The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1899-11-25
ODD IDEAS IN FARMS.
Indiana Men Who Raise Skunks
and Tables for Market

Indiana is becoming freakish in its farm
ing. Instead of depending on corn, wheat,
rye and the old stand -bys some farmers
in Indiana are filling their purses by rails
ing such products as skunks, weasels, rab
bits, frogs, ginseng, leeches, tom cats,
uoxious weeds and other things which the
old-school farmer has made 1t a point to get
rid of, writes an Auburn, Ind. correspond
ent of the Chicago lnter-Ooean.
Indiana has six large skunk farms and
the industry is becoming 50 extensive that
''trust was formed three weeks ago.
The pelt of black skunk is worth 81 to-
day in any market, and those Of the striped
ones will bring from 81 30 up The
skunk farmers are now raising them by the
thousands The skunk is a sensible animal
1t appreciates good treatment, aud Is re-
spec,or of persons The kittens are pretty
little pets, are easily handled, do not de
mand much care, are cheaply maintained,
and easily placed on a profitable market,
Near New Harmony Posey county, they
are raising Angora cats ON iarmbasis pro
PORTIONS. There are several farmers and
a genuine eat jobber. named Herman Euler.
He alone has handled over >, 600 during
the last three years. Almost all Of the
New Harmony cats find their way igto the
stores Of John Wanamaker The Phila
delpha women are great tanclers ot An
goras. and the New Harmony breed are
sold At from So to $50 each without much
trouble Cats at $50 apiece make money
faster for the farmer than corn, oats, wheat
or rye, The new industry was established
by the accidental purchase of a eat at New
Harmony By "a Philadelphia man four years
ago. Il proved to be an exceptional ami
nal. and there was at once great de
mand for New Harmony cats.
There i only one leech farm in Indiana,
and it Is probably the only one in the
country. Il Is located ia Lake county.
The iudur,ry Is carried on in moss6lled watts
The breeding leeches were shipped from
Germany some years ago, and all ot the
product l. thoroughbred. The leech mar
ket Is nothing compared with what II form
erly was. and when all physicians prescrib
ed an application Of leeches for everything
FROM culd feet to raging fever. Still this
aue farmer knows exactly where to place
his stock. and because Of has superior brand
Is able 20 have = constant demand, They
are packed in mess and leaves and shipped
ia crates containing she number desired.
They arc gwen plenty Of food aud will keep
in their crates for an indefinite time
There are three OF four rabbit farms in
Indiana The largest one has just been
established near Wabash. aud covers sixty
acres The company j. headed by Nathan
Meyer aud Is known a. the Wabash Belgian
Harc Breeding and Importing COMPANY.
Teu acres of the sixty have boen converted
into breeding ground. and a rabbit
kennel heated by he; water and lighted by
electricity is one If the features VI the
farm. The company has Herman Wolf,
an agent, 10 Belgium now, purchasing uew
breeders, and be Is shipping them by the
thousands They expect TO raise a million
harez 3 year They are fed On hay, ani
during the first seven months Of their lives
they eat ifty six pounds Of hay. or ESQ
pounds Of green grass. Their pelts are in
demand. and the meat Of the animal Is
edible. MoreOyeF, they sell as pets
Prom their hair the finest crush hats are
made. The skin Is worth from ten to
twenty-five cents a; the factory Hares
are easily handled. are somewhat more
desirable crop than skuEks- aud there Is
little danger Of ''an 81 year.
For many years Indiana farmers thought
peppermint weeds obnoxious aud grubbed
them out. Today they are three biz pep
permint farms in Indiana The largest
is owned by Marx Beeger, Of Mishawaka,
aud + located in 81 Joseph county.
Another is on the Indiana Michigan line,
and Is owned by some Poles, and the other
Is in Lake county lis uses are numsr-
Gus. but the greatest demand comes from
the manufactures Of PRINT fabrics, who use
il to make the eolors solid. The success
ful peppermint farmer can make from s75
to $3.50 an acre from his land
The most freakish line Of freak farming
l. the new wrinkle the new farmer has in
trodneei in fooling and iatteuing the water
melon Around Poseyville. where they
raise them by the hundred thousand aud
ship ,hem at the rate Of 100 carloads 4
day the farmer steals a march on Madame
Nature and faiteus the melons as surely as
the Iowa farmer fattens his pork He
does i, By performing a surgical operation
on the stom inserting a cotton fuse which
he passes through cord into bottle Of
sugarsweesened water Ii j. said melons
will absorb a pint Of this water day.
They grow 70 beat the band, and be
come iuicier. sweeier and better than mel
ons grown in the ordinary way.
The largest gold fish farm in the world
is located in Shelby county, Indiana. |,
is known as Spring lake fishery. Over
>. 600, 600 FISH were shipped last year
This -FTrmer has become wealthy. There
are a number Of bullfrog farms in the State
and the farmers get from fifty to ninety
cents a dozen for the frogs, which are of
the American jumbo breed
Another new line of freak farming Is
hickory nut orchards The shell barks
which formerly brought only fifty cents a
bushel now sell at seventy-fve cents a
peck. 1t takes some years, however, to
grow an orchard that will pay, bat Indiana
farmers are raising hickory nuts for the