VOL. XXI.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., SATURDAY, OCT. 16,1886.
NO 42
SERVED HIM EIGHT.
We are pleased to learn tbat our valued
agent, G. W. Reeve, of Rash oounty, has
behaved himself so well as superintendent of machinery at his county fair,—a
position he has held for several years,—aa
to merit the approbation of the exhibitors.
According to the Rushville Republican,
these gentlemen, at the recent Rush oounty
fair, presented him with a handsome and
valuable gold headed ebony cane. The
head is inscribed with the monogram, "O.
W. R ," and "Rush Co. Pair, 1886."
EQUAL SUFFRAGE.
We quoted one of^the mottoes over the
booth of the tqual suffragists at the State
fair in our report last week: "Governments derive their just powers from the
consent of the governed," and asked:
"Oo the sisters mean by this to Imply
they do not consent to the government
under which we live?" To this an equal
suffragist replies: "The sisters mean by
this to imply that they have had no voioe
in the government under which we live,
and are held amenable."
This JHnrat, an answer to our query, but it
will do. The sisters consent to our Republican form of government aa heartily
as their brothers. They are at least as
law-abiding and make no complaint, save
it may beon the question of equal suffrage.
They contend that with equal intelligence and equal interest in the affairs
of the government, they should have
equal rights In enacting and enforcing the
laws of the land. The tendency of public
sentiment is evidently in this direction,
and the time may not be far distant when
the consummation that equal suffragists
so ardently desire will be brought about.
We hardly expect that the millenium will
come at the same time or even closely follow it, but it will be a great advance upon
the present order of things when the
thousands of sisters, wives and mothers of
the land shall have a voice ln legislating
for the peace, purity and happiness of
their homes.
fruit as professionals It would not be such
an easy matter for one man to carry o_ all
the premiums, as was the case this year.
Let us have a little competition.
One of thb Committer.
Let us Have More Home  Competi
tion on Fruit.
Prom our regular Correspondent.
In reading the "Farmer's" report of
premiums awarded at the State fair, one
interested in fruit culture would very
naturally ask the question how does It
happen that the fruit growers of Indiana
will permit Michigan and Canada to send
their fruit to our fairs and carry off the
larger share of premiums? This was done,
however, as may be seen by examining
the report of the csmmlttee. While Michigan and Canada received over ?100 In premiums our own fruit growers received f75,
all of which was taken in the amateur class
not a single entry being made from this
State In the professional class.
Have we no professional fruit growers?
Or are the premiums offered not large
enough to induce them to exhibit.
Of oourse *e are glad to have our sister
states take an active part In our fairs but
we are not doing ourselves justice when
we hold back and allow them to make a
,'clean sweep."
The display of apples In the amateur
class was certainly worthy of any State,
and I would suggest that, at the next fair,
if aome of these amatura would enter their
ner and appearance they are very superior
to the laundry Chinamen, so frequently
seen.
Washington Letter.
From Onr Regular Correspondent.
The preparation of annual reports is now
the engrossing subject of attention in aU
the government departments here. The
object of this annual industry is to inform
Congress what each department has been
doing during the year, and what work it
is hoped will be done next year. The evolution of an annual report of an executive
department Is an iterestlng process. Most
of the material for the report is furnished
by the subordinates. The employes supply the facts and statistics, the chiefs of
divisions and bureaus add comments and
deductions, and a synopsis of the whole
is presented to the head of the department.
In matters of national importance, as for
instance when the secretary of the treasury formulates his policy in regard to the
coinage of silver, he must consult with the
President.
The President's message gives an epitome
of the department reports, which Is sometimes furnished by the heads of the departments, and occasionally the President
prepares It himself from the data he has
called. The messages of President Hayes
had little originality. They were largely
made up of abstracts of department reports,
with a discussion of a few special subjects
President Arthur wrote the greater part of
his messages himself, and Mr. Cleveland
doea the same. The President's message
Is no longer, it is claimed, of much consequence in directing legislation, except as it
may be taken as the announcement of the
policy of the political party of which he is
the representative.
It may not be generally known, that of
all the foreign legations residing here the
British is the only one that owns its legation building. The other ministers with
their suites rent houses or flats,or board. The
building where the British Minister resides
is a hospitable looking, old fashioned mansion, situated on Connecticut Avenue, the
most fashionable street in the city. The
building, with the ground on which it
stands, is in a certain sense British territory, and was untaxed by the United
States.
Minister Romero now intends to build a
house to be used exclusively by legations
from Mexico. The house will be located
on I street, about four squares from the
Executive Mansion.
The Japanese legation rents a bright red
brick building just across the street from
the house Secretary Lamar has just leased.
The Chinese legation occupies one of the
most conspicuous houses in the city. It is
a rather tawdry and tumble down failure,
known as Castle Stewart. It was built for
a private residence by the rich California
ex-Senator, but it was never finished, and
had remained unoccupied for years. Of
late the Chinese Minister rented it.
Chinaman are very fond of parks, and
when there ia one near, they are always to
be found there looking in open eyed surprise at the unusual sights of this strange
oountry. The Chinese of the legation here
are of the gentry and nobility of the
flowery kingdom, and both in dress, man-
Wrltten for the Indiana Farmer.
Fall Preparations.
BY N. J. SHEPHERD.
After the grass seed, rye and wheat has
been sown, some'time can very profitably
be spent in making suitable preparation
for winter.
I like to do some fall plowing, at least
sufficient to admit of hauling out and applying all the manure possible.
Before winter sets in I like to have a
general cleaning up and hauling out of all
the manure possible. Oidinarlly where
considerable stock is kept a large quantity
will accumulate at best. A good cleaning
up late In the fall will often avoid at least
a portion of this.
See that you have all the shelter you
will need for your stock. Whatever is
needed in this respect should be provided
for as soon as possible. There is too much
loss In allowing stock to be exposed to the I
weather, and from this time on we may
expect cold rains or storms at any time,
and I always find it best to be prepared
for them. What you already have may
need repairing in order to have them as
comfortable as should be. A very little
work In this respect may often prove very
profitable in comfort to the stock and in
saving feed. See that you have sufficient
feed racks or mangers so that the stock
can all be fed without unnecessary waste.
Have a good supply of bedding stored
away. I consider it quite an important
item not only to have sufficient bedding to
make the stock as comfortable as possible,
but also to increase the manure heap as
largely as can be done by providing plenty
of bedding as an absorbent. Secure a good
supply of feed convenient to the stable or
feed lots. It will often save more discomfort and exposure than if you are
obliged to haul In from the fields when
the weather is cold and stormy.
Crowd the corn shucking; get in all you
can. See that the cribs are properly prepared and made tight so that there will be
no waste.
If you burn coal, see that a good supply
Is stored in the coal shed ready for use.
If you have to buy wood, unless you can
get it very cheap, or are in a section where
wood is scarce and consequently high, I
should certainly advise burning coal.
See that as far as possible a good variety
of feed is on hand for the stock. While to
a certain extent corn is the principal reliance for winter feeding as grain, yet a
small supply of wheat, bran or shipstuff,
oats, or barley, should be provided to give
a variety. Fodder or hay, with the wheat
or oat straw, will make a good variety of
roughness.
Commence feeding sufficiently heavy to
keep the stock In a good healthy oonditlon. There Is no economy In [allowing
the stock to run down simply to save feed.
Push the fattening stock as rapidly as possible. Now is the best time to fatten them
if properly fed. Sell all that you cannot
winter profitably. Stock that are not kept
for breeders and are not gaining, are poor
property to keep on the farm, and especially so during the winter.
THB FAIRS.
DAVIESS COUNTY.
The paat week closed one of the most
successful county fairs ever held in
Daviess county. The fair had been well
advertised through the energetic secretary, A. F. Cabel, and great crowds of people flocked in to witness the attractions.
The weather was fine, just such as to make
glad the hearts of the managers, and the
attendance was unusually large, that for
the last three days being estimated at
10,000 each day. Fine blooded horses were
shown, and noted with great interest by
the lovers of the horse. The hogs and
sheep and cattle were the finest and purest stock, and largest In numbers ever
seen together ln the county. The fancy
poultry was large In size and numbers,
and called forth many exclamations of
surprise and joy. The large and excellent
display of agricultural implements drew
great crowds of people all the time. And
their agricultural and floral halls were
simply bowers of beauty and attraction.
There was a wonderful display of agricultural products and of needle and fancy
work. This is a wonderfully productive
agricultural county, as well as one of the
greatest coal counties in the State, and
with these advantages the association
intends to bend every energy toward
making this the greatest county fair in the
State. Next year better inducements will
be offered than ever before, and the accommodations on the beautiful grounds
will be greatly extended. While the number of stalls is now very large, yet the association was compelled to hire the livery
stables in the city to accommodate the
stock that was brought here for exhibition.
Indeed, the people of Daviess county feel
elated over the success of the fair, financially and otherwise. F. H. M.
Cultivating Wheat.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
About one year ago I made a statement
through the Farmer regarding a plat of
experiment wheat—two-fifths of an acre.
Sowed as usual, but twice the space between the rows—that is 16 inches apart.
The soil was high sand prairie, facing to
the northwest. The winter winds nearly
blew it all out of the ground, and when
spring opened it was in a sorry plight.
When the blades were about four inches
long It was cultivated with the hoe. Then
again when it was about knee high. It
was harvested with the cradle, (not very
clean) and made 25 shocks, of a dozen
bundles each. Before It was threshed the
Kngiish sparrow took the cap-sheaves entire. The wheat was weighed, and after
adding for cap-sheaves, there were ten
bushels. This is at the rate of 25 bushels
per acre. Not a very large yield but almost unprecedented for the quality of the
soil. There were no fertilizers used. A
heavy crop of potatoes was taken from the
plat just before the wheat was sown. I
am Impressed that the product was
doubled by the cultivation. The saving
in the seed will much more than pay for
the cultivation. A horse can walk In a
space of 16 Inches and a bull tongue will
give much better cultivation than the hoe.
which was my shift for the small area of
oourse.
I have great faith in the method of my
experiment. I hope that a few other readers of the Farmer will give it a trial and
report. W. R. Halstead.
—We regard this as a valuable experiment, and join*with Mr. H. in urging our
readers to try it and report results. The
beneficial effects would no doubt be much
more marked on clay or clayey loam so
than on suoh as that of Mr. Halstead,
—Eds.