The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1895-09-13

Meeting of the Deer. Greek Farmers
i z.esf Ottlly.sy6 ~
Reported ispsclals f6xizbe Rzis.
Tine DoSzs Geek Fafnlets club met at the
home of Nc tts;eatty ariaf Hssr snts.. Cay
evening Tbtt4 Nfs 4 lakEqs E{epdance and
the meeting 7rss anc 81 unslsnal interest. The
members present we've Sfcssrs. w. Beatty Har-
Ian. John Bswysong, Il. f. Swartz, w. B. Hop
kins, John Moores, X. Harris Archer Thomas
Lochary, Fl. F. Silver, James +. Kenly, Robert
F. Hanna, John 5. Webster, d. C. Wharton
Smith, S. a. Williams. The visitors were
Messrs. S. NJ Lee, Charles w. Michael, Prof.
w. L. l.. Talilferro, Lieut.. Overton, U. S. A.,
of Maryland Agricultural College, Judge Hen
ry ID. Harlan, Lewis Redner, OF Philadelphia.
Alex. S. Bell, Rev. E. y. Cobirn, William l..
Amoss.
After inspecting the large and finely kept
premises, the committee made the following
report:
Mr. Mo0res-"In making my report | feel
that can hardly do Mr. Harlan justice. Every
thing is in tirst-casS condition, and his farm is
Il credit to the trade of farming. 1t is tiuely
located on public thoruughiare, near enough
TO Railroads. and churches. The land looks as
if it had been farmed i'll iirst-class style. The
grass looks fairly well Tor The dry season. The
cattle are well teuued and the buildings are
well taken care of. On the whole we might
pronounce Mr.. Harlan the coming farmer"
L.
here as farmer, and we might all profit by his
example. | notice that he gathers up all the
trimmings along his fence-rowS, which is Il
good thing to do, rather than to throw them in
the drains. Mr.. Harlan has large pile of oats
in his barn, about 1900 bushels, and the same
amount of wheat. He has Due tiue Poland
China hogs. In repairing his stable he has
economical timber by setting pieces i'll the
ground and boiling the stalls that have been
rotted on ut the ground, to these pieces. en-
dorse all that Mr.. Moores has said"
MIR i,Dchary-"lt il hard to find ANYTHING to
criticise on Mr.. Harlan's farm. There are few
weeds around compared with what the place
Mr.. Hurlun said that he gets rid of the horse
nettle by frequently moving it off.
MIR. Moores-'l find that moving it Off is u
more successful method of killing the weed
than digging it out"
Mr.. Smith THAT is the scriptural way of
getting rid of it, believe
The subject set Tor discussion, Grasses"
was then taken up. The President called on
Mr.. w. B. Harlan to open the subject.
Mr.. Harlan said: Il selected this subject, not
because have anything special to say, but be-
cause | am specially interested in the subject
of grasses. Nothing is as important to the
farmer as to get good grass" Mr.: Harlan then
gave his experience i'll grass during the past
season. OF the los acres he sowed, 35 got Il good
Set of clover, the remainder hardly any clover,
out good timothy. He puttwo fields of 30 and
10 acres, respectively, i'll oats, not for the OATS
but tn get good set of grass. Drilled i'll 11S
bushels OF oats to the acre, sowed no fertilizer,
sowed fertilizer GA the grass after the thin crop
of oats WAS cut. The clover and oats were
Sown together, the timothy was sown with d
wheel-barrow seeder after the drill. Got hard
ly any grass. The ground was in fine condi-
ton. Not rolled, as afraid of heavy rain and
baking. Mr.. Harlan asked for the experience
of the Club. Hethinks that there may be other
grasses that would be OF benefit besides timothy
and clover. Some grasses indigenous to dry
countries, as the West, might be experimental
with to advantage.
Prof. w. L. L. Taliaferro, of the Maryland
Agricultural College, then read lengthy and
well prepared paper on the subject. Some of
the points of the paper were the following:
The basis of successful farming is grass. The
grass family is so extensive that there is scarce
~ Il place, short of an absolute desert, in which
many species are not found naturally" As
long as wheat was prohtaDlecr crop IL was con-
venient and economical TO SOW wheat and grass
together, and wait till the second season for
the hay harvest. That custom grew in time to
be SO firmly fixed that many farmers believe
to-day that wheat or some other grain is neces-
sary for the promotion of the grass and find it
hard to realize that by sowing their grasses
alone, it will do better than with grain, and will
mature an abundant harvest the first season.
Such is the fact. Early seeding and thorough
preparation are points which, in my opinion,
cannot be too strongly insisted upon. For hay,
either for sale or home consumption, there is
no grass better suited to our lands than timothy.
But where pasturage is to be obtained, be-
lieve we stand much in our own light by not
having Il greater variety. Among other rea-
SONS for sowing variety of grasses for paStur-
age, Prof Taliaferro gave the following:
l. A thicker set of grass to the square foot
can be gotten with Il variety of grasses than
with any single kind.
.. 1t is less drain on the soil to SOW a variety
of grasses, as no two grasses are alike in chem
ical composition.
3. Grasses differ greatly in their capacity
for standing drought and wet.
4. Stock like variety in their diet, and where
they get it, eat more and thrive better.
As to the quantity OF seed to sow to the
acre, it is difficult to advise. Much depends on
the reliability of the dealer from whom the
seeds are purchased, and more on the individual
inclination and the purse of the farmer. The
following may serve as approximate induces
Kentucky Blue Grass, lbs; Meadow Fescue,
lbs; Orchard Grass, lbs; Perennial Rye
Grass, q lbs, Red-top clover, lbs; Timothy,
3 lbs; Meadow fox-tail, 2 lbs; white clover, 2
lbs; Alsike clover, To-; Mammoth Red clover,
Id. Total 80 lbs. to the acre.
For lighter soils-Sweet Vernal Grass, l h.;
Kentucky Blue Grass, lbs, Meadow Fescue,
2 lbs, Orchard Grass, lbs; Timothy, lbs;
Meadow Fox-tail, 3 lbs; Rhode Island Be mt,
lbs; Tall Meadow Oats Grass, 5 lbs; white
clover, h.; Alsike clover, l h.; Mammoth
Red clover, lbs. Total, 81 lbs. to the acre.
These mixtures ought to give six or seven
seeds to the square inch, which, if the seeds are
fresh and good, Dug hit to be found abundant.
The mower should be used one or more times
q season, to maintain uniformity and promote
the growth of fresh grass. Pastures are often
injured by being graZed too closely during the
hot, dry weather of late summer and early
fall.
In answer to questions by Messrs. John
Moores, d. c. w. Smith and others, Prof. Ia l.
iaferro said:
''These mixtures are for pastures only
SOW mixture the latter part of August, with
no other crop. Ground should be properly
prepared. Can pasture on this the next year"
SOW crimson clover, or 5 lbs, with the 30
10. mixture, as it grows earlier and can be pas
tured earlier in the spring"
Most of these seeds are imported from Ger