VOL. XXVIII.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND. JUNE 10, 1893.
NO. 23.
WEATHER CROP BULLETIN.
Department of Agriculture United Stales
Weather Bureau. Crop Bulletin of the Indiana Weather Service in Co-operation
With the Agricultural Experiment Station
ai Purdue University, Tuesday, Juue 6,
1893.
Slightly excessive temperature on most
days, rainfall and sunshine about normal
■were quite beneficial to growing crops,
but the frequent rains kept the ground too
wet and interrupted plowing and planting
corn and farm work in general; wheat is
much improved, heading and blooming-
while most fields are exceedingly good,
some are very bad; oats, rye, tobacco and
other crops, but especially grass, are in
very fine condition. Corn planting is
completed in most counties; nearly so in
others; the plant is coming up, growing
vigorously and stands well the weather
permitting cultivation. The wheat harvest
is near and the prospect for an average
yield in most fields is good. Hay and
clover will be a large crop.
SOUTHERN FORTION.
Switzerland Co.—The weather has been
unusually favorable to all kinds of crops;
occasional showers and the heavy rain on
Friday have been beneficial to tobacco and
corn, which were somewhat late but have
recovered; wheat is in most forward condition; apiarients predict a good honey
* -crop; clover* is-plentiful.   Kainfall 1.20.
Jackson Co.—Rainfall excessive and
sunshine deficient; temperature uniform
and nearly normal; altogether a favorable
week ior growth of crops; all spring
planting is nearly completed, and the
crops generally are doing well; wheat
harvest is very near at hand and
the prospect is excellent for a yield
above the average in quantity and
quality; hay will be abundant and good;
melon prospect very promising; no noxious insects.   Kainfall 1.92.
Owen Co.—The weather has been favorable, especially the warm rains after corn
planting was finished, were beneficial;
wheat, oats and grass are growing nicelv.
Rainfall 1.50.
Greene Co.—Corn is coming up well and
farmers claim a "good stand," yet planting ia not all done because of frequent
rains; some fields of wheat are fine, othors
hardly medium and some' on low lands almost worthless; oats and grass are in very
good condition.   Kainfall 0.89.
Perry Co.—The weather was hot favorable to farm work and corn is not all
planted yet; wheat, clover, timothy and
early potatoes are doing well; pasturage is
good and stock in good condition. Kainfall 0.55.
Franklin Co.—There were only two days
when plowing could be done and corn is
not all planted yet; heafry rains have injured wheat in bloom;.the prospect for
corn is not good; meadows are in fine condition.   Rainfall 2.62.
Posey Co.—The weather was favorable
to all farm work; the wheat and grass
harvest will commence in 10 days. Rainfall 0.19.
Dubois Co.—It was too wet to plant corn
and about one-third of the crop is not
planted yet; wheat is heading out well; in
low ground it turns yellow becauso of excessive rains.   Rainfall 1.75.
Warrick Co.—About one-third of the
corn needs to be planted; from present appearances wheat will yield about three-
fourths of a crop; oats and grass are doing
splendidly.   Rainfall 0.90.
Gibson Co—Wheat on high lands looks
fine, but in the river bottom lands it is all
ruined; much corn is to be planted yet as
soon as the rains cease.   Rainfall 1.27.
Vanderburg Co.—Farm work and corn
planting were almost suspended this week
on account of frequent rains; a thunder
storm on Wednesday did much damage.
RainfaU 2.00. e
Clarke Co.—More sunshine and less rain
would have been better for the wheat now
In bloom; much corn has to be planted
yet; the fields are too wet to work; some
farmers used bad seed and such corn has
to be replanted.   Rainfall 1.60.
Decatur Co.—The we *ther was favorable
and encouraged farmers very much; all
crops are in good condition oxcept fruit,
which is dropping off.   RainfaU 1.00.
Jefferson Co.—Thero has been a marked
improvement in all agricultural work;
corn planting is all done; barley, wheat,
rye and all vegetation look well and
promise an abundant yield.   Rainfall 1.22.
Sullivan Co.—Much rain and some sunshine; the ground is too wet and but little
work is done; wheat, oats and grass are
doing well.
Dearborn Co.—Everything made good
growth with favorable warm, wet weather;
two-thirds of the corn crop is planted and
needs cultivation; apples have nearly all
fallen off.   Rainfall 1.85.
Pike Co—Cool, cloudy weather prevailed during the earlier portion of the
week, but the last two days were warm
and sunshiny; all growing crops were injured by the excessive rains; some corn
remains to be planted on the hills, and
about one-third is planted in the bottoms;
apples, peaches anel plums are falling off.
RainfaU at Petersburg 1.35.
Floyd Co.—The weather has been favorable for all growing crops; wheat will be
harvested later than usual, and the prospect is favorable for a full crop; clover is
unusually good and is nearly ready to
harvest.   Rainfall at New Albany 1.20.
Brown Co.—Growing crops have been
benefited by the weather of the past week;
the ground, however, is too wet to plow.
CENTRAL PORTION.
Marion Co.—The warm temperature and
rains were quite beneficial to growing
crops; corn is all planted; wheat blooming,
rye and oats and grass in best condition.
Rainfall 0.84.
Randolph Co.—The temperature' and
sunshine were beneficial to crops but it
was too wet for farm work.   Rainfall 2.20,
Clinton Co.—Rain has been the chief
characteristic again this week and caused
general discouragement to farmers and
laborers; much corn will have to be replanted because of too much rain and cool
temperature; cutworms are doing damage
in some fields; a storm on Thursday did
much damage near Frankfort.
Clay Co.—The temperature the past week
has been about normal but in every other
way the period has been adverse to farmers'
interests; ground has been too wet to work
most of the time and but little corn has
been planted; it will require one week of
favorable weather to finish; wheat in portions of the county is very fine but will
hardly make an average crop for the whole
area; an unusuaUy large percentage of
blasted heads are showing and chess is
very prominent in many fields; meadows
will be light and weedy; strawberries are
ripe and will make one-half crop; oats are
in the best condition for years.' Rainfall,
0.98.
Union Co.—Heavy rains all the week
wUl reduce the area of corn planting; the
ground "is too wet for breaking; wheat in
general looks well but it needs dry weather;
fruit has been injured by the rain. Rainfall, 4.00.
Rush Co.—Corn is mostly planted; some
had to be replanted; wheat is heading; the
hay crop "promisos well and pasturage and
stock are in good condition.   Rainfall, 2.02
Hendricks Co.—Good growing weather
prevailed; wheat is heading nicely; some
corn was planted and some had to be replanted on account of injury by cut worms.
Montgomery Co.—The weather during
the week has been beneficial to all growing crops.   RainfaU at Ladoga 0.55.
Wayne Co.—The sunshine was deficient,
temperature favorable and too much and
frequent precipitation prevented farm
work; all crops are in good condition except barley, which is light, and apples, because of frost, will probably yield only
half a crop; corn is nearly all planted;
many hogs are fat for the June market.
Rainfall, 3.40.
Tipton Co.—I have been thro'ugh the
county and found that peaches, cherries
and apples are very badly injured; most
of it is kiUed.
NORTHERN PORTION.
Tippecanoe Co.—Corn and oats are in fino
condition; wheat is looking generally fair;
local showers wore numerous during the
week.   ISatnfall, 0.69.
Elkhart Co.—Corn is all planted and
doing splendidly; nearly all crops and vegetation are doing well; considerable lly is
in the wheat; some of the early planted
corn, potatoes and even oats did not come
up well; the hay crop is very promising;
pasturage is good and stock in good condition, wheat is just beginning to head.
RainfaU, 1.00.
Newton Co.—It was warm enough to
make corn and the weeds grow, but it was
too wet to work in the fields; oats are doing
well.   Rainfall, 2.20.
LaGrange Co.—Theground is too wet to
work corn which is a good stand but noeds
cultivation; with but little Injury by insects, wheat is heading; oats growing fast
and clover in good condition. Rainfall,
2.00.
Kosciusko Co.—Wheat is doing well and
apparently will make an average crop;
clover and grass never looked more promising; many fields of the early planted
corn had to be replanted but worms and
the mole are doing damage; wheat has begun to head, clover to bloom; tree fruit
will be as much a failure as last year; bush
and vine fruit promise an abundant yield;
stock is healthy and doing well, some
chicken cholera prevails.   RainfaU, 2.10.
LaPorte Co.—Wheat is heading fast;
some fields are in fine, some in medium
and some in sad condition; oats and cornfields are washed by heavy rains; a few
farmers are yet planting corn while most
farmers are plowing their corn; peaches
are falling off.   RainfaU, 2.00.
Pulaski Co.—The temperature and sunshine were beneficial, but the heavy rains
injurions to crops, especially to corn and
oats; a heavy wind on the 28th of May was
slightly injurious to cherries and pears.
Rainfall 2.27.
Huntington Co.—Rains and warm temperature were none too beneficial to crops.
Porter Co.—It rained some every day
and the ground is too wet to work and also
it is too wet for crops in low lands.
CassT Co.—The wet weather retardnd
plowlng very much; wheat and oats are
looking well; clover will be light; heavy
hail on the 30th injured crops. Rainfall
3.00.
Steuben Co.—The weather during the
week was very beneficial until Saturday,
when the heaviest rain of the season fell;
wheat is heading and corn is aU planted.
RainfaU at Angola 2.G0.
H. A. Huston,
Director Indiana Weather Service.
Per C. F. R. Wappenhans,
Weather Burea uAssistant Director.
mixtc sat.*.
There are six cases of smallpox at El-
wood.
Simeon Hunt, one of the oldest citizens _
of Madison died last week. He had re- "
sided in Madison 78 years.
Charles Hazelrigg, aged 78, a pioneer of
Henry county, died Sunday night, the
28th of May, after an illness of several
months.
An auction sale of 480 lots at Marlon
Saturday, May 27 brought ?10,800. This
is said to be the largest day's record of lot
sales ever made in tho gas belt.
A wild-cat of monstrous size has been
seen on the farm of James Campbell, near
Bluffton. The animal is supposed to have
been one recently escaping from a circus
at Bluffton.
A severe hall-storm swept over Pendleton and vicinity, accompanied by a great
display of electricity. S. W. Wildridge's
farm house was struck by lightning, and
Mrs. Wildridge and son were unconscious
for several hours.
Mrs. Frank Cavanaugh, of Jeffersonville,
went into the cellar underneath the family
residence for a supply of gasoline. The
can was leaking, and as she entered ihe
cellar there was an explosion of gas which
enveloped her in flames. The force of the
explosion moved the house off its foundations and hurled weather-boarding and
flooring in every direction. Mrs. Cavanaugh was fatally burned, and her five-
year-old child, who was in the kitchen,
was also dangerously Injured..
LAEGE SEED POTATOES.
Some growers of this tuber have found
that large potatoos "are inclined to make
too great growth of vine to tho detriment
of the yield of potatoes. Medium, riot
small nor largo ones are best for seed they
say. Medium-sized seed wiU give the
largest portion of marketable tubers,
which will be much more uniform in size
than if either large or small seed is used.
The selection of the seed is a matter
which we seldom go about In the right
way. It should be selected in the field,
instead of in the*.ellar, and it is important that we should take the seed from
such hills as show the greatast numbor of
tubers of a good size. Let tho production
and vitality of a hill be its test for fitness
for seed, in tho same way that we try to
make it so for «orn. The best corn growers select their seed where they are able to
judge the vitality of the parent plant, a
much moro sensible method than to go to
the bin at seeding timo and pick out the
largest ears. The same test should bo applied to the potatoes, and in fact, to all
seeds where It can be done.
CROP YIELDS IK QEKAT BEITAIH.
There has been a general Impression pre-
vaiUng that Ireland was farmed exceedingly poor, and that the crops grown there
were far below those elsewhere in yield.
That is a mistake. The Irish farmer is a
pains-taking man, and with half a chance
distances many others in the staple crops.
Here is a comparative average yield of the
leading crops of last year:
Great Britain. Ireland.
Wheat, bushels .26 33 29.36
Barley,      "       jji.bi 3^75
°"t»             " -38.-0 42.31
Potatoes, ton". * _ 5.sj 3.49
Turnips,    "     _ 14.12 ^55
Ilay.cwt ._   19.11 42;8
Hay from clover andsainfoIn,cwt_25.52 41.36
The three-year-old son of Mrs. M. Stalev,
of Sanborn, drank a preparation for killing chicken Uce and died.
(S&xxcxtCL Uews.
Sick-headache yields to Beecham's Pills.
President Cleveland and family will go
tp the Adlrondacks in July.
In the last two weeks 40 cases of cholera
have been reported in France, 23 of which
have been fatal.
The British ship Germania was wrecked
in a cyclone in the Bay of Bengal. Sixty-
four lives were lost.
Eleven persons in Seabrook, Mass., were
poisoned by eating cheese which contained deadly poison;
The Princess Eulalla placed a wreath of
flowers on General Grant's grave at Riverside Park, on Decoration Day.
Mrs. Corey, wife of Amos Corey, a
woodsman on the Upper Beaver Falls, N.
Y., had a desperate struggle with a bear.
After a battle sho succeeded in killing the
beast.
The Presbyterian General Assembly in
session at Washington, have decided that
Dr. Briggs is a heretic and he was suspended from the ministry. He was suspended indefinitely and can only be reinstated on his recantation of the matter in
his speeches and writings to' which objection has been made.
Letter From Florida.
EniTons Indiana Fai*_*eii:
I read in the FAKMEr. the kind words
you said about our early peaches for which
accept thanks. We can raise plenty of
such peaches.
I notice an enquiry as to where corn
ripens earUest in the United States, and I
want to put in a claim for the West
Florida Highlands. Onr common field
corn ripens in August., We have some
fields now, in May, in tassel, 10 feet high
and looking as thrifty as any GO bushel per
acre corn field in Indiana. But it isn't
worth while to say anything about that,
the Hoosiers all know we can't raise any
thing in Florida. If I should tell them
the fact that a neighbor of mine raised 73
bushels of corn per acre, actual measure,
on common pine land with cotton seed for
fertilizer, they would think I was lying
or gone crazy. The other day a man sent
me a fine sheaf of wheat, said he got 45
bushels off three acres. Another man
sent me a large lot of rye for the World's
Fair, it was seven and a half feet long. I
went to see the rye and the shortest I
could find In the field I could tie over my
head and you know I am six feet high. I
have some heavy oats 5 feet high; I raised
rice over six feet high but I dare not tell it
up north. Our local editor mentioned the
fact that our early peaches sold in New
Orleans for ?S.2o per bushel, a northern
subscriber wrote him that if he didn't
stop telUng such lies he would stop the
paper. I showed some Florida corn at'the
Indiana State fair and the people said I
got it on the Wabash bottoms. Now what
are we going to do about it?
Chipley, Fla., May 29.
A. G. Chandlee.