Garden
VOL. LVI.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., DECEMBER ,7 1901.
NO. 49
Making Osage Orange Hedge.
Editors  Indiana  Farmer:
Would you kindly give me information
in regard to setting out hedge fence. What
cost of plants and can I start plants from
the osage orange; if so, how is the best
ivay to proceed, getting the seeds and time
to plant; whether in garden or in the place
you expect to have fence? A. E. S.
Evansville, Nov. 18.
—It has been many years since the subject of osage orange hedges has been discussed in agricultural papers. Since the
numerous styles of wire fence have come
Into use there has been but little demand
for the hedge fences, which are generally
unsatisfactory for several reasons; first,
on account of the time that must intervene between starting the hedge and its
growing to sufficient size and strength to
turn stock; next, because of the cost and
labor of putting the ground in order and
setting the plants, but chiefly, probably,
on account of the cost of the annual pruning. This work must be done for several
years in order to make a good hedge, and
' he done in early summer when tly>
fanner can iiaruiy spare the time and if
he does the work himself must neglect
other things that would profit him more.
If he hires it done it is not always easy
to get a competent trimmer, and if he
can do so it is at considerable expense.
Still another objection to the hedge fence
is the wide strip of ground its long roots
require to make strong plants. But as
to the cost of seed. If they can be got
at all, which is somewhat doubtful now, it
would be small and hardly worth considering, unless the field or pasture to be
fenced is very large. Along any old
hedge row in October the balls of seed
can be had for the gathering. They should
be drilled in beds of rich, mellow soil in
early spring and cultivated and thinned
during summer. When set in the fence
row they should stand at 15 or 18 inches
apart, and must be kept clear of weeds
for at least two years. It is doubttnl if
any nurseryman keeps the trees on sale.
Years ago it was a common and profitable
business to grow them for the trade
Speltz—The New Cereal.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
A new grain ration has heen introduced
in the western section of the United States
during the past two years. It is known
as speltz and promises to be one of the
most valuable cereals for cattle, hogs,
sheep and general farm purposes. It may
be sown in the fall or spring and will
make a geod winter pasture and summer
green manuring. Reports from Illinois
are to the effect that speltz has yielded
90 bushels of seed and 8 tons of hay per
acre. The grain furnishes excellent food
for all kinds of stock and the hay is
of the best quality. It has the power of
resisting drouth and stools out so much as
to make a poor stand return fair crops
of grain.
Speltz comes from Germany, where it is
recognized as one of the most valuable
plants. It is not a wheat, oat nor corn,
but a grain incorporating all the elements
of these cereals. It grows very rank and
resembles barley heads when ready for
cutting. Some call it a mammoth wild
rye. It succeeds well on sandy soil and
yields better when in rich land. It takes
up much of the natural plant food and requires annual dressings of the land with
potash to give the best returns. It will
yield better if sown on land that formerly
had clover or cow peas or other legumes.
The addition of a perfect fertilizer containing about 9 per cent available potash,
7 per cent phosphoric acid, and 2 per cent
nitrogen will insure a satisfactory crop.
Land should be plowed in August or
September and put in thorough condition
before planting. Sowing broadcast is advisable, but the crop will give the satisfactory returns hy being drilled in rows
the same as wheat, using the ordinary
press drill. If sown in the fall it will
grow up and stool out wonderfully, having
as much as 100 stalks from one kernel of
seed. It can be pastured throughout the
winter and early spring and left to grow
into seed stalks in midsummer. A field
of speltz will make excellent winter pasture for sheep, hogs and cattle. The farmers of Austria report it better for winter
feeding than an}' of the grains or grasses.
Speltz may be harvested the same as
wheat or other grain and threshed in the
same manner. The grains are larger than
:n barley and the thresher needs to be set
accordingly. When threshed, the grain
may be crushed or chopped or fed whole.
Some boil it and mix with hay rations for
milch cows, and others make it into chop
feed. The hay left from the thresher is
greedily devoured by all kinds of stock
and is rich in ruusclc making food. A
Canadian stock grower states that his
speltz yielded at the rate of 100 bushels
per acre and he found it one of the most
valuable   stock   foods   grown.
The seed of speltz is limited yet and
naturally sells for a good price. It can
be purchased from the leading seedsmen
for about 5 cents per pound. It may be
sown with perfect assurance of making a
crop in all latitudes. Being a native
of Austria it is adapted particularly to the
dry districts of the south and west. It is
certainly a most desirable crop where the
rainfall is light or drouths are of frequent
occurence. In sandy soil requiring a
strong grassy binder, there is nothing
better as the stooling qualities and stiff
straws make it a perfect wind break. The
long blades drop over and protect the
soil surface from sudden drying by wind
or drouth.
The experimental stage of speltz in America seems to be over and all doubts as
to its usefulness have disappeared. It
will soon be generally planted in all localities where a fheap forage and stock
cereal is wanted. Poultrymen will find
it an ideal crop to grow for feeding for
market. It is superior to other grains,
except corn for feeding hogs, and the
immense yields from a given area make
it a crop that every farmer should grow.
It should be fed on the farm, where the
hay and grain can both be utilized. In
fact the main secret of success in farming
is the selling of poultry, pork and beef
made by the farm crops, rather than disposing of the grain and robbing the farm
of its returnable fertility..
N. Yakima, Wash.     Joel Shoemaker.
"Suitable training will render many indifferent voices pleasing, even musical, in
their intonation. Professor Corson makes
it very clear that the education of the
soul is part of the education necessary
for the perfection of the voice. It is this
subtle qualuity of spiritual development
that is the effectual quality in all work.
'"The school should share with the home
the responsibility of securing better habits
of speaking. The Whining drawl sometimes tolerated in recitation proclaims a
teacher's shortcomings as well as her
pupil's indolence. Educators would do
the world great service by inaugurating a
movement against faults, of the speaking
voice, and for the correct use of this sadly
neglected instrument. The open-mouthed
children of to-day would soon be taught
to guard their throats from dust and germ-
poisoned air by breathing only through
noses. Purer air would be supplied overcrowded school rooms. Simple, heaith-
keeping rules of personal hygiene would be
inculcated daily. Exercise in vocalization, giving exactness and flexibility of
enunciation, would become o pfust of the
school routine never to be omitted. All
this would surely result in healthier, happier, more useful lives for the rising generation, and the voice beautiful no longer
be so rarely heard in the land."
the time for corn to make its ears, there
is really more moisture on unfertilized plats
to bring about the greater production.
Hence they yield the greater proportion
of grain to stalk and at times a greater
absolute production of grain during dry
j ears.
It is of importance that farmers who
happened to begin the use of commercial
fertilizers on the dry seasons just
past, be not disconcerted at the results
they may have attained. In some of our
northern counties at least, farmers used
commercial fertilizers for the first time,
this year. It is possible they have decided this extra expense was unprofitable.
Do not rest upon the results of the
season of 1901. Experiments show that
seasons of sufficient rainfall will more
tban reverse the results. Make careful
trials of fertilizers another year.—Albert
X. Hume, Assistant Agriculturist, Purdue
Experiment Station.
VOICE CULTURE.
In the November number of the Woman's Home Companion Irma T. Jones
makes a strong plea for a more careful
cultivation of that delicate instrument, the
human voice.     She talks as follows:
"That so little effort is directed to the
improvement of the quality of the speaking
voice is an unsolved enigma. The average
parent or educator rarely considers the
value of voice culture or the relation of
the tones in daily use to the child's moral,
physical  and  material  welfare.
"No gift of the Creator is so universally
ignored as that instrument of most exquisite and delicate mechanism, the voice organ of human beings. Ignorance of the unlimited possibilities of its correct use is
everywhere manifest.
RESULTS  FROM  FERTILIZERS  ON
CORN IN DRY SEASONS.
Among the corn raising experiments at the Indiana Experiment Station,
are a number involving the use of fertilizers of various kinds. Commercial fertilizers, as well as stable manures are
tested. A careful study has been made
!*y the writer of the records with corn
from the fertilized plats the present year
of 1901. It was interesting to note that
this year almost invariably the yield of
grain, in proportion " to yield of
stalks, was larger on the unfertilized ' than on the fertilized plats.
Moreover, the absolute yield of
grain for this year was in many cases
greater on unfertilized than on fertiliged
plats. This may be illustrated by the
following table which shows the fertilized and unfertilized plats this season. All
plats contain one-tenth acre.
Number Tield        Per cent
of      Fertil- lbs.        lbs.   grain ln
Plat     ization grain     stover     shock
1. None. 82.5       266.5       23.64
Ao.  Phos.  10.02
2. Sod.  Nit. 36.3 82.5       330.0       20.00
Mur.   Pot.   5.6
Ac.   Phos.   2.17
3. Sod.  Nit.  7.9 66.5       327.5       16.88
Mur.  Pot.   1.2
4. None. 78.0      286.0      21.43
Fresh horse
5. manure 63.0      411.5      13.28
1350  pounds
Fresh  horse
6. manure 74.0       365.5       16.84
900 pounds
7. None. 83.0      268.0      23.65
Of   course   the     question     immediately
arises, "Of what value was the fertilizer?'' Further investigation, however,
of yields of corn for some years back, reveals the fact that the above phenomenon
occurred only in the extremely dry seasons, such as we had in 1881. 1887, 1893,
and 1901. The following, however, may
t*e given as satisfactory explanation for
the above rather unusual results. At
corn planting time, even in dry seasons,
there is some moisture in the ground. This
is eagerly taken up by the young corn
plants and they make a considerable
growth of stalks. This growth of stalks
is naturally greater on the fertilized plats
than on unfertilized. Later in the season, as the drouth continues, the moisture is exhausted, first on the fertilized
plats, owing to the larger growth of stalks,
so that at the latter part of the season, at
HURTFUL AND HELPFUL GIVING.
"When I was trying hard to get through
»e University on verv little money,"
writes Mrs. Cynthia A\ estover Alden, the
President-General of the International
Sunshine Society, in the Ladies' Home
Journal, "one day an old-time friend
looked me over, and taking out a ten-dollar bill, handed it to me, saying: '".,_,
actually look as if you did not ge ■_;•
enough to eat. Don't forget to t '£.
back to me when you can. I don 9
lieve in giving money to anybody.' *
I was not an object of charity, thou.      'i
was sadly in need of Sunshine.     I put- -J
bill away and cried as if my heart w«_ -}
break.     After waiting some days I it o
the same ten dollars back, saying I was
glad I could return it to her so soon. To
this  day  I  hear  of  her telling how  she
helped  me  financially when I  was  'hard
up.'
"Another woman, that same week, asked
me why I. did not take my meals at the
restaurant where most of the students
took theirs. I replied that it was a little
too expensive for me. The next day I
was called in by the proprietor of the restaurant, and asked if I could find time to
look over the books of the concern* and
verify the work done by some one else,
and if I would take the pay out in meal
tickets. I thought it merely a bit of luck
that had come my way. But at the close
of the term the proprietor told me that my
friend had paid for my meal tickets. Did
the kindness offend me? I cried just as
hard as I had cried over the ten-dollar
bill, but it was a different sort of a cry."
A young lawyer whose recently acquired
shingle hangs in G street, went down into
Virginia within the month to attend a
trial in his native county. It was essential
to prove that bitter enmiity had existed
between the defendant and plaintiff—if
plaintiff is the proper term to apply to
the gentleman who had had a generous
handful of birdshot distributed into his
person. A witness, who was quite blind,
testified in detail as to a quarrel between
the two.
"Then Lew grabbed up a chair and
broke it over Jim's head," he said.
"How do you know that?" asked the
lawyer who was conducting the cross-examination.
"I was an eyewitness to it," remarked
the blind man.
"An eyewitness?" repeated the law ver,
doubtingly.
"Yes, said the blind man, "I was. A
piece of that leg hit me in the right eye.
I certainly was an eyewitness.—Washington Post.