Written for the Indiana Farms?
Turnips.
BY JOHN M. STAHL.
It is really surprising that the fanners of
this country do not givo more attention to
turnips as a Held crop. I do not mean that
we should give any large part of our farm
to this crop, but it would pay the majority
of us to grow a good sized patch of turuips
for hogs, cattle, etc. While I do not accept
as gospel all that Secretary 1 .usk has to
say in the way of advice to the American
farmer, his point that we should raise a
greater diversity of crops is well tauen. I
understand it, .however, that we are not to
curtail our main crops,'but that we increase our aggregate production, by raising
on a limited scale it is true, crops that we
do not now grow at all; or, by increasing
the production of some crops that wo grow
in very small quantities. We could do
this, and very often by getting two crops
from the sameground in oneseason where
now we get only one crop. If * the market
gardeners took  only one' crop from their
' land during the season, thoy could not
make expenses.   They find it necessary to
. grow two, and sometimes evon more,crops
on the same ground per year. Though
doing this, they do not impoverish their
land, for they manure heavily; and We
will find it necessary and at the same time
easily practicable to maintain the product-
-veness of our ground by saving and applying manure more carefully, although
we grow two crops ou the same land during the season. If it is necessary to purchase commercial fertilizers, we can well
afford to do so if we double the use of the
land.
Turnips can be sown on ground that has
grown a crop of early potatoes or on stubble ground. Occasionally, too, thero are
patches in,the corn field where a good
stand or growth has not been obtained,and
the most will be got from this corn by cutting it off and feeding to the animals at
this time, when the pastures are short and
dry; the ground can then be put in turnips. Otherwise, the ground would be
idle, and very likely would grow a crop of
weeds that would be a positive hurt; at
least, no rent can be charged against the
turnips as, if the ground were not occupied by them, it would be idle. After potatoes or corn, or even stubble, the preparation • of the ground does not require
much work. It is not necessary to plow it
again; usually the best results are got
when the ground is not plowed. All that
is necessary is to cut it up a little with the
disc harrow and then fine and level it with
the roller, drag or smoothing harrow.
Two to four acres can be thoroughly prepared in a day, and. this is as much as the
average farmer will want to put in turuips. If he does his work well and the
season is an average one, he will get what
will be to him £t surprisingly large yield
from an acre if he has not grown turnips
before.
The ground for turnips should be well
prepared; that is, should be made very
fine, for the seed is small and requires a
fine, smooth seed bed. The seed can be
sown by hand and a good job made if a
stiff breeze is not blowing. It maybe necessary to wait until evening to do the sowing,' when the wind has fallen. A very
serious mistake often made is to sow just
before a rain, it being thought that the
moistening of the ground will secure a
better stand; but the rainwill puddle the
ground more or less and the sun will form
a crust through which many of the plants,
being quite small and weak, cannot penetrate. If the ground is moist, sow at once.
Otherwise, wait and sow as soon after a
rain as the ground is in condition to be
handled. Cover with a light, close brush
or with a light- roller. The best time lo
sow in this  latitude is from the middle of
July to the 10th of August. The sowing
may be done ever later, but it will reduce
tbe chances of a good crop.
It is not.necessary to speak of the value
of turnips as a feed for sheep or cattle, as
this is well known. The farmers across
the "big pond," and even our Canadian
brethren, feed roots much more largely
than we do, and in this respect at least,
are better feeders than we, for by so doing
they are able to produce better beef and
mutton and to secure a larger ilow of milk.
Turnips when boiled are a most excellent
feed for swine also. Tho boiling is not
much of a job when gone at rightly. (Jet
one or more large iron kettles and hang
them near tho troughs. Uso dry fuel—
pieces of old rails are just tho thing. About
all that is necessary is to fill the kettles
and start the fire. ISeforo the turnips have
quite cooked add com meal and stir the
two together. If the weather is cold, feed
while hot. I know of no ration that will
fat hogs faster and at less cost than this
mixture of turnips and corn meal. It is
also a very wholesomo ration—much more
so than the nearly all corn ration that we
generally givo fattening hogs. I have
never known a lot of hogs fed on boiled
turnips and corn to get sick.* It is, I
think, better to grind the corn, but this is
not necessary. But if the grains are whole,
they should be cookod a little longer—
long enough to burst some of thom open.
Quincy, 111.
Tile Factories and Tile Making in Indiana.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
.Replying to your enquiry as to the number of rods of drain tile that have probably
been laid in this State, I give you the following basis of calculation:
In 1885 there were near 700 tile factories
in this State. Many of which were small
factories. In a few locali lies there were too
many, so that there has been a falling off
in the number. Thero aro now, probably,
some 500 factories in operation in the State.
If we estimate the average output of tilo at
5,000 rods por factory for the past 12 years we
have an aggregate of 30,000,000 rods. This
is a very low estimate, when we tako into
account the fact that some of the large factories make from one to two million tile
per annum. One million tile makes 02,
500 rods, hence it is reasonable to conclude
the estimate is much below rather* than
above the actual product. To the above
amount (30,000,000 rods) we have to add all
the tile laid before 1878.
There were only a fow factories established in this State prior to 1800. In the
17 years following, and prior to 1878, the
increase was rapid. In the year 1880 there
were 486 tile factories in the State, and this
number was ascertained to *be in operation
by a careful statistical report. In 1883 the
statistical report showed 061 factories to
bo in operation. The 17 years prior to
1878 probably had an average of 200 factories in operation. But suppose we-estimate upon the basis of 150 factories, having an average output of 5,000 rods per
factory per annum, for 15 years instead of
17 years, and we have an aggregate of 11,-
250,000 to add to the 30,000,000 rods manufactured the past 12 years, making a total
of 41,250,000 rods or 128,900 miles of tile
drains.
This estimate is probably below but not
astounding by any means. To thoroughly underdrain an acre of land it requires
as much as 40 rods of tile, laying the lines
of drains 60 feet apart, or 25,600 rods to the
section of land.
The 41,250,000 rods of tile would thoroughly underdrain 44 Congressional townships. Thore aro about _0 townships in tho
State. Supposing that one-third of the
land in the State would be benefited by
underdraining, then we have only one-
seventh of the work done.
It is tho writer's opinion, however, that
a larger proportion of the land would be
greatly benefited by thorough underdrain-
age—holding the view that the surface
wash of all agricultural lands, so far as
practicable, should be prevented, and sufficient uriderdrainage is tho sure preventive. Besides the underdrainage would
give an added depth to the fertility of tho
soil that would astonish many. The work
so far done embraces but little thorough
work. In fact it is but the outline in part
of tho work to be done.
J.J. W. I-I-s_.INO.SI.EY.
Teachers' Pay for Attending Institutes.
Kditors Indiana Farmer:
In writing on school matters, it seemsto
me that what was sought in tho Mount
bill is but a small part of what needs correction in school matters, and accordingly
I spoke or wrote of tho diversion of a part
of the fund to the education of teachers.
Several correspondents have sent criticisms
to the Farmer on that matter.
It seems that teachers are paid out of tho
township fund for attendance at township
institutes, but what difference does that
make to the tax-payer? Suppose the
school tax paid in the State treasury is 15
cents on the $100, and five cents on §100 is
for the township school fund. Tho taxpayer pays 20 cents on the §100, and it
makes no difference in the burden of the
tax whether the teachor is paid for attendance at the institute out of tho State or the
township fund.    '
I did not say that it was.a waste of the
money, but I doubt tho wisdom of tho law
that permits it. We have tho State
University at Bloomington and Purdue
University at Lafayette, for both of which
money is appropriated from the State
treasury, no doubt for the purpose of promoting the general welfare. Now on the
same principle that teachers are paid for
attending institutes; pupils to those two
Universities should be granted a per diem
allowance for their attendance. But we
must pay taxes for a great many other
things, and we must draw the line somewhere and the teacher will perhaps say
it must be drawn so as to exclude the
pupils attending the two Universities, but
as I view it tho line should be drawn so as
to exclude the teachers of the common
schools from the bounty, and there are so
many other things for which the public
moneys are needed and the appropriations
for school purposes are so large already
that this bounty ^to the teachers might
very properly be discontinued.
There are somo other matters spoken of
in those criticisms that I wish to notice on
au other branch of this school question,
but I may notice here what is said in reply to the amount paid. I said thoy were
paid §2 a day. In correction of this it was
said by one of my critics that the pay was
the same that was paid for teaching, and
where more than §2 a day was paid the
pay for attending the institute was more
than §2 a day and where the teacher got
less than §2, he got less than, §2 a day
for attending tho institute. I was aware
of that, but I assumed that the
average was about §2. In fact the exact
sum may be some more than §2 a day
on the average .throughout tho State
for teaching, or it may bo some less, but
be it more or less, in round numbers it is
substantially correct to say that' on the
average the pay of school teachers in Indiana is §2 a day, S. B. II.
Interesting: Notes on Wheat.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
In tho thirty-second annual report of the
Indiana Stato Board of Agriculture, volume twenty-four, 1882, is a paper written
by Dr. Conkle, of Uastleton, on pasturing
wheat with sheep.
It was shown very clearly that rank
wheat in autumn is often invaded by the
lly. Tho remedy was pasture it with
sheep and no cheat would follow. Now,
then, the lly has put off invading our fields
of wheat until this spring, and our remedy will not do so well. I havo ono field of
wheat on an old timothy meadow seeded
with drill, clean Gold Dust wheat, and I
think it is one-fourth cheat.
A neighbor was alluded to who had
broken up a timothy meadow of twenty
acres, sowed one-half in wheat the othor
half in fall barley. At harvest timo the
wheat was all right, a gootl, crop of perfect
wheat, but of barley there was none at all,
was all cheat and a heavy crop.
Another neighbor breaks up a field for a
meadow, puts it in good shape and sows
his timothy seed on it in September. It
came up nice and even, grew well, but at
harvest time it was all cheat. This was
not pastured, it was made into hay. Tho
field was continued and tho next year at
harvest timo it was all timothy and a good
crop.
Since there are a great many fields
throughout tho country that aro full of
cheat, it would be a good time to take
notes of tho different kinds of ground, and
whether timothy sod or clovor sod, or if
wheat stubble, bats or rye stubble. We
would like to hear from Purdue University, or any other people or person who can
give a .good reason why a timothy sod
should be worse than other kinds of sods
or stubble to produce cheat.
Castleton. Jonathan Conki.e.
The Humane Society Work  a Study  of
Human Nature.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
What Horace Ureely "knew about farming," was not a circumstance to what any
person devoting one year assiduously to
the Humane work acquires of the knowledge of human naturo. "Consistiucy thou
art a indeed, jewel," when it comes
to the; individual feelings of some
persons. One will tell you they aro
entirely in sympathy with tlie work,
while certain forms of cruelty aro in
question "that arc practiced by their
neighbor, but let you make the slightost
allusion to a form of ci uelty they themselves are in the common habit of com-
miting, and they will rant in indignation '
at the unreasonabl eaggressiveness of said
society. One wants to be privileged to
jerk his head skywards while crying out
in indignant wrath at tho killing of birds
for sport, dehorning cattle and othor
forms of cruelty. Another tells us we aro
doing a noble work with our check rein
posters, wants this one arrested for this
offence and another one for that, but will
get louder and fiercer every moment iu
defence of his right to pen the beautiful,
innocent pigeon in a trap and let it out
but to break its little wing, head or back-
for pleasurable recreation, and contend it
is for this alone. _ynd right hero is, I
think, a proper place to ask the question,
what becomes of wounded birds that drop
out side the enclosure of tlie gun club
grounds*? I am reliably informed that
those falling wounded only in tho grounds
are mercifully killed. I am not hero expressing my personal feelings on this subject (they are altogether too strong for me
to be safe iu giving them), I am simply
stating what other people say and do under certain circumstances. -> Truely the
greatest study of mankind is man.
."   Lafayette.        •   Evelyn McCormick.
 s    a)    s :	
Crops in Kansas.
The crop outlook is fair. Wheat has
been saved in good condition, but tho
yield is far below that of last year—probably not exceeding 24,000,000 bushels. Oats,
is very short in many places. Corn is
growing, in some localities it is in excellent condition, but generally it needs rain.
Tho excessive heat tho last 10 days has
been hard on it. The writer has seen a
great deal of curle'dcorn.—Kansas Farmer.
John Both, a pauper in the county hospital at (ialeua, 111., has eaten no food for
eight weeks.