Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1899-03-08

faTklu OIeftO tie lnVOcutIOn. lhell
came well worded and spicy address
of welcome by Rev. Parkin, In which
he extended the freedom Of the city to
the visitors, Prof. Oliver being unable
to attend the, institute and consequent
ly to respond to the address, J. S..
Trigg was called upon, and for the in
sttute thanked the t'almar people for
their hospitality, ETC., and followed
with an address upon 1.-THE Old and
New in Agriculture" which will he
published in full in these columns at
some future date. This was followed
10y song by the glee club. dialogue,
"What Washington and his Wife
would Think of Slang" by Beatrice
wager and Joseph Flaskerud, selec-
ton by the Mandolin Club, song by
John Ahern, violin solo by Miss Mamie
Thaler, recitation by Laura Gilmarten,
and dialogue, "a Practical Exempli-
fication' by Frank Deilv and John
Ahern, all of which were highly pleas
ing to the audience and elected hearty
applause.
Then DR.. J. s. Roome read splendid
address which attracted the closest at
tention of the audience and was full of
good thoughts and sound reasoning.
The orchestra played another selection
and John. B. Kaye followed with an
address upon "The Farm, its Influence
on Bodily, Mental and Moral Growth"
which we shall publish, so that our
readers may read it in full. A recita-
tion up in the Loft" was delivered by
Arthur Morton, beautiful duet by
Mrs. G. A. Parkin aud Miss Floy
Hazleton, recitation Farmer John"
by Allie Ryan, violin trio by MIR.
John Thaler, Miss Mamie and Frank
Thaler, another selection by the Man.
dolin Club, a quartette by the Glee
Club, song by John Ahern, and one of
the best evening programs ever given
during a Farmers Institute in this
county closed with a selection by the
orchestra.
THURSDAY MORNING.
The first topic for Thursday morn
ing's session was Cattle, Hogs and
Sheep" What proportion of each
should be kept on well regulated
farm to make it profitable?" Mr.. Trigg
thought this should vary according to
locality, but gave as his idea for a
quarter section, fifteen good dairy cows
which would produce an average Of 200
pounds of butter per year, to establish
as permanent dairy; handle about a
car load of beef cattle per year, prefer
ing Shorthorns; 80 to 40 Poland China
hogs; rs best mutton variety of sheep,
kept well fenced in. This he would
subject to all sorts of notifications, &C.
cording to the lay Of the land, and to
personal liking to certain kinds Of
stock.
~. Walenta said that he was never
i troubled with fluctuations on the Board
of Trade, because he never sold grain.
He raises many cattle, but practices
more on feed than breed, etc. He
keeps both beef and dairy cattle, hogs
TO eat what the cattle don't, and
chickens and dogs to eat what is left.
He utilities everything he raises on
his farm. He advised dividing the
farm properly into fields, and turning
the stock from one to the other, so as
to use all the feed ON the farm. To
produce heavy cattle lies in proper
feeding. He mixes two bushels OF
oats, a peck of wheat and peck of COW
peas together to SOW an acre of ground;
lets 1t ripen and cuts it with the har-
vester, threshes it, and grinds the feed,
raising by measure at least forty BUSH
els to the acre. He never seeds one
variety of grass, but always mixes it.
"Public Roads. How can they be
improved" brought out lively dis
cussion. w. N. Drake gave splen-
did talk, advocating the use OF
wide tires. Ed. Brakeman 10.
Trigg and A. Jacobson presented
some forcible ideas, and all seemed to
favor allowing the Board of Supervi-
sors an extra tax of one mill for road
work, as conducive to better results
than can be obtained by road super
visors.
Ed. Brakeman then opened the next
topic Fruits and Vegetables. To
what extent can they he grown by the
average farmer profitably?" He said
that the average country garden was a
weed feeder for the whole farm and
generally looked very shabby. He
would plant good variety and take
good care of his garden. Raise enough
to supply all wants of the table, be-
sides carrots, beets, etc., for cows.
Plant in rows two or three feet wide
so as to cultivate with a horse; prepare
the ground well, and always get good
seed. Mr.. Brakeman made q strong