Pike County press. (Milford, Pa.) 1895-1925, 1900-12-28
THE FARMERS INSTITUTE.

attendance this yelr, while not so
large as is desirable aud as the able
discussions deserve, was good and
the close attention given the speak
ers and the pertinent questions ask
ed demonstrated a lively desire on
the part of those present to add to
their information. The first speaker
Hon. r. F Schwarz, of Monroe Co.,
was at homie on his subjects Veg
etables and small fruits. In respect
to market gardening he said the first
necessity was market, and that
good fresh vegetables and fruits
neatly put up would create a de-
mand A soil fit for the business
must have water for vegetables need
that largely as they are from So to
95 per cent water. This can be Sc
cured by level and frequent cultiva-
tion whether there is rain or not.
The market garden should be as long
as possible so as to cultivate with
the least difficulty. A little of ev-
erything should be grown and as
many crops as possible from the
same land. The speaker raised four
crops on much of his, beginning
with peas, planting early and then
late cabbage between the rows and
celery after the peas were taken off
Ground should be plowed in the fall
and also early in the spring. The
more rapidly vegetables grow the
better they are. As to fertilizers it
is bad policy to put a small quanti-
ty in the hill, except in the case of
potatoes which do not have long
roots, with corn and other vegeta-
bles use it broad cast unless the
ground is rich enough to maintain
the stimulated growth. Mr.. Schwarz
took farm of 3S acres too poor to
keep one COW and by fertilizing with
green manures brought it up to a
high state of cultivation with little
expense. Strawberries should be
planted on thoroughly prepared
ground. They contain 9S per cent
of water and need much moisture
He plants in rows feet apart
and Is inches in the row. Corn Is
planted between the rows. The
berries are mulched with fine man
ure spread with n Kemp machine.
Every two years the bed is plowed
under and the land planted to cab
, bage and celery.
He plants raspberres z feet be-
tween the rows and the plants 8
feet apart and plants every two
years. Plants need potash and this
should be freely used. Hammonds
slug shot is his remedy for cabbage
worms. The speaker is a practical
and successful grower of small
fruits and vegetables and he de-
tailed facts from his experience
and not theories from observation.
Prof r. S. Seeds, of Huntington
county, captivated his audience with
the first sentence he uttered and his
practical remarks were admirably
punctuated with a humor which
= kept his hearers happy while they
p, listened intently to his vivid de
I scription of how he took miser-
;. able worn out farm, too poor as he
e said to raise an umbrella on, anG
= made it in few years garden spol
and all practically with crimson
r clover. His topic was value of sol
t fertility and how to get it, He sai(
: the Almighty made soil with vege
e tation and that was Just the way
$ the farmer shonld do it. He de
scribed at length his experiences
sowing crimson clover 1 peck to tn,
n acre in front of the cultivator wheI
e going through the corn the last time
I Later be experimental with buck
:, wheat, and with clover and Gov
5 horn turnips sown together and the
p, latter produced best results. The
idea is to get plants with long root
n which reach down into the soil anC
9 pump up the fertility which canno
J. be otherwise reached. He had b.
e raising clover and turnips brough
4 his land to a condition where it pro
+ d ueed a large growth of red Glove
5 and after repeated trials he was sue
cessful in raising alfalfa. Proi
+ Seeds talk was eminently fitted (
s the conditions which exist on man
> of these farms in this county, an
s his practise, if pursued here woul
IS make many barren hills bloom wit
2 grasses, the Indispensable adjunct t
il successful farming and of cours
soil fertility. He did not decry til,
], use of lime or commercial fertilizer
n but said in their place they were va
n liable aids, only if the matter G
p. expense was considered they wer
,t too costly for continued use and tina
1t crops could not be successful
10 grown with them alone. It all cam
ID back to the cheapest and best wa
A. To pet hulnus IN the soil and nlenf