100 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[March, 
Products of Kansas in 1881. 
Facts and Figures from the Report of the 
Kansas State Board of Agriculture. 
The total value of the field crops of Kansas for the 
past year exceeds that of any previeus year in the his¬ 
tory of the State by fully 40 per cent. Neither the aggre¬ 
gate nor the average yield of the staple crops has been 
as large as in some other seasons, but the better prices 
obtainable in the present markets have greatly enhanced 
the gross valuation. In 1879, the total value of the 
twenty-two principal crops was, in round numbers, 
$60,000,000 ; in 1880, $63,000,000. In 1881, the same field 
crops foot up $92,000,000. This is certainly encouraging 
to Kansas farmers, who for a time felt a trifle blue be¬ 
cause their harvests were lighter than usual. 
The following table shows the yield and valuation of 
the corn and wheat crops in Kansas for the last five years: 
Tear. 
Corn. Bush. 
Value. 
Wheat. Bush .' 
1877 
103.497,831 
$20,206,184 
14.316,705 
1878 
89.324,971 
17,018,968 
32,315,358 
1879 
108,704.927 
26,562,674 
20,550,936 
1880 
101,421,718 
24,926,079 
25,279,884 
1881 
80,760.542 
44,859,963 
20,479,689 
Value. 
$12,640,128 
18,441,065 
18,448,710 
20,980,667 
21,705,275 
Twenty per cent less corn this season brings eighty 
per cent more cash than last; and the wheat crop of 
less than 21,000,000 bushels is worth $3,250,000 more 
than the enormous crop of 1878 (32,315,358 bushels), 
which was about sixty per cent greater. 
In the above statistics of “field crops,” the products 
of orchards, vineyards, and market-gardens are not in¬ 
cluded. The horticultural products alone for the year 
amount to $1,882,365; and the garden truck to $496,083. 
Add to these the value of slaughtered animals, butter, 
eggs, cheese, etc. (all included under products of live 
stock), $21,682,888; the increase for the year in the 
value of all farm animals, $6,952,504 ; and the value of 
wax and honey, $22,210 ; the total footings of the Kansas 
farmers’ credit column for 1881 is $122,946,490, a good 
round sum! After corn and wheat, the next crops in 
the order of their aggregate value are; 
Prairie Meadow Ilay. 
Millet and Hungarian. 
Oats . 
Irish Potatoes . 
Sorghum.... 
Broom Corn 
Plax. 
1.216,316 tons, $0,218,218 
752,478 tons, 4,818,970 
9,900,768 bushels, 3,855,750 
1,854,140 bushels, 2,710,377 
3,899,440 gallons, 1,745,871 
32,961,150 pounds, 1,480,116 
1,184,445 bushels, 1,357,944 
The total number of acres under cultivation in the 
State was 9,802,719; an increased acreage of 12 percent 
over that of 1880. South-Central Kansas, and the Arkan¬ 
sas River Valley in general, show the best results for the 
year of any portion of the State. The banner corn and 
wheat counties lie in this region, and the live stock in¬ 
terests are here developing most rapidly. 
The wheat prospects for the ensuing season could not 
be better. In all parts of the State the stand is re¬ 
ported as even and strong, the color good, and every 
indication for a splendid crop. 
On the whole, however, Kansas has done well in 1881, 
in the midst of an almost universal drouth over the 
great agricultural States. Eastern Kansas suffered se¬ 
verely from the protracted heat and the lack of rain ; 
hut the South-Central and South-Western portions of 
the State were favored, aud these by their bountiful crops 
of every kind sustained the hitherto excellent reputation 
of Kansas for fertility and productiveness. P. B. 
Potato ling Swindle.— Reports come to us 
from Western readers of sharpers who go about the coun¬ 
try selling packages highly recommended as a “simple, 
sure, cure for Potato Beetles.”—On the outside the par¬ 
cels are labelled: “ Don’t open to expose to the air until 
ready to use,” and “Directions for use inside.”—After 
the swindlers are at a safe distance, the purchaser being 
ready to apply the “safe cure,” finds on opening the 
parcel, two blocks of wood, with the “direction ” : “Put 
the beetles on one blockand mash them with the other ”1 
—This reminds us of a trick upon a Canadian Custom¬ 
house officer, that took place on the Niagara River boun¬ 
dary in our boyhood days. A Yankee took over a load of 
American cheese, and entered it at a low valuation. The 
officer took advantage of the law allowing him to buy 
any article at the valuation, and sell it on Government 
account. The seller returned to this side, cut out a lot 
of oak blocks, pressed cheese curds around them in the 
form of cheese ? and crossing the river entered them as 
“ White Oak Cheese ” at the same price as the previous 
lot. The officer took these also at the “ valuation,” but 
before he had sold them the seller was at a safe distance 
on this side, and besides they were what he called them. 
The Agricultural College of Ohio is a de¬ 
partment of the Ohio State University at Columbus. 
The propriety of appointing a wide awake, enthusiastic 
young man as professor of Botany and Horticulture is 
shown by the steps Prof. W. R. Lazenby has taken to 
found a Museum of Agriculture and Horticulture, not 
only for the use of the College, but which shall be open 
to all who choose to visit it. Prof. L. asks the farmers, 
gardeners, etc., of the State to contribute seeds, woods, 
insects, or whatever will be of use in illustrating any 
branch of Agriculture or Horticulture. He incidentally 
mentions the seeds of weeds as desirable. We would 
suggest on his behalf, and that of the Museum, that 
nothing can be more useful than a collection of the seeds 
of the commonest weeds. Weeds are so abundant every¬ 
where, that no one thinks of collecting their seeds. It 
is easy enough to find the seeds of rare tropical plants, 
but if one wishes to identify a seed, as that of the Canada 
Thistle, Dandelion, or Cockle, he will be puzzled to find 
specimens for comparison. Let our Ohio friends help 
Prof. Lazenby make a museum creditable to the State. 
Haemorrhoids in Cattle.— A. E. Morris, Dodge 
Co., Neb., wrote that the cattle of his herd were affected 
with what appears much like hemorrhoids (piles) in the 
human patient, each passage being accompanied by 
bleeding. The letter was referred to Dr. A. Liautard, 
Professor in the American Veterinary College, New York 
City, who writes“ This disease is very rare in cattle, 
and when it occurs is due to excessive constipation. 
The remedy is to give laxative food and medicines that 
will loosen the bowels, such as Glauber’s Salt. An 
application of cold water to the parts will allay the 
swelling and pain.” 
Tito While Grub in Ill.—W. H. Grace, Stark 
Co., Ill., writes:—“Corn has been in this county the 
nearest a failure that I have known in over 35 years, due 
mostly to the larva of the May Beetle.”—This and other 
reports indicate that this trouble is on the increase, and 
it can only be controlled by united action. 
Crude Petroleum.—' “ II. Van I.” Petroleum 
will not answer as a medium for mixing paints of any 
kind. What are called “ drying oils,” like linseed oil, 
when exposed to the air, form a thick, solid substance 
which holds the powder used as paint, attaching that to 
the wood, so that it can not be rubbed off. If petroleum 
be mixed with a powder, such as white lead, a part of 
the petroleum would evaporate, another part sink into 
the pores of the wood, and the paint itself rub off as 
easily as common lime-wash. The proper use of Crude 
Petroleum is as a preservative. Applied in successive 
coats to shingles, implements, etc., as much as the wood 
will take up, it prevents decay in a remarkable manner. 
Large Persimmon Trees. —C. F. Willetts, 
Queens Co., Long Island, brought us some unusually fine 
Persimmons, a portion of the crop of fourteen large 
trees, supposed to be over 100 years old. These trees are 
about 50 feet high, and have but few branches. It is not 
unusual to find trees as tall as these in the Southern and 
Western States, but we think it must be an exceptionally 
large size for the Persimmon to attain in a locality so 
near its northern limit, which is Rhode Island. 
The Indiana State Agricultural College, 
of Purdue University, reports 254 students, though only 
two of them are in the special Department of Agricul¬ 
ture. The School of Chemistry and of Industrial Arts, 
have the largest patronage. This institution has abol¬ 
ished the secret fraternities. An appeal to the courts to 
test the right of the Faculty to exclude students who 
persisted in keeping up such societies, has been decided 
in favor of such right. The ground taken by the Facul¬ 
ty seems all the more remarkable, because among them 
are professors who in other colleges had been members 
of the four leading “ Greek letter fraternities.” 
Indiana Wheat and Corn Crops. —The 
State Bureau of Statistics has reported for 1881: Wheat 
yield 30,625,66S bushels; in 1880 the crop was 47,130,684 
bushels, a falling off of over 16,500,000 bushels, or 35 per 
cent. Of Corn, 71,387,075 bushels in 1881, against 87,- 
335,014 bushels in 1880. Decrease about 16,000,000 
bushels, or nearly IS} per cent, despite the increased 
acreage in both crops—mainly the result of the drouth. 
Fifty-nine Million New Coins—Weighing 
Money.—During 1881, at the Philadelphia mint alone, 
59,174,635 new coins were made, viz., 2,260 double eagles 
($20); 3,877,260 eagles ($10); 5,708,800 half eagles ; 550 $3 
pieces ; 680 quarter eagles; 7,660 gold dollars; 9,163,975 
silver dollars ; 10,975 half dollars ; 12,975 quarters; 
24,975 dimes; 72,375 five cent pieces; 1,081,575 “nuis¬ 
ances ” (3 cent pieces); 39,211,575 cents, and 960 “trade 
dollars.” Total value: $76,976,165}. To count these 
pieces, 54 persons would have to work nearly nine 
hours every week day in the year and count one piece 
every second. But they are estimated by weight. To 
an American it is a novel sight to go into the Bank of 
England, and other large banks there, and observe that 
in receiving and paying out coin they do not count it, 
but the clerks shovel it into scales with a small hand 
scoop, and weigh out so many pounds, shillings, or pence. 
Besides the advantage of quickness and accuracy, this 
method often detects spurious or defective money, when 
a number of pieces vary a trifle from the exact weight. 
When this occurs they divide the sum into equal parts 
in the two scales; then the lighter half, if that is the de¬ 
fect, is again divided, and so on until the varying piece 
is soon discovered. 
Lady Apples.— Had Mrs. G. W. Z. given her ad¬ 
dress we could have written her about the Pomme d’Api 
— most commonly called the Lady Apple. The reason 
her apples do not keep well is because they are in too 
dry a place. If barrelled and placed in a cool cellar, they 
should come out plump and fresh for the holidays. If 
those upon her trees the past season have lost their 
gloss and freshness, it must be owing to the long drouth, 
which at the East caused fruit to ripen prematurely. 
Hot-Beds with Fire-Heat.— Some notes with 
reference to the hot-beds, described in Dec. last, come 
from Wasco Co., Oregon. J. Hunsaker writes, that he 
has used such beds for several years, and would caution 
those who build such in a light soil, to always lay the 
stones for the flues with clay mortar. The writer of the 
article referred to lays them without mortar, which our 
Oregon friend says, will, in a light soil, allow the smoke 
to pass through and injure the plants. He uses 12-in. 
boards for the chimney, following the chimney-builders’ 
rule, that the chimney should not contain anywhere be¬ 
yond the throat a less number of square inches than 
there are at the throat. 
The Strawberry Season.— As an illustration 
of the manner in which steam transportation interferes 
with the regular succession of the seasons, we may cite 
the Strawberry crop. The first strawberries in the New 
York market—at least the first we saw—arrived on Jan. 
24th, from Florida. The supply from this State will be 
followed by that from Georgia, the Carolinas, and so 
northward to Virginia and New Jersey, making a contin- 
ous season until the far northern localities send the last 
strawberries in July and possibly August. This is a 
great country in some respects. 
What Varieties Shall I Plant ?—We have a 
number of letters asking us to name the five or ten best 
varieties of apples, pears, etc., suited to the writer’s 
locality. Though these letters come from Maine to Col¬ 
orado, it would be an easy matter to give the lists so far 
as experience shows the varieties that succeed best in 
each State. But there is a question even more import¬ 
ant, that our friends do not usually consider. It is evi¬ 
dent, from most of these letters, that the planting is to 
to be made with a view to selling the fruit. The first 
consideration should be the needs of the market where 
the fruit is to be sold. Varieties meet a ready sale in 
St. Louis and Chicago that are little if at all known in 
New York and Philadelphia. The difference, while con¬ 
siderable, is not so great in late keeping fruits, but with 
earlier varieties, which are often the most profitable, 
inquiry should first be made as to the kinds most salable 
in the market to which the fruit will be sent. 
Setting Strawberry Plants —Distance.— 
“L. R. G.”—The answer depends on whether you refer to 
a small garden, or to field culture. If the plants are to 
be worked with a horse cultivator, make the rows 30 to 
36 inches apart; otherwise, two feet, and set the plants 
one foot apart in the row. You can then adopt either 
method of cultivation that may be preferred. All the 
runners may be cut off as they appear, leaving the plants 
in separate stools, or you may turn a part of them so as 
to take root in the intervals and form a matted row, the 
latter being, on the whole, preferable with most kinds. 
Changing His Corn.- “G. S. S.”, Pa., is not 
altogether satisfied with the corn, one of the Flint varie¬ 
ties, that he now grows, and asks our advice about pro¬ 
curing a kind of Dent corn from Minn. Indian corn is, 
probably more than any other plant, affected by local 
conditions. When a variety has been cultivated in a 
neighborhood or on a farm, and a selection of what ap¬ 
pears to be the best, is planted year after year, there is 
established after a while, if not a variety, what florists 
call a “strain.” There are all over the country those 
kinds of corn that have been, so to speak, bred to suit 
the peculiarities of a particular locality. This being 
the case, it is not advisable to make a wide step from 
the known to the unknown; to give up a wtll tested 
kind, and substitute one that has not been tried. If a 
change is desirable, we should advise seeking a better 
kiud in the vicinity. If it is wished to substitute the 
Minnesota variety, it is better to begin with merely 
enough to furnish seed for another year, provided the 
results of the trial crop next season should warrant it. 
Violent changes in an important crop are not safe. 
