Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-08-31
FARMERS AT COLLEGE.
SUMNER MEETING OF THE STATE
BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.
Addresses on Farm Matters by j. X. Cur.
tbs of Georgia, L. u. Terry of Ohio,
Aaron Jones of Indiana and
Others.


A summer meeting Of the State Board
lof Agriculture was held Friday at the
Williams Science Hall The audience in
the moGnng was small but in the after
noon the hall was well filled with people
interested In farming pursuits ana much
useful knowledge was gained.
The morning session opened with Hon. c.
H. He'll, secretary of the state Board of
agriculture, in the chair. Presidet,t NJ. n.
Buckham welcomed the visitors in a few
happy remarks and then told in an in
ltecosting way of his recent trip through
the West and compared tho Eastern and
Western methods Of farming with results
favorable to the former.
j. X Curtis of Georgia followed with an
Address upon Corn and Grass" lie spoke
briefly of the methods employed In farm
Ing and brought out forciby the value Of
lpure seeds. He also advocated the plant
| ing of fields in short rotation to procure
the best CcSiilts.
Hon r. b. Terry Of Ohio was tho next
speaker and choose for his subject Grow
ne Good Crops in A Dry Season" Hc spoke
| IN part as follows: Land that YOU have
cultivated for some time has become de-
| ficicnt in humus. If you want to grow u
| good crop in a dry season YOU must get
back into your fields an abundance Of de-
cayed vegetable matter. a good way of
doing this is growing cnvor in short ro-
| tation as we'll as other crops a great
| question Is now ~ N'tltln III inc ldllu mo
water that is absorbed from the melting
SHOWS and that falls from the clouds. This
can be done by constantly stirring tho sur
face of tho soil. Tho land should be cul-
tivated after each shower, no matter how
small Soil WAS made for the roots
OF crops to grow in They should have all
| the land but We cannot give IL to them as
We have to cultivate some. Fer the first
| ten days after the crop comes up the
IGround should be cultivated as deeply as
possible but after this, two inches is deep
enough to run the cultivator teeth. An
other point is the growing of weeds 1t
takes 400 pounds of water to grow one
pound of weeds. This amount of water
would be of immense value to the criginal
crops. Remember and cultivate on time
and not too deep and keep the weeds
down.
The noon hour was passed with a bas-
ket lunch on the college grounds. after
which the visitors were shown about the
college buildings.
AFTERNOON SESSION.
The afternoon session opened with an
address upon Making Potatoes" by
Prof. L. r. Jones of the Agricultural Col
lcge. He spoke in part as follows II
wish to make it clear that tho potato is
not a natural plant; that there is "A criti-
cal period in the life of the potato: that
. the crop of potatoes is grown after that
: critical period and that the crop depends
upon the abundance of leaves ON the
plant The critical period in the life OF
tho potato comes either the last week in
July or the first week in August. The do
vclopment of the potato docs not come I'M.
Ill after this period is passed. The sue
, cess OF the potato depends entirely upor
the growth of the green leaf. The potato
\ is made up Of fourth-fifths water and one
, fifth starch and minerals. The water anC
st a rfh n hn n n IN nh tp Loaf
therefore it is important to keep the 70
liaCe healthy.
Hon. Aaron Jones of Indiana. master o.
the National Grange was the seconc
: speaker and devoted most of his time to
/ description of the work of the Natona
, Grange. He spoke in part as follows
! There is not a single town in New Hamp
r shire that has not a grange and this ha!
I been a powerful force. The grange be
+. lieves in public schools and colleges. |
| also believes that young man should h'
+ taught to earn living. We also believe
: that there should be a close Communi "a
ton between the public schools and thu
/ Universities. Orga 1ization has Away
promoted those who accept its benefits
The farmers are the only great class o
men who think they are able TO get alonl
without organization The order of Pa
irons of Husbandry is not partisan or sec
tartan. The great principle underlying
our order is to build up character.
= Prof. J. l.. Hills of the University was tn
/ next speaker and occupied a few minute
[ discussing Some of the Newer Ideas il
e Agriculture" The soil is truly alive
. There are all through the soil numerou
- bacteria which are. however. more help
, full than harmful. Farmers should fer
4 tilize by feeding instead of buying the fer
i tilizer in bag. The farmers can make
y saving Of from 81 to 80 per ton by manu-
: featuring their own fertilizer. The mos
. helpful thing in agriculture is the farmer
appreciation of the work done in the eX
q pertinent station.