The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1902-02-22
THE FARMERS INSTITUTE.
1T WAS A DECIDED SUCCESS IN ATTEND
ANcE AND INTEREST.
Professor Massey's ADDRESS he Con ehee
viii Probably Lead 10 Establishment
Of a Large Cannefy Here.

The Farmers Institute hcH az the
court. house here Thursday under
the auspices Of the business Men a
Association, swas Il pronounced snc-
cess Under more favorable weather
conditions the attendance wou'h
probably have been larger, but even I'M
der the circumstances there were at one
time during the morning session, nearly
200 substantial farmers present, mainly
from the counties of Spotsylvania, Stall
ford. Caroline and King George, and n
few from several other counties Several
ladies, who are interestediln farming NJ
fairs, were present portion OF the day.
The Ice blockade in the. Rappahannock,
which has prevented navigation Tor sew
eral weeks, no doubt kept many Of our
down.the-river friends away.
Mr. Henry Warden, president OF the
Business Mems Association, called the
assemblage to order about ] O'Clock and
introduced Prof W. T. Massey, of the
Agricultural College, of North Carolina
who had been selected ~ the speaker for
the ocrasion Prof Mnsseys subject
was n broad and important one THE
Improvement of the Soil Ii was n sub
icct III which general interest was felt
and the speaker had "A very attentive
audience He advocated the growing OF
the lesumiuous crops OF which there il a
great variety, such IA the cow pea. say
beans. the clover and yetcher. They
make forege of decided xc'llence ana
yield largely. lie stated that, unlike the
grasses. these legumes improve the soil
on which they grow by gathering nitro
gen the most costly element in fertilizers
from the atmosphere, and no better way
of recuperating worn out soils il known
than the growing OF leguminous crops,
feeding them judiciOusly 10 stock and re-
turning carefully the manure To the soil.
In the absence OF stock to consume this
class Of food, he advised blowing 1t un.
der after maturity, but insisted That
farming could not be carried on Proiita'
blv without stock to convert feed into
the greatest of all fertilizers, manure. lie
also gave some good advice about us
ING commercial fertilizers, advising get
ting the costly nitrogen through the
legumin and buying the mineral elements,
the phosphOric acids and potash. thus
getting AZ low cost n complete fertilizer,
the two latter costing very little com
pared with the former, which he said
every progressive farmer must produce
himself. He also gave an interesting
talk on rotation OF crops and replied to a
number of questions both written and
oral
Prof Massey is an authority on the
subject chosen for his address, a. he Ia
on many other agricultural questions
He invited the farmers to PROFOUND az
many questions "a they desired, and IN
every instance gave clear and satisfactory
answers. During the afternoon session,
Mfr Chas. l. Stengle, of The FREE Lance,
made a statement in reference TO the prob
able establishment here of large can
ming factory. il certain conditions IN rel
erence to the raising OF tomatoes IN large
quantities could be complied with. lie
introduced MIR W. W. Roberts. OF the
firm of Roberts Bros. OF Baltimore,
who are packers of fruits and vegetables
ON an extensive scale. Mr. Roberts stat
cd that his firm would erect and operate
n large plant in this city il the farmers
would contract to grow the necessary
ouantity OF tomatoes to supply the can
nery. He explained the nature OF the
contracts and answered all questions
asked. Many of the farmers seemed
much interested and expressed a willing
ness TO cultivate the tomatoes in large
quantities Capt. VI. b Rowe offered the
following resolution which was adopted:
Resolved, That we approve OF the
movement that has been proposed, hav-
ing in view theestablishment OF a canning
factory in Fred' ricksburg, and assure e
inceptors Of the movement OF our hearty
support OF any fair proposition that
NAV be offered US, and will be glad To
talk with Mr.. Roberts in person about
the planting of tomatoes. We believe
that we can raise a. good tomatoes IN
this section as can be raised anywhere.
Mr.. Roberts was much encouraged and
will prepare contracts TO be submitted
TO the farmers for their consideration
The Institute.adjourned late in the after
noon and the farmers left for their homes
while the hail was falling and forming
n sleet.