VOL. LXII
INDIANAPOLIS, DECEMBER 7,  1907.
NO. 49
THE FARM SCHOOL.
History   of the Irish   Potato and
How it Received its Name.
The potato grows wild in Brazil. It
has no tuber, but a jointed root much like
an elder root that runs under the ground,
sending up a stalk from eaeh joint. This
joint is a center from which other roots
radiate, in turn forming other joint centers and sending up more stalks. The
rasping bitter acid found here in the Tines
and leaves is more bitter in the native
state, and is commonly regarded as poisonous.
As there is nd winter at the equator, the
stalks appear at all times of the year, ex-
etpt in the dry season wheu nothing grows,
nnd Nature makes no effort to lay up a
winter    storage  of    starch. The  stalk
bears a beautiful flower, which attracted
the attention of some of the early European explorers, and they bronght specimens to Spain for the flower collection of
a few wealthy people.
Being a line grower, it soon multiplied
and became wildly popular. From Spain
and Portugal it was carried northward into France and England, and thence by
If ndlords over the channel into    Ireland.
A strange change or two took place in
it as it was moved farther northward, that
puzzled the Nabobs not a little. The
tuber increased in size and the beauty of
the bloom  diminished. In    Ireland     it
grew as well as elsewhere and rather better bnt the glory of the flower was so
much reduced that it became common, and
the poor people were permitted to plant it.
The tuber had increased in size until it
became a sort of burden to carry about;
ond pilpp<3 of them were formed in places.
One peasant woman had been careless
v ith her- tubers: and, although she regarded them poisonous, she left them
where one of her boys could get at them,
and he had eaten one of them half up
when she discovered the awful act. Frenzied with alarm she sent for the priest, the
doctor and several of her neighbors to see
if all, together, could save the brat's life.
The doctor would not apply the stomach
pump nor give antidotes till the symptoms
of poisoning set in: and, as they did not set
in, he counselled her to let the boy finish
the undertaking.
From this accident the potato became
food; aid, because the same occurred in
Ireland, it is called the Irish potato. It
is, perhaps, more generally cultivated
there than elsewhere in the world; and no
calamity is greater in that country than a
potato famine.
The substance of the potato is rich" in
starch and starch is an available form of
carbon. It is a great source of fat and
serves the same purpose in Ireland that
is accomplished by rice in China and India:
but, being defective in lime and phosphorus it lacks bone and brain material.
Irish children therefore learn to walk be-
fcre their legs are fully ossified, and they
are quite commonly bow-legged, and undersized.
The enlarged tuber of northern latitndes
is no longer a puzzle; for it is the work of
vegetable instinct Vegetable instinct is
one of the wonders of botany. The tuber
is only a deposit of starch laid up by Nature to nourish the young plant that is sure
to appear after the winter's repose.
New varieties come from the seeds that
grow in the "balls," as the fruit is called.
These balls result, like the tomato, from
the bloom. The bloom with ns is never
thought of as a flower. W. 8. Smith.
Planting Locusts   for Posts.
Editors Indiana  Farmer:
There seems to be a revival in tree-planting in southern Indiana. The Government Forester, Gifford Pinehot, and the
Indiana Board of Forestry, have for several years been advising the farmers to
plant forest trees, but it is only of late
years that there seems to be any marked
results of these appeals made by the Government and the State.
In Warrick county and other counties in
the southern part of the State many fanners just now are busily engaged in setting
! ont waste tracts of land in black locusts,
hardy catalpa,   and other varieties of fast
tip Senator Hemenway, and W. B. Bunton,
an official in the Government service at
Washington, D. C, hnve just finished setting out one of the largest plantations or
forests of locusts in Southern Indiana. The
tract contains fifty thousand trees and is
near Gentryville, Spencer county, Indiana.
Mr. Littlepage says that if the borers do
not get into this plantation it will be worth
at least ten thousand dollars in twelve
years. This  plantation  consists  of   35
io IP's that had been fallow for a number
of yenrs and was bought by Messrs. Littlepage and Bunton for the small price of
The locust borer is an insect very des-
On the Knox County F arm of Samuel Miller.
growing forest trees. This is due largely to the post famine that the farmers are
having to contend with. It is getting to
be almost impossible to secure good lasting
fence posts and the farmers have found
that the black locusts, hardy catalpas, and
Osarge orange make the best fence posts
that can be grown. There are others, also, who are taking to tree planting as a
good financial investment.
There is yet some land in this part of
Indiana that can be bought at from six dollars to ten dollars per acre which will yield
a good crop of black locusts for posts in
from ten to twelve years. An acre of
posts is estimated to be worth from $250
to $800, and in view of the high price of
farm labor this looks like a good investment to those who have old and worn out
fields. In fact, it has been stated by
Government forestry experts that a small
plantation of black locusts would mature
into great value in from 10 to 20 years and
wonld be a snre investment if it were not
for the possibility of the destructive work
of the locust borer. In fact it is tne
only "lion" in the path of riches that the
locust enthusiast sees.
A few years ago a Pennsylvania railroad
set out 3,000 acres of black locusts in
Western Pennsylvania. The locust borer
struck them in a few years nnd killed the
entire plantation.      Up to date, however,
I the locust borer does not seem to have been
j so destructive in  Southern     Indiana:    yet
there   are few   groves   in which    can   be
; found the effect of the borers to some extent.        But it is estimated that even if
I the borers were to kill even three-fourths
of nil    the    trees set    out that the loensts
wonld still l>e a  i:,,,,,} investment.
Thomai P. Littlepage, private secretary
tiuetive in its work. It bores holes
through the young growing trees, and it is
not uncommon in sections where the borer
works tp) find young trees with holes in and
through them the size of a lead pencil.
" 'iho Bureau of Entomology at Washington, I'. <'." says Mr. Littlepage, "has given
a great deal of study to this insect and has
issuppl a bulletin showing the results of investigations, but as yet there has been
BO practical way found to offset its effects.
The greatest known enemy of the borer is
the woodpecker. During the past summer. Mr. Detweiler, a representative of
the Forestry Bureau at Washington, D. 0.,
visited this section of Indiana and while
here he made n close study of the trees
here. He said that the birds were the
f.inners best friends, and that if the
farmers gave the matter proper attention
tl,c.\ woulil not permit birds to be killed,
but on the other hand they should plant
cherry trees and sarvis trees over their
farms upon which the birds could feed. He
also said that if the slaughter of birds is
not stopped we would soon have a country
without trees and without fruit, and that
the legislatures should prohibit the killing
of any kind of birds, except such binls
as tbe English sparrows and others that
destroy the eggs and nests of other birds."
Union B. White.
Rain   Water.
It is not generally known that rain
water, when protected from the atmosphere, is the purest, healthiest, and sweetest water in use. We know of a gentleman, who for a great number of years has
nsed it for drinking and culinary purposes;
Iip> states that lie has never met with any
lipp considered as good.      lie was informed
of its quality by a sea captain, who used
it in his voyages from the United States to
the West Indies, who found that by
carefully preserving it from exposure,
< I'.sks which hnd been shipped at Key
West and made their outward voyage from
the United States to the West Indies, were
on their return to New York, found to be
as pure and good as the day they were put
on board.
Acting on this suggestion, he built two
cisterns in his yard, covered, cemented and
air-tight; one which acted as a reservoir,
communicating with the other, from which
it was conducted into the dwelling. The
cisterns were capable of holding seventy-
five hogshead, nnd from the time of their
erection hnve always held a bountiful supply of pure, soft and excellent water. The
only communication with the air was by
the pipe which conducted the wnter from
the roof. Every rain refreshed the supply, and as it was drawn from the bottom
of the cistern, the temperature was cool
and pleasant. In this case it was conducted from a high roof of slate on which
no dirt could accumulate, and the cisterns had required cleaning only once in
six years, and then from no defect in the
water. At no time has that been disturb-
e<l. or lost in the least its pure and wholesome taste: and that flat and rainy taste,
so peculiar to it when caught in open vessels, has never been noticed. It is strange
that these simple and interesting facts are
not more generally known and acted upon.
The cost of the cisterns is but a trifle, and
this cheap mode of obtaining pure water is
commanded. Rain water is the purest in
nature.
Horses have an instinctive love for soft
water, and refuse hard water if they can
get the former. Hard water produces a
rough and staring coat on horses, and
renders them liable to gripes. Pigeons also refuse hard water if they cnn obtain access to soft. So much are race horses influenced by the quality of water that it is
uot unfrequent to send a supply of soft
water to the locality where the race is to
take place, lest there be only hard water
r.nd the horse lose condition from its use.
One noted writer in his book "The Horse"
says: "Instinct or experience has made
himself conscious of this, he will tip'ver
drink hard water if he has access to soft;
he will leave the most transparent water of
the well for a river, although the wnter
may be turbid, and even for the muddiest
pool." And in another place he sa.vs:
"Hard water drawn fresh from the well
assuredly makes the coat of a horse unaccustomed to it "stare," and will not unfre-
quently gripe or further injure him."
Shelbyville. Alonzo Rice.
Opportunities Come fo All.
It is said that opportunity knocks once
at the door of every man, and that the
one who was out knocks ever afterward.
The first part of the statement is not true
unless you make the "once" read "all the
time." Opportunity is with you all the
t;me. Great corporations are constantly
looking for men of brains and character;
men who can do something that it needed
in the world's work. Learn to do something that is useful and do it well and
your fortune is made if you will keep at it.
Be able to "deliver the goods" and you
will be wanted. The test is doing. Learn
how to think and yon will soon know
what to think. A man is of little vahi"
until he ean take care of himself. Lenin
to take cnre of yourself and help others to
the same high standard.
Illinois. H. G. Russell.