The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1892-06-29

, farmer seems TO take kindly 10 bearing
| others burdens and mortgaging his farm
| to get the money. The lament is that any
should be found who will give the shout
that belongs only to victors when
| pulling chestnus out of the fire for
others and crippling themselves more and
more. Will we never learn that each in
terest in the world must look out for itself
and do It's own thinking. There is cost
imposed by reciprocity that is grievious to
bear, though unseen by many, that the
writer hopes to present some time in the
future. Sufficient to say, only most pros
| porous farmers can afford to cry out for
opportunity to contribute of their wealth
| to'men In other occupations. The knights
of reciprocity are already seeking kindly
oblivion.
Fairvisw Farm Papers No o, by "Dsvid."
The fence question is most important
one on every farm. The cost OF building
and maintaining good fences is heavy
and all are interested in keeping it down
as low as possible 1t seems to rae that
very many farmers incur needless ex-
pense by cutting up their fields into small
/ irregular patches. and sometimes by fenc-
! ing land when it is entirely unnecessary.
! No one can settle such a question for an
other, but have so arranged matters on
Fairview farm that the cost is probably
reduced to minimum.
Some natural pasture land on one end
of the farm furnishes all the grass needed
! for the stock. These fields are all well
sodded, and are kept clean as possible OF
/ all weeds and bushes. The growth Of
| green food is very heavy each year, and
| these acres are profitable. They are cut
up into three fields both for sake of con-
| venlence and good of the stock. The enclos-
ures are made by well staked rail fences,
having one strand OF barbed wire, drawn
either OH the top or the center of the fence
or along the inside corners to protect the
riders from displacement by colts or other
stock. Either way is good, and the wire
renders resetting unnecessary for many
years after stakes begin to loosen. This
device is worth many dollars to me, and
while others may be using it, the idea is
original with the writer so far as be knows
hope others will try it.
These pasture feds have all the perma-
nent fence in use on the farm. The titled
fields are left unienced, all line fences
| being abandoned by common consent.
There are several objections to fences
around fields that are subject to a regular
three years rotation, of which clover is
| the base. While cultivating crops the
fences are in the way aud furnish naught
but harbor for weeds. They occupy
ground that should be productive, and
they entail expense when profits are
needed.
Occasionally / want to pasture hogs on
! the clover, but doubt whether it pays me
TO do so, as the clover deserves the best
treatment that can be given. II fence
must be had. use e movable one, but am
| more and more inclined not TO pasture
| my clover. Any stock on wet land does a
serious injury by it's tramping. and the
gain by pasturing is too often lost In the
next years reduced yield. Especially do
l object to the tramping OF clover fields by
horses and cattle. II any income from
these fields is needed prefer to cut the
frat crop early for hay and grow a second
crop for the land.
In many sections methods are such that
all fields should be pastured in turn. In
such cases the chief point is to see that
the fields are large as is consistent and
| regular in form, thus reducing the fencing
! bill much as possible. When posts are
used | prefer locust we'll seasoned. On
| broken parts of the pasture field i grow
| lOcusts for this purpose. 1t never pays to
set post of wood that is not durable. As
| my rail fences give way shall use more
locust posts. The problem is to fence
cheaply, substantially, and just as little as
can be, consistently with ones methods of
farming. Reduction of unnecessary ex-
pense is the watchword OF our best and
| safest farmers.
wheat Prospects.
The yield of wheat per acre was so great
| last year and the prospect of remunerative
prices so fattering that 1t was feared the
| acreage for this seasons harvest would be
greatly increased. While we may see the
shortsightedness of such policy for us as
a whole. yet the selfishness of the human
heart is such that each one would have all
others keep acreage restricted to quite a
moderate limit while he would increase
his own acreage, thus hoping to reap the
reward of others moderation or sacrifice.
| This trait has been so manifest in the past
| that the fear of increased wheat acreage
| this season was most natural.
| IL gives us pleasure to note that our ex-
/ pectatione are doomed to disappointment
| this time, and that our acreage, as report
| ed by the department OF agriculture, is
almost exactly that of last year. AS pop
| uation increases very materially each
year. proportionate increase in acreage
| of wheat with average yield, would leave
| the market in normal condition, but this
increase has not been made. The acreage
| last year was not abnormal, the excessive
crop being due to unparalleled yield per
acre. With like weather and other crop
conditions we could food the worlds
markets, provided Europe does not have
another crop failure; but these favoring
conditions do not and have not existed
since seed time last fall.
The May condition of winter wheat was
fourteen points. out of hundred. lower
than the corresponding month one year
| previous. The June condition shows an
| improvement OF over four points. standing
now at SS.3, being over eight points lower
| thar in June of last year. Such an i'm
| provement is substantial one, and almost
| precludes the possibility of any great
| shortage in the winter wheat crop, while
| it also indicates q material decline from
| last years yield.
1t is too cary to form an estimate OF the
yield of spring wheat, much OF it being
| little more than above ground. Much of
| il was planted too late, and big yield is
| hardly probable. It's acreage is aboat one
| third of the entire wheat acreage.
The two weeks prior to harvest is crit
ical time with the crop. Hot sunshine af-
ter fogs and showers often causes rust and
| blight that produce a shrunken condition
| OF the grain and reduces its capacity to
| roaka dour On the other hand favorinO