Newspaper Page Text
- IlV W - " "" " " nn HAPPENINGS INDIANA 'S - - .lMMBEIII W WM Mm HM. I Lawrence. Throe grains of corn that had begun to sprout were found in the appendix of James B. Powell, a wealthy farmer, when he was operated upon for acute appendi citis. The appendix was eleven inches long. Powell had a habit, he said, of eating a few grains of corn every time lie fed his stock. Rushville. The charred body of Mrs. Minnie Harris, forty-five years old, was found in the ruins of her country home northeast of this city. Mrs. Harris was the wife of L. B. Harris, a stock dealer, and was alone in the house when the fire started in an upstairs room, and it is supposed she was overcome while .1 's-. O the traveler who has wan dered with men of many tastes all over the world, the thought must often have come, "Of what use are all the strange plants which make up the land scapes of the pictures?" The globe, with its kaleido scopic panorama of people, animals, and plants, has been whirled before you, as It were, and you have in your minds the picture of a circling through space, covered with a of plants, animals, and men in constant So varied is this film of plants that IN CHARGE FößEIGN SEED PLANT JNT80- mrAmcmm the flames. fighting Ä "ball ifllin change. there are probably half ä million distinct, spe cific forms in it, and yet man uses only a few hundreds for hia own purposes. To change, in a measure, tho distribution of the really useful plants of tho world is what jthe olllce of foreign seed and plant introduc- it . i . , ...... . uon oi uio Department of Agricultur-e is try jing to do. Tho motive underlying this work Imight bo called tho ambition to make the -world mora habitable. K one 1 Inclined to bo posslmistlc with regard to tho food supply of the world, ho ha only to talk to any ono 'of tho enthusiasts of tho Department of Agri culture to get ft picture of tho widening vista tof agricultural possibilities which would mako lit im realize that tho food problems of tho race saro not hung In the balance of our great plaiitM area, and that tho food-producing power of ftho world 1m tili pructicaly unknown, bocatttsn wo have Juat bogun to atudy In u modorn way the relative performance of dlffurcnt plant. Wo may not ulwuya kiw (lit Planta wo do now. Sotno of thorn uro oxponalvo food pro (luooru, Homo product) foods that nru (IMlcult to dlgmtt, and nomo wo may louvo behind aa wo learn to like olltora boll or. -What lo grow wan not bo orlona a quo. ilou lo tho early Phoenician pennant, who fliuow Mm a ilo,oii cropa, mi It In booomlnu' Ho tho American ngrleulturlat, who can plH (from tlic cu'opn or all llio work! tlio ono boat ulted to hin land and climate. ChnnwH conto !o rapidly uowadaya that If a man today lalku (of "pua.raM ho may moan what aro ordinarily thmiKhl of itH l'uarM, or ho may rofar lo alll Kalor )mvt) whluh he la amwlim In Florida, or prlokiy poarn which ho Ih nultlvallna In Texan. Until tho alligator poar and Ilm prickly noar havo oomo In aa oropa In bo raukonod with wllliln tho paat flfioon yoara, anil alroady tho h took -ra l Horn of thu fihmth ar wondorlnjf If thoy Hhuuld plant nplny or rpIiipIoüö forma of tho prlokly poar oaoluH, and tho fruit groworn of Florida aro Inquiring aa lo which of tho aovoral variolic of alllaatnr poar troo Ih ßOhiK to bo. tho most productive and profit ablo, l'o liolp llnd tho plant whloh will produce tho bom roaultH of any that oan bo grown, on ovary nero of land In tho Unliod Sitatoü, ie, In gduoml, tho broad policy of the oMt8 of röpcI ami plant Introduotion of tho buroau of plnnt industry. Although boann In a fiyflteunallp wny and an a dlatlnri activity of tho department In 1S07, It m barely tounhod tho frlnso nf It a poosl. bllltloti. Tho ;ipoo dlfforo'il plant Immlffi'nntn whloh bavo oomo In, and ha vi olthor dlod or are now ffrnwlnii anmowhero In thla country, voiirafloni a Bmall beginning only, and havo merely hoi pod to ahow tho rontnoBH of tho posHlbllitloa which progroBH in agricultural ro. eearuh la c ran II dr. "You will noon havo all tho cropH In," Ih tho romnrk of thono who havo fflvon tho mnt tor llttln thought. Our own IIvoh chanKo with ivery momora of tlmo, and ho do tho II von of plant, Tho HtrahiH of potato which our Krnndfathora grow aro, with fow oxoopllon, llfforont fron: tho traln In voguo today; and, ilttluf? tholr livoa into tho various condltlonn of soil and ?llmato, tho original wild South A morion n hpocIcm ot potato, Solaniun - tube roum, aHHiunoH In tho hnndn of mon a thou and (ItfTormnt form. In whatovor pari of tho world now forma nmy Hprlnfp Into oxlHtonco it nrnttor not; our IKHato-fcrowera should bo ablo to try ovory ort of Importance and ovory wild, hardy hpo de, whothor It comes from tho manse of a Scottish parHon, )g dlscovored aw a wild spo cm along vho Paraguay river by nn American mllwny brulo bulldor, Ih found anions tho mountsün of Colombia by Joault priest, la icathorod by a foroat ranger In tho dry regions of an Indian reservation in New Mexico, or Is secured by a trained collector from tho Chi loo lslandn off tho coast of Chile. It makes llttlo difference; thoy must all come In as plant immigrants to show what they can do in tho gardens of American experts. Thero is Always the chance Unit they may bo thrown out as unprofitable; but, If they have desirable characters, they can be blended with others, or exploited with others, If they are superior for any of tho potato regions of this country. It may bo new to many that every day plant 'Immigrants from different parts of the world (arrive in Washington, and every day, through jtho nails, hundreds of these disinfected ar riytli 40 out to find a new home In some-part of the country. it is a difficult matter to give an adequate Impreislca of the magrt.;a and importance ito th country of this stream oi' now plant im. Mfirranfcü which for J 4 years ha.i been pouring m i -mm 0 . v VS. lit J'v w Sil . v.vv. y , X ii Art; 7Z y WS; Vt- 3M m v Vi. vested when ripo. Of insect pests we know too little as yet, though the prospective planter should count this in his estimate of ex pense; remembering, however, that modern scientific method, have overcome the greatest fruit pests, and that these on the palm are not different in general char acter from those which are now under complete control. Very lUie pruning of tho palms is necessa, and tho harvesting Is very simple, since the dates grow hi great bunches, which often weigh from 20 to 40 pounds apiece. There are over a hundred varia tion of dates now growing in the government gardens in California and Arizona, from which aro bolng distributed to prospective plantont ßiiclcor aa thoy grow. Thin accomplishment of tho Department of Agriculture is not the ro- Terre Haute. East-bound pas senger train No. 30, known as the "Twenty-four hour St Louis to New York train," crashed head-on into a 'reight train on the main track with in two hundred vards nf fh n cfnfinn Engineer J. C. Millam of Indianapolis, iding in the cab of the freight engine, was killed. Anderson. Charles Harmon, nine teen years old, is in jail on a charge of assaulting, with intent to kill, Theodore Eckles, thirty-two 3oars old. The men are drivers of garbage wagons and, while emptying barrels in the rear of a hotel, became involved in a quarrel. Harmon used a spado on his companion, who, the physicians say, will die. Tho movement has Xn this city for a Groenfleld. -been started public park along Brandywine creek which was made famous by James Whltcorab Htiey. It is pro posed that tho city buy land on both sides of the creek, which will include tho "old swimming hole' and co-operate with tho Indiana lForestry ns aociation in organining a local branch. ShelbyvJllc Mrs, Mary Monlgom ory, on of tho very few ronl suit of any ono man's effort, but tho product daughters of tho American ltovolutlon, ,iv -17 Mm ISN into thu country, and him bcou dlroclud by a ßTont and rowliw body of roMoaroh mon and womon Into ihotm rulonu whoro it wn thought thuy might mako thotr homoH. In tho brief upaoo of a Mhort artlulo, and to avoid what would bo almoat a baro ouumera Hon of plant uamo, f pMor to troal only of a few of tho many Important prublmnu with which tho odlco la worltlna, paaHina by, alnu. (ho Introduction of tho Durum wheat, tho ilnpnnMo lino, and glvliu? tho Iborinn alfalfan, which ara arnhm Tor tho farmwrn of tho coim Uy many milllouo of dollara a year, a baro monilon, for tho roaiou tlmt thoy lmvo boon 8o ofton doHcrlbod In the newflpnpora of tho country. Tho mtinffo la ono of tho ronlly grdat fruits of tho world. India, with lis luuulrtnls of mil lions of pooplo, hae for conlurlan hold It Bnorod, and colobrntoa nnnunl coromouioB In ItH honor. Tho aront Mogul A It bar, who nnod In tho itlth oontury. planted tho fa mono r.nlt Hag, an orchard of a hundred thou annd mangooo, and somo of thono ntiil romalu allvo. It. Ih a fruit tho Imporlanoo of which Amorlcanfl nrenu lnwt boßluulng to ronounlKo, notwIthHtandin tho uufortunato dlHcrodlt which tho worthloan noodllnir mangoa of tho Wont rndloH havo givon It In tho mlndH of AmorlcauH gonorally. Thoro uro probably more varlotloH of man goo than thoru aro of ponchoa. 1 havo hoard of ono collodion of 500 dlffcront ort In In dia. Thoro aro oxquUltoly ilavorod varlotloH no largor than a plum, and thnro ro dollclouH Hortn tho fruit h of which aro tx poundH In weight, In India, whoro the wago of a onollo Is not ovor 10 conta a day, thoro aro varieties which Roll for $ä.C0 a hundred, and tho com monost Horta bring ovor a uont apioco. Tho groat mango trooa of India aro aald to roach a height of 70 foot, and aro ho loaded down with fruit that over $150 worth hn been sold from a Hlnglo troo, Those One varieties, practically aH free from über as a frooHtone poach, can bo oaten with a spoon ah easily hh a cantaloupe. Train loads of thoao aro shipped from tho mango growing centers of India and distributed in tho donnely peopled cities of that groat aomUrop ical empire; and yet, notwithstanding the great Importance of this fruit, the agricultural study of it from tho now standpoint has .scarcely boon begun. I bollevo that It has never, for example, been tested on any but its own roots. We havo gathered together In Florida and Porto Rico and Hawaii more than a hundred varieties, and some which we have fruited have already attracted the attention of the fancy fruit-dealers, who agree that the demand for these will Increase as fast as the supply can be created, and maintain that extravagant prices, such as 50 or even 75 cents apiece will be paid for the large, showy, delicious fruits. Last year 300 dozen Mulgoba mangos were sold in Florida for $3 a doven. The Gov ernor of Porto Itlco ha committed himself to a policy which, if carried out, will cover the island with hundreds of thousands of maiifo trees of the better varieties. Ono of tho oldoHt cultivated plante in tho world Ih tho dato palm, At least -1,000 yoara p It waa growing on tho banks of t lo lSu JwrntoH, and It Ih thlH plant and Uio oamol (hat together mado It poaalblo for tho Arabs to populate the groat; deserts of northorn Africa nml Aala. Tho dato palma would grow whoro tho water was alkaline, and tho camels woro mite to mako long Journeys across tho desert to tnico tho dates to the coast to market and oll thorn for wheat and olives, In those deserts of the old world, millions of Arabs llvo on dato, for tho dato palm can bo cultivated on land so salty as to prevent tho culture of any other paying crop, and It will llvo in the hottest regions on tho face of the Jiobo; not ovon a tomporaturo of 125 degrees F. will nffoot It. This Obliging plant does not, nowovor, Insist on such tomporaturos, but will stand sotno frost, and has boon known to llvo whoro tho morcurj fnlls to 12 dogroos F, It Is also tho only wood obtainable in the oases of tho Sahara, and on tho shores of Arabia boats are made of it, Tho date palm has both male and female flowers and thoy occur on aoparato plants, and tho Arabs havo to plant one male for every plantation of a hundred females, making a harem' as it were. Tho artificial pollination or fertilization of the female palms la one of tho most Interesting processes practiced with plantf, a spray of flowers from a male palm being bound with a bit of palm-leaf nber In each inflorescence of tho female tree. 'Propa gation of the date palm can be accomplished by means of seeds, or suckers, which are thrown up at tho base of the palm. Suckers will stsrt, however, on land so salty that the seeds refuse to grow on it. Four years from seed, trees of some varie ties begin to bear and in six years will have paying crops of dates. They live to a much greater age than almost any other of the fruit trees, and specimens a century old are said to be still a good investment. The date is not a dry-land crop, but requires irrigation to grow and produce fruit. A planta tion once established requires to be kept fre of weeds, to b pollinated when the palms cüino into bloom, and to have the fruit htr of at least a dozen minds working ovor a pe riod of 0 yonys and In so von diffuront coun tries. Thoro aro among thoso hundred varieties thoao which candy on the tree, othor which aro uaod mainly for cooking, and aomo which aro hard and not stinky. Thoro aro oarly varlotloa and lftterlponlng onon, viirtotlou uliort and long, and ovory ort can be told by tho 'groove on Its hqqcIu. The dato nj n dullcacy I known to ovory American child, but, aa a food, romalno to b$ dlacuvGrod by tho Amorlcan publlo. Whon the dato pluntatlanu of Arlstona and California oomo Into full boarlitKi no thoy ahouitl in about ton yoara, tho hard, dry dato, for ox- amplo, now ciulio unknown on our markola, aro Hiiro to oomo Into prnmliumoo and find holr way to 'tho tnbloo of tho poor an well an oi' tho rich. Tho hunt of our American aum morn lo forcing1 us to otudy tho hotwoathor (J lota of olhor count rla, and datoa aro uro to booomo Important Itomu of food, Tho poralmmon of tho töouth, on whloh tho opoHHum fatlouH, la a very dlffcront fruit from Ha rolaiivo tho hakl, or poralmmon of tho Orient, iho growing of which la ho groat an imlmUry In Japan a to noarly oqual tho Jap nnoao orange growing Industry In Importance Our poralmmon la a wild fruit, whloh will Homo day bo domögticatod, while tlu kakl ha btn oultlvalod ao Um' that It roproaanteal by different forma and colors, it Ih truo that tho Oriental porelmuiQii hag boon grown In UiU country In fuct, tho ccmibub rooordB a produc lion of OH lonaj but thla la acarodly a begin nluff aa compared with tho 101,000 tong whloh IH tho output of Japan, Wo havo mlflunderntood tho pomlmmon, Om own Svlld onon wo can ont only aftar thoy havr boon touched by tho frost, and tho Importal JapanoBo onoa wo havo loft until thoy booomr soft ant) mushy and almoHt on tho vorgo oi docay, Wo novar thought until qulto raconth of wnndorlnff whothor in a land whoro tlu pcralmmon had boon cultivated for couturlos thoy would not havo worked out aomo artlll clal mot hod for removing tho objectionable puokcr, In Japan wo Und thla la done b packing tho fruit In barrola Maturated with aako, and Mr, II. C. Qorc, of tho Department of Agrloulturo, la now working ont, now moth oda of procoHHlng tho Oriental poralmmon, ar that It can ho onion whon hard aa an applo, and thoro will no longer bo any roaaon why ii ahould not tako ItH place among tho groat frulta of the country. Tho wholo question of the Improvement of tho persimmon baa boon opened up, and wr aro gottlng for thin work tho amalbfrulted spc olos railed "lotua," from Algeria; a tropical apocloa with white, choono-llke pulp, from Man IIa, Mexico, ICrlthoa, and Tthodonla; spoclor from llangaloro, from Sydney, from Mndrnn from tho Nankau Pans, in China, and from the Caucasus. Tf tho Oriental timber bamboo had produced seeds oftonor than once Jn -10 years it wouhl long ago have boon Introduced and be now growing In the South. The fact that it had to be brought over in tho form of living Planta, nnd that these' plants required special treatment, has stood in the way of th quick distribution of thla most important plant throughout those portions of America where it will grow. After several nnsucceiaful at tempts, a beginning has at last been made, and the department has a grove of Oriental hnm. celebrated her nluoLv.sQcond birth an niversary at nor horn hero. She waa born in Butler county, Ohio, March 18, 1320, and hor father, Philip Young, wan a sold lor In tlio lUvoluttonary war. Mnrlon.-Flro deitroyod four framo buildings nt TMrly.-bjrhth Hliot tiiitf Homo dwnut with au tu thmitfd op of $10,000. Tho building woro beyond tho city flpö llmlta. llio reatauronts of Mlurva SandorB and Jnmdfl Tucker and the drug atoros of Josoph Stot?bo and Maury ttwgw wio burned. Thoro waa no I nau muco, Shelbyvlll. Tho town of Wal- (Iron, noar hor, Ib to havo a na tlonat bank with a capital utock of $00,000, Dr. T, J. McCain, Honrs i'. lono, Thomaa tanalfar autt Hoy .Inno aro tho orgnniüoru. Tho last named will bo cannier, A lot, on whtab a bank building will bn arootod, haß boon puiThaflod for $1,600. South Jlond, or öiUortalnlug Iho Indiana 0, A. ltM whloh will hold ita annual onoampmut in South Hand In May, ih chamber of oommorca lino arrangod to mlgo f-6,000 by public subscription noxt Monday. Iorty mon will oanvnsB tho city mulor tho direction of Mayor Chorlog U Hoots, Qniclnla of iho CI, A. R. will oiTlvfl In aouth nnd Friday to aid In tho arransomoni for tho rouuiotu aiiolbyvlllo. Olaronco CfoodriPh, ton J'WPfl old, Bon of nort Good rloh, waa ground to donth by tho Wbtto City apodal on tho lllg a'our. Mo Jumpod from a frolght train on whloh ha nnd a seoro of boyg $vo stoallng a rldo, and was enutdH by tho painougor imUu Rochostor. A WullH-lpargo oxproga train waa badly wrecked about nvo mlloa oaat of thla oity. Throe earn loft tho track and ware piled in a man. ISxproaHinan Down, ing of Huntington waa mangled be. noath tho dobrlg and it la thought h will dlo. Marlon.WoJm H. lllok, the old. eat rouhlont of Upland and tho only Hurvlvlng Moxloan war veteran In tho county, excepting ono or two In tho Marlon National Military homo, celebrated hia olghty fourth birth an nivoraary. Mr. Mick baa boon Jus. tlco of tho peace at Upland for alxteon years, " Kewcaatle. After nearly three woeka deliberation to Unci a plan by which they could curb the divorce evil, tho majority of tho minister of Henry county made public a signed statement in which each agrees not to perform the marrlago ceremony where any divorced perxons figure unles they bo tho innocent -party in a case where the charge Is atatutory. for our V x k I . 1 1. t- uuug ,n nun.uorn norma, and a search ig be- 1UK man m cunerent parts of the world all those species which are adapted to climate. In this country I predict it will be used earliest for barrel hoops, for cheap Irrigating pipes, for vine-stakes and trellises, for light ladders and stays for overloaded fruit trees for baskets and light fruit ihipping crates, and for food. As wind-breaks and to hold canal banks and prevent tho erosion of step hill sides, there are species which excel all other plants, while for light furniture and jalousies It is auro to nnd a market whenever th gren timber in available. Richmond. The Itichmond commit tee In charge of the G. A. R. encampment held her last year has set aside $700 as a perma nent endowment, the proceeds from which will be used for the perpetua tion of Memorial day in this city. This sum remained after all expenses had been paid in entertaining the old soldiers at their encampment. Tt Is hoped to add to this endowment fund, eo that each ytar a fitting program may b carried out In memory f th toldkH'i.