Prairie Farmer, Vol. 56: No. 1, January 5, 1884

Prairie Farmer, Vol. 56: No. 1,
January 5, 1884

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January 5,
1884., by Various This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no
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Title: Prairie Farmer, Vol. 56: No. 1, January 5, 1884. A Weekly
Journal for the Farm, Orchard and Fireside
Author: Various
Release Date: January 14, 2006 [EBook #17512]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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FARMER ***

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PRAIRIE FARMER

A Weekly Journal for
THE FARM, ORCHARD, AND FIRESIDE.
ESTABLISHED IN 1841. ENTIRE SERIES: VOL. 56--NO. 1.
CHICAGO, SATURDAY, JANUARY 5, 1884.
PRICE, $2.00 PER YEAR, IN ADVANCE.
[Transcriber's Note: Some pages in the original had the corner torn off.
Missing text has been marked [***].]
[Transcriber's Note: The Table of Contents was originally located on
page 8 of the periodical. It has been moved here for ease of use.]
THE CONTENTS OF THIS NUMBER.
AGRICULTURE--Tall Meadow Oat-Grass, Page 1; The Barbed-Wire
Business, 1-2; A Rambler's Letter, 2; Let Us Be Sociable, 2; Seed Corn
Again, 2; Field and Furrow, 3.
LIVE STOCK--Mr. Grinnell's Letter, Page 14; Prices of 1883, 4;
Docking Horses, 4; Items, 4.
THE DAIRY--Lessons in Finance for the Creamery Patron, Page 5.
VETERINARY--Fever, Page 5.
HORTICULTURE--Ill. Hort. Society, Page 6; A Short Sermon on a
Long Text, 6; Prunings, 6-7.
FLORICULTURE--Gleanings by an Old Florist, Page 7; Am I a Scot
or am I Not, Poetry, 7; Primitive Northwest, 7.
EDITORIAL--Items, Page 8; Seed Samples, 8; The Pork Question in
Europe, 8; Corn, Wheat, and Cotton, 8; Chicago in 1883, 9; Strong
Drink, 9; Questions and Answers, 9; Wayside Notes, 9; Champaign
Letter, 9.

POULTRY NOTES--Chat With Correspondents, Page 10; Feather
Ends, 10.
THE APIARY--Keep Bees, Page 10; The New Bees, 10; Hive and
Honey Hints, 10.
SILK CULTURE--Women In Silk Culture, Page 11.
HOUSEHOLD--The Schoolmarm's Story, Poem, Page 12; A Chat
About the Fashions, 12; A Kitchen Silo, 12; Items, 12.
YOUNG FOLKS--Talk about the Lion, Page 13; A Jack-knife Genius,
13; Little Johnny, 13.
BOOK NOTICES--Page 13.
LITERATURE--Robin, Dear Robin, Poetry, Page 14; Mrs. Wimbush's
Revenge, 14.
HUMOROUS--The Carpenter's Wooing, Poetry, Page 15; Where the
Old Maids Come From, 15; Items, 15.
NEWS OF THE WEEK--Page 16.
MARKETS--Page 16.

TALL MEADOW OAT-GRASS.
Prof. John W. Robson, State Botanist of Kansas, sends THE PRAIRIE
FARMER an extract from his last report, concerning a tame grass for
hay and pasturing which is new to that State. The grass has been on
trial on an upland farm for two years, during which time he has
watched it very closely. The Professor says, "It possesses so many
excellent qualities as to place it in the front rank of all cultivated
grasses." He enumerates from his notes:
1st. The seed will germinate and grow as easily as common oats. 2d. It

maintains a deep green color all seasons of the year. 3d. Its roots
descend deeply into the subsoil, enabling this grass to withstand a
protracted drouth. 4th. Its early growth in spring makes it equal to rye
for pasturage. 5th. In the next year after sowing it is ready to cut for hay,
the middle of May--not merely woody stems, but composed in a large
measure of a mass of long blades of foliage. The crop of hay can be cut
and cured, and stowed away in stack or barn, long before winter wheat
harvest begins. 6th. It grows quickly after mowing, giving a denser and
more succulent aftermath than any of the present popular tame grasses.
For several years, he says, we have been looking for a grass that would
supply good grazing to our cattle and sheep after the native grasses
have become dry and tasteless. In the early portion of 1881, his
attention was called to a tame grass which had been introduced into the
State of Michigan from West Virginia. This forage plant was causing
some excitement among the farmers in the neighborhood of Battle
Creek. So he entered into a correspondence with a friend living there,
and obtained ten pounds of seed for trial. The result has been
satisfactory in every respect. The seed was sown April 1, 1881. It
germinated quickly, and the young plants grew vigorously. During the
whole summer they exhibited a deep-green color, and did not become
brown, like blue-grass, orchard grass, or timothy. As soon as the spring
of 1882 opened, growth set in rapidly, and continued till the latter end
of May, at which period it stood