Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1893-10-31
wood!awn Farmers C!us

The October meeting OF the WOOD
lawn Farmers Club was held at Walter
Walton's Oh the Dist inst, President
Harrison in the chair. The minutes
of the last meeting were read and al
proved.
f. E. Masol was called on for re-
port of his trip to the Richmond talr.
and he gave an interesting account OF
what he saw and of what he did not
see. The fair Gil not come up to his
expectations but upon the whole he
was much p'eased with his visit-as
much with what was to be seen about
the city and surroundings as within the
grounds. Richmond is live city and
the evidences of activity are to be seen
on every side. There was poor eX-
hibit of the cereals. The show Of stock
was meagre, but what was there was
good-especially cattle, sheep and hog.
some fine Polled Angus cat lie and Hoi-
stiens from Ohio, and Guernseys from
New Jersey. The show Of poultry was
fine. One style of churn especially at
tracted his attention which had rock
ing motion with rocking-chair attach
ment. This was especially fitted for
those who have a constitutional dlathe-
sis antagonistic TO labor There was a
corn -husker there in operation but be
was not very favorably impressed with
| its capacity for work +; he thought some
of the champion corn-huskers of the
genus homo in this part of the country
would give it close race. BY way Of
offset to this, however, an extract from
late agricultural paper entitled
Economical work in the cornfeld, was
appended: ''When cora has matured t
is my custom to cut and shock before
frost. After standing few weeks the
shocks are hauled 10 husl;ing ma
chine and fed into il milar to feeding
small grain TO thrvshing machine
| The machine husks the corn and ele-
Yates the cars into the crib and slices
the fodder fine, stalks and all, and car
ries it through window into the barn
where it is kept dry until it is wan cd
for feed. This machine can husk 100
bushels per day. 1t is the quickest,
easiest, cheapest and best way have
found to handle corn-crop in 20 years
experience in corn raising. 1t makes
the BOYS laugh to see the ears rolling
out husked rs good as they could do il
and cribbed without their help. Inven
tions are doing much to make the farm
er's yoke easy and his burdens light"
james w. Roberts said he was re-
minded of his trip to the fair at Fred
erick city, Md. There was a machine
exhibited there for milking cows which
it was claimed could milk 60 cows in
an hour. In view of what was read at
the last club in regard to music in the
dairy he thought if this machine and a
good hand organ were attached TO a
windmill then the dairyman' millen-
ium would be almost here.
President Harrison stated that he
had been requested by the department
of agriculture to furnish information us
to the cost of raising and marketing an
acre of wheat in this section, and asked
for the views of members. 1t was
thought that as CORTLAND Lukens had
put in field of wheat in a very neat
and thorough manner his report of the
cost would be as near correct as could
be gotten at. He not being present, bis
son Lucius was asked to give the
figures, which he was able to do as
they had kept an exact account of the
time occupied in completing the job as
follows The field contained 20 acres.
The number Of days work of one horse,
60; the number of days work of one
man, 26; total, S6. IS days at 75 cents
per day, $64.50; 80 bushels seed at g.
cents per bushel, SPLIT; 3 tons fertil-
izer at SIS per ton, $54; total $199.94.
The field had dressing of barn yard
manure but it was thought the portion
of this manure appropriated by the
wheat crop would be fully offset by the
amount of fertilizer left for the grass
crop, and by the extra amount oftillage
put upon the land for the benefit of the
succeeding grass crop, all of which is
charged to the wheat crop. 1t wa:
thought the yirld of this field would be
so bushels per acre. Thus far we have
the cost of the crop about I dollars
per acre.
For cutting and shocking per acre
$3.50; for threshing, 10 cents per bushel
which would be per acre So; hauling tc
market 80 bushels, 81; rent of lane
1920, making total of $l5. While
most of those present seemed to think
the field would make so bushels pc
acre. several thought the estimate lo'
high, and that 25 would be the out
side; in that case the margin would b,
small.
Mention was made of the very lux
uriant growth of field of rye belong
ing to J. w. Roberts on the TELEGRAPH
road, and he was asked as to the treat
ment, time of sowing, &C., and it wa
oueried whether it would not be at
tackled by the fly in being so forward
Mr.. Roberts stated that he expected t
pasture it Off this fall which woul,
remedy that, it having been demon
strated that this course prevents tn
ravages of the fly upon early sown ry
or wheat.
: Some mention was made of the ney
: patent gate just put up near the ry
field under discussion, which led to til
suggestion that such gate ought to b
put in at the entrance to the lane t
the Mount Vernon Railroad station
which met with so much favor that
collection was Immediately taken u
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