Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1881-03-11
THE FARMERS
Meeting OF the state Board OF AgricuI.
ture az TOvvnahend.

The meeting of the Board Of Agriculture
for Windhau county was opened at the
academy hall ON Tuesday of this week. z.
H. Rutter Of Townshend was chosen chair
man and J. II. Putnam Of Grafton assistant
secretary. The attendance at the forenoon
session was discouragingly thin. The excel
lent sugar weather. perhaps accounted in
part for the small number Of farmers in at
tendance. Secretary Cutting, Davis, Lane
and Goodwin, members Of the board, were
present
Col franklin spoke of the dairying inter
est, in the course of his remarks rejecting
severely upon the people of the neighbor-
hood for their want Of attention to the board.
At the afternoon session Mr.. Goodwin gave
his paper on grasses. Following this paper
the merits of the different kinds Of grass were
discussed, the preference being given by
most of the speakers TO herds grass or limo
thy. Glover, contrary to the usual opinion,
was not approved as a hay crop except as Il
might be cultivated with the object partly of
improving the soil.
DIR. Cutting spoke of the use Of fertilizers,
and advised against the purchase Of com
plete fertilizers. Farmers using complete
fertilizers would be likely to pay for some
thing not needed in their soil. Only one
chemical was needed in many soils to restore
fertility; in most soils only two Potash
might be needed, or II might be phosphoric
acid. In other soils ii might be some of the
compounds of nitrogen. Advised expert
menting with small plats to learn what the
soil needed. Concentrated fertilizers should
be thoroughly distributed in the soil il ap-
piled too much in a place the roots Of the
plants might be killed. He recommended
applying concentrated fertilizers, and manure
also, in the winter on the snow II was oil
nonsense 10 suppose any fertilizing property
would be lost by evaporation. There was
nothing that could be evaporated OF any val
ne as fertilizer except ammonia, and no
evaporation OF ammonia could take place
without fermentation. Neither was there any
| danger of manure spread on snow being lost
by washing He spread on a steep side hill
and could see no effect of the manure below
whore it was applied.
Mr.. Newton of Brattleboro gave some val
liable experience of his own in the applca-
ton of manure on the turf in the fall and on
the snow in the winter, confirming the state
ments Of the secretary. On two parts Of the
same field, on one of which manure was an
piled on the turf in the fall aud on the other
in the spring, the difference in the growth of
corn could be seen through the season and at
harvesting.
Mr.. Bliss of Brattleboro thought there
would be loss from washing when manure
was applied on the frozen earth in the fall or
on the snow in the winter, and instanced as
evidence of it the effectto be- seen below barns
situated on a side hill
Judge Howard said he should expect his
neighbors to believe him insane il he should
spread manure out in the fall or winter to lie
on the surface till plowed in in the spring,
but 1t might be the best way there were
new things to learn.
Mr.. Davis advocated blowing under LIGHTLY
as soon as drawn out. for land like his. Mr..
Goodwin favored spreading in the fall and
winter.
Mr.. Lane gave his paper on fertilizers, the
substance of which has already been given in
these columns.
The secretary, Dr. Cutting, said he was
forced into farming FIVE years ago He owns
a considerable quantity of land, and has made
it all pay, doubling the value Of the land and
having the crops besides, so that the land
stands to him now free gift.
SECOND DAY-wEDSEsDAY.
NJ. W. Davis spoke of THE Cow and her
Food" The two leading agricultural inter
ests of Vermont are now, and will continue
TO be for long time, the COW and the sheep.
The COW is noble machine She should be
chosen, like any other machine, for the pur-
pose for which she is to be used II for but
ter, the Jersey or Channel Island cows; il
for cheese, the llolstein or Ayrshire. He
would consider, in choosing a COW, first, con-
stitution-endurance about 1000 pounds
weight, good digestion, porous, thin hide,
slim neck, fine hair, full eye, broad udder,
reaching well forward, large, long milk veins.
medium teats. For butter, the Alderney is
much SUPERIOR feed regularly; grain and
soil in summer; keep flow Of milk regular;
tie in stanchions; feed every day a little salt,
sulphur and saltpetre combined; meal twice
day great care in milking; cleanliness
most important; cream should be churned in
churn with no floats great care not to break
grain of butter salt to suit customers pack
with great care in style and neatness; in all
things, to manufacture an article more desir-
able than oleomargarine.
Mr.. NJ. o. Howe gave an address treating
of the formation of the soil. the principal
part of which We give in another place.
In the afternoon, Prof. Sabn of Burling-
ton college spoke Of fertilizers and the prog
ress Uf agricultural science. He said that it
was not many years ago that "book farming
was very disparagingly spoken of, but that it
was because the application of chemistry and
scientific methods to farming was quite new
at that time. But times have changed, and
now it is understood that the only way to sue
coed is to read, aud take advantage of the
failure aud success of others. As an illustra-
ton of the practical value of scientific meth
ODDS, he spoke OF one OF the most recent in
dustries-the making of glucose or starch
sugar; stated the amount made in this coun-
try last year-lSO, 900 tons-and told briefly
the details of manufacture. Then he spoke
of the application of chemistry in the making
of artificial fertilizers spoke of the differ
ences between the different kinds of raw ma
terial used in their manufacture, and told the
cost and market value of the various compo-
nents of common barnyard manure, and the
way some of the most available fertilizing
materials can be used to advantage in prepar-
ing manures. Then he told how to use bones
to work them up into phosphates, giving the |
process of reducing with sulphuric acid, and |
another by breaking them up finely and keep |
ing them in moist ashes, with lime, for two |
months or more and spoke of the value and |
application of ashes. The conclusion was |
that the farmer can no more afford to be |
without the aid of science, and all the aids |
that he can get, than any other workman. |
As the sessions continued, the interest and |
the attendance largely increased An ad- |
journment was taken for the evening session |
OF the last day, from the academy hall TO the |
Congregational church, where, after an ad- |
dress by G.. II. Houghton, on Education for |
the Farmer" Gov. Farnham was introduced, |
and spoke in an easy, familiar style for about |
an hour, eliciting great applause at the close |
His address was similar in substance TO that |
delivered at some other meetings of the board, |
parts of which We have already reported. II |
was very sensible, unaffected talk about the |
privileges of farm life and its influence upon |
the character, especially of children. But |
one thing in the whole address would mark il |
as the speech of a governor: he advised the |
farmers, almost without qualification, to go |
into the ensilage business-to build silos, and |
to build them at once.