Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1891-10-08
Correspondence Of the Beacon.)
FARMERS CLUB.

Ine br1ttan's Neck Farmers
Club met ct the residence OF Mr..
Hayden N. 81. Yates-present IL
members.
On motion Of ]. 8. Thompson,
James Knott and A. A. Columbus
we're made honorary members.
Proceedings of meeting at Mr..
w. 8. Davis's read and approved.
Mr.. John T. johnson was pro.
posed and Mr.. J. 8. Drury elected
. member.
The report Of examining COM
mittee was then read and comment
ed upon.
The subject-Why cannot we
raise some crops to take the place
Of wheat, corn and tobacco p
was then taken up, and Mr.. Jas.
Knott, an experienced trucker, en-
tertained the Club by giving the
following information on potato
raising
Thought they would pay better
than tobacco, Cut them from the
stem end one eye at time. A po-
tato was then cut BY Mr.. Knott
and yielded 16 pieces. Plant them
20 by 16 inches, that they may
thereby shade the land. Thought
his had paid an average Of 90 cts.
per bushel for the last 10 years.
In the ground was the best way to
keep early potatoes until wanted.
Same seed could be used for 8 or 4
years without changing. Had put
wet, insipid potatoes in the cellar
with all the dirt that would adhere
to them and they came out in the
Spring sound and of fine flavor.
Preferred that seed potatoes should
be kept in kilns, with only dirt on
them. Spread the manure on top
of clover sod.
Mr.. ]. T. Abel thought that to
drop the seed in every Sth furrow
while ploving the land over was q
good way to plant.
Mr.. Knott had had good luck
with onions, rs cents being the sv-
erage price for 10 years.
Mr.. 81. NJ. 81. Yates then read
the following instructive and inter-
esting paper ;ss~
Mr.. President and Gsa7Ilsmea -
The question for consideration to-
day (why not connect trucking with
our regular staple crops) is one that
should interest every farmer in
Southern Maryland for many rea-
sons. Whilst we cannot dispense
with our wheat crop and keep up
the fertility of our lands, we could
lessen our tobacco crop and supple
ment it with truck. Our climate
and soil, particularly the river bot
toms and most of the up-lands, are
second to none this side Of Norfolk
for trucking. We could not COM
pete with the truckers around Nor
folk or the Eastern Shore of Mary
land in the growing of small fruits
and berries for want of quick trans-
portation to Northern markets, yet
we could do very much better by
raising the ooarser vegetables, such
as potatoes, sweet and Irish, which
grow to perfection in this county,
and will stand storing for q better
market; il. necessary, also cabbage,
onions, peas, melons, &C., than
tobacco at such prices as we have
been getting in the past few years,
particularly when we consider Ia
Dor. In . tobacco crop we need
skilled labor from beginning to end
if We expect to realize a profit from
it. Then, too, our health il al
ways exposed when stripping and
handling it, as we can only do it
during damp and rainy weather,
while any one who can perform the
ordinary manual labor on the farm
can successfully cultivate market
truck. Then, too, another very
important consideration in raising
truck, 10 that it rarely ever causes
q press Of work, as one kind or va
riety follows another; that is, as
one is maturing another is being
planted. Another, and I think the
greater advantage in connecting
vegetable growing with our staple
crops, is that We can be getting re-
turns from it all the year round to
keep mp current expenses, while we
can only realize on our regular crops
once or twice . year. h
In conclusion, Mr.. Knott de-
clared that more money could be
gotten from one acre Of asparagus