VOL. LX.
INDIANAPOLIS, FEBRUARY 4, 1905.
NO. 5
Interesting Letter From Central Alabama.
Written for tbe Indiana Farmer:
It is now six weeks since we started
with cur of goods for tlie far South. We
arrived ut Frnitdnle, Ala., ou the Gth of
December and found tbis south land
clothed in all its splendor. Tbe residents composing the population are all
northern people. Indiana ranks first,
with Wisconsin a close second. There
are now near 700 inhabitants; two
churches and several general stores, two
hotels; a cannig factory, with capacity for
doing spjeudid business, and two aaw
mills. The Odd Fellows and Masons
onch have a flourishing lodge. In driving througb the streets of our little town
your eye will behold the well-kept lawns,
with roses in- bloom, as though it were
summer. We have gardens made, and
radishes, lettuce, onions will be ready for
use soon; some have radishes now. The
majority of those that make it a business
of gardening for the early northern market
are very busy breaking their ground, pe-
paring to put out a very large crop of tomatoes, both Irish and sweet potatoes,
cantaloupes and cucumbers, all of which
command good prices. A sportsman eau
enjoy himself to the full, as quail are Very
plentiful, and out 5 ami 10 miles quite a
number of turkeys anil doer may be found,
while rabbits and squirrels are not so
plentiful as itr Indiana. Fruitdale is fast
coming to be a favorite spot for those iu
the north who seek a [dace to spend the
winter, shunning the blasts of the northern winter. Scarcely a train arrives, but
brings new arrivals from the northern
states.
The groat need of this country is for more
settlers with well bred .stock. The stock
here is the same as was here years ago.
The cattle are small and very inferior;
very few good dairy cows here; hence good
butter brings from 30 to 40 cents pel
pound. The hogs arc-  the  much  hated
razor back; while they have, you mighl
say, no shoulder or ham, when fat the flesh
is very sweet and delicious. They
run at large until two years of age, then
they are penned and fed for a month on
corn and sweet potatoes. Then they
arc butchered, weighing from 150 to 200
lbs. This is a beautiful country, gently rolling, suitable for farming and stock raising. The staple crops for the general
farmer are cotton, corn and Irish and
sweet potatoes. There is not any one
here foolish enough to burn his cotton. He
will hold it and reduce his acreage this
year one-half. There is undoubtedly a
bright future for this south land. With
an abundance of timber, building material
is cheap. With plenty of water and
native grass and cheap land, with a small
outlay one can get a good 160 acre farm
With some good stock and with energy he
may in a few jears become independent.
I would advise those contemplating a
change to come to this country and inves-
gate for themselves. Instead of the cold
fiozen winters of the north we hare very
mild open winters. The climatic conditions are wonderful. This is well named
the sunny south. Chas. L. Barker.
Frtiitdale, Ala., Jan. 14.
Wheeler of the university, attended, sev- black coats, wtrt panting under the noon-
eral state  and  government  experts   par- day sun; aud ;he opinion was current that
ticipated in the program, and about fifty they wero not so well adapted to this cli-
represeutatives of farmer's clubs in other mate.
counties wero present.             ■ Californians believe that their state is
The hall was tastefully decorated with the best iu tho Union and the residents of
green bamboo foliage, the branches reach- Santa Barbara believe that this particular
ing from the floor to the ceiling.       The locality is tho most desirable part of the
rostrum was ornamented with palms and great state, so they spare neither time nor
flowers   that now bloom profusely out of money  to    impress  that fact    upon  the
doors.        Branches  of oranges,    lemons, minds of all visitors.     Animated by this
citrons, and olives,  freshly cut from  the spirit the  Chamber of Commerce of the
Interesting: Letter From California.
Editors Inrtlata Fanner:
The annual session of the Farmer's Club
Institute of California convened at Santa
Barbara, January 3(5. This institute is
under the auspices of the state university
and all farmere* clubs in the state are entitled    to send      delegates.        President
ONE   OF   TIIE   FOREST   OIANTS   IN   TIIE     PUOET     SOUND       COUNTRV.
Size of tree Is noted !smv  Hip  chllrln-n ory-upjlnp the t-carf made  l-y tbe choppers.
trees, bearing green leaves ansl heavily
laden with ripe fruit also contributed to
the interest and beauty of the adornments.
The ranchmen and fruit growers of the
vicinity attended quite largely, many    of
city provided on the last day of the institute a carriage ride to all of the delegates
from other parts of the state and to invited guests. About forty persons availed themselves of this generous opportun-
for more than a century. The monks
in charge are courteous and obliging,
freely admitting visitors to the sacred
rooms, where hundreds of precious relics
of the past are stored, and to the quiet
little cemetery where 3,500 Indians and
500 white people sleep beueatb the palms
and roses.
Then the spirited steeds trotted toward
the sea, passing the Chinese market gardens where acres of peas were blooming,
tomatoes ripening, aud eon* and beans
end cabbage and vegetables of every sort
were growing luxuriantly. A rapid run
was made upon the smooth asphaltum
ocean boulevard where on the one side
grebes and loons were diving in the breaking surf, coots and ducks tossing on tin-
rolling waves, and gulls and pelicans sailing above them. On the other side, behind elegant rural residences and rugged
foothills, the rocky summits of the Santa
Vnez mountains glittered in the bright
sunshine.
The route led through extensive lemon
orchards where thousands of trees were
jellow with fruit ready for the pickers,
and the margins planted with rows of lo-
quats, guavas and other semi-tropical
fruits either ripe or in bloom.
ln this country groves of eucalyptus
trees cluster against the hillsides, giant
cacti stand in favored spots, century
plants grow wild along the ravines, and
castor beans, oats and potatoes perpetuate
themselves in- the fields and yield fair
crops. Poultry ranches, picturesque
with thousands of fowls, farmers plowing
and sowing, dairy herds grazing in the
fields, all tended to transform January
into May.
The return was by the mountain boulevard which affords a fine birdseye view of
the city, thn valley, the channel, and the
islands lying out at sea.
The bountiful generosity of the Chamber of Commerce still unexhausted, an
elegant banquet was provided in the evening for the visitors ami guests at one of
the leading hotels of the city. After
dinner speeches, glowing with wit and wisdom, were made by a number of citizens
and visitors, and the institute closed as
ar. event long to be remembered by all
who were so fortunate as to enjoy its
benefits. J.  M.  Keck.
Santa  Barbara,  Cal., Jan. Oth.
them coming to the day sessions without  ity to see the city and some of the sur-
lounding country.       Five tallyhos,    each
drawn bv fonr horses, were brought into
overcoats and wearing straw hats. Xo
one thought of heating the hall during
daylight and there was no artificial heat
during the first two evening sessions. But
the hall being on the ground lloor ami appearing coo! in the evening to some persons, three small oil heaters were brought
in for the third evening and placed along
the center aisle.
Many of the topics discussed were
novel to eastern visitors. Among them
were: "The English Walnut Industry,"
"The Olive in California," "Lemon Culture," "The Value of Goat's Milk," "The
Water Supply," "Hani Pan Caused by
Irrigation," etc.
A unique feature was an outdoor exhibit of live stock and the scoring and
judging of Ayrshire- cattle by a. state
specialist, with a view of teaching dairy
men- how to select and btved good cows.
requisition and an exceedingly pleasant
drive of 12 or 15 miles was enjoyed.
First the procession passed through tlie
residence part of the city where on every
side splendid homes, adobe houses old
and new; where are orange trees golden
with fruit, pepper trees beautiful with red
berries and bright green feathery foliage,
banana plants bearing bloom and green
fruit, and stately palms and other every-
greens of many varieties. Also geraniums and helitropcs standing higher than
a man's head, roses climbing to the roofs,
callas growing as hedges, and other flowering plants galore, all in full bloom.
A stop was made at the old Spanish
Mission, founded in 1782 by the Franciscan Fathers. The present building was
erected by Indian converts and completed
These Scotch rustlers see» well adapted . more than a hundred years ago. Its an
to ihe rock hills of this region, but a fine tique chime of Spanish bells has been
herd   of   Galloways,   wearing   their   long  rung and prayers offered at its altars daily
sSPItAYIXG EXPEKI.MEXTS.
A definite and systematic investigation
of the insects affecting deciduous fruit
trees will liegiir this spring at the government evperiment station. It is proposed to follow out work indicated with
the lime, sulphur and salt wash anil the
petroleum oils, and hydrocyanic acid gas,
both in its use for fumigating nursery
stock and orchard trees, and also for the
riddance in buildings of insect pests and
vermin-; also with sulphur as an insecticide, soaps, the arsenicals, the oily emulsions, etc.
A curiosity in the matter of bell ringing is to bo met with at Fulbutne, near
Cambridge, England. The church bells
there not only ring the hours of the day.
but at intervals also the date of the
month. Thus, at 12 o'clock noon on
the Mist there would be forty-three
strokes.
More horses and cattle have been killed
or crippled hy careless hunters, and the
farmers of Fountain county are np in
arms and will take drastic means for tho
protection of their live  stock.