VOL. LVIII.
INDIANAPOLIS, NOV. 28, 1903.
NO. 48
Written  for  the   Indiana   Farmer:
DOWN   IN   IMIIANV.
Of aU the Statea strung out ar-roas
Tt.,*   map.   from   Kast   to   Weat,
There's nary ooe baa beld ua down,
Nor  won  a   slnffla-   tact.
Wberae com or bocs  or  htck'ry  pules
Were   bumpltV   to  csMnpete—
An'   wben   rhey   eome   rlgbt   to  lt,
Indiana's bard  to  beat.
Sbe has tbe alae;  ahe haa tbe aoll.
Has   .situation',   good.
Her aeaaona (et  tbelr share o*  sweat.
Or either eoal  or wood.
An' wheaa you com,' taa aalsln"  bay—
Slav!       Iaa<li:aaay's    deep—
"Kaee-deep"  a.lth  Rllej'a kind o' bay.
The clover pocta reap.
Beat, all a-reatlon bass* tbe crops
Came   rollln'   In   tbla   fall.—
More tban tbe baistln*  barna could hold,
More   than   tbe   mules   could   baul.
From  punklns   to  potatoes,  or.
1-rsaiaa   gln?seng  root,   to  retch
Tbe  land  was  groanln*.   an'   tbe  crops
Traat   every  cent they'd  fetch.
But  down  ln   Indlainy.
Tha...   ralae   a   double   crop.
For   some   are   drillin'   amderground
While others drill on top.
Way   down  la   Indian}*
The poorest kind o' aoll
la  Just   a   lid   to  cover  up
The fattest kind o' oil.
An' go the Hoosier farmer man
1!..   wefts  'em  up an'  down.
For where tbe saail Is deep an' black
Tho oil la deep an'   brown.
It** .'takes a crop a golu', an*
Another eomin' back.
An' If be gats to wa.ikln" nights
Tine'11  be  all   he'll  lack.
Way alown in Indians'.
Tho deeper down ya«a go,
Tha*  saltvr Is  tht* kerosene.
The  treasia r   ils  flow.
No   niaiter how  you   farm  it  here.
The land turned bottom up
Wall bring yoai any kind o' crop
Aaa' till your biggest cup.
Of all  the  States  they're drillin'  now.
For   corn,   oa*   rye  tor  oil.
Old Indlany has the width,
has the depth o'  -
So _f vou think ,.'   "fairnaiu 'it,"
Below, or up on t.*|,.
i'tu.Uns   or  ps-aixleuni,
,\ h),  here's the place to atcp.
—Geu  E.   Bowen.
I,.* cxplaiiicsl that tliis stick, of somas
tough-fibred wood and about twice tha*
bigness of a mutch, is chewed and (Mnhd
ut MM a'lial into a sort of little brush air
swab. This, dipped into tin* siiaifl. is used
to swab the gums with tad is rotaim-d in
tlia- maaiitl), tlis- s;ilur:iti*il. sickening little
thing ba-ing worked slowly and blissfully
alaout lay the lips with an inch an- two of it
protruding.
To add to the disgustingness of the habit, there is no other smell in tin- whole
range of stinks like the odor of this siriitT.
Its pungent, penetrating, ftwismllin <in:ili-
ty cannot be described.    It if once gets
The Boy find the Deal.
Rdltora  Indiana   Farmer:
ll.*    waa endeavoring   taa   .-mi|.i.-t.'   a
",i.-jiI." wiii.li t.a    ;in. (past tin- working
:i;a*.    anal    having fraam    lianal    to
month),       mt a leal.       It  meant
aa^a*  liaii      ,  tasa a .s toil, anal  a  mod-
a*st    a-aaU V.
Tlia* -i   wi .    almost    [M-rsna.l.-.l.
wheo i' .aini- iir totally unlooked
fair   Inal     .j,],    \Va*st.        ".Mr.   Ii.,   |ala*asa*  give
this ga*n'*,s .an yaaur impression of that
pan .af t „,],, aniiiti-y in whiah w« ar,. Interested."   .
Mr.   I*..   ■,,,'*■■  'af  tlia-   bright   praainis.a  of
The Land of the Snuffstlck.
Edltora Indiana  Farmer:
If ther:* is aane thing more than another
that impels the respectable stranger to
turn and flee from the South it is the pre-
valcu.o of that wont of abominations,
tha* snnlTstiak. My th.-aary is that the snuff-
stick hail much t.a alo with that precipi-
tous flight of the Northern troops from
Bull"s Bon in '<n. Their first experience
with whole mgimnf anal brigades of
stick-cheawers waaulil have precisely that
effect, faar if every son of Dixia-, as is likely had a dirty little stick protruding from
between his lips the looks and smell of it
Woald bleed a worse pania- than muskets.
This hypothesis goes far toward removing
the stigma from our record.
In our own land the male tobacco-eater
who alyas his shiii anal Is-siral with prune
juice and slabbers in public, is considered
t,y many ta the nasti.st of created things,
but the southern female, with her snuff-
stick, is as much worse than he, as a degenerate woman outranks a degenerate
man. The light of a woman or a young
girl complacently spitting ainlaer of itself
pives the stomach a solar plexus shock
from whiah it is sh.w to reooTOT, but the
horrible spectacle of the swabbing and the
Wagging alaaaiit of that little foul sti.-k as
yie lips work ecstatically has spa>ila-sl the
appetite for many a meal for the unaccus-
tomeal observer.
I do not mean to imply that Saauthern
women who make any pretense to refinement use snuff, but among certain classes
the habit prevails. Some practice it slyly
as a secret via-e, and you only know of it
by catching them unawares at the back
door, or by their disaarded swabs; but
others indulge it openly an.l nrrblushingly,
and I bave even seen some who otherwi-a'
seemed respectable sit out oo their front
porches chewing and plying the stick. For
the instruction of the uninformed, it may
On Fall Creek, Near Indianapolis.
into yaaur longl the aanly remedy is to get
into the pure air of the Country and
breathe deeply faar at la-ast a day. I caught
a ga-saal alose of it from sitting on the same
I».r.-h wiih a lady smitflst, and not until
I lini (peat a .lay in the pure country air
alial I a ,*M<,a ta, taste it. Wiar*" than that,
<.ii<- suffers a certain sense of nasal degeneracy. sua*h is tin- subtle, narcotic influence—a sort of feeling that he has
sharsl in the vice and become one of the
snuff-takers.
In the tiKaunlaiir Sections this snuff-dipping s.snis all but universal. I have wen
little boys anal girls spitting yellow with
all the equanimity of old tobacco chenrers,
and have Ik- ii told that the mother quiets
llie laalaa' in her arms lay giving it the snnff-
sti.k out of her own mouth. A mountain
evangelist I once hoard made the snnff-
hal.it his .laief point of attack, ns I cardinal sin barring the way to heaven. I guess
he was right. My own opinion is that a
snuff,Upper  cannot  be   saved.
Irvington. Oao. 8. Cottman.
 ...
Best Corn Yet.
Editors  Indiana   Farmer:
I notice on page 10 ot tha- last Farmer
an   account   aaf   hirca-   eaarn,   anal   wish   taa
say I raise some tai*.- con too.   I have fifty
ears grown this year which weigh 72
ponnds an.l avearge 11 inches in length.
I have been five years bringing this corn
up to where it is now. I have twenty
a.r.s of this eorn that will make 90 bushels per aara-. anal hn.l only common cultivation. Now if any" one can beat this
let's   hear   from   him. W.   C.   P.
Knox Co., November 17.
th.* futun' righting am that particular section a.r backwoods, ami the pleasant life
aaf   the  present   to   the   young   anal   hearty.
"What about the developments there
alaoutsV asked the capitalist. "Will
there ba* any al,*a*a*nt assaaciates for my son?
Or will he na-ver see any one but rough
ranch hands?"
"Tin ra''s a finely equipped agricultural
college within thirty miles," he replied.
"Ami if the young 'hnysocal.' showing us
around is a specimen, yaaur son'll be in good
enough company. He was s gentleman;
an observer, who couhl impart Information, and my Word, wasn't he an athlete,
t-a see him 1--:i|> a high fence!"
"Wa-11. is it lika-ly we should come across
him, five niil.-s from everything and body?"
"I don't knaiw. why not. This deal
was his happy hunting-grpund. I guess
a holiday invitation will bring him round
to the old ranch to show yaaur son the
likely   il«*sr  stands!"
Th.* last straw dossd the deal. The
School-boy, a chip of the old block. 8,000
miles west was. all unconsciously, that
straw! Nash.
Shall We Protect Farm Buildings  With
Lightning Rode?
Bdltora  Indiana   Farmer:
Daring tha past summer there were
destroyed by lira- in this. Putnam county,
18 barns incurring a loss of $1~a.2.">0 of
which $9,000 was OOverod by insurance.
The origin of these various fires was as
follows: By lightning, eight; spontaneous
combustion, four: unknown causes, five:
anal one l.y railway locomotive.
Of the barns fired by lightning none were
protected I■>  i.aais. aor do I  believe that
aane   Ismi   in   twenty   tha*   county   over has
mils, though there is <init,- s rod factory
at tin* county seat, Greencastle, Tbl
fires fraam spontaneous combustion were
produced hy plating BOW hay or mown
aaats, usually placed .an aahl hay or dry litter. S|aa*,*ial aara- sllaalllil laa- e\a-ra*i**a*d itr this
riWPOCl fair unaiua*stia.nalily these tires could
i.a* avoided l.y a littia* forethought. WhUe
tha- Insurance companies aha not discriminate between rodded an.l aon-rodded bnildings it   waaulil  be  valuable to know    taa
what   an  extent   rasls  alo  protect. How
frequent  lightning strikes rodaiod    barns
without  tiring thein?    Is there any dat of
this character In exist sei  J. B. Bnrris.
< loveralale.
Land Values ln Greene County.
Edltora Indiana Fanner:
- than 'Ju years ago 040 acres aaf
marsh laml in what was la.ng known as
the four mile marsh, aane mile south of
Switz City, anal near the I & V railrou<J. in
Greene connty, the entrance price of which
was 12)4 eents an aara*. was traded for a
line stallion valued at ?l.o<Kl. making a
total of J-2..'_kS an acre; such was the sha.rt-
sighta-dnieisB of the sellers and the farsight. -.In.-ss of the buyer, Judge Martin-
dale of Indianapolia. At the time this
trade was made a large part of this land
was oovered with water, from one to two
or three feet deep, anal swarmed with millions «f wild dncka and g ess. By thorough ditching and tiling this land has
;-'"t to be the best lanal in the county, and
conld be readily sold fair $7.~a an acre.
In  INI.",  ino ai-r.-s of    then  so-called
marsh land, two miles saauth of Wa.rthing-
t    was     traded   for  four     horses   worth
alaout . _."a t.a S.-.tl each, and this same land
saahi eleven pears ago for $30 an aan*. anal
this year 120 acres of this snme farm solal
fa.r $7."i SS aan*. and prices are still tending
upward. Henry Baker.
Worthington.
A Word of .Endorsement.
Editors  Indiana  Farmer:
All   honor  to  the  Inaliana   Fanner   for
excluding liquor ads to its columns.     I
note that many farm papers defile their
paga-s with these vii.. advertisements.      I
WOOder haaw many of the ran.br are avoiding the appearance of evilalong these lina-s.
We may be strictly temperate yet wa- grow
grain fa.r distilleries and biowsaisn.     Wa*
abhor   tha*   saloon   ya*t   wa*   give   them   our
permission toexial and make laws to protect
and expand the business. We condemn
political parties faar l. ing controlled by
the rum power, ya*t wa* continue to jive
them   aaur   suppaart.       Alas,   the   WOnJd-be
friends aaf temperance ara* sometimes its
greabaM enemies.       i am pleased t ta-
that the Farmer gives us no uncertain
aoaud  ni  this  question.
Samuel Iloimold.
Bdgar «'.a., III.
The World's Fair lnaiiageina-nt anal the
American Paaultry Association are working in utmost harmony, and the selection
ol    Mr   Orr.   aaf   Virginia,   secretary   and
treasurer of the American Paaultry Associ-
atiaan, faai* sa. ca.nspiouous a position is a
guarantee that the entire poultry inalustry
ralhar than factional or sectional interests
is to bae conserved at St Louis. Poultry,
pigeons and pet stock are placed in Di-
-.isiaan "E" in the World's Fair classification and have been allotted over $16.-
000 for cash prizes. The dates for these
shows are October 24 to November 5,
1004.