154 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



000) and breadstuffs (106,000,000, ) sent out of the 

 country for that year, there would remain but 2^ 

 per cent, as the total export of the products of labor. 

 It must be clear, therefore, that American farmers 

 must depend mainly upon American markets to 

 absorb their surplus products. And when the great 

 body of farmers shall refuse longer to scramble in 

 foreign markets in competition with half-naked bar- 

 barians in other countries, and produce more espe- 

 cially for the requirements of our incomparably more 

 valuable home market, their condition will almost 

 certainly improve. Our farmers should produce 

 for export only such commodities as the cheap 

 labor countries cannot so readily produce in compe- 

 tition, which if continued, must certainly prove 

 disastrous to American husbandry. 



Feeding Wheat in the Sheaf. Hand in 

 hand with the exact determinations of science 

 should go the careful practical J:ests of every- 

 day observation by competent men. It has been 

 shown at a number of the Agricultural Experi- 

 ment Stations that the feeding values of wheat 

 and corn are nearly equal for swine, and that in both 

 cases the values are greater than the current market 

 price for those grains. A number of careful feeders 

 among the farmers observed that when fed wheat 

 without crushing, hogs failed to fully masticate the 

 grain, and a considerable loss was sustained through 

 the excretion of undigested food. It was found that 

 the pigs devoured the wheat with such avidity that 

 proper mastication was impossible; and to avoid this 

 difficulty the custom was adopted of feeding wheat in 

 the sheaf. It was found that the time consumed in 

 disposing of a ration of wheat thus administered was 

 much greater, and that mastication and digestion 

 were much better performed. This matter should be 

 well looked after by those who are feeding wheat to 

 swine, and if it be found that better results are to be 

 had from feeding the grain in the sheaf it is well that 

 it become generally known. In this connection the 

 actual experience of practical men may be of ad- 

 vantage, and that of Mr. C. H. Brown, of Idaho, as 

 given in the Breeders 1 Gazette is here presented, as 

 follows: " There is no corn raised in this section of 

 the country, so we have had to depend altogether on 

 wheat or barley in fattening our pigs. The only 

 drawback was that the grain feed was not digested. 

 For the past month I have been feeding my pigs on 

 sheaf wheat and have been surprised at the good 

 results that have followed. I find on examining 

 the droppings that it is almost impossible to find a 

 whole kernel in some. I have watched them feed 

 and find what they would eat in five minutes if fed in 

 a trough will last them half an hour, and there is no 

 crowding of the smaller ones by the larger. Besides 

 the saving in thrashing, I think all farmers who fol- 

 low this plan will be pleased with the results." 



The Greatest Forest in the World. Siberia 

 from the plain of the Obi river on the west, to the 

 valley of the Indighirka on the east, embracing the 

 great plains or river valleys of the Yenisei, Olenek, 

 Lena, and Yena, is one great timber belt, averaging 

 more than a thousand miles in breadth from North 

 to South, being fully 1,700 miles wide in the Yenisei 

 district, and having a length from east to west of 

 not less than 3,000 miles. In the Yenisei, Lena and 

 Olenek regions are thousands of square miles of 



several varieties of pines, firs, and larches, where n 

 human being has ever been. 



The dense lofty tops of the taigas, exclude the pale 

 Arctic sunshine, and the straight, pale trunks, all 

 looking exactly alike, so bewilder the eye in the ob- 

 scurity, that all sense of direction is soon lost. The 

 most experienced sable trappers dare not venture 

 into the dense taigas without the precaution of blaz- 

 ing the trees constantly with hatchets as they walk 

 forward. If lost there the hunter rarely finds his way 

 out, but perishes miserably from starvation and cold. 



The forest of Washington, northward through 

 British Columbia and Alaska is probably the largest 

 continuous timbered area in North America, while 

 that in the valley of the Amazon, including Guiana, 

 Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Eastern Peru, and North- 

 ern Brazil, the largest on this continent. The pre- 

 servation of the forests is an exceedingly important 

 question. 



Food for Thought. General freight agent 

 Moore, of the Northern Pacific Railroad, makes some 

 suggestions to the farmers of the Northwest, which 

 are worthy to be considered in any and every section: 

 " About 800 cars of hams, bacon, pork and lard are 

 shipped annually to points in Montana, Washington 

 and Oregon. This is equal to 20,000,000 pounds. The 

 cash for this packing-house product goes from those 

 States to Kansas, Nebraska, Illinois and Iowa. Why 

 should not Northern Minnesota and North Dakota 

 supply this product, and receive the cash that is now 

 sent to those States south of us? Consider the enorm- 

 ous quantity of packing-house product consumed in 

 St. Paul, Minneapolis, Duluth and Superior, and in 

 the lumber and mining camps of Minnesota and the 

 farming districts of North Dakota. Some hogs are 

 now being supplied from Southern Minnesota, and 

 some also are being shipped from the Red River val- 

 ley to the packing house at South St. Paul. Fully 

 150 car loads of butter, eggs and cheese are shipped 

 annually from east and south of St. Paul to points in 

 the Northwest. Kansas and Iowa supply a large 

 share of this, and naturally the cash goes back to 

 those States. A pickle or cucumber is a small thing, 

 yet from 150 to 200 car loads of pickles in vinegar 

 and chow-chow are shipped annually to points in the 

 Northwest between Duluth and St. Paul, Minn., and 

 Portland, Ore. We also carefully investigated with 

 the commission merchants of the Twin Cities the 

 average prices paid for vegetables, and find that 

 onions have averaged, 50 cents per bushel, pota- 

 toes, 20 and 25 cents per bushel ; peas, which 

 are now received principally from Wisconsin and 

 Michigan, 90 cents to $1.50 ; navy beans, $1.60 to 

 $2 per bushel. One hundred car loads of the latter 

 are consumed annually in this market, and are sup- 

 plied principally by California, Michigan and Wis- 

 consin. Rutabagas, 80 to 50 cents per bushel ; cabbage, 

 $8 to $12 per ton. These figures represent average 

 prices over a period of several years. If we want a 

 prosperous farming and business community we must 

 keep a large share of the cash now being paid out to 

 foreign States for supplies in Minnesota, Dakota, 

 Montana and Washington." 



Shelling or Rattling of Grapes. E. G. Lode- 

 man of Cornell University finds this disease is caused 

 by a lack or potash in the soil; probably caused by 

 continuous cropping of the soil before planted to 

 grapes, overbearing overgrowth of wood, leaves, etc. 



