The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1885-07-10

Many Kansas farmers are arranging
to use hay and straw burners, to take
the place Of stoves for coal and wood.
All the great rivers of Russia are in
terlaced with artificial canals, through
which thousands of barges, heavily
laden, make their way every naviga-
ton season.
The Snyder blackberry 10 said to hold
Its own a. being the one ironclad, re-
liable sort which stands the trying
winters Of almost every section. The
Lawton, Kittatinny, Wilson, and others
in some sections are frozen down to tho
ground year after year.
Americans have made more progress
in manufacturing farming implements
in the last fifty years than the world
has made before in centuries In the
next fifty years the great improvement
will be In live stock and the results will
be no less astonishing.
Stones may be made very useful by
placing them around plants and trees
as mulch. Thus used under trees,
especially evergreens, they are very
valuable. One advantage over ordi-
nary mulch in using stones is that
weeds are not so likely to spring up
among them.
T. L. Quinn says that after twenty
I've years experience in raising pears
Tor market he has como to the conclu-
sion that II he were about to plant an
orchard and could get dwarf pears for
nothing, while at the same time he had
to pay $500 thousand for standards,
no would not hesitate a moment in
taking the latter.
Twenty years ago the average weight
of beef cattle was 800 pounds; now Il
is 400 pounds. Fifty years ago tho
ordinary weight and value of work
horses was greater than at present.
Who will be the Renick of new move
ment to bring the weight and value Of
the American work-horse up to the
standard demandedp
In all previous National expositions
there has been prominent effort made
towards the stimulation of manufac-
turing interests. While agriculture
and its kindred interests have been ac-
knowledged, they have never been
given that great importance that their
connection with the material prosperity
of the nation demands.
Ounces can be raised rs readily as
apples or pears. But the ground
where they are growing needs to be
kept from grass and weeds; and it Is
an excellent practice to prcad ashes Of
any sort and lime around the trees,
and dig such fertilizing material into
the soil. Ounces sell as high as $40 q
barrel, and they have always been high.
A correspondent of the Atlanta Con-
stitutton says: 81 note with surprise
the heavy yields of corn made on Geor-
gia lands under the gossypium-phospho
tests last season. ] belonged to the
famous Hundred Bushel Club of New
York, in which, under the most favor
able conditions, with richest lands and
best implements, only eleven members
out of ninety-eight reached 100 bushels
to the acre, the two highest being 1l8
and 10 bushels. That Georgia should,
in competition of sixteen farmers,
reach l16I, LOG and 103 bushels fo- the
best three, and average 49, bushels for
the entire sixteen contestants, is aston
ishing to Northern man who knew
little Of the fertility of your soil "
Truly the lot of the farmer in the
South is not happy one. 1t is COM
monty reported, and not denied. that
they pay, on an average, not less than
at the rate of 40 per cent. per annum
for the credit they get at the country
stores. Meat and provisions bought in
August and September and paid for in
October or November cost them at the
rate of 40 to IS, and even 80 per
cent. per annum. The usages of
the trade are such that poor farmers
cannot avoid this heavy interest. This
bears very hard upon poor men es-
pecially. Rich men can borrow money
in New York at per cent, and in
Europe al stiii lVwor rates. Clearly
no one will wish to 60 South unless he
has capital enough to enable him to
avoid the extortions of the merchants.