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Gardes
VOL. LVIII.
INDIANAPOLIS, JUNE 13, 1903.
NO. 24
Written   lor  the  Indiana   Farmer:
THE  FARMEB BOY.
(fly   K.   S.   L.   Thompson.)
Here he  comes  thro'   the  spicy wcods
'ihe farmer hoy  lo  bis jeans;
What  la  it  that  his  glad  ear  hears?
Nature's  music,   the  songs of  spheres.
As he sees where tbe  ripe fruit  gleams.
All the cold uf bis fjndest dreams!
There  la  Joy   in   hia   pure   yonng   heart!
He looks to  affluent   blue;
Knows that Cioti is in earth and sky,
Nearer and  nearer draweth  nigh,
14.1ms of lore  as tbe  moments  fly,
To thrill Ms  heart  the  true!
O aweet ia tbe kiss of  tbe night
That  woo'etb  to  slumber deep;
Phasing from earthly toils and ways,
Sl-yward,  star-ward  his soul  may gaze,
Ont of tbe moil of  life's moiling maze.
To joy of dreams of bis sleep!
OtJB NEW JOKEIGN TRADE.
Agricultural Exports to the Orient.
We haTe already alluded to the great
preparations being made to export the
grain, flour, etc, which we produce in the
mountain and Pacific States to Japan and
China. On this page of the Farmer we
show a cut of one of the great ocean ships
now being completed for this purpose
The ocean freight rate has been too hign
for this trade, and with these big ships
owned by the Great Northern railway, it
is said that rates will be cut to about one-
half, and thus enable producers to market their products profitably to the Orientals, where our trade is growing already.
Mr. J. J. Hill, President of the Great
Northern railway, who is also at the head
of this important ship-building enterprise
to secure the Oriental trade, throws a
great deal of light on the subject in the
following interview.    He says;
"In the north and west parts of China
there is an excellent farming country.
where corn and wheat can be raised, but
the products are so far from the dense
population on the seacoast that it cannot
tie carried there. We may perhaps four
that Russia.with the Siberian railway
completed, may enter into competition
with us for tne Asiatic flour or wheat
trade. The transportation question settles that. The average rate on the Russian state railroads is 18 cents per ton per
mile. If the actual cost of operation
amounted to but two-thirds of this figure
—12 cents per ton per mile—this rate, applied to the distan-ee from that part of Siberia where the wheat is grown*, woulil
give a transportation charge of $4.20 per
barrel on flour, while it should be carrie*]
from our Pacific ports to Yokohama. Nagasaki, Kobe, Shanghai and Hong Kong
for 25 cents a hundred, $5 a ton, 50 cents
a barrel."
This statement shows the wonderful
advantage this big steamship line will
give American producers. The ship
shown in the cnt ami those to be bu'It,
have a won*ierful freighting capacity. To
load one of these ships for this foreign
trade will require over seven miles of
loaded freight cars. And so it is seen
that the whole fleet, when completed, wiil
carry the hauling capacity of several great
lines of continental railways from the territory tributary to this foreign trade. As
the trade for our manufactures in the
Central anil Western States shall grow,
as it is bound to do, it is seen how great
these cheaper freight facilities will open
np our Asiatic trade and give us an outlet for the wonderful strides we are making in both agriculture and manufacturing in tliis country. Heretofore, limited
largely in our trade to continental bound
aries, this movement faar cheap freight! t.. j
Asia promisee more for American production than any that has i*vi*r been made,
for it will give us the inside, as we DOW
have the open door, to the
greatest possibilities for our Commerce of any nation in the world.
With this outlet for the productions of so
many States, it can readily be seen thai
those  of  the   central   and   more   eastern
caueoe tin- plant to break fa.ith Into riotous growth.
The great reservoir of nitrogen is the
air, but the leaves of plants, though constantly bathed in nitrogen, cannot drink
in a particle. It is only nitrogen in combination that ean l.e appropriated by the
plant, and this enters the plant by the
ra..ats  anil  eoines through the soil.
A  small amount is brought to the soil
11". ,|.ej 0*^
i^r_mm
From  the Pacific Coast to Japan and China.
One of the big ships of the fleet now being constructed by J. J. Hill, of the Oreat
Northern railway, which are to carry to the Orient the wheat and other grain
surplus of the Pacific slope.
"What we need is to open the Orient and untouched commercial fields to our
wheat and other cereals.    Unless we aet at once we are going to get left."
"If we can increase cur exports of wheat to tne Orient by 50.000.000 bushels,
I predict that it would advance the price of wheat we send to Europe from 15 to
20 cents."—J. J. Hill.
States will be left not only with good
markets for their present volume of production, but with ample room for expanding under the helpful influences of more
scientific agriculture, which the colleges
devoted to this great industry are now stimulating.
Nitrogen and Growing Crop".
The experiment stations in the past
twenty years have contributed very much
to practical agriculture, not only iu mak-
ng its resources more plainly understood
but in showing the practical application
of these resources. In calling attention
to the value and sources of nitrogen for
agriculture, in a late bulletin, the Michigan  station  sa.vs:
"Nitrogen is the bottled wine of the
vegetable feast If the term stimulant
can be applied to any organisation destitute of a nervous system, then nitrogen
is the stimulant of plant life. In any of
its combined forms it gives depth of color and exuberance of growth to vegetable
life,   and   when   in   abundant     supply   it
by the rain, washing out the ammonia
and nitrates of the air, but the amount
is not large and is entirely inadequate to
supply a crop. A large amount of active
nitrogen in the form of nitrates is yearly
formed in every well-cultivated field, anal
this is the cheapest way of securing a
■apply of this costliest element of plant
growth.
The raising of leguminous crops, like
the clovers, is the next cheapest way of
securing a supply. Combined nitrogen* is
purchased in three forms^salt of ammonia, nitrate of soda and organic nitrogen
in the form of dried blood, fish scraps and
cotton-seed  meal."
Barn not Bodded,
editor*  Indiana  Farmer:
Agreeable to your request in your paper
I will inform you that the barn of T. A.
Stevens, which was struck and burned by
lightning May 24th, and also Rev. Austin
Osl*orn's barn on May 27th were not rodded. They were located about 41/. or 5
miles northwest of Westfield within 94 of
a mile of each other. I. B.
Humus for the So 1,
The black prairie lands fnain long years
of rotting  regetation   were  originally  ricli
in humus, much  more su than heavy elav
land. Rut even the prairie lands, when
tanned laaiig without return of manures,
show a wnnt of fertility in production.
The growth of clover, cowpeafta and other
legumes cannot lie too strongly urged for
the pur*K>se of restoring humus on old
lands. Some experiments in New York
are referred to, showing tliat lands supplied with nitrates and humus by such
cnltivation. restated drouth much better
than any others. A field was planted with
several different grains, ami varying
quantities of humus were supplied in different parts of the field. Where the
hiiimis was most plentiful the grains
were heavier and of a much darker color,
with great vigor of growth, and were little affected by severe dry weather. In
portions where but little humus was supplied the growth was small, the plants
were light in color and soon succumbed
to the drought.
Farm Labor Abroad.
The average American farm hand, in
oommon with tne members of other American employes lives better and does better than his contemporaries in any other
country in tho world. Some figures presented by our consul-general to Sweden
show a marked contrast of conditions.
The average yearly wage of a farm hand
in that kingdom is shown to be $54.<i7 or
less than $5 a month, and that of a woman servant, $28.15 a year. This is higher than any average which has ever been
paid before and is pointed to as a sign of
tlia* improvement of the condition of labor. These figures are the average, but
it is stated that as high as $73.70 has
been paid for a year's waark in the northern provinces. Other figures presente*!,
however, iha imt sha.w a condition of extravagant living on the part of hired
hands. At the wa^-es above quoted, boaral
an.l lodging are of course provided, but
tin* average < a.st for food and lodging is
staled to be, for men $07 per year ami
for women about $40 per year or an average of about $2 a week for board and
lodging for two people. The highest wages
paid for farm laborers are during tho
summer season for day labor (without
board) and amount to 55 cents a day. In
winter day labor is paid 38 cents a day.
Deep vr. Shallow Cultivation.
Experiments testing the comparative
merits of deep and shallow cultivation
have been carried on during nine seasons.
For deep cultivation the double shovel
has been used, working the ground to a
depth of four inches or a little more. For
shallow working a spring tooth cultivator has been used and the ground stirred
to a depth of au inch and a half.
Taking each year's test by itself a single exception shallow cultivation has given
a larger yield of grain, regardless of weather conditions. One season, it is true,
the increase is of little moment. With
the exception of one season the yield of
stover is larger from the shallow cultivation. Taking the average for the nine
seasons' work shallow cultivation hails
in yield of grain by exactly four bushels
per acre, and in stover by over two hundred pounds per acre. This matter of
deep and shallow cultivation would seem
to be pretty well settled. It has been
tested at many different Experiment Stations and the results have been quite in
line with the work herewith reported.—
Bulletin  140,   Ohio  Experiment  Station.