Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1882-12-20
AGRICULTURAL.
inaugural Session OF the American
Agricultural Association at
Chicago.
FULL REPORT OF THE PROCEEDINGS

gural session at the Grand Pacific Hotel,
Chicago, commencing at noon on the 18th
inst. About $50 representatives were
present from all parts of the country,
among them many prominent men.
Shortly after IL o'clock President
Sprague called the meeting to order and
introduced Mayor Harrison, who spoke
the words OF welcome. Hon. j. f. Kin
ney, OF Nebraska, responded. The
president of the convention, Hon. n. Y.
Sprague, of Vermont, then delivered an
address, in which he said that good,
wide awake, practical farmer is neces-
sary in every community; the govern
ment is in the hands of the non produ-
Ger, who overlooks the needs Of the
country; the internal revenue tax, war
measure, almost eighteen years after
the close of the late unpleasantness,
remains i'll force, blot upon the
nations record, but our late cleo
tiOns will force the repeal of this and
other Objectionable measures, as they
should have been years ago. He also
spoke of the vote of New York freeing
the Erie Canal to competition with the
Mississippi and stated that when the
latter great artery of trade was properly
cared for by the government, the prob
lem Ofregulating railroad charges would
be to great extent solved. He said
federal law was needed regulating inter
state commerce to remove the evils of
inharmonious state legislation; the inter-
ests of the farmers and railroads are
IDENTICAL; railroad abuses should be rem
edied by cooperation in Intelligent
measures; the telegraph system of the
country should be in the hands of the
government; abuses of adulteratiOn of
produce should be remedied, and the
perpetrators Of the wrongs should be
brought to justice as enemies of the
| human race.
The following officers were elected;
| PreSldent-N. 7. Sprague, Vermont.
! Vice Presidents Sidney Root, Georgia; John
| w. PiersOn, Illinois; j. c.. Stevens, Maryland
| Alfred Mitchell, New York; Christ Hartman,
| Nebraska; II. K. SlaytOn, New Hampshire; n.
S. Townshend, England; Seth Terry, Colorado;
A. II. Brintnall, Ontario; P. l.. Kimball, Yer
mont; Bartlett Woods, Indiana; j. L. Ferguson,
| Missouri.
Sscretaries-M Maj. R. D. Torrey, Wisconsin;
d. H. Wheeler, Nebraska; Z. W. Perry, Illinois.
| A communication was received from
Amos Stootter, of Waynesboro, Pa, in
reference to evapOrated fruit, which, he
said, was worth from 200 to 400 per
cent. more than the same fruit sun or
oven dried the labor of preparing the
fruit (the greatest item) being the same
in both cases.
Gen. w. W. Burns, read & paper on
| the Preservation of Moisture for Sea-
sonable Rainfall" He explained the
beneficial effects of forests and called
upon the government to plant trees
along the edges of all streams.
" Hay" formed the topic of an in
teresting recital of individual experience
by Mr.. Wesley Redhead, of Des MONIES,
Iowa. A spirited discussion on the rel
atiYe value. of wild and cultivated
grasses ensued in which Messrs. Fergu-
son, of Missouri, Curtis, of New York,
Pierson, of Illinois, and Judge Kinney,
of Nebraska, participated. Hay has de-
throned cotton and corn, and now reigns
as king, it was asserted.
In the evening Mr.. Burrell, of New
York, spoke upon the subject Of dairy
ing and ensilage He deplored the man
ufacture of skim-milk cheese, and said
that every pound of common cheese sold
prevented the sale of ten times that
amount of good cheese. He related his
experience with ensilage, and described
his method in building the silos. His
were twenty-five feet deep, lined with
concrete, aud had a capacity of twelve
thousand tons. He raised an average Of
twenty-nine tons of pressed ensilage to
the acre. Messre. Smith, of Iowa.
Burnham and Furness, of Nebraska,
each took part in the ensuing discussion.
On the 18th inst Ezra Whitman adyo-
Gated the construction of the Maryland
ship canal; G.. T. Allen expatiated on
spirited discussion on the tariff question
was had. The subject of ensilage was
thoroughly discussed. Vice President
Pulford explained bis methed of build
ing a silo. His was 20x16 feet, and 20
feet deep, lined with refuse marble, the
bottom filed in four inches deep with
gravel. The corn was sown twenty-five
kernels to the foot, and averaged 81
tons of ensilage per acre. A foot per
day was added every day in the sio, un-
til it was filled. A pressure of one hun
dred pounds to the square foot was put
upon the ensilage to exclude the air.
While his father thought it doing well to
keep COW from one acre of land, he
could easily keep seven cows from one
acre.
On the 14th resolution was intro
duced calling upon congress to widen
and deepen the Illinois and Lake Michi-
gan Canal, and also to construct the
Hennepin Canal, SO as to permit the
passage Of boats Of heavy tonnage. The
afternoon was mainly spent IN discussing
the project of great national agricuI-
tural exposition in 1883, and committee
was appointed to select the time and
place OF such exposition. In the even
ing, J. G. Stevens, of Ohio, spoke on
"Sheep Husbandry,' and F. D. Coburn,
of Kansas, on EHogs with Streak Fat
and Streak Lean"
On the 18th inst. a committee was
appointed to draw up resolutions on the
sorghum interest. A paper on "Under-
drainage" was read by Mr.. Blinkens-
dorfer, of Pennsylvania. Gen. Raum
made short speech in favor of reduc-
ton OF taxation on home industry. Mr..
j. S. Norton, Of Nebraska, took excep-
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