VOL. XXIX.
INDIANAPOLIS. IND.  MAY 19, 1894.
NO. 20.
WEATHER CROP BULLETIN.
United Slates Department of Agriculture,
Weather Bureau. Orop Bulletin of the Indiana Weather Service in Oo-operation
With the Agricultural Experiment Station
at Purdue University, Monday, May 14,
1894.
Warm, (air weather and suliicient rain
continued to be of much benelit to all
crops, which are now in most promising
condition; wheat is jointing and heading
now almost everywhere; barley and rye
are heading; pasturage is in splendid condition; potatoes are growing nicely, and
tobacco has been planted; although heavy
rains in some localities, making the ground
too wet stopped corn planting, the plant
ing now is finished in most counties and
nearly so in Ihe rest; corn is coming up
nicely and in many fields it has been
plowed once, or even twice; fruit is falling
off much; moles, cutworms, wireworms
and potato bugs are numerous and have
commenced to do damage; hail fell in
many localities of the southern portion
which did some injury; a light, harmless
frost formed Saturday morning in many
localities.
SOUTHERN PORTION.
Gibson, Posey and Warrick counties —
Very heavy rains on the 6th, accompanied
by hail, delayed corn planting and damaged crops in Posey and Gibson counties,
bnt the hail did not do much harm in
Warrick county; wheat, oats, clover and
grass never looked; wheat is beginning to
head; corn is coming up well.
Dubois, Spencer and Perry counties.—
Heavy rain and hail on the 6th and 10th
delayed corn planting; the hail and strong
wind did much damage in Spencer county;
wheat and other crops are growing rapidly; in Dubois county farmers delayed
corn planting because of the cut worm
which is still doing damage.
Orange, Crawford and Harrison counties.—Much rain fell, but warm fair
weather following was very good for all
crops; corn planting progresses and is
nearly done in Harrison county; cut
worms injure corn and gardens; all growing crops look well, but some flies are in
Harrison county.
Washington, Clark and Jefferson counties—The weather was exceedingly favorable to crops except that strong winds did
some damage in Jefferson county; all
growing crops are in fine condition; wheat
is heading and never looked better except
in some fields in Washington county
where the Hessian fly is in the wheat;
corn planting is nearly done and some
fields are being cultivated in Clarke
county.
Switzerland, Dearborn and Jennings
counties—Rains and warm weather made
everything grow rapidly; barley is heading and wheat begins to head; oats and
meadows have grown very fast; early potatoes are ready for cultivation, but there
are some potato bugs; tobacco plants are
growing and look extra well much has
been planted in Switzerland county; probably plenty of fruit except peaches; corn
is nearly all planted; cutworms are doiug
much harm except in Switzerland county.
Ripley, Bartholomew and Parke counties.
—Kxc essive rains on Sunday and Thurs
day stopped corn planting but the rest of
the week much was done and the planting
is nearly done; wheat, oats, clover and
pasture are all in as good condition as
could be wished; cutworms are doing
some injury and hail did damage in some
localities in Bartholomew county.
Greene, Lawrence and Daviess counties,
—Heavy rains delayed corn planting, the
earlier planted is ready for the plow; wheat
oats, grass and clover are growing rapidly
and sheep shearing progresses in Greene
county; cut worms are doing some injury
and in Daviess county the Hessian flies.
Knox and Sullivan counties.—Only
enough rain fell in Sullivan county to
keep the ground in good condition but in
Knox county the rains were very heavy
and stopped farm work and hail did some
damage; corn planting is well advanced;
all crops look well; rye and red clover
are heading.
CENTRAL PORTION.
Vigo, Vermillion and Fountain counties.—The weather continued favorable,
warm with showers; wheat is looking
well it begins to head; oats are c Dining up
nicely; clover, grass and all crops are
growing rapidly; corn is nearly all planted
in some localities, it is making rapid
growth and in Vigo county some fields are
being plowed; cutworms are doing damage
and in Vermillion ciunty the potato bug;
small fruit bids fair for a good crop in
Vermillion county.
Shelby, Johnson, Rush and Decatur
counties.—Good growing weather prevailed
but it was too wet for planting corn; crops
never looked better except oats in Johnson
county; rye is heading; corn planting is
nearly done and plowing has commenced;
it comes up nicely but cutworms are doing harm in some fields; there is a very
poor prospect for fruit; much is falling off;
stock is in good condition.
Fayette, Wayne and Randolph counties
—Generally warm and fair weather with
heavy rain on the 10th; all crops are in
splendid condition; corn is nearly all
planted and growing nicely; it is almost
high enough for cultivation; cut and wire-
worms and potato bugs are beginning to
be very troublesome; fruit is falling off
but in Fayette county the fruit prospect,
except for peaches, is good.
Madison, Hancock, Henry and Delaware counties.—Favorable weather prevailed ; a large acreage of corn is nearly all
planted, coming up nicely and cultivation
has begun; some corn his to be replanted
because of moles and cutworms; all crops
are doing nicely but fruit is nearly a failure.
Marshall, St. Joseph, Pulaski and Kosciusko counties.—The weather was favor
able to growing crops, which are in good
condition; wheat never looked better; but
in many localities it was too wet for planting corn; nevertheless in most counties
the corn is nearly all planted and coming
up nicely; the prospect is good for all
kinds of fruit except peaches; strawberries
are in full bloom.
Elkhart, Lagrange, Noble and Whitley
counties.—Good growing weather continued, but it was too wet for planting; the
ground could not all be prepared; wheat
is nearly ready to head; rye is heading;
oats, grass and potatoes are in good condition, so also fruit; early corn is coming up
nicely; there are some potato bugs in Elkhart county.
Steuben, Allen, Wells and Jay counties.
—Favorable weather for crops continued
and all crops are in fine condition; wheat
is growing luxuriously, but being too
large in straw to fill well; much fruit is
falling off, but still there will be a fair
crop in Jay county; it was too wet for
planting corn, but most is all planted;
some is up and being tilled.
Miami, Huntington, Wabash and Grant
counties.—The weather In general was
very favorable to growing crops, warm
with showers; all crops are in fine condition; corn is nearly all planted; in some
fields in Miami county it has been plowed
twice; stcck is in good condition; cut
worms are doing damage in Grant county.
Marion, Boone and Hendricks counties.
—Good growing weather prevailed with
heavy rain on Thursday which delayed
corn planting; wheat 1b jointing, it is
growing rank and liable to lodge; all crops
doing well; pasturage and stock are in
splendid condition; corn is nearly all
planted and much is ready for the plow;
cutworms are doing injury.
Montgomery and Putnam counties.—
The weather continued favorable to growing crops, but ra'.n stopped planting corn
which is not all planted yet; heavy rain,
hail and wind did some damage on Thursday; all crops are in fine condition including the fruit crop in Montgomery
county.
NORTHERN PORTION.
Lake, Porter, Starke and Laporte counties.—The weather was cool and rains
stopped plowing and planting corn in
Lake and Porter counties; farther east the
weather was more favorable; wheat is
growing rank; rye is heading; oats come
on finely; potatoes are all up; the prospect
for fruit is still good but much is falling
off; wire and cutworms are doing damage
in Starke county.
Tipton, Howard, Cass and Carroll coun
ties.—Fine growing weather all week; all
crops are doing so well that the older people in Tipton county say they never saw
crops in so fine condition at this season;
gardens are in fine condition; corn planting was delayed by rains; insects are doing
damage to fruit in Cass county, also potato bugs.
Tippecanoe, White, Clinton, Benton and
Warren counties.—Heavy rains interrupted corn planting and field work; corn
is nearly all planted except in White
county, where It only has begun; all crops
are in good condition, never better; rye is
heading; potatoes and beets had one cultivation; in Clinton county fruit is staying
well; in Tippecanoe county most is falling
off.
H. A. Huston,
Director Indiana Weather Service.
Per C. F. R. Wappenhans,
Weather Bureau, Assistant Director.
otitic ?lCM)S.
Buckwheat and MlUet.
Gditors Indiana Farmer:
Please tell us when to sow buckwheat
and millet, or Hungarian grass, to get
good crops. How much seed of each
should I sow to the acre, and how late is it
safe to sow them in this laditude. Where
can I get good seed? Benj. Rarey.
Miami Co.
—Buckwheat may be sown any time
from the middle of May to the middle of
July. A bushel of seed to the acre is sufficient. With good soil well pulverized
you ought to get a yield of 18 or 20 bushels.
Hungarian or millet should be sown
from June 15 to July 10, in deep, mellow
clay loam. Of Hungarian three pecks of
seed to the acre is enough, but of millet
you should sow five pecks. Millet does
not grow much till the ground is very
warm. Dry weather seems to agree with
it. It often yields three tons of good hay
to the acre. It grows so rank and heavy
that it is difficult to cure in some seasons.
It must not be left till the seed become
hard, as they have an injurious effect on
the animals that feed upon them, besides
the leaves and stems are less relished and
digestible in that stage. Cut early, cure
well, and millet will be found a very
valuable addition to the forage supply.
Write any of the seedsmen who advertise with w ith us for price of seed.
John Triplet, of Middlebury, has on his
premises an apple tree which was planted
75 years ago by John Cooprider. The tree
measures nine feet, six inches in circumference five feet above the ground.
An entire family at Leopold was poisoned by eating greens which were principally wild parsnips.
Nearly eighteen hundred thousand pike
perch fry have been placed in the Oliver,
Dallas, Atwood and other small lakes in
Lagrange county.
Lightning struck the home of Frederick
Gibson, near Galveston, setting it on fire
and severely shoeking the inmates. The
house burned to the ground.
Six weeks ago diphtheria appeared in
the family of Moses Skinner, of Petersburg, and on Saturday occurred the death
of the eighth and last member.
Conrad Beall, of Martin county, while
rowing across Lost river dropped his hat
in the water. He attempted to recover it
but fell overboard and was drowned.
Stephen D. Mills, of Jefferson county,
found a turtle on his farm on which his
son, A. W. Mills, of Seymour, had cut his
initials 29 years ago, as shown by the date.
David Pink, living in a shanty boat at
Madison, nailed fast the doors and windows with himself inside, determined
upon starving himself to death. Neighbors became alarmed and forced an entrance, finding him almost dead.
Farmers in the vicinity of Plymouth,
Bremen, Marmont and Wslkerton, will
put out in the neighborhood of 3,000 acres
of cucumbers this season. At 50 cents per
bushel they pay better than any grain
that can be raised there.
John R. Mason, of Russiaville, undertook to destroy the vermin in his henhouse with straw and a lighted match.
The fire spread to other outbuildings, and
for a time a dangerous flume was threatened. Mr. Mason eliminated the vermin,
but he is minus considerable property.
Capt. David Allen, of Jeflersonville, has
deposited half a million of small fry white
salmon in Blue river. The fish were secured from the United States commission
at Put in-Bay. The Jeflersonville Fishing
Club will erect a club-house on Blue river
and look carefully after violators of the
fish laws.
Peter Melick, of Franklin township,
Owen county, attempted to drive the cows
from pasture, and three of them, in running from a dog, knocked him down and
trampled him. The old gentlemen was
enfeebled by the grip, and soon after
reaching the house he died from the shock
sustained.
The movement to straighten the Kankakee River has again taken head, and at a
recent meeting at Momence, 111., which
was attended by land-owners from Lake,
Laporte, Porter, Starke, Jasper and Newton counties, Indiana, and Momence and
Yellow Head townships, in Kankakee
county, in Illinois, committees were appointed to push the necessary legislation.
It is proposed to straighten the river from
a point near South Bend to Momence, 111.,
reducing the length from 160 miles to
about 70.
A horse was found drowned in a pond
near Shelburn, and on the bank was a
spring wagon, but none of the neighbors
recognized the outfit. It was recalled,
however, that a man and boy were seen
near the pond on Sunday last. Yesterday
the family of George Vonderhide, of Terre
Haute, reported to the authorities that Mr.
Vonderhide and his nine year-old son
started from home several days ago to cut
hoop-poles across the river, and they failed
to return. The horse and wagon are supposed to belong to Mr. Vonderhide, although found at a point 20 miles distant
from Terre Haute.