VOL. XXVII.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., AUG. 20,1892.
NO. 34
WEATHER OBO_   BULLETIN
United States Department of Agriculture
Weather Bureau. Weather Orop Bulletin
ofthe Indiana Weather Service, in co-operation with the Agricultural Experiment
Station al Purdue University, ending Tuesday Aug. 16,1892.
Weather conditions during the past week
were generally benefioial to the growing
crops; tbe temperature was somewhat
above the normal and about the average
amount of sunshine pie vailed: corn was
greatly benefited by the rains and the
crop is growingjrapidly and is reported in
good condition by many observers; the
rains were not sufficient in most places to
moisten the ground to any great extent;
breaking for wheat, however, is in progress,
though the ground is hard and cloddy;
pastures are in good condition; apples are
scarce and of inferior quality; peaches are
in poor condition generally, though in
favored localities fine fruit is promised;
there is an abundant crop of tomatoes.
SOUTHERN POBTION.
, Vevay, Swifz.rland Co.— Delightful
weather pre railed duriDg the past week;
the temperature was slightly above the
average, and the rainfaU sufficient to revive the languishing crops which have
suffered greatly from drouth; peaohes
axo ripening fast; tomatoes are plentiful
andlarge; com and tobacoo have visibly
revived in conseque ace of the timely rains;
pears and grapes will be a failure; the
fruit crop, however, will be graatly below
the average, and in con .€que ice, high
prices will pi evail.   Bainfall, 1.75.
Princeton,* Gibson Co.—Corn, potatoes,
and pastures have been greatly benefited
by the rains and the high temperatnie of
the past wejk; a few peaohes are in ex ■
cellent condition; grapes are abundant;
apple* of poor quality; many farmers are
plowing for wheat.
Worthington, Greene Co.—Weather conditions were favorable to the development
of corn and to potatoes • and pastures;
abont the n irmal amount of sunshine and
rainfall prevailed, and tho temperature
averaged near the normal; the rains which
fell on Wednesday and Thursday were of
great value to the growing corn as well as
to the pastur.s; with favorable meteorological conditions in the future thera
will be a f__irly good corn crop; while
many ft aids of corn are in excellent condition, tbat which was planted late is
Bmall, and at the best, can only yield a
moderate crop; the present prospects are
for a moderately good yield; plowing for
wheat is in progress; pastures are improving; grapes are falling ofi. Rainfall, 1 25.
New Albany, Floyd Co.—But little rain
fell during the week, and corn is suffering
mnch; the ground is too dry to plow; during the first half of the week the temperature waa high, but daring the last three
days it was below the normal; about the
average sunshine prevailed, while the
rainfall was below the normal; peaches
are in better condition; grapes are ripening, and are free from rot ;on the high land
they will be abundant; apples are scarce
and of poor quality.   Rainfall, 0 08.
D.Gonia Springs, Warrick Co.—Frequent
showers during the past week hav a been
benefioial to corn and other growing crops;
corn in good condition; threshing has been
delayed by the rains; an unusual amonnt
is in the shockjyet, much «f which has
been greatly damaged by the rains; grasshoppers are injuring the clover seed crop
greatly in some places. Rainfall 0.66.
. Mt. Vernon, Posey Co.—Farmers are
preparing the gronnd for wheat; pastures
are in good condition,   RainfaU .01.
CENTRAL. POBTION.
'Richmond,    Wayn*} Co,--Dur__g   the
past week unusally warm weather has
prevailed; on four days the mercury registered 90; the dry condition from which
corn was beginning to suffer, was broken
on the llth, by a generous shower, and
the crop is now in splendid condition;
there wJU be an immense tomato crop, although they are ripening slowly, the first
having j ast been marketed; wheat threshing is in progress; in some instances,
good yields are reported; others ■ report
only a fair average.   Rainfall, 0.76.
Ashboro, Clay Co.—Though the ground
is hard and cloddy, breaking for fall wheat
has commenced; indications point, to a
large acreage this fall; pastures are making a good fall growth; Btock is in good
condition; corn is growing rapidly. Rainfall, 0.77
Farmland, Randolph Co.—The weather
conditions were beneficial to the development of corn; about the normal amount
of sunshine, temperature and rain prevailing; the drouth was broken on the
llth by rain which fell to the depth of 1.12;
the rains were badly needed by the growing crops; farmers are plowing for wheat,
and indications are that there will be
about the usual amount sown.. Riinfall,
1.12.
NORTHERN   POBTION.
Warsaw, Kosciusko Co.—Another week
of hot, dry weather; corn, pastures, pota
toe", melons, and all ground vines have
been greatly Id jared; farmers ar& busy
plowing and threshing; the ground is
hard and cloddy, owing to the lack of
moisture;, there is much discouragment
over the poor wheat yield, and the outlook  for  corn  is   equally  discouraging.
LaFayette, Tippecanoe Co.—Corn  is  in
good condition:  plowing is  progressing
rapidly; the rains were badly distributed
and interfered with threshing; hay is har
vested.   Rainfall, 2 29.  -
Angola, Steuben Co.—Another rainless
week passed; corn is , snflering from the
drouth; some corn in poor condition on
account of lack of attention, through the
country; no apples or peaches, pastures
are all dried np.   No rain.
Franklin, Johnson Co.—The weather
continues cool and pleasant and the farmers continue threshing and breaking the
ground for wheat; the yield Is far below
the expectations and weighs from 52 to 61
pounds per bnshel ;early corn is in roasting
ear and going fairly well, although having considerable black smut on stalk;
there is a fair crop of grapes which are
beginning to ripen; potato crop is large.
RainfaU, 1 50.
Haw Patch, LaGrange Co.—RainfaU deficient, sunshine above the norma,; max-
uim temperature ,90°, minimun 57° corn
is badly in need of rain; threshing of oats
nearly completed; yield about 25 Dushels,
average about40; there wiU bea short
crop of pf tatoes except where mulched
with straw.
Hatch's Mill, LaPorte Co.—The weather
continnes hot and dry; local showers have,
however, fallen during tbe week; the corn
is suffering for rain andwiU soon be greatly
iDjared if the drouth is not broken; we
are longing for generous rains such as we
had in May and June; the ground is hard
and dry, but th'e plowing for wheat has
commenced; threshing of wheat and oats
is in progress; there wiU be a small crop
of potatoes, bugs and a lack of rain has
injuried the crop.   RainfaU, 0.75.
Marion, Grant Co.—Threshing wheat is
nearly   completed;   oorn   is   improving
rapidly, and even that whioh was planted
late ia in good oondition;   fall   pastures
look well; the ground  Is in  good condition for breaking for wheat but the work
is progressing slowly.   Rainfall, 0.86.
H. A. Huston,
Director Indiana Weather Service.
Per Edwabd E. Paddock,
Asst. Obs. Weather Bureau^ Acting Assistant Director.
Foreign Experiment Stations.
The European experiment stations are
ahead of our own, because they have been
longer in operation, and so have become
more firmly established. They have had
much more aid from the Government, and,
as an educational factor, are regarded in
the same light as the schools, their value
having been as practically demonstrated.
A single illustration wiU suffice to show
their usefulness. Tens of thousands of
German farmers carry in their pockets a
little book called "Farmer's Almanac,"
which contains the concentrated product of
appUed farm science. Besides the things
common in such books, calendar, memoranda, cash accounts, etc., there are blanks for
the names of workmen, their work and
wages, forms for registering cows and their
daily and weekly yield of milk, and for
other stock. Other forms are for keeping
account with each field on the farm—its
size, crop, manure, seed, product, etc.
Then comes a series of tables and statements, which compress in brief space an
amonnt of information that is almost
marvelous. One table gives theamount of
seed by weight or measure unil.r a rru_
sian acre or hectare, broadcast or in drill or
hills, for each 95 different kind, of crops.
Another gives what they caU in Germany
fair yields—here they would be large
yields—with duration of the germinating
power of seed, period of growth of the
plants,'and-what corresponds in German-
weights and measures to weigh a bushel
or bulk for every 100 pounds of the different kinds of produce. Futher on are tables
of mixtures for grass seeds for different
soUs and purposes, number of plants an
acre, valuation of seeds, etc. Other tables
are those of the che-ileal composition of
plants, fertilizers, feeding stuffs, fodder
rations, human food, and even of the whole
bodies of animals. If a farmer wishes to
find how much plant food he has removed
from his field in a hay crop of five tons, he
turns to a "Table for calculating tb.ee__.aus-
tlon aud enrichment of the soil," and fi ads
that the five tons of hay wonld contain
abont 155 pounds of nitrogen,132 ponnds of
potash, 8K pounds of lime, and41 pounds
of phosphoric acid. The composition of
nearly 200 kinds of grasses, grains, straws,
root crops, etc.,is given in this table. In
order to calculate how much plant food is
given back to the soil with a given amount
of manure, there is another table in which
is given the. average composition of 126
manures and fertiUzlng materials. There
are also tables of the composition of feeding stuffs and fodder rations, which show
at a glauce how many pounds of valuable
foods ingredients—protiens, carbohydrates
and fats—there are in hay, corn, straw,
cornstalks, bran, oil meal and about 250
other materials which German farmers
feed their stock. With these are tables of
feeding standards, which tell the amount
of each of these ingredients that will make
a fair daily ration for every 1,000 pounds
Uve weight of oxen at rest in the stall, of
oxen at work, mUch cows, young cattle,
and soon. I have gone at length Into
this discription, because we want something of the Bame sort in this conntry.
Wehave all this information, but it' is
scattered about, and is not readily available for the farmer. Why can not our experiment station do good service by collating and publishing such a pamphlet or
buUetinand distributing it gratis among
our farmers?—J. H. R.
Diamond Hunttng.—MelviUe Atwood, the
aged mineralogist, one of the discoverers
of the great Comstock lodge, believes the
chances are exceUent for finding in California one or more of the volcanic pipes
containing diamonds, as at Kimberly, Du
Toltspan and Bultfoutein.
Talking abont this the other day in his
curious laboratory, at the corner of Montgomery and California streets, surronded
by rich and varied specimens of ore and
precious stones, he narrated that he did not
think there was a doubt about it.
He tolled in the diamond fields of Brazil
and throughout other places of the world
years ago when a|young man and has studied the formation closely. The article recently published concerning the discovery
of diamonds in El Dorado,; county and the
knowledge of diamonds, at Cherokee Flat
and elsewhere in California has strengthened him in this. He is the man who
backed the party who unearthed the mines
at Virginia, made the assays and predicted
with nnerring sagacity their. future greatness.
The gold and diamond mines of California, like those of Brazil, he says may be
designated by the surface washings and the
ravine diggings, which have derived their
gold principaUy from the disintegration or
breaking np by atmospheric or aqueous
agencies of the auriferous veins.
Another class consists of the recent river
beds, from which the water has been diverted. In this class most of the diamonds of
Brazil have been found. Yet another class,
nere and ln transmarine diamond neias,
are the ancient river beds.
At this time he considers it important
that Californians who may be considering
goingjdiamond hunting should knowwhat
kind of an outfit they shou.d have. - It
should consist, he says, of a light pick, a
shovel and two riddles, one having three-
fourths of an inch apertures and eighteen
inches wide and the other having eipht
holes to the linear inch.
Next their should be a tub in which to
wash the gravel. A rubber bath tub will
answer. Then there shonld be a rubber
cloth on which to sort the gravel. Then
the prospector should also have a watchmaker's lens of two powers fitted in a spectacle frame. For cutting or testing each
fragment supposed to be a diamond he recommends a piece of diamond or a sapphire,
fitted into a lead pencil from which the
rubber haa taken. Ordinary lapidary cement wiU hold it there as firmly as if it
were soldered. Anything it will not scratch
Is a diamond.
With the sieves the particles can be
jostled about, water being poured on them
meanwhile, and the whole adequately
tested.
"Look ont for important diamond discoveries in California," said the veteran
diamond hunter. "They are almost certain to be made. Everything indicates
that we shall fi ad some ofthe big diamond pipes as at Kimberly, Du Toltspan
and elsewhere.—San Francisco Examiner.
Fruit Manners—Fruit manners, as a
girl aptly designates them, are a distinct
department of etiquette. Strawberries
hulled are eaten with spoon or fork; un-
hulled, are taken in the fingers separately
and daintly and dipped in sugar before
being conveyed tothe mouth. Apples,
pears and peaches should be divided before being attempted in mouthfuls, although a ripe pear may be halved and
eaten with a spoon. The same utensU
should be employed with melon, though a
fork which has one tine slightly broadened is often seen for this fruit. At English tables spoons are served for bananas
as well.
Oranges seam to offer as many methods
of eating as there are varieties of the fruit.
The Florida fashion of halving it across
the grain and taking out the juice and
fiae pulp with a desert spoon is a neat
way, and gives one all the desirable part
of the frnit: some eat an orange quite as
daintly by tearing it in small sections and
taking the fruit in mouthfuls; this method
needs a little practice before being attempted at formal tables, asthe it experienced, with a juicy Havana or Indian
River, speeeUy gets himself in trouble.—
New Tori Tribune.