Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-03-07
FARM MATTERS.

farmer to feel his oats, literally as we
as metaphorically.
A spade in the hand is worth two il
the woodshed-this weather.
A correspondent of the Osborn
Farmer insists that one ton of sorghum
cane is worth more as fodder than fou
tons u prairie hay.
A farmer living near Attica has beer
making speciality OF raising watermel
ons. He sold four car loads at $6S ca
last year. He proposes to raise seventy
acres this year.
All the papers in western Kansa:
speak of big planting and bounteou.
crops. This is as it should be- Pitch il
it is on the cards that Kansas will out
do herself this wear. Plenty of rain anC
no hot winds guaranteed.
JEFF Durfee is said to be constructing the
largest artificial pond in North America
on his farm few miles south of Os-
borne. He intends stocking it with every
| variety of domestic waterfowl. all kind;
of fish, and several varieties OF amphibi-
GUS reptiles, such as turtles and bullfrogs.
| The domestication and culture of the
bullfrog is an industry that has never
| before been undertaken in western Kan
saS.
The sorghum sugar industry of Kan
sas is again indebted to its father, Sena
tor Plumb. for an appropriation that
Will give 1t a new impetus. The amount
of the appropriation is $4,000, which
| the senator secured in the form of an
amendment to the agricultural bill, and
which is to be applied in the continuation
| of the experiments already begun. The
amendment also includes, SO far as prac-
ticable, the instruction features of the
| Funston bill.
The St. Mary's Kan. Gazette says: II.
II. Hagan, one of the best known stock
men of this place, at the recommends
ton of Ex-Governor Click was called
before the senate committee who are in
vestigating the dressed beef combine, on
Thursday of last week. Dir. Hagan
maintains that there is no combine in
the buying of cattle. That the packers
compete with each other in the purchase
of stock, but the cheapness of beef is
due to over production. Mr.. Hagan
does not believe there is a combine in
the selling. and cites the fact that there
has been no reduction in price to the
consumer for the past two years.
During the last session of congress bills
We're introduced in the house ''to pro-
hibit dealing in futures in agricultural
products" and ''prohibir fictitious and
gambling transactions on price of arti-
cleS produced by American farm indus
try" The bills were referred to the
committee on agriculture, who took the
subject under consideration and heard
arguments in support of the bill. Feb
ruary 20 the committee took up the
matter for disposition and decided to re-
port both bills adversely, and authorize
the appointment of subcommittee to
draw up a report to that effect. The
committee investigated the matter thor
oughly, and arrived at the conclusion
that congress has no jurisdiction on this
subject, that the limitations proposed by
the constitution make it improper for
congress to pass the measures proposed,
and that it is a matter for state legisla-
ton exclusively.
1t is stated on the best authority that
the corn crop of 1888 was not only the
largest ever produced in the United
States, but the best in quality ever
known. 1t aggregated over two billion
bushels, and was worth over 500, 000,-
000 1t would require over three million
cars, each loaded with 600 bushels, to
transport it. These cars would require
sixty thousand locomotives to haul them
and would reach more than round the
world.
The experiments with frozen wheat as
seed at the Minnesota state experimental
farm are of widespread interest. The
results are thus far surprising. Some
thirty samples of frosted and frozen
wheat have been employed for the tests,
and many of them have sprouted. The
next point to settle is will they have suf-
fcient vitality to mature?
The sale of trotters at Lexington, KY,
on February p. was phenomenal, the
sixty-one head sold bringing a total of
$142 $50, an average of $2.372. The
price paid for Bell Boy-S51, 000-is the
highest ever paid for horse in America,
either trotter or thoroughbred. j. H.
Clark, of the Genessee Valley stud, New
York, and G. II. Hopper, Of Unionville,
O., were the purchasers.