VOL.LX.
INDIANAPOLIS, APRIL 22,1905.
NO. 16
LETTER FROM NEW ORLEANS
AND THE SOUTH.
To the Indiana Farmer:
New Orleans,    La.,    April 10,    1905.—
The severe cold weather in February—
the coldest spell in years past—greatly retarded the growth and early maturity of
-early vegetables, and especially strawberries. In the vicinity of Hammond
and other near points on the Illinois Central railway, 50 to CO miles north of New
Orleans,. large areas are devoted to strawberry culture. They are now shipping
them to- northern markets by the car load
and in about two weeks it will be itt train
loads. There is an immense crop of
strawberries this year, and they are only
a little late. They are selling at Hammond on board at three dollars per case.
The .. muck lands for miles along the
shores of Lake Pontchartrain are devoted
to growing all kinds of vegetables, as
they are very rich, and generally pretty
well dyked and drained. The markets
here are now well supplied with fresh
berries and vegetables from the gardens
and fields in this vicinity.
This city, is beginning to feelth© impetus
In trade incident to the supplies demanded
in the construction of the Panama canal,
as this city and New York have been
designated as the-two" points of supply.
New Orleans being some days nearer than
New York to the Isthmus will naturally
come in* for a large share, though New
York has the advantage in a better line
of steamers. Those plying from here
ibeing chiefly fruit steamers of lighter burden and slower time. When the canal
is completed New Orleans is bound to become a great export city, and it is believed that by that time its growth will
be phenomenal. Land prices here are
stiff and advancing and new buildings are
perceptible. One singular drawback to
more of it in business sections is the want
of perfect titles, growing out of old Spanish and French holdings and only partial
transfers.
AVhen the great grain elevators and im-
mence docks of the Illinois Central railway were burned here recently it was
thought that New York would recover
some of her grain export losses, but the
enterprise here disappointed them. For
several years New Orleans corn exports
have much exceeded those of New York,
and notwithstanding the burning of the
elevators and great docks this is rapidly
growing. In March this port shipped 3,-
800,000 bushels of corn, as against 1,324,-
febl in March of last year, an increase of
nearly 200 per cent. Forty-two vessels
left here in March loaded with corn. As
showing what countries are consuming
this corn it may be mentioned that these
suipments went to Antwerp, Belfast, Bordeaux, Copenhagen, Genoa, Hamburg,
Havre, Limerick, Liverpool, London,
Queenstown, Rotterdam, Trieste, Venice
ond many other ports abroad, showing
that about every country in Europe is
taking American corn through this port.
The great corn-growing Central States
can thus see that New Orleans is the open
door to Europe for our breadstuffs, as
wheat and flour shipments and American
meat exports are also very large here.
Tnis wonderful export trade has developed
nnder the great elevator and dockage systems of the Illinois Central railway for
handling grain and produce. Thousands
of men are now engaged in rebuilding the
elevators and shipping docks, and pretty
soon facilities will be greater than ever.
With all this commercial enterprise,
New Orleans has besides a charm and attraction,   especially  for  northern   people,
like no other southern city. Its people
are more cosmopolitan than those of most
otlier southern cities, and there is a
warmth to their welcome which fascinates and welcomes a return again and
again. This is the experience of both
commercial and social classes who visit
here. The city has over 325,000 people
and is growing rapidly, both in manufacturing enterprises and commercial.
What it is to be, in population and industry by the end of 10 years, when the Panama canal will be finished, may be estimated when its location and shipping facilities are considered.
J.   B.   C.
heavy gas and the other very light; and
the curious fact is that they may freely
mix without uniting; but a spark of electricity or of fire will cause them to unite
with a fierce explosion; and the drop of
water that is formed is a liquid, and not
a bit like either ofl the gases Oxygen,
a gas, will unite with iron, a solid, and
make rust, a scale or a powder. It will
unite with carbon, a solid, and make car-
bonous acid, a gas, or another gas called
carbonic di-oxide, or carbonic acid gas.
Now the fire is a factory for these
gases; and as they are both deadly poisons the greatest care is necessary where
a fire is kept in a close room.     Charcoal
Carbon State Bank, Carbon, Indiana,    showing  Condition  of    Concrete  Walls   as
Compared with Brick,   after a Destructive Fire.
THE FARM SCHOOL.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
Chemistry is a, science which treats of
the constitution of compound bodies.
There are three physical forms of matter:
Solid, liquid and gaseous. Solids are
those bodies that have form, and can be
measured in three dimensions called length
breadth and thickness. Liquids are
bodies whose particles must be confined
in a vessel to assume a form, since these
move with perfect freedom upon one another.
Gases are aeriform bodies, whose particles are much inclined to escape from
any vessel that contains them. They
are'far less dense than liquids and liquids
are less dense than solids.
Now the curious feature of chemistry is
that two gases may unite and form a
liquid, or even a solid, and two of these
forms may unite and form the other.
Common salt is a chemical compound,
very important in the foods of living beings. In fact, without salt, Bood is unpalatable and unhealthful, and yet salt is
made of two deadly poisons. Chlorine is
a thick yellow gas that would smother
any living creature that breathed it. Sodium is a metal, so light that it will float
about on the water. So greedy is it for
one of the elements of water that it
snatches the element out of the water and
takes fire. So if a piece of it should
drop upon- the tongue, it would burn a
hole through it. Well, chlorine and sodium unite and form salt; and salt is not
poisonous at all.
Oxyge,n and hydrogen are two gases,
which unite when chemically lrought to-
gather and constitute water.    One    is a
is the carbon of wood as coke is the carbon of coal; and when these are made
very hot the oxygen of the atmosphere
sets up the union with the carbon and
the wholegoes off as a gas up thechimney.
The chief purpose of thee himney is to
carry off this fatal gas with .the smoke.
A brazier of charcoal is sometimes taken
to the bed room to warm the air of the
room. It devours the air, and makes a
substitute that is unbreatheable; unless
there are openings in the floor or elsewhere to let it out. A tight room is
a death-trap, if there is a charcoal fire
in it without a chimney. So too, this
poisonous gas is formed wherever decay
or decomposition takes place. And this
is the secret of the fertilizing principle in
manures. Carbonic acid gas, though so
fatal to man and animals is healthful to
vegetables. Indeed,  vegetables  cannot
grow without it. The animal kingdom
and the vegetable kingdom are
delicately balanced; for vegetables
take in carbonic acid gas and give off
oxygen; while animals take in oxygen and
give off (from their lungs) carbonic acid
gas. If all vegetables were stopped from
growing, all the atmosphere would in time
become unfit to breathe, and the animals
would die.
In next paper, I will make further applications of chemical affinity, and endeavor to draw a moral from the lesson.
Questions may be sent to me as below;
and although 1 may not have room to answer them directly, I may treat them
when they fall into the course of investigation. Walter S. Smith.
Arlington, Ind.
LETTER FROM WASHINGTON, D.C.
JSdltors Xnsllana Fanner:
The figures which have been presented
showing the fortunes to be made from
gingseng growing on little tracts of
ground, and the enticing prospects held
out by gingseng companies, have necessitated the issuance of a circular by the
Department of Agriculture, stating the
facts regarding this peculiar plant. Ginseng in the United States, is native in only about one-quarter of the country and
has not been successfully grown outside
of its native range. The Department
states that if but a small proportion of
those who contemplate going into the
business succeed it will result in overproduction. The market for the root
exists entirely among the Chinese. It
is further stated that the Chinese prefer
the wild root. Those who contemplate
going into ginseng cultivation should look
at the prospects with conservatism-
Alfalfa Growing has just been issued
by the Bureau of Plant Industry as a
farmers' bulletin (No. 215) and now can
be had on application by farmers who are
interested in its growth as a forage, soiling, silage or seed crop.
Tomatoes—farmers' bulletin No. 220—
is a timely publication of the Bureau ot
Plant Industry which is now being ground
through the government print shop. The
bulletin is well arranged with plenty of
descriptive headlines, is not too long, and
should be of some advantage to most every
farmer, from the housewife who grows a
couple of short rows of tomatoes up to
the market gardener or farmer who proposes to go into tomato growing for shipment or canning purposes.
The question of the school garden is instructively discussed in an illustrated
booklet which is now being printed by the
Department of Agriculture. This pamphlet would constitute a valuable hand
book for any teacher desiring to work out
a plan for imparting a plain knowledge of
plant growth and crops, cultivation and
simple methods of agriculture and horticulture. If the suggestions outlined in
this phamplet were followed out by every
common school teacher a foundation would
be. laid which would result in greater
benefit, both to the individual nnd to the
community, than any other line of study
which is included in the public school
curriculum. Guy E. Mitchell.
Aprii 8.
PLANT TREES.
Gov. Hanly, in proclaiming April 21
and Oct. 20 as Arbor days for the schools
of the State, uttered the following very
appropriate remarks:
"The planting of trees is a public benefaction. Whosoever plants one makes
the earth more habitable and a happier
place in which to dwell, and thereby
earns the grateful praise of coming generations.
"Believing that systematic and persistent effort will restore in some measure
the all but inexhaustible and limitless
forest which once covered the larger portion of the area of the Commonwealth,
but which is now gone, I hereby proclaim
theso days to be observed throughout the
State by the planting of trees and shrubs
upon the ground about all public buildings and public institutions, and upon the
public highways, as well as upon grounds
about private homes, for their adornment
and beautification.
"By so doing we will add to tbe beauty,
the wealth and resources of the State and
to our own culture and happiness."