VOL. XXIV.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., FEBRUARY 16,1889.
NO. 7
Written for the Indiana Farmer.
Farm Buildings.
BY W. D. BOYNTON.
THE TIG   PEN.
It must in truth be said that of all f __rm
animals the pig has been most poorly provided for by the farmer. Wo fail to see,
except in rare instances, that improve
ment in his quarters and care, that is so
noticeable in other departments of the
Btock farm.. The old, deeply rooted prejudice, against the poor pig, dies hard.
And further than this there has always
been a very erroneous notion as to what
the animal really needs in the way of shelter.
Judging from the pens that we see on
most farms, the idea generally prevails
that any place that a pig can crowd into
and lis down in, is quite sufficient in the
way of a house. Other animals are given
a good, fair amount of space for breathing
room,as well as the baie amount that they
need to turn around and lie down in; but
pigs are huddled trgether in pens tbat
will hardly admit of their standing erect
in, and into which they must pack their
filthy bodies, like so many sardines in
box.
A pen of this description cannot be kept
neat and wholesome. The natural,cleanly
habits of the pig must be violated for want
of adequate space. Such low creep holes
eM-not be cleaned out witnout s world of
trouble, and it makes altogether a mos*
disagreeable task. Like too many barns
and stables, only the thickness of a board
intervenes between the animals confined,
and the outer air. It should oertainly be
double boarded and filled between with
straw, sawdust or some such available
material. And above all it should be more
roomy than we generally find it. It should
be of sufficient height to allow a man io
move about with ease. The hog-house
should have
AT LEAST TWO APARTMENTS,
so that the weak and strong members of
the herd may be separated; or that one
part may be devoted to the brood sow in
farrowing time.
It it not a good plan to calculate on a
storage chamber in the same building
over the pigs. Itis quite a common occurrence to find corn and other grain for
feeding, stored in such chambers. It is
not a wholesome arrangement. The
moisture and the gases arising from the
pen-below will surely permeate everything stored above and under, it that is
impure and liable to decay. A small
room should always be provided in front
of the feeding pens for the convenience of
the attendant. A root cutter may be operated here and (.barrels and boxes of feed
kept for immediate use. It will also be
found a most convenient place in whieh
to mix and keep swills.
SHEEP   HOUSES.
By this it is not intended to carry the
idea that all those who keep sheep, have a
house-built expressly for the purpose of
quartering them. On the contrary, comparatively few farmers who make sheep
raising a sort of side issue have such
houses. Some unused old stable, outlying shed, or perhaps a barn cellar that is
not high enough to accommodate other
stock, is converted to this use. Those who
are familiar with the management of
small numbers of sheep among mixed
stock interestslwill fully bear the writer
out in the above statements.
Some ot these makeshifts are quite comfortable and convenient; but tho majority
of them are quite the opposite. The barn
cellar or basement is no doubt the very
■worst place that could be selected for
aheep. Some ol these well finished basements are dry, airy and light, but sach
are usually devoted to other purposes. It
fa too frequently
THE LOW, HALF   EXCAVATED CELLAR
that is given the sheep, and such are always damp, foul and illy lighted and ventilated. Sheep cannot thrive in such places.
They become diseased with catarrh and
loaded with vermin. Such quarters may
be warm, and for that reason are thought
just the place for housing sheep. Better
give them the exposure ot a half open
shed than this. In fact sheep can bear a
great deal of oold if kept dry. A building
tbat excludes tbe storm and wind makes a
very comfortable house for sheep.
But the man who keeps sheep will find
it profitable to construct a house for them.
A light frame structure well boarded and
battened will answer the purpose. A
small attic or loft overhead that will held
a ton or two of hay will be found most
convenient. To furnish this the building
should be a story and a half high. It
should be of suffi.ient sizs on the ground
to admit of being divided into two pens
so that the ewes with lamb may be separated from the balance of the flock. The
common feed rack may form this division. A small room should be reserved at
the end of the building, down into which
the hay from above may be thrown, and
from which it may be distributed along
the rack; This room might also be made
large enough to answer for a shearing
room. It would,of course, be in the front
end of tbe building and the end of the dl-
vidlngraok would open intoit,^ Doors may
open from the pens iiitb separate yards.—
To be continued. . 	
Written for the Indiana Farmer.
Oood Farming Pays.
BY JOHN M. STAHL.
From advance sheets of the Michigan
agricultural report it appears that the 1888
wheat crop of the State cost, for producing
and marketing, in the southern four tiers
of counties, §13 55 per acre; in the central
tiers, §12 35 per acre; in the northern tiers,
§11 53 per acre. The figures are compiled
from reports of actual operations.
At the prices for wheat obtaining January lst, the value of the crop per acre
was in the southern tiers, $19 28; central, §16 79; northern, §14 60. Where the
crop cost §11 63 per acre, the profit per
acre was $3 13; where it cost §12 35 per
acre, the profit per acre was §4 44 per acre;
where it cost §13 55 per acre, the profit per
acre was §5 73 per acre. Adding 7 per
cent to the cost added 41 per cent to the
profit; adding 18 per cent to the cost added
83 per cent to the profi 5.
Such evidence is not exceptional. It is
general that §1 extra work'in preparing
the ground for a crop or in cultivating
will increase the product by a considerably larger amount. Up to a certain lim t,
which we very rarely reach, extra good
preparation and cultivation are highly
profitable. What is true of the wheat
crop of Michigan is true of the wheat
crop of olhei States; and what is true of
the wheat crop is true of other crops—increase in cost of production due to more
work or manure expended on the land,
increases the net profits. And the increase in the profits is at a greater rate
than the increase in the cost of production.
Successful farmers are those who have
largely realized this and haye made it a
part of their practice. It is not strange,
therefore, that they urge good farming,
high cultivating and fertilizing. It would
indeed be strange it they did otherwise.
In looking over the report of the last
Farmers' Institute in Wisconsin last season, I notice that very frequently the
speakers, always practical, highly successful men, insist upon heavy manuring and
an abundance of labor on the ground. The
veteran and strikingly successful girdecer
and small fruit grower, Mr. J. M. Smith,
was asked, "To what do you attribute
your great success as a gardener?"  He
replied: "A good soil, well adapted to the
purpose, well drained, heavily manured
and thoroughly cultivated, just as thoroughly as I could do it with my best
knowledge of how to do it." Those acquainted with Mr. Smith's methods need
not to be told that in the above Mr. S-
gave last what he considered the most important. Tbis brings to my mind what ls
said by Mr. Waldo F. Brown, a very successful gardener, farmer and stock raiser.
In his People's Farm and Stock Cyclopedia, he says: "The cultivation of the
garden cannot be tod thorough. Thorough
cultivation not only increases the yield,
but also improves the quality of the vegetables, for those grown on a rich, well
worked soil are more crisp and tender,and
of better flavor than such as are of slow,
stunted growth."
Such observations are not confined to
successful gardeners; successful farmers
gl- e the same testimony—the way to raise
large, profitable crops is to give manure
and labor liberally to the land. The men
who make money out of the farm, and
who get what is equally important—satisfaction and happiness from their labors,
are the one3 that give more than the average of study, work and fertilizer to the
land. While in nearly every locality the
time has passed when slipshod, unthinking, lazy farming is profitable, now and
always gocd farming brings and will
bring financial profit, and happiness and
sen respect.
Quincy, IU.
 .    ♦    s —^—
Letter from Montana.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
So many of my friends requested me to
write them I thought I would write you
and let them hear .from me through your
paper. I left Bloomington the 20th inst.
for St. Paul, where I arrived at 8 o'clock
a. m. on the 26th. St. Paul is a very substantial city of 175,000 inhabitants, situated at the head of navigation of the Mis
sissippi.
I left on the St. Paul, Minneapolis and
Manitoba railroad at 5 o'clcck p. m.,
whjch by the way is one of the finest
trains I ever saw. Our train consisted of
four sleepers, one dining, two colonist
sleepers and three elegant day coachc a; this
colonist sleeper is one of the finest things I
ever saw. It is arranged with upper and
lower berths,the upper berth can be raised
up in the day time, and the lower berth
made into two -eats. I observed several
passengers who had their bedding stored
fcw.iy in the upper berth in.thtjdaytime,
and when night came they pulled out the
lower seats and made as comfortable a
bed as they oould have at home, and by
hanging a sheet up they were perfectly
secluded. One end of the car was fitted
up with a wrought iron range, water tank,
and tables for the use of the passengers
who wished to cook their meals aboard.
This train runs through without change
from St. Paul to Butte, Montana, a distance of 1,270 miles, and then connects
with Pacifio coast roads. This road runs
throngh the finest country I ever saw,
Minnesota, Dakota and Montana. It is
one of the finest road beds in the United
States. Although some 600 or 700 miles of
it has only been built a little over a year
it is full as good as some of tho oldest
roads in Indiana.
We passed through some very fine
towns, Fargo, D. T., Crookston, Minn.,
Grand Forks, D. T,, Lakota, D. T., Devil's
Lake, Minot and other new little towns.
I will now tell you
ABOUT MONTANA.
We flrst strike Montana near Fort Bu-
ford at the mouth of the Yellowstone
river. The road runs up the Missouri
riyer bottom 107 miles. It is a beautiful
level bottom land with considerable Cottonwood and willow timber and plenty of
coal. It is very good farming land, for
the grass growing on it ts very rank.
Bit!
There is very little broken as yet, for this
was only thrown ol ""    -•■-*'—*■
May, but  there  ard
cabins in sight of t
thousands and thom
ment claims right a
boss country of the
MILK BIV
and especially from|
ledo, M. T.,  theroi
river 172 miles and tl
Missouri  near  Fort
rived at Dawes,
28th.   Dawes  is
the Milk  river vail,
become I
THE MB
of the Milk river *.
that there is so mi
grazing land. The _
50 to 100 miles and
Bear Paw mountain1
points being tribute
At Dawes I witn,
beeves. Thts9 bee*<
but the dry grass
lands near. I must
beef, I tried lt for dl
but that it was fuf..
BloomiDgdale.jy.>
I took a team1'
the country, which'
coal mine near Dai
feet thick and very'
of small grain was raised last year. • Po-..
tatoes made 600 bushels to the acre, oats
80 to 100 bushel**, wheat 30 to 60 bushels
and corn, a small variety,someti_nes made
50 bushels to the acre, and all kinds of
vegetables will grow here.
There are very few claims taken here
yet, plenty of claimB to be had in from
one to three miles of Dawes. Cattle run
out here all winter and so do the horses.
There is quite a number of sheep on the
range and I think this wonld be a good
sheep country as well as for cattle and
horses. There is plenty of good water
and grass.
The weather here yesterday and to-day
was beautiful and warm as March, clear
and bright. •        Samuel Marsh.
■  Diwes, Jan. 29.
a iujv.
,.,»1t\
Uie
hi-.-:.-, is
ii
-2J.1-J' 1°.
coal.
-
A Good Above Ground Cellar.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
I noticed in the Farmer an inquiry
about above ground cellars. I have used
one for a number of years and have built
several, so will give my way of building
one.
I generally build an 18 inch wall of stone
or brick,12 inches above ground for afoun-
dation, and throw up the earth, outside,
to within four or five inches of the top ofthe wall. Use studding 12 feet long 2x4
inches; outside studding six feet, three
Inches; inside studding five feet, nine
inches; corner posts 4x4 inches; joists 2x6
inches; sills and plates 2x5 inches. I then
build a double frame outside, 12x14 feet,
weather board outside with drop lap, oeil
the inside with flooring three or four
inches wide, half way up, then pack well
with well seasoned sawdust. Ceil the
rest and throw in the sawdust from a
door, under the projection of the roof.
Make the door and vi i ado w opposite each
other; window and door frame five inches
wider outside than inside, the outside
door and window double, with three
inches space for sawdust.
Cover with shingles. Run a tube
through the center of the ceiling through
the sawdust, for ventilation. Projeotthe
roof two feet over the door.
I have been a reader of the Farmer for
years, and do not see how any farmer can
do without it. William Craki.
Greensburg.
There are 13,995 publio
London police district and
stalls.
houses in the
only 259 coffee