VOL. XXIV.
INDIANAPOLIS/IND., JUNE 15,1889.
NO. 24
OEOP BEPOBTS.
In the Three Central Western States.
Since out last report there bave been
Borne great changes in the weather con-
dltlons,and;the eflect*" are felt on all kinds
of vegetation; most of onr reporters complain of the cold, frosty weather and the
drouth that prevailed over many sections
bf the three central wheat growing States
during first part of May; this was fol-
lowed by heavy rain during the latter
part of the month, which has come in
snch copious showers as to greatly in j ore
the corn.
Some complaint is made of various insect pests. A green flea is reported as doing much damage to wheat in the Southern part of this State. In the northern
and central portions the cut-worm is damaging the corn; the fly is getting in its
work on the wheat crops of the central
portion.
THE CHOPS IN INDIANA.
The condition of wheat has changed for
the worse, the average being 80 as against
93 a month ago. This is a mnch better
showing, however, than was made a year
ago, the average condition being then
only 50. Twelve counties in the State
have an average of 100 and over; DeKalb,
the. highest, reports 125. Below will be
found the counties of an average of 100
—andover.      v      .-;. ...     - .*■.....'.:. .■„„.....
Adatns,   ' ' '       DeKalb,
Dearborn, Daviess,
Hamilton, Jasper,
Jefferson, Owen,
Monroe, Shelby,
Ripley, Ohio.
The following report above 80.
Allen, Clark,
Delaware, Decatur,
Noble, Elkhart,
Fayette, Hancock,
Rush, Tloton,
Wayne, '    Crawford,
Jackson, Harrison,
Washington, .          Lawrence,
IjaGrange.
Corn is not so promising as was at
first hoped for. If the rainy weather continues it will be so badly damaged in
some localities as to necessitate replanting.
Live stock of all kinds In good condition.
Fruit, with exception of strawberries,
promises a good yield.
THE OTHER STATES.
Illinois and Ohio do not vary greatly in
crop conditions from Indiana. We give
below the
AVERAGES BY STATES.
Indiana. Ohio. Illinois
Wheat, per cento! condition     80 85 91
Corn, per cent crop planted.     CO 97 S9
Corn, per cent ot condition...^} 87 75 93
Oats, percent of condition...     72 84 83
Flax, per ct. of crop sown      50 65 —
Clover, per cent of condition     78 89 91
Timothy, per ct. of condition     73 85 81
Apple, per ct. of condition..™      70 60 75
Peaches, per ct. of condition.     76 74 92
Kye, per cent of condition-...     67 74 87
Barley, per cent of condition     9J 92 —
Horses, per ct. of condition..     98 96 98
Cattle, per ct. of condition....     97 97 98
Hogs, per ct, of condition      97 99 93
Sheep, per ct. of condition..-.     97 94 loo
Bmallfruit, per ct.condltlon.     &5 93 84
REMAKES BY REPORTERS.
INDIANA.
DeKalb Co.—Very oold dry, and windy
spring; rain fell all day the 29th and 80th
nit.
Delaware Co.—Corn damaged by out-
worms; wheat heading low.
Boone Co.—Cold and wet- cut-worms
getting in their work.
■ Jay Co.—Cut-worms injuring corn j frost
injnred apples,-peaches and cherries; oats
not looking well; some improvement in
wheat; frost On 221 ult. killed much of
the corn in low and bottom gronnd; some
potato bngs.
Porter Co.—All crops need rain;  cutworms plenty and busy.  .*,
t DearbornCo.—First of month very dry;
abundant rains the past two weeks; prospect good.
Spencer Co.—Dry weather injnred wheat
and oats.
Fayette Co.—Copious rains from 20th to
26th ult.
Owen Co.—Weather has been extremely
dry; drouth broken now.
Hamilton Co.—Very wet and cold.
Morgan Co.—A great deal of the wheat
is injured by the fly.
Wayne Co.—Weather cool and wet.
Warren Co.—Cold rains; average temperature 40°.
Randolph Co.—Heavy frost and freeze
on night of 22dnlt.; cold and too muoh
rain.
Hancock Co.—Wheat injured in low
ground.
Vigo Co.—Late frosts and drouth will
cause a shortage in crops.
Montgomery Co Frosts have greatly
damaged small fruits; a week of cold rains
has retarded growth of crops.
Howard Co.—Frost, dry weather and
worms have greatly shortened both grain
and fruit crops.
Rush Co.—Poor stand of corn; grub
worm bad in places.
Union Co.—Cold, rainy weather haa
made the corn turn yellow in this county.
Clinton Co.—Crops do not look as well
as two weeks ago; many places have had
to be planted over on account of worms.
Parke Co.—Have had a general rain for
about a week, the best on record.
Posey Co.—Wheat variable; no chinch
bngs, but a green fleajis doing some damage to wheat; the whole county has Buffered from drouth, and then from too
much rain and cool weather.
Switzerland Co—Too cold for anything
to grow; corn a bad stand.
Harrison Co.—Wheat thin on ground;
too much rain.
Adams Co.—Wheat and young clover in
jnred by drouth; corn getting weedy.
Clark Co.—Cool weather and abundance
of rain.
Monroe Co.—Very dry till 26th ult., nice
rains Bince; very cool.
Jackson Co.—First good rain for months
fell on the 29th ult.
Jennings Co.—Some pieces of wheat will
scarcely make the seed while others will
give full crop.
Daviess Co.—Weather cool; plenty of
rain;
Crawford Co.—Fine rain; good prospect
for crops.
Ripley Co.—Too much rain on 28th and
29th nit., fields muddy.
Washington Co.—Drouth cut oats and
grass short; health good; stock doing
well.
Cass Co.—Some corn nipped by frost;
heavy rain on 29 th and 30 th ult.
Noble Co.—Dry and extreme oold weather has lessened crop prospects.
Jasper Co.—We have had a splendid
rain and everything is lovely.
LtGrange Co.—Frost and cut-worms
have injnred com.
Kosciusko Co.—Dry weather and frost
have injured all crops.
Benton Co.—Frost, drouth, late rolnB
and cut-worms have wrought great damage.
Miami Co.—Cut-worms bad on corn.
Allen Co.—Cut-worms and frost have
got in their work.
Starke Co.—Rain last three days of May.
OHIO.
Brown Co.—Drouth has affected all
growing crops.
Sandusky Co.—Two light frosts have
damaged corn and grapes.
Paulding Co.—Too wet aHd oold.
Champaign Co.—Frost damaged our
oorn, potatoes and "garden sass."
Van Wert Co.—Corn badly injured by
rain ahd cool weather.
Morrow Co.—Very wet; com looks bad;
wheat, oats and meadows doing finely.
Henry Co.—Frost and cold hard on
grain and small fruits.
Miami Co.—Clover and timothy good,
but short; ground soaked.
Licking Co.—Oood rains, but weather
cool.
Logan Co.—Cold, damp and frosty most
of the month.
ILLINOIS.
Edgar Co.—The dronth is broken at last,
bnt wheat, oats and all kinds of grasses
are bound to be short.
Adams Co.—Prospect good; plenty of
rain; weather good now.
Pratt  Co Frost  killed most peaches
and cherries.
Richland Co.—Very oold rain for three
past days.
Macoupin Co.—First half of May frosty
and dry; last part hail storms with heavy
rains.
ElllQgham Co.—Oats and grass hurt by
dronth, but since rains have come the
prospect is good.
DeWltt Co.—Raspberries and blackberries very fine; strawberries half killed.
Edwards Co.—It has been so wet and
cold lately the crops are damaged.
Douglass Co.—A short apple crop.
Pope Co.—Very dry from April 6 th to
May 31st when we had a good rain.
Montgomery Co.—Very cold and wet;
corn in very bad shape; some fly in
wheat.
hay can be staeked,or put under shelter as
soon as possible.
<$ttmj Mid &U8WKVm
Give your name and address when asking questions. Many queries go unanswered for failure to
observe this rule.
Written for the Indiana Farn_—:.
Store Crops Promptly.
BT N. J. SHEPHERD.
I question the economy of allowing hay
of any kind, or small grain, to remain
•standing in the shock any longer than can
be avoided. So far as possible the work
with the cultivated crops should be kept
up, so that when harvest comes there will
be no delay, not only in harvesting the
crop bnt also In storing away.
After the crop ls harvested the sooner lt
is properly stored away the better, and, as
a rule, it will be better economy to hire
extra help, if necessary to keep the cultivator at work, and at the same time give
the proper attention to hay, wheat and
oats. It is true that if properly shocked
up wheat especially will stand in the
shock for some time, in an ordinary season, without injury. Bat there is always
the risk of a hard wind storm that may
blow off at least a portion of the caps, and
in this way expose the wheat, and when
once grain of any kind gets thoroughly
wet it is very difficult to get it properly
dried out.
Of the three leading crops, oats will
usually damage the worst, hay next and
wheat the next, by getting wet. Hay can
be cut down in the morning and be ready
to store away ln the evening. So that ordinarily there is but little risk of getting
it wet, unless it is cocked np and left
standing for a few days. Oats onght to
stand two or three days at least in the
shock in order to cure out, but the oats
shonld be hauled in as soon as they will
do, as at this time there is no certainty in
the weather.
If kept dry, both hay and oats can be
cut before they are fully ripe and they
will not only make a better quality of
feed, but lf they get wet It will require
considerable handling to dry out.
Wheat can be stacked with more moisture in it than either of the other two
crops, yet it ls not a good plan to let it
stand ont too long or to stack wet. A
shower or two on the wheat in the shock
will often cause it to sprout, and this will
often seriously damage it, and if properly
stacked it ls mnch safer, and 1 always consider lt poor economy to run any unnecessary or rather avoidable risks with a
crop after It ls harvested, and for this reason I try to plan the work so that, lf the
weather will permit, the wheat, oata and
Where can I get White Wyandottes or
eggs of that breed T   I mean ln this State.
G. L. B.
Lst the White W. people advertise.
When is time to bow buokwheat, and
how much to the acre? R.
Any time before August. Sow three or
fourpecksonwellpreparedsoil. Eighteen
bushels per acre is an average yield, bnt
on good well prepared land twice aa large
a crop onght to be made.
Please publish the new stock law of Indiana, and duty of a supervisor.
K. W. B.
We do not know what is wanted. We
have published synopses of the Live Stock
Sanitary Commission and the Dressed
Beef bills, neither of which imposes any
duties on supervisors. Let us know what
act is referred to.
I bought a farm very late this spring;
the neighbors tell me the manure has not
been hauled ont for ten vears. How will
I receive the most benefit, by plowing it
under or pnttiDg on top of my wheat?
DeKalb Co. P. T. R.
This is a disputed question. On most
soils i t seems best to spread on the surface,
after breaking the ground, and harrow in.
We think this wonld be the best plan in
your case; but in the meantime protect
the mannre as muoh as possible by covering it with straw, if It is not already nnder
shelter.
The   Grain Aphis.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
Please give some account of the inclosed
insect, which we find in great numbers on
the heads of our wheat and rye.
W. P. H.
—The little green insects you send are
aphides, or plant lice, of which there are
many species. This one Is called the grain
aphis, because it usually confines its work
to wheat and other grains. Like the
aphis found on young cherry, plum and
grape leaves, this one UveB on the juices
of the plant, which they suok through the
bill or proboscis. On the back part of
their bodies are two small tubes whioh
secrete a sweet liquid that is thought to
be intended as food for their young, but
which is often licked up by ants which
sometimes follow the plant lice in great
numbers. It Is probable that the rains,
which have made the wheat heads tender
and juioy, have bronght out these grain
lice in greater numbers than usual this
summer. They will cause the grains to
shrivel somewhat, bnt there is no remedy against them that it will pay to use.
The lady bugs feed on them and will keep
them from multiplying to snch an extent
as to seriously damage the wheat crop.—
Eds.
Our New School Book Law.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
I believe it the duty_ of every good citizen of Indiana to upheld and encourage
the enforcement of onr new school book
law, and if Impractical or if errors, or weak
places be found in iti let them be corrected as may be fonnd necessary.
Oar people have not enjoyed the benefit
of a fair and free competition in the sohool
book trade. That competition passed
into an oppressive and wicked combination long ago. The Hon. Levi P. Morton truthfully said last summer, that
"capital will take care of itself."
L9t us all, aa good citizens of Indiana,
look carefully to our rights and see to it
that none wrest them from us.
Tippecanoe Co.    HKwBxI-EAMiNO.JB,