Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1893-02-24
En,.rncrs, Institute.


The Farmers Institute at Manassas
opened with full house yesterday
morning and closed with crowded
house at 5 p. M, Hon. S. Wexford Cor
bin in the chair. After prayer the sub
iect of Chow to Improve the Roads We
Have" was taken up by Major w. NJ.
King. He exhibited a diagram illus
trating his plan of road-making, which
included among many other details, a
thorough under draining with tile. W..
B. Dodge. of Fairfax followed with an
essay, illustrating his views by several
descriptions of successful and unsuc-
ccssfui efforts at road improvement,
He opposed the plan of filling holes in
roads with stone, but said the holes
should be filled with dirt and the stone
broken up in small pieces and put over
the surface. He favored the use of tile
instead of small cross bridges.
Mr.. j. f. Jackson, editor OF the
Southern Planter, of Richmond, follow
ed, criticising the suggestions of the
former speakers as patchwork, and adj
vocating with great earnestness and at
length what he admitted were radical
views. His plan, in brief, was for the
national government to loan its credit
TO counties by means of which
money coull be raised on loans, due
in seventy five years. at 3 per
cent. or less, and a thoroughly good
macadamized road system established.
He thought the State of Virginia should
expend $l0,000,000 in making 5000
miles of such roads as the Roman en-
pire made, which had lasted 1000
years. He brought out a startling ar
ray of statistics to prove that this was
the cheapest plan in the long run, and
he certainly captured some of the most
practical farmers of the institute.
He was followed by Col. a. S. Buford.
who stated that his life had been large
" spent in developing lines of trans
portation, and he spoke for some time
on line similar to Mr.. Jackson's, but
not endorsing his special plan. He
then urged the farmers to insist on the
county authorities making an appro-
priation to enable the commission to
give Virginia n proper representation
at the Columbian Exposition. He
closed with reference to his presence
at Manassas at the time of the first bat
tie. thirty-two years before.
Mr.. Eben L. Mason, of Fairfax, while
indorsing Colonel Buford's appeal for
the exposition, gave him some mild hits
from the standpoint Of a Union man
during the war. Both of them brought
tears to the eyes of their auditors.
Prof. L. O. Howard, the United
States Department of Agriculture,
closed the morning session with an adj
dress on the corn wecvil, which inter-
ested the farmers very much.
The afternoon session was opened by
a poem for the benefit offarmers' wives,
read by Mrs. H. p. Dodge, which was
enthusiastically received.
Mr.. J. +. Jackson then made the
chief address of the afternoon on silos
and silagc. Connected with this as Il
side-issue came up the merits of cotton
seed bulls, on which the testimony
seemed materially to clash. The de-
bates of the day were participated in
by w. {. Dodge, II. P. Dodge, and
Messrs. Roberts, Monroe, Mason, Has
en-, Colvin, Baker, Leachman, Gaines
and others.
The spirited singing of Professor
Boorman's choir elected great applause,
particularly the songs entitled stay on
the Farm, Boys" and Keep Politics off
the Farm" The instrumental music,
rendered by Miss Rosebery and Miss
johnson, with violin and organ, was
exceedingly fine A goodbye song, to
"Auld Lang Syne," closed the insti-
tute, after votes of thanks to Mr.. Cor
bin as the representative of the State
board, to Mr.. Round, of the local COM
mittee, to Professor Boorman's sweet
singers, to the ladies of the seminary,
and to the trustees of the Presbyterian
Church.
The institute is certainly a feather in
Mr.. Corbin's cap, and the farmers rs
we'll as the politicians of Virginia are
that he ought to be Mr..
assistant Secretary of Agri-
culture.
Not less than 500 different farmers
have been in attendance on the institute
at different periods of the session, and
this Notwithstanding the bad roads and
the cold weather. Mr. Corbin feels
greatly encouraged, and proposes to
hold four more institutes in his district
in August next.