VOL/XXIV.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., MARCH 9,1889.
NO. 10
<§tW5*£ nu& &U3X0CVm
Glve'your name and postoffice when asking ques
tions. Many queries go unanswered lor failure to
bserre this rule.
Can a person send a postal card the second time by putting a one cent stamp on
it? J. M. S.
Cerydon.
Yea, but it looks stingy.
Does Gen. Fisk.Prohibition presidential
candidate belong to any church? If so,
what denomination? Mbs. D. O. T.
Pendleton.
He is a member ol the Methodist church.
Please tell me through your paper where
I can get the full blooded silver Spangled
Hamburg chicks or eggs, and price.
Martin Co. H. C. H.
v Somebody who has these fowls should
advertise.
Has our present Legislature passed a
law regarding the taxation of dogs?
Amo. A Reader.
No. The sheep bill spoken of in the
Fabmbb has been killed. _ No dog law
will be passed.
Please tell me the number of bushels of
grass seed it takes to sow an acre of
ground. M. M.
Rush Co.
If blue grass, 10 to 15 pounds to the acre;
orchard grass, 20 to 30 pounds; timothy
grass, 12 to 24 quarts.
Will some reader ofI the Farmeb' please
give me a. recipe and directions for mending rubber shoes or boots? C. D. O.
Florence.
Full directions were given In a former
number of the Fabmeb. Does any reader
remember them, or the date when published?
What kind of soil is b9st adapted to
Lucerne clover? Will it do well in clay
soil? Is it good for hay, and will it enrich the soil more than our red clover and
stand our cold winters better?   G. C. R.
Union City.
A deep clay loam is best. It makes excellent hay, and is equal to red clover for
improving the condition of the soil. It is
yet a question whether it will stand our
severe winters.
Does it pay to raise flue, for the seed? Is
there a market for lint? J. W. B.
Montgomery Co.
From all we can learn on the subject
we cannot recommend flax as a farm crop
in most locations. The yield of seed averages only about 10 bushels per acre, and
the average price is Jl 25. There ia no
market here for the lint, and if there was,
the product of an aore would bring only
$6ocf8.   Flax, too, is an exhaustive crop.
Where can a good $5 force pump for
spraying be had. T. b. M.
Octagon.
We are unable to answer this unless we
know what size, capacity and force you
want. Force pumps can be had at prices
ranging from $2 up to $35. The former
are made of tin and used in ft bucket of
water. The latter are of best material
and are provided with a tank holding 40
or 50 gallons of water and are on wheels.
A $5 force pump made in thia city is durable and efficient.
What does it take to constitute greatness? In what lines have the great men
of our oountry attained their greatness?
Mooresvllle. A Reader.
Greatness as applied to persons has a
wide meaning. The word generally refers to those who are distinguished for
great ability or virtue in some direction.
Washington was great as a patriot and a
statesman, Webster and Clay were great
as orators and political leaders, Longfellow, Bryant and others as poets, Grant,
Sherman and others as soldiers and heroes. Wehave had men who were distinguished in all departments of life.
Please give us some information concerning raising tomatoes. What kind of
ground suits them best? E. L.
North Manchester.
Start your plants at once, in a hot bed.
When large enough transplant into cold
frame, and set out in the field after danger from frost is past. Good, mellow,
rich ground is necessary for the best results, but it must be dry or well drained.
Clay loam is preferred. Plant in three
rows three and one half feet apart and
three and one half feet in the rows.
1. When is the time to sow millet?
2. Price of seed per bushel?
3. How to prepare the ground?
4. The kind of ground best suited, and
oblige C. B. B.
Kennard.
1. Sow in May or June, sow from one
to one aud a half bushels per acre accord'
ing to soil.
2. S9e quotations for price, which
changes from time to time.
3. Prepare ground as for wheat. The
more thorough the pulverization the better the yield.
4. Select deep rich loam.
1. What will be the probable cost of a
good substantial silo, economically con-
structed.in which can be stored 10 acres of
corn for ensilage? Please describe in detail how to construct a silo, and how it
should be connected with the feeding
apartments.
2. Will two or more forage plants put
inthe same store .bin, cure as perfectly
and feed as profitably as if kept in separate silos?
3. Is ensilage fed to other stock than
cattle?
4. Give the resident address of three or
four practical farmers who have silos in
different parts of Indiana.
6. What kinds of timber are best suited
to plant along the banks of large streams
to prevent washing? When is the best
time to plant?   Give some instructions.
I. R. K.
1. See Shorthorn Dspartment, page 5.
2. Yes, if the two are ready for siloing
at same time.
3. Yes. It is good for cows, horses and
pigs, but is seldom used for other stock
than dairy cattle.
4. Let those who are referred to give
answer.
5. Willows, Catalpas, Russian Mulberries, etc., plant either in spring or fall.
All three of the trees named grow well
from cuttings. No special care is needed
more than to keep the grass and weeds
from smothering the youDgJplants.
<SmeraI Hjews.
Over 31,000,000 silver dollars were coined
during 1888.
It costs $25 fine or 30 days in jail to sell
boys cigarettes in Ohio.
The Kennebec lumber cut this winter
will reach 100,000,000 feet.
Foreign artists are said to have pocketed
$10,000,000 of American money since 1880.
A Decatur, Mich., man set out 17 acres
of peppermint last season and got $1,600
worth of peppermint oil.
Many of the gardens in Grass Valley,
Cal.,are radiant with with violets,orocuses
and other spring flowers.
The first American flag overused, now
owned by a Mrs. Stafford of Edgartown
N. J., was carried in the inaugural procession at Washington oa the 4th.
The amount of oil exported from Pennsylvania wells in 1888 was 77,549 452 gallons, while the amount consumed at home
was probably thrice as much.
David Barkey, of Wooster, O., 11 years
old, was bitten by a dog eight years ago,
and is now reported to be dying of hydrophobia. For several days the victim has
been panting and snorting like a dog, and
at intervals has been subject to the most
violent paroxysms.
A peasant near Irkutsk, Siberia, recently found gold-bearing quartz while digging a trap-pit. The peasants all through
that region are now digging for gold, and
much excitement prevails.
A wonderful ice cave, according to the
Bakima Herald, was discovered recently
near Trout Lake, Klickitat county, Wy. T.
It is of great size, but cannot be explored
on account of the intense cold.
In Kansas the hides of Galloway cattle
butchered are cured and made into lap
robes. The jet black hair is thick, glassy
and handsome, and makes a neater robe
than the buffalo, while it ia equally warm
A lot, 20x40 feet, at the corner of Madi
son and Dearborn streets in Chicago, was
sold last Friday for $150,000, whioh Is
$187 50 a square foot, or $1 30 a square inch
—said to be the largest price ever paid for
real estate west of New York.
During the recent stormy weather sea
birds of all kinds were driven sshorein
great numbers along the coast of Aocomac,
Ya. The men in the life-saving station
on Smith's island killed more than 500
ducks and brant ln a few hours.
The Binder  Twine Trust.
Edit ora Indiana Farmer:
I have been waiting for some one who
can wield a more trenohant pen than I
can, to speak out in condemnation o( the
Binder Twine Trust, but as no one does I
will try my hand in hope of awaking the
people to what I think a great danger,
This trust is surely one of the greatest
steeds that has come to light in this age of
trusts. A few men (so the manufacturers
say to shield themselves from their share
of the steal) have bought all the raw material in sight and forced the price up
from six to ten cents per pound.
Now what do you say, Mr. Editor and
brother farmers? Shall we submit, or
shall we do as any other trade or occupation would do? rebel, for if we submit
now to 20 or 25 cts. per ball, will we not
next year submit to another steal of five
or ten cents per pound?
Had we not better refuse to buy a ball
of their twine? We can out our grain with
our binders, and blnd.it by hand as we
did before the time of binders. The binder
will put the grain off in as good shape for
binding as the self rake did, and I well remember when we thought that a perfect
machine.
Of course it will cost us a little more
th s Beason to bind by hand, but if we
submit tothe rapacity >.f these robbers
they will not stop until they put this
twine up till it would be barely below the
cost of hand binding.
If we simply say to them, "keep your
twine; we can and will'do without it if
you persist in your extortion," one year
will be sufficient for them, and they will
not try it again if they find we are in
earnest.
I, for one, will pay extra price for hands
to bind my grain before I will allow myself to be robbed in this manner. I would
like to hear from some of your readers
who are better posted than I am on this
matter and also from you. Can nothing
be done to stop this wholesale robbery of
an already overburdened farming community?, R.A.L.
Octagon.
—Weare glad our correspondent has
called attention to this matter. It had
been mentioned to as by another reader,
but for the time was forgotten. If any
considerable number of farmers can be induced to join you in your determination
it would help to break down the trust.
Your plan is the only practical one that
we can think of under our present. laws.
We see it stated that the farmers of Iowa
are organizing to resist the demands of
the binding twine trust.—Eos,
A Good Friend.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
I feel as though one of my best friends
had missed me when the Indiana Fabmer through some mistake, doesn't come
promptly to hand. It is one of the best
weekly agricultural papers in America, or
the world I might say, and it is our main
independence ln farm pursuits.
Pendleton. D. W. Tyson.
Hard on the Tramps.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
I notice there ls some correspondence in
the Fabmeb on trying to help legislate.
If I were to introduce a bill It would be
on tramps. It would be short. Every
tramp would be taken up aud be made to
give an account of himself. And if his
excuse was not a good one I would have
him whipped with 40 lashes and leave the
place within 10 days. T. H. B.
. » ■
Going to Montana.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
As I am a German and can not write
English very well, you will please translate this letter for the purpose of publication. As I read the letters of Mr. Perkins,
of Milk river valley, Montana, I made up
my mind to visit that section for the purpose of viewing the country. I departed
ou the 7th of February, going through
Minnessota, North and South Dakota, and
reaching Montana on the 19th of February, stopping off at Chinook, (formerly
called Da wes-) - In viewing the country, I.
am constalned to believe that the land is
very fertile; the grass was knee.high,
and I believe it to be (excellent for the
growth of wheat, oats, flax and also early .
corn. I ws£ surprised at the growth of
potatoes, they beating those raised in Indiana. Henry Kramer of this oonnty will
have a publio sale on the 6'.h of March,
and I on the 7th, after which we will load
our goods in cars and start for Montana,
would like to take some young heifers
with me, on account of the surplus of
grass, but the distance is too great. Several other families in my locality will
move to this great country in the near
future. We selected claims In the Milk
river valley, just east of Chinook.
Benton Co. Rudolph Hermans.
Good Device for Breaking Stalks.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
As the season for breaking stalks wili
soon be here, I send you my plan, hoping
some of the Farmer readera will be benefited thereby. It is customary to hitch
horsea to the ends of a long, heavy pole
and put a man or boy on each horse, but
where there is only one man in the family
this cannot be done without the expense
of a hand. Lst all of the Farmer readers,
so situated try the following plan and report.
Take a good pole, any length your
horses can pull and a log chain. First
find the center (center of weight) of the
pole by balancing it on something. About
four feet on each side of this center, cut
notches around the pole to keep the chain
from.slipping. Loop the chain in these
notches at both ends, and put a stretcher
stick in this chain right along the side
of the pole to keep the ends of the chain
from sipping together on the pole. In
looping this chain on the pole be careful
to loop it so that the rolling of the pole
will have' a tendency to tighten the
loops. If the chain won't stay in the
notches drive an iron spike in the pole,
through a link.
TJse check lines on the team and hitch
to the middle ofthe chain with stretcher
or double-tree and clevis.
This plan has an advantage in stumpy
ground. The team may be driven within
a few feet of a stump as the pole will
swing round and then right itself as soon
as it slips off the s tump.
This way has the additional advantage
of keeping a person warm while walking
where he would nearly freeze if riding.
Frankton. E. C. 8,