269 



one ; and in traveling througli the connty vre see that land has been brought into cul- 

 tivation in nearly the same proportion. That portion of the county lying south and 

 west of the Arkansas River, whei'e one year ago was a vast uninterrupted prairie, is 

 now dotted with houses, shanties, dug-outs, and tents, and in some cases the settler is 

 still living iir his wagon, with from live to forty acres of corn and potatoes growing on 

 his newly-taken homestead, he and his being animated by the hojieof a pleasant home 

 all their own. Those who have matured one crop are now old settlers, and those who 

 have raised two crops are the oldest settlers. The old settlers have at least doubled 

 their crops, as many who had 30 or 40 acres planted last year have increased to 80 

 or 100 acres. The amount of land brought into cultivation so soon is explained by stat- 

 ing that we do not fence ; the sod is turned and the crop planted. 



We have our troubles as well as other agriculturists. The blackbirds and the yellow- 

 breasted blackbirds take the young corn so badly that it is hard to get a good stand. 

 We fear your entomologists can do nothing for us, as the birds eat the young and ten- 

 der shoot when it is three or four inches high. They will eat the white and tender 

 part of the stalk, leaving the roots and tougher blades as a monument of their mis- 

 chief. Those wlio are farming in the older parts of the country may think this a little 

 thing to complain of, but we begin to think it quite serious; for three springs in suc- 

 cession we have had to plant three times each year, and then have a slender stand, 

 with seed corn that was worth from $2 to $4 per bushel, besides the labor and disad- 

 vantage in throwing the ground into a bad condition to cultivate. AYe have a few 

 potato-bugs here, but as we have no railroad ne.ar enough to dispose of our quails and 

 prairie hens, there is little danger of the bugs doing much harm. 



Our sand-plums which grow wild are now ripe; they are small and tart, and recom- 

 mended only for their earliuess. I set last spring a small orcharcfof trees one year old 

 from the seed, to see what they will be under cultivation. 



WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA EXPERniENTAL FARM. 



Pennsylvania has three experimental farms, all under the control of 

 the faculty of the State Agricultural College, assisted in each instance 

 by a local committee. They have a regular system of rotation pre- 

 scribed for them, running through a period of five years. The pre- 

 scriptions are very minute, extending in certain cases so far as to re- 

 quire the transplanting of corn, when necessary to make up the re- 

 quired number of three in a hill. The experiments are conducted on 

 plots containing one-eighth of an acre each, and there are one hun- 

 dred and fifty of these plots on each farm. The farm at Indiana con- 

 tains 119 acres of land of medium quality, part lying on gentle slopes, 

 and part being flat and wet. Operations have been conducted for two 

 years, during which time many practical experiments have been made. 

 This year fourteen varieties of wheat have been tested, including the 

 Tappahannock and Touzelle; one new variety of rye, the Bremen; 

 several varieties of barley, of which the common four-rowed is the only 

 one found desirable; twelve varieties of oats, including the White 

 Schonen and Excelsior; forty-three varieties of potatoes, including the 

 Early Eose; and several varieties of corn. We hope the superin- 

 tendent, Mr. A. J. Hamilton, will imbli.sh detailed results of his experi- 

 ments as soon as they may he completed, that the farmers of Pennsyl- 

 vania and the country may be immediately benefited by them. Un- 

 necessary delay frequently occurs in giving to the i)ublic the results of 

 experiments conducted by State institutions. 



IRRIGATION. 



A large meeting of farmers was held at Waterloo, San Joaquin County, 

 California, early in June, to devise means for the speedy construction of 

 a canal to lead the waters of the Mokelumne Eiver southward for the 

 irrigation of farming lands. It was announced at the meeting that the 

 San Joaquin and Calaveras AVater and Irrigating Company proposed to 

 irrigate the lands of farmers residing on the route of the proposed canal 

 for 75 cents per acre per annum, for a period of four to six years, and 



