The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1884-07-09
Farmers Institutes.
FAYErFE, July 4, 1884.

FAHEFfE, July 4, 1904.
EDfToRs CLARION: Your readers viii
be pleased TO know that the Faculty of the
A. and NJ. College, headed by Gen. Lee
are deyoting their spare time during the
vacation months to holding what is called
Farmers Institutes" in many counties
through the State, and especially where
invited to to so. A Farmers Institute
is nothing but system of lectures BY thu
Professors on practical farming, each in
his own department, and free talk be-
tween them and the audience who ART
expected to participate in the discussions
and ask as many questions as they please.
We have just held one of these expert
ence meetings in this town, with the Gen.
eral to head off in his free and happy style
of delivery; with DR.. Phares with his
astonishing fund of infor nation on ali
subjects, and on Agriculture-the Scion o.
the South. His lecture was a familiar
talk on the grasses of the State, nativ,
and imported, with a sample of each, say
City in all, winter aud summer, blue grass,
velvet grass, rescue grass, Alfalfa, I4espa-
deza, Lueerne, red clover, white clover,
red top, and numberless others. One Woulu
hardly think there were as many in the
world, much less the State but forcing the
conviction, We need never be without grass
and plenty of it at all seasons, making
our pastures living green in January a
in June.
OF all things our State most needs it il
grass that will flourish and grow lively
all the winter, and he will soon satisfy you
he has plenty of them, especially the res
cue.
Then we had Prof. Gully on blood cat
tie. JERSEYS, Holsteins and Short Horns,
showing by actual experiment the "blue
grass region is no better for such than our
own State; and the next day on drainage,
the science of it, the best modes, and what
amount of crops are now standing on our
soil with wet feet as he termed it, and how
the bottom of a frog pond can be planted
as soon, kept as dry and outyield the rest
Of the field if you will only run a tile
ditch across it, and the mode of doing that
with brush or poles if tiles can't be had
cheap enough Is piece of instruction no
man who has an acre of bottom land, ought
ever to draw another satisfied breath till
he finds out.
Then at night, there was Prof. Myers,
with his magic lantern exhibiting many
vivid photos of farming methods in Egypt
and Palestine, taken by himself on the
spot, interesting as the Orient ever il for
historical reasons, bat making you thank
heaven you were born in the Mississippi
Valley; and the following day celebrating
the MANURE question, showing mathemat-
ieally upon admitted facts that you ought
60 plant one acre of cotton to make two
bales, instead of two acres to make ono,
and let the other go to grass for the cows.
Now what | want TO say to you, and
through you, is that these Institutes are
the most agreeable and Instructive things
imaginable, and if persisted in will do more
to diversity and improve the farming
operations of the State than any system
OF educationyet devised. II is the Lecture
system, assuming the form of free talk.
The Professors want to be questioned
We did not spare them in this matter ard
| hope they won't be any where. Stump
them ii you can. Every farmer will be
wishing his son had all this practical
knowledge about the earth and its pro-
ducts and be able to talk like young Hos
kins, q graduate of the a. & NJ, and
citizen of Brookhaven did on the profits OF
truck farming and the difficulties in its
way. When our boys con talk sense about
such things, we may expect the year of
jubilee is close at hand for Mississippi
w. L. HARPER.