TOL. XXIII.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., SATURDAY, MAY 26,1888.
NO. 21
THE WHEAT; SUPPLY.
B-ndstreet compiles the -wheat statistics
. hand and sayB that the croPof the
"nited States in 1887, as per the Washing-
a report, was 450,329,000 bushels.of which
s-. 000 bushels from 4,149,871 acres area
7rt produced in California, Oregon and
•jshington, leaving for the Atlantic
ope 401,455,000 bushels.   The stock of old
heat and flour throughout the country
n Jjly Is'. 1887> was approximately 71,-
0 000 bushels, of-which about 59,000,000
ushels were held east of the Rocky moun-
ins. This included 34,413,127 bushels
.ported in "the official visible supply"
uly 2,1887. The quantity reported on
ie Pacific coast must have amounted to
2,000,000 bushels, as California stocks of
rheat and flour July lst, 1887, amounted
0 4,S77,104 bushels. The total supply,
ised on the Department of Agriculture
stimafe, with the quantity of stock car-
iej over on July lst, 1887,   was 460,455,000
|Jt_ the Atlantic and about 66,874,000 bush-
Is in California, Oregon and Washington.
The population of the United States on
anuary 1st, 1888, has been estimated at
,bout 62,500,000, of which the Pacific coast
lalmed about 2,000,000. The food wants
500,000 population at four and one-half
ushels are 272,250,000 bushels.   The area
nder wheat on the Atlantic slope in 1887
_s 33,491,952 acres, requiring  46,219, 224
ushel- ot wheat for seeding. The exports
im the Atlantic  seaboard from July 2d,
<7, to April 28,1888, have been 85,12_,250
'Ushels.  The sum of the last three items
403,593,474 bushels. It is assumed and
stimated that  fully 10,000,000 bushels of
heat are required annually east of the
iky mountains for other purposes than
read and seed, bringing  the grand total
413,593,474 bushels. If this be deducted
rom the Atlantic slope supply for 1887
^460,455,000 bushels) there was left on May
st, 1S88, with all home wants provided
or to July lst.1888, 46,861,526 bushels, in-
luding the 32,464,060 bushels reported in
"the official visible supply" April 28th,1888.
rMs allows but 14,397,466 bushels east of
he Rocky mountains outside of the official
isible supply.   The  consumption  may
TO averaged less than 4M bushels of
per capita and the crop may have
n under estimated.
Inl.S7the exports from Atlantic porta
or the nine weeks ended July 2d, wheat
™ flour together, were equal to 26,767,883
"shels of wheat, being a weekly average
''2.977.543 bushels.
Em exports from Atlantio ports for the
^r weeks ended April 28,188S, were 5,-
»M bushels, being a weekly average of
-^,022 bushels, and at this rate the exerts in nine weeks from May lst to July
would make 11,835,198  bushels exports
1 -"-ar-against 26,767,883 bushels the cor-
.i?ndi--g nine weeks  of 1887,  which
<U4 dispose of most of the wheat outside
*-U>» visible wheat supply.
I Europe the crops, though Itwo weeks
■^'are generally looking well. Kussia
Koon iwf?6 snrPlas of wheat. There are
U-aT?.     h6ls of wheat on Passage from
--"'alia and half that quantity on pas-
.-*e*.i,*!vm India'  Asides  the  Argentine
mho and Chili are making about the
._pp!ie^ntrU-*tttions  to European  wheat
^Uh United States' on the Atlan«c
Wf0     nPply °n May  1st was smaller
(ir 'he li!I6ral /6ar8* and the P'OSP**-48
>»y , " uter-wheat crop, although poor
altCPr0V6, Th6 l>8P"tmentof Agri-
*h.a_.r8p0rts as to condition of winter
sw-reas follows :
»•*._. 18S8-    1887.
'j-H; -*•"
'-.-_;"	
^^tthft " - —        ■*•*        -°
:**t f0rttUpply "-"--so small and the pros-
lT»nceh winter wheat such that an
'""-.n   ®r<> -^Possible,  even with  the
Wees in EmaU demand ,rom and cheap-
1866.
8*        »Ui
86       95
85       94
1885.
76
70
82
1884.     IS!*..
91 80
94       tan
78
1 Europe
The official visible supply of wheat May
12th, 1888, was 29,271,771 bushels (2,045,609
bushels less than a week ago), against 44,-
458,102 bushels a year ago and 39,590,730
bushels two years ago, 15,186,331 bushels
less now than a year ago, and 10,318,959
bushels less now than two years ago, and
16,118,000 bushels les* including St Paul
and Minneapolis stocks.
W.-IUen tor the Indiana Farmer.
Potato Growing:.
BY JOHN M. STAHI,.
A neighbor dropped over yesterday,
bringing a sample of the potato he thought
of planting. I had to tell him that they
were the "hardest lot" of potatoes that I
had seen for some timo, and that I was
surprised that he thought of using them
for seed, for we haven't a better farmer in
the county, and very few, if any, that
raise better crops of potatoes. He said he
thought these potatoes were better than a
bushel he planted early. The bushel, was
part of a lot of small ones that he threw in
the corner of his barn in the fall, thinking
to feed them during the winter. He had
not done so. They were frozen whenever
the weather, during the winter, was very
cold. Yet he planted a bushel and the
plants reached the surface sooner and were
much more vigorous than the plants from
a bushel of fine seed which he gdt from a
seedsman.
I will confess that this very near took my
breath away. If any one had asked me if
frozen potatoes would grow, I would have
answered without hesitation and verypos-
itively that they would not. True, I had
never planted them, had never tested the
matter. E yen yet I can hardly be positive
that the frozen tubers will grow, though I
went over to my neighbor's to see with my
own eyes what he told me.
Planting small potatoes is not so confidently condemned now-a-days as it was
ten years ago. Then the man who said to
plant small potatoes, was not fit to be heard
in an agricultural paper or farmers' meeting. Now, even Ferry,while he doesn't say
small potatoes are as good as medium-
sized ones, is very mild in his recommendation to use the latter. There can be no
doubt that just as good crops are got by
planting small potatoes. In fact, the best
crop I ever raised was from small seed.
The best and most extensive potato raiser
in this county, who has been in the business for thirty years, always uses small
potatoes for seed. "Grandma W.", as we
always called the good hearted old widow,
was a famous potato raiser on a small scale,
and she used small potatoes for seeds, unless potatoes were very scarce, and then
she used peelings. I have known her to
get splendid yields from peelings for seed.
A market gardener near me, who nearly
every year gets a few pounds of new varieties at fancy prices, sprouts the tubers in
his hot bed; then carefully removes the
sprouts, and forces another set. I have
known him to take live sets of sprouts
from tubers, and the sprouts made vigorous plants that yielded well.
Whether or not, when small tubers are
used for seed, the variety will deteriorate,
"run out", I can not say. I think, however, that poor culture is far more responsible than small seed. The potato tuber is
not a true seed, we must remember, but
part of an underground stem, enlarged by
the deposit of matter, mostly starch, but
not changing his character. Hence planting potatoes is planting slips. The more
vigorous and the larger the slip, and the
more vigorous the plant from which it is
taken, the better. But a large tuber Is not
evidence of a large, vigorous underground
stem from a vigorous plant; for the size of
the tuber is determined by the deposit of
extraneous matter, and this, again is determined by conditions which do not
wholly affect the plant. Thus, potatoes
sometimes go "all to top", large, vigorous
plants yield small tubers. The conditions
have been favorable to the growth of the
plant, but unfavorable to the deposit of
matter which makes the bulk of the tuber.
Sometimes the conditions and results are
the reverse.
Naturally enough, nearly every man
who has had his land in good heart and
has given the potatoes good cultivation,
has used good-sized potatoes for seed, for
it has been generally believed that good-
sized potatoes were best. Only the poor
farmer has used small potatoes for seed.
There have been exceptions. But poor
soil, poor cultivation, and small seed have
gone together; the poor ground and poor
cultivation did the work, and the small
seed got the discredit.
I am thoroughly convinced that it is
best to cut to single eye if fair sized potatoes are used, cutting carefully to give each
eye its share of the tuber. Planting whole
potatoes is like planting an ear corn in a
hill. A one eye piece every ten inches in
the drill is enough seed, if the ground is
in proper condition. We usually use too
much seed, especially when we do not cut
to one eye. In the "struggle for existence", thus made very fierce, some are
totally defeated and many are weakened.
In light, sandy soil I would plant deep.
In heavy, damp, clayey ground, not so
deep.
Quincy, 111.
small at this time, and being light in color, are not easily seen unless close examination is made. If present in the wheat
they will be found between the blade and
the stem. The result of their work
will soon be seen in pale, sickly looking
stalks of wheat, here and there throughout
the lield. Burning the straw and stubble
in the fall and planting the field in some
other crop next spring is the only reliable
remedy against this pest.—Ens.
The Hessian Fly and.tbe Wheat Prospect.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
■Enclosed you will find some stalks of
wheat showing the condition and work
of the Hessian Fly on the wheat at this
time. The dry spring has been favorable
for the work of the troublesome insect.
The larvae of the flyjhatched out this
spring in the wheat, is sapping the life of
the shoots and a little later the weakened
stalks will fall. Farmers inexperienced
in the work of the fly, may not be aware
of the extent of its prevalence in the wheat.
I examined many fields last fall, and
on different farms, and loand the insect in
all these fields and in great abundance.
Some farmers thought there were no flies
in their wheat, until I pointed out their
work, and explained how it might be easily detected.
Prof. Webster's illustrations and instructions on how to detect the fly etc., were
excellent, and ought to have been carefnl-
ly studied by the readers of the Farmer.
To the already poor prospect for wheat,
will soon be apparent the damages of the
Hessian Fly.
I have watched the ravages of this insect
for many years, but in no former yesr
have I found them in such abundance as
last fall and this sjJring. I do not believe
Montgomery Co. will this year produce
enough for home consumption and seed.
Of course there will probably be considerable wheat shipped out of the county, but
the most of the flour sold in our market is
shipped into the county.
I do not expect high prices in wheat, the
world's wheat fields are so numerous and
in so many lands, tbat a failure in one
country dee? not produce a revolution in
the markets. Russia, India, and other
wheat producing countries, may be able to
supply the demand of the world without
any great advance in prices in the general
markets of the world; but a decided advance must take place in the markets here
caused by local demand.    J. A. Mount.
—We regret to learn that the fly is doing
such damage in Montgomery. We have
heard but little complaint from other
counties on this score. Correspondents in
Posey and Daviess Counties have spoken
of the presence of the chinch bug,
but the farmers there seem not yet to
have detected the larva, of the fly.in
the wheat. It may be, however, that the
pest is present and has not been discovered.   The larvce or maggots are quite
Copperas for Currant Worms.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
I have frequently noticed an item going
the rounds of the newspapers relating to
a remedy against the ravages of the gooseberry and currant worms, saying that the
only true remedy is to use powdered white
hellebore, dusting on while the dew is on
the leaves.
1 have a remedy which, with me, has
proved effectual, and is certainly very
simple and not in the least dangerous as
to poison. I have used it for ten years,
and my gooseberry and currant bushes
remain throughout the growing season as
green and luxuriant as anything else of
the kind.
To one gallon of rain water take a teacupful of copperas, dissolving the copperas
in the water, and with an ordinary sprinkler, sprinkle well the bushes, about the
time the worms first make their appearance. If this application is made at the
time the first signs of these pests are noticed, once is enough, but should they
hatch and become numerous, then two or
more sprinklings are required.
At any rate, for simplicity, cheapness,
and safety there isn't anything that will
beat it. The only harm that results from
the use of the copperas is that, if the solution is too strong, it will color the leaves
some, but will not injure the bushes.
I send you this for the benefit of your
readers if you want to use it.
Franklin. W. S. Young.
Rotation of fodder Crops for a Small
Piece of Ground.
Quite a large quantity of feed can be
grown on a small lot. Cut oats when just
ripe, bind in small sheaves, allow to stand
in small shocks until the straw is cured,
then store away in the hay mow to be fed
out in the bundle during the winter
months. They form an agreeable variety,
and a horse will eat them, straw and all,
with a relish. After the oats, early potatoes and other vegetables are harvested,
the ground may be sown to millet, which
in a fair season will make a large quantity
of green feed. It should all be cut and
fed or converted Into hay before seed
forms. After the millet is harvested the
ground may be plowed and sown to ry<'
which will be ready to cut for green feeu
in the spring long before anything else-
If the land is not needed for other crops,
follow the rye with oats, and the oats witti
millett. If the soil is kept moderately rich)
a good crop of each is almost a certainty.
With this rotation an immense quantity
of green and dry horse-feed can be cheaply
grown on a small patch of land, and there
will be no chance for weeds. However
small the lot, some carrots should be grown
to be stored in the cellar for feeding in
winter and early spring. For this purpose the half-long stump-rooted Is best
as it grows to a good size, yields heavily,
and is not difficult to harvest. It rarely
pays to grow corn for horse feed on a small
lot. Immature corn, either green or cured
is not good food for horses.—American
Agriculturist.
The Lake Erie &. Western Railroad Co.
will complete their Peoria extension and
put on through trains between Peoria, HI.,
Indianapolis, and Michigan City,and Sandusky, Ohio, on the 27th. This extension
gives them a valuable outlet on the west,
and increases the mileage of the road to a
total of 590 miles.