Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1904-03-10
BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.
courtesy Of the Constitution j

had the heaVy rain OF laSt MOnuay
afternoon held off an honr Laws Hall,
in Paulsboro, would not have held the
people who desired to attend the quar-
terly meeting Of the Gloucester County
Board OF Agriculture. AS it was, the
room was we'll filled when President
Joseph 7. Carter called the meeting to
order at 23O O'Clock.
This is the first time farmers in this
section have had a good opportunity to
attend one Of these gatherings, and they
took advantage of it. The audience was
largely made up Of people from Pauls-
boro and vicinity, and while the pro-
gram was not strictly adhered to because
several of those to whom topics had
been assigned failed to make their APP
pearance, yet everybody expressed them
selves as being well pleased with the
exercises.
Ex-President John Tonkin, OF Elk
township, came all the way through the
rain, and he said it was his first visit to
Paulsboro in forty years. It was no sur
prise when he got tangled up in the
streets and barely caught his train out.
All through the afternoon people came
in. 1t was one of the most disagreeable
days outside that the Board has ever se-
lected for a meeting, and this probably
accounts for there being no display of
produce, although just at this time there
is very little to put on exhibition.
Secretary Heritage read the minutes Of
the last meeting which were approvedss
and as there was but one of the Execu-
tive Committee present, no report was
made.
Mr.. Kirby delegate to the State Board
of Agriculture, read an excellent report
from that meeting, and John Tonkin,
his associate, followed with some points
on the State gathering that had been
omitted by Mr.. Kirby. Minutes Of this
meeting will soon be issued and all the
farmers and others interested should get
copy, which can be had for the asking.
William H. Borden, delegate to the
State Horticultural meeting, gave good
account of the proceedings. He stated
that Mr.. Repp, of Glassboro, had fruit
on exhibition there that even surpassed
some grown in California. This evi
IDENTIFY opened the eyes Of many and
several questions were asked.
John Wolferth, of Mickleton, who was
to speak on 'sThe Grading and Packing
Of Early Tomatoes was a little late in
getting to the hall, but he made up for
lost time. It is to be regretted that more
tomato growers were not present to hear
this address, especially at this time. He
touched up" growers in general on this
question, declaring that it is not alto
gether in the growing of tomatoes that
make big receipts, but the grading and
packing has much to do with the busi-s
ness According to his views, and what
he does not know about tomatoes does
not amount to much, too little atten-
tien is paid to shipping, and not enough
to quality.
The Executive Committee might do
well to put Mr.. Wolfetth on the next
program.
None of the speakers on the chicken
question were present, and it was some
time before discussion was started,
then several wanted to speak at once.
The question was (Which is the more
profitable, poultry for market, or for egg
production r.
Mr.. Borden thought that many had
remained at home to keep their chicks
from drowning From a poultry stand
point, he thought there was money in
them at 20 and % cents; more than in
eggs. Yet if he was buying for the table
he thought this price too high. The
market price for eggs this winter was t Q
high for the consumer, but good for the
producer. Poultry in any way was a
good investment, but Mr.. Borden believed
that to make success of the business at
least one man should give his entire at
tention to the fowls, and that they should
be looked after every two hours. In
stances were reported where there was a
failure, but it was shown that these par
ties were not familiar with the business.
Benjamin Heritage gave an account Of
the industry in China and quoted au-
thorities on the subject that startled
some of those present, as to the extent
the foreigners are running this business.
Others spoke on the topic, and Il was
shown where farmers can profit through
the winter with good flock of chickens
either from eggs or from the poultry.
The question rs there as much IN
terest shown in County Boards as there
should be ?" was only lightly touched on.
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