The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1874-08-10
Crops, Politics, etc in Rural

vi CdtuTudy, ACWio 'Ao'"' A|f !"
Rural, was in our sanctum for a few mo-
ments, and, speaking of having just lin
ished harvest, we asked him some ques-
tons in regard to crops, prospects, politics,
etc.. etc, and elected the following inform
alton
There will be less corn raised thar last
year. Early planted corn is suffering Tor
rain. Late planted will do pretty well If.
we have more rain during the month. The
chinch bugs having left the wheat fields
are at work in the corn and are doing some
damage.
Wheat is a small crop, running from D
to 10 or II bushels to the acre. He has a
heavy enough growth of straw for 20 bush
els to the acre, but will not have over 6
bushels to the acre.
Oats not over 80 bushels to the acre
not over half a crop. The hot weather
! rlpened and shrunk the wheat and oats
both, before they were fully developed and
matured.
Hay is plenty, but a good deal of it was
ripened and cured standing, by the very
hot and dry weather, and was cut and stack
ed or hauled into barns as fast as cut, it
being perfectly dry and cured.
Barley not over two-thirds of a crop,
some pieces not over half a crop, some not
over Is bushels to the acre.
Rye, very fair crop. Not much ground
devoted to rye.
Potatoes, if we have rain this month,
will be a fair crop. Early potatoes yielded
pretty we'll and we're good. The potatoe
bugs did but little harm. They fed on the
vines to some extent, but other leaves came
out and the potatoes did not stop growing.
Rain this month will give us a fair crop Of
potatoes.
Garden %truck-an important item in
family economy-is generally good.
The feed in pastures is very poor. There
Is less feed now han at this time last year.
Stock is suffering, and unless we have q
good deal of rain soon the fall feed will be
very short and farmers be compelled tc
feed stock early from their winters sup.
ply, in small quantities. The sudden dry.
ing up of the pastures cuts off the milk
and butter supply.
Rural is perhaps a fair average of the
county. On the south east side along the
Henry county line the land is as good as
any ia the State, and there may be found
some very fine farms. On the north and
west side the land is broken, the barrens
are abrupt, and a good deal cut up by
streams. Take the township as a whole
and it is perhaps a fair average of the
county, and the state of crops there is per-
haps a fair average of the county.
As to politics, Rural is a strong Demo-
cratic or Independent Farmers town.
There is no village within its borders. II
has purely an agricultural population, and
in point of intelligence, morality, etc. it has
no superior in the county. The few Re
publicans in the township are a good
deal divided, and a good deal Disguised
with Republican management. On the
congressional question they are dissatisfied
with both Lynde and Hawlcy. One they
regard as a tool of monopolies and corpora
tons, and the other as an active member
of several corporations and a man who has
accumulated much wealth by means of
legislation designed to aid the rich and
the monopoly classes at the expense of the
laboring and the producing classes. Mel
Their is a fair representative Of the class
which constitutes the bulk of the American
people, or of the interests Of the laborine
and producing classes. They would like
to see a Representative man of the people and
not of the monied and monopoly classes.
The foregoing is the substance of a hall
hours conversation with Lewis Wilson OF
Rural, on Saturday last. Mr.. Wilson is one
of our most intelligent farmers and one Of
our c~learest headed citizens "a man who
generally does his own thinking. We
need more of that sort of men.