VOL. LIV.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., JULY 8, 1899.
NO. 27
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Is Clover Sod the Best Seed   Bed For
Corn?
B—ravn.
This topic was suggested to draw out a lot
of experience, and in winter would have been
freely answered. But it is a very busy time
now. It was suggested by a neighbor saying
that he did not like clover sod for corn on
account of cut worms, and lice.
I met an old successful farmer the other
day who seemed surprised that the question
Bhould be asked, and said that year in and
year out clover sod is the best show for corn.
Besides lt makes a nice rotation. Following
with wheat or oats and clover saves breaking
for wheat. In fact you break once for three
crops.
I notice some prefer to break for wheat,
and follow with corn, then oats, then clover.
Sod breaks so much harder on an average for
wheat. I much prefer to scatter manure on
it during summer and let it rot and soak in
till spring and turn under for corn. Sometimes potatoes do better planted after corn
haB rotted the sod one year. They are
freer from trouble from cut worms. For curiosity let me give you a common rotation in
the South. Corn (if grown), followed by
clover on corn stubble the next spring, clover
the next year, followed by oats. Oow peas are
sown in the oat stubble the same year. This
may be followed by corn, then corn again.
I have allowed English clover to stand the
eecond year for seed. But itdoea not pay; lt
does not yield well and ls sure to come full of
weeds. It will come up the second year if It
Is a rainy fall and look thick enough and the
volunteer will be thick and one hates to plow
It under, but the weeds will smother the little
stuff out and the crop will be a failure.
I find a great difference in practice in "laying corn by." Prof. Plumb in his fine little
book on "Indian Com Culture," claims that
experiments show that more stress should be
placed on shallow and thorough tillage than
on frequent cultivation. Once a week is often enough If the weeds are kept out.
The great problem inlaying corn by is in
the danger of weeds or of a hard crust. If
clean and loose I do not see why lt may not
be "laid by" before harvest. If weeiJs Btart
on account of rain or if a crugt is formed during harvest I like to run through with a cultivator or a planet junior. If a hard puddled
crust forms after harvest or if It turns very
dry I like to stir the soil one Inch deep even
when tasseling.
One should, however, remember that the
roots Mil not occupy soil that ls recently
made very loose by stirring until it is rained
down again. This surface soil has been aired
"ll summer and is rich in plant food. The
crop needs it very much to finish the growth
right ln the rush of maturing the seed. So it
« a question whether lt pays to continue cultivation too late. Oom should be plowed
shallower each time to spare the root growth.
It is a grass and naturally roots near the surface. Root pruning bas been repeatedly
shown to reduce the yield from one-fourth to
one-third.
Our P. o. motto last week was, "On some
faces there ls only a date, on others a history."
Kindly send a little more copy thla busy
weather.
—No. 175, July 15.—In threshing, some
neighborhoods take their dinners with them.
Some hire a man to furnish machine, fuel,
hands, board and all. Which plan haa proven
most satisfactory to you, and why?
No. 176, July 22 —How do you can fruit?
Why does so much canned fruit spoil? What
vegetables are best canned?
No. 177, July 29-How can the busy house
keeper find time for the  club?   Name some
advantages and drawbacks to clubs.
No. 178. Aug. 5.—If you had ten thousand
dollars to invest ln a'< farm for a home, ln
what portion of the United States would you
prefer to locate, and why?
No. 179, Aug. 12.—(For children under ten.)
Name the books that you have of your own.
What papers come to you through the Post
Offlce this year? Of all the books and pa-
No. 180, Aug. 19.—(For students of an Agricultural claBS at Purdue.) Name some of the
opportunities and advantages offered to both
boys and girls in the four year course, the
two year course and the winter course in Agriculture at Purdue University.
No. 18i, Aug. 26,—Give experience with
irrigation, for crops, garden or fruit. How
do you manage it, and how does it pay?
Premiums of $1, 75 cents and 50 cents will
be given to 1st, 2d and best articles each
week. Let copy be aB practicable ae possible
and forwarded ten days before publication to
Oarmel. E. H. Collins.
POSTAL CARD CORRESPONDENCE.
MiltZ _lZXDSi
Mokqan Co , July 1.—Wheat all cut and
threshing commenced; yield good. Olover
hay mostly cut in good condition. Oats ripening; corn needing rain; fruit scarce.   A. H.
Clay Co., July 3.—Wheat threshing begun;
yield fair; making hay continues abundant;
many farmers say potatoes are too much top,
not enough potatoes; beans'are plentiful;
many farmers planting quantities of navy
beans; vegetables have been an excellent
crop; farmers should now think about sowing some millet this year; fertilizers will be
used extensively this fall; pastures remain
good; we need some rain. S. E. T.
Twenty small fruit farms are located In the
vicinity of Russiavllle, and the harvest of
raspberries is under full headway. Several
hundred cases are shipped dally.
While William Luhrsen, a farmer near
Dillsboro, was harvesting wheat and in the
act of stooping over to pick up a sheaf, a
long straw penetrated his nostril, rupturing
an artery. He was unconscious from loss of
blood before medical aid arrived,
Burley Anderson and wife, near Bryant,
were attacked by a strange cat, which found
Itg way Into tbeir house during the night.
Mrs. Anderson was bitten twice through the
wrist and Anderson twice through the right
hand. He could only get the animal loose by
choking it to death with his left hand.
The longest and swiftest flight of carrier
pigeons ever made in Indiana occurred on
the 28th. Two pigeons belonging to William
Berrlsford, of Knightsvllle, which were
shipped to Topeka, Kas., were released at 5
o'clock yesterday ^morning, and they reached
home at 6:05 last evening. The distance is
over 600 miles.
O. E. Smith, or Crawfordsville, writes to a
friend at Logansport, that he has an offer
from an English duke of $1,500 a year, with a
cottage free, to become his blacksmith.
Smith recently shod a car-load of horses
shipped to England, and the duke noting the
skill and workmanship declared it better than
could be done in Europe. He has a stable of
60 horses.   Smith will accept the position.
Geo. Newman, of Osgood, while cutting
wheat, drove the harvester over his little two-
year-old Bon. The sickle caught the little
fellow's legs and severed the small bones below the knees. The father did not know that
the child was in the field.
During a severe electric storm on the 29th
the large barn of David Watt, near Leesburg.
was struck by lightning and the structure was
entirely destroyed, three horses being burned
to death. Considerable hay and grain were
consumed.
A large dog, considered a pet in the Tobin
home, attacked Miss Margaret Tobin, who
was in the sitting room ofthe family residence at Ander8onvllle. The animal sprang
on her shoulders twice, and while she succeeded in protecting her face, the girl's arms
were badly bitten. She fought the dog until
other members of the family came to her rescue and drove the animal out. The dog is
now under restraint to ascertain if it has hydrophobia. Miss Tobin is prostrated from
fright.
Dr. J. H. Hammond and his wife and
daughter of Anderson, are seriously ill, the
result of eating dried beef at supper last evening. The prostration began about midnight.
Some of the beef under examination discloses
the presence of strong chemicals, iO per cent
of which is said to be saltpeter. Dr. Hammond administered medicine to both himself and family until other physicians could
be called in.
(&zuzxnX Mzxost
ingredient of the festive batter-cake which
comes on our tables with sausage and maple
syrup. It Is likely to cause ltchlngs and cutaneous eruptions if its use la long continued,
and cannot be regared as essentially whole-
Bome.—Llppincott's.
About half an average crop of apples and
plums ia expected in Iowa this year.
Probably the richest person in Cuba is a
woman, Senora Rose Abien. She owns millions and vast estates, but ia democratic in
taste, and favors the United States.
Mrs. Cele8tlna Nigro, of Philadelphia celebrated her one-hundred-and-ninth birthday by
dancing three waltzes.
A Minnesota man captured a kingfisher
when the bird was quite young and made a
pet of him and trained the bird to capture fish
and lay tbem at his master's feet.
The Street Railway Journal estimates the
life of iron poles for overhead wires at thirty-
three years, and wooden poets at eleven yeare.
The secretary of the Massachusetts Board of
Health has issued the statement that codfish
ls as nutritious as sirloin steak or oleomargarine.
Two Chinese, driving recklessly through
Vancouver, ln an endeavor to overtake a funeral and drive away the evil spirits, ran over
and killed a child.
Some of the condors shot in the Andes
mountains have a spread of wing from fifteen
to twenty feet.
It is believed that a diet of corn-bred makes
Digger men, physically, than bread made
from wheat flour.
Cornstalks continue to look up. They yield
cellulose, worth $400 a ton, for stopping holes
in battleships, fine cardboard and paper, the
best foundation for dynamite, a patent cattle
food and a euperior glue. But it is said that
250,000,000 tons of cornstalks still go to waste
every year in this country.  """
Not Looking for Work.
He was one of the finest specimens of the
genus tramp that had visited the locality ln a
Jong time, but he was exceedingly polite and
meek. It seemed to be merely a question of
minutes as to how long his clothes would hold
together. Their appearance was enough to
make the ordinary man loose all confidence
In them, but the weary wayfarer had either
faith or nerve ln abundance for he approached
the door without faltering.
"Madam," he said, politely but awkwardly,
removing his hat, "have you any work around
here that a poor man could do?"
"Plenty of it," she reblled promptly.
"I do not mean," he explained, shifting
from one foot to the other, "work for which
you would expect to pay. It is not for a poor
wreck like myself to aspire as high as that. I
have been knocked about by the waves of misfortune until I have lost all hope 'and ambition of earning money by my exertions."
"You might aa well earn lt as any oneelse,"
eaid the woman.
"No madam," said the tramp eadly. "Such
prosperity as that would be more than I could
stand. With my Inclinations and tastes I feel
sure that I would go to the bad if I had money
in my pocket. I wlgh to learn merely if you
have any small jobs about the house that a
man can do for a square meal."
"I have."
The tramp backed away a few steps.
"I thank you madam, for your courteous
replies."
"Oh, I am always glad to help any one who
wants to work.   Oome right around to "
"I regret, madam, that I haven't the time.
I inquired about the work in order to find out
if it was safe to ask for a bite to eat. I find
that it ia not. I shall now continue my search
for a place where there is no work to be done,
and make my plea there."
Truly Called "The Staff of Life."
At the head of vegetable food is bread. It is
bo common that remarks about it may eeem
trite; but I may say that wheat bread is among
the moat nutritious of all the farinaceous
kinds, especially when the entire contents of
the wheat-berry are embraced in tho manufacture of flour. Bread ia very properly eaten with
flesh to correct the tendency of the latter to
putrescence, and ia mo8t expedient with such
articles of food ae contain much nourishment
in Bmall bulk. To render it easy of digestion,
bread should be well fermented, thoroughly
baked, and not consumed before lt is twenty-
four hours old. Eaten hot with butter lt produces flatulence, heart burn, wakefulness, and
kindred complaints.
Bread made of rye is apt to sour on the
stomach becauee of its disposition to acidity
and fermentation, and la not well adapted for
the diet of thoae persons having a choleric
temperament.of those afflicted with dyspeptic,
hypochondriac, and hysterical symptoms.
On the other hand, it Is useful as a preventive
or cure of scurvy, and is eaten in great quantities by European soldiers. Corn-bread,
made from the meal of maize, appears to
agree well with all persons who like it, and
when meal la mixed with wheat or rye flour,
or both, the resulting bread is especially palatable and keeps moist a long time. Buckwheat flour ia used for bread making in some
countries, though we know it best as the chief
Theory of the DuBt Mulch.
The dust mulch makes a very neat appear,
ance, and shows at firet glance that the land
has had careful attention. The dust mulch
cannot be made without thorough cultivation,
which also removes the weeds, thus answering
a two-fold purpose. The theory of evaporation of water from the soil is not generally
understood, but the water rises by capillary
action, and as long as theground is left undisturbed the air spaces are equal and lt rises
gradually until it reaches the surface, when lt
is lost ln the air. These spaces must be very
small or the water cannot rise, and that is
just the condition they are in when the soil Is
packed down hard.
It can be illustrated in this way: Take a
lump of loaf sugar and hold it over a cup of
liquid eo that the liquid barely touches the
bottom of the sugar. The liquid is drawn to
the top ofthe lump by capillary action, but if
the air spaceg ln the top of the lump are made
larger the liquid will stop when it gets to
them as the wider the spaces the harder it is
for the liquid to fill them and rise farther.
In just the same way the water in the soil
stops when it gets to the duet mulch where
the loose earth causes wider spaces.
The work of stirring the surface of the soil
should be done at least once a week in a garden, as the mulch thus provided soon packs
down again by the action of the weather.
When plants grow large enough to shade the
ground somewhat, this stirring can be given
up. After a rain, as soon ae the soil dries a
little, it should be well etirred with a fine garden rake.—Vick's Magazine.