The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1902-03-20
SATURDAYS SESSIONS.

dollars or more. . -
SATURDAYS SESSIONS.
Owing to the stormy weather the
attendance at the forenoon session
on Saturday was not as large as the
day before, but the hall contained over
two hundred people, who braved the
elements to hear the institute talks.
The question of potato planters came
up by some one making inquiries, and
the merits Of the "Aspinwall," the
"Western Chief" and other machines,
was discussed.
CEMENT FLOORS.
Hon. T. B. Terry of Ohio, spoke on
Cement Floors.' He said:
Some of the advantages of cement
floor are those, viz: the making of
nearly double the amount of manure
by the free use of straw as an absorb
ent; the saving of liquid manure, which
is worth two or three times as much as
the solid, and as has already been
stated, its durability.
''The principal elements needed in
growing crops are nitrogen, phos-
phoric acid and potash. The elements
have different properties. Nitrogen
makes the leaf growth, phosphoric
acid fills out the grain, making it
plump and heavy, while the potash
stiffens the straw, causing it to stand
up. Nearly all the potash-fve-
sixths, in fact-is in the liquid manure.
All of the phosphoric acid is in the
solid manure, while nitrogen is found
about equally in each.
1T is almost worse than useless to
put the solid manure on very rich soil,
for there being a lack of potash which
stiffens the straw, the grain all falls
down; yet three-fourths of the farmers
allow the most valuable part of their
manure to go to waste"
POTATOES AND THE COW IN MAINE.
B. W. McKeen was announced to
speak on the dairy COW, but before
saying anything on this subject he
spoke in brief manner about the
potato industry of Maine, and especi-
ally Aristook county. He said that
Maine shipped 100000 bushels of
potatoes last year, and the starch fac
tories of that State make one-third of
tho cto roh ',,oo1o i, +bo TI,;4ol C%.+2.
He spoke of one town in Aristook
county where the soil was light and
sandy, and where potatoes had been
grown for many years, and there was
not hay enough raised in the town to
feed the horses that had to haul the
potatoes eight miles to market. The
farmers commenced rotating with
clover and the town to-day is in much
different shape. The Aspinwall planter
is used largely in that section, and at
Bangor he saw a whole train load of
these machines. The machine as built
now will plant with hand-cut potatoes.
The farmers in Maine use a planter
with fertilizer attachment, and one
planter will do the work for neigh
borhood, the cost of planting being 81
per acre.
Mr.. McKeen's talk on breeding and
care of dairy COWS was extremely inter.
esting. The aim of the farmer now
who wants a good dairy herd is to
select good breeding stock and keep in
definite line of breeding. The animal
is not a machine, but on the contrary
possesses an individuality which must
be studied. Methods should to studied
as experiments are only guides. Per.
manent pasture and soiling crops were
the proper foundations for feeding.
Foods were divided into two classes,
the foods of maintenance and the foods
of profit. One is the bone food and the
other. is the fat food. Those foods
were fattening which were in excess of
the maintenance ration. Water was
an essential of animal economy, and
should be given direct from wells. Mr..
McKeen described his system of feed.
ing for winter milking. He feeds all
grain dry and does not moisten grain.
Dairy COWS cannot be overfed, as they
are growing animals and are not fed
for fattening. Mr.. Trow remarked
when the Maine dairyman had con-
cluded: 1T is not overlooking so much
as it is injudicious feeding and by i'm
proper feeding a burning up of the
animal that is fed.'' r. ~.
Forest Henry continued his talk of
Fridays session on, hogs. He said it
was not the number, it was the way in
which the hogs were kept. A hog
must be healthy to breed or feed for
profit. When you breed for health you
feed for profit. A milk producing ra-
ton is necessary for the SOW with her
young litter. When the pigs are three
or four weeks old feed them a little
skim milk. Increase the feed to wheat
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