VOL. XXXI.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., APRIL 4, 1896.
NO. 14
experience department.
Have You Been Successful in Buying
Family Supplies and Farm Machinery at Wholesale, and
How Is It Done?
lst Premium. We have, but it is a little
like goiug to Chicago and back to get our
orders filled. We have an organization
of the F. M. B. A's. at every school house,
some two or three hundred strong. We
hire a purchasing agent who runs a huckster wagon, buys our butter, eggs and
poultry, takes orders once a week at our
homes. He sends to the cities and buys
our goods at wholesale, ships our produce
and gives us the benefit of the transaction. If we want any particular make of
machinery we send for agency and- save
agent's profit. "Sell direct and buy direct," is our motto. We would rather
trade with our home merchants if they
didn't want that one-third profit They
live in better houses, send their children
to school 10 months out of the year and
wear good clothes all the time, with gold
watch and chain and finger rings; wear
peaked toed shoes and put on the dog in
general, while we are on a level with the
soil we till. But there is a better time
coining. Wild Irish.
REVIEW.
It should be remembered that buying
at wholesale is governed by conditions
like other lines of business. Under very
many hastily arranged efforts there has
been bitter failure. There is nothing fails
like failure. It sours everyone and cuts
oft future effort. Well directed effort has
given very helpful results as it usually
does in anything.
We once read a lengthy discussion on
eliminating the middle man. In answers
to questions, manufacturers said that
farmers,'as a class, are hard to reach and
require personal solicitation and usually
buy with the object present for inspection. They claim that agents are a necessity and their right must be respected. If
a factory ignores them they can easily do
such a firm great injury in the field-
Club buying is not the most successful
method practiced to-day.
Our Farmers' Alliance once tried to
buy twine direct. I was chairman of
purchasing committee. I secured many
samples and prices. But those of us who
were responsible had to stand for other
members. If the cash was paid in advance some one had to collect and care
for it. And if twine was not as good as
recommended we had no ready recourse.
Then in receiving it in bulk, some one
had to take it somewhere and weigh out
each parcel. If out in tho field when any
one called the women had to bother with
it. What of short weights, etc., who
could bother with it for love alone? And
if we paid one we could better pay a store
keeper for carrying it, with other goods.
The president of an F. M. B. A. said in
ordering: many members would want a
few days time, just till Saturday, while
he had to advance the money for them,
and sometimes th-ey kicked because the
goods wero not as they expected, and
wanted him to make it good. Then it
was lots of bother to somebody handling
everybody's stuff for nothing.
The method most successful seems to
be to make your own purchases. First
find tho house that will sell to advantago
in quantity, and do a definite, systematic
business with them, always advancing
"ash and not expecting a retail business
** jobbers' rates. Soap, bought by the
box, becomes harder in drying and wears
better. Buy sugar, flour and salt by the
barrel. A friend of mine buys coffee by
the bag and tea in five pound lots. Oat
fiakeisvery much cheaper in lots of 10
'ne pound packages. Canned goods, coal
°'1) nails, wire, etc., can all be kept in
•iiantity.
Allow me to quote T. B. Terry in the P.
H. "We just got a bill of goods from
Cleveland (20 miles). The saving is about
25 per cent, and we get first-class, strictly
pure goods, every time. It is rather surprising how the large city stores are catering to this small wholesale trade.
For example they put up molasses and
syrup now, in five and ten gallon kegs.
Wo got a five gallon keg for 25 per cent
less than the same quality of molasses
costs at home stores. On two dozen lemons we saved enough to pay the freight
on all the goods, some two or three hundred pounds.
On 25 pounds of oat meal wo saved 31
per cent. On a gallon of castor oil wo
came* out ahead, more than 100 per cent
and got pure oil. We use this oil for oiling wagons, carriages, mowers, etc.
Many do not know how much may be
saved by a little attention to this point of
buying in quantity and for cash down.
We have long done so. With a little care
we can get most every thing we want, by
ordering two or three times a year. Can
you afford to do otherwise and pay 25 per
cent more for what you buy? 25 per cent
is a heavy interest E. H. Collins.
No. 8. April 11.—How do you prepare a
seed bed for corn?—Selection and care of
seed?
No. 9. April 18. How do you plant and
cultivate corn?
No. 10. April 25;—How do you fight
drouth?   .-...'...
No. 11. May. _!. What U mo best farm
fence aud co_H per rod?
No. 12. May 9. Do you prefer mutual insurance or stock companies?   Why?
TV is Department is under tho editorial
charge of E. II. Collins, Carmel, Hamilton
county, to whom all copy should be addressed. The success of this department
depends upon the copy sent by practical
farmers. A premium of $1, 75 cents and
50 cents is given to the best three articles
sent us, as we wish to encourage writing
right from the field. Don't wait on some
one else.   We thank you for past favors.
Resolutions of State Board as to  Side
Shows at the State Fairs.
Editobs Indiana Faemei:
Noting what has been published in the
Farmer and other publications on the
subject of "Shows at the State fair," it is
due to the public to understand the attitude of the State Board and its officers on
this matter. After the board was organized for its work for the year 1896, the
following resolutions were unamimously
adopted at its last meeting.
Whereas, it has been charged that objectionable shows have been admitted on
the Indiana State fair grounds, therefore
belt
llesolved, That it is the sense of this
board that no objectionable should be
admitted on the grounds.
llesolved, That all contracts for show
privileges on the grounds be made so
that if, in the opinion of the superintendent of privileges, the show if oojection-
able, the lease shall be cancelled and the
show or shows excluded from the
grounds.
It was also observed that the duties imposed upon tho General superintendent
of grounds were so numerous and so onerous that a close supervision of affairs was
almost impossible, and to correct this the
duties were divided, and the department
Superintendent of J privileges created.
This will concentrate all attention to tho
duties of this department, and the board
will if any mistake be made have a ready
remedy for the evil. The State fair board,
as now constituted, is not different from
past boards in their estimate of proper
exhibitions, and much that has been said
has been unjust to the men who now constitute the board. It is certain that the
morals of the State fair are to be maintained by the present management
Chas. F. Kennedy, Sec'y.
 -_■_ ■—
Bio fruit crops along the Lake Michigan
fruit belt are predicted.
Yields of Corn and Kaffir Corn Compared.
As the sorgums, and more especially the non-saccharine sorts are
attracting wide attention now the
fact that Kansas is having a
larger experience with them than
any other State, (232,'98 acres in 1895, and
likely to be doubled in 1890), brings innumerable requests from all points of the
compass for information as to their characteristics, growth, uses and values compared -with those of othor crops raised for
similar purposes.
The foremost of these sorgums In popular esteem appear to bo the red and white
Kaffir corn. For six years, beginning
with 1889, the Kansas experiment station,
at Manhattan, has grown Indian corn and
red Kallir corn side by side, for the purpose of testing their comparative yields
of both fodder and grain. The following
table compiled by Mr. F. C. Burtis, of the
Station, who has had the ovorsight of the
work, shows the annual yield of each.
corn and a poor one."— V. Vi. Coburn,
Secretary Kansas Department of Agriculture.
llED KAFFIB COBS.
C'rain sStover
Vear    per acre per acre
Bushels Tons
1889 71 CO '.1.00
1890 19.00 4.20
1891 98.00 6.00
1892 50.00 iJ.CO
1893 49,00 5.25
1891 00.00 2.00
189.*,            32 07 153
CORN*.
Grain Btovcr
per acre      per acre
Bushels Tons
66.00 2.50
22.00 2 50
7..00 2.95
30.00   ' 4.55
S0.00 1.75
00 ""I.. 1.C0
s       KM
Av. ->5.Csl
•Average i *    x years.
By this 't s seen that the yield of Kallir
corn vas very mncL larger than
that of corn in five out of six
yeaf'. and the same as to the
Kaffir corn forage. In fact tho Kaffir
corn yielded about 41 per cent more grain
and nearly 95 par cent more fodder than
the corn. The poor showing for both varieties in 1890 was due to a destructive
frost September 12. In 1891 lhe failure
of grain in both varieties was due to there
being no appreciable rain from the middle of July to September 1, and the fact
that the crops side by side on alternate
plats were in a poor upland prairie soil
underlaid with hardpan. Yet, under
theso adverse circumstances the Kaffir
corn yielded double the quantity of fodder that was obtained from the corn. As
Mr. Burtis says, "such dry weather kills
the corn and it must then be cut but the
sorgums live on; although the growth
may be checked the crop matures."
Mr. Burtis presents his further conclusions from his experience up to the present timo: "For the combined purpose of
raising the largest yield of grain and a
fair quantity of stover, it is a fact beyond
doubt that the red and white Kaffir corns
are superior to any of the non-saccharine
sorgums and tho sugar {sorgum) canes.
The latter will produce more hay or fodder, and of a littlo more palatable quality,
than the Kaffir corn, and are preferred by
many on account of this fact when hay
or fodder is the sole object. Although
there is a great deal said about which is
the best, the red or the white, I believe
when the proper'comparison is made, the
conclusion will show but very littlo difference, at least not as much as was first
supposed. Asido from the color, there is
a much greater difference between the
different strains of the same varieties
than there is between the red and
white varieties. A few who have kept
their seed pure and carefully selected can
testify to this when they hare been, for
some reason, forced to buy seed outside
and got hold of somo poor stuff. These
sorgums are very susceptible to cross fertilization and modification, and thero will
be a rapid improvement or deterioration,
according to the care that is exercised in
selection of seed. Much of th e Katli r corn
seed that is offered for sale is not the best.
One may get as much difference in results
from Kaffir corn seed procured from two
sources as between a very good variety of
Our Colony Enterprise Commended.
Editors Indiana Fabues.
I have been very much interested in
reading tho articles on your Southern
Colony. I have long been of the opinion
that the blizzardy northwest was not tho
best place for people to go to seek new
homes. But people went tbere because
railroads induced them to go. There is
now a southward tendency, partly becauso there has been much distress
among settlers northwest, and almost
every year thero havo been calls for supplies to be sent to the suffering people-
Now that such enterprises as the Farmer
has opened up are giving information as
to tlie benefits of a home in the South,
the people of tho North and West will
soon bo convinced that the South offers
much greater inducements, and will begin to secure new homes under more
kindly skies. As an Indianian and an old
friend of the Farmer, I am glad to offer
a word In support of your now and great
project
In 1891 the writer purchased land in the
peninsular orange belt of Florida, and
prior to the freezes of December, '91 and
February, 95, had planted 700 trees of
orange, lemon and grape fruit These
young trees were all killed to the ground,
and below tho point of budding;  nearly
        ...       . _.. x   __._.__ _-   £J\_»_> --..  ~     ._   .     __       . .___
—theso were cut oft at level of groi~'
and now February and March, '90, *
ing rebudded. A fino crop of tomato,
bloom at timo of the December fre<__.
was also all frozen. This was an unprecedented freeze, and killed or badly damaged many orange trees of 30 to 00 years
growth. In addition to the loss of trees,
which is incalculable, there were on the
trees at time of first freeze nearly the entire crop of fruit for tho year estimated at
5,000,000 boxes, which should have netted
one dollar per box, or an income of $5,000,-
000 to the people of South Florida. These
people had been placing almost their en-
tiro dependence on these citrus fruits,
oranges, lemons, etc. Seeing all in that
direction was gone, they set about within
two days, many of them, to plant beans,
peas, potatoes, squashes and a little later,
corn, and every known vegetable of quick
growth, not only to provide food for themselves and families, but to ship North,
which they began to do in a few weeks,
and which sold at good prices. Following
Florida's great calamity there was no distress call for supplies to sustain them
through a long frozen, cheerless winter,
and not even a call for seed to begin
planting the new crops. All these vegetables had been grown to some extent, and
there was some seed of all kinds at hand;
when not in suflieient quantities there
was some means apparently in each family with which to procure seed for tho
larger planting.
It was a lesson on diversified farming
and the necessity of that occasion will
not soon be forgotten. It has also opened
a new era in fruit growing, nut growing
and other lines not subject to destruction
from such a calamity as a deadly freeze.
Our colony location is undoubtedly ono
of the best that could have been found in
the far South. This section of Florida is
better adapted to diversified farming and
fruit growing than is the orange belt.
Many varieties of pears, peaches and
plums can be profitably grown there,
which do not succeed well in the peninsula, and the same is true to some extent
as to some of the vegetable crops, and
corn, oats etc. Your efforts are in the *
right direction and will be crowned with
success.
I am glad to see an encouraging letter
from my old friend, G. A. ]>., and to learn
that he has prospered so well in his new
location in the genial southland.
Washington, D. C. W. J. E.
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