Vol. IX.
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, FEBRUAEY 21, 1874.
No. 7.
THE STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.
The State Board of Agriculture held a
protracted and important sessions in their
rooms at the State House last week. Matters of the first moment to the productive
interests of the State were considered and
disposed of in such a manner as, we trust,
will be satisfactory to all parties, and as
will promote the highest material interests of the State.
Among the first measures of importance
acted upon by the Board, was the following
resolution, offered by Mr. Dowling and
passed without a dissenting voice :
Resolved, That the management of the Exposition proper, for the year 1874, be and the same ls
hereby conferred upon a committee to consist of
three members from this Board, together with
three citizens of Indianapolis, appointed by the
guarantors to the Exposition fund, to-wit: H. R.
Allen, E. B. Martindale and Charles A. Howland.
That full power and authority is hereby conferred
upon said committee to take charge of all matters
pertaining to said Exposition proper; and further, that said H. R. Allen, E. B. Martindale and
Charles A. Howard shall each have a voice and
vote in all matters pertaining to the Exposition
of 1874 the same as the members of this Board,
and that they shall receive the same compensation when on duty as the members of this Board.
This action has been received with great
satisfaction by all parties, and it will ensure co-operation between all parts of the
State. No better men could have been
chosen to represent the interests of the
city and the State in the coming exposition. They are men of experience, of
wealth, of public spirit, of great executive
ability, and are closely identified with every interest of the city and State, and will
allow no interests to suffer in their hands.
The State Board being composed of men
wholly outside of the city of Indianapolis,
and most of them residing quite remote
from it, made it almost essential to have
the counsel and co-operation of men such
as these, to insure success; and we com-
. mend this action aa timely and eminently
wise.
After this action, the Board began at
once to consider questions pertaining to
the Exposition and State Fair for 1874. It
was deoided to open the Exposition on
Monday, the 7th day of September, and to
continue for thirty days. The rates of admission were fixed at 40 cents for adults,
children under twelve years, half price.
No complimentary tickets are to be issued.
HIHIBITOEfl'   TICKETS    AKD    »M*-?LOYI8*
BADGBS.
Exhibitors may have issued to them
and their help, coupon tickets, which shall
contain the name of the exhibitor, plainly
written, and be numbered to correspond
with hia entry number. It shall be marked on the margin with ten spots, each spot
containing the figures "20," which shall
represent twenty cents. One of these spots
shall be punched by the gate-keeper each
time a holder is admitted under it. and
when the last spot is punched the ticket
shall be taken up. Such tickets shall be
sold by the treasurer to exhibitors only,
for two dollars per ticket. Any one not
an exhibitor or help of an exhibitor attempting to use such ticket, the same shall
be taken up and forfeited by the holder.
This rule shall be printed upon the ticket.
The treasurer shall keep an account of the
number of each ticket sold, and to whom
sold.
Badges shall bo prepared by the President, and delivered to the officers, directors, employes, and policemen, of the fair
and exposition, and to newspaper reporters
who may wish to report for publication,
and thc holders of such badges shall be
passed by the gate-keeper if such badges
are presented to their view. The President shall keep an account of such badges,
and the name of persons to whom disbursed. Such badges shall be forfeited if
found in the possession of any one not the
owner of the same.
The rates of admission for horses and
carriages were fixed as follows ! For one
driver, horse and carriage, two tickets;
for a driver and two horse carriage, three
tickets.
The premium list has been thoroughly
revised, and some important changes
made. We will give the revised list to our
readers in consecutive numbers of the
Farmer. But for the lateness of the
hour at which it was received from the
hands of the Secretary of the Board, wc
| should have published a part of it this
* week.
Messrs. Crim, Caldwell and Seward, of
I the old Board, with Messrs. Allen, Mar-
j tindale and Howland constitute the Exe
cutive Board, to whom is entrusted all
matters pertaining to the Exposition not
already provided for.
_ We look forward to the coming Exposition with great interest, feeling assured
that nothing will be left undone by the
Executive Board necessary to make the
enterprise a grand success. Let the citizens of Indianapolis, and the whole people of the State second the efforts of the
Board, by earnest co-operation with them ;
let farmers, gardeners, stock-growers,
manufacturers, and every other industry
of the State begin to prepare for the Exposition at once; and when the time arrives, every department will be qrowded
with the fruits of industry and enterprise.
We are justly proud of our State, of her
central position, of her accessibility from all
growth. _ On the 1st of July last the stalks
had attained a height of four feet. Mr.
Hansford has seen on the "bottoms" of
the Sacramento, when the current caved
or cut its shores, roots of Alfalfa fringing
the eroded wash showing a length of ten to
twelve feet.   This wonderful subterrean
frowth has been noted and mentioned
y others in agricultural papers.
The usual time of seeding is in the
spring. Thc young plant is tender. The
soil should be reduced to a state of fine
tilth, and must be reasonably free from
weeds; even then thick seeding is necessary to prevent an over-shadowing growth
of useless plants. The latter, if numerous,
must be cut at least twice during the first
summer. After that but little if any attention is needed.   The Fountain county
and succeeding equally well clear up over
the tops and sides of the Andean Range
down to the Pacific coast. Lieut. Gillis
chief of U. S. Astronomical expedition to
Southern South America, speaking of the
province of Meudoza says: " the principal
cereal produce of the province is wheat,
which grows well and is of good quality,
other crops are raised without difficulty
though not in large quantities; but the
great source of revenue is the Alfalfa, or
clover ofthe country." A pamphlet published at Meudoza, and quoted in same report says: "that which gives most increment to our trade, and consequently an
augmentation to the public riches of the
country, is the consumption and sale of
Alfalfa for fattening the animals sold';"
and our Minister Hassaurek mentions in
Imported Ayrshire Cow.
" MODEL OF PERFECTION."
The property of Slurtevant Bros., " Wauihakum Farm," South Framingham, Massaehixtts.
points of the compass, of the wealth of her
forests, of her boundless agricultural resources, of her exhaustless mineral deposits, and ofthe energy and enterprise of her
people. The Exposition should be made
the true index to what the State is, and
what her capabilities are. If this is done,
it wilj not only be a source of intense satisfaction to ourselves, but will attract
capital and enterprise from abroad. The
State Board has laid the foundation for
success in wise and prudent counsels.
Now let all the people with one accord,
help forward the work, and the Indiana
State Fair and Exposition of 1874, will be
second to none in the land.
[For the Indiana Farmer.
ALFALFA, OR CHILIAN CLOVER.
It is said that he is a public benefactor,
who makes two blades of grass grow when
but one existed before. Still worthier of
our benisons is he who by introducing a
new plant may increase our forage product
from two to ten fold. The above mentioned
plant has lately been tested in Indiana.
The result of the experiment indicates
that it may be considered a new, hardy,
permanent forage plant, that will give
satisfactory returns. Mr. Wm. Hansford
of Fountain county, a former rancher in
California, noting thc wonderful growth
of Alfalfa in that State on stiff clays, sands
or vordureless arid plains, concluded that
it would do well, if our climate did not
prove too rigorous, on his Fountain county farm, and brought a small quantity of
seed with him. This was planted in the
spring of 1869, occupying a few square
yards as an experiment. It has since continued to grow, notwithstanding the rigors
of two excessively cold winters. Each
year has added vigor and luxuriance, and
the result indicates, with reasonable certainty, a hardy and permanent forage plant.
The first year the roots penetrated to a
depth of one foot, each succeeding year
adding an additional foot of depth, until
now, Jan. 1874, the roots have attained a
depth of four feet. The foliage of course,
rivaled   or   excelled   the   underground
experiment was purposely tried with unfavorable conditions. It was on the coldest white oak clays of Indiana; but another experiment shows that the plant grows
still better on beech or sugar tree loams.
Alfalfa has been completely tested on
the Pacific coast, and is thoroughly approved. As a pasture plant it is considered superior to any other clover or grass.
Cattle and sheep fatten nearly as well as
with grain feed, and dairymen find it produces rich milk with an increased quantity. Kentuckyians in California declare
that for pasturing purposes it is equal to
the famous blue grass. When thickly
seeded it furnishes a choice tender hay,
which cattle prefer to red clover. It fattens the animals well, and causes a flow of
milk almost equal to green food. The
product cut'twice in a year, is reported at
from five to nine tons per acre. It is of
the pea family, as is,clover, but more nearly allied to the parent type, the seeds are
contained in short pods. If Alfalfa succeeds as well as it now promises, it will be
a boon to all our farmers, taking the place
of weeds and brush in the river bottoms,
it will at the same time protect the banks
against the wash and wear of high waters,
crowding the briers and weeds from our
hill sides, in both cases bringing waste
places into productive culture and order.
To the southern part of Indiana. Illinois,
Missouri and thence south towards the Gulf
of Mexico, to all the regions covered with
ash gray or loose loam, in which persimon
bushes are a specialty, furnishing a pasture
which by extreme length of its roots is in-
dependent_ of drought and dry seasons.
As a fertilizer such a plant is invaluable.
Sending its tap roots down to the subsoil
for plant food, or_ feeding, as the leguminous plants do principally on gases drawn
directly from the_ air, it would leave the
surface in its original or improved condition ; while the mighty mass of roots penetrating the soil to a depth of many feet
would thoroughly pulverize and asrate the
earth to an equal extent, and surpass in
that respect the most costly labor of man.
In results a subsoil dressing better and
deeper than any subsoil plow could actom-
plish. In the late work "A walk of one
thousand miles" across South America,
the author mentions throughout his whole
journey the splendid Alfalfa pastures.
He represents them as a sure reliance on
the arid plains of the Argentine Republic,
Patrons of Husbandry.
INDIANA GRANGE PURCHASING AGENCY.
glowing terms the fields which he saw
growing in the northern part of the South
American continent. My friend Col. Thos.
H. Nelson, late U. S. Envoy to Mexico,
informs me that in that republic Alfalfa is
one of the chief productions of the country. That it takes the place of corn, oats,
barley and grass for feeding and fattening
horses, cattle, etc., and on account of the
wonderful amount of a years product that
it is exceedingly profitable. He has seen
fields equally luxurient and profitable
growing near the city of Mexico, eight
thousand feet above the level of the ocean.
If this plant fulfils the promises indicated
by this experiment, it can and ought to
profitably occupy all the waste, weed and
brier bearing lands of Indiana; bring
goodreturns in hay and pasture and enhancing the fertility of a worn soil. It is
to be hoped that a few persons in different
parts of the State may experiment on a
small scale, and from time to time report
the result, whether good or unfavorable.
c.
 » • »	
Ouk New Senator.—Jas. M. Harvey
is the first granger elected to Congress.
We congratulate the people of the State
that we are to send the first Patron to the
United States Senate, a representative of
the solid, sensible yeomanry of the State.
His ejection we believe to be the first fruits
of this great movement, which means, in
politics, better and purer legislation. The
people expect in James M. Harvey a representative who will fearlessly stand as the
exponent of this reform movement. That
the sterling integrity of Governor Harvey
will be proof against the insiduous offers
of the great stock jobbers at our National
Capital, those of us who have known him
for many years, have not a shadow of
doubt. Governor Harvey as one of the
people will carry with him the earnest support of the laboring classes of our State,
who believe in his election they have secured a representative. We are not asking
for class or special legislation, but what we
do want is a representative who will not
ignore the rights of the people, and who
will dare to say so, and so vote in the halls
of Congress. His election, secured without money or promises of office, is a high
tribute to merit and integrity.—Kansas
Farmer.
To the Granges:
The second circular from this agency is now being mailed to the Secretaries of Granges. As I
have the names of only a small number of the
Secretaries elected for the present year, I am
obliged to send to those of last year. Granges
should see to it that their Secretaries' names are
on my list, as I frequently have important communications to make to them. It is very important that I should know as nearly as possible
the number of implements of each kind that
will be required by members of the order In the
State. It Is due to the manufacturers who have
made terms with us that they should know something near the number of their machines that
will be wanted. In many cases they lose all their
regular trade by making terms with us, and it is
but simple Justice to them togivethem whatever
assurance we can of the number of implements
we propose to order. I learn from some manufacturers that the business agents of some of our
County Councils are writing to them for terms.
This 1b unnecessary In regard to those whose
names are given on my price lists, as I have obtained the best terms possible In regard
them have notified me that they will not deal
with county agents, or other agents of Granges,
except through the General Agency. In regard
to my commission of three per cent, for purchasing, I have only to say: At the time I was appointed State Purchasing Agent the State Grange
was not in a condition financially to offer a salary. The commission of three per cent, was my
own proposition, though several members of the
Executive Committee thought it too low, and
would have made the rate five per cent if I had
asked it. Up to the present time, the sum I have
received has not paid me for my time, labor and
expenses. I have been obliged to employ an assistant editor to take my place on the paper, a
practical farmer to exhibit implements, and a
clerk to attend to correspondence. I have also
been obliged to rent two rooms for the purpose of
storing and showing plows and other implements. It will he seen that I have been put to
heavy expense in attempting to conduct this
business. I trust that the members of the order
who are Intended to be benefitted by the arrangement will not begrudge the small commission
they are required to pay, and I earnestly request
that all who have orders to make will send them
in as early as possible. If this last request ls not
attended to, many will be disappointed In getting
implements of the kind they want, as manufacturers will not make up a large number of machine*), etc., without some assurance of being able
to sell them. Secretaries of Granges and business
agents of County Councils are invited to correspond with me in reference to the purchase af 1m-
filemcnts, etc., for tho Granges they represent,
n regard to paying for articles ordered, It is only
necessary to say that either cosh must accompany the order or the articles must be sent by express, collect on delivery. In cases where a number of articles are ordered, and the sum to be paid
ls considerable, a certificate of deposit in bank
covering the amount, made payable to myself or
to the manufacturer by whom the goods are
shipped on receipt of his shipping bill, may bo
sent instead of the money.
J. G. Kingsbury,
Purchasing Agent.
IKDIAUAPOLIS, Feb. 20,1874.
Marshall County.—A county council
was organized on Monday, the 2d inst., in
Marshall county, and the following named
persons were elected for the term of one
year, to the following offices, to-wit:
J. F. Lewis, President; Merrill Williams, Vice-President; R. J. Pilcher, Recording Secretary; J. W. Jacoby, Corresponding Secretary ;S.S. Nicholes, Purchasing Agent.
Boone County.—The grange movement
is sweeping everything before it. One
township reports nine societies. They are
sending large clubs to the Farmer. They
are also mindful of their home interests,
as shown in the disposition to improve
their public roads. 1 armers cannot do a
better thing than to gravel all their leading highways. They could not more profitably spend ten or twelve days with their
teams every year.
Kosciusko County.—J. G. W. writes:
There is now over twenty granges in this
county, in good working order.   An effort
is making to organize a county council.
He regrets that the executive committee
has not prepared a uniform constitution
and by-laws for the government of county
councils.   Thc fanners are working zealously for the cause, but some dissatisfac-   si j
tion exists.    Some think thc charier fee is m"
too high; others, that the fee for confer- ^"t*
ring   degrees   is greater than  necessary ; ».'?">;,
others want the ritual  condensed, as its V-^iy
details   are irksome.    Others   think I'lat^**
tho allowance made to deputies is greater%X
than it should be.   The patrons of Kosci- <J,'
usko are in favor of strict economy every
where. £5i£ft