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VOL. XXIX.
INDIANAPOLIS. IND. MAY 12, 1894.
NO. 19.
WEATHER CHOP BULLETIN.
United States Department of Agriculture,
Weather Bureau. Orop Bulletin of the Indiana Weather Service in Oo-operation
With the Agricultural Experiment Station
at Purdue University, Tuesday, May 7
189£.
Exoessively warm weather, much rain
and, moderate sunshine were very beneficial to vegetation in general. All crops
are in a most promising and advanced
condition. Wheat and clover are blooming in some localities of the southern portion. Oats, rje and grass are growing
rapidly. Potatoes have come up. Although interrupted by occasional rains,
much corn wai planted during the past
week; in some localities the planting is
completed, or nearly so; in the central
portion, in some fields, corn is almost high
enough to be plowed. Fruit continues
blooming; some blossoms are falling off.
Live stock is in good condition on good
pasturage. Sheep shearing progresses;
the clip is very good. In the southern
portion cutworms have made their appearance in localities, and in the central
portion potato bugs.
SOUTHERN PORTION.
Gibson, Posey and Pike counties —Rains
and warm weather advanced all planted
crops; wheat never looked more promising; pasturage and live stock are doing
well; corn planting is advancing rapidly,
with the ground in good condition.
Dubois, Spencer and Warrick counties.—
This week has been an excellent one for
work and for the advancement of crops;
wheat never looked better at this season;
rye and grass are growing rapidly; plowing and planting of corn progresses rapidly; in Dubois county fruit will be scarce;
no peaches at all, and corn planting is
held back because of cutworms.
Orange, Perry, Harrison and Floyd
counties.—Good growing weather prevailed, but rain is need in Perry county;
whpat, oats, clover and grass are growing
nici ly; much plowing and corn planting
is (1 ne.
Scott, Washington, Clark and Jefferson
counties.—Warm, sunny weather and
showers advanced all vegetation; wheat,
oats, grass and clover look well; wheat is
booming in Washington county; in Clark
county wheat is from 14 to 16 inches high;
there are plenty of strawberries and raspberries; potatoes stand well and meadows
are remarkably fine; strong wind on the
3d did some damage.
Dearborn, Jennings, Bartholomew and
Jackson counties.—The weather was all
that could be wished, warm with showers
except in Jackson county where less Tain
fell; wheat is coming on wonderfully
and never promised better; although corn
planting had been interrupted by rains
the work is well advanced; oats, clover and
pastures are doing nicely and there will be
apples, cherries and gooseberries in Jackson county.
Knox, Daviess, Greene and Lawrence
connties.—Perfect weather conditions prevailed for the growth of crops and farm
work; wheat is growing fine; it is jointing
in Knox county; oats is doing well; corn
planting is progressing; in some localities
rains interrupted it; in Greene county cutworms are doing much damage and farmers delay corn planting in consequence.
CENTRAL PORTION.
Vigo, Clay, Owen and Morgan counties.
—Warm weather with showers prevailed;
wheat grass and gardens are looking well;
late sown oats are growing nicely; corn
planting progresses rapidly; it is nearly
done in Morgan county; in Owen county
the planting was interrupted by rains;
apples in that  c aunty will  yield at least
half a crop; fruit trees and berries promise
a fair yield in Morgan county.
Shelby, Johnson, Rush and Decatur
counties.—The weather was beneficial to
all crops; wheat, oats, grass, potatoes and
garden plants are growing nicely; stock
and pasturage are in fine condition; in
Shelby county clover and oats show that
they have been injured; in Johnson county
oats and grass have a good start; May
cherries are scarce but grapes are growing
rapidly; corn planting advances rapidly;
in Rush county it is nearly done and corn
is coming up well; fruit is dropping off.
Franklin, Union, Randolph and Wayne
counties.—The warm weather with occas
ional showers caused the growing crops to
advance rapidly and wheat, oats and grass
never looked better at this time in May;
the ground was fine for planting and corn
planting is done in some localities and
nearly so in others; it cannot be remembered in Randolph when corn planting
was done so early; fruit is still in good
condition; pears and cherries promise a
fair crop, apples less so.
Madison, Fayette, Hancock, Delaware
and Henry counties.—The warm weather
and recent rains benefited all crops; wheat,
clover, oate, etc , are growing nicely and
look well; corn is nearly all planted, some
is coming up; a large acreage of potatoes
has been planted in Madison county and
sows and pigs are doing remarkably well;
pears are falling off in Hancock county
and the crop will not be as large as anticipated.
Marion, Hamilton, Boone and Hendricks; c junty.—The frequent rains during
the week advanced all crops; wheat in
Hamilton and Boone counties is getting
very rank; the fruit prospect is very good;
there will be plenty of strawberries in
Marion and Boone counties; the rains delayed corn planting but nevertheless it is
nearly done from five to six weeks earlier
than last year; the earlier planted corn is
coming up nicely, in Boone county it is
nearly high enough to be plowed.
Montgomery, Putnam, "Vermillion and
Parke counties.—Unusual fine weather pre
vailed, high temperature and frequent
rains and a^l crops including fruit except
peaches in Montgomery county, are in
most promising condition; corn planting
was delayed in localities in Montgomery
county by heavy rains.
NORTHERN PORTION.
Lake, LaPorte, Starke, Porter and Pulaski counties.—Warm weather and light
and heavy showers were very beneficial;
wheat and rye never looked better at this
time of the year; all oats are coming up;
none were injured as feared; early potatoes are up in places; peaches, cherries
and pears are all alive; apples and cherries
bloomed very heavily; corn planting progresses; sheep shearing has begun in La-
Porte county.
Marshall, Fulton, St. Joseph, Elkhart
and Kosciusko counties.—The warm and
occasional sunny weather and the rains
were very beneficial; wheat, oats and rye
are in a fine promising condition; fruit
trees are in full bloom; peaches seem to
be injured in Marshall and Fulton
counties; plowing and planting was delayed by rains except in Fulton county.
Noble, Whitley, Allen and Starke counties.—Fine rainy weather caused everything to grow nicely and to be in best condition; wheat is growing very rank; pasture has been seen seldom in such fine
condition; plowing and planting corn progresses; the earlier corn commences to
sprout nicely; fruit trees are in full bloom.
Adams, Jay, Blackford and Wells
counties.—The favorable weather the past
week benefited all crops; corn planting is
nearly finished in Wells county; stock is
in fine condition on good pasturage; potatoes are coming up; apple trees in Adams
county are in bloom, promising a full
crop; sheep shearing has commenced.
Huntington and Grant counties.—Warm
and showery; all crops in fine coundition;
there is a fair prospect for fruit, especially
pears in Grant county; corn planting progresses; that planted 10 days ago is coming
up.
Carroll, Cass and Miami counties.—Some
rain and warm days, good weather for all
growing crops; wheat, oats, clover and
timothy are growing nicely and look well;
potatoes are coining up; stock improves
with the growth of grass; there will be
more fruit in Cass county than expected;
much corn has been planted.
Clinton, Tipton and Howard counties.—
All crops are in fine condition; wheat and
rye look splendid the latter commences to
joint in Clinton county; early potatoes are
up and doing well; oats look well; corn
planting is nearly done, that which was
planted early is coming up nicely in Tipton county some fields are being cultivated; cherries promise a fair crop; apples
are more promising than a few weeks ago;
strong winds on the 5th did some damage
in Tipton and Clinton counties.
Tippecanoe, Benton and White counties
—With favorable weather and rains, wheat,
oats and grass are growing rapidly; corn
planting was delayed by rains; cattle is in
good condition.
H. A. Huston,
Director Indiana Weather Service.
Per C. F. R. Wappenhans,
.leather Bureau, Assistant Director.
Salaries, Professional j,Fees  and Prices
Editors Indiana Farmer:
The Indiana Farmer of April 21 con
tained an editorial which was said to have
been inspired by a paper published in
some Eastern exchange, entitled "Plain
Facts." The question is very pertinently
asked in this editorial why the salaries of
public officials and the fees of doctors and
lawyers have not declined in a corresponding ratio with the prices of farm products.
My attempts to answer will involve additional questions in the same line. Why
has there not been a decline in the commodity of labor which has been employed
in the manufacturing, mining, trade and
transportion? The statistics of Mr.'Atkinson shows that the wage earners in
these industries, in 1893, received 60 per
cent better wages than they did 25 years
ago. Their hours of labor have also been
reduced by legislation in almost every
State in the Union in the same time. The
wages of all these laborers enter into the
expense account of the farmer each year
in a greater degree than do the fees of lawyers and dectors and the salaries of
officials.
A suit of men's clothing from the shelves
of the merchant costs as much to day,
quality considered, as it cost 15 years ago.
A ton of anthracite coal costs about the
same. The salesmen who are employed
in handling these articles receive better
pay than they did 15 years back. It costs
jnst as much to ship a car load of wheat or
stock to a seaboard market now as it cost
in 1880, and local possenger fare is the
same. Meantime the average price of agricultural products has declined one-half
during the period named.
The wages of the industrial laborers in
manufacturing, mining, trade and transportation, have been advanced and maintained, and special legislation in their interest has been effected through the
medium of their organizations; not by
the generosity of politicians or the philanthropy of their employers. In the same
manner a combination of capital regulates
the price of the output of the factories
and mines, and controls the railroad
traffic.
Lawyers and doctors are organized for
their professional and personal benefit.
While the "fee bill" of physicians, and,
perhaps, of lawyers, for whom I cannot
speak knowingly,is not under absolute control of the organizations, it is, nevertheless, among the subjects of discussion at
their meetings, and is, to some extent,
regulated by the action of the medical societies of the country and cities.
One hundred and twenty-six medical
colleges in the United States are grinding
out 5,000 doctors each year, and there are
already 100,000 at work. Doctors are increasing at the rate of 20 per cent annually,
while the population is only increasing
about 3 per cent. This, in the absence of
organization, should certainly keep the
medical fees on a par with food. But the
organizations do not entirely obviate competition in charges, more especially in the
early years of the physician's life, and beyond what is regarded as a reasonable
limit, never. The charges of the general
practitioner who is older and well established, depend somewhat upon his merits
and the ability of the customer to pay. In
this case the fees are rather arbitrary, and
frequently in the line of the specialist they
are exorbitant and even intolerable. The
honorable physician will not, intentionally, prostitute his calling for mercenary ends. He may, in the present depressed state of prices, sometimes overestimate the capacity of his customer to
pay.
The most contemptible man who infests
the medical profession, and the one who
is most dangerous to the public, is the advertising charlatan, the professional
"fake" and bombast. He it is who gets
. money from poor sufferers without consid-
_ eHation, by delusions and falsifying.
There are many of them, too, among the
graduates of regular medical colleges. ■
This is true because the medical profession
still has a residue of medieval dogmatism,
which infuses some of its members with
an air of superiority, and leads them to
believe that they really are better than
anybody else and that only cheap doctors
will do eheap work. If I mistake not a
large number of such men may be found
engaged in the practice of "specialties" In
most of the cities and towns to-day. They
should be sought out and sat down upon
by the public.
I do not think that an equlibrium of
prices, such as to meet the demands of
justice, would shade the fees of the
country doctor very much. It was his
experience which inspired the poetical
strain:
* God and the doctor we alike adore
When we get sick, and not before;
When we get well both are slighted,
God forgotten and the doctor requited."
The high salaried officials all over the
country have preserved their unearned
allowances from the war era up to this
date by close organization and the corrupt
use of money. It is to the shame of our
political institutions that these venal influences have prevailed over tho legislative bodies for so many years, while the
groans of the tax-ridden people have been
growing louder and louder.
I believe that we are entering an epoch
of low prices which is to abide permanently, and that there must be a readjustment of values in every industry, line of
business and profession. Organizations of
the industial classes and legislative enactments of a demagogical character will be
met on all hands to oppose the estalish-
ment of uniformity and fairness in prices.
In the contlict and the transition following the farmers will be, or have been, the
first to suffer. They will suffer the longest and the most severely, because they
are unorganized, and consequently a helpless prey to all other industrial and professional classes. L N. Davis, M. D.
Farmland.