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.