1882 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
527 
the whole interior thoroughly plastered with water- 
time mortar; overflow pipe laid of tile below 
frost. The chimney is laid of brick, starting on 
bottom of cellar, with all necessary openings of 
stove pipe provided with thimbles. The first and 
.second stories are lathed and plastered with one 
.good heavy coat of brown mortar ; the side walls 
trowelled smooth and the ceilings hard-finished. 
Estimate for House, 22 ft. by 26 ft. 14 ft. Posts. 
the American Agriculturist , and should be for¬ 
warded to the editors prior to January 1st, 1883. 
2 sills, 6x8 in., 25 ft. long 
3 sills, 6x8 in.. 22 ft. long 
3 sills, 6x8 in., 10 ft . long 
16 joist, 2x8 i i., 14 ft. long 
16 joist, 2x8 in.. 12 ft. long 
20 joist, 2x8 in., 22 ft. long 
75 pieces, 2x4 In., 14 ft. long 
75 pieces, 2x4 in., 16 ft. long 
100 pieces, 2x4 in., 18 ft. long 
18 pieces, 4x4 in., 14 ft. long 
Total, 4,753 feet. @ 114.00 per M. $66.63 
3,000 feet Roofing and Sheathing, © $12.00. 36.00 
2,000 feet Siding, @ $18.00. 36.00 
2,000 feet Finishing Stuff, 1 in., best common, @ $25.. 50.00 
500 feet Finishing Stuff, 1 % in., @ $30.00. 15.00 
300 feet Finishing Stuff, 2 in., @ $20.00 . 6.00 
1,600 feet Flooring, @ $18.00. 28.80 
200 feet Wainscoting. @ $25.00... 5.00 
8,000 Shingles, @ $3.50. 28.00 
14 Doors, @ $1.75 each. 24.50 
12 Windows, © $1.75 each, $21.00: 6 Freize and Cel¬ 
lar Windows, © $1.00 each, $6.00.. 27.00 
500 feet Mouldings, © 2% cts per foot. 12.50 
.Nails, Trimmings, etc. 35.00 
Gutters and Leaders. 10.00 
•Cistern, Pump, and Sink. 25.00 
Carpenter Work. 125.00 
Painting and Material . 60.00 
50 PercheB Stone Work, © $1.00. 50.00 
1,300 Bricks laid in Chimney, @ $12.00. 15.60 
275 yards Plastering, © 18 cts. per yard. 49.50 
100 lbs. Tarred Felting, @ 5 cts. 5.00 
Excavating, etc. 15.00 
Total Cost of House.$724.43 
Prizes for Plans of Barns and Other Farm 
Buildings. 
This is a country of farms and farm build¬ 
ings, and there is much to be done in the im¬ 
provement of our rural architecture. It will be an 
important feature of the American Agriculturist for 
1883, to publish plans and estimates of the various 
kinds of the most approved farm bnildiugs. To 
this end we invite al! of our many thousands of 
readers to aid in this good work. As a begin¬ 
ning we ofier the following prizes in each class : 
Frst prize (in each class), §25. 
Second prize (in each class), §15. 
Class I.—A general Barn, costing less than §1,000. 
Class II.—A general Farm Barn, costing from 
§1,000 to §2,500. 
Class III.—A Cattle Barn. 
Class IV.—A Sheep Barn. 
Class V.—A Piggery. 
Class VI.—A Poultry House. 
Class VII.—A Dairy House. 
Class VIII.—A Root House. 
Class IX.—A plan of any other Out-building. 
The drawings should give the elevation and floor 
plans of rooms, with measurements ; in short, all 
features of the structure so clearly as to be easily 
Renew Now. 
Do not wait until the last day of the year, but 
send your Subscription for 1883, as soon as you re¬ 
ceive this December number, and we will have it 
entered in our books at once. 
downs, but a comparison of the rates of wheat in 
Chicago, for example, shows as follows : 
Differ’ce. 
$ 0 . 02 % 
•6i% 
November Wheat.. 
December Wheat.. 
January Wheat.... 
Year Wheat.._ 
Oct. 6 
$0.95% 
.94% 
Nov. 6 
$0.92% 
.93% 
94% 
.92% 
Prices of Farm Products. 
The leading markets, which make and control 
prices, such as Chicago, New York, Liverpool, and 
That is, the present price of wheat deliverable 
at any time during this year, varies scarcely 2 
cents per bushel from the price on October 6tli, 
and for that deliverable in January, the price is 
within an eighth of a cent per bushel of “year 
wheat” one month ago. These figures indicate a 
general expectation that wheat will notvary greatly 
from the present prices for sometime to come, and 
probably not during the year, except spasmodically. 
Indian Corn.—The developements of the past 
month indicate that the previous 
expectation as to the amount of 
corn to be marketed, was rather 
high. This is partly dup to a 
poorer show in the husking out in 
several localities, and to too low 
an estimate of the amount re¬ 
quired for the annual reserve. 
The bears still claim that there is 
corn enough, but that producers 
are holding it back for higher 
rates. There is something in this, 
but it does not account for all the 
change in price. The following 
figures show the variations in the 
Chicago market: 
Oct. 
6th. 
November Corn.. 62%c. 
December Corn.. 
January Corn. 
Year Corn . 
56% 
Nov. Differ- 
6th. enee. 
66%c. 4%c. 
62% - 
54% - - - 
61% 5 
Fig. 6.—CORNICES, FRAMING, ETC. 
understood. The quantity, quality, and cost of 
material used, and expense of labor in construction 
when given will add to the value of any plan sub¬ 
mitted. Each plan entered for the prizes should 
be marked with its class number, and a fictitious 
name, accompanied with a sealed envelope bear¬ 
ing the assumed signature, with the real ad¬ 
dress inside. The plans are to be the property of 
Fig. 2.—FRONT ELEVATION OF COTTAGE. 
London, are now so connected by telegraph, that 
their transactions are carried on, and they influence 
each other just about the same as if all the opera¬ 
tions were taking place in a single grand central ex¬ 
change building. A rise or fall of half a cent per 
bushel in any grain in London, or New York, or 
Chicago, is known and exerts an influence in each 
of the other places within a few minutes, except¬ 
ing that owing to the difference in time^the trans¬ 
actions of the day are about over in Europe when 
they begin on this continent. At 
certain periods, usually a few of 
the closing days of each month, 
the settling up of options, and the 
effects of “ corners ” in grains, 
hog products, etc., often produce 
marked changes, up and down, in 
the current prices. With these 
exceptions, the rates prevailing on 
any day express the combined 
general opinion of all the leading 
operators, throughout almost all 
the chief markets of the world, as 
to the probable relative supply 
and demand, and the future course 
of speculation. The sellers of op¬ 
tional or actual grain, etc., for 
future delivery, look for a decline, 
while the buyers are sanguine of 
a rise, and as these opposing par¬ 
ties are equally interested, and are 
supposed to be about on a par as 
to their general information, the current rates on 
any day are the only barometer of any value to the 
country at large. A month ago (October 6), we 
wrote that there was a general feeling that the 
prices of wheat, corn, etc., had settled down to 
almost their normal level, and that future changes 
would be largely due to speculation. During the 
past thirty days there have been various ups and 
That is, corn deliverable during 
the rest of the year, is 4@4Ic. 
higher than a month ago; but 
that deliverable in January is 2ic. 
per bushel lower than “year 
corn ” was rated on Oct. 6th. 
Slog Products have declined 
materially, as we indicated they 
would, last month. While the 
corn crop will be under what was 
expected, it is generally believed 
that there will be enough both of 
corn and of hogs to consume it, when there is suf¬ 
ficient time to get pork and lard made and market¬ 
ed. The changes in prices at Chicago are as follows : 
Oct. 6th, Nov. 6tli. Difference. 
November Pork, bill. $21.85 $19.02% 
November Lin'd, ICO lbs.... 12 50 11.45 
December Lard, “ ..11.02% 
January Lard, “ . . 11.02% 
$2.82> 
1.05 
A Baker’s Dozen. 
Every new subscriber to the American Agricul¬ 
turist, whose name is received before December 10th, 
will receive the December number of the paper 
free, making a round baker’s dozen (or 13 months). 
Every issue of the American Agriculturist is 
richly worth more than the subscription price for 
an entire year. 
Experiments With Plants,—During the 
past year, Dr. Kedzie, of the Michigan Agricultural 
College, has made some experiments with plants, 
to determine the source of their nitrogen. An ar¬ 
tificial soil, consisting of sand (previously ignited), 
swamp muck, and ashes, was placed in pots in 
which red clover, wheat, and wax beans were 
planted. The pots were placed in a glazed room, 
and supplied with distilled water. The wheat 
grew vigorously for a short time, and then withered, 
producing no heads. The beans did far better, and 
ripened several well-developed seeds. The clover 
made a complete growth, forming good sized 
stems, and a large number of seeds. A correspond¬ 
ing series of experiments was made, in which the 
humus or muck was deprived of all ammonia com¬ 
pounds, by prolonged boiling with caustic lime. 
In all other respects, the conditions were the same. 
The three kinds of plants maintained the same re¬ 
lations to each other, only each one was less vigor¬ 
ous thau in the first series above mentioned. 
