The Holt County sentinel., 1896-12-04
TILLERS OF THE SOIL.
An Interesting Two Days Session
of the Farmers Institute Full
Particulars of the Meetings.

The Holt County Farmers Institute
has come and gone. and those farmers
who exhibited interest enough in the
meetings 10 attend feel amply repaid for
the time cunsumed in rubbing up against
the men who constitute the state insti-
tute corps. To have an opportunity to
hear such men as L. Il. Terry, the great
believer in clover, Abbot on agricultural
T. -. Stanley OH good roads. q. W. Wa
ters on stock feeding. Murray on horti-
culture etc. Is certainly Il treat. or
should be regarded as such by all pro
gressive and intelligent farmers.
Mr. y. f. Murray. who has been with
the board constantly since the institutes
were begun returned home Friday, and
at once went To work. impressing upon
our farmers the importance of attending
these meetings.
Mr.. Murra, presided at the Tuesday
forenoon meeting, and in oprning the
meeting made practical. sensible. but
brief talk. He thought the farmers in
stitutes had been gaining friends. sin""
their establishment, the farmers c>pns.-
tally realizing that much information
could hc gained which would help them
in adopting better methods in cultiya..
ing the soil and the breeding of stock
and more systematic farming.
Mr. Murray introduced Prof. Mum
ford who spoke aboat the agricultural!
college and gave more information about
the much discussed agricultural college.
than many Of us would learn in a life
time without the actual experience. He
said no one entered any business with
cut first becoming acquainted with the
nature and requ;rem .ntS of the calling
and studying ii SO as To be master OF his
profession. In an agricultural commun-
ity everything depended upon the sue
cess of the farmers. and when competI-
ton was SO great as now, 1t required
close calculation for all tillers OF the soil
to make a profit. He must know his
business. The agricultural college came
in here to his assistance. The course of
study brings out the theory and prac-
tice. The student learns how to analyZe
the soil. 1t takes the student into the
cattle sheds, and each student learns
the strong and weak points-and the
various breeds are thoroughly under
stood. They are taught to analyze the
food so that they may know just what
is required to produce the greatest
quantity of beef, or milk, or butter.
They have to face the conditions there
Just as it is found on the farm. In the
horticultural department they are taught
budding and grating, etc. He spoke of
the short course of II weeks. beginning
in january. that has been inaugurated
at the college, and which be hoped would
be crowded this winter. Last year they
had p students in this course and ex
pected 30 this winter. The cost he said
was 8, which with board and incidental
expenses would amount to $50. Any
young man he thought by taking this
course would gain the experience that
would take years of personal ex
perience to acquire. He spoke of the
experimental stations established in the
variros states for the purpose of making
experiments at the expense Of the gov
ernment. The report of all experiments
are published and sent out to the peo
pie SO that they may get the benefit of
these experiments. He cited the eX
periments that had been made in pota-
to growing: amount of seed and kind of
seed to plant: as to the number of eyes:
four-f -fifths of the stations agreed that a
whole potato would produce more pota-
toes, but they also agreed that the extra
amount of seed did not pay for the in
crease of potatoes produced but did agree
in general that about a half potato was
the best amount of seed to plant. Upon
being asked by J. ID. Tritt as to whether
cheese making was taught, MIR. Mum
ford replied in the negative, because the
apparatus had not yet been secured by
reason of lack of the appropriation, but
hoped il would come in the course of
the next year. Mr.. Menifee was glad
that he had attended the meeting, and
had learned much more about the short
winter course at the agricultural college
than he had ever known before. and hoped
our young farmers would take advant-
age of the opportunities offered.
Prof Mumford was first on the pro-
gram on Tuesday afternoon. Quite a
fair audience was present. His subject
was
and during his talk he mentioned that
he had handled them several years at
the Michigan experiment station.
The professor said that of course ne
heard this remark in almost every com
munity in Missouri. "Yes, sheep may
be all right, there are none in this coun-
try" He then intimated that more
should be kept. and that there was more
profit in it than in cattle. The number
of sheep in the United States declined
from 50.0O0,OOO i'm 1884 to 3S.O0O,OOO in
1896, and in this state, from one and one
millions i'm 1884 TO half a million in 1896.
The causes of this were tina; prior to 1884
sheep We're kept, for their wool produc-
ton, and that the great profit, for NUT
ton. was just getting to be understood,
and that the mutton profit, is the only
profit in sheep.
Sheep require less labor and handling
than any other stock. and they clean
farm of weeds and underbrush as no
other stock will do. Sheep eat 200 more
species of weeds than do cattle or any
other stock. and are now being imported
into the Dakotas to eat up and kill out
the horrible Russian thistle.
The professor said that the Merino
grades were the best breed for this coun-
try. and could tie successfully crossed
with the Shropshires, Hampshires or
Oxfords. He recommended farmers to
have their lambs to come early to escape
the hot weather: to feed the lambs for
fattening the grain and crowd them. and
thus have them weigh from 10 to so
pounds in the fall. He then gave some
rations found to be most successful in
fattening. and showed bya series of ex
IerimentS he had himself conducted that
l2Olambs gained more than twice as much
as 10 head of cattle on the same feed and
that the price of mutton was more and
remained steadier than that of beef. That
feeding sheep had been profitable e:ery
wear and that feeding cattle had not.
Corn and clover hay as a ration gave
the best results. and that roots and corn
stalks took the place of the clover hay,
where that could not be procured.
He also gave an account of a list of
experiments showing that it WAS more
profitable and greater gains were made
by giving sheep, as well AS cattle. their
grain regularly and Just what they
would clean up. and not leave it before
them all the time. He also said that it
was not profitable to shear the lambs in
the fall. if fattening for the market, but
that it did pay to do so few weeks be
fore they were sold in the early spring.