VOL. XXX.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., OCT. 26, 189b.
NO. 43.
NEW MEXICO.
It's Many Advantages Told by a Former
Hoosier.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
Las Vkuas, N. M, Oct. 14, lS9f>.—Perhaps a little information from the great
Southwest, by a Hoosier, would be relished by your readers.
New Mexico is a land of many resources.
It has millions of acres that can never be
used but for grazing, millions that must
ever be mining districts and millions that
some day, under the judicious irrigator's
hand, be the garden spot of the world.
A great portion of the Southwest is
what is known as the Arid region, that is
there is not sufficient rainfall to insure a
crop, as the high mountains which border
this region catch the moisture,as it passes
over them, hence, the air in this country
is devoid of moisture, to a wonderful degree. It is largely due to this fact that
New Mexico is being made the asylum
for people suffering from consumption
asthma, and all malarial disorders. With
almost constant sunshine the year round,
the climate is probably the most delightful in the world. We are so far south
that winter never strikes us severely,
and the altitude is so great that it never
gets very warm in the summer. In fact,
at Las Vegas, where I am now writing
this, it is too cool in the summer to raise
corn, tomatoes, potatoes, etc. This city is
a mile and a quarter higher than any part
of Indiana. Wheat, alfalfa and all dairy
products pay handsomely here, wherever
an American tries to farm.
The natives of this country will not
farm, being natural herders and cattle
men.
What this country needs more than
anything else, is good, young Indiana
farmers, who will work with brain and
hands, men like those who, forty years
ago, moved into the thickly timbered
lands and cleared rich fields and established homes, that for plenty and comfort cannot be surpassed anywhere on
earth.
Sheep and cattle raising are about the
only thing farmers here aim to do. This
city of Las Vegas imports $500 worth of
butter each week, which brings 35 cents
in the summer and 40 cents in the winter,
an equal amount of it is paid out each
week for eggs and poultry, which bring
equally high prices. Wheat and tlour are
imported from the east, not because we
cannot raise wheat here, but because we
have not enough farmers to supply the
demand. As I said before, wherever you
find an American trying to farm, you find
him not only doing well, but making
money fast, for the prices for farm products are more than double what they
are in the east.
The fact that we have very little rain
here will some day prove a blessing in
disguise, for we have plenty of water
here, but instead of coming down in rain,
it comes down from the mountains in
streams. This will some day be, and is
now to a great extent, stored and used
for irrigating at pleasure. Irrigation is
a subject too broad to dwell upon in this
letter, but is being practiced more and
more each year, and it is safe to say that
a farmer can raise more on 40 acres of
land when he can have water when he
wants it, and as much as he wants, than
he can on 100 acres when he depends upon
rain.
The Las Vegas Optic is the leading paper of the Territory, and its editor and
proprietor takes great pleasure in giving
information regarding this country. He
has lately gone to considerable expense
in printing pamphlets which give some
very desirable information and which
he is distributing free all over the country.
Indiana is my native State and I am
proud of the fact. But my lot is cast in
New Mexico for the future because I believe that on account of the great (liver-
sity of industries, it will always be a prosperous country, and her perfect climate
makes "life worth the living."
William Clifford Rki i>.
Experience With Clover.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
In answer to E. H. Collins in regard to
sowing clover seed, and being a believer
in sowing clover seed early, never having
had a failure by sowing early, and only
once since I have been on the farm (about
28 years), and that failure came by sowing
in April. The weather being very dry
before and after sowing, the seed failed to
sprout, and if it did there was not enough
moisture to keep it growing, so thinking
to get the seed sown in good time to insure being covered by repeated freezings
and thawings, I sowed 10 acres last spring
the 26th of February, I think, just as the
snow left, but unfortunately there came
four or five days of warm weather, causing the seed to sprout before being covered, then a cold spell came which froze
the seed so that it made a poor stand,
which, by the way, is another thing that
puzzled me, for I have had seed sprouted
and had like conditions in regard to
freezing as those we had this spring and
still had a fair stand. In several cases
marking seed as it lay on the surface in
all stages of growth and I saw that it
came through all right, after two weeks
hard freezing; but this year proved to be
the exception, for the greater part was
frozen and what survived, the drought
finished.
Being desirous to make a permanent
pasture of the field, having sown seven
bushels of a mixture of different kinds of
grass seed at the same time I sowed the
clover, and seeing that there was a fairly
good stand of timothy and blue grass, I
determined to try it again, so on the 29th
of May, the ground being cracked nicely,
I bought one and one-half bushels of
tailings (no good seed being in our market), and sowed the field over again,
which, by the way, was as hot and tiresome a piece a work as ever I did, the
wheat being tall and the weather very
warm. But now I am well satisfied with
that half day's work, for I have a fair
stand of clover, and as far as I know was
the only one in the neighborhood that
succeeded in getting a stand, nearly all
sowing late in March and tbe drought
killing it. But as "two swallows do not
make a summer," neither does this stand
prove that extremely late sowing will be
a success every time, so I shall continue
to sow early as I always have done, knowing now that if I fail then, I will still
have a chance to sow later on with some
show of success. Next year, if the conditions are all right, I shall sow my seed in
January, so the seed will be covered well
before a warm spell comes, and I know if
the seed is once well covered it will not
sprout as quickly, and if it is sprouted no
amount of ireezing will injure it.
About one mon'h ago I took the mower
and cut th-' tie'd over, letting the clippings stay on > mulch, and now it is
inline condition for'wintering. I have
been tempted to pasture it but I shall not
allow a hoof on before spring. I can tell
you it made me feel good, while riding on
the mower, to think that I had conquered
this tim,e with all conditions against me.
In answer to the question about crimson clover, I sowed a small piece of ground
last August a year ago, and got a good
stand. It grew right alon** through the
winter, coming out nice a. • g,*f*«n_when
the snow left. I cut the r\over in May,
but before I could save the seed a heavy
rain came and shattered It out badly, so
I did not attempt to save the seed, but it
has reseeded itself and is growing nicely
now. But it can never take the place of
red clover, only as a catch crop to plow*
under or pasture during winter or spring.
Hamilton Co. I.i.vr WurrjroYER.
Buckwheat and Chinch Bugs.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
This year has been attended by most
destructive ravages of these minute pests
that this part of southeastern Illinois
has ever experienced. They have been
quite plentiful for the past four years and
have done incalculable damage to the
farmers in that time, but this season has
capped the climax for destruction; the
dry summers and dry winters has been
congenial to their presentation and increase. The annihilation of these pests
will require climatic aid. Such as agreat
deal of moisture throughout the summer
and fall, and an open warm winter with
repeatedly dashing hard rains, which
would wash them from their hibernating
retreats, and carry them into the brooks
and rivers to perish. Experience in this
part has taught the farmer that to combat this tiny insect, with climatic condition in sympathy to their growth, they
multiply incredibly and thrive beyond
conception. It is true they can be
trapped by ditching, killed by emulsions,
but when at corn gathering time we find
the ears loose and the cob chaffy and not
valuable for feeding they have been there
and sapped the vitality of the stalk. They
have come on the wing and deposited
their eggs, while the farmer was congratulating himself with the idea that he has
saved his corn by the most modern processes. The farmers here have tried
every conceivable means to prevent this
advent into their corn fields, but all with
poor resnlt. It was noticed, however,
that where buckwheat come up in the
corn field the corn was injured the least.
So a great many farmers procured the
seed and sowed it at the last plowing of
their corn; and their corn is good and
sound. The bugs did not seem to relish
the presence of the buckwheat. When
sown thick it produces quite a shade to
the ground, holding moisture which is
detrimental to their existence and development. It is a notable fact that the
cleaner the corn is the more destructive
the bugs are. Thore is a species of a large
smartweed that grows in moist places in
our corn fields and wherever this poly-
gonium grow the bugs does not exist, and
since the farmers have almost exterminated this weed we have been plagued by
chinch bugs. The buckwheat belongs to
the same family of plants and it has been
demonstrated to a certainty this season,
that tho chinch does not work on corn
sown in that grain. Several instances
prove this fact. Where farmers could
not procure seed enough to sow the whole
field, the part unsown was about worthless, while the sown part was good, sound
corn. It is an old adage that wherever
there is a disease there is an antidote, or
specific. Will it prove true in this instance? D.Moffitt.
Newton, 111.
The Yield of a Ton of Coal.
From one ton of ordinary gas coal may
be produced 1,500 pounds of coke, 20 gallons of ammonia water, and 140 pounds of
coal tar. By destructive distillation of
the coal tar will yield 69.6 pounds of
pitch, 17 pounds of creosote, 14 pounds of
heavy oils, 9.5 pounds of naptha yellow,
6.3 pounds of naphthaline, 4.75 pounds
naphthol, 2.55 pounds solvent naphtha, 1,5
pounds phenol, 1.2 pounds saurine, 1.1
pounds benzine, 1.1 pounds aniline, 0.77
pound toludine, 0.46 pound anthracine
and OS pound toluene. From the latter
is obtained the new substance known as
saccharine, which is 530 times as sweet as
the best cane sugar, one part of it giving
a very sweet taste to a thousand parts of
water.
So much fruit has been raised in California this season, that the local markets
have been glutted, and in San Francisco
tons of melons, pears and plums have
been thrown into the sea.
FAEMEES' NATIONAL 00NGEESS.
Ninth Annual Session, Held at Atlanta, 6a.,
October 10 to 16,1895.
The attendance at this session was
hardly so large as that at Parkersburg
last year, but some states were represented at this congress that had no delegates there. Many of those present who
took prominent part have held positions
in public life, among whom were Hon.
Wm. Lawrence, of Ohio, and Judge Rams-
dell, of Michigan, Hon. W. B. Powell, of
Pennsylvania, Hon. J. H. Brigham, W. M.
National Grange, Senor Julis M. Foster,
Chile, South America.
Indiana was represented in the congress
by Hon. J. G. Offut ot Jackson connty.
D. W. Heagy, of Bartholomew, Joshne
Strange and I. N. Miller, of Grant, W. H.
Weaver, the writer, and one or two oth- ~
ers whose names have escaped us. Mr.
Offut was elected vice-president for the
State.
The congress was warmly welcomed to
Atlanta by Mayor King, and to the State
by Dr. White and Prof. J. B. Hunnicut,of
the State Agricultural College, Athens,
Ga. These welcomes were responded to
in a very appropriate manner by the secretary of the congress, John M. Stahl,and
Pres. B. F. Clayton. The latter in his annual address referred to the growth and
the magnitude of agriculture in the country, stating that in 30 years this interest
had increased from $1,363,000,000 to $4,500,-
000,000, 230 per cent, and furnished exports
to the amount of $800,000,000 a year, or
about 70 per cent of the total exports of
the country. He referred to the organization of the congress at St. Louis in 1877,
its growth in numbers and influence, and
the effects its resolutions and discussions
have produced on national legislation.
The prominent subject before the congress was the silver question, at least the
resolutions offered on this topic were
more numerous than on any other, and
the discussions upon them were more
prolonged and exciting. It was the
question of paramount interest, and
it was before the congress in
some form every day of the session. It
was interesting to note that the delegates
from eastern States almost unanimously
voted against the resolution that passed,
while those of western States were almos
as unanimously in favor of it. Those
from southern States were more evenly
divided. The resolution, too, was printed
differently by the two city papers. The
Constitution, which is a free silver paper,
declaring that we endorsed the 16 to 1
ratio, while the Journal, which opposes
bimetallism, declared that the 16 to 1 feature was omitted from the resolution,
which was true. The resolution declares
for free and unlimited coinage of silver
and gold at a ratio to be agreed upon, by a
convention composed of representatives
of all the bimetallic nations, the said ratio
to be guarded by an import duty upon
foreign bullion and foreign coin equal to
the difference between the bullion value
and the coinage value of the metal at the
date of importation, whenever the bullion
value of the metal is less than its coin
value.
other notes of the Congress will be
given in next number.
It is poor economy to leave fodder in
the field after December; it is bettor to
stop husking a few days at the proper
time and care for it. If it is desired to
husk the corn before feeding the fodder,
this can be done quite as handily at the
shed or barn, and much more comfortably.
   »  	
A fisherman out in Seattle harbor trolling for salmon last week hooked up a
sack containing KX) five-tael tins of prepared opium, which had evidently been
put overboard by some smuggler, partially buoyed and conveniently anchored.
The fisherman realized $150 on his catch.