The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1875-12-17
Reported for The Agis d; Intelligence,
Deer Creek Farmers Club.


Deer Creek Farmers Club.
The club met at the residence of Mr.. Geo
r. Glasgow. The members present were the
President, Mr., Moores, and Messrs. Glasgow,
Silver, Lochary, w. d. Lee, Munnikhuysen,
Parker, Gorrcll Willis, Archer. Rogers, james
Lee, Bayless, and Messrs. s. NJ. Lee, DR.. Ma
graw, John P. Dallam and Edward Hall.
The President presented letter of resigna-
ton from the Secretary, Mr.. Thomas A. Hays,
which was read and accepted. Mr. Hays was
thereupon elected an honorary member.
Mr.. Silas Silver was elected Secretary and
Treasurer, to fill the uncXpired term of Mr..
Hays.
The subject discussed was; TIL cheapest
method of improving land.
Mr.. Glasgow thought as cheap and as good
way to improve land is with plaster and clover.
The sooner you get land set in clover the better.
Would only allow clover to stand one year,
Would pasture it till the middle of June. Pow
under the clover and top dress with bone or
other fertilizer. A good compost may be made
of bone, salt and plaster, with hen manure !;
would use 500 or 900 lbs. to the acre. 1t is i'm
portant to save all the manure you can. In i'm
proving an old, WORKOUT place would prefer
sowing oats and clover. Mr.. Glasgow advocat
cd the use of salt as q fertilizer.
Mr.. Gorrcll believed in feeding cattle to i'm
prove land. Thought it cheaper to feed cattle
than to buy bone or salt. The best way to i'm
prove land is to make all the barn yard manure
&C., possible. If there was more clover and
less timothy raised it would be better for land.
Mr. Hall went in for lime in improving land.
Lime is not exactly manure but Il stimulant-
decomposer Of something in the soil, which
will bring it into action. Lime and clover were
the origin and basis of all the improvement
in agriculture in this county. Bone is a good
substitute, but more expensive way o improve
land. Believed the repetition of any kind of
manure would not show as marked effect in sub
sequent applications as in the first. If the old
rotation of crops were resumed there would be
less failure viz: clover, wheat, corn, oats. In
grazing farms farmer should only pillow bare
spots and endeavor TO set his farm in grass
Mr.. Rogers said Mr.. Hall had fully expressed
his views.
Mr.. Dallam said his experience was on sandy
soil. He thought lime the cheapest manure
In the first place he would apply lime, follow
with corn, then oats, then would apply phos.
phate, and SOW clover as carly as possible, say
by the LIST of March, Let that clover remain
two years and then put it in corn. Would not
turn stock on clover until it was in blossom
Would sow plaster before he turned the clover
under. Would put his wheat in from the 10th
to 25th of September. On clay soil lie had found
that lime would not act as soon on such soils
he would prefer bone or phosphate. He bcliev-
ed guano had been of more use in this country
to bring up poor lands than anything that had
ever been tried.
Mr.. Archer.-Improving land with lime is toe
slow. Bone will pay quicker He had no doubt
lime and plaster were the cheapest methods OF
improving land, but it takes q lifetime to do it.
He instanced the case ola farmer, Mr. George
Kenly, who had improved poor place in fifteen
years with nothing else but bone. He would
use all the manure that could be made on the
place with bone.
Dr. Magraw thought clover one of the best
fertilizers, Lime, plaster, bone, guano &c, arc
all good, but they should be changed. His eX.
perience had been principally in garden. If you
use rich barn yard manure you would never tai
in raising good crops. Plaster fixes the ammo
MIA i'll manure and prevents it from acting toe
rapidly. By the application Of lime on u poor
soil he had raised 10 bushels of corn to the acre
Mr.. Lochary said if he had piece of land thai
had never been lined he would lime it the first
thing. If he wanted to improve piece of LAND
rapidly he would bone lime and manure it, al
for the same crop. He believed the proper way
to apply bone was with lime
Mr.. James Lee went In for top dressing gras;
land with barn yard manure; puts bone, say
600 or 800 lbs. TO the acre, on corn, and proba-
bly, 200 or 300 lbs on wheat the following fall
Would let his land lay in clover one year. Thel
plows the clover under, putting on all the bone
possible Then your ground is in nice condi-
ton for grass.
Mr.. Parker said where he had applied lime he
had better stand of clover. The application
of lime was great deal Of labor. His custom
was to put 1t on plowcd ground, after turning
under a sod. Believed turning under clovei
would improve land very fast.
Mr.. Munnikhuysen had used lime, guano,
bone, &c. Used lime two seasons, applying sc
bushels to the acre. By the time he got ii OF
his land 1t cost him as much as 200 lbs. of bone
lhat much or less OF bore paid him better. He
thought barn yard manure should be applied tc
grass, and fertilizers to plowed land.
MIR. 5. Nj. Lee said you can make poor lant
rich on the resources of the land itself, but MOI
quick. lfyou want to make poor land ricl
t.l-
go home and burn your plows. Where land il
too poor to bring grass you must apply. some
thing to bring it. Had applied lime with goot
results. Lime libcrates certain stored-up ma
teral in the soil and fits it for the use of plants
You get thcplanis to grow and then return then
to the ground. Had seen some lands that de-
Perforated by the continued application of lime
Once get clover to start, and plaster would give
you doubly increased growth for next time
Thought clover would do better to stand two
years instead of one before blowing.
Mr.. Bayless had not much experience. Thinks
with DR.. Magrsw that land should not be ma
nured with one kind too much. His father'
plan was to use lime on grass for wheat and pu
bone on the ,stubble land. Bone is better on
land not highly improved. To improve lane
stable manure is best; would top dress it OIL
grass.
Mr.. Willis, like Mr.. Bayless, believed yo,
must 60 back to the foundation. The soil arount
here has been exhausted. You must find GU
what was wanting and apply such substances
as will supply the want. Where the soil ha
not lime enough in it is as good manure yol
can apply Believed in variety of manures
You can apply bone until you can see no eiiec
from it.
Mr.. Silver did not think we ought to use th
same kind of manure too long. A change i
necessary. He liked to top dress with barn yart
manure, feed cattle and thus get your land rich
Mr. Moores believed in making land rich il
as short time as possible, as life is short. Oh
the land he farmed great quantity of lime hat
been applied in former days and it never raiset
more than six or seven barrels of corn to tn
acre. In 1850 the use ofguano was commenced
In 1852 to 1856 he commenced using bone, ant
by its use the crops had been more than doubled
Adjourned to meet at James Silver's, on Sat
urday, January Sth, 1876.