Various - Prairie Farmer, Vol. 56: No. 1, January 5, 1884.
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Various >> Prairie Farmer, Vol. 56: No. 1, January 5, 1884.
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11 PRAIRIE FARMER
A Weekly Journal for
THE FARM, ORCHARD, AND FIRESIDE.
ESTABLISHED IN 1841.
ENTIRE SERIES: VOL. 56--NO. 1.
CHICAGO, SATURDAY, JANUARY 5, 1884.
PRICE, $2.00 PER YEAR,
IN ADVANCE.
[Transcriber's Note: Some pages in the original had the corner torn off.
Missing text has been marked [***].]
[Transcriber's Note: The Table of Contents was originally located on
page 8 of the periodical. It has been moved here for ease of use.]
THE CONTENTS OF THIS NUMBER.
AGRICULTURE--Tall Meadow Oat-Grass, Page 1; The Barbed-Wire
Business, 1-2; A Rambler's Letter, 2; Let Us Be Sociable, 2; Seed Corn
Again, 2; Field and Furrow, 3.
LIVE STOCK--Mr. Grinnell's Letter, Page 14; Prices of 1883, 4;
Docking Horses, 4; Items, 4.
THE DAIRY--Lessons in Finance for the Creamery Patron, Page 5.
VETERINARY--Fever, Page 5.
HORTICULTURE--Ill. Hort. Society, Page 6; A Short Sermon on a
Long Text, 6; Prunings, 6-7.
FLORICULTURE--Gleanings by an Old Florist, Page 7; Am I a Scot
or am I Not, Poetry, 7; Primitive Northwest, 7.
EDITORIAL--Items, Page 8; Seed Samples, 8; The Pork Question in
Europe, 8; Corn, Wheat, and Cotton, 8; Chicago in 1883, 9; Strong Drink,
9; Questions and Answers, 9; Wayside Notes, 9; Champaign Letter, 9.
POULTRY NOTES--Chat With Correspondents, Page 10; Feather Ends,
10.
THE APIARY--Keep Bees, Page 10; The New Bees, 10; Hive and
Honey Hints, 10.
SILK CULTURE--Women In Silk Culture, Page 11.
HOUSEHOLD--The Schoolmarm's Story, Poem, Page 12; A Chat About
the Fashions, 12; A Kitchen Silo, 12; Items, 12.
YOUNG FOLKS--Talk about the Lion, Page 13; A Jack-knife Genius,
13; Little Johnny, 13.
BOOK NOTICES--Page 13.
LITERATURE--Robin, Dear Robin, Poetry, Page 14; Mrs. Wimbush's
Revenge, 14.
HUMOROUS--The Carpenter's Wooing, Poetry, Page 15; Where the
Old Maids Come From, 15; Items, 15.
NEWS OF THE WEEK--Page 16.
MARKETS--Page 16.
TALL MEADOW OAT-GRASS.
Prof. John W. Robson, State Botanist of Kansas, sends THE PRAIRIE FARMER
an extract from his last report, concerning a tame grass for hay and
pasturing which is new to that State. The grass has been on trial on an
upland farm for two years, during which time he has watched it very
closely. The Professor says, "It possesses so many excellent qualities
as to place it in the front rank of all cultivated grasses." He
enumerates from his notes:
1st. The seed will germinate and grow as easily as common oats. 2d. It
maintains a deep green color all seasons of the year. 3d. Its roots
descend deeply into the subsoil, enabling this grass to withstand a
protracted drouth. 4th. Its early growth in spring makes it equal to rye
for pasturage. 5th. In the next year after sowing it is ready to cut for
hay, the middle of May--not merely woody stems, but composed in a large
measure of a mass of long blades of foliage. The crop of hay can be cut
and cured, and stowed away in stack or barn, long before winter wheat
harvest begins. 6th. It grows quickly after mowing, giving a denser and
more succulent aftermath than any of the present popular tame grasses.
For several years, he says, we have been looking for a grass that would
supply good grazing to our cattle and sheep after the native grasses
have become dry and tasteless. In the early portion of 1881, his
attention was called to a tame grass which had been introduced into the
State of Michigan from West Virginia. This forage plant was causing some
excitement among the farmers in the neighborhood of Battle Creek. So he
entered into a correspondence with a friend living there, and obtained
ten pounds of seed for trial. The result has been satisfactory in every
respect. The seed was sown April 1, 1881. It germinated quickly, and the
young plants grew vigorously. During the whole summer they exhibited a
deep-green color, and did not become brown, like blue-grass, orchard
grass, or timothy. As soon as the spring of 1882 opened, growth set in
rapidly, and continued till the latter end of May, at which period it
stood from three to four feet high. At this time it was ready for the
mower; but as the production of seed was the object in view, it was not
cut till the second week in June. The plot of ground of about half an
acre, on which ten pounds of seed were sown, produced three barrels of
seed.
He exhibited a little sheaf of this grass at the semi-annual meeting of
the Kansas State Horticultural Society, where it excited much
attention--the height, softness of the stem, length of blade, and sweet
aroma surprised every one present.
On the last day of August, he went into the plot with a sickle, and cut
two handfuls of aftermath which measured twenty inches in growth. This
he tied to a sheaf of the June cutting, and exhibited the same at the
State Fair, where it attracted much attention and comment.
Here, then, we have, he continues, a grass that will insure a "good
catch" if the seed is fresh; that can endure severe drouth; that
produces an abundant supply of foliage; that is valuable for pasture in
early spring, on account of its early and luxuriant growth; that makes a
valuable hay; that shoots up quickly after being cut; and affords a fine
crop of aftermath for grazing during the late fall and winter months.
The Professor is very anxious that the farmers of Kansas should test
this grass during the season of 1883. Still, his advice is not to invest
too largely in the experiment. Purchase from five to ten pounds of
seed, and give it a fair trial, and he is confident that the experiment
will be satisfactory.
The name given to this valuable grass in the State of Michigan is
"Evergreen," but this is only a local synonym. Its scientific name is
Avena elatior; its common name, "Tall Meadow Oat-grass." Fearing that he
might be mistaken in its nomenclature, he sent a specimen to Professor
Carruth, State Botanist. This is his reply:
"Mr. J.W. Robson--Dear Sir: Yours mailed on the 22d, I
received last evening. I do not get my mail every day. The
specimen of grass you sent agrees perfectly with the Avena
elatior, of Wood, and the Arrenatherrum avenaceum, of Gray;
but I have never seen this grass before. I agree with you in
the scientific name, and also in the common name, 'Tall
Meadow Oat-grass.'
Yours truly, J.H. CARRUTH."
The ground should be plowed in the fall, and early in the spring, as
soon as the soil is in good tilth; sow broadcast two bushels (or
twenty-eight pounds) of seed to the acre; cover well with the harrow,
both lengthways and across the piece of ground sown. Should the ground
prove weedy, cut the weeds down with the mowing machine in June, and
leave them upon the surface, and they will afford shade to the young
plants.
This grass is extensively grown in Eastern Tennessee, and is very
popular in that portion of the State. In some portions of Western
Virginia it is largely grown for hay and for grass. It is known as tall
meadow oat-grass in each of the States we have mentioned above.
* * * * *
The main building for the New Orleans Cotton Centennial Exposition next
year will be 1,500 feet long and 900 feet wide, with 1,000,398 square
feet of floor space, including Music Hall in the center, with a seating
capacity of 12,000 persons. The design also provides for main offices,
telegraph office, newspaper department, fire department, police,
hospital, waiting-rooms, and life saving apparatus. The building will be
the largest exposition building ever erected, except the one in London
in 1862. The design adopted was the work of G.M. Jorgenson, of Meridian,
Mississippi. There were ten competitors.
JOSEPH F. GLIDDEN.
The Barb-Wire Industry--Some Facts in its Early History not Generally
Known--Its Growth.
Joseph Farwell Glidden, "the Father of the Barb-Wire Business" of this
country, is now a hale and hearty man of seventy-one. He was born at
Charleston, N.H. When about one year old the family came West, to
Clarendon, Orleans county, New York, and engaged in farming. The young
lad, besides mastering the usual branches taught in the common schools,
gave some time to the higher mathematics and Latin, intending to take a
college course, an idea that he finally abandoned. He taught in the
district schools for a few terms. In 1842 he came to Illinois and
purchased a quarter section of land a mile west of what is now the site
of the pleasant and prosperous town of DeKalb. With the exception of
three years his life since then has been passed upon this farm and at
DeKalb. He has from time to time added to his homestead, his farm now
embracing 800 acres. His land is under excellent cultivation, a
considerable portion of it having been thoroughly tiled, and his farm
buildings are first-class. Mr. Glidden has been twice married. Two
children were born of the first union, both dying in infancy. By his
second marriage he has one daughter, now the wife of a Chicago merchant.
[Illustration: JOSEPH FARWELL GLIDDEN.]
Mr. Glidden has held several local offices of trust and honor and enjoys
in a marked degree the esteem and confidence of the citizens of his
neighborhood and county. The rapid accumulation of property of late
years, through his barb-wire patents and business, gave him the means to
gratify his feelings of public spirit, and in consequence the town of
DeKalb has benefited greatly at his hands. Its leading hotel and many
other buildings are the work of his enterprise. Mr. Glidden has never
lost the simple manners of the farm. He is unostentatious, quiet,
genial, and at his hotel makes everybody feel as much at home as though
enjoying the hospitalities of his private house. His kindly, firm, and
intelligent face is well shown in the accompanying portrait, though, as
is usually the case, the hand of the artist has touched his features
more lightly than has the hand of time.
* * * * *
Few names are now more widely known among the land holders of the
country than that of Joseph F. Glidden, the unpretending gentleman whose
life we have briefly sketched. It was his fortune to seize upon an idea,
and push it to development, which has not only given him fame and
fortune, but which has enriched many others and saved many millions of
dollars to the farmers of America. He has not only founded a mammoth
industry, but he has revolutionized an economic system of the world. By
his ingenuity and perseverance the fencing system of a pastoral
continent has been reduced to a minimum of expense and simplicity. Not
that he individually has accomplished all this, but as the patentee of
the first really successful barb-wire fence, he laid the solid
foundation for it all.
* * * * *
The first application for a patent for the Glidden barb was filed
October 27, 1873. For some weeks previous to this date Mr. Glidden had
had in his mind the idea of a barb of wire twisted about the main wire
of the fence, leaving two projecting points on opposite sides. He made
some of these by hand with the aid of pinchers and hammer. He strung two
wires between two trees and twisted them together with a stick placed
between them. A pair of cutting nippers was the next addition to his
"kit" of tools. His next means for twisting the two wires together was
the grindstone--attaching one end of the wire to shaft and crank, the
others being fastened to the wall of the barn. And here, as in most
things great and small in this world, woman furnished the motor power.
The strong arm of the good helpmeet, Mrs. Glidden, turned the grindstone
that twisted the first wire that made the first Glidden barb fence that
kept stock at bay in Illinois or the world. Then followed a device for
twisting and barbing, and the application of horse power. Business
expanded, and steam took the place of the horse, and inventive genius
modified and improved the entire machinery, it being estimated that at
least the sum of $1,000,000 has been expended in bringing the machinery
for barb-wire making to its present state of perfection.
* * * * *
At about the same time that Mr. Glidden was wrestling with his ideas and
devices, Mr. I.L. Ellwood was experimenting to accomplish a like result
with a thin band of metal, the barbs cut and curved outward from the
strip. In the meantime Mr. Glidden had put up a few rods of his
hand-made barb-wire along the roadside at his farm. And here again the
good genius of woman enters upon the scene. One Sunday Mr. Ellwood and
his wife were driving along this road and attracted by the wire fence
stopped to examine it. Mrs. Ellwood, much to the chagrin of her husband,
remarked: "This seems to me a better device than your own, don't it to
you?" It did not then, for the remark disappointed and angered him. But
it set him to thinking and before the next morning he was of the same
opinion. The two men meeting the next day it did not take long to
compromise and unite. Mr. Ellwood dropped his own plans and accepted a
half interest in the Glidden patents, and assumed the management of the
business end of the concern, in which position he developed ability and
tact possessed by few business men in this country.
* * * * *
The barb-wire fence met an unexpected and general demand. We know of few
things like it in the history of manufactures. From this small
beginning, scarce ten years ago more than fifty large establishments are
now turning out this wire to meet an ever insatiate demand. The
establishment of I.L. Ellwood (making the Glidden wire) at DeKalb is the
most complete and extensive of them all. The building is 800 feet in
length, and is supplied with about 200 machines for twisting and barbing
the wire. It gives, when running full force, employment to about 400
men, and turns out a car-load of wire each hour for ten hours per day,
on an average, though this amount is considerably increased at certain
times of the year. These figures, though not given us by Mr. Ellwood, we
are satisfied do not overstate the production of this one factory. The
progress of the barb-wire industry of the whole country is shown by the
following record of the past nine seasons. In
1874 there were 10,000 lb made and sold.
1875 there were 600,000 lb made and sold.
1876 there were 2,840,000 lb made and sold.
1877 there were 12,863,000 lb made and sold.
1878 there were 26,655,000 lb made and sold.
1879 there were 50,337,000 lb made and sold.
1880 there were 80,500,000 lb made and sold.
1881 there were 120,000,000 lb made and sold.
1882 there were about 180,000,000 lb.
The record for 1883 is not yet made up, but will probably show a
corresponding increase.
In 1876 Mr. Glidden disposed of his half interest in the concern of
Glidden & Ellwood to the Washburn & Moen (wire) Manufacturing Company,
of Massachusetts, receiving therefor $60,000 in cash and a royalty on
the future goods manufactured, Mr. Ellwood retaining his interest. The
new concern began the purchase of prior unused and conflicting patents
involving itself in extensive litigation, but, sustained by the courts,
soon gained control of almost the entire barb-wire business of the
country. Nearly all wire-making companies are now running under license
from the parent concern. The following is a list of the licensees of
last year:
Pittsburg Hinge Co.--Limited, Beaver Falls, Pa.
H.B. Scutt & Co., Buffalo, N.Y.
Hawkeye Steel Barb Fence Co., Burlington, Iowa.
James Ayers and Alexander C. Decker, Bushnell, Ill.
Indiana Wire Fence Co., Crawfordsville, Ind.
Cedar Rapids Barb Wire Co., Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Cincinnati Barbed Wire Fence Co., Cincinnati, Ohio.
Cleveland Barb Fence Co., Cleveland, Ohio.
Ohio Steel Barb Fence Co., Cleveland, Ohio.
Edwin A. Beers & Co., Chicago, Ill.
Crandal Manufacturing Co., Chicago, Ill.
Chicago Galvanized Wire Fence Co., Chicago, Ill.
Lyman Manufacturing Co., Chicago, Ill.
Daniel S. Marsh, Chicago, Ill.
Oscar F. Moore, Chicago, Ill.
National Wire Co., Chicago, Ill.
Herman E. Schnabel, Chicago, Ill.
Aaron K. Stiles and John W. Calkins, Chicago, Ill.
Thorn Wire Hedge Co., Chicago, Ill.
Baker Manufacturing Co., Des Moines, Iowa.
Superior Barbed Wire Co., DeKalb, Ill.
Jacob Haish, DeKalb, Ill.
Frentress Barbed Wire Fence Co., East Dubuque, Ill.
Grinnell Manufacturing Co., Grinnell, Iowa.
Janesville Barb Wire Co., Janesville, Wis.
Iowa Barb Wire Co., Johnstown, Pa.
William J. Adam, Joliet, Ill.
Lock Stitch Fence Co., Joliet, Ill.
Lambert & Bishop Wire Fence Co., Joliet, Ill.
Alfred Van Fleet & A.H. Shreffler, Joliet, Ill.
David G. Wells, Joliet, Ill.
Southwestern Barb Wire Co., Lawrence, Kan.
Arthur H. Dale, Leland, Ill.
Union Barb Wire Co., Lee, Ill.
Lockport Wire Fence Co., Lockport, Ill.
Norton & DeWitt, Lockport, Ill.
Iowa Barb Steel Wire Fence Co., Marshaltown, Iowa.
Omaha Barb Wire Co., Omaha, Neb.
H.B. Scutt & Co.--Limited, Pittsburg, Pa.
Missouri Wire Fence Co., St. Louis, Mo.
St. Louis Wire Fence Co., St. Louis, Mo.
J.H. Lawrence & Co., Sterling, Ill.
North Western Barb Wire Co., Sterling, Ill.
Novelty Manufacturing Co., Sterling, Ill.
Sandwich Enterprise Co., Sandwich, Ill.
Robinson & Hallidie, San Francisco, Cal.
The Hazard Manufacturing Co., Wilkes Barre, Pa.
Worcester Barb Fence Co., Worcester, Mass.
* * * * *
When Glidden & Ellwood first began the sale of the Glidden fence, which
was confined to the vicinity of DeKalb, they received 25 cents per pound
for the barbed wire. Since then, as production has increased and the
facilities for manufacturing have been multiplied and perfected, the
price has gradually dropped, until now a farm can be well fenced for
forty-five cents, or less, per rod, and to the incalculable advantage of
the country over fencing by posts and boards, hedges or rails, as any
one may see by a simple dollar and cent comparison of materials at his
own door.
* * * * *
Barb-wire has done much for the city of DeKalb. It has built its fine
business blocks and residences, and it has peopled it with industrious,
thrifty citizens. It has made a home market for many of the products of
the country 'round about. It should give a new name, "Barb City," to the
bustling, busy town. There are three concerns now making barb-wire at
this point. The one spoken of is the largest. Next is that of Jacob
Haish, an extensive establishment, turning out an excellent wire, and
the Superior, run by Mr. Hiram Ellwood, Mr. Glidden having a
considerable interest in it.
* * * * *
Mr. I.L. Ellwood is the owner of some 2,600 acres of land in the
vicinity of DeKalb. Much of this land is naturally low and wet. The
proprietor, with his accustomed energy and intelligence, has set
vigorously to work to reclaim it. To this end he has already laid eighty
miles of tile. He last year expended nearly $15,000 in this work. His
poorest land is rapidly becoming his most productive. Mr. Ellwood has
also turned his attention somewhat to horse-breeding, and he is now the
owner of a fine stud of draft-horses, the equal of many better-known
establishments of the kind in the State. Of his drainage operations we
hope to speak more in detail in a future number.
* * * * *
Mr. Glidden told the writer that his first trial of his fence with stock
was not undertaken without some misgivings. But he thought to himself,
"It will stop them, at any rate, whether it kills them or not." So he
took down an old board fence from one side of his barn-yard, and towards
night when his stock came up, turned them into the yard as usual. The
first animal to investigate the almost invisible barrier to freedom was
a strong, heavy grade Durham cow. She walked along beside the wires for
a little put her nose out and touched a barb, withdrew it and took a
walk around the yard, approached the wires again and gave the barbs a
lap with her tongue. This settled the matter, and she retired, convinced
that the new-fangled fence was a success.
* * * * *
Barb-wire is now sent from this country to Mexico, South America, and
Australia. It is also being manufactured in England under American
auspices.
* * * * *
Mr. Glidden, associating with himself a Mr. Sanborn, a young man of push
and enterprise, has opened up an extensive cattle ranch in Potter and
Randall counties, Texas. They have fenced with wire a tract thirty miles
long by about fifteen miles broad, and have now upon it 14,000 head of
cattle. Two twisted No. 11 wires were used for this fence, and the posts
are the best that could be procured. The wire was taken 200 miles on
wagons. The total cost of the completed fence was about $36,000.
* * * * *
Messrs. Glidden & Ellwood put up the first barb-wire ever used by a
railway company--the Northwestern. So great was the caution of the
company that the manufacturers built it themselves, agreeing to remove
it if it proved unsatisfactory. The railway folks feared it would injure
stock, the damages for which they would be forced to pay. It is needless
to say that the fence was not removed. More than one hundred railway
companies are now using the Glidden wire, and it stretches along many
thousands of miles of track.
A RAMBLER'S LETTER.
I would like to call your attention to the fact that there is
considerable cholera among swine in Dewey township, Ill., west from
Joliet. Mr. Cooter lost about 130 hogs. Other farmers have suffered
equally.
I have been looking over the stock in this part of the country and find
it excellent, as a general thing. Many of the farmers are breeders of
fine Hereford cattle. They also own first-class horses. Some of them
whom I called upon would like to know the address of State Veterinary
Surgeon Dr. Paaren, and I should be pleased if you will give it in THE
PRAIRIE FARMER.[A] I have often thought, Why is it that so many sons of
wealthy farmers leave their homes for the purpose of either studying in
some classical college, to learn a trade, or to become book-keepers and
clerks in mercantile business. I think if farmers would take more
interest in agricultural papers, instead of having their children
fooling away their time on novels or comic stories and pictures, it
would be better for both old and young. Let the parents buy a microscope
and let the young folks examine insects and fungi of all kinds, and let
them write their experiences down in a book whenever there is leisure
time. Or let them write to THE PRAIRIE FARMER something in the line of
farming, be it agriculture, horticulture, or about raising and caring
for stock. In so doing the boys of our farming country will become proud
of their noble profession and of their homes. They will gradually be, as
every farmer should be, educated up to the times. There are few farmers
who can afford to let their sons study in an agricultural university,
but every one can surely afford to subscribe for an agricultural paper,
it being one of the most profitable investments for himself and family.
The ground is covered with snow to a small extent, and the roads are in
a fine condition. The crops are all good here except corn, which is very
poor indeed, even the crop in most cases is small. Farmers are not at
all satisfied, and times are not at all encouraging.
H.A.P. WEISSBERGER.
WILL CO., ILL.
[A] 355 Western Avenue (south), Chicago.
A FARMER'S LIBRARY.
As this is the season to make up our list of papers and magazines for
the ensuing year, I will take a glance around my own cosy room set apart
for a library.
It is here that I do the most of my reading, writing, and planning; and
although I pretend to be deeply engaged while ensconced in the large
willow rocker, strictly forbidding entrance to my farmer office, yet the
children and "Spot," my Gordon setter, will intrude, making things
lively for awhile, driving my thoughts wool-gathering and breaking many
a thread of thought that I had fondly hoped would place my name high on
the roll of scribblers. It is a good thing to have the little innocent
children and the dog to blame for these shortcomings, as they can not
take issue with us on the question.
But I started to talk about a farmer's library; and taking my own for a
small sample, let us see how it looks.
For the purpose of keeping my papers in order, I have prepared thin
laths of tough wood dressed with the draw knife to a thin edge, the back
being one fourth of an inch thick, leaving the lath one and a quarter
inch broad; these are cut in lengths to suit the paper they are intended
to hold. Take for instance THE PRAIRIE FARMER. I cut the lath just two
inches longer than the paper is long, then cut notches half of an inch
from each end, in which I tie the ends of a cord; this forms a loop to
hang up the file. In this I file each paper so soon as read, by which
means they are never lost or mislaid. When at the end of each three
months the papers are taken from off the file, the oldest number is laid
face down on a broad piece of plank and the number that follows laid
face down on the top of the first, then they are squared evenly and a
strong awl pierces three holes in the back edge through which a strong
twine string is laced and tied firmly; this finishes the job, and the
book thus simply and quickly made is placed on the shelf with its mates.
This done the file is returned to its hook to await the next number.
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