VOL. XXV.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., MAY 10, 1890
N<3. 19
A Practical Surface C
That Surface Cultivation
increase the corn crop has beon amply
demonstrated, but the difficulty has been
to build a Surfaco Cultivator that was
pratical in all kinds and conditions of soil.
Many attempts have been made but they
have all had their objections. The Advent
of the Spring-tooth laid the foundation
for the solution of the problem, for the
springing motion prevented clogging, admitting the use of 8 or 10 small teeth in the
place of four wide shovels, but the Spring-
tooth had its faults,  the   tooth   soon  got
Fio cue 1.—The New Albion Tooth.
dull and in hard ground would spring
back and drag through the ground instead of cutting its way, making it draw
hard, do poor work, and in hard ground
would not go in like the shovel.and in the
great Prairie country of the West would
not scour. Realizing these difficulties the
Albion Mfg. Co., the leading Manufactur-
"Daisy." It has all the latest improvements in Walkers, and at the same time is
a perfect Surface Cultivator. The little
shovels cut all the ground without disturbing the corn roots as clearly shown in
figure 2. The value to this country of a
practical Surface Cultivator can hardly bo
computed. The corn crop of the United
States for 188!) is estimated at over 2,000,-
000,000 bushels. Reliable experiments
have demonstrated it can be increased
fully 25 per cent by surface cultivation,
and in some cases the yield has been
doubled, but an increase of 20 per cent (a
low estimate) would amount to the enormous quantity of 500,000,000 bushels, and
at the present low price of 30 cents per
bushel, would mako an annual increase of
wealth to tho farmers of this country of
?150,000,000. This increase is clear gain, as
no more labor is required and no more investment in land. The leading agriculturists of this country have long realized
tho importance of this subject, and tho
Farmkr has often advocated its value.
Our Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations have thoroughly tested the
system, in overy case showing a decided
gain. One of the most recent was at tho
United States Experiment Station at
Ames, Iowa, and we givo below an extract
from the annual report of l'rof. Speer, tho
Director of tho Station. By this it will bo
seen their yield "was nearly double the
highest average yield in the State of Iowa,
the "banner corn State of the Union.
experiments with corn.
I Extract from liulletln No. 7.)
"Sixteen acres of com — m» _,i*jw_ on
ing plows which aro used in overy neighborhood, becauso it pulverizes tho surfaco
of the ground better and leaves it level,
but tho Albion spring-tooth cultivator excels all other kinds which wo have used,
on all kinds of ground and in every respect. When our crop of corn was husked
and measured during the latter part of
October, the yield of.the entiro field proved
to be 80 bushels per acre of sound shelled
corn.
I lind from the reports of tho Secretary
of the Iowa State 15oard of Agriculture,
that the average yield of corn in Iowa for
the years 1883-8 inclusive, was .11 and 312-3
bushels por acre. The highest average
yield per acre for a single year was considered remarkable, being MM bushels.
When we compare such crops with our
crop, we cannot help asking, why are
there such differences?
It is generally admitted that cultivation
improves crops of corn, potatoes, etc., but
why is it necessary? and how should it be
done? aro questions upon which men differ. Xo ono will deny that it is necessary
to kill tho weeds; but beyond this point,
the effects of cultivation aro not clear to
many men, and tho result is, that it proves
moro injurious frequently than beneficial.
Many deop and shallow tillage experiments have convince mo that, asido from
tho killing of woeds, we should havo but
two objects in view, viz.: Tho retention of
moisture in the soil, and the attraction of
more to it from the atmosphoro.
During severo drouths, I havo injured
crops by deop tillage, and saved others by
frequent shallow culture.   What corn and
They are established by the Unite-] states
Government for the express purp0se 0f
testing different methods of cultjvatjon
the growth of plants, different jj*u_s of
seed, and everything that will aSgjgt \_0
farmers in obtaining better erc)1)S_ jj0
pains or expense is spared to i___e t_e
tests thorough. They unquestiona-,iy ,je.
monstrato that the corn crop can l)e greatly increased by shallow cultivation
DEALING VS. GAMBLING IN FUX-jbes,
After considerable effort and mucjj _H_
cussion our City Board of Trade, r)n jion.
day evening last, passed a resolu-jou 0p_
posing tho passage of tho l!utterwi)rth i,m
against dealing in options, saying tI).,t tne
bill would prevent tho legitimate saies of
articles mentioned in tho bill, uniess the
seller, at tho time of such sale, is tl*e actual
owner of the article sold, although jn0 gaj0
is in good faith and for actual delivery.
Tho following saving clause was t^ided in
spite of much opposition:
This board would gladly favor any *aw
preventing the gambling in futures com.
mouly known as option trading, j,at t_Q
passago of this bill would, in the opinion
of this board, seriously embarrasa legitimate trade, and should bo dcfeato<*_
It will no doubt puzzle most "0f our
readors to striko a difference botweon dealing in futures and gambling, but ollr c;ty
grain dealers seem to seo ono.
It is reported that tho Farmers' ^Bianco
■*.-_*—_.. •*- -*•—     *    *    * *-"-  .... ._j
financial management.   The   staUjn,ent js
made   that  in   1887   tho    Exchai|g0  was
-      —^ _->___*•.  - , *■_: .*_  ,
e_ *-.-_..'--'-   -_«_  *f_f__tt___S_i_^^fi*^i
-—-—____   ■*=-■"-*- -:-_?_s_^_s^__*3p^^_
. __
Figure 2.
This cut shows how the ordinary shovels tear corn roots to
pieces, and is from accurate measurement made by l'rof.
Hayes of the Iowa State Agricultural College live weeks after
the corn was planted.   On the left Is shown the Albion spring    part of the field had been used for
teeth cutting ail the ground without disturbing the roots_ many  years as a pasture, and the
TIIE "PAISY" SURFACE CULTIVATOR, MANUFACTURED BY THE ALBION MFO. CO., ALBION, MICH.
the grounds   of the Iowa Experiment Station in 1880. The greater
ers of Spring-tooth Cultivators in this
Country, brought ont a tooth (see figure 1)
combining all the advantages of a Spring-
tooth and Shovel. The lower end of the
—spring is perfectly rigid, so it cannot
spring back and drag, but always retains a cutting position and will go into
the hardest ground, yet there is sufficient
spring to prevent breaking in stony
ground. To this is bolted a small shovel,
made of the finest plow steel, which will
scour in any soil and will outwear a dozen
of the ordinary spring-tooth, and what is
more will cut its way instead of dragging
through the ground.
This tooth on the Albion Rider has met
with great success, but the greater portion
of the great corn country of the West preferred a Walker, and to meet this demand
the Albion Manufacturing Co., this season
brought out the New Walker, which we
illustrate, and which is rightly named tho
remainder, perhaps five acres, was a part
of an old field which had been used
for different kinds of crops. It was
planted May 2d and 3d, with a two-horse
planter, in rows three feet and eight
inches apart, it was divided into four lots,
each of which was cultivated four times.
The south lot was cultivated each time
with the Tower cultivator. The lot next
to it was cultivated each time with the
Eagle-Claw cultivator. The next, or third
lot, was cultivated with the riding Pearl
cultivator, and the remainder of the field
each time with the Albion spring-tooth
cultivator.
The work of the Tower cultivator was
excellent where oat stubble had been
plowed under: but where old weeds or
corn stalks were near tho surfaco of tho
ground, it did not work well. The work
of the Eagle-Claw cultivator was better
than could be done by the walking or rid-
other plants, which requiro summer cultivation need most, is a light mulch
which will shade the ground, without excluding the atmosphere from it. Such a
mulch may consist of straw, leaves, old
boards, or an inch or two of loose soil.
The latter is not only a good mulch but it
is the cheapest; as it can be applied and
renewed as often as necessary by frequent
shallow culture. In very dry weather,
deep culture not only breaks moro or less
of the corn roots, but it leaves a deep
mass of loose soil near the unbroken
roots, which becomes so dry and hot frequently, that it is very unfavorable to
plant growth. But objections aro offered
against shallow culture very often because
weeds can be dostroyed better by'deep culture when the ground is wet. To such objections, I havo but ono answer to give
and that is: "That neither deep nor shallow plowing in mud, has ever produced
profitable crops."—R. P. Speer, Director
Iowa Experiment Station.
No higher authoity  can be  given  than
the result of experiments at these stations.
started with a capital of §.">00,000, tl,e stoc
being taken by subordinate lodges. _l0
Exchange lasted about two years, during
which time it is alleged nearly a quarter
million of dollars were squandered an<j
there is nothing to show for it b*^ about
?40,000 worth of property. Farm<-,ra wno
contributed the money aro anx-ous j-
have an investigation and will institute
suit to recover certain property it, Dallas
now occupied as an Alliance and Oommer.
cial agency. This comes by t-Iej-.n,p-1 jn
in tho daily papers, and may b<j only a
rumor.
TnE Senate anti-trust bill has pas9e(j _0
House with an an amendent mak-n~ un_
lawful any contract or agreement j0 pf0.
vent competition in tho sale or l}uri_ase
of any commodity transported from one
State to anothor.
The heavy rain on Sunday nignj f0*_
lowod by cool weather and nom^y-g^
wind last Tuesday was discou•_•-•_„ .jo
farmers who were making ready t^, plant
corn.