The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1876-01-28
reported for the Globe.l
BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.
MEETING IN ORWELL.
Second Days session-Bees and Butter Making
Agriculture and Education.

Agriculture ana Educhu0n.
During Tuesday night slight snow fell
in Orwell, making ileighng passable, and
the sun rose bright and clear Wednesday
morning, giving promise of a fine winter
day. The promise was abundanlly full
filled, and all three sessions of the board of
agriculture, manufactures and mining were
numerously attended. The sessions were
all interesting, the papers being good, and
followed by interesting discussions IN which
the play of repartee was as bailliant as the
ideas on farming were able
The morning session opened with an
essay by c. G. Pringle of Charlotte on
.ERGoT.
The speaker had made careful study of |
his subject, both by observation and from |
books, and brought to the convention the |
latest Investigations on this subject in |
England and France. lie gave careful |
botanical analysis of his subject, and ex-
planned with great minuteness and scientific |
exactness all the steps of its attack upon the
seeds of grasses, illustrating his meaning
with carefully prepared diagrams and
gave the best methods of fighting this pest.
We give few of the more practical
points of the address, which did great
credit TO Mr.. Pringle and the board.
Ergot is fungus which attacks the seeds
of all plants, and which exerts a most
baneful influence on animal lite. 1t some
times produces gangrenc and class OF dis
eases known to physicians as ''ergotism' d.
in France these diseases have been known
to rage through entire districts, carrying off
large portion of the population, from eat
ing -four ground from ergotied wheat,
before they had facilities for properly sift-
ing the flour. When eaten by cattle it
pro iuces palsy, gangrene, abortion and
other diseases. An English farmer lost
cattle valued at 1900 pounds in three years
| from this cause alone
There are various kinds of ergot the
"bunt" of wheat the 'smut" which at
lacks wheat, barley, sorghum and some
other grams the "maize smut" which at
lacks corn and the ergot of rye and all the
common grasses except herds grass, which,
although troubled by ergot in England, is
| as yet free from it in this country.
| Ergot fastens on the grain late in July
| or August, and after various stages of
growth (all minutely described and illustra-
| ted by the speaker drops to the ground to
grow up next season in the form of toad
stool. In the next July or August the
seeds are ripened. ready to fly on the wings
of the wind seeking ripening heads of rye
or any grass on which to light ; for ergot
which has grown on rye will propagate
itself equally well on any of the grasses,
and rice oersa, taking different color and
appearance on each different kind Of seed.
Wet weather is necessary for the ripening
of ergot, and dry weather to scatter it.
Grass which is cut early has no chance to
| nd al, foI 80
In England they are obliged not only to
cut their lay early, but to NOW all their
pastures where breeding cows are kept
that there may be no ripened grass hedges
to perpetuate this pest
After the essay an interesting discussion
spraDg up in which questions were asked
by Messrs. Sanford Stowell Bascom and
others, the answers to which are lncorpo-
rated above. Mr.. Stowell said that he had
observed that dry clay and light loans
we're free from ergot except in wet seasons,
when weter lands were troubled with it.
He did not know, however, that the pres
ence of ergot in one case or its absence in
the other was caused by the nature of the
soil he had merely observed that it was
so in some instances.
The next essay was by Mr.. A. d. Forbes
of Orwell, subject
| WILL 1T PAY?
The speaker said that this subject had
been agitating mankind since the fiat
went forth 'In the sweat of thy brow
shalt thou eat bread" Applying it to
farming, there are several things which we
thought would not pay. Among them, the
cultivation of more land than you can till
Thoroughly ; leaving haying till the grass
l hoc tnrpaI m woody tibpr II III
meadows in the fall allowing crops to be
overrun by weeds; working without the
best machinery leaving machinery half
cared for; wntering stock in cold sheds
on poor fodder, and making dirty butter.
DISCUSSION.
The discussion at the close of Mr.. Forbes
address, though wandering from the sub
ject, was the most spirited of the session.
Mr.. Cuts of Orwell wished to know if the
gentleman to whom Mr.. Forbes had re-
ferred (Mr. Whipple of Pomfre) had made
money because he had a small farm or
because he MIXED the only true stock, the
Jerseys?
Mr. Forbes replied that he was an ener-
getic farmer, and had most capable and
industrious wife, applause, especially
from the ladies and would probably have
made money anywhere.
Another gentleman insisted that it was
mis- twenty Jersey cows, when Mr.. Sanford
said that it was neither his Jerseys nor his
wife looks of strong disapproval from the
ladies' but his good luck in getting seventy
five cents a pound tor his butter from the
Revere house, Boston.
Mr.. Fassett of Enosburgh, stated that
Mr.. Whipple did not get but fifty cents fol
his butter, and gave an account of Mr.
Whipple's farm and dairy.
Hon. Alexis r. Smith stated that his
success probably depended more on Mr.
Whipple than it did on the size of his farm
or the kind of stock he kept. There is sucl
thing as constitutional shftlessness. He
had lived on a small farm and been shift
less and on big farm and been shiftles,
still 1t had taken him twenty-five years
to learn how to take a hammer and nail ur
fence board and get the hammer back
, where he found it. However, he was i'm
proving. Every one in Orwell was crazy
over Jerseys as they were everywhere else
He believed in breeding the best stock, but
he didn't like to see the cream so rich thai
when you churned you had to go to the
neighbors and borrow butter-mlk. Mr.
Smith sat down amidst much laughter anC
applause.
The next paper was by j. f. Crane Of
Bridport, on
BEES AS RELATES TO FRUIT RAISING.
There has beeA, and is yet, wide spread
prejudice against bees as injurious to fruit
ii being asserted by many that they make
the fruit sour by sucking honey from The
blossoms. So far as this being true that
bees are, on the contrary, agents to brinl
about the formulation of flowers. The
honey bee is just the size to enter the cor
rola of most flowers in this latitude, ant
its body is covered with hair exacrly fitted
, to carry the pollen from one flower IL
another, thus insuring qualification, as i
can be secured by no other means. Tht
bee, too, by some instinct never enters bu
one species of blossom on the same trip
In 1774 Count Anthony of Bavaria, re
cords that at time when all his tenants