Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1899-03-29
Mutual Farmers Club.

vened at | o'clock. with President
Lewis Pidgeon iu the chair. Not.
wIthstandIng the Indictment weai her
therr' was IA good attendance. After
the reading aud adoption of minutes
of last meeting, the criticism of y.
W. Solrnherger's premises was read
10y the president. The Club Adv-r
tlser was then read by the editor.
Howell Bond.
One article Oh the "mamuring of
orchards" brought forth quite u dis
cusslOn among the members. 1t
seems there Is an impression among
farmers that manure should not be
applied to Orchards-eSpeciallv pruc h
orchards. The general conclusion Of
the club WAS that barnyard manure
could Toe applied in moderate guam
titles with good results The dam
ger lies IN applying it to strong land
aud IN too frequent applications.
causing trees to make too much wood
growth al expense Of fruit. The
growing season l. also prolonged, and
tender branches. not having time TO
mature fully before winter sets in.
are subjected 10 freezing and disease.
Jonah l. Rves produced very in
tcresii'g essay on the subject, state
the disadvantages that may arise To
TINS Club Toy drifting of from refer
red questions under discussion" The
substance OF which was a. follows
The organization OF a society Of this
KIND l. osteusiniy for the purpose of
developing the CREATES; amount Of
intormlnatiOn that Is practical aud
reliable. with prof, aud pleasure 10
its memhcrs. The plan of selecting
subjects of which information Is de
sized and assigning them TO ludI>id-
uais for preparation, then the paper.
freely discussed ~ all. meets their
need 10y each member having the
benefit OF all who have experience
concerning IT. Therefore when q
subject Is under consideration. TO lee
fair 10 the subject aud ourselves. We
should exhaust its merits and de,ner-
It's, note the result and dismiss il.
l. NJ Boyer read al essay ca the
"ArtIiicia ilatching and Rearing of
Chickens for the Ordinary Farmer.
MIR B 'yer's experiences of some few
years back were very diScourasiug.
bat since the modern incubation has
been very much improved be advises
the farmer who raises from one huu-
drcd TO two hundred chickens each
year TO use one. The hen. while 81,
ting, Is eating food and wasting
time. while if an incubator is used
she may be producing eggs.
The club then adjourned for din
ner, which could have had no higher
compliment than the keen relish with
which II was part4ken. After view
ing the tine herd of Jerseys aud also
inspecting the farming implements,
the club resumed work.
ID. W. Brau<ou read an ESSAY upon
market Gardening" He thought
the owner of small farm. within /
miles of Winchester. could proiitably
engage IN market gardening. growing
only the best of all kinds of vcceta
bleS aud small fruits. He would not
adv iSe one To contine himself rxclu-
sively to gardening, but to raise some
fruit and poultry. The success in
gardening depends very much on the
man, his prOmptneSS and ability IL
dispose of his products and TO retain
his customers.
VIM. + BranSon read an essay in
answer to the question, is it no,
more profitable TO spread our surplus
Straw ON our land than TO sell itat n
few dollars per TOM" Mr.. Branson
gave the estimated manurial valu,
of straw at $3.50 per ton, and rec
commended that straw should never
Oe sold from the farm at present low
prices. To obtain best reSutS tn,
straw should be used literally As au
absorbent in the stables. and applied
to the land in the form of we'll rotted
manure. thus supplying the fertiliz
ing ingredients and the valuable hu.
mus SO essential IN productive soils
la available forms.
The committee appointed to refer
questions reported the following for
the next meeting of the club: