VOL. XXXII.
INDIANAPOLIS. IND.. MAY 15. 1897.
NO. 20
EXPERIENCE DEPARTMENT
SOILING CROPS.
lit Premium.—A tolling crop 1* a substitute. A crop used to Uke th* place of
torn* other crop, and 1* mostly retorted
to tn a dry *ea*on when tbo hay cropwlll
b* abort, or whan a farmer ba* a a in all
acreage of meadow. It a farmer boob ho
1* going to bo ehort of bay for tho com
lng winter, and he can form a good 'd*a
by the 1Mb of May whether kl* meadow
will be Rood or not, then he want* to
raise a crop that will take IU placo.
Cow pea* and oata (owed together make
a good cheap rough feed. It take* good
rich *oll and Bhould be town a* early lithe spring a* ground will do to work
Sow two buihel* of oat* and one buihel
of pean broadcait to one acre. Cut when
pea* are ln bloom and cure ai hay. The
whippoorwill variety of pea* 1* beat.
Sorgum 1* another good substitute for
bay. i'lant two buihel* of clean eeod,
drilled with a two-hone wheat drill,
about tbe flnt'f June, In rich, mellow
>ol-, and when It 1* from two to four feel
high you can commence using, cutting
only what you need for present foedlng.
if you don't uae lt all ln tbli way you can
cnt and cure the balanco lame a* corn
fodder, and store away for winter, Com-
con field corn make* a good crop toralie
and perhape tbe beat, riant middle of
•'nne with corn drill, 12 Inch** apart In
row, and cultivate. Any variety will do
for thli purpose, but would prefer a large
«arly sort. Cut when danger of froit I*
over and thoroughly cure ln field, and
storo away in shelter for roughnei* for
ltock through the winter.
Brown Co. C. M. Pattkr. on.
IH Premium—For aoiling crop* I prefer rye, fed clover, cow pea* and corn fodder. Kye ibould be town In th* early
fall, and the fertilizer used should contain a large amount of nitrogen. As ryo
does not obtain lta nitrogen from tbe air
we muit supply lt with a nltrogenou*
fertilizer. Hy the time the rye ls done
the common red clover ls on hands; this
differs from rye as It obtains its nitrogen
from the air instead of the ground.
When red clover Is used up cow peas
and corn fodder are ready for feed, which
will last till frost, when the rye again
comes into nse, which will laat a good
part of the winter, when w* bare to turn
to the silo, which has been filled with
corn fodder and cow pea*, which food Is
used until rye comes ln the spring.
Vetches, buckwheat, spurry and crimson clover are alio recommended a* soiling crop*. To be successful in tolling
His essential that we have fertile soil
If it is not naturally so it will be necee-
i*ry to use fertilizer and manure very
freely at the start. AFARxr.ii,
Harrison,Co.
3d Premium.—Soiling crop-, a* I understand it, Is to plant something tbat is
suitable, such as red clover, rye and evergreen sweet corn, to have to feed the
etocfe throngh the summer, when tbe pasture gets too abort on account of drouth.
1 have always had pasture; but a few
times it got so short along in the latter
fart of summer or early autumn tbat lt
was necessary to feed awhile. At that
time I fed evergreen sweet corn that was
planted tolerably close on purpose for the
fodder instead of the ears. It makes ex.
CsIIent feed, ot course there will be
•ome ear* which only makes ittbebetter*
When cut up all together tbe stock like
It well, it is so sweet. After feeding this
way awhile the fall rains come and the
pastures come up again and last several
weeks. AU soiling crop* should be
planted thick and manured or fertilized
heavy, eo as to make a vigorous growth*
I have had bnt little experience on the
snbject, but rye and winter tnrf oats, if
•own in Angust, will come on and make j
fall pasture, they   will   alto   make   Rood
spring pasture If not allowed to Jalut before turning on stock. 11. N.T.
Corydon.
Clover ls the soiling crop for Indian*.
Sow it in the spring In your wheat, oala
or rye. Sow il ln the summer In your
corn, and • ow more seed than you used
to. We are not putting back on our land
near a* much a* we lake of*; hence our
land ii getting more compact. Seed doe*
nol grow a* readily. W* u*ed U> spread
a buihel of clover »*ed over ten aorta
and get a good Hand of clover; now a
bushel of seed to five acrea 1* not loo
much on most of our land. Hear In mind
tbat clover, as It 1* now ua*d, does not do
th* (oil as much good a* tt should. Wa
cut a crop for hay, a crop for a*»d, and
than pasture It as bare as a public road.
No wonder our land 1* getting poorer
and It 1* bard to get a cat-.h ot clover.
Treat clover right W* all know belter,
and it Is all tbe soiling plant we need-
Stick to ll and give It a fair show and It
will beat anything *U*. Wm. II. P.
Carroll Co.
KKYIKW.
I have bad no experience ln soiling except growing a littlo Htowell's evergreen
sugar corn, noar the pasture fence lofeed
from to supplement dry pastures. I therefore leave the matter lo our correspondents.
I visited a dairy whero one acre of sorgum (common orange), drilled ilk* wheat
with every other hoe closed, made 00 ton*
of green feed per acre and made a aecond
cutting on tbe earliest part cut. Cut In
ths morning and strewn on ths pasture It
was overy bit "licked up."
I visited another dairyman who said
he had five feet of silage left over tbat
proved the very salvation of his milk
How, when the pasture was dry enough to
burn. lie said that silage wa* far cheaper than any possible soiling scheme, as
soiling is tedious, piddling, exponslve
work. Feed the cows silage in the dark
stables in tb* day time and turn them out
nlghU.
I.et me call your attention to "The
black pyramid" on another page. Don't
yon think society is carrying a pretty
big loadT How much our taxes would be
reduced If that|flf"0/if*0,0'irleould be thrown
Into legitimate channels, instead of making paupers and criminals:
No. G.1, May 22.—Hatching and care ot
tnrkeys.
No. Gl, May Z> —What cause* soil to become hard, cloddy and dryT The remedy.
In writing don't fail to note new point*
not generally known; also other point*
of real experience. Address all copy 10
day* before publication.
I-et subscribers write experience only
on practical topic*. We do not desire
essays but a pithy, chatty experience. A
sort of heart to heart talk, such as you
enjoy wltb a neighbor.
Carmel. K. H. Cii.u»r-
Qucrg and ^.usibcv.
Please state in the Far*.**:*- Mr. Cleveland's P. O. address, also his estimated
wealth and income. A Hi R. rjurkb.
Shelby Co.
Ho lives at Princeton, N. J. It Is believed tbat he ls worth between t2,atti,rm
and J-VXW"'"-
Plea'e stale In your <}nery columns
whether crimson clover makes two crop*
a season. I have a nice piece of crimson
clover and would like to know whether I
will have to save tbe first crop for seed or
not?
Wheat looks bad, about half a crop;
plenty of rain and mud; good acreage of
porn being put In; stock scare*: ro hog
cholera, M. F. M.
Orange Co.
Crimson clover makes only one crop.
It is an annual plant, and mature* It*
*-*d in Jnne, and that Is tbe last of It un
its* enough seed is left on ihe ground tor
another crop. Thla wa* Ih. ri^e ou a
pierce of ground we had lu this dox er latt
year, finding a good set there Ihi*
sprlng we let 11 grow, and now It 1* i»ry
rank and thrifty.
POSTAL OARD OOUEEBl'OJiDESOE.
l.ii-oKi tt Co., May _,. Nice, pleasant
weather, Si on May .Hi. Corn planting
commenced; cherries ln full bloom and
very full. i.rape Mnts badly hurl and
many killed by the oold and fieej* ot
April p.'ih and jnih. Very few grape*,
no peache.; only a few plum», but plenty
of peara and cherrlea.
Mils. 11. A. KAVIr..
WavmcCo, May 3.—Spring very backward; still cold and wet. Oats sowing
completed and oala up. Much plowing
for corn leel week, up to Friday, but
ground wa* moat all too wet. Kim* complaint of loa* of spring pigs. Fat hogs
scarce. Slock call!* vary scarce and
high. Slock hoga (< per cwt 'food
calves about aame price.
j.a. w. hiiabm.
IIaiitiioi.omk-a Co, May 10—It haa
been very warm h«r* for s*veral day*
and wo had a good rain Saturday •veiling.
Thoro 1* lot* of corn being planted and
farmers are pushing tbe work rapidly;
grata looks well but wheat looks bad.
Hogs and fat cattle are scarce, as farmer*
ar* raising more sheep, horses and poultry. Hogs and rattle are selling at (4 per
hundred pounds; fi»hlng lively, but nol
with dynamite or seines, as they are
afraid of Sweeney. .1. II. H
COBJ! XX PEB1 HERTS ATPUEDUE IXPEE1-
MEKT BTATIOH.
Itullclln No. irl,,from our Stale Agricultural Station give details of (laid experiments with corn, oata and forage
plants, and tbeir results. As our read
ers must all understand by this time
these bulletins will be sent to them, free
of charge, upon application. This one ls
of special value and all should ask for It.
We copy from Ihe summary of results :
Tbe best results have been obtained by
planting corn before May 10th.
The greatest average yield of grain haa
been obtained when the stalks of corn
stood about H Inches apart In the row.
The greatest average yield of stalks,
and the greatest total yield of grain and
stalks have been obtained when the
stalks stood abont 1_ Inches apart.
Thick planting has Invariably reduced
the size of the tars and tbe per cent of
grain.
Thick planting bas produced the heaviest yields cf both grain and stalks tn
seasonable years.
Thick planting has usually produced
the heaviest yield of stalks In dry years,
while the yield of grain has invariably
been reduced In dry seasons.
The best average yields have been obtained from culture about two inches
deep.
Cultivation four inches deep has considerably reductd tbe yield of corn.
A judicious rotation of crops baa been
found helpful, (1) In maintaining the
yields and (_ * In conserving soil fertility.
J.xperlments have shown that a dozen
years of constant cropping will not folly
exhaust a liberal application of horse
manure.
In oontlnoons corn culture, manure
and fertilizers have not proved profitable
The "hired roan" sbonlj be one sufficiently Intelligent to comprehend your
plans and carry out your orders; one
bon . st in his work during Tour absence
and humane in tbe treatment of the live
stocK; above all, his personal and moral
characteristics should be such that you
need not hesitate to have your boys associate with him.
THK ASSOCIATION r_.AB AM0H0 rA&ME&I.
TU. plan for a mutual bene lit orgaulza-
ation among farmers, suggested by our
Wai rick county corr»*|K>t>d*ul, on another page, It so similar to that ot building and loan associations, common ln all
the clllcra and towns, lhat lt would seem
unnecoemry lo spend lime ln considering
It. With few change* Ih* building and
loan plan may be made *\ allatil* to the
nee-da of farming communities, and the
great advantage In lis favor over lhat
suggnsUd by Mr. Stanton 1* that 111* already legal). »d and has been In successful operation for se.era! year*. Jlul the
great dinrcultjr of collecting the monthly
Installments from the farmers has prevented the promotion of such associations
In the oountry. The sain* dllbcully
would operate against the plan suggested.
It would be Impossible we fear, lo put
such a plan ln successful operation ln
rural district*. To explain our meaning
take the case of Mr. Stanton'* own township. Suppose he hat secured **KKI subscribers there, all of w horn pay their full
Installment. So far, very well, but at the
end of Ihe month anotherdollar beoomes
due. How Is It to be collected? The
farmers cannot leave their work, especially ln summer, lo go lo the dtlc* of tb*
custodian lo lake the small sum of fl (Kl.
It would nol pay. Then It must be remembered that the farmer haa no regular
Income. He depends foj bis pocket money on occasional sales of product*. Some
weeks and months perhaps he sells nothing, again he may take In (IW or more
In one transaction. JI would be very
troublesome for him to keep this sum or
any considerable part of 11 ln the house,
or on his person, merely to meet his
monthly dues, t'nless he could pay a
year or six months In advance itwould
be unwise to subscribe stock, and ther*
Is poor Inducement for him to prepay by
the year, as be has no assurance of Internet. Indeed, at the low rale proposed,
there could be but a very small percent
after d .dueling for tho expenses of management.
In towns and cities the case ls entirely
dlfTerenl. Here the pay of the stockholders come* weekly and In «'ju*l amounts,
and the office of the treasurer Is usually
at some point most oonvenltnt to all Interested. II ls thee* two facts that have
rendered the»» associations so popular
and successful In all our towns and cities.
All that our correspondent has said regarding the advantages of such a plan
we endorse, and only regret thai It eetms
Impracticable among farmers, for tbe
reasons we have named and others that
we have not mom for.
WHAT CAUtrVL KLECTIO-T _>0EI.
An Ohio farmer writing to an exchange
regarding the proportion between tbe
weight of the corn and the cobs ln eome
varieties says: "1 have looked at oorn
which I am sure carried _rt to Impounds of
cobs to the busbel of <;•* pounds. Atbome
I have often shelled fl<l pounds of oorn
from ■> pounds of ears. «if oourse, this Is
tbe result of selection; 12 years ago I
raised J2 pounds of cobs to tb* busbel of
oorn. I hav* a friend who claim* that
the larger the cob, tbe more grains It
takes to go round It. I shelled .*;< pound*
of his corn and got seven pounds of cob.
Then I shelled ."rt f-onnds of my own, and
weighed a scant five ponnds of oob. This
may look like a small matter, but lt
amount* to six busbels of corn per JOO.
Select an ear tbat tapers but very littlo,
as swell butt ears usually Have very largo
cobs. I never shell an ear for seed with-
out flrst breaking It in two to look at tbe
depth of grain; a deep-grained oorn will
stand more drouth than one of tbe kind*
that bear a round, short grain."
Anna Moss, an aged negresa of Sedalia,
Mo, died of fright when caught ont In a
severe storm of tbnndsr, lightning mad
ball.