The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1895-06-20
Farmers Institute at
Belgrade.

Farmers Institute at
Belgrade.
Thursday morning dawned clear and
pleasant. At an early hour the streets
were filled With farmers. Some of them
had come great distances. even as ia, as
twenty five miles. Supt. Gregg and a
part of his corps were assisting at the
dairy convention at Glenwood, and ex-
pected to reach Belgrade on the Thurs
day morning freight, which had been
taken off too late for them to make any
other arrangement than driving across
the country. But fortunately Mrs. Ida
E. Tilson OF WISCONSIN, who represents
the poultry interest had come directly
to Belgrade, and promptly at the APP
pointed hour DR.. Campbell introduced
her. She took up the subject OF
marketing poultry. 1esh and eggs, hav-
ing found this very important point in
that line. She spoke first ofthe comfort
which farmers remote from meat mar
kets can get from their fresh poultry ami
eggs. She also gave figures from the
United States Bulletin to show the high
value of poultry droppings as dressing
tor potatoes. onions, grass and many
other crops. This manure is rich in
potash, which potatoes. onions and
wheat especially take from the soil.
The manure is so strong that it must
be mixed with three or four times it's
bulk of earth or coarse stable manure
In marketing poultry flesh she advised
the farmers to consult carefully their
local shippers and learn whether large
or small turkeys, whether dark legged
or yellow heshe5 hens and whether dry
picked or scalded fowls are wanted, and
supply the markets accordingly. She
suggested that eggs be gathered at least
twice day and placed in some cold
room, because an egg starts to hatch at
temperature OF ninety two degrees,
and there are large number of nests
where hens will heat and reheat the trst
eggs LAID therein, till they are sometimes
stale before being gathered. 1t is easier
to keep the nests clean than to wash the
eggs. Artificial nest eggs should be
used; and eggs found III stolen nests
should never be sold to i1ure> the repu-
tation of their good companions. She
concluded with her experience with in
cubators, and during the questions
which followed Supt. Gregg and other
workers arrived:
TheO. Louis, the veteran and noted
swine raiser of the northwest, was at
once introduced to this very attentive
and appreciative audience. He took up
the first of his fayorite trio, corn, clover
and hogs. He had seen large number
ofcorn fields while he was driving across
the country, and saw that this soil is
well adapted to corn crop. He found
the fields rather weedy and saw only one
man dragging while all the rest were
cultivating. He considers one secret of
a good corn crop is good drag or
weeder faithfully used as long as posi-.
BILE. When using it let the farmer be
careful not to look behind him. but go
straight ahead and he will find his corn
all right. He saw one field with speci-
ally large number of missing hills, which
led him to speak of the proper care Of
seed corn. Select the first ripe ears, and
from these choose the most perfectly
formed, with deep kernels. because the
desire is for a small cob and much gram.
The secret of future growth is that it
shall be thoroughly dried and protected
from frost. He hangs it up in the sum-
mer kitchen, because women have their
rights now and he can no lon ,er put it
under the bed as ne used to do in their
old log house. He fayors deep fall plow-
ing. bnt if he is Obliged to plow in the
spring he gives shallow blowing. He
plants from the 10th to the 18th of May.
and gives this one caution not to drag
when the soil is wet. because that will
make Jumps. but otherwise, the oltener
the ground is stirred, the more moisture
it retains, and the fewer weeds grow.
Next came the distribution of books,
over three hundred being given out, and
more were wanted. In the afternoon the
attendance was SO large stand had to
be erected out doors, from which Supt.
Gregg first addressed the audience on
the subject of selecting dairy cattle.
Although there are over thirty points by
which cattle are judged and selected, he
thinks it best to impress the four most
important points. The first IF these is
depth at the flank. This depth cannot
be measured in inches. but must be in
to the size of the COW. Sec |
ond, pitch at the crops, because steep |
ness of pitch at the crops indicates lack |
of fleshing qualities, and lack OF room to |
put flesh on. Uncle Theodore's pigs,
which are wanted for flesh, are built on
just the opposite plan and SO is the easy
keeping Norman horse. We wish our
production. Third, a capacious udcer,
because If the uduer is not large there is
no place to keep the milk. He does not
want feshy or pendulous one. Fourth,
arge milk veins and milk wells. This
vein is improperly called a milk vein. be
cause it is blood vein, but it indicates
, strong circulation, q strong assimila.