The Red Cloud chief., 1896-03-13
FARMERS INSTITUTE WORK
A Beneficial Gathering on Lust
Tuesday, AT COwics,

On Last Tuesday, March 10th, tho
Webster County Farmers Institute held
an adjourned meeting in the Congrcga.
tional church Mt Cowlcs, at which time
and place a fair sized crowd was pres
ent.
President Alyea called the meeting to
order, and Secretary Myers read the
constitution and rules adopted at a pre-.
vious meeting.
The program was carried out, with
one exception.
I. b. Hampton Of Guide Rock read a
very interesting paper on alfalfa and
kafiir corn,' which was listened to with
marked attention. He produced some
fine specimens OF alfalfa, which were
grown on bottom and upland. Both
we're thrifty and had been sown about
one year ago. He thought alfalfa could
be grown On high land as we'll as
on the bottoms; he would not use press
drill, he said, but would Sow broadcast
he thought press drill was a disadvan.
tage; he had known it to be winter.
killed, but only in instances where goph.
ers had worked in it; il hogs we're
turned upon it in winter, they should
have their noses cut 30 they could not
root, as that also injured the plant; he
also believed that sowing too late was
injurious; also, sowing over 10 pounds
Of seed operated against ITS growth.
He said that Kaiir corn should be
planted about the same time as Indian
corn. There was no second growth to
Kaffir corn; IL should be ground To feed.
1t was a splendid feed, and the fodder
was excellent.
Mr.. Garret Ohmstede OF Guide Rock
spoke briefly and to the point on sub.
soiling. The speaker said that in Ger
many, his native country, they subsoiled
differently. going down seven or eigh,
feet, and doing it with spades; in thi.
country they only went from Is to q
inches. He talked a few minutes OF
irrigation; said that he had put 20U
barrels OF water on a quarter Of an acre
and could not tell where the water wen
to; he used Il windmill and a 100 barre
tank. The quarter Of an acre wns sub
soiled.
Harry Hopkins OF Cowles had sub
soiled Il garden spot, but what was yer
| queer to him was to find that the waite
would not 60 into the soil. He invest
gated and found that a crust seemed (
have formed underneath the surfac
/ that kept the water from soaking int
the ground.
Henry Gillian had tried eubsoil irr
CATION; had made a bed 2x4 rods an
r had pumped water by windmill into III
Q dead furrow, but could not fill it. o
e investigation, he found that the wat,
g had entered the soil everywhere.
ID. +. Turnkey thought that we wei
going too fast; the time to subsoil WI
. in the fall. II done in spring, and the
: was a deficient rainfall. subsoiling was
, disadvantage. You must not expect r,
. suits at once, but would get it the 70
lowing year. The ground that he ha
= subsoiled last season was in fine shaI
this spring. The idea Of subsoiling wa
to create a reservoir capacity. Tn
speaker said that in 1894 he plowe
burrows through a patch OF ground an
irrigated it plenty; this year, when h
was digging post-holes for a garde
fence, he could go down easily, but whe
he stepped sixteen feet distant, it took a
his effort to dig eighteen inches.
The discussion on %subsoiling and irr
cation was most interesting, and brough
out a great many facts that were nc
generally known.
MI. Alva Pierce was next on the pre-
/, gram and read an excellent article o.
poultry. He believed that hens wer
one OF the main stays OF the farm home
they should be cared for and fed wei
HIS favorite was White Leghoi ms; h
also liked Black Spanish; both wer
good layers and we're splendid for tn
, table.
g. II. Putnam discussed the hog ques
ton in a manner that showed that h
|, had made q careful study OF the quee
ton; he thought that full blood stoc|
was better than grades; they we're hard
Ter and fattened much quicker. Hi
favorite was the Berkshire. Thos
present took up the subject and dir
cussed it pro and con. some believing
that the Poland China was the best.
Their feed was touched upon and L. II
Rust thought that corn, oats and bran
soaked was the feed; Mr.. Putnam though
that mill feed was the best.
MI. Ohmstede believed that very littl
csrn and more beets was what a no
needed as food, and, IL that was done
there would be less sickness anon
hogs. He had fed hogs 16 years an
had lost but a very small per cent, an
/ received better results than those VIII
i fed all corn. 1. Is. Hampton said he fe
|, his hogs cane and found that il was
' very fine feed; Vim. Engels said that h
, had done the same thing with good r.
suits; Harry Hopkins thought that 81
gar beets we're about the right stuff 70
hogs.
The program was completed at thi
y. point, and, on motion, the mex mestin
, was set for Guide Rock, March 10, 1885,
: at 10 o'clock n. m.