The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1900-02-02
FARMERS INSTITUTE.
CONTINUED from page 8. J

| Ices and that there were various advantages
| to the small farmer In having a man who
would take the few head OF stock he had t
sell of his hands at once.
| The question of the proftableness OF 9
young mans owning horse when he was
! working out brought out more discussion
than agreement, and at the same time oc'
casioned considerable merriment Bert
Spencer, young man who has worked by
the month, has owned one or more horses
since he was seventeen years old and was
In favor of the horse as was j. j. Whelan
Victor Josenhans thOt that as the average
farmer handled his fowls they were moi
very profitable. The Plymouth Rocks OF
Wyandottes were his ideal for man who
wanted to sell birds as we'll as eggs on the
market, tho for eggs alone the Spanish
fowls were the best.
| SUGAR BEETS Il. w. 0VIATT.
We have been importing over 1900, 600
tons of beet sugar from Germany annually,
and athO in Germany they get better
price than we do here for agricultural pro
| ducts in general and are obliged to use ex-
| pensive fertilizers costing from SIS to $25
per ton, yet they find that they can raise
sugar beets and sell them at profit OF "a
ton. Therefore when we stand better In
rain fall. better In amount of sunshine, in
mean temperature and in soil there seems
| to be no more reason why we should import
our sugar than our -four.
In Bay county the very first year public
opinion went like torrent.
Every one wished to plant sugar beets.
| The season was favorable and all followed
the printed directions of the factories close
| ly and the outcome was that nearly all got
| splendid results. The next year all seemed
| to have gone mad on this subject. Physi-
clans, lawyers, business men, and every one
who had never had any experience raising
any kind of crop thot that they could
make profit on sugar beets, and some
took an immense acreage for such crop.
Then they thot that they did not need to
use as much seed. The season proved to
be very bad one and at one time 1t seemed
that the whole of Saginaw Bay was turned
over on the county. When 1t was time to
Thin out the beets they either could not get
on the fields or ele thot 1t unnecessary to
follow the factory instructions so closely and
| the beet crop was disappointment Then
| they went to the other extreme and h0wled
down the factories and the industry. Mr.
Oyiatt said that he was absent from the
county at the time the meeting OF repre-
sentative beet growers was celled but re-
turned on the day they met In Bay City.
He never saw more determined lot of men
or any who seemed more bitter than they.
Then he went on to tell some things where
tho himself farmer he was obliged to own
that the farmers delivering beets to the fac
tories had shown themselves more dishonest
than the factories could be proved to be.
The factories seemed to be disposed to meet
the growers quite half way In any conces-
sions.
Mr.. Oviatt admitted that with the dis.
lance Of Shiawassee farmers from the near
est factory they were very seriously handi-
capped now but was positive that 1t was not
an average year and that they had not yet
had a fair chance to try the crop. But
don't, he said, plant too big an acreage,
don't buy expensive machinery. Go care
fully, then IL you do not wish to grow
beets, at least don't decry the industry.
Since the sugar beet industry has been
started in Bay City every other form of
farm product has received marked bene-
fit. Tomatoes alone as a specific instance
which had sold for eight cents bushel In
! Bay City more than once went to sixty cents
after this industry had furnished another
outlet for the use of the land.
! RAISING THE FARM MoRTGAGE-E. e.
BUNTING.
Mr.. Bunting struck the key note of the
question of lifting mortgage when he told
his hearers that they should always pay
their obligation when due. Mr.. Bunting
| told of buying farm thirty one years ago
| in Rush, borrowing all the money to pay
for it and then buying COW and pig be-
| sides on time. He had young family to
support but he kept up his payments,
then sold this farm and Sought another, this
time also, badly In debt. His mortgages
were always made so that he could pay
500 at any time and when he sold his pigs
| or his wheat crop he always used one-half
| of the proceeds on the mortgage.
At the same time he assured his hearers
that he did not In the meantime deprive his
! family OF the necessary things to eat and
wear. But 1t is not necessary to deprive
ones family of these things II you re-
member to Never put of until tomorrow
what you can do today" DO everything
the best you can. But don't try to do toe
many things at once. Don't try to raise
mortgage and support bad habit at the
same time. The interest on the one and
the cost of the other will keep you down
Mr.. Bupting's talk was an inspiring one to
all who heard 1t and when he told Of Tho
way he would talk with men whom hi
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