Warren sheaf., 1903-06-25
sTATEFARMEKs, INSTITUTE.
a Small but Enthusiastic
Gathering.

Gathering.
The State Farmers Institute held
IN our city last Friday was not as
well attended as itshould have been.
due in great measure to not being
thoroughly advertised and also to
threatening clouds in the morning.
But what was lacking in numbers
was more than made up in interest
and enthusiasm by those who were
present.
Ihe meeting was called to order
in the forenoon by Mr.. A. w. Trow,
OF Glenville, Mimi, who gave an in
teresting talk on general farm to-
pics, laying particular stress upon
the desirability ofdiversifed farming,
and that the COW is the means by
which this may be accomplished.
At the close of the forenoon session
the Minnesota Farmers Institute
Annual, very valuable and practi-
Cal book on farm topics, was dis
trlbuted free. Every farmer should
have copy of the book. The few
which in years past found their
way into our county have, to our
knowledge. in several cases, been
the means of bringing about i'm
proved methods of farming.
At the afternoon session, Mr..
Griswold, a 50-acre farmer near La
Crosse, Wis, spoke on the dairy
business. In order to besuccessful
in the dairy business, he said, one
must have dairy COW. Poor milk
ers should be weeded out anda good
dairy herd built up by means of a
good dairy sire. A COW that eats
more in value than she can produce
is not a profitable animal to keep.
But the dairy COW must also have a
dalryman who knows how to take
care OF and feed her intelligently.
Cows must have good warm clean
stable, and in very cold weather he
would not turn them out at all. For
feeding his cows, Mr.. Griswold used
ensilage and some bran and ground
ICED Ensilage IS green corn fed.
der cut up fine and stored in large
tank or vat, calleda silo. Ensilage
is the cheapest and best food. More
food value can be obtained from an
acre of corn fodder than if sown to
produce hay. The good dairyman
must study the needs and feed of
every individual COW. Mr.. Girls
void sold most of his cream to the
creamery and for the month of Nav
he had received check for $3.50 as
the proceeds of 25 COWS.
Mr.. John Gould, of Ohio, gave
some practical pointers on the con-
struction Of a silo, first giving an
explanation of what silo is. He
did not want to be guilty of the same
offence that he was twenty years
ago. After lecturing to a body of
farmers on the advantages of the
silo, when he got through German
farmer in the audience held up his
hand and shouted, "Gott in himmel.
vat is silo?' According to his de-
scription, a silo Is feet in diameter
and 80 feet high can be built for
$125. The silo offers the cheapest
method for storing food supply for
stock. There are very few silos in
the Red River valley, and none as
far as we know in our county. Mr..
Childs, of Crookston, has one on his
farm, and one is now being erected
on the State Experiment Farm at
Crookston. No question but what
they will be common here as they
are in the southern part Of the state.
VIXEN their advantages will be thor
oughly understood.
Supt. Hoverstad, Of the Crookston
Experiment Farm, agentlemen whom
every farmer in the Red River val
ley ought to know, on account Of his
amiable qualities as a gentleman as
well as for the practical experiments
he is conducting with special refer
ence to the needs Of the valley
farmer, was the next speaker. He
told about his experience in tree
planting, and commended the box
elder, white elm, green hand hack
berry as the four most hardy treesfor
this locality. The common plum is
a very good shade enduring tree to
plant among other trees, or in the
center Of a grove, and will also
furnish lots Of fruit. Numerous ex-
periments had been conducted with