VOL. XXX.
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INDIANAPOLIS, IND., OCT. 19, 1895.
NO. 42.
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Resources of
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Grant  County,   Ind.
Grant county embraces 418 square miles
and upon the average contains a quality
of soil unsurpassed in the production of
all the staple crops usually grown
throughout the State, which, if taken in
the aggregate would amount to a considerable sum.
Of natural gas and oil it has no superior
probably in the greatgas belt of Indiana as
the recent location of numerous manufacturing plants of the leading industries in
all the principal towns will testify. And
great interest is manifested at present in
the oil production in the northern part of
the county. Consequently the resources
are great and under the tireless energies
of the labor producing classes have seemingly been pledged with unrivaled prosperity.
The auditor's annual report to the
Board of Commissioners of Grant county
for the fiscal year ending May 31, 1895,
lies before me and shows the receipts in
the way of taxes, to have been $850,600 34.
Expenditures less, net cash in treasury
$149,209, on that date.
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
The earliest settlement was made at
Jonesboro, by Quakers, and that section
of the county still shows the early impress of the intelligence and moral status
of its early settlers, in the fine farms,
sch661 Tiouses, churches, and general
thrift of their descendants. The more
northern section was settled by people
from Ohio, with a good sprinkle from the
New England States, who have likewise
impressed their ideas of industry, frugality and high moral sense still apparent in
all the communities of the county.
Down to February, 1831, this formed a
part of Delaware county, but at that date
a special act of the Legislature was
passed providing for the organization of
Grant county, and in honor of General
Francis Marion, the present seat of justice was named. The population of the
county at its organization was 3,200, and
is now about 4,800.
THE SURFACE AND SOIL.
Originally the surface was a vast plain.
The marks of a great glacial river has
left many indelible impresses in several
parts of the county. This river flowed to
the southwest and near the present city
of Indianapolis, geologists tells us. The
Mississinewa river is the largest stream
in the county as shown on the map. In
the early history of the county, and before the water level of the lakes and
marshes were lowered and even now
nearly dried up entirely by drainage, flat-
boats were used to take the surplus productions out of the county down this
river and out by the Wabash. For half
the year or more ferries were required
for crossing it. But since the drainage it
is quite a modest stream, rarely too deep
for fording, though bridged in places,
and yet affords some water power. It
will be noticed by the map that the
county is well watered by numerous
other streams many of them having their
sources in springs of fine water.
The soils are alluvial and drift deposits,
clays mixed with vegetable would and
are very fertile. The lowering of the
water levels revealed many black and
swampy soils and some peat beds. These
chiefly embrace the numerous small
prairies found in the country, and drained
out and put into cultivation, are among
the most productive lands. Aside from
these small prairies, the county was once
heavily timbered with the valuable timber for which the State has been noted,
and the timber was for many years a
great source of commerce.
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIONS.
In a good crop year Grant county has
produced 800,000 bushels of wheat, 1,800,000
bushels of corn, 290,000  bushels  of  oats,
and the minor crops in the same ratio.
The live stock returns of the county have
been in fair years, in horses and mules of
all breeds 9,000 head, cattle 18,000, sheep
12,000 and hogs 46,000.
NATURAL GAS MANU1'A, TURING.
Since discovery of natural gas several
years ago, Grant county has become very
important in manufacturing. Every part
of the county, as shown by the map, is
underlaid with a strong flow of natural
gas. The largest manufacturing is done
at Marion, the seat of justice, which has
quadrupled its population six or seven
years. Fairmount, Gas City, Jonesboro
and other towns of the county have more
or less manufacturing. There are over
200 factories of one kind and another in
the county, with a capital of nearly $2,-
000,000.   The raw material used in manu-
Wrtitt n for the Indiana Farmer.
The Soliloquy of a Grain of Wheat.
BV   E.   H. COLLIN'S.
"May I talk a minute Mr. Farmer?"
said the seed wheat as the sack was untied to fill the drill box.
"I have a few complaints to make of
the manner you treat me and my family.
We are humble plants and grow close to
the ground—we do not make the pretentions of a tree, nor do we root for a living
after the manner of clover. But we like
to fill the top six inches of soil chuck full
of fine roots and drink in the well rotted
plant food which has been in touch with
light and heat and air.
"Just look for a moment at that seed
bed smoothed with a drag on top, but be-
wabssh      ca
HUH l/l/O TOSJ      ca
MSDISOn      CO
GRANT COUNTV—Explanation.
The torch indicates natural gas by townships.
The barrel the oil area.
The railroads and streams explain themselves.
The figures given at the towns show elevation above the sea.
facturing annually is valued at $1,980,000
and the output of all the factories
amounts to $3,985,000 per year.
The county lies within the Niagara and
waterline limestone area, and the northern part of the county lies within the oil
belt.
The county has three railway lines, and
about 72 miles of railway, including an
east and west trunk line, and Marion is
the center of all these lines.
F. M. B. A. Meeting.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
Please announce that the annual session of the Indiana Assembly F. M. B. A.,
will be held at English's Hotel, Indianapolis, Oct.22, 1895, meeting to convene at
2 p. m. Business of importance to be
transacted. C. A. Robinson, Pres.
The subsoiling idea has brought new
converts this year bv the heavy rainfall
in Kansas. Instead of the subsoiled lands
being washed away, the water readily
found the immense reservoir underneath,
and the soil was notdisturbed in its place;
in fact, there was greater loss to lands
plowed in the usual way.
 «-	
One secret of successful farming lies in
the ready anticipation of what each season's work is to demand of the farmer,
and it is in the doing of many things out
of season, as some short sighted people
would look at it. Try to transfer a part
of the spring work to the fall and winter
months.
low full of clods and trash, like it was up
on stilts to dry. Look at that horse sinking over his hoof like he was miring in
mud. Come with me to my old home and
examine the bed I delighted to grow in
before you people captured me. You will
notice that this old home of my youth is
quite mellow on top, kept so by shade of
the trash, mulch and growing grasses.
But as you dig down it grows firmer till
it shades into the subsoil. It is plowed
and harrowed every year by frost, and
the mulch and roots and vegetable mold
prevents it from puddling it down hard
again.
"You know how the lampwick carries
up oil, but if you part that wick an eighth
of an inch the top will be as dry as a
bone. Now. we growing plants depend
much more on moisture from below,
which furnishes us an even supply and
carries us through both short and long
dry spells, than on rainfall which is fitful and spasmodic. Moisture is carried
up from below by stepping across from
one particle of dirt to the next above it
and it has mighty short legs. If the soil
is thrown up loose, as in harrowing, it is
cut off from the supply below and all
that is made quite loose soon parts with
its moisture. If nature sees her seed bed
torn up by hogs rooting, or burroughing
animals, or washing streams, or by man,
she hastens to close it down again with
rain and keep it in touch with the great
reservoir below. Man only defies her, he
uses tools   that tear her   surface   up  in
clods which require freezing to burst,and '
she can't smooth down his ragged work
and make it so that plants can flourish
for so long a time that many of us nearly
die for moisture before the blunder is
corrected.
"Look at those long roots reaching out
from this stool of wheat I have just pulled
up—only three leaves above ground, yet
the roots are as heavy as the leaves.
When half grown the leaves and stem
will weigh three times as much as the
roots, and when ripe, 12 times as much.
But when young, everything depends on
the roots finding moisture and food.
While young, the plant holds back the
stem, and only grows enough leaves to
feed a large root growth. These roots
take up moisture only by touch with particles of damp soil, and the soil should be
tine enough and firm enough so that every part of the bark of these roots is
touching soil. If they reach through ;iir-
chambers between clods they lose
strength and growth to reach food. By
airchambers, I mean all openings, sometimes not larger than a pea or wheat grain.
These roots, you see, are delicate structures. The small, hair like fibers they
shoot out in every course are covered as
close as you can prick holes in paper
with a fine needle,with little mouths, and
an airchamber the size of a pea would
leave idle a great number of these mouths
that should all be taking in food for the
plant growth.
"You have often noticed sugar trees
growing in an open place not hampered
by other trees, develop a symmetrical top,
often as round as a ball, sometimes oblong,
but you can't find an opening all round
that top where you could throw a club
into the tree top without hurting leaves.
Kvery space of sunlight is plugged with
leaves, and then, as if to save every precious ray of light, there are other leaves
deeper in the body of the top. As the day
passes, each of these inner leaves will be
found to catch, for a time, the direct rays
of sunshine which peep through between
the outer course of leaves.
"Growing plants in pots and glass jars,
with mellow soil show that the plant prefers to grow a symmetrical root system,
as well as top, if not obstructed by clods,
stones, sticks, etc. It also shows that
plants do not naturally grow roots in a
tangle if given space enough, and these
experiments prove clearly that the yield
of grain will be in proportion as the roots
are not hampered, and as the plant is fed.
Taking hot plants and washing away the
soil and comparing them with similar
plants dug up in field culture and washed
shows that with the best ordinary field
tillage we do not nearly reach the perfection of growth of roots and the yield of
seed obtained by pot culture.
"ln experiments in the Wisconsin station they obtained yields of corn at the
rate of over 150 bushels per acre by supplying a mellow firm seed bed for the
root growth and adding plenty of food
and water.
"Last year you broke a field up all
cloddy, and instead of harrowing every
morning while the clods could be broken
you plowed the whole 20 acres and then
began working it down. Y'ou didn't
make soil of it at all. The clods were too
hard to crumble: they simply broke up
like glass into more clods. Then you
ground off the surface of the pile with a
drag and sowed wheat on it. The open,
harsh, puddled, cloddy seed bed was on
stilts and got very dry, and the wheat
turned yellow and you complained of fly
and the dry weather, when you had no
fly and when the earth four feet deep below this parched wheat contained over 25
hundred tons of moisture per acre, and
was able to lift that moisture to the surface at the rate of 20 tons a day per acre
if the seed bed had been made fine and
compact, so as to   be   in touch with firm
t iintliiili-tlan oth pave.