I -     RY.
E, IN
VOL. LVHI.
INDIANAPOLIS, DEC. 26, 1903.
NO 52.
lain   W1SK   TO   LEARN.
iK.v   Helen   HswthOCHC   QHgbtOO).
Wtlt'll   JOS   are   d.'ilil   alial   _,,IH',   Illy   frl.'llal.
Tt..'    ,*lijaai,s*.s    that    yaaai    tuUsed
Saana..' other slow  conarvatlve
Will   tquiilly   r.viast.
Willie  oppsart null ies   Hint   called
Yaaair    .-.niri.*:,'    la.    tht*s    teat
VIII   yla-1,1   taa   your   ttiferiora
ln  wlxdoni  all   their  beat.
Think   not   the  long  established  way
With    pn-stig-*   proudly    plumed
Tbe   essena-e   of   all   sweet   aucc_a
lini   Helftehly   consumed—
Soin*   other    rare   elixir    waits
Tbe  Search   DlasMt_kd
To   vitalize   ambitious   hope
And  waste your  WMHWIMMl   pride.
Laugh   at   yoor  law's  rigidity!
Langh wlille  Uia*y  untile your  need's.
To tind  ik'in  lifeless    h.-ulli  the swift
New  laws  Progression   plead...
Where  yon  ore  rootcil  faiaat   nnd   Ann,
ClutaiiltiR   your   lactted   prize,
'triumphant    Innovation    sweeps
Before   yonr   alnzzled   eyes.
Hold   fast   all   things   tradition   taught.
Deny  ar.d  donbt  nnd  dunin
All    piiiK-iples   op|aoeed    to   yours
Aa  vainest,   vigraut   shuiia.
No otber rule admit or fear,
Laugh   nt   tbe   hopes   we   pawn
To fi-ed us that  we may  surv-v-*
When   y>'U   .-re   iiead   and   gone.
An Old Farmer's Observations on
Lightning Rods.
Kdltors   Indiana   Farmer:
As tat- buck as the war 1804, when the
In.liana Fanner was a small sheet, it has
worked its way in inauy parts of the
world anal yet holals good, especially
among the thinners and other laboring
classes. My age is seventy-eight years,
and I have seen a great many cases of
damage caused by lightning in various
ways, anil 1 am a firm believer in the
lightning rod, well erected. It is a good
protection to conduct the lightning to the
ground, where it will do no damage. I
have no doubt but if we had reports from
all parts of the world on the subject in
the last six months, that it would he like
an army of men, women and children
killed, and beasts, houses and barns, also ..ther destructions. I say that the people should wake up in regard to this
matter which they have so strangely neglected to investigate. I say a protection
against the destruction by lightning is all
right. I will give a few from a great
number of lightning damages in my
knowledge. I have been reading the In.liana Farmer more or less for about forty-eight years, and I believe that in thw
rainy season of the year this one paper
would give sometimes two or three cases
of lightning striking barns and houses
■each week. In the fall of 1885 lightning
struck a telegraph pole near Bunker Hill.
It run the wire about one quarter of a
mile and just made splinters of the poles
the whole way. If therte had been a
conductor running to the ground on the
pole it would not have done any damag"
whatever, in my opinion. We have just
as good a right to protect ourselves from
lightning as to protect ourselves from
storms, or from the cold or rain. In the
year 18S3 I was in Logansport. Four or
five of us were standing under a shed in
.1 thunder shower, looking towards a I'v-
ery stable. Wo saw the lightning strike
the stable, in which were twenty-five head
of horses, but as it was well rodded it
melted the lightning raid point in a lump
or ball, rather, then run* down the rod.
knocked off four or five shingles an.l into
the ground it went snd did no more damage.   We went and looked at he barn ami ;
saw that the point was mel-ted. The livery man must hava- laeen a bclia'Ver in
lightning rods, f.ar iir la*>s than one hour
In* hail a lightning rani man there to put
up. a na-w point. Aiiaailur instance: Dr.
I.aaler, of Roann, nbont the year 1884,
was out wilh is wife a few niila-s to * a*
a patient On the way hniiie tha-ra' cama.
up a thunder shower, and the doctor anal
his wife drove up near a barn, unaler a
troe for protection. Lightning struck the
tla.'. killing the doctor and two horses
that were near the tree. But the doctor's
wil'.- alial nut get hurt. The siipiiiasitiaaii
was that on account of the doctor having
-hiih' things yet. At my tirst recollection ther.* was not a railroad in the
known world; tha- firil liule picoe of rail-
loaal was maila. in the year 1881 j I was
bairn in lh" \.ar 1884 and was at Koko-
inia lia'faire the town was laial out, in 1840.
l'eru. Andrew J. Petty, Sr.
Scarce Supply of Water.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
Tha' water supply on many farms is inadequate because of the continued drouth
and the frown earth, to tha depth aaf live
inches aar mora. The light aovering of
snow that  has laial fair several weeks has
instruments in his pockets they conducted
the lightning to his body, causing instant
death. Perhaps if there had been a conductor on- the barn, it would hare conducted the lightning to the ground and no
damage would have been done. I also
knew a man that was sitting before the
lire when a thunder shower came up, and
a light stroke of lightning struck the
chimney that had no rod on it. The
lightning ran down inside of the chimney
anal struck the man, killing him instantly.
I will give but one more case, though I
could give many. I saw thla in the year
1889 in Muncie, a little stable without
rods, hay in it and two horses.
Lightning struck the stable, after night,
firing the hay. As I lived close to it I
was there before the horses fell down, but
the hay was falling in flames of fire at
the door. The horses were at the back
and no one could go into them. We saw
the horses walk around in there until
they fell dead. I now live in Peru, in a
new house. I spoke to a man to come and
put up lightning rods on my house, as I
havi* not lived long in houssti without
ro.ls for 32 years. I say. roil your houses
and barns. You can* then sleep t-etter
rainy nights and feel safer in the day time
if raining. I have fatten particular notice for many yenrs in regard to lightning rods, and I never saw nor heard ol
any damage done to buildings that were
well rodded. A lightning rod will ctat*
duct the lightning to the ground. I con-
sidxer this matter too much neglected.
I have laeen going to -school about 75
■rears, anal haaw does that com.-? i hn v.-
been gaaing --a a practical ami experimental   school,  and   am   not   too   old   to   learn
reduced the necessity for water very
much, where sheep and cattle have the
runs of pasture, as where not stocked too
heavy in summer the grass attained good
growth and yet furnishes good feeding.
Throughout the central gas belt area
many deep driven wells have been the
source of supply on a number of farms
fair water, and by the aid of natural gas
engines, it was not difficult to supply the
ro.iiiir.il wants ot the farm. But the
law passed by our previous legislatures
preventing waste of gas is construed to
include the little gas engine used on the
farm for pumping a few barrels of water
each day, and Mr. Gas Inspector swoops
down on the farmer with blood in his
eye and with orders to stop; and that-ls
th- and of enjoying one's own "independences on his farm," from gas in most
instances flowing from beneath his own
lands and supposed to yield him whatsoever it may possess to his personal benefits.
For twelve years the farms of this community, in Grant county, with few exceptions, have been favoring corporations to
draw on their lands for unlimited sup-
1 lies for a small stipend annually, ami
privileges of gas for the farm as light,
fuel ansl for pumping water. Ami these
same corporations have yet a cinch that
they nre beginning to show more than
ever, by depriving Ihe land owner of even
n meagre supply of the gas and oil that
comes afta-r, and yet more gas has been
wasted by escaping from pipes carrying
it out of the country than the Burners
used, or ci.ul.l use in fifty rears, ami now
t' add ii few more simaaleous a.f the realm
to their coffers, use tin- law with a wiiL-a'-
SnCe   laa got   t llllll.
Farmers begin i" see anal feel now more
than a'\a>r the benefits ihey coulil hav.* a-u-
jaiya*.| ii.r years vat hut for their being
ala ad easy in signing a na.v DOS Of the la. st
girts they  had  in  stoi* i  Uie farm.
The driven well furnishes 'ha- best and
most wholesome water taa !«• had, but the
Wind power is far fnun satisfactory, and
that is ihe power BOW being resorted taa
lay many again t" lin the water, and thi'ii
only with pools holding a supply faar
i*ini*n:itii i, s aan there be an unfailing
supply.
At Millerton Farm we found that, but
fair a supply storeal iir excavations. We
waanlal. within tin- past fifteen yenrs, have
lien cntii-sly out of stock water for alays
at a than-,  when the  wind mill or gas a-n-
giae waanlal not fauinish power sufficient
to furnish water fraam wells. I. M.
Upland, December 12:
Louisiana Letter From a Hoosier Bo.y
l>rna.ts iniisniia Farmer:
Dear       editors, readers        and
friends:- Here conn's Ibaosier Boy
Ogaifl from the Sunny South. It
is a-ertainly a sunny laml, as there hasn't beep any a-olal weather here yet to
speak of. Ii has been a-aaol of nights for
a  ui"* but   warm in 'he di-ytim-.
Wall, tin* rice harvest and threshing are
all over anal the fanners are now hauling
it tai t.iwn. -saime of it to be milled on taall
ami some of it to sell. The farmers aw
getting about $3 per barrel now for their
nal the average yield per acra' is
nliout twelve to fifteen barrels, but they
are to a great deal of expense in raising
anal caring for a crop, anal the greater
part of the land is watered by canal companies, and they get one-fifth of the crop.
Another thing is that feed anal everything
ihey have to buy here is so high, and they
don't try to raise anyting but rice. I be-
lieve that some of the land conld la<> im-i-
gatsd and corn and other things raised
that tha- people here havi' to nise, and aha
well. The stock they have here is just
Scrub stock and almost worthless, and
the range is tine for cattla' all winter through. I would just like to see
some northern farmers come here anal turn*
their attention to stock raising and also*
to rai.sing feed. It was really amusing
to hear an old gentleman telling nie-
about the times tiny haal I few years
ago, before the northern men came lur.*.
He said they thought sn eight-inch turning plow was a large plow, ami they used
four and five yoke of oxen lo pull them,
and one min to drive and one t.a haahl the
plow handles, and the one ha.hling the
plow was supposed t.i lie aiaaing something
that was nh.'.aal of common labor, ami
received from •fl.50 to $2 per alay. ffe
said they just didn't know any better.
lie sa.vs the northern nia-n have benefited
them in several ways h.v teaching them
how to work .in.l how to handle their tools
•nd machinery. I guess some .,r th** boys
up tha-re would think it a treat to be turn-
a-al loose down here with a gam. among
tha- alucks anal geese. They an* coming
bere by the thousands to bed in the rice
Ields.
I  will  write  again  and  send  a   picture
to  ]„.   put  in   the   Farmer,   taken   on   the
Gulf.     It   is  surely   a     beautiful     place.
Wishing   you   all   a   merry   Xinns   and   a
happy   New Year. Hoosier Boy.
Iowa, La.
—We shall lie glad to hear from Hoosier Boy again and to get his picture for
the paper.
Hats  are  estimated   to   destroy   food   to
the value of .SCaO.OOO.000 yearly.