VOL. XXVIII.
INDIANAPOLIS. IND. APRIL 22, 1893.
NO. 16.
They Will Raise Cane.
Kditors Indiana Farmkr:
My advertisement brought me a lot of
customers for seed from Ohio, Michigan
and other States, as well as Indiana, I
have seen several of the farmers who say
they will raise cane enough to get the Indiana Farmeb, according to my offer.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
You wanted to know what the readers of
your valuable paper think of J. C. C's com-
, ?      monsense, or ideal farm.   I would like to
',      know how ho can feed so many hogs and
i      keep his other stock, and at the'same time
^      sell so much of his corn and oats.   But the
j      most difficult thing to understand is, where
-;       is he going to get his garden, truck patch
I       and orchard?   He has got all of his big 80
*       acre farm taken up without them.   And I
'■_      would like to know where his house, barn
and feed lots are going  to come in on a
farm that is already taken up?    R. R B.
Bragg, Ind.
Thrashing Millet.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
In answer to J. G. A., of Clay county,
whose query I saw in the Parmkk, 1 will
say that I have thrashed millet; not in
this State but in Nebraska. You can
thrash it with any thrashing machine,
only changing the riddles. One-half
. bushel to the acre is enough to sow. If it
is cnt to thrash it should be ripe before it
is cut. I cut and bind it the same as
wheat. On good ground it makes from 25
to 40 bushels to the acre.    J. L. Vestal.
Madison Co.
Trapping Coons.
*K->ITO„3 _._____'_____?      —-..	
A gentleman from Arkansas informs me
of a novel method which the people of that
region have of trapping coons. They take
an inch auger and bore holes, four or five
inches deep, in stumps or logs wherever
the coons abound and drop a bright button into them. They then drive sharp
nails so they project into the holes, like'a
barb. The coon can get his paw in but
when he goes to pull it out the sharp nails
hold him. D. M.
. —This is a cruel joke on the poor coon
and we hope our boy readers will be above
taking such a mean advantage of the unsuspecting, playful animal.—Eds.
 «_♦_» .
Willows and Artichokes.
Editors Indiana Farmkr:
I see in your issue of April 8th an article
recommending the planting of basket willows. We have tried it on swamp land,
but it was not a success. There was a
small black bug that every two or three
years would get on the ends of the young
shoots and destroy the buds, which would
cause them to branch and become worthless, when they would have to be cut to
get a crop next year, and itmade them too
much expense. Besides, it seemed hard
to find a market for them until peeled and
dried, and the peeling comes just at a
busy time for farmers, and in the country
it is hard to get boys to do such work. If
the bugs can be kept off and help can be
got at peeling time they will pay well.
I see several writing concerning artichokes. My experience is that they are
rightly named, especially the "choke"
part, as we have some ground where it
seems impossible to get rid of them, and
it is next to impossible to raise anything
else there. They have been in the ground
for years, and it has been hogged considerably; but they are on the increase. If
they are all like these I would not like to
advise anyone to plant them.
I have raised mangels for hogs with success, and am going to try it more extensively this year. H. L. Nowlin.
Dearborn Co.
A Boy's Ideal Farm.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
Being a constant reader of your valuable paper, I have noticed and read with
interest the various opinions of an "Ideal
Farm," and beg leave to give mine. I am
but 16 years of age, but have always lived
on a farm and ought to have a fair conception of what a good farm is.
My ideal farm exists not only in my
mind, it. is a real farm, and there are many
farms in Indiana that are just as good, but
differently arranged. It contains 200
acres of good, rich land, well drained and
tiled, situated on a gentle southern slope,
and has a moderate Bized gravel bottomed
creek running through it to the south,
thus affording a splendid outlet to all the
draining the owner wishes to have done.
It is divided into 150 acres of tillable land,
with good meadow, and fields of 25 or 30
acres each, 20 acres of nice woods, pasture
near the house, 15 acres of pasture situated
near the barn yard, 5 acres of orchard of
apple, peach, plum and other trees; 1J_
acres is devoted to small fruits, and the remainder is divided into truck patches,
lots, garden, etc. The dwelling is situated
back from the road about 20 rods, and has
A clean level lawn, dotted with ilowers
and trees, stretching before it. The barn
and other out buildings are set at a proper
distance back of the dwelling, with plenty
of shade trees scattered about, here and
there. The barn yard is connected with
the highway, which runs through the
farm east and west, by a neat gravel drive
on one side of the lawn. The fences are all
made of wire and slat, plank and woven
wire, with a neat iron fence skirting the
iawn, and all are looked after and well
attended to by the farmer.
A good lot of stock, but not too much is
kept and is well fed and cared for. The
cows are mostly of the Shorthorn and Jersey breeds.
A flock of good sheep are kept, which
receive good attention, and a great deal
more than pay for the expense of keeping
them. -
Mules are kept for the farm work, on
account of their Ht-elng -more easily kept
and standing more hard work than the
average horse, while three or four head of
horses are kept for driving purposes, and
for light work when an extra team is
needed.
A good roomy brick dairy house is situated in a convenient position to the dwelling. A good set of tools and a work bench
grace the workshop of the farmer. His
tools are all safely stowed away in dry
sheds, as soon as he is done using them,
thus saving nearly one half the expensaof
new tools.
A good poultry house and lot well
stocked, well repays the'.thrlfty house wife
for the little expense of sustaining them.
The above farm is situated about two
miles from a thriving town, with good
grain markets for the farmer and with a
manager who is thrifty, temperate and industrious, who by his honesty and fair
dealing has won the esteem of all who
know him. He reads the Indiana Farmer,
and is Indeed a happy man.
Hoping the editor will oblige me by
publishing the above, I remain
New Richmond.        A Farmer's Sos.
Planting- and Cultivating Sorgum.
Editors Indiana Farmer: .
Select a loose, sandy soil if possible,-or a
piece that has been manured the year be.
fore; plow and pulverize well, the same as
you would for corn. Clover sod is the
best, as you will not be bothered so much
with weeds. Most farmers plant in their
corn fields and tend it the same, with the
exception of thinning and hoeing, if nee
essary. It should be planted in hills, same
as corn. Soak the seed from three to 12
hours in warm water, with a tablespoonful of saltpeter dissolved in water and
seed for one-half acre. Mix the seed with
land plaster, and drop 10 to 12 seeds in a
hill and cover with your foot or a hoe,
one-half to one inch deep, and you will be
surprised to see how quick it will come up
and get a start of the weeds. Cultivate
deep as soon as possible after the cane is
up, but after the cane is knee high cultivate shallow. If you hear the roots crack
when you plow close to them you will
spoil your <-ane patch, as I have known
several farmers to do, and then blame the
manufacturer for not making more molasses for them. The cane should be
thinned out to seven or eight stalks in a
hill when three or four inches high, and
hoe if weedy.
With a favorable season you should get
from 100 to 150 gallons of molasses per
acre with the Amber cane. If drilled in
rows or hills 18 inches apart, of five or six
stalks in a hill, on good ground, it should
make 200 gallons per acre. I have raised
252 gallons of Orange per acre in hills, the
same as corn, marked out three feet and
eight inches each way, and 185 gallons of
Amber cane, but it was a rich, black,
sandy loam, clover sod.
Miami Co. A. P. Cleland.
Shallow vs. Deep Culture.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
Shallow and deep culture for. corn is
being discussed throughout the corn region of the West, and both sides have their
champions. After some experience and a
great deal of observation I have come to
the conclusion that shallow culture for all
kinds of grain is the best method, especially corn. The ground should be stirred
shallow so as not to tear the roots off and
weaken the corn plant so it will not ear
near so well. We know that it has been
argued that to cnt the Burface roots
strengthens the main, or tap root, but after
investigating this theory we have come to
the conclusion that the tap root is not a
feeder at all, but a stay root, and that the
surface roots are the true feeders to the
corn plant, and they are not over 'three
inches below the surface, and if cut off by
deep culture the crop is cut short from
one-third to one-half. One of my neighbors put in a crop adjoining mine on the
same quality of soil, and planted about the
same time that I planted. He was very
careful to set his cultivator shallow, and
each time he went through his corn he set
them shallower. The fourth and last time
merely Btirred the surface an inch or so
deep. I then advocated deep culture and
told my boys to plow deep as the cultivator would run, and I even }oked my
neighbor about his hen scratching, as I
called_ it. Pretty soon dry weather set in
and my corn wilted and came to a stand
still. His never rolled up, and the consequence was he had about as much again
per acre as I had, and it ripened much
earlier.
T find it poor policy to plow ground deep
for wheat or oats unless the soil is broken
very early, say in June for wheat, and in
the fall for oats. Under these circumstances plow deep. But where ground is
plowed approximately to seeding time it
should be plowed shallow—just deep
enough to get dirt to cover. Wheat will
not heave up by frost near so bad; besides
It seems to be the nature of the plant to
spread out on the ground only when the
roots penetrate the hard, unbroken ground
underneath. If it is possible to break the
soil not over an inch and a half deep, and
then pulverize to a dust, then drill down
in the hard earth below this blanket of
comminuted soil. By planting this way
the frost has but little effect and the wheat
will be become a perfect mat before winter,
which is essential to a good crop.
D. Moffitt.
—We trust that some of onr successful
corn growing readers will either endorse
or refute Mr. Moffitt's theory. What is
wanted is the facts from experience. Mr.
M. gives these from one or two trials. Let
us have more. If he is correct it is important to know it. We think much depends upon the soil we cultivate. If it is
naturally mellow and loose, shallow cultivation may be the right plan, but if it is
clayey and firm, we would say go deep
the first plowing at least. In giving experiences in manner of cultivating, please
be careful to speak of the kind of soil you
work—Eds.
of spending much of their time on the
road to or going from town, and in the
town, with correspondingly less time
given to the affairs of the farm. This is
so with most every member of the family,
if not all of them.
In the more remote sections of the
county the situation is different; they are
not so much in touch with the surface customs or out side show made by certain
classes of people about every town of any
considerable importance, .consequently
they are less inclined to personal consplcu-
ousness, and are more industrious.
In the "out townships" will be found
the best working men and women, and a
correspondingly better showing for the
labor, by an increase in the yield of crops
produced and the improved condition of
the farm. Miello.
Grant Co.
The Best Farms—Where and Why.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
Apropos the discussion of the model
farm will be a good time to make mention
of one fact that I have thought of referring
to for a long time, and that is the close
observer when traveling through the
country may gather »n object lesson,
namely that as a rule the best cultivated
farms and the most successful farmers are
to be seen and met with from three to 10
miles from the county^ seat orpiincipal
villages, to be found in their respective
counties.
In the majority of cases it will not be a
difficult matter to give the principal reasons why such instances occur, considering
the advantages and disadvantages that apparently exist.
In the various trips tbat I have made
throughout the different sections of this
■and adjoininfj State** I became very much
impressed with the differences existing
and believe the evidence is proof positive
of the too often existing conditions of
many farms and the surroundings.
People living near town in the last 25
years have become accustomed to the habit
Washington Letter.
From onr Re**Tilar Correspondent.
Ex-Premier Mercier, of Quebec, and
several other prominent Canadians are in
town, they say, merely on a pleasure tour.
Speaking of annexation Mr. Mercier said:
"There is a strong sentiment in Quebec
for annexation, under the proper circumstances and conditions. That is, We wish
to become an independent nation, so that
we can negotiate for annexation upon
terms that will be advantageous for
Canada, and not for Great Britain, as
would be the case if the negotiations were
carried on from London, as they would
necessarily have to be under present conditions." Being asked if there was any
probability that Canada would be peaceably allowed to become an independent
nation, Mr. Mercier replied: "Independence may, in my opinion, be had by
Canada for the asking. During my recent visit to England I talked with many
prominent Englishmen on the subject,
and found the liberals all favorably inclined, and also many of the conservatives.
Air. Gladstone is on record as favoring the
independence of Canada, and I believe we
shall get it in the near future; also that we
shall eventually come into the United
States."
It was expected that the Senate would
have adjourned this week, but when a
committee waited upon President Cleveland to learn his pleasure, he told them
that he would not be able to send in all
the nominations he wished acted upon before the last of this or the first of next
week.
%\xs 'gtxxm,
Postal Card Correspondence.
INDIANA.
Henry Co., April 13.—Wheat never
looked finer. The average of oats is the
largest in many years.
LaPorte Co., April 15.—Cold this morning; 32° and water frozen in pails and tubs,
etc.; wind north; thunder storm night of
llth and 12th; since then cool and wheat
starting very slow; oats being sown at a
lively 'rate; a few gardens planted; not
much growing; even grass is not starting
yet; stock is being fed yet; fruit buds all
right so far. Mrs. B. A. Davis.
Owen Co., April, 14.—Spring coming
slowly; farmers tired of continuing their
six months feed; April has been favorable
for growth of grass and wheat, much of latter very poor and promises but fraction of
crop, where fertilized looks better. Meadows badly killed out by drouth and grub
worms; fruit crop so far promising; stock
needing grass after their long diet of dry
stuff; much loss among lambs, also some
sheep; clover seed very high in price, and
many farmers who ought to be employing
the clover root to lift fertility into their
fields did not sow. A.'B. M.
Warren Co., April 8.—Wheat frozen out
badly and a great deal of it plowed up and
sowed to oats. Clover badly frozen out
except in favored places. Spring is forward and work is progressing nicely.
J. L. O.
It has been calculated that 22 acres of
land are needed to sustain a man on fresh
meat, while, if the same amount be planted
in wheat, it will feed 42 people; under oats,
88 people; under Indian corn, rice and potatoes, 17G people, and under the plantain
or bread fruit it will feed over 6,000 people.