VOL. XVHI.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., SATURDAY, JAN. 20,1883.
NO. 4.
glue Ifatm
Postal Card Correspondence.
KANMAH.
ScxnekCo.—Corn busklnglsaboutalldone;
wheat looks well, there was only two-thirds
crop sown This year; hogs are doing well; beef
cattle 2'/, to 3c; bogs 5c. J. E. a
PENNHYI.VANIA.
Perrt Co.—Horses sell at from VS to C300;
cows tx to «0; fat hogs t. 50 to t» per cwt.;
hired help by the month Is from 118 to S20; by
tbe day 50c to»125; wlieat looks very well;
long may ihe Indiana Farmer live.
P. Lacveju
IOWA.
Paoe Co.—Our corn crop was cut short by
. dry weather the past season; stock of all
kinds In good condition; hogs are raised here
lu large numbers; lands have Increased In
value very much during the past two years;
hay ls to per ton. \V. I. S.
A LA RAMA.
Mokoan Co.—The weather here Is temperate, wo have not had any snow of consequence
this winter; pork worth Sc per Ib net; corn soc
per bushel; the stock Interest ts Increasing to
some extent; 1 have Just received a tine Poland China pig from D. L. Thomas, Kush Co.,
Ind., which Is very flne.
Uriah Thomas.
NORTH CAROLINA.
Watuoa Co.—Agriculture ls In a flourishing
condition In this locality; land Is worth from
flOtoSij per acre In this valley and hardly
any to sell at any price; land out In the mountains is SI to Si per acre; horses ara worth
from S76 to S150; milk cows $28 to $33 per head,
and beef cattle 8c per pound; pork 10c per
pound; wheat fl 25 per bushel; corn 50c per
bushel; labor & to £10 per month, or 50c per
day. B. Jon .nso*.
NEBRASKA.
Jeffebson Co.—Cum made 30 to 65 bushels
here; not much fall wheat sown; stock ls selling at fair prices; hay ls worth Sl&Q per ton
delivered; horses are worth tlio to 8175; mules
S275 a span. T. 11. V.
Cass Co.—Corn here averages about 50 bush-
el* per acre; wheat, oats and barley yielded
well; potatoes plenty; stock hogs scarce; milk
cows worth 115 to -/I0;* land valued at 830 to &S5
per acre; wages IM per mouth. \V.\V.
ULl.NOlt*.
PjkeCo.—Our grades of cattle slowly Improving; we have as good hogs as those of any
county In the SUte. B. B. H.
Franklin Co.—Agricultural Interest* In
good condition; stock generally commands
remunerative prices; crops were good and
prices fair. D. H. L.
Piatt Co.—Our wheat crop splendid; hands
scarce and receive ft?'to 4^5 per month; the
land in this vicinity ls excellent for/arming
purposes and only net*ds tllelng.
SIRS. A. C.
Crawford Co.—The land In this county l»
adapted to the raising of wheat and gross
rather than corn, although with proper management fair crops of corn can be produced;
tllelng benefits our lands Immensely; stock
scarce and high; fruit prodnced about half a
crop. C. C.
Chrictian Co.—Wheat looks well; corn
yielded only half a crop, except that planted
on tiled land, which   produced from 00 to 75
cows selling at S15 to $00, grade Jerseys tdO to
(80; horses demand good prioes. l_ O. A.
Stark Co.—Wheat looking well; stock brlngt
good prlcss; sheep sell for si to sjjjc per pound,
ewes R 50 to }S 60 per head; borsec In demand.
J. 31,
Richland Co.—Winter wheat all, right;
grain brings fair prices; live stock scarce;
land worth from 500 to J100 per acre.
c. w. n.
PREBLE Co.—Wheat looks well, a large acreage sown; corn turned out well; potatocn
yielded but half a crop; apples scarce; stock
hogs In great demand. A. J.
Boss Co.—Corn mostly poor; winter wheat,
sown on fallow land, In bad condition, that
sown on corn land presents tbe best outlook;
hay abundant; horses scarce. J. JI. J.
Belmont Co.—Stock doing splendidly; potatoes scarce; fruit of all kinds failed this year;
fat stock nearly old sold, ve-ry few being fed
for late winter trade; feed here ls cheap.
J. F.
Sciota Co.—Wheat ls In excellent condition,
only about 75 percent, of usual acreage sown;
corn producod a good yield; lands may bo had
atSlOO peracre; farm hands receive 81 50 per
day. O. \V.
Henry Co.—Wheat In ground looks well,
mostly late sown, very little damage by Hy;
corn .shrunk some; early planted potatoes
produced an average yield, late planted not
worth gathering. J. ti.
INDIANA.
Clinton Co.—The wheat fields are looking
spledid In this county. W. P.
Grant Cst.-^U. S.-Candy gathered 800 bushels of corn on 10 acres of ground; a large portion of corn in field yet, lt was too damp to
crib in fall at usual gathering time, I fear
seed will not be good; wheat looking well;
stock scarce and high. J. 31. E.
Boone Co.—Wheat looking fine in this part
of Boone county, the best that I have seen in
Boone, JIarlon or Hamilton counties; hogs
scarce nnd high; milk cows from J-J5 to t'/D per
head; corn was more than an average crop;
farmers are In good spirits; success to the Indiana Farmer. B. H. L.
Oranoe Co.—Health tolerable good; crops
were good; fruit was scarce; hogs scarce and
worth 6c; corn selling at 30 to 35c per bushel;
wheat 70 to 75c at French Lick; French Lick Is
booming, the proprietor, 3Ir. E. II. Wells, has
someSJOor SO hands employed on bis buildings; the growing wheat Is damaged badly by
freezes of the past month. 31.
Fulton Co.—We are having some very nice
winter weather; wheat ls looking very bad,
and a great deal was damaged by the fly, and
unless lt Improves very much we will have a
poor crop next harvest; corn was only a medium crop, some good fields and a great many
poor ones, a great deal Is still standing out in
the fields; hogs are about ail sold and stock
bog, are acarce; stock of all kinds high.
>    . L. W. P.
St. Joseph Co.—Wheat looks good In places,
tbe fly worked strong on it, tbe early sown is
tbe best; corn was an average crop; hogs are
pretty well sold out, stock bogs are quite numerous, but not for sale; sheep and cattle are
in good condition,and In good demand,prices
are satisfactory, generally speaking; clover
was a good catch last year, hence with n favorable winter we can expect a good crop of
bay this year; we hod no apples last year, and
small fruit was not abundant- E. A. 31.
Vigo Co.—I am well pleased with the change
the ground; the wheat prospect not near so
good as last year at this time; fat hogs and
cattle mostly sold to butchers at good prices.
-   L. n. D.
GROWTH OF AGRICULTURE.
The progress of agriculture In tho United
States ts something wonderful. No other
country In the world compares with us In ag-
rlcuturnl development, as shown by the following facts:
Area of
farms, acres.
2*1,000,000
802,000,000
420,000,000
507,000,000
FARMING A SAFE BUSINESS.
It has been shown by statistics that out of
1,000 trades and men In commercial pursuits
only seven acquire wealth. There were 1,112
persons went Into bankruptcy In Slassachu-
setts, ond but 15of them werefarmers. Of the
2,500 bankrupts In New York, but 46 were
farmers. Tlio percent, of bankrupt farmers
in the Western states from 1876 to 1880, was
still less than In the East. These facts show
how safe a business Is farming.
Tillage,  •
Pnstoral,
acres.
acres,     fai
1RS0   .
(11,000,0(10
2*12.0110,000
IHliO
K1,(*00,000
27»,(«X),(«0
1S70   -
9(1,000,000
321,000,000
1S80
100,000,000
311,000,000
AGRICULTURAL NOTES.
At the Western New York Farmers'Club lt
was decided that when corn-meal ls not
mixed with cut stalks lt is better to feed the
meal before than after the stalks, as morn of
lt would then be retained In the first stomach
and remastlcnted.
An Iowa correspondent says he makes his
granary distasteful to rats by "daubing all the
nnglcs on the outside, of the building with hot
pine tar for tbe width of three or four Inches,
and also any scam or crack where a rat or
mouse can stand to gnaw."
value of manufactures 14 per cent., and of
mining, Including mineral oils, about 7}, per
cent. mm_m__m__mm_m____m______^__m
Experience -with Sorghum.
Editor* Indiana Farmer:
Last spring I planted 20 acres In sorghum
cane. Owing to tha backward spring the cane
grew vory slow. Five acres were worthless.
1 worked 18 acres and made nearly 2,000 gallons from the yield. I made 1,200 gallons for
customers at 20c a gallon. I have a Bookwal-
ter6)£horse-powcrenglneand the No. 0 steam
power mill. The cost of both was S000; a
Maulsby pan, cost 870; a house between SJOO
and *500; bolt, J1S. I threshed 165 bushels of
seed. The syrup Is worth 60 cents a gallon at
wholesale, and CO cents nt retail.
Marlon Co. P. Raab.
Borgbum Culture in Kansas.
A special agent of the Agricultural Bureau
who lately visited Kansas to Inquire Into and
report upon the adaptation of tlie soil for tbe
cultivation of sorghum and sugar-making,
says that during the past year the obstacles
in the way of making sugar from sorghum
have been greatly overcome, the manufacturer producing 1,000 pounds first quality of
dry sugar to an acre of enne with as much certainty as flour Is produced from wheat. He
says he finds the soil and climate of Kansas
specially udupted to this crop; that the cane
averages higher In syrup-making qualities
than tbat of any other State visited by him,
and that more seed ls produced.
AMERICAN SUGAR PRODUCTION.
The culture of sorghum for syrup and sugar
is an Interesting topic In the light of the following facts In regard to demand and supply.
The following was the American production
from the Southern cane for the years named:
Sugar,
leara. Hogsheuds.
iS5H-*ou       -       -        aw.osj
!K77-'7*i - - 130,878
1K7S--79 - - 2W.151
1X7»-'80 - - 178,872
1SW-*81 - - -SlfiD-
The quantity of sugar Imported during the
fiscal year 1801 was 611,000000pounds, while the
quantity Imported during the fiscal year 1882
wasl,«W,000,000 pounds. It Is thus seen that
while the home product has not Increased In
twenty-one years, the Importations have Increased almost fourfold.
3Iolasses.
Gallons.
H,0«3,»96
18,983,010
17,024,539
16,573,274
1)0,310,038
bushels peracre:  not many cattle ar&belng   "»«*e  form of  theFABMER,  ills amoveln
'eV\.ft*j»laY.'**als1l wasst Is*, n   nnH    a*f-i*tti1s-1   m *->/*, r>   n-11V.   _:.._..
wintered on account of the scarcity of corn;
fall pasture continued good till snow fell;
there is a good opening here for a tile factory.
H. C. W.
OHIO.
Columbiana Co.—Wheat looks well, and ls
the right direction and should meet with success; the paper heretofore was faulty In material and easily worn out, now lt la neater
form and printed on much better paper, and
will at the end of the year make a volume
worth preserving of over 1,000 pages, there are
no farmers tbat can well aflord to do without
but little damaged by tbe fly; the fruit crop  lt; we are having pleasant winter weather here
was a failure;  cattle scarce,  common  milk   now; there ls nearly three Inches of snow on
FOREIGN TRADE OF 1882.
The Chief of the National Bureau of Statistics gives the foreign trade for 1882, which
shows that our exports of merchandise fell off
1151,000,000during tbe fiscal year. The excess
of exports over Imports was a little less than
820,000,000, or almost exactly one-tenth of the
excess of exports for the previous fiscal year.
The total value of Imports and exports of merchandise nnd specie fell off 1107,000,000. The
decrease In exports ls accounted for by the
falling off in cotton, breadstuff* nnd provisions, and is attributed to the drouth and
other unfavorablecondltlons which prevailed
during the crop season of 1881. The corn crop
fell otrso per cent., tbe wheat crop 23 percent.,
and the cotton crop 18 per cent., as compared
with the preceding year. The decrease in the
value of the exports of cotton and of bread-
stuffs and provisions was $1G8,000.000, or more
than the total decrease In the value of the
exports of domestic merchandise. There was,
however, a considerable Increase In the exports of petroleum and of manufactured articles. The value of the exports of raw manufactured cotton was more than $213,000,000, or
29 per cent, of the whole, while the value of
the exports of bread, breadstuff, nnd provisions was t303,000,000, or 41 per cent, of the
whole exportation.   The value of tbe exports
The Sorghum Business.
Editors iDdlaas Fanner:
I see in your valuable paper that tne sorghum raisers and manufacturers held an association in your city some time since, and as
I could not be with them I embrace this manner of contributing my mite In the matter. I
fully Indorse all that was done by the association, and will try to be with them in the
future. I have been manufacturing sorghum
syrup for the last 15 years, consequently have
learned something of the business by experience. I have some samples of sorghum syrup
I would not be ashamed or afraid to exhibit
at any time or place, as I think tbey will compare with any sorghum 6yrup manufactured
anywhere. I am fully convinced that not
every man who manufactures sorghum syrup
knows Just the right process at all times as
the cane varies so much, owing to soil and
season, that It must be manufactured to some
extent differently so that the best results may
be obtained, and for that reason sorghum
manufacture demands a large experience to
rightly understand the matter. I dispose of
all my offal at the mill as I manufacture the
syrup. With my best wishes for the sorgbum
Interest, I subscribe myself,
Bartholomew Co. JIenry PlCKSifs.
History Bepeata Itself—One Hundred
Tear* Ago and Now.
"The prospect of enormous gains tempted
American merchants to import In'one year
more than their exports could pay in three;
while factors of English houses, bringing over
British goods on British account, Jostled
American merchants In their own streets."
"The people had looked for peace and prosperity to come hand in band, and when hostilities ceased they ran In to debt for English
goods, never doubting that their wonted Industries would yield thera the means of payment as of old. But excessive importations at
low. prices crushed domestic manufactures."
—Bancroft's History of the Formation of the
Constitution of the United States.
"Until we manufacture more it ls absurd to
celebrate tbe Fourth of July as the birthday
of our independence, W'e are still a dependent people; and what is worse, after the blood
and treasure we have expended, we are actually taxed by Great Britain. Our Imports help
to fill her revenue and to pay the Interest of a
debt contracted in an attempt to enslave us."
of products of agriculture was 75 percent., the' —Boston Gazette In 1788.