The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1903-03-27
Cecil Farmers Club.
March Meeting Held With Elwood Balderston
Dairy and Other Topics Discussed
Address by Evan Sharpless-LaW
Enforcement Resolution Adopted.

ana passed over large aefatOr.
| The dairy is built of brick and eementcd
throughout on the interior. floors sides and cell
ing, so that with the hose every part OF the room
is thoroughly cleansed. Here the milk Is bottled
with the most approved appliances into quart
| aud pint bottles.
portion Oft is sealed and certified 10 contain
per cent butter fat another portion is sterfliz
| ed, and each bottled, sealed and labeled. After
the milk is steriliZed, or raised to temperature
OF 1869 F it is at once plunged into cold water
and stream kept passing over it for an hour OF
| longer This milk is shipped by express to Pha
delpha where E. 7. Gill sells it at wholesale for
Z and cents per quart.
| The bottles are washed in soap stone tubs, a
steam brush to wash them, and after rinsing
| they are placed into racks and run into the pas
| teurizer. This is Il large wrought iron steam
chest where the bottles are steamed under high
pressure till there are no microbes left to contain
| mate the milk.
| Though perhaps will not show you any ind
vidual COWS, or families that have made such
| phenomenal records, nor will you find such
exquisite sanitary neatness in our outfit, will
show you herd of thirty-five cows that have
yielded since New Years 35 600 pounds of milk, OF
halfa ton per COW for the 76 days. In round
numbers 1850 lbs. butter for the herd or 80 lbs pei
COW.
The basis of my feed is ensilage twice a day,
The COWS are fed in addition qts each average
of the following mixture: "A bran by weight 4
meal by weight; q ofthe latter is cotton seed; BY
/ measure these are just reversed, "a bran, "A meal
This costs Sc per COW each day for meal, or about
S6.0 for the 76 days.
Comments being called for Mr..
Rawlings liked the production, but
did not keep his COWS so cheaply
as the paper designated. Messrs.
Maxwell, Cameron and Groves had
no comment as they were not COW
men. Mr.. Reeder had nothing to
say about Guernseys as he is not a
Guernsey man, would not trade his
Jerseys for any Guernseys he ever
saw. Mr.. Scarborough had felt
discouraged somewhat in his exper-
ience in dairying but from hearing
the essay he would take courage,
and try further. Mr.. McVey spoke
favorably of the essay, but as at
this juncture dinner was announc-
ed, which, like motion to adjourn.
is always in order, arrested the
comment, and after the appoint
ment of the following committee on
inspection, Frank Cherry, Harry
Maxwell, and M. G. Reeder, a
recess was declared. In the order
of business that followed the visit
ors seemed equally active with the
members of club; twenty five covers
were laid, each place designated
with nicely eng1ossed card, and
none were turned empty away.
Dinner over, the usual inspection
of the premises followed. At 2:30
p. m., club reassembled, when the
committee reported through the
Chairman, Mr.. Cherry. Visited
the dairy house and creamery;
were shown the various appliances
for the successful handling of the
dairy product, including the dry
ing of the curd, forming a profit
able by-product of the success
full creamer. The pigs came in for
commendation, but thought there
was evidence that the whey did not
meet the requirements of the whole
milk. The silo next claimed atten
tion adverting to the fact that as
pioneers in this line of husbandry
having perhaps the first silo erect
ed in the state; ensilage in good
condition. A fine herd of Guern.
sey COWS we'll kept and stables
scrupulously clean. AS an adjunct
of the noon hour a neighbor imple
ment dealer exhibited a manure
spreader in practical operation
Our host here introduced Evan
Sharpless, of Chester county, who
read to us the following paper with
explanatory Interpolation:
Food Required by Plants and How Best to
Supply 1t.
The vast store of plant food is the farmers stocl
in trade, the bank upon which he may draw. BY
analysis the chemist is able to tell us that the
average soil has abundant fertility to last TOR man,
years to come, but the trouble is it is not in al
available form. And the power OF the plant tC
obtain that which is available depends on many
conditions, like the preparation of the land wha
crops are raised, amount of moisture present, etc
At Cornell Agricultural College, where spen
three months one year ago. there was a sample O.
one foot of the average soil analyzed, 56 per cent
of it passed through certain grade sieve used
and this yielded at the rate of 074 lbs nitrogen
1874 lbs. pos, and 12.O O63 K2O. The "A per cent
remaining, which was gravel. was found to be
richer in pos and K2O than the fine SOIL but Of
course it would require much of the natural and
artificial actions to make them available.
One thing the chemist is not able to tell is what
amount of the plant constituents are available
That remains for US to solve by practice and
Judgment.
There are 13 elements that go to make up the
vegetable kingdom. but fortunately we have to
deal only with of them. viz; N, P2C5 and K2O
The Others are with very lew exceptions found in
sufficient quantities.
Let us first consider for a moment, In what form
a plant takes its food, without going too much
into chemistry, as am afraid l am not fully cap.
able or have not the time to do so. But it is suf
fcient to say that plants take all matter from soil
in form of soil water, thus the necessity of keep
ing goodly store of moisture in the soil. Then