore, for if bis buildings do burn, be Is insured and the tire will not occasion total loss.''He does not want his buildings to burn, of course; but he Is naturally more Indifferent to the possibility of such an occurrence when the buildings are Insured to their full value than when they aro not Insured at all. As a result, ho Is not no careful that the flue Is safe; that tho children are not allowed to play with firo; that he puts out his pipe liefore he enters tho barn or stock yard; that hot fires of dry wood are not made and then un watched; that thero is no fire in the contents of the stovo when they are taken out and placed in the ash bin; that the firo under the meat in tbe smokehouse Is watched; that matches aro not allowed to He about tho house ami other buildings; in short, that a great many things are done or not done which would receive his attention if the property wero not insured. The very safety of lieing insured increases the probability of destruction by fire. And for this, Insurance companies are not a littlo to blame, for they will take further insurance upon property when they should know, at least, tbat it is already insured for aliout its full value. Though property Is Insured for Its full value, IU destruction by fire Is a loss more or less to the owner. The companies will not pay the full amount of tbo policy If they can replace the property destroyed for a less amount; and though tho property owner gets an amount sufficient to replace the bulldingsdestroyed, he can get no compensation for the loss of time and comfort occasioned by the fire. A fire is an evil, no matter how much Insni-aneo there may be; and Insurance, which does more than anything else to Increase tho numlier of fires, Is really an evil: the harm it docs is greater than the good it accomplishes. I say let the farmer insure himself •gainst loss by fire due to causes otber than lightning and incendiarism. How? Iiy being careful—«s careful as a prudent man will be about .the everyday concerns of life of like m%nltude. If the fanner had the value of his buildings In hard cash, he Would be very careful that it was not stolen from him; be would be sure that there were no matches left lying carelessly about it; he would know that no man would allow lire from his pipe to fall u|*on It; he would uot fail to instruct the cbil- dreu that they must not play wiUi lire about that roll of bills; he would set* to it that 110 hot lires were built against it and then neglected; In short, he would be reasonably careful to gtianl against loss. He would exercise the i-are that a prudent man would in tho ordinary transactions of life, or rather the extraordinary, for it is not often the caxo that so much caah la In the hands of the fanner. Yet he has every day In his care pn.jxirty Ui that value; if he would guard it with the same care that ho would Its equivalent in greenbacks or gold, thero would not bo so many Urea lo chronicle. That which the farmer should fear the least he Insures against the most. Against loss by lightning tho farmer can Insure himself In aeonsldcrableextent, if not altogether, by placing it siifllelcnt numlier of properly constructed lightning rods upon hlsbulldlngs. There an* a great many wrong opinion* entertained alsuil lightning rods. Thus ills said that tbo rod must bo no heavy or tho lightning, when It strikes the rod, will melt It. Now when lightning strikes a rod you can be sure that there ls something wrong, ltods aro to draw the electricity from tho clouds quietly and continuously and by thus maintaining an equilibrium between tho cloud and earth prevent a discharge. When lightning strikes a rod It Is conclusive ovidenco that Nometh.iig Is anil was out nf kelter. Any blacksmith can mako a first-class roil. Make It of Iron and continuous; there should bo no joints; It needs no points; If 11 rusts It does not matter; it may bo cither round or square—tho shapo is immaterial; fasten It to tho building with iron staples—glass Insulators aro needless; only bo suro that you havo enough of it anil that it reaches down into ground always moist. Don't allow some sleek tongued agent t<i wheedle you into a contract that will oost yon ten* times tlio amount that lietter rods than his nets! cost, you. ].Tally, I would Insure against cyclones. Tliero Is no way to escapo tho cyclone and it has Is-scrimo of such frequent occurrence as to Justify insurance against It, I am notopposod lo Insurance; I believe itis wisdom to pay a small sum for Indemnity against a probable lows. I!nt I am opposed to needless Insurance; to that carelessness that makes the greater part of our farm Insurance necessary. For insurance costs money and money can l>© saved by lieing reasonably careful In avoiding destruction of property. Though Uie farmer is as careful as he should lie, ho yet might insure; for If ho wero careful the risk would be so much less that insurance would cost him the merest trifle. Whon wo cometo note the amount annually paid by farmers for Insurance, wo liecome convinced lhat thero Is need of reform In this matter. Money needlessly paid out for insurance reduces the profits of farming that mnch; and those profits aro small enough now; whllo the money goes to those who are the worst of all consumers and non- prod ucers. Weather Report. OOSOmo.N OP THB WKATHKR IM THB jSTATB Or IMUANA, FOH THB WKKK KNI1ISO r«l- BAT N1UHT. _l._.V 11. Indian*. Ooenu... Allon „ , ft-sm....„ „.. link „ i'llnUm „.... frs. ist...-- _, KiO.lt*. _'r-.iialln__.„„... OIIkmiH , *l r__.it-. , il-LlllUlUtt- H_.ll.XH-* !l sirnsun ... I«*nry Howard.... .my J.tf-TSlIU* Knsclllsku lrf.Wl.tiC.- Miami Monroe Mniitlli.mt.rjf...... M.UKisii riiiii»ui...._ 1U.1I.H.I|>I. Hush.... , Hlwnc-r r*wiis..>ri__nd V_tii_*-.*»urg , Wruiillluti.. , W_*t..-_*h_ Warn*-*, ., W Ml I* I niton...-., War***- T.1UIMI {►»**-»- t&o.clri*r& »_j- ur__ -lo'-jr dar* ****n 5 rtvu (W.ti «n 74.li IWITI, fs*!:.i.y: «-ir_i.u- m~i... i-.ii:.-, wbti.ti i IKI.K S.I.Ill, - SO.Ill 1*11.11 llill.'M ItU-U. * I .iu * "sKis," in. a* > 2 - Mill.) ll! Miil.ll 11; t.'-.111*1 .(ll w,:i .'_*««.a K.711.0 __*TU,.| - 1 li'i.m in.:ii iw.:;. »M.*_. 1.111 11 I HI 11. "'i'ui'.'iii La Porto Oounty. K-S11*_*ra Indiana Pan»*.r: Through all Uie northern part of this oounty great want of rain; don't know If ll la mi all over tlio oounty, but think tho drouth Is general. Meadows and pastures drying up l-mlly, and young clovpr will lsj killed in some sandy locations. Whoat all cut and stacking commenood. Nome hay yet to put In, and hay vm» heavy and was got In the barnn In good order. Health good. (V>rn quite spotted, but I think the brub has quit working in II. r.lackts'rrlcs just turning red. Oats hurt by tho drouth, and wbortlelxirrie* aro making their appearance at our doors in four quart palls with * "small l*oy" at- talched to tho bail, piping out, "hucklo- lierries, 10cents * quart" which weal- ways take, (wo mean tho whortllliorrios, not tho boys) of course. Mkk. It. A. Davis. July 17. Tho Rod Screech Owl. Kdllnm Inillana farmer: If your urn-respondent, Mr. KrenUlnger, who states that the "rod screech owl" and "mottled owl" aro different, will refer to Dr. Klliott *"bno», Key to North American Hirds, page 3»2, ho will seo that Dr. Conos says: "It lias boon determined tiiat tho coloring of those owls, lxiars no definite relations to age, sex or season. They aro the same bird. Also Hinder, in his reoont work on tho birds of North America, page I'll, says: "Although these species appear different on account of coloration of plumage it U one and the samo bird." Tlio cause of tho different coloring is not known. I will also state that several yoars ago I had a pair of these owls alive, one brown and tho other red, that were captured in tho same tree, and which were apparently mates. Klktchkr M. Nok, Indianapolis. . *) . !.■ A. Ilarrettwm, a section hand, working near Klizatiethtown, was killed by a stone thrown from a passing freight train.
Object Description
Title | Indiana farmer, 1884, v. 19, no. 30 (July 26) |
Purdue Identification Number | INFA1930 |
Date of Original | 1884 |
Subjects (LCSH) |
Agriculture Farm management Horticulture Agricultural machinery |
Subjects (NALT) |
agriculture farm management horticulture agricultural machinery and equipment |
Genre | Periodical |
Call Number of Original | 630.5 In2 |
Location of Original | Hicks Repository |
Coverage | United States - Indiana |
Type | text |
Format | JP2 |
Language | eng |
Collection Title | Indiana Farmer |
Rights Statement | Content in the Indiana Farmer Collection is in the public domain (published before 1923) or lacks a known copyright holder. Digital images in the collection may be used for educational, non-commercial, or not-for-profit purposes. |
Repository | Purdue University Libraries |
Date Digitized | 2010-11-22 |
Digitization Information | Original scanned at 300 ppi on a Bookeye 3 scanner using internal software. Display images generated in CONTENTdm as JP2000s; file format for archival copy is uncompressed TIF format. |
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