VOL. XXIX.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., DEC. 8, 1894.
NO. 49.
Home Life on the Farm
Editoks Indiana Fiuu:
"E ch man's chimney 1b his golden
milestone; is the central point from which
he measures every distance through the
gateways of the world around him," must
have been written when Longfellow waa
at home aittirg comfortably beside Ms
own hearthstone. It goes without saying
that a man makes a better c ' tiz- n to be the
owner of the house that shelters him and
the gronnd adjacent. Supposing the
farmer to be the owner of the farm upon
which he lives, let us see if there are any
comforts, advantages and luxuries he may
er joy; let us see if he has peculiar disjd
vantages.
His family can live a life of peace, free
fr im the example and acquaintance of
undesirable neighbors who are often
quartered near in town and city. They
h tve free, pure air, cheap fuel, and usually
good water. The family will have a good
cow, or perhaps two, giving fre-sh milk,
cream and sw> et butter, all at first hand,
with two good calves to tell or keep.
The freeholder in the oountry will
have his carriage and horse for himself
and family to use for business and pleasure, while the man in the city who owns
as good a rig and gets as much buggy riding will have to ba worth many times as
much as our humble farmer.
Mixed along with his arduous toil, lasting "week in, week out, from morn till
night," our husbandman will have, in the
run of a year, more hours for reading,
study and writing with tbe leisure that
implies, bodily and mentally—parts of
rainy days to use as he pleases, more
evenings to enjoy the companionship ot
wife and children—with all the blessed
aud salutary influences which tueh union
brings, than any other man of equal position iu the world. He aud his family employ themselves and can in a measure
control their time. They can drive to a
neighbor's and spend the day and return
without the loss of a penny; no customer
has bean slighted, no patient neglected,
and no lawsuit and fee lost by the day's
visit.
The farmer in his home is not the direct
v-ctim of trusts and combines. He gets
the first bite as he opens the larder of
Dame Nature, and can, if he will, keep the
best and sell the remainder. In their
home life the owner and his family can
have what to many people are luxuries.
In their season berries, fruits of all kinds,
with the variety of cooking and extra
dishes, they bring to grace his table at lit
tie cost.
On the farm father, mother and chil
dren can feel tbat they each and all are
partners in an establishment, in which
the Almighty, though a silent, is and ac
five partner. He cultivates the earth, the
Creator's footstool; he rejoices in the sun
shine, the Creator's smile, and his orops
are watered with dew which Nature's
laboratory distills. If the farmer lives only
to make money and join acre to acre, he
will not take time io be happy, or toculti
vate in his family a taste for the refining
things of life
The influence of good books, magazines,
pictures and music in his family cannot
be prized too highly in adding charms to
hnme which his child en will live toap
predate
But there are drawbacks to farm life,
serious enough, when it comes to being
miles away, perhaps over bad roads, from
the lecture or concert he wants to hear, or
the church or the social gathering. He
lives a life of isolation often in busy
times, working for d*js without seeing
anyone exoept bis family. He is not in
touch with the world, and his ignorance
of passing events and the state of markets
often works direct injury to him.
The farmers spend too much time fight-
ing the battles of life single-handed. It
seems impossible for the farmers of this
oountry to unite; they are an aggregation
ot individuals, not a combination. The
loneliness of the farmer's family during
winter months is a Bad feature of oountry
life wbloh has been to some extent overcome, where reading circles and clubs are
kept up. But in the happy fnture of
which we even now catch a glimpse, when
the heavy farm work shall be done by
e'ectricity, and farmers shall lire In hamlets and villages, when, by means of electric lines, tbey shall have rapid transit to
and from tbeir farms, this incubus oountry Isolation shall have been lifted.
Along with that era shall oome free delivery of mails and oheap servioe of telegraph
and express oompanles. At the present
day the farmer ba*> come upon hard lines:
he is doing more work for less money, as
a class, than any other class of men in
America. The strong arm of the law is
too seldom lifted fur his defense The
legislation of the country, especially that
bearing upon taxation, is most wofully
against the farmer. He constitutes in
great measure th" strength and vigor of
this oountry and his interests must be
conserved and his dignity and ma.hcod
maintained, for
"111 fares the land to hastening ills a pre/,
Where wealth accumulates and men decay "
MB  M.
What Shall'We Plant?
Editobs Indiana Farms*:
"What eh >U we plant?" is a question
which planters have to answer every crop
season. Any discussion of this question
implies that a change in the usual rotation
is to be made. Since every change carries
with it a risk of poorer results, one should
clearly know why a change in his crops is
desirable before making it. No farmer
can any better afford to change his orop
rota.ion to meet temporary fl actuations in
the markets than he can to continue a
system whioh his experience has clearly
proven to be a losing one.
Low prices are usually the cause which
compels a change in a cropping system.
Now, in every market there are two classes
of agricultural products on sale. One
olass is produoed in excess of the demands
of the local market and is shipped elsewhere for consumption. Competition
among producers and combinations
among shippers make pri-es barely above
the oost of production. The other olass is
consumed more largely than produced in
that locality and the products are shipped
to the market. Freights, commissions
and profits having to bi added to the oost
of production, prioes for this clasa of products in that market are high. If you are
suffering from low prioes you are doubtless producing the first olass of products
too exclusively. In making changes for
next season decrease production in the
first class and increase tbat of the seoond
These are the principles which underlie
farming ss a prosperous business; but as
they are stated in general terms, let us be
specific, using tbe markets of Brazil for
illustration:
The agricultural products capable of production in Clay oounty which are consumed in excess of local production are
principally oats, potatoes, beans, best grade
butter, cheese, vinegar, pickles, timothy
seed, nuts at d fruits, both fresh and evap
orated. These are the needs of one small
city; yet many of these items, if given
special attention will give fortune and
reputation to any farmer.
Take the item of nuts. A Paragon chest
nut will b.ar the third year from the graft
and the nuts are in good demand at from
$ti to fs per bushel. What will be the earning capacity of one acre of Paragon chestnuts 10 years old? We picked three and
one-half acres of strawberries which paid
us a gross sum of f 1,060  tbii year, which
will be known as the year of hard times
and low prices. These berries were sold
in Brazil at |3 per case wholesale, and the
demand was in excess of the supply. Cer
tain farmers sell their butter at 25 cents
per pour *1 the season through. If I were
a young man of eighteen I would want no
greater 'expectations" in life than a
knowledge of plum culture and the enthusiasm to pursue it. During a visit to
Illinois this fall to old 'blue Jasper" I was
surprised to see farmers threshing their
hay and se'ling timothy seed to Clay
oounty farmers at f3 25 per bushel. Tons
of timothy seed were cast into the manure
heap ln Clay county to create a demand for
this Illinois seed. Pretty costly fertilizer
—timothy seed at J.'i 25 per bushel! Sor
gum nrolasses from Plain field is selling
to day to Clay oounty consumers at 50
cents per gallon. We are exporting wheat
and importing eggs, potatoes, peas and
beaut!
Without at this time giving further particulars let me empha*-i/.j this suggestion:
As competition lowers prioes, make your
changes to escape its ruinous influence so
far as possible.   The line of farming Bug
gested requires more  technical lnforma
tion, greater knowledge of  maikets and
more perfect devotion to duty.   In turn it
assures better money returns, greater in
dependence, more general Infoi matlon and
more perfect happiness in life.   In general
it Is substituting  mind  for muscle; and
mental labor always has and always will
command the higher wages.
Clay Oo. R W. Moss.
Among the indlspensables on the farm
are a mouse proof crib and granary. A
crib to hold 500 bushels oan be made mouse
proof at a cost of less than five dollars, and
larger ones in proportion. The crib should
stand out away from any other buildings
or fenoes, and need not be set up on posts
three or four feet from the ground as some
make them The writer has one just high
enough from the ground for pigs and poultry to pass under. The extra oost will be
saved in one year.
Another need on the farm is stock scales,
so that you may sell and buy by wtight
and not by guess, thus making a big saving every year. Besides this it is good to
weigh stock, say once a month,to see when
and how muoh it pays to feed. And don't
fail to house the scales.
The wind mill is an expensive luxury
sometimes, but shou'd be considered a necessity with those that can afford one.
Next, though not the least Is a building
for housing farm tools and machinery.
Better borrow money at eight per cent, to
build a tool house than to let machinery
and tools stand out in tbe weather and
rust and rot out 20 or 25 per cent ; for a
binder that costs $125 if le't out in the
weather, at the end of two years .is only
worth the prioe of the old iron. I would
be safe to say tbat three fourths of the
wagons are never housed at all, thus making a new wag on a necessity every three or
four years.
The thrifty farmer is not farmer  shifty.
Worlhlngton. H. B.
Thrifty Farming.
Editors Indiaka Fakmek:
Sometime in the last year an article appeared in your columns under the head of
Farm Leaks, which brought out some very
good ideas that were timely advice for
those that Butter financially from farm
"Leaks." The farmer who suffers his
buildings, fences, and farm Implements to
go nncared for is certainly not a good
farmer, but may well ba termed Farmer
Shifty instead of Farmer Thrifty. And the
same rule holds good with tie farmer who
fails to look well to the cm and keeping
of hia land and stock. The farm should be
the former's bank if rightly managed. A
failure in this respect wil prove a "bankruptcy."
Too many acres and too little work, and
too little fertilizing and manuring have
been the failing of too many farmers,which
makes good the assertion that A raises
more oorn or wheat on twenty acres than
B raises on thirty acres, all of same quality.
Working or tilling land without the
proper amount of manuring and fertiliz
Irg is like working a poor team with poor
feeding An old adage is, "The merciful
man will be merciful to his beast," so it is
with the farm. To take from the farm and
never remunerate is worse than stealing
The Germans are among our very best
farmers, and as a general thing they never
allow any kind of manure or fertilizer to
go to waste; which makes an old ttme saying true that "a German will get rich on a
farm where a Hoosier would starve to
death."
I recollect hearing an old farmer say tbat
"it ia not so much what we make as what
we save that mikes the farmer rich."
"Haste makes waste,and waste makes woeful want." Or, in other words, anything
that is worth raising is worth taking good
care of. O! the Germans it is proverblsl
that they build the fine barn first, and the
barn builds the fine house, and thia rule is
also followed up by many of our best
Hoosier farmers. It is to be regretted that
many are so short sighted as to mortgage
ths farm to build a ti.e house. And in
many instances the fine barn is never built
at all. The farm pays for the house, but
not until lt passes through the cour.s and
the sheriff's handa.
detijma IjUujs.
A firm of manufacturing chemists in
Detriot is preparing to manufacture anti-
toxine, the new remedy for diphtheria.
In a fire at Chicago a mother and three
children were burned. One of the children is dead. None of the injured can recover.
Princess Bismarck, wife of the illustrious Prince Bismarck, died at her home
in Varzin, on the 27th. They were married in 1846.
Twenty-two Congressmen are applicants
for the position of attorney for the Dlstriot
of Columbia, They were all defeated for
re election.
The vault of the Union Savings and
Loan Association Bank at Portland, Ore.,
was blown open Thanksgiving night and
12,500 was taken.
Mrs. Kate Donovan and her two-year-
old daughter Annie were fatally burned
at Waverly, Md. The accident was caused
by a child pulling a lamp off a table.
The only distinctive Russian edifice in
the United was dedicated at Streator, 111.,
on the 21, by Bishop Nicholas, of Sitka,
Alaska. The services were very impressive, lasting five hours. The ohurch
Is built entirely of wood which oomes
from Russia, and is the remains of the
Russian vestibule In the Manufactures
Building at the World's Fair. The congregation there numbers over 200.
Isaac Lease, a prosperous farmer and
stock raiser near Champaign, 111., purchased a drove of 100 hogs which had been
shipped in from the West. He took them
to his farm and soon after cholera broke
out among them, 50 head dying from the
disease. Liter the disease made its appearance among the hegs owned by farm-
ers in the immediate neighborhood and
some of farmer Lease's neighbors brought
suit against him to see if they could make
him pay for bringing the disease into the
neighborhood. The first case was tried
Dec. 1 and a judgment against Lease was
secured for Jisn. Lease appealed the case
to the Circuit Court, and, as he has several
suits of the same kind on his handa, he
proposes to fight them through the court.