The Newtown bee., 1891-02-27


 standing l5-2 or 15-3 was the best for farm purposes. He was heartily i'll ia vor of the old Morgan stock to be round in the northern New England States and thought that the present demand for heavy horses was not good. No two men will drive a horse in exactly the same way and an animal that would suit one would be entirely useless for another. For durability, buy elosejointedh close shanId ana be just as long from the ears to the with CTS as from the withers to the coupling Of the hip. Farmers should study horses as well as fertilizers, plants, etc. The horse is really one of the necessaries of life. The trotter, sought after now, would De damage to the farmer, who wants steady, reliable horse. No true North ern bred horse, such as he described, ,eVer has flat hoofs; they are nicely cupped. It does not pay farmers to raise trotters; they should raise colts for farm and or dinary purposes. Mir Smith preferred mules for heavy teaming, as they cost little to keep and are tough and willing: He is doing good work with team or horses weighing less than 1900 pounds and finds them far better than those or greater weight.
 Mir Kirkham wished to emphasize what MT Smith said about the Morgan horses; he had found them admirable ln all re- spects. Mir Smith had found that N North- ern horses were better acclimated than those from the West.
 Mir Smith was asked if he would advise the purchase of mules for farm work and could see no reason why they should not be used here as we'll as West or South. Mules should be worked six days week and could then be easily controlled.
 Mir Gold had owned a pair of mules for 12 or IA years and still had them. Though hardly suitable for light driving, they were unexceled for ploughing or other farm work and could be driven like oxen without reins. Mules are more lntelll- gent than horses, but, like some humans, remember the things they should not know quite as well as anything else.
 Mir Fenn thought much of the preju- dice against the use of mules was because of their scarcity here.
 President Jennings here opened the question box and read: "Does manure, when spread on turf and plowed under six inches deep, continue to go down, or fertilize upward or both ways?' Mir Gold said that depended entirely on the nature of the soil. On leachy soils, it would sink; on some others, it would reach no depth.
 s'Shall we plant potatoes in hills or drills?" Mir Hoyt thought that the cheap est was hills; the most productive was I better. MT Kirkham used both methods.
 On suggestion of the ecretary, Presi- dent Jennings told of his experience with an Aspinwall potato planter. He plant ed the seed l3 inches in drills, 30 inches apart Five to six acres could be plant ed in a day. The machine, though com plicated, works eXcellently. Fertilizer and seed were dropped constantly and covered by the machine, at any desired Ta rrlf that fnI inn hns 01s rather too deep. The land, however, should be we'll plowed, narrowed and meIIowed. Even small stones would not seriously impede the action of the plant CT. He cultivated the potatoes with a riding cultlvator and dug them with a patent digger, with which he was hardly as well pleased. Either of these ma chimes could be drawn by a single team of horses.
 MT Fenn thought that four inches was hardly sufficient depth for potatoes, but his land is lighter than that of President Jennings. Mir Smith asked how many eyes were put in each hill and was told that one was commonly used; never more than two. Mir Fenn has been con- ducting a series of experiments in this direction and found that potatoes 17 inches apart in the drill and drills 8 inches apart had yielded the best results.
 
 from the end of the potatoes.
 W. J. Jennings illustrated by large potato between single strong eyes and cluster of half dozen small eyes. c. C. Comstock, who was reporting the convention for the Norwalk daily Ga zette, gave his experience in planting 'hash'' or cut potatoes. He cut the po- tatoes into pieces with an eye or half an eye each and planted them in his gar den, six inches deep, leaf mould. From a pound of potatoes he had 90 hills, ,240 1-3 pounds of potatoes.
 Mir Hoyt gave his experience planting the seed end of potatoes. MT Smith told of a good crop obtained from a lot of po- tato seed that had been discarded.
 5. B. Wakeman asked for information about planting whole potatoes, but it was not advised. MT Fem had tried planting the largest size whole and thought it a waste to do so.
 Mir Smith had disastrous experience with a red potato called ''Stray beauty" w. c. Jennings read from a catalogue to show that they were good. MT Gold had not received good results from this vari- ety, but they had done well in Guilford.
 "How of oil meal for feed?'' No one had experience. ''What capital should a farmer invest in machinery" Preaident Jennings said: ''Only enough to do his work to the best advantage."
 ''Does it pay better to feed hay than to sell it." Edwin Hoyt thought it was ad- visable to sell it. He sells about 100 tons of timothy and feeds his clover with en- silage. Hay sold will bring double it's value in fertilizers: he was gettiug $14 for good timothy hay delivered.
 ''What's the best kind of drain for swamps?' Mir Gold spoke of a Goshen drain of hemlock boards, four inches wide, making a square box which would last an indefinite time. Tile, stone or brush might be better elsewhere. Presi- dent Jennings spoke of stone drains on his farm which had been in good condi- tion for 50 years. Edwin Hoyt thought that a muck swamp couldn't we'll be drained, although he also had hemlock and tile drains. James Hoyt said that those drains were now almost usless.
 Mir Sherwood thought that it paid to drain swamps, even if the swamps after ward returned to s'Injun, s'because of the crops secured while the land could be cultivated. MT Hoyt secured 17 tons of good hay from his nine acres of swamp land. John W. Bunnell had similar ex- perience with hemlock drains for swamps, which he made triangular. He used stone in connection with boards, II years ago. Edwin Hoyt thought that too deep draining should not be done in muck swamps.
 'sCan some person give experience in raising Japan buckwheat Flames Hoyt had been raising it for three years and it grew well.
 Last year, from three acres, ,153 bushels were obtained. It will yield twice as much as ordinary buckwheat and the kernels are larger. It should be sowed during the month of July. This buck wheat leaves the soil very light and it needs competing before crop of heavy grass can be raised.
 Secretary Gold made a few remarks on the future work of the board of agricul- tnre. in which the Sheffield Scientific school is to join. The board is enabled