. LftftfJ
U
Yol. IX.
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, DECEMBER 31, 1874
No. 52.
Liys StocL
Benjamin Kejip of this count}- ra:sed
four hogs which weigh 1,883 pounds, the
heaviest 520. They wet;e good stock,
and were therefore profitable.
Daniel Garwood, of Russelville,
butchered four pigs of the Poland China
breed aged seven months and seven days
that weighed an average of 220 pounds
each.
 s    »    s	
The Short-Horn.—S. Meredith &
Son, out of whose herd we offer our first
premium, the Short-Horn bull, writes
us, in a business letter, as follows:
"Your successful agent will be pleased
with the calf we shall furnish."
P
Farmers should set about preparing,
if they have not already done so, to improve their stock in the spring. If you
keep but little Btock, it is just as important that they should be the best. It
don't pay to put twenty dollars worth
of feed into a bullock that will bring
you but thirty dollars, when the same
amount of feed in a good one will bring
fifty to sixty dollars. The same is true
of hogs. Hundreds of fortunes are annually squandered in Indiana, in the
waste of grain and feed exDended or/>
poor stock. Let every farmer do Ms
utmost to improve his stock the coming
 ■ * ■ /
The Alderneys, or Jerseys.
season.
One of the prize essay^read at the
meeting of the directors of the State
Agricultural Society of Iowa, contains
a history of the Alderney. and Jersey
cattle, showing this/breed to be the same
Stock with two ninnes. • On the subject
of the value qi this^stoek for milk and
butter cows/We qdofe r'•"-"v     ""■'   *''-*-
Now toAhe original proposition—what
the_ Jersey cow is good for—I sum up by
saying/that she is the best cow known
for /cream and butter; that as a'class
they produce more, and of a superior
quality; that they give a more regular
/and longer flow of milk than any oth-ir;
they are the best for the butter dairy
and for family cows; they will keep the
milkman from the door more weeks in
the year than any other; they are the
cheapest and most profitable cow for the
farmer who makes butter; they are the
best cow for residents of towns and
cities who keep a family cow or two, for
they eat less, produce more, and, being
so quiet and gentle, require less time and
attention.
'/
"QUEEN OP DIAMONDS," formerly owned by W. S. King, Minneapolis, Minn.
Devons have been sold at the same rate,
it must be conceded that, in these modern times,- the- Ayrshires and Devons
have both been tried in the value of
profit and loss and found -wanting. Out
of what races then are we to get the
cheese producing cows of the future?—
B. F. J., in Country Gentleman.
a
Short-Horns and Jerseys.
In some notes on the last Illinois State
Fair, I made the remark that judging
from what was to be seen there, that
while Ayrshires were rapidly going out,
Jerseys were as fast coming into fashion.
I think even Short-Horn men are getting ready to concede that it is impossible, from'the nature of things, that the
animal which excels all others for
making the greatest amount of good
butchers' meat from the smallest relative
amount' of food in the shortest time, can
even be also, and at the same time, the
best and most profitable milk producer.
That the Jersey excels for milk, as conspicuously as the Short-Horn does for
beef, is generally conceded, and for that
and the reasons above stated, many ot
the Short-Horn men are breeding both
races. Besides, it has been pretty clearly
demonstrated that the Jersey cross on
the Short-Horn makes the best milch
cow, since the cross takes on thc size of
the larger and the milk and butter producing qualities of the smaller race. But
the Jersey is eminently a butter producer ; its milk._ after the cream is off,
being deficient^ in casein or curd, the
principal constituent of cheese, and is
little better than whey. EememberiDg,
then, that the Jersey Short-Horn cross
gets size and not quality of milk from
the Short-Horn, it would be natural fo
suppose.(which the facts justify), that
the milk of the cross is nearly as deficient
in curd as the pure Jerseys; so that
while the Jersey and the Short-Horn
cross gives us, in the way of butter producers, nearly everything to be desired,
the cheese producing cow remains to be
named. And here a hygienic fact occurs
to me that may_ be worth stating. Casein-
is the most indigestible element of milk,
and for that reason that of goats and
asses is largely consumed in Continental
Europe by children and invalids.   For
, the, same reason the fresh milk ofa Jer-
,sey is preferable as food for young cbil-
i - dren to that of the ordinary milch cow,
fhich,isrich in casein.
■Mf.iwe^ rugard  as conclusive against
ithsir. profitableness that in this country
Ihe* Ayrshires sell for little more than
theit market value for beef, and that in
England large herds of the best bred
High Prices for Cattle.
A letter from Watikegan, Illinois, to
the Chicago Journal says: "Hon. M.
H- Cochrane, member of the Canadian
Senate from the Province of Quebec,
and Simon Beattie, Esq., of Whitevaile,
Province of Ontario, have just purchased from George Murray, Esq., of
Ra'cine, Wisconsin, about one-half of
his select, herd of short-horns. Tbe
purchase is said to be the largest in
amount ever made at private sale in this
country, including in all fourteen head,
among them six females of the celebrated Duchess tribe, and eight females
of other choice, popular families.- The
price paid for the lot is not as yet made
public, but must be in the vicinity of
$100,600, for it is a well understood fact
that soon after the great New York
Mills'sale', held, near Utica, New York,
in September, a year ago, Mr. Murray
refused $15,000 each for the six Duchesses of Slawsondale—which are included in the purchase. The cattle will
be shipped in a day or so to Mr. Coch-
rane's farm, at Hillhurst. Canada.
A letter from Kacine, Wisconsin, from
a gentleman of standing^ dated December 9, in referring to this sale as given
above says: "This is no humbug. The
six cows and heifers Murray sold at
$10,000 each were all the products of a
heifer that he bought of George N. Bedford, of Kentucky, five years ago, for
$4,000. She has had four heifer calves,
and one of those has a young heifer calf,
making the six head. The other eight
head of short-horns were of Murray's
own raising, but not of the Duchess
blood—pretty good blood, however to
sell for $1,250 a head, six months to
three years old."
Good and Poor Hogs.
Hog Cholera—Enteric Fever.
Prof. James Law, in one of his lectures at the Maine State college, is reported by Thc Maine. Farmer as saying
of this disease: "The period of incubation is from 7 to 14 days, but is less in a
hot climate. Causes: Contagion, privation,' starvation, confinement, filth,
etc. Symptoms: General ill health,
shivering, fever, great dullness, »rostra-
tive fever, hides under litter, lies on
belly, weakness of hind limbs, and later
ofthe fore limbs; rapid, weak pulse; dry
snout, covered by blood-stained spots,
which also cover the s"kin, eyes, etc.;
Often a hard cough, little or no appetite;
intense thirst, tender abdomen. After
death, blood-staining, infiltrations into
lungs and bowels, ulcers in bowels.
Treatment: Give cooling acid drinks,
buttermilk, sulphuric acid, etc.: fe^rj
soft, mucilaginous food, such as oil £ake.
Administer twenty drops of V^l^^ontle j
of iron twice a day. Blister *v"he abdomen by means of mustard f^nr] turpen- ]
tine; stimulate if very prostrate. Prevention: Avoid all <iebilitating conditions, poor or spo-;ied food- keep animals constantly thriving. Feed charcoal or ashes, also tar or carbolic acid.
Avoid contact with disease. Burn infested r,jggeries anri remove to a new
placid.
Did our farmer readers ever take a
slate and pencil and estimate the
true difference between a good and
poor breed of hogs? All have seen
and acknowledged there is a difference,
yet the larger portion of farmers do not
fully realize the ample margin in favor
ot'the best hogs. The increasing demand for hams and lard-in all parts ofi-reighing
the world, shows that hogs that yield
largely of these profitable parts are in
demand. The consequence is; there is a
range in the market at this time at St.
Louisjrorn $4 50 to £7 50 and at Chicago
from $4 to $7, showing a difference of 43
per cent, in favor r/f the good hog. Nor
is this all. Whil6 the improved breeds
of hogs can be piade as easily and with
equal food to ,average at fifteen months
old 350 pounds as the "greaser" hog will
175 pounds, or a little better hog will
225 pounds; if a farmer has fifty head of
the latter class to Sell now he will get
$5 per cwt, $562.50. If he has 50 "greasers," which are too numerous in the
country, he will get $350. But if he has
fifty ofthe best Poland, China, Suffolk,
Berkshire, etc., which h. Yd cost no more
and which rendered a large amount of
satisfaction, he will receive $1,225.
These are figures that cannot be disputed, are within the reach of every
farmer who has one hundred acres of
land in cultivation. The number,
weight or price is not over-estimated,
and in raising them there is no $3 Der
day to be paid to harvest hands, nor that
everdreaded season called threshing.
We would not urge any one to go into
wild speculation in hogs. But raise
your pigs and corn, and then there is no
debt to meet when they are sold. Fifty
hogs are a reasonable lot for a small
farmer who proposes to feed all his grain
on his farm. Now let any one carefully
look over these figures, and if we are
wrong give a better statement through
these   columns.   Any _ man who . raises f
James Gaines, of Ridge Farm. Illinois, has twelve Short-Horn yearlings,
exact age not stated, which average
1,154 pounds, and twenty-two head of
calves averaging 650 pounds. The
weighing was apparently done in October. H. B. Karr. of Shirley. Illinois,
has a seven-eighths Short-Horn calf
which weighed 580 pounds' when 127
days old. A pair of grade Short-Horn
calves in Michigan weighed 1,000 pounds
when six months old—the lightest
_„ _ 492. B, Carroll, of Sheldon,
Illinois,_ has a grade Short-Horn bull
calf which weighed 590 pounds at five
months old.— Western Farmer.
STATE NEWS.
Miaaa Faime? Family.
Our Postal Card Correspondences
• WAYNE   COUNTY.
_     .   SSiij Ureek, Dec. 21.
CCill was more than an average crop, and is
worth at this time 50 cents per bushel. Wheat
was below an average crop; ls selling at $1. Potatoes, not a full crop; worth 75 cents per bush-
el. Apples Inferior and not an average crop;
are rotting badly. The growing crop of wheat
looks well at this time; got a bad start in the
fall. Hogs are nearly all sold. A great many
farmers engaged early at $5. The last sales
ranged from $0.75 to 7.00 per hundred.
W. S. Farlow.
SHELBY COUNTY.
Shelbyville, Dec. 23.
About an average crop of wheat sown; looks
well. Corn is all gathered; fair crop; selling at
63 cents per bushel. Apples are scarce; selling j
at SI per bushel. Potatoes very scarce. Cattle
plenty; selling very low. Hogs are about all
sold.  Stock hogs tolerably plenty.
Saunder's Orange, No. 1154, is alive in the Interest of the Order. We are building a hall;
have got It ready for plastering. Patron are
prospering. L.
GIBSON   COUNTY.
* rmsCETON Dec. 20.
Full crop of corn; most all gathered; worth
43 cents per bushel. Wheat looks fine; a large
crop sown; old wheat Is worth 90 cent per
bushel. Hogs nearly all sold; worth from $5.50
to $7.00 gross; stock hogs are scarce. Grangers
are on the advance. W. J. R.
BARTHOLOMEW COUNTY.
Dec. 22.
The corn crop Is about all gathered; it would
have been gathered sooner, but the dry weather prevented husking in the shock; tlie season
for husking stalk corn was the best we have
had for several years. Apples are keeping well.
The market for apples offers a considerable variety of good, sound fruit. Cattle are doing
well in this part of the country considering
the drouth, and our farmers are taking extra
pains to make np for loss of grass by feeding
corn and fodder; have commenced feeding
a month earlier than usual. X. F. G.
LAPORTE COUNTY.
'     Dec. 24.
Only halfa crop of corn; nearly all housed.
The dry weather cut the oat crop short; only
half a crop. The wheat crop was never better;
greater part not sold yet; crowing wheat looks
well. The Colorado beetle cat the potato crop
short. FathOgsare all sold; stock hogs are
scarce and high. Fruit plenty and rotting fast.
Amber wheat is worth 81 cents per bushel; oats
00 cents; corn GO; potatoes 75. L. G. _,
MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
Dec. 18.
An average crop of corn, wheal, potatoes and
apples.   Cattle are wortli from 3 to 3;^ cents.
Hogs sold at an average of $8.00
lam glad to see the Farmer enlarged. 1
hope to send you a renewal of almost all of your
old subscribers ln my neigubcisiood,
Jacob SWANK.
FROM IOWA. •*
Council Bluffs, Dec. 23.
Not much corn sold yet; worth 50 cents per
bushel. No winter wheat raised here. An a-
bundandance of cattle in good condition for
wintering. Country is overstocked witli
horses. Hogs all sent to market. Many stock
hogs are dying ofa drooping disease. Tho Patrons are flourishing, and the Indiana Farmer
is liked here. J.B. Corualy.
FOUNTAIN COUNTY.
Hillsboro, Dec. 21.
I have a pasture that has been too closely
grazed; the grass has become thin, and where
this Is the case the ground Is partly covered
with moss. I want to keep tbe lot for pasture,
I wish to ask what will kill out the moss and
at the same time strengthen the grass. Is
there any remedy without breaking.
- H.Sl.CLunrt.
[Itcannotbe useful as a pasture during any
process of resuscitation, and the best and most
speedy Tway to do It Is to fertilize and break
it, and then put it to clover.—Eds.} '
HENDRICKS COUNTY.
' Amo, Dec. 28. ■
I am highly pleased with the Indiana Farmer Family postal card correspondence and
would like to see it carried on wore extensively
than it Is, f. e„ that we get up a private correspondence between Granges relative to crop?,
workings of the order, etc. I would suggest
that the Secretary of the State Grange have a
list of all the Granges in the State published,
with the postoflice addess of each. Also the
postoflice address of all the State Granges lu
the United States, and forward a list .to each
Grange.
In regard to G. W. Ol'es'• cow,' I would say
that I am not a dairy man, but I am a farmer,
and have had considerable to do with cows.
The pregnancy of the cow, ls the cause, no
doubt, ofthe milk not producing butter. Hest
until after calving is the remedy.
RUSH   COUNTY.
.; Beech Grove Dec.28.-
Dry freeze.*,tiurt the wheat; the late danio
and wan.-;, weather may help It s^r^v . Hay is
scare*, com is worth 50 cents. Sheep are
worth from *2. to $5. Stock hogs are scared;
worth frojit 5 to (iceiits per pouud.      J. VV.C.
The Clark County Treasurer reports
$GO,000 delinquency on the tax books.
The State Legislature meets next
week. The State House is being put in
readiness for the winter session.
The Vevay Revielle says: Last Tuesday O. S. Waldo received hogs, the aggregate weight of, which was 3,282
pounds.
Mr. .Joseph Blaes, an old and respected
citizen of Jennings county, and formerly
school examiner, died at his residence
on Friday last.
The Laporte savings bank will on the
lst prox. declare an annual dividend of
3 per cent, to its depositors. Its total
deposits now amount to about $200,000.
There are five hundred and twenty-
nine convicts in the State Prison South.
This is the largest number that has been
confined in that institution for a number
of years.
Monday^night week Mill's livery stable
at Washington was destroyed by fire,
with a portion of the contents and "the
adjoining wareho'^SS, There was an insurance t>f s>,000.
C. B. Carey got into  a quarrel with a
fifty acres of corn can have fifty hogs to i young "an   named Weaver, in Whitley
sell every year, and still have grain
enough for his otheT stock—Iowa Register. /'
Stock'Pays all the Time.
/ 	
The heading of this article, says the
Valley Farmer, was the remark of an
old farmer the other day, while deploring the failure of his wheat crop. ''One
year the wheat fails, another year>/the
oats fail, another year the corn;/ but,
says he, "stock pays all the tim«0' He,
moreover, remarked that tiie farmers
who early pave their attention to stock
raising, had gone right Along, without
set-backs, and out-stripped the grain-
growers. /
There is, no do^fct, much truth in the
old man s renins. Stock is the surest
and most remunerative. But in thickly
settled re^ons it- is better and safer to
divide/the interest between the two.
The/fWo assist each other and improve
'j^e farm. Waste straw and offal of the
stock will go far in fertilizing the soil
and improving its capacity for productiveness. _ The strength of the soil is a
great desideratum with the farmer. The
soil is the mine of wealth—his treasury
—his bank of deposit. He must keep it
good, or his paper is protested; his reputation as a farmer is dishonored.
It is well fo keep a variety of stock as
well as to raise a variety of grain crops.
The general profits of each year are
thus kept nearly equal. Farming may
be done closer, less wasted and more
made.
county, last Saturday, and the former
struck Weaver with a stick which resulted in his death on Sunday morning.
Liquor was the prompting cause of the
trouble.
The tobacco dealers of Rockport have
bought, up to date, about one million
and two hundred thousand pounds of
tobacco at an average price of ten cents
per-pound, making about one hundred
and twenty thousand dollars paid out by
dealers thus far this season.
Thc Brazil Echo says: "Do you know
that there is a plat of land in our city,
which is held by iron men, on which to
erect a large rolling mill? It's a fact,
and when we give assurance of water, it
will be built, and its assessed valuation
will go far toward paying the interest on
the bonds.
The Kokomo Tribune tells how Will
Rayl, an honest, hard-working man,
found that some one was stealing his
corn from the field. He set a guard
with a< shot-gun to watch it, and when
the thief eame he was obliged to etop in
the midst of his operations with a load
of buck-shot in his carcass.
On last Sunday night a bear escaped
from its cage at the Salt Wells Park, in
Evansville, and after making his supper
off a large fierce mastiff whostood guard
on the premises, struck out in search of
other prey. He had not been 'captured
at last accounts, and the people of that
section shoulder a shot gun or slip a
navy into their pocket when they have
to go outside the house.
STARK COUNTY. ^ ■""'
North Jjurisox, Dec. 22.
I have been a reader o_fjour paper for a year;
like it very much. And think that farmers
should not be without it. I like your postal
card correspondence, and not having seeu anything from Stark county, I will say our corn
crop was good. Wheat was an average crop,
and of good quality; growing wheat looks well,
especially that sown early with tlie drill. Not
enough sown for home consumption. Xot an
average crop ol potatoes. Hogs are scarce and
nearly all sold; worth from $3.50 to *7.00 net.
Corn ls selling at 50 cents per bushel; wheat at
95 cent". Will try to get up a club for your
paper. W. Frederick.
SUMNER COUNTY, KANSAS.
Oxford, Dec. 13.
You will see that we are in the grasshopper
region of Kansas, bnt were not entirely eaten
up In this county. Our corn and potato crops
were failures, but we had a splendid wheat
crop. Our growing wheat is looking splendid,
and has not been eaten off around the edp es as
lt was last year. This is a very pleasant climate
and a good place to live ifthe grasshoppers will
let ns alone. I renew my subscription to the
Farmer and will get you a club here. We
have had but very little winter yet. This
country Is very healthy.     M.Sommerville.
WABASH COUNTY.
Dec. 21.
The winter so far has been quit* moderate.
Roads are good. Wheat crop was light; worth
90 cents per bushel. Hog crop short; a large
per cent, sold early at 5 cents. Grangers mostly
held their hogs and got fair prices. Corn crop
above an average; worth61 cents per bushel.
An average crop of hay and oats. Half a crop
of potatoes. I think the hay crop will be a
short one next season. Prospect foi- wheat not
very good. A.
PIKE COUNTY.
Otwell, Dec. 21.
An average corn crop. Potatoes about half a
crop. Oat crop short. Wheat looks well. Hogs
are all sold. Grangers plenty and in a thriving
condition. Several halls have been built and
more are in prospect, There are 25 Granges
In our county. It was thought that the Order
would die out as soon as the election was over,
but to the sorrow of some it continues to
flourish.
Some unknown parties broke into the so-called "Farmers' Saloon," of this place, unheaded
the barrels of liquor and poured out their contents. This Is the third saloon that has met a
sad fate In onr town this year. We have no
saloon now, and hope we will not .have any
more
lam very much pleased with our paper, the
Farmer, and will try to get up a club for lt.
B. M. Gist.
WHITE COUNTY..
AlONTICELLO, Dec. 25.
The com crop is good; most all cribbed.
Wheat looks well; tolerably good crop this
year. The oat crop was an abundant one. Potatoes are scarce and high. Hogs are about all
sold; worth from $6. to $6.30. Cattle are plenty
and ln good condition. Everything is prosperous and flourishing. Money is plenty and farmers are jubilant. I have a steer that has the
big jaw, and I would like it If some brother
would Inform me through the columns ofthe
Farmer if there ls any cure for it.
W. FiUSER.
*■' JEFFERSON COUNTY.
^ North Madison, Deo. 28.
The growing wheat in this county shows the
benefit ofa good preparation of the soil, and
the use of manure, far more plainly than usual.
Fields properly prepared present a very thirty
green, while those plowed and sown in a slipshod manner are brown and thin. Some Melds
that were manured on the knolls aud poor
spots show double the amount of growth oil
these portions, yet the farmers generally pay
but little attention to the manure heap. The
drouth ended here on November 8th; December 27th was the eighth consecutive Sunday
tbat it has rained, with frequent rains between. Weather very wnim and splug like
with but few cold nights.
Grangers are lively and the Interest in the
Order is increasing. Elections for officers have
been held generally and Installations will
be next lu order. Some will be public, of
wliich I may speak in the future.
Dei.os Wood.
Milwaukee "Wheat Market.
The Journal of Commerce says: "The
Milwaukee* market isjiut now purely
speculative. It is believed to be controlled by the "bear" interest. Et is
only kept up by the "bull" movement in
Chicago. The New York market is so
much below this that there is virtually
no shipping demand. While there is
some reason that wheat has reached the
point atwhich capital is willing to take
hold of it as an investment, lt must be
borne" in mind that this point is determined largely by the volume of receipts.
For these reasons, although European
dispatches as we go to press are favorable for a rise and have perceptibly
strengthened the tone of this market,
we counsel   farmers   to   forward   their
rwheat cautiously for the   next twenty
1 days."
____   «    m>   s	
Laporte county has contributed about
$650 worth of supplies to the Noble
county, Minnesota, grasshopper sufferers.
The Mishawaka Entevprist; hears it
rumored that a heavy joint stock company is soon to be organized, which will
occupy the Milburn wagon works when
vacated, and enter into the manufacture
of furniture on a large scale. The same
paper reports two broken arms among
the enterprising youths of that place.
The Vincennes Sun say?: "On Monday last, when Mr. Charles Bezot, who
resides about five miles from this city,
in J»hnson township, was endeavoring
to drive a calf from tho yard, his wife
came to his assistance. The infuriated
animal made a plunge at her, «nd striking her in the temple with its horn, she
fell and died in a few minutea thereafter."     ;
Another Premium.
For a club of fifteen subs«ritx>rx at toWeit ''
club rates we will give a copy of tlj» Putr*,.;-„■>'*
Hand Book, advertised in anolliHr <v,iu„lfl S
price $2.00.  Or we will give the »>ook for tt M.ii,
of four subscribers at $2.00 each, or t, <^uh ott
eiuM at 11.75each.
u
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