Morning journal and courier., 1881-01-08
SonruaI allb Goluisr.
Saturday Morning, Jan. 8. 1881.
Local News.
County Farmers. Club.


 Regular Monthly yMeetfng-!Address by J.
 M. Hubbard, Of MiddletOwn-Farming
 Industries fn the West.
 The regular monthly meeting of the New Haven County Farmers club was held in Sheffield Hall yesterday afternoon, Presi- dent J. J. Webb in the chair
 President Webb stated that R. s. Hinman, the secretary and treasurer, had resigned his position, and had sent check for the bal ance of funds in his hands.
 MT. Webb then inquired if this child Gre fe-ring to the Farmers club was worth rais- ing. If so it must be nursed. He thought if the farmers desired to keep the child alive they must show an interest in it by attending the meetings. If the farmers would meet to- gether and consult as to their own interests it would be great benefit to them in more ways than one. If the club is not the thing for the purpose they should disband and start something else. He thought, however, it was better to keep up the present organi zation.
 The resignation of Mr. Hinman as secre- tary and treasurer was accepted, and Cullen B. Foote was unanim ously elected to fill the vacancy.
 Secretary Foote remarked upon the sug- gestions offered by President Webb. He urged the necessity of keeping up the orga- nization, and the necessity of faithful at- tendance at the monthly meetings.
 President Webb introduced J. M. Hubbard of Middletown, who proceeded to address the club regarding recent observations of the farming industries in the State of Kansas. He said Kansas was wonderful State. He thought it would pay the eastern farmers to visit the mighty West, if only for sight see- ing and observation. He said we called Con- necticut an eastern State, and it was such. He then referred to the original charter of Connecticut, which gave them boundary from the Atlantic to the Pacific. He said that while Connecticut people did not own this land now, yet the descendants of Connec- ticut were to be found in every western State It was hard to tell where the West commenced the farther West you go the more would be heard of people going West Only the Pacific Ocean could stop the west ern movement. Whereas the early emigrant had to cut down the forests and clear the land, yet now prairie farm could be opened in year. He then related the progress of farming in Kansas. He said years labor would bring the prairie farm right up to it's maximum capacity. He read ex- tracts from the State agricultural report of Kansas to show the wonderful capacity of the land for producing corn and wheat. In passing he thought such an official report would be of great benefit to Connecticut. He | said that the wonderful growth of Kansas | during the past ten years would not have been so great had 1t not been that the State had made an effort to make known her great resources to the world. He said the farmers | had attained great skill in handling the crops l of corn and wheat. Nearly all the farming | is done by machinery, which accounts for | their ability to handle such immense crops. l Only by these methods could they find it | profitable. While he would not say anything | against the methods of our eastern farmers yet he thought they could learn many lessons | from the western farmer. We must be as skill ed in the of machinery as they in our | agricultural operations in order to keep up | with them. He did not believe Connecti- | cut farmer could make corn raising profitable if he had to hoe it. There were tools for | this purpose, aud they should be used instead of following the old methods of our fathers. 1 He referred tozs the wonderful changes in | Kansas during the past fifteen years, when there were hardly any railroads in the State. | Now there were three thousand miles of railS
 road reaching into every portion of the State l so that the farmer could find market for his
 products almost at his very door. It would
 therefore seem that the problem of a mar ket was solved. There was another side to l this however, and that that railroads | often acted the part of tyrants over the farm
 CTS. The railroads had made the West, and the | West is in the power of the railroads because
 they hold monopoly of the transportation | of passengers and freight. The immense
 growth of Kansas City during the past twen- ty-five years was referred to. Then it was
 no city at all; now it is city of 60, 900 in-
 habitants and fourteen railroads center there. The growth of trees on the western prairies | was pleasantly referred to. He said that
 trees had been set out about homesteads and l in cities that were growing finely, where it l was formerly supposed that trees would not grow on paririe land. He said that not only
 shade trees but also fruit trees were growing finely. He thought the growth of trees would
 change the climate for the better. in a
 measure prevent drouths and improve the | country in everything. He said in reference to the question whether an eastern farmer should go West, it was rather difficult one to | answer. He thought as a general rule the l eastern farmer was quite as prosperous as | those in the West. Looking the country over, l he said he did not believe there was any State | where man could live more happily, or more prosperously, or live longer than in the good
 old State of Connecticut. He thought, how | ever, GQ6 E1dSG dnU west udu d COmnQOu H. terest, and they should study each other
 interests, and each section should consult re-
 garding the best products that they can raise.
 It should be partnership arrangement. It
 is not an evil that so many eastern farmers have gone West.
 In closing he said it had been great pleas
 ure for him to go West and pleasure for him to come home and tell the club of it. He
 would advise the farmers, so far as they
 could, to go West and see it's great resources
 for themselves, which would be to them, he
 had no doubt, great source of pleasure. In
 reply to question, MT. Hubbard said that
 the western soil had great fertility, yet he
 did not believe that there was any land that
 was inexhaustible.
 vote of thanks was extended to MT. Hub
 bard for his interesting and able address.
 The next meeting of the club will be held
 on the first Tuesday evening in February,
 when Professor Brewer will deliver an ad- l dress.