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VOL. XXX. INDIANAPOLIS, IND., APRIL 20, 1895. NO. 16. Resources of DELAWARE COUNTY, INDIANA. On April 1,1827, this county was organized with 399 square miles, or a complete area of 255 759 acres Its present taxable area, excluding roads and water surfaces, Is 241,308 08 acres. The returned valuation of lands and Improvements Is f8 656.675. Of course this includes only farm lands and thoir improvement?, and not city and town lots with improvements. These alone ara put down at $4,504,795. Inolud ing lands and improvements, lots and im provements, and the personal property,the valuation in the county Is f 17,538,725 And when to this is added the railway valuations, ths total taxable valuation li ? 19, 020,205. The present population of the county Is reckoned at 38,500, as it was above 30,000 by the dnsns of 1890, and there has been a large growth since throngh the in flaence of natural gas and greatly Increased manufacturing. The county lies high, and Is level to un dulating, gently sloping to the west. The accompanying map will show how well it Is watered. Most of these rivers and their tributaries have their sources in springs, affording a great abundanoe of pure water. When first settled the county had many small swampy prairies, whioh were then the sources of various streams. These have in a large measure been reclaimed by drainage, and have become the most fer tile and productive lands of the county, Then ths springs appeared,whioh are now mainly the sources of its streams. Theloc astral deposits at numerous places in the western half of the county are of unusual depth. This silt of receding lakes, where utilized in growing the staple crops by drainage, has proven exceedingly fertile and productive. The eastern part of the connty is higher and the soil is lighter, though productive, but requires more careful cultivation and recuperative fertillza tion to maintain steady fertility. It is estimated that the locustrian deposits of the western part of the oounty oould spare a few inohes of the surface to mix with the lighter soils ot the eastern sections, which would add great and lasting fertility to them, and yet leave a wealth of productive capacity in the west that would last nun dreds of yeara without fertil'ztfion. This will show how rich ln soils the county is The lighter soils of the eastern part are naturally very productive of grass and meadow lands, and may be made continuously so of other crops with proper fertilization with clover and in other ways. TIMBER AND STONE. This county was, at its settlement, very heavily timbered, with the exceptions of the small prairies referred to. Black walnut, oak, maple, ash, hickory, elm, beech, etc., were the chief timbers of the forests. While much of this has been removed,and chiefly for oommercial purposes, there is yet somo good timber in places. Ths timber has beeu a great source of wealth to the county especially thatcf the oak which has been worked up into staves and barrels; much of it right at home. There are still 60,000 acres of timber, including that fenced for pasture lands. The stone is in considerable quantity, and is mainly the Niagara limestone. The blue and drab limestone, In strata*) 6 to 12 Inches, are the chief foundation building stones. There are in places large stratas of gray limestone, whioh makes a good quality of lime, and l*i utilized for this purpose. There are gravel beds which afford plenty for roads and many of the latter have been constructed of this. About all the roads leading to MUNOIE, THK COUNTY SBAT, are gravelled with this material and the olty ia thus connected with all sections o the oounty by the best of roads. Muncie is a little south of the geographical center, but is the railway and commercial center. It has a population of about 22,000, a large per cent of which has been added in the past seven years and since the discovery of natural gas, and the develop ment of extensive manufacturing enterprises. B .th the oapital and output of these have about doubled in five years. The shipping facil- grass grows very luxuriantly and is deemed the best for grazing. The county had twelve herds of pure bred Shorthorns, several herds of Jerseys and some others. It is also a large producer of sheep and hogs. The following summary of a recant year fairly shows the extent of the live stock industry, and the capability of the county in these lines of industry: Horses and mule. .. 9.8C0 Cattle of all breeds _ 18.965 Sheep of all breeds J0.900 Hogs ot all breeds ..._ .78,800 Including the staple and minor productions of the farms, including the fruits and garden vegetables, which find a good home titAur co- 3LACKF0A0 C* ' \r,-ir*r ■ CO.! DELAWARE COUNTY—Explanations. The figures at Muncie, Selena ard Eitcn show feet above sea level, The dash lines are gravel reads. (t0 Shows natural gas In every part of the county. (© The barrel in the north east indicates the small arta of oil in the county. -—-■ \/) Developed limestone quarries at Eaton. lties are seen by the railway system which converges at Muncie. The county has nearly 70 miles of railway, which Includes trunk systems to the eastern seaboards and lines connecting the lakes on the north with the Ohio river. STAPLE PRODUCTIONS IN AGRICULTURE In showing these a good reason is taken, which may fairly exhibit the capability of the soil under favorable conditions, and to show the value, a normal year in industry and prices is selected for the latter. And so we find the following as to the staple crops of the county in such seasons and years: Total bushels Value 887..0O (621,390 2114,280 845,712 194,t30 77 652 Of the clover hay crop ln such a year two tons per acre were grown on 18,583 acres valned at 1370,000. The average on timothy hay the same year was one and three- quarter tons to the acre on 14,748 acres,val- ued at |199,800. The other minor crops yield well also, including barley, rye, flax, eto. The oounty has grown in a year 150,- 000 bushels of Irish potatoes. LIVE STOCK. When the live stook industry was at a high level of prosperity the oounty had over 21,000 acres in blue grass pasture. This Wheat... Corn ___., cuts Acres ... 41,3 0 ...JE0.M0 .... 6.471 market now, and the live stock, the output of agriculture reached about f5,000,000 annually. This of course inoludes home consumption as well as the surplus sold at home and abroad. SOME OP THE HIGH LEVEES OF PRODUCTION. The production of both wheat and corn is reported from tbe alluvial and muck soils ln the western part of the county. One farmer writes that he has grown as high as 43 b ishels of wheat per acre, and 98 bushels of corn on large tracts of land Another In the southwest writes that his largest jieM of wheat was 42.4 bushels on ten acres and that of one field of corn went to 91 bushels, both of these were ou the well drained muck lands. Along the Missis.lnowa river valley on the alluvial lands i_ bushels of wheat per acre are reported by several farmers and from 80 to 98}_ bushels of oorn, the latter being reported by one farmer only in the valley lands. In the-vioinity of Muncie is found the highest production of strawberries and other small fruit in any part of the State, according to our reports. Great quantities of these fruits are grown there and marketed at Muncie and at other points. Mr. Granville Cowing is one of the largest and most successful producers of small fruits and finds the industry more profitable than that of grain growing. Among the best timothy meadow crops reported is from a farmer in the eastern part of the oounty. His yield was a Uttle over three tons per acre on a large meadow and his clover crop exceeded tbat a little. The elevation above sea level at Muncie is 948 feet aud exceeds 100 just over the line in Randolph connty. NATURAL GAS AND OIL. The county Is large in its product of natural gas, but the oil area Is yet limited to a small district in the northeastern part. The immense manufacturing industries developed in the past few years at Muncie and other places in the county are due largely to the great product of natural gas. The map shows the general distribution of this all over the county. The discovery and utility of gas was' first made in considerable quantities in this county. Now lt Is utilized in every section for fuel and manufacturing purposes. Ths earing for these purposes annually amounts to millions of dollars as oompared with the use of coal. MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY. As already stated, the largest of this is in Munoie and vicinity, though thero is considerable at other points. The growth of the industry in the whole county has been very rapid in the past seven years and since tbe discovery of natural gas. The following comparisons will give a good idea of this growth and shows its extent at this time: «80. 1895. Nnmber of establishments 159 245 Number of persons employed 726 4,240 Capital Invested.. _. „.f 701,575 |2,19o!co0 Valne cf annual product... ._..... 1,280,481 4,150,000 Annual njrages paid _. I83.MO j;880,0O0 This shows a very large addition to the population of consumers. The census gives about four and one-half persons to the family, and this would make over 17,- 000 persons to be fed due to the manufacturing industries of the county. Farmers and gardners report that the manufacturing centers have grown to be valuable home markets for about all that they grow In the fruit and vegetable line, and since manufacturing has grown to the present proportions home prices of these products have ben greatly improved. Postal Oard Correspondence. Greene Co.—Fully three-fourths of the peach trees of this vicinity have been killed by the intense freezing; tops should ba trimmed of all dead limbs and many trees will need cuttirg offat the ground; blackberries are also badly killed. LAroRTE Co , April 12 —Wheat on poor lands and on rough hilly land nearly all killed by winter freezing, as the hills were swept bare of snow, and March was cold and bleak and dry, no rains; peachos in many orchards are mostly killed and some trees are injured also. Mrs B. A. Davis. AdAms Co., April 3.—The weather during March has been dry and oold; wheat looks well; a good acreage of oats will be sown; a large acreage of corn will be planted; stock is in good condition; hay crop will be light on account of the drouth last year; but little rain this year yet, the ground is very dry; cisterns all dry; wheat selling at 52 cents. a. M. Hamilton Co, April 8—Horses have wintered well aud are somewhat scarcer than a year ago; cattle rather scarce and are sought after; hogs healthy, scarce and in demand. Cherry, peach and plumb dead ln bud; but apple and pear buds in superb condition; trees covered with bloom buds; wheat and clover not badly frozen; most wheat small; gardens partly made- oats coming up; a good acreage sown; gas wells wet and very weak; territory ln bad shape; some signs of "oil;" a fine "April shower" of about an inch just fell; a large acreage of potatoes already planted; plowing for corn well aloDg*. "intense" farming is drawing nigh. w. F. W.
Object Description
Title | Indiana farmer, 1895, v. 30, no. 16 (Apr. 20) |
Purdue Identification Number | INFA3016 |
Date of Original | 1895 |
Subjects (LCSH) |
Agriculture Farm management Horticulture Agricultural machinery |
Subjects (NALT) |
agriculture farm management horticulture agricultural machinery and equipment |
Genre | Periodical |
Call Number of Original | 630.5 In2 |
Location of Original | Hicks Repository |
Coverage | United States - Indiana |
Type | text |
Format | JP2 |
Language | eng |
Collection Title | Indiana Farmer |
Rights Statement | Content in the Indiana Farmer Collection is in the public domain (published before 1923) or lacks a known copyright holder. Digital images in the collection may be used for educational, non-commercial, or not-for-profit purposes. |
Repository | Purdue University Libraries |
Date Digitized | 2011-02-03 |
Digitization Information | Original scanned at 300 ppi on a Bookeye 3 scanner using internal software. Display images generated in CONTENTdm as JP2000s; file format for archival copy is uncompressed TIF format. |
Description
Title | Page 1 |
Subjects (LCSH) |
Agriculture Farm management Horticulture Agricultural machinery |
Subjects (NALT) |
agriculture farm management horticulture agricultural machinery and equipment |
Genre | Periodical |
Call Number of Original | 630.5 In2 |
Location of Original | Hicks Repository |
Coverage | Indiana |
Type | text |
Format | JP2 |
Language | eng |
Collection Title | Indiana Farmer |
Rights Statement | Content in the Indiana Farmer Collection is in the public domain (published before 1923) or lacks a known copyright holder. Digital images in the collection may be used for educational, non-commercial, or non-for-profit purposes. |
Repository | Purdue University Libraries |
Digitization Information | Orignal scanned at 300 ppi on a Bookeye 3 scanner using internal software. Display images generated in CONTENTdm as JP2000s; file format for archival copy is uncompressed TIF format. |
Transcript | VOL. XXX. INDIANAPOLIS, IND., APRIL 20, 1895. NO. 16. Resources of DELAWARE COUNTY, INDIANA. On April 1,1827, this county was organized with 399 square miles, or a complete area of 255 759 acres Its present taxable area, excluding roads and water surfaces, Is 241,308 08 acres. The returned valuation of lands and Improvements Is f8 656.675. Of course this includes only farm lands and thoir improvement?, and not city and town lots with improvements. These alone ara put down at $4,504,795. Inolud ing lands and improvements, lots and im provements, and the personal property,the valuation in the county Is f 17,538,725 And when to this is added the railway valuations, ths total taxable valuation li ? 19, 020,205. The present population of the county Is reckoned at 38,500, as it was above 30,000 by the dnsns of 1890, and there has been a large growth since throngh the in flaence of natural gas and greatly Increased manufacturing. The county lies high, and Is level to un dulating, gently sloping to the west. The accompanying map will show how well it Is watered. Most of these rivers and their tributaries have their sources in springs, affording a great abundanoe of pure water. When first settled the county had many small swampy prairies, whioh were then the sources of various streams. These have in a large measure been reclaimed by drainage, and have become the most fer tile and productive lands of the county, Then ths springs appeared,whioh are now mainly the sources of its streams. Theloc astral deposits at numerous places in the western half of the county are of unusual depth. This silt of receding lakes, where utilized in growing the staple crops by drainage, has proven exceedingly fertile and productive. The eastern part of the connty is higher and the soil is lighter, though productive, but requires more careful cultivation and recuperative fertillza tion to maintain steady fertility. It is estimated that the locustrian deposits of the western part of the oounty oould spare a few inohes of the surface to mix with the lighter soils ot the eastern sections, which would add great and lasting fertility to them, and yet leave a wealth of productive capacity in the west that would last nun dreds of yeara without fertil'ztfion. This will show how rich ln soils the county is The lighter soils of the eastern part are naturally very productive of grass and meadow lands, and may be made continuously so of other crops with proper fertilization with clover and in other ways. TIMBER AND STONE. This county was, at its settlement, very heavily timbered, with the exceptions of the small prairies referred to. Black walnut, oak, maple, ash, hickory, elm, beech, etc., were the chief timbers of the forests. While much of this has been removed,and chiefly for oommercial purposes, there is yet somo good timber in places. Ths timber has beeu a great source of wealth to the county especially thatcf the oak which has been worked up into staves and barrels; much of it right at home. There are still 60,000 acres of timber, including that fenced for pasture lands. The stone is in considerable quantity, and is mainly the Niagara limestone. The blue and drab limestone, In strata*) 6 to 12 Inches, are the chief foundation building stones. There are in places large stratas of gray limestone, whioh makes a good quality of lime, and l*i utilized for this purpose. There are gravel beds which afford plenty for roads and many of the latter have been constructed of this. About all the roads leading to MUNOIE, THK COUNTY SBAT, are gravelled with this material and the olty ia thus connected with all sections o the oounty by the best of roads. Muncie is a little south of the geographical center, but is the railway and commercial center. It has a population of about 22,000, a large per cent of which has been added in the past seven years and since the discovery of natural gas, and the develop ment of extensive manufacturing enterprises. B .th the oapital and output of these have about doubled in five years. The shipping facil- grass grows very luxuriantly and is deemed the best for grazing. The county had twelve herds of pure bred Shorthorns, several herds of Jerseys and some others. It is also a large producer of sheep and hogs. The following summary of a recant year fairly shows the extent of the live stock industry, and the capability of the county in these lines of industry: Horses and mule. .. 9.8C0 Cattle of all breeds _ 18.965 Sheep of all breeds J0.900 Hogs ot all breeds ..._ .78,800 Including the staple and minor productions of the farms, including the fruits and garden vegetables, which find a good home titAur co- 3LACKF0A0 C* ' \r,-ir*r ■ CO.! DELAWARE COUNTY—Explanations. The figures at Muncie, Selena ard Eitcn show feet above sea level, The dash lines are gravel reads. (t0 Shows natural gas In every part of the county. (© The barrel in the north east indicates the small arta of oil in the county. -—-■ \/) Developed limestone quarries at Eaton. lties are seen by the railway system which converges at Muncie. The county has nearly 70 miles of railway, which Includes trunk systems to the eastern seaboards and lines connecting the lakes on the north with the Ohio river. STAPLE PRODUCTIONS IN AGRICULTURE In showing these a good reason is taken, which may fairly exhibit the capability of the soil under favorable conditions, and to show the value, a normal year in industry and prices is selected for the latter. And so we find the following as to the staple crops of the county in such seasons and years: Total bushels Value 887..0O (621,390 2114,280 845,712 194,t30 77 652 Of the clover hay crop ln such a year two tons per acre were grown on 18,583 acres valned at 1370,000. The average on timothy hay the same year was one and three- quarter tons to the acre on 14,748 acres,val- ued at |199,800. The other minor crops yield well also, including barley, rye, flax, eto. The oounty has grown in a year 150,- 000 bushels of Irish potatoes. LIVE STOCK. When the live stook industry was at a high level of prosperity the oounty had over 21,000 acres in blue grass pasture. This Wheat... Corn ___., cuts Acres ... 41,3 0 ...JE0.M0 .... 6.471 market now, and the live stock, the output of agriculture reached about f5,000,000 annually. This of course inoludes home consumption as well as the surplus sold at home and abroad. SOME OP THE HIGH LEVEES OF PRODUCTION. The production of both wheat and corn is reported from tbe alluvial and muck soils ln the western part of the county. One farmer writes that he has grown as high as 43 b ishels of wheat per acre, and 98 bushels of corn on large tracts of land Another In the southwest writes that his largest jieM of wheat was 42.4 bushels on ten acres and that of one field of corn went to 91 bushels, both of these were ou the well drained muck lands. Along the Missis.lnowa river valley on the alluvial lands i_ bushels of wheat per acre are reported by several farmers and from 80 to 98}_ bushels of oorn, the latter being reported by one farmer only in the valley lands. In the-vioinity of Muncie is found the highest production of strawberries and other small fruit in any part of the State, according to our reports. Great quantities of these fruits are grown there and marketed at Muncie and at other points. Mr. Granville Cowing is one of the largest and most successful producers of small fruits and finds the industry more profitable than that of grain growing. Among the best timothy meadow crops reported is from a farmer in the eastern part of the oounty. His yield was a Uttle over three tons per acre on a large meadow and his clover crop exceeded tbat a little. The elevation above sea level at Muncie is 948 feet aud exceeds 100 just over the line in Randolph connty. NATURAL GAS AND OIL. The county Is large in its product of natural gas, but the oil area Is yet limited to a small district in the northeastern part. The immense manufacturing industries developed in the past few years at Muncie and other places in the county are due largely to the great product of natural gas. The map shows the general distribution of this all over the county. The discovery and utility of gas was' first made in considerable quantities in this county. Now lt Is utilized in every section for fuel and manufacturing purposes. Ths earing for these purposes annually amounts to millions of dollars as oompared with the use of coal. MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY. As already stated, the largest of this is in Munoie and vicinity, though thero is considerable at other points. The growth of the industry in the whole county has been very rapid in the past seven years and since tbe discovery of natural gas. The following comparisons will give a good idea of this growth and shows its extent at this time: «80. 1895. Nnmber of establishments 159 245 Number of persons employed 726 4,240 Capital Invested.. _. „.f 701,575 |2,19o!co0 Valne cf annual product... ._..... 1,280,481 4,150,000 Annual njrages paid _. I83.MO j;880,0O0 This shows a very large addition to the population of consumers. The census gives about four and one-half persons to the family, and this would make over 17,- 000 persons to be fed due to the manufacturing industries of the county. Farmers and gardners report that the manufacturing centers have grown to be valuable home markets for about all that they grow In the fruit and vegetable line, and since manufacturing has grown to the present proportions home prices of these products have ben greatly improved. Postal Oard Correspondence. Greene Co.—Fully three-fourths of the peach trees of this vicinity have been killed by the intense freezing; tops should ba trimmed of all dead limbs and many trees will need cuttirg offat the ground; blackberries are also badly killed. LAroRTE Co , April 12 —Wheat on poor lands and on rough hilly land nearly all killed by winter freezing, as the hills were swept bare of snow, and March was cold and bleak and dry, no rains; peachos in many orchards are mostly killed and some trees are injured also. Mrs B. A. Davis. AdAms Co., April 3.—The weather during March has been dry and oold; wheat looks well; a good acreage of oats will be sown; a large acreage of corn will be planted; stock is in good condition; hay crop will be light on account of the drouth last year; but little rain this year yet, the ground is very dry; cisterns all dry; wheat selling at 52 cents. a. M. Hamilton Co, April 8—Horses have wintered well aud are somewhat scarcer than a year ago; cattle rather scarce and are sought after; hogs healthy, scarce and in demand. Cherry, peach and plumb dead ln bud; but apple and pear buds in superb condition; trees covered with bloom buds; wheat and clover not badly frozen; most wheat small; gardens partly made- oats coming up; a good acreage sown; gas wells wet and very weak; territory ln bad shape; some signs of "oil;" a fine "April shower" of about an inch just fell; a large acreage of potatoes already planted; plowing for corn well aloDg*. "intense" farming is drawing nigh. w. F. W. |
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