jOh. XXIII.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., SATURDAY, OCT, 20,1888.
NO. 42
SWAMPS OF THE AMAZON.
j The Amazon is a wonderful river.   The
Utives call it Paranatinga and Guiana;
Europeans call  it Maranon,  or  Maran-
hiD, Silimoens,  Orellana  and Amazon.
Its head waters or sources are in the An-
There are three rivers, which rising
rithin one hundred miles of the Pacific
toast, have been regarded as the main
stream. The names of these three rivers
^re Ucayali, TuDguragua and Beni. Be-
i these there flows in this great river
leventeen other large-sized rivers, and
fcrer two hundred tributaries. It ia estimated the Amazon and its many tribu-
ries drain a surface of territory of over
) million, five hundred thousand square
ailes.
The mouth of  the Amazon was discovered in 1500 by Yanez Pinzon.   In 1539
j'Orellana explored it through its whole
burse, descending it from near Quito to
its mouth.   In 1513 a Spanish. adventurer
pad visited its upper waters, and  gave
i his name—Maranon.   Its length, ac
OTdtng  to Lieutenant Herndon of   the
United States Survey, who explored it by
Jiirection of our Govern-
Jxent |in 1851-'52, from
JOraya, the source of the
■Huallaga branch, to the
J?ara mouth, is 3,944miles.
jit a distance of 2,830
piles from its mouth it is
too yards wide; 2,325 miles
I tarn the sea it is three-
Jlt-rtersof a mile wide;
|'J_rty.n>e miles above its
laouthit is ten miles in
|*idth, and at its mouth
Inhere a large island di-
Jrides the current, it is 180
ailes in width.
The  region   bordering
|M_ great stream is ex-
hesdingly fertile, and cov-
J'ted with vast forests.
jBtfon Humboldt says:
I'll the name of primeval
latest can be given to any
Rpston the face of the
|'-Wh, none can so stri.tly
Silm it as thos3 that fill
•«8 connected basin of
l-toOrlnoco and Amazon."
. Thebanksof the Amazon are elevated
.but? ^ ordInary weight of the river,
fish v theralny season it overflows
L S &nd00yers districts with its wa-
| >. hundreds of miles in extent. The
■iior- fercePtibly aflect its waters 400 miles
.'flint outh- There are no falls in it
Isoar navigation, except near the
I'-litTi°fItS headwaters. It is asserted
iHrni if °f froml.°00 to 2,000 tons bur-
1 •* trir, be emPloyed on this river and
I^stl tarie8,a combined extent of not
h. h.10,000 mlles' and smaller steam-
;°r at least as much more.
of the j61 is qiite deep at the very edge
I'W^f?* not having those sloping
It , Wch characterize most streams.
?featIRrmS With alligators through the
i>)ail,r part of Its course. Choice fish are
*ater lnUs watersi ll0B«> lizards and
*W??enUare plenty. And the> for-
fc«h_,     •  order u are filled with bears,
n,*1?' Jagaars and other animals.
^rs i   * wonderf ul phenomenon which
5j«vea     hl8 river>   Itis caHedby the
if*rs_P0,rOr0CO   More  'han la hundred
'•»mir.A    !'Was  "^covered  by LaCon-
iip 8asrollows:
Jaioong 't^68 days before tbe new and full
Nns'J* P6tiod of the highest tides, the
''* flood °f ^^Py'ng six hours to reach
'Mw0 u\iWma t0 "8 highest limit in one
•». tg ,lnntes. The noise ot this terrible
^69as6HdfiTe or Smiles, and in-
»a uq  " aPProaches.   Presently  you
channel, and advance with prodigious
rapidity, rending and crashing everything
in their way. Large trees are often uprooted by it, and sometimes whole tracts
of land are carried away. No vessel can
withstand it, and they seek shelter from
its violence in the many coves."
Crop Outlook ln America and Europe.
corn .nor.
The official report of the Department of
Agriculture makes the area in corn for the
crop of this year 75,400,000 acres, and the
yield 26 bushels per acre. This makes the
crop 1,900,000,000, being the largest ever
grown in this country.
WHEAT   CROP OP ENGLAND.
The Mark Line Express says;
Present indications are for something
very nearly' approaching, or attaining, a
full average of 28 bushels per acre. The
magnificent weather which has obtained
of late has brought the latter crops into
the stackyard in much finer condition than
those harvested earlier in the more forward districts. In fact the first has be«n
last, and the last first, inasmuch as wheats
For ten years ending with 1887 the annual production waB 294,075,000 bushels of
wheat, and 68,985,000 bushels of rye. Daring this period the average annual net
importation of wheat and flour has been
equivalent to 46,000,000 bushels, implying
an average consumption of 340,000,000
bushels or about 67,000,000 bushels more
than the estimated production this season-
The area sown in wheat and rye this season compares with 1887 as follows:
1883 1887
Wheat, hectares .7,0£5,161 6,<«;,466
do.    acres 17,261,008 17,-17,301
Bye,hectares ],«H 035 ],6M,?9;
do.   acres 8,990,048 4,013,800
The Paris Bulletin des Halles estimates
the wheat crop of France at 89,274,828 hectoliters, or 253,361,000 bushels, and about
5 per cent lighter than last year in average
weight of the grain.
spring: wheat regions of this country.
The Press, of St. Paul, Minn., figuring
from the spring wheat sections of the
northwest,says that the Dakota yield Is 40
per cent less than that of last year, and
nearly that for Minnesota, and concludes:
"A decrease of 40 per cent then, as corn-
yield was quite 1,000,000 quarters smaller
than in the present season. It is curious
to note this reserve on the part of Indian
sellers, for it isnet marked enough to suggest any general dissatisfaction with
prices paid by Ear ope, and yet it is
marked enongh to contrast very strongly
with what the yield of 1888 would have
led us to look for. AVhen we say the
"yield" we mean the Indian Government's official report of the yield. Opinions are already hrard that the two expressions may by no means be synonymous.
THE SWAMPS OF THE AMAZON.
Hi.'
1 Promontory 12 or 15 feet high,
"^tlmas   another4  and another,   and
i'*tyrQor,nre!eaby'<* fourth.   These  wa-
at&ins spread across the whole
which looked like goIngHinto stack until
March,at best,have now been thrashed out
of the field and marketed. This feature Is
the one which has alltodo with thodeoline
in values; a material quantity of English
wheat Is being thrown on the market,both
here and locally,whloh is very much out of
condition, and which can only be used In
connection with dry and flinty foreign descriptions. This did very well at first
when only a few native samples were
shown, inasmuch as it saved the miller
the trouble of sprinkling certain foreign
wheats; but now the supply of badly-conditioned native wheat is sufficient to turn
the advantage to the millers'benefit and
they—having needy sellers to deal with—
are doing their best to knock down values.
The position is peculiar. Millers cannot
buy largely--as they did last year, of
magnificent wheat at, say,10s. per quarter
less money—because it will not bear storing either In bags or in bulk, and the producer, when he has threshed it, Is still less
able to hold it in any form.
WHEAT AND BYE IN FRANCE.
The preliminary official estimate of the
production of wheat and rye in France
shows the following compared with reported crons of previous years, reduced to
bushelsbyPthe Cincinnati Price  Current:
Wheat. Br".
,_ ...273 668,0 0 62139,000
!„    ...813,15.000 67,191000
!„»    ...2»,103,000 61,163,0 0
}_ ""-    .. ..312,012,000 63,322,000
J^     ..324,130,000 74,514,000
1883..
. J01,4CO,C03
'_   JM6,610,000
}?r   274.690,000
_5£ H7,068,000
7',5O3,00J
83 684,000
6',S50 0CO
71,853,000
53,612,000
68,646,C00
pared with last year's yield of |nearly 100,-
000,000 bushels, may be considered a very
fair estimate, as applied to the entire
wheat yield of the Northwest for this season. There are many well posted gentlemen who think that not one-half of last
year's crop will be harvested. Whether
later returns will confirm their views
remains to be seen. The estimate here
given is based upon actual figures, and is
also in accordance with the opinions of
conservative men."
WHEAT CROP OF GERMANY.
The London Miller has the following on
the German crop:
In Germany the wheat crop has been secured in better condition than seemed
likely a month ago. The southern kingdoms have a better yield than the north,
bo that the total wheat crop of the new
German Empire is not now thought to be
more than 5 per cent under an average.
Heavy import duties have failed to raise
the price of wheat to a 40a level, the present average being 39s per quarter, and the
markets proving difficult to maintain at
that price.
TO. CROP IN INDIA.
The London Miller says:
Indian wheat shipments cannot be considered insignificant, there being at the
present moment 374,000 quarters on passage as compared with 349.000 quarters at
this time last year. But the weekly shipments for the first three weeks of September have been rather under 100,000 quarters, and the - total shipped since May
brought the new crop forward has been
smaller than in  1887,  when the wheat
Hedge Fences—Information Wanted.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
Some seven years ago, while I was yet a
resident of your State, the Michigan
Hedge company were making contracts
and setting out plants under their system
of hedge fence building, and as the fence
question is being agitated in this State,
and the above named company is just
commencing operations here under the
same or similar contracts as used in Indiana, but using honey locust plants instead of Osage Orange, the farmers are
anxious to know what are the results and
experience of those who had hedge fences
set and grown under the contracts and
system of the Michigan or other hedge
fence companies, or by their own cultivation of hedge fences.
What we desire to know is, were the
contracts of the company complied with
satisfactorily. Have the plants as set and
cultivated made effective and satisfactory
fences—cattle and pig proof? Were the
fences excessive in their cost, or expensive
to keep up? Are they difficult to keepclean
and free from noxious weeds and shrubs,
or to cultivate the field on the field side of
the fence? Di we want hedge fences?
The advice and experience of your readers will oblige many Wisconsin  farmers.
Madison, Wis. A Tyner.
—Many of our readers will remember
our friend Mr. Tyner, as an enthusiastic
member of the Grange years ago, and for
some time in charge of the supply house
in this city. We trust that his request for
i tformation regarding hedge fences, will
bo complied with by any one have experience on the point he refers to.—Eds.
The Blue Catfish for Ponds.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
I have been growing these fish now
about four years, and find them superior
to anything in the fnh catalogue for the
ponds and all kinds of water. If your
readers never grew any catfish they can
have no Idea how nice they are to have in
a pond. They do well in a carp pond
with carp, and are a benefit to the pond in
this way: they keep out all crawfish and
tad poles or polliwogs, and many Insects
that destroy carp spawn. They will eat
all crawfish that come into the pond, and
all know what a pest they are to make
holes in the embankments and waste the
water. They do well in any kind of water, and are always ready for the table.
The blue catfish is solid and nice. They
will bite a hook at any season of the year,
when any other fi.h will bite, and they
will eat most any thing you feed them, in
the way of meats, bread, etc. They are
fast growers, and all the flesh is as clear
of bones as the bass. W. H. Dye.
Philadelphia.
Hanson Craig, of Kentucky, is probably the heaviest man in the world. His
weight is given at 792 pounds, and It requires 37 yards of cloth to make him a
suit. He is six feet four and a half inches
in height, is 32 years old, and weighed 11
pounds at birth. When two-years-old he
took a $1,000 prize in New York, tipping
the beam at 206 pounds at that time. His
father weighed 115 pounds and his mother
122.