Garden*
V
VOL. LVII.
INDIANAPOLIS, OCT. 25, 1902.
NO. 42
SOME   SAMPLES   OF   INTENSIVE   FARMING.
Last week we gave some illustrations
nml .lefinitions of intensive farming, and
what is meant by that term. Statistical
information from European countries
shows some examples of intensive farming that we have not yet approached in
this country, but toward which we are
tending as population increases here.
These facts illustrate what may be done
under pressing conditions of agriculture
where population has become dense. For
instance, Belgium feeds a population of
490 people to the square mile, a single
lection of land, and besides exports farm
products to Great Britain valued at $5.-
000,000. With such farming in the Unit-
..1 .States, the State of New York would
leed nearly 25,000,00 people and have a
surplus besides, and Texas could at the
tame rate of intensive farming feed the
70.000,000 population of the United States,
and have a surplus to feed 50,000,000
more.
We Know a farmer residing in Marion
county, Indiana, not many miles from Indianapolis, who grows from five to six
t*>ns of timothy hay per acre, while the
average in the State is not two tons. And
jet statistical information shows that sections of Belgium more than double this
largest yield in Indiana. In- the United
States 200 to 300 bushels of Irish potatoes are grown per acre at best, while
abroad more than 1,500 bushels per acre
is the yield by intensive agricultural
methods.
These illustrations and facts might be
extended, showing what intensive farming is abroad. Scientific farming, if you
please, by a people who have not passed
through scientific education, but where,
•under dint of pressure of population, and
long experimentation and observation, scientific principles have been acquired and
are now practiced.
By these facts it is seen how idle the
fear is that we nre rapidly approaching
the time when we cannot feed our own
population, as some alarmists have said.
'.Ve can nnd will, when there is necessity
lot- it, more than quadruple the production nf our wheat and corn crops, and indeed all other crops. The agricultural
colleges and experiment stations of America are laying the foundations for all this,
ami will save us the long years of patient,
individual experiments to learn it, which
wore required abroad.
DOING AB01T AS WK THINK.
Whether pursuing agriculture or some
other .ailing, a man is about what he
thinks. The same idea is expressed in
the phraseology: What a man thinketh,
po is he. Or in other words, a man does
about as he thinks. When passing over
the country you frequently see neat, well
kept farms, fences, orchards and buildings, with everything in its place, and
you ilon't need to be told of the quality
of the owner's thoughts, fnr you rend that
in what he has done and is doing. If the
farm has a neglected and poorly kept appearance, you again readily read the
thoughts of its owner, which suggests
thathe hasbeenthinkingabout other things
than those of his farm. Of course there
are some exceptions to these rules, as
misfortune, sickness, inability, etc., but
they are exceptions only, and the rule
is the other way, as stated. Somebody
has said that a bright, promising boy
enuld be put to studying agriculture and
farming with the assurance that he would
make a good success of it, but that if the
boy was dull ami unpromising he should
be put to studying the law or some other
profession. There is a great deal of truth
in the suggestion ,for modern agriculture
is found to be a most scientific pursuit,
and it requires brightness and good qualities of thought to make a success at it.
In the past twenty years the schools of
agriculture, endowed by the general government, and later fairly well supported
by State legislation, have developed these
higher conditions, and happily are fitting
and qualifying scores of young men for
farm pursuits. These things have proceeded so far as to enable good observers to begin to classify. There are .however, scores
of most excellent farmers well up in the
scientific class who never had the opportunities of the schools, but being big,
broad, strong men intellectually from
j'oung manhood, have mastered agriculture to a finish practically, and can
give points to the undergraduates not
skilled in practice. These classes are
readily found in every neighborhood, making splendid successes nt every
phase of farming and stock growing.
IMPORTANT MOVEMENT FOR AGRICIL11 RE.
At the request of the Association, Congressman Hopkins, Chairman of the
House Census Committee, introduced an
amendment to the Census Act, providing
for "A classified enumeration and value
of live stock," which shall be made under
such rules nnd regulations as the director
of the department may deem best. Thi-J
was introduced so late that it was impossible to secure a report on the amendment
at last session, but it will be vigorously
pushed during the coming session. The
measure has the endorsement of the Department of Agriculture as well as the
census department, and there is strong
hope that it will be possible to start the
bureau in time for another general census in 1905. There can be no question
of the necessity of reliable statistics regarding live stock in this country. Next
lo the bread supply, the meat supply of
the country is of most importance, and
every year demonstrates the need of statistics that can be depended upon. The
census of 1900 was good as far as it went
but with no figures with which to compare, that census is practically useless
until another is taken. To secure a reliable basis upon whieh a bureau of statistics
could work, there should be three complete
census made of the live stock in consecutive years and after that every five years.
If this was done, a bureau could very easily keep close estimate of the changes taking place and such estimates would be of
the greatest value to trade and commerce
as well as to farmers and stock raisers.
For instance, this season there has been
n wholesale slaughter nf female eattle,
and in addition thousands of heifers have
been spayed. It is possible thnt this
very act may result in a scarcity nf
breeding cattle shnrtly. At present almost nothing is known in regard to the
supply and demand for meat cattle. The
country might Ik* on the verge of a shortage which would send meat prices far beyond the top figures of this year, and no
one could say such a shortage exists until
it was actually here. The markets are
completely cnntrnlled by tbe visible supply actually on the market from day to
day and farmers may be selling their
stock at panic prices when the actual conditions do not justify those prices.
If the government finds it profitable to
collect statistics on the grain crops of the
country, cotton and manufactures, there
.an be no valid or logical argument
against collecting statistics on the meat
supply.     One is as important as the other
and statistics are fully as necessary for
the proper conduct of trade and commerce.
More than eight million farmers and
stock raisers are interested in this measure. They represent $5,000,000,000 of in-
rentatd capital, and besides being a protection to the producer and consumer against
the speculator, a law of this kind is due
this great army of agriculturists and
should be enacted.
WHAT THE IXITEI) STATES SOLI) ABROAD
IN |901s
Of the $952,000,000 worth of farm produce shipped from the United States during the fiscal year 1901, more than half
was disposed of in the British Market,
Our agricultural exports to that destination in the pear mentioned had the exceptionally high value of $496,000,000.
After the United Kingdom, the foreign
countries affording the largest markets
for products of American agriculture in
1901 were Germany, the Netherlands,
France. Belgium, Canada, Italy, Denmark, Spain, British Africa and Cuba.
About $28,000,000 worth of United
States farm produce was marketed during 1901 in the neighboring country of
Canada. Wheat, cotton and corn were
decidedly our largest exports to that destination. Another product shipped quite
extensively was tobacco.
American* farm produce sent to France
during 1901 had a value of $50,000,000, or
■lightly less than that sent to the Netherlands. In our agricultural exports to
France cotton was of far greater value
than all other products combined. Aside
from cotton the principle articles of shipment to that destination were cotton-seed
oil .tobacco, corn, oats and lard.
Belgium furnished a market in 1901 for
$:..".( 100,000 worth of our agricultural exports. Wheat, cotton and corn formed
the largest items. Lard was also an article nt leading importance. Other products
of agriculture shipped tn Belgium in considerable abundance were oil-cake, leaf tobacco and bacon.
To the Netherlands we sold in 1901
$51,000,000 worth of agricultural products. Wheat and corn were the principal exports to that country. Oleo oil also formed an important item in the Dutch
trade. Other articles shipped quite extensively were wheat flour, lard, cottonseed oil, oil cake and cotton.
To Italy we sold $2.*,.000,000 worth of
t.gricultural produce. Denmark took $13,-
000,000 worth, mostly corn, oil-cake, cotton, oleo nil, lard and wheat. Of the
112,699,000 worth taken by Spain cotton, tobacco, wheat, corn and sausage casings made np the bulk. British Africa
spent $12,037,000 with us, mostly horses
r,n.l mules for army purposes. Cub a bought
$12,024,000 worth of our lard, wheat,
flour, cattle, hams, pork, eggs, bacon and
liquors.
Our agricultural exports to Germany in
1001, like our agricultural exports to the
United Kingdom were unusually large,
having a value of $145,000,000. In the
ease of Germany also, the leading farm
prodnct purchased from the United States
during 1901 was cotton. Next to cotton,
Indian com formed the largest item.
Otber articles of considerable importance,
named in order of their value, were lard,
wheat, oil cuke, tobacco, oleo oil, and
wheat  flour.
In addition to the eleven countries mentioned above, to each of which we sent
over $10,000,000 worth of agricultural
produce, there were several destinations
nf  less  importance  that  made  purchased
exceeding $5,000,000 ,as follows: Sweden
and Norway, $7,080,000; Japan, $6,299,-
000; Mexico, $6,265,000; Hongkong, $5,-
172,000, and the British West Indies $5,-
136,000.
The various countries that have thus
far been named received together over
nine-tenths of our agricultural exports for
1901. The remainder of the trade was
distibuted among numerous other destinations, none nf which received shipments
amounting itr value to one per cent of the
total.
MACARONI WHEAT GROWING.
It is from the Italian macaroni wheat
that the entire product of macaroni is
manufactured. For two or three year)
past wheat growers in the dryer sections
of theUn-ited Stateshave been experimenting with it, and its increased production
in this country is now rapidly growing.
Mr. Wilson, the American Secretary of
Agriculture  says:
"Last year the American crop of macaroni wheat amounted to 200,000 bush* Is*
this year it will amount to 2,000,000, and
bushels.        In    fact    the    acreage     has
1 tr growing so rapidly that the farmers
have been saving much of their yield for
seed, so that the factories have not until
,l*is year bad enough material with which
to tk* business. My recent trip through
the Dakotas convinced me that macaroni wheat has passed the experimental
stage. I saw forty-acre fields, yielding
thirty-five bushels to the acre, of this
wheat growing from seed brought from
the head waters of the Volga. Experiments show that this wheat will grow
wherever there is ten inches of rainfall,
and as South Dakota averages to receive
sixteen inches, there will be no trouble in
raising  it  there.
We have been spending $8,000,000 a
j ear for imported macaroni. Many of
our people who have seen its process of
manufacture in Italy have been cured of
their appetite for it, but this appetite
maj be expected to reassert itself with
the cleaner and better methods of American factories. The flavor of the American macaroni wheat is especially good,
having a nutty taste which I miss in the
European product."
PREHISTORIC RELICS WANTED.
Philips Academy, Andover, Mass., has recently established a Department of Arch-
neology to encourage the preservation of
stone, bone and clay prehistoric art forms.
In all sections of the country are frequently found various "Indian relics." These
have a direct bearing on the history—or
rather pro-history—of America, and as
such should be preserved in firepoof buildings for the study ami edification of present and future generations.
The curator, Prof. W. K. Moorehead,
says he will be glad to pay express charges
on any and all boxes of specimens sent to
him, to mention the gifts in our report and
to give the donors due credit in our exhibition cases.
All these axes, pipes, spear heads, clay
vessels, and "strange stones," should be
carefully preserved somewhere, where they
may be of service to the public and to science. Archaeology—technically followed—
is a new science in the United States and
it is more important than the average
reader imagines, for these "stone relics"
have a direct bearing on the antiquity of
man.
Two hundred and fifty-four notice
boards are to be erected in the streets of
Edinburgh, requesting citizens not to spit
en the pavement.