The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-07-22

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has ever seen--in peace he has perfect,
| filled every trust committed to him. H
is our greatest statesman, our greatest dip
lomatist, our greatest farmer 1t is fl
that he preside over your deliberations
In the years to come we shall esteem hin
more even than we do now. Last nigh
| in this hall some of us had the pleasure o
listening to an able, instructive and learn
ed lecture by DR.. Geo. T.. Winston on tn,
Pope In the course of that lecture W,
| learned that standing close to st. Peters
one is not impressed with the largeness
the immensely of tits perfect symmetry
its harmony. its beauty are noted. 1t Il
only when leaving. when you see it miles
away that St. Peters looms above the city
majestic, overwhelming, sublime. Wher
this great man, your president, shall have
passed out from among US. we shall see
him as he is-a truly great man, fit to
write his name high up among the names
of North Cardinals most notable sons
PROF. w. f. MASSEY.
When the convention re-assembled at
A. and M. College, read paper on 1.-THE
Cowpea for the Farm, the Orchard and the
Garden
This was very exhaustive address and
one full of especial interest to all the farm
ers present.
He said among other things that the
making of hay from pea-vines on most
Southern farms was one of the most UNI
scientific performances seen anywhere.
The idea prevailed that the curing of this
hay was very difficult, but as a matter OF
fact it is very easy to cure.
The chief points to consider are how to
get rid of the sap with as little exposure to
the sun as possible. One of the best ma
chimes for this purpose was the hay ted
der for tossing up the hay. This should fol
low the mower, and the hay might be hous-
ed the same day the sap was out of it. This
could be determined by twisting the stork,
and if no sap comes out, the hay is ready
to house.
The best time to cut is when the pods
begin to turn yellow.
AS to fertilizers, the farmer is too much
accustomed to buy his fertilizer brands
instead of the material The farmer wnc
uses the pea-vine win find that he needs
no fertilizer except acid phosphate, or acid
phosphate and lime, according to the soil
AS a pasture plant, the pea is of great
value to the milk in summer.
Prof. Massey said he had experimental a
good deal in tobacco, and that he con-
best things for tobacco. In one part OF
Virginia where they raise a very fine grade
of dark tobacco the rotation is clover
peas and wheat, and with that rotation
they need no fertilizer at all.
The man who has the reputation of send
ing the best tobacco to the market in
Maryland stated that he used red clover
and COW peas as preparatory crops to his
tobacco, and he let them mature and dry
before ploughing under
But for the peanut farmers he could
not say that he considered it a good plan
to plant peanuts Immediately after COW
peas.
The pea is of greater value to the
market gardened tnan to any other class OF
planter, for the trucker should keep a
good deal of live stock ON hand, and q
great deal of humus is needed for his soil
Questions and general discussion fol
lowed Prof Massey's excellent and prac-
teal paper.
MR.. H. I. WEBER.
The next paper was by Mr.. H. l. Weber,
of the United States Bureau of Plant In
dustry, Washington, d. G.. He spoke on
the Work and Publications of the
United States Department of Agriculture.
Mr.. Webb expressed his regret shat
Secretary Wilson himself could not be
present as had been hoped.
The agricultural work of the govern
ment was first begun in 1886, and in 1885,
Congress appropriated $4,000 to the work.
AT that time Mr.. Ellsworth was III
charge. There were soon after that TWEEN
ty-nine persons employed, mostly clerks
In 1892 there were 3,789 persons employ
ed, over 1000 of whom were scientists and
assistants. Now it is separate depart
ment with a secretary who sits IN the
Cabinet, and its Importance is national III
it's scope. Mr.. Webbber spoke briefly OF
the different bureaus into which the de-
partment is divided.
The Weather Bureau was one of the
most important of the bureaus. While
some of the predictions were wrong, yet it
is fact that the men who watch them
most closely have come to rely more upon
them Go to Key West and other fishing
stations, and you will see the boats do not
go out when the storm signals are flying
Millions of dollars are saved annually by
the predictions of storms on the seacoast,
saved to shipping. Then the reports from
all the numberless crop stations have a
great deal to do with regulating market
prices on the great exchanges.
Then the work of the Bureau of Animal
Industry was taken up, and the examina-
ton of carcases of cattle, etc, for disease
was dwelt upon, to show how the spread OF
tuberculosis and other diseases is checked.
One of the most important parts of this
work is the microscopic examination for
trachina in pork 1t is only by this that
our exports of pork to Germany especially
are kept up.
Then the insurance rates on vessels for
transporting live stock have fallen from
eight per cent to Ia of one per cent, on
account the better rules and regulations
regarding the sanitary condition of the yes
sells
But it is not only in inspection that the
work of this department is of Importance
special diseases of live stock are studied