The Newtown bee., 1891-02-27
NEwTowN, FEBRUARY a7, 1891.
GREENS FARMS ANNUAL
 Discussion of Timely Farm Topics.
THE FARMERS, CONVENTION.

THE FARMERS CONVENTION.
 Hardly as many as usual were present in the upper room of the Greens Farms creamery, Tuesday morning, when the sixth farmers convention of the Greens s Farms farmers club was opened, but the room was gradually filled until all the seats were taken. There were cushions on the seats and, although no backs were provided, they were far more comfortable than the un- dersized seats in the Greens Farms school house, where these conventions were formerly held. The walls of the room had been decorated with flags and bunting and the picture of the Father of his Country was very appropriately hung over the reporters seats. The pennant of the fast yacht Ramona, owned by President John II. Jennings, was dis played, as were two of the pennants won at races of the c. F. Y. C., 1887 and 1889. On one side of the room was a long table, upon and beneath which were baskets of provision for the "good time coming by and bye" It was about 10 45 when President Jennings called the meet ing to order and read the following ad- dress:
 Gentlemen-Another year has passed since we last met in our Washington's birthday agricultural meeting and today finds us as sembed for the fifth time to talk over agri-
 
 deavor to have good time; both pleasant and profitable to ourselves and those friends who have been kind enough to meet with us To all such, in behalf of the farmers club, l bid welcome and it is our wish that all will make themselves at home in this meeting, will join in the discussions and in that way make the meeting a success ana an adVan- we assembled in this room to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the formation of our farmers club and after one of our suppers such as a king could not help enJoylng we spent an hour in addresses and reviews Of the 30 years that had passed and we could scarce ly realize the great advancement that agri culture has made in those years, especially in the last 10 or 15, With all those changes and improvements, we have more need of such meetings as this, where can have free interchange of thought and plans; to initiate the successes and avoid the failures of others We can do more work and better work with our improved machinery and improvements that in turn calls tor more thought and study; more and better plans of how to produce; when and where to sell and in cooperation, buy in large quantities for cash, by which much money can be saved. l would cite one year when we bought fertilizers as n club and think at least 5000 was saved in that one 1n- Our business brings us in direct communion, tion with Nature and we are made to feel every day our dependence on a higher power for all successes and are made to feel ana trust that power which has said, "Seed time and harvest shall not fail"
 He was followed by ex-President Will liam J. Jennings, who gave an address on ''Ihe influence of culture on soil and crops." Culture, as applied to soil, meant to refine, reduce and in every way improve; to produce the best and most profitable results. He doubted, he said, whether the grasses so common here could be produced on virgin soil; cult- vation would first be necessary. Wet soils needed first thorough system of understanding; coarse, dry soil needed material to bind it together; other soil required simply ploughing to bring it in- to good condition. A distinction should be made between true sWamps and wet spots or swales; the latter, properly treated, often become the most valuable on the farm. A swamp or sink hole can never be made really valuable and time and money can be better expended else where. In cold, wet soil, neither trees nor plants will thrive; thorough under draining only will fit it for cultivation. In it's passage toward the lower level of a drain, water aids in the disintegraton of the soil and prepares it for cultivation. Dry, gravelly soil is, in some instances, as worthless as q deep swamp; ashes, green maturing or any process by which the soil may be made to hold moisture, is good. Aid Nature" is an excellent motto; in fact, about all we can do. It had been truly said that there was suffic- tent fertilizing material in the soil, if we only knew how to find it. Light soil, with a good subsoil, was the ideal; such as existed to great extent in the best farms of this section. Lime is recom- mended for stiff, unresponsive soils. All deep rooted crops, clover, parsnips, car rots, etc., are of great use in improving soil. A spade and hoe, in the hands of a smart Irishman, will form the best as- sstant of Nature. The influence of cIl- ture on crops is of vast importance the influence of a well titled and carefully tended garden is to perfect the plants. Pruning knives should be used unspar- ingly on both root and branch. Mir Jen- nings closed with few appropriate lines from Cowper.
 Secretary T. s. Gold of the State board of agriculture quoted the remark of ma ny farmers that their reclaimed swamps seemed to be ''turnin' Injun" on them and said that to drain a swamp it was absolutely necessary that the outlet should be so low as to drain offall water; else the surface would sink and the soil remain saturated with stagnant water. He quoted his grandfather as saying that the best rye was grown where the earth was most competed. In wheat raising, the soil should be loosened by cultivation, then compactly rolled. In our circle of domestic animals, there is one, the sheep, whose especial mission is the competing of light soils. This has been called the uUltudl Ol bliC SolIiCh lOoU nOb Olly DC- cause of it's many other excellent quail ties, but because of it's service in this di- rection. Sheep raising was one of the best means of restoring and maintaining the fertility of the soil, especially on our New England farms. Sheep, MT Gold said, were as necessary in the economy of true husbandman as horses or cows. But perhaps the greatest virtue of the sheep is it's propensity for keeping down fa- Inn h4,r to destroy young weeds by cutting them just at the surface of the earth. It is well that farmers should not only know about the species of grasses they raise, but be conversant with each new variety. Plants and grasses should always be kept true to the varieties sown.
 MT Elwood spoke briefly regarding the swamp question. A swamp near him had been cleared of bogs; the land was plowed and bore fine crops for year or two, but had now settled, the bogs were coming back and the land was turning Injun.''
 James Hoyt of New Canaan quoted friend as saying that six-foot herds grass had been cut from reclaimed swamp, which, however, had sunk six feet; but the outlet of the drain was still six feet below the surface.
 Dennis Fenn of Milford said that it was fact that whenever cultivation ceased tame grasses ran out and wild and deteriorated forms crept in.
 MT Kirkham brought up the question of the alleged decrease in rainfall because of the destruction of forests and also spoke on the subject of farm bookkeep- ing He didn't think that any artificial aid was needed to produce rain in this section of New England, just now.
 Dr F.. H. Jenkins of the New Haven experiment station was the next speaker and made informal remarks on the dairy question, although, as he said, he hesi- tated somewhat in talking on this sub feet before creamery whose butter had won such high distinction at Hartford. Greens Farms butter, he said, contained about II 1-2 per cent of water, 8 per