VOL. XXX.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., SEPT. 14, 1895.
NO. 37.
RESOURCES OF
Elkhart Co., Indiana.
pany, the Nash Knox and Ilubbell Furniture Company, the (ioshen Folding Bed
Company, Whetmer Bros., sash, doors and
blinds, Kelly Bros. F8undry, Ariel Cycle
company, E. W. Walker Company, Case
Buggy Company and Goshen Milling
Company. These manufacturing plants
furnish employment for a large number
of men. All of the main roads leading
into the city are pretty well graveled,
making  the place a convenient market
This county is one of the northern tier,
bordering on Michigan, and lies between
St. Joseph and La Grange. It is 21 miles
wide east and west, and 23 miles long,
north and south. The western tier of
townships is but three miles wide and
the   northern   tier  is  flve  miles
wide.     The   other   nine are   full 3SSHSM^^-**^"^*^-'-*jSit***aS
townships, six miles square.   The   "
county   contains 483 square miles.
Its present taxable area is 289,-
2t« acres. Valuation of farm lands
and improvements $8,115,195. City ig
and town lots and improvements
$5,219,235. Value of railroad property, $2,748,725. Total taxable valuation $20,200,290. Population in
1890 was 39,201. Estimated present population 44,600.
The figures on the map show
the elevation above sea level
in several parts of the country. Of
the streams which flow through
the county, the St. Joe river is
the largest, the Elkhart river
second, and the Little Elkhart
river third. Besides these, there
are   quite   a  number "of creeks,  among
Wakarnsa, New Paris and Bristol are
small towns-of from 300 to BOO inhabitants.
Thc other places marked on the map are
either very small villages or country
pos to dices.
The county is crossed by three railroads, the L. S. and JL &.; the C. C. C. and
St. L.; and the Xew Wabash. These furnish excellent facilities for shipping our
agricultural and manufactured products.
While there is no such thing as natural
which are Banjo creek, Solomon's creek,
Yellow creek and Pine creek. In the
"oithcrn part are a number of lakes,
so that altogether, the county is well
watered. The southwestern part of, the
county was originally a swamp, but by
means of drainage most of the land has
been reclaimed, and is now among the
best and most fertile farming land in the
county. The northeastern part is very
sandv and is the least fertile of any part
of the county. Southeast of Goshen lies
Elkhart prairie, out of the most beautiful and fertile tracts of land in northern
Indiana.
ACtRICUI.TtJ'RAL PRODUCTS.
Corn, wheat and oats are raised quite
extensively. The hay crop in recent
years has been quite an important one.
Potatoes are raised in some parts of the
county,and the acreage is being increased
each year. Many farmers near the cities
are taking up truck farming and are
making it profitable. Peppermint growing is becoming an. important industry
in some localities. In the north part of
the county, particularly in Washington
township, there are extensive fruit farms-
Here every variety of fruit is raised, and
in large quantities. The three staple cereals are as follows in a good year:
Wheat, 50,000 seres     968,000 bushels.
Corn 29.000 acros  1,000,000 bushels.
Oats, 14,009 acres     560,000 bushels
LIVE STOCK.
Most of the leading farmers are engaged
in live stock breeding. Of the beef breeds
of cattle Shorthorns take the lead, and
among thc dairy breeds, the Jersej-s are
well represented. Sheep and swine are
bred to quite an extent, Formerly horse
raising was carried on, but now very few
horses are raised here. The poultry industry is gradually gaining ground, and
there are several breeders of pure bred
fowls in the county.
Summary of the live stock interests in
a fair year:
Horses 10,804
Cattle 21,151
Sheep '.... 30,784
Hogs 74,840
Taking all of the above items into consideration, the county is able to make
quite a creditable showing for its agricultural interests.
CITIES AM* TOWNS.
Uoshen, the county scat, is a city of 8,000
inhabitants, and is situated near the geographical center of the county. It has
about 40 manufacturing establishments,
large and small, among the more impor-
tiuit of which are the I X I, Manufacturing
Company, the   Hawks   Furniture  Com-
for the surrounding country. Besides,
with its handsome business structures,
its paved streets, its neat, well-kept
lawns, its beautiful Court park, its many
magnificent residences, and its lffwnVch-
es. Goshen is the most beautiful city of
its size in the State.
Elkhart, 10 miles northwest of Goshen,
is a city of 12,000 population, and is also a
manufacturing town. While not as attractive a city as Goshen, itis rather more
Fighting- the Drouth.
Editors Inmana Farmer:
An intelligent farmer once said that
when he drilled his corn in the spring, he
ran his planter deep because he feared a
dry summer. Mr. B., standing by, said:
"And you ran the risk of a heavy
rain packing tho dirt so as to ruin your
stand."
Mr. C. added that in hisexperiencecorn
comes up weak or yellow,  when  planted
gp^> three or fonr inches deep.
The writer said, "I thought ita
good plan to get corn roots well
down, but that it certainly is a
mistake to expect to get it deep
by planting it deep.
That corn belongs to the family
of grasses, like wheat, rye and oats,
and that no odds how deep you
plant the seed, the plant will 'come
to the top' like wheat, and allow
the stem between the surface of
trie soil and the seed to die. Corn,
like other grasses, is a surface
grower, and does not have a tap
root like trees or many kinds of
herbs, *
On account of this habit of sur-
| face feeding, the roots of corn are
very much more liable to damage
by deep, close cultivation than is
generally believed.  It is also clear  that
simply planting deep cannot be one particle of protection against drouth."
Some surprise was expressed at these
statements, because it is generally supposed that corn remains as deep as planted, and planting deep in a dry spring is a
very common practice.
Thirteen buildings were wrecked by a Mr. A. said that he once drilled corn
tornado at [Huntingdon, Tenn., Sept. 4th.  without a furrow in one field and ina
gas or oil here to give our cities and towns
a boom, they have been making a gradual,
steady and substantial growth. Industry,
enterprise and thrift characterize the
people of both city and country. The
outlook for the future prosperity of the
county is good. H. S. K. B.
Nobody was killed or seriously injured.
KOSCIUSKO     CO-
ELKHAKT COUNTY.-E.\i*i„.\.Mii,Ns.
Elevation above sea level shown by figures at (ioshen, F.lkhart  and other  points
on railroads.   The map Is otherwise self-explanatory.
of a business place. Among its manufacturing plants are those of the Klkhart
< ,,rriage and Harness Company, several
rage paper mills, two or three starch
factories, Conn's Horn Factory and the
L. S. and M. S. Car Shops.
>appaneeisa thriving town of about
1,500 inhabitants, and is located in the
southwest part of the county. It, too,has
several prosperous manufacturing establishments.    Middlebury,      Millersburg
Lightning Items.
Jack Hichards, near Friendship, Ripley
county, lost $800 by tlie burning of his
barn, which was struck by lightning, and
grain belonging to his son, valued at $250
was also destroyed. Two young men
were sleeping on the hay, and were rendered unconscious by the shock. When
they recovered the hay was burning all
around them, and they had difficulty in
escaping.
furrow in another, and in plowing, when
waist high, the tearing of roots in the
first tield made a ripping noise which was
really tiresome, while the second tield
made no noise at all. Mr. C. said that he
didn't break roots much in corn planted
in a furrow.
Both looked at me inquiringly, and my
answer was that the corn in a furrow
came to the top like wheat, but the top
was two to four inches lower than the
general level. That after it is once set it
remains fixed, while we throw dirt to it
and in that way we can keep it well below
the surface, just as dirt feeds down about
the stools of wheat in the drill mark.
Mr. A. said, "If that is true, I am not
getting my corn where I thought I was,
at all. Why! are you sure you are right
about that?"
"Yes," I said, "I noticed it one day in
thinning corn. The bottom of a large
cornstalk is shaped like an inverted cone
and from the point of the cone a slender,
half-dead stem reaches down to and terminates in a small knot where the grain
was. A few roots generally spread from
this knot. But the great system of important roots come oft in whorls from the
cone above. This cone is composed of
five or six joints closely packed together,
and each joint gives on a whorl of roots.
II corn is planted on the level seed-bed,
no odds how deep, it will come to the top
and fewer joints will start roots, since no
joint will give off roots while above
ground until late in the season. But by
throwing dirt to the corn in a furrow you
get one or two more whorls of roots and
get them two inches deeper below the
surface, where they revel in the moist,
firm soil and subsoil. This lower part of
the seed-bed is in constant touch with the
moist earth below, from which it receives
a regular water supply."
In riding my wheel about the
country I notice that farmers are, from
some cause, slow to learn these facts
about corn culture.
One sees very many planting on a level,
dragged surface, with a drill or a check-
rower, and very many fields show that
they have been "tended" with deep-run-
fontimtrd on Oth page.