Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1874-02-27
FARMERS, MEETING
with the Board OF Agriculture, &C., a
Bradford, Thursday and Friday, Feb. Is
and ~.

['The editor of the FARMER having been
by sickness to return home from
the Westminster meeting Of the Board with
out attending the meeting at Bradford is
obliged to rely for this report upon some
brief notes kindly furnished by z. E. jane
son, Of Irasburgh. For the report, also, Of
the Westminster meeting he is mainly in.
debted to the excellent reports on the Rut-
land Herald and Bello,cs Falls Times.
THURSDAY AFTERNOON.
The meeting was organized by the choice
Moses II. Chamberlain, Esq,
of Bradford, President of the Orange Coun-
ty Agricultural Society, as chairman. The
first paper was read by
A. w. Paine, Esq,
OF Fairlce, upon The Grass Crop" Mr..
Paine spoke first of the deficiency of our
hay crop, averaging in Vermont not over one
ton to the acre, while it could be easily rais-
ed to ton aud half. The fertility of the
soil under bad management declines more
rapidly than it can be restored. CONNER
cial fertilizers do not prove profitable as a
chief dependence, and barnyard manure
must be our chief reliance.
Mr.. Paine favored surface manuring,-
mingling it with the top three inches of soil.
He narrated an experiment of plowlug un-
der 200 loads Of manure on seven acres to
the depth of eight inches, of which the re.
suit was a total failure of the corn crop with
no apparent benefit to the succeeding crops
This manure appeared to have been utterly
lost. Another experiment on eight acres
the manure being applied to the surface
gave 1900 bushels of ears of corn. On A.
acres, rs loads of manure applied after
plowing in October, sown to wheat and seed
ed to grass in the spring, gave 13O bushel
of wheat, and the next year IL tons of hay
The soil of Mr. Paine's farm is loan, nei
ther clay DOR sand.
In the discussion following this paper q
variety of opinions were expressed. On,
speaker had tried the experiment Of plowinl
under the manure on half the field, anC
spreading the same quantity on the furrow
of the other half, with no porceptible differ
ence in the succeeding grass crop. Anothe
speaker said that on field of fften acre,
of corn, grass seed sown at the second hoe
ing, keeping the ground level, had given
yield of 40 tons of hay the next year, b.
measure, 500 feet to the ton.
Mr.. johnson said he had been very sue
cessful with fall feeding. His land was s
rich that he could not seed to grass success
fully with oats on account of lodging but b.
fall seeding he got good catch and cut tw
crops the next year.
f. ID. Douglas said he had practice
turning the sod, sowing oats and peas; mex
season turns back so as to bring the decOm
posed sod to the surface, top-dresses au
sows grass seed with oats in the spring, witt
excellent results. This is on clay loan
Or such land he would always apply ma
nure to the plowed surface; it acts as
mulch, and keeps the frost from THROWN
out the grass.
G. II. Heath, of Montpelier, had notice
that in years past much had been said abou
deep plOwing and sub-sOiling and wanted t
know if we were coming back to the shallo'
plowing Of the olden time.
Mr.. johnson said if the land was Ell
riched as deep as plowcd it did not matte
how deep we plOw. He had raised 40
bushels Of ears of corn on p acres.
Alex. McLane, of Fairlee, had made or
experiment in plowing manure under deepl.
Got poor crop of potatoes, and poor Oa
next year. Had plOwed in manure for viii
ter wheat; the wheat winter killed. He el
pected good crop of grass, but had onl
one ton to the acre the first season, and LEI
and less afterwards. He plowed the san
piece and planted corn, expecting a goc
crop, but he never heard from that manur
If it were not that he must plow deep
get the witch grass under, he never wouI
plow more than FIVE inches.
A. g. RedingtOn spoke of the surface Gu
ture that had exhausted the soil in the Sout
and the good results of deep plOwing in Il
red clays Of Georgia by which two bales
cotton to the acre are realized. lie has To-
! dressed grass in Vermont and got A tons
the acre. He said large quantities Of pho
f pilates are now being used in the South f
. cotton.
W. T. George, of TOpsham, said VIII,
the plow is run to a moderate depth, Al
followed by sub-sOil plOw, stirring but n
! turning up the subsOil, as is practiced by
neighbor of his, (thus keeping the top 81
! on the tOpl splendid crops have resulted.
} A. McLans, of Fairlee, said he h
! very poor luck in an experiment with pho
: phate. 1t was no better than plaster. T
crop was potatoes.