The Columbus journal., 1902-03-12
Wsseo.sa. Agricultural Ce.ve.t....

(krOm the Farmers Hev1eW.)
During the last week . number OF
agricultural conventions were held At
the state capitol. Madison. Wis In
some cases the sessions were joint
ones. general topics being discussed.
The agricultural mass meeting. as
II was called, under the supervision
OF the state board Of agriculture. was
very poorly attended. In the main.
though the last session was improved
in this respect by the presence Of .
large number OF Short Course students
and live stock breeders. At some OF
the sessions the number in attendance
did not exceed twenty-five. This Is to
be regretted. as the program was
very good one and would have been
very profitable to the farmers Of the
state. As Professor Henry said.
There should be q thousand farmers
here" One reason fer the slim at
tendance perhaps was the fact that
this il really the first agricultural con-
vention for years. The old Agricultu-
raj Society used to hold these annual
gatherings. and they were well atten-
ded. The discontinuance Of such meet
inGs has doubtless resulted in getting
the farmers into the habit OF non-at-
tendance.
Among the particularly valuable pa
pers was one by A. r. POstel on the
beet sugar industry in Wisconsin. As
Mr.. Postel is an expert connected With
the only beet sugar factory in Wiscon-
sin, he brought out some points valua-
BILE to growers. We will have more
to say on this paper next week.
Another subject that should not have
been missed by Wisconsin farmers was
the one on the treatment Of oats for
smut. q subject of immense interest
to Wisconsin farmers where the loss
from oat smut runs up into the mill
lions. Prof. r. A. Moore told OF the
hest methods of treatment. which are
with solutions of fOrmaldehyde.
The Association Of Agricultural Stu
dents for Experimental Work also held
several sessions. at which reports were
made on the work being carried on.
Rape and sofa beans received the bulk
Of the attention. Alfalfa had been
tried by some. but little progress was
made with 1t except at the Agricultural
college farm. Cow peas had also not
been successfully grown except at the
station named. Several, however. had
grown sofa beans with perfect success.
and great interest was shown in this
forage plant, which is great food for
hogs. Rape had also been experimen
ted with successfully.
During one Of the Joint sessions
Professor Henry spoke of his observa-
tions while In Holland and Denmark
The very interesting address Will ap-
pear In full in the Farmers Review.
Meet koods for Fowls
In Farm Poultry. book edited by
l.. H. Bailey. the author says: Poultry
men fipd it to their advantage to imi-
tate the natural food of the fowls and
to furnish some meat food. Fowls
that are given a wide range in the
summer time feed largely on insects
and earth worms; but during the win
ter months. and when fowls are con-
fined in comparatively small houses
and yards. 1t will be best to feed meat
in some form. Vegetable foods. even
though furnishing equal amounts OF
all nutrients and In the proportion con-
sidered suitable. are shown to be much
inferior to animal foods furnishing the
same amounts Of nutrients and In the
same proportions. Fresh bones. which
may be obtained from meat markets.
II finely cut with bone cutters. make
one Of the best, II not the best. of meat
foods for laying hens. This is also ex-
cellent for little chickens. Many pOul-
trymen. however. cannot depend upon
the local meat markets for their sup
ply, particularly during the warm
weather. After the bones have be-
come tainted they should be rejected
n unfit for poultry food. When fresh
homes cannot be obtained, animal
meal may be relied on for satisfactory
results. Only meal that is guaranteed
wholesome should be procured. A
good quality will generally contain
about 10 per cent of nitrogen. This
meal should be dry enough to keep
wen for several seasons If necessary.
Wloconsiu Horticultural COnyontioa.
The annual meeting Of the Wiscon-
sin State Horticultural Society was
held at Madison Eehruarv tn The