Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1896-12-17
Farmers Institute.

ton of 81. Mary's gathered at the Court
House Tuesday, the 18th. 10 attend the
Farmers Institute, and every one left
convinced that he was repaid for his trip
by the useful information he had gained.
The meeting demonstrated that Farm
ers' Institutes are of practical value and
will prove very beneficial to the farm
ing interests.
Director w. L. AmOss opened the In
stitute with few appropriate remarks,
explaining the uses aud objects of the
Institute He said the two meetings al
ready held at Marlboro and Prince
Frederick had been very satisfactory
and ne :5Ought had accomplished much
good The Institutes were not confined
to county towns but would be held in
any section or at any place where sufii-
cient interest was manifested TO warrant
the holding of an Institute. He invited
cooperation and correspondence look
interests. The program, he said, showed
the uses and PURPOSES of the Institute
and was of interest to every farmer. He
pointed out question boxes, convenient
ly placed wherein questions of interest
to the farmers might be put and would
DC answered by some one of the gentle
men present He invited the naming Of
a committee of fIve to select committee
of three from each election district OF
the county who would constitute com
committee was named: J. ii. Parsons,
Jas. T. Abel, w. b. Dorsey, Jno. T. Bal
lenger, John w. Tippett.
The Director introduced Prof. III. J.
Patterson who delivered an interesting
address upon Food for Lands and Crops
Prof. Patterson attributed the worn out
condition of our lands to the failure &c
prepare home fertilizers, and pointed
out the great importance of barn yard
manure saying il was valuable outsid,
of the plant food or organic matter il
contained II introduces into the soil I
ferment that cannot otherwise be OBJ
tanned. Ciover-sick lands are produced
by the absence of this alkaline fcrmen
which may be restored by stable manure
The nitrogen in land is burned out BY
scOrching sun and washed out by leach
ing rains. He explained the growth o
clover and told how it fed and lived
said that after the needed alkaline fer
ment was restored to- lands it was no
hard to keep it there. Rye plowed il
only returns to the soil what il has takel
from il. IL is different with leguminou
plants which absorb nitrogen from tn
air aad thus store it in the soil. Nitro
gen in commercial fertilizers costs abou
10 cents per pound.
The Cow pea, in Mr.. Patterson's opin
ion, is the best crop for green manurin
use. The advantage of Crimson or Ital
ian clover for enriching land is that
can be planted at the last working q
corn or at the cutting of tobacco and !
viii make sufficient growth to protec
the land in Winter and be developed il
time to be turned in in Spring. Tn,
greatest evil to land is working organic
matter out of il and leaving it bare fol
the erosion and teaching of winter rains
The professor next explained the bene
III oil dry seasons showing that if tho
land be properly treated they have theil
uses He said that the decomposition OF
"i organic manures produced an increas-
ed solvent action for the soil waters by
saturating them with carbonic acid. In
tobacco growing the humates are taken
up directly into the plant and the rea-
son we are not growing tobacco of the
same texture and character as formerly
Is that the humates in our soil are now
exhausted. Restore the humates to the
sou and you restore its fertility. If you
do not have the proper proportion of
organic matter or humates in land your
crops will be failure.
The distribution of rainfall was nex,
touched upon and the action of the in
direct fertilizers-lime, gypsum and salt
explained Indirect fertilizers have not
the fertilizing element in themselves bu,
act by developing the fertility already
in the soil.
Commercial fertilizers Prof. Patterson
said, are an essentisl thing in agriculture.
IL you don't feed land YOU will not get
crops any more than you will obtain
mix from I'm unfed cow He explained
the active principle of commercial ferti-
iizers and the object of their purchase
which is TO impart to the land elements of
plant growth which il lacks. $. Caro-.
Ina Rock furnishes phosphoric acid and
so does ground bone. Careful experi-
ment proves that given quantity of the
acid may be produced from the rock
cheaper than from bone. because bone is
used for other things and the greater de-
mand for 1t enhances its cost and n Mound
oil phosphoric acid in one is as valuable
Tor plant growth as a pound in the other
IL is true, that bone also contains nitro
gen but nitrogen may be supplied with
The rock at less expenditure of money
than from the bone.
Next he touched on quick fertilizers
and explained their use and abuse. The
effect he said of nitrate of soda on whea, |
Is appareH; "a hours after application
provided of course that when applied
there be rain fall or sufficient moisture |
in the land. Sulphate of ammonia acts |
nearly as quickly but nitrate of soda i |