The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1906-01-30
T|LLERs Of THE SOIL
IN CONVENTION
ASSEMBLED

Last nights meeting of the farm
ers' institute was devoted to con-,
sideration of what might be termed
entertainment topics.
Mr.. Wing entertained the audience
with a vivid description of Mexican
irrigation scheme, built by private en-
terprise, and by which large tract
of land that had been wholly un-
productive, was made to produce
abundant crops.
Mr.. Wing is always entertaining
but never more so than when he is
describing the places he has visited,
not as globe trotter and man of leis-,
ure, but as an agriculturalist study
ing his profession. u.
Mr.. Litchard spoke on the subject
of citizenship" and took the posi-
ton thatthe home was the fountain
head Of all citizenship, and that the
comforts, even the business by
which the home is surrounded have
their influence upon the characters of
those who grow up in them.
In applying the principle to the
farm he pleaded for a larger field for
the farm boys, for greater opportuni-
ties, for more of the social side, and
for that uplifting influence that wilt
make them love the farm
Morning Session.
The morning session was much
better attended at the opening than
the one yesterday and what was lack
ing in numbers If such there was,
was made up in interest.
Prof. Hoverstad opened the session
with a strong and practical talk on
clover growing.
Quoting noted Minnesota clover
grower, he said the secret of clover
growing was to SOW clover seed.
There is certainly something in the
germ theory in clover growing, and
that it was necessary in order to get
good clover crop, to have the
ground inoculated with the clover
germ. This is one reason why the
first crop often either fails or is poor,
and for this reason many farmers be-
come discouraged and quit, while by
continuing the sowing the ground
would become thoroughly inoculated
and in short time would be clover
producing land.
Amount of Clover to he S0vvn.
His idea is to sow Is pounds of
clover seed to the acre. He does not
think it advisable to SOW with the
grain as the drill puts the seed too
deep in the ground. and broadcast
sowing does not do we'll because the
farmer cannot control the rainfall in
this country. The best nurse crop is
barley and the best plant is to sow
with the drill after the barley is sown
putting the seed in less deep, and
with the rows at right angles to the
barley rows so that the clover will
stand between the barley rows and
not be so much shaded.
The Fargo experiment station has
found that sowing clover with wheat
will increase the wheat yield slightly
over one bushel per acre-more thar
paying for the clover seed. and bring
a splendid method of incubation of
the seed.
J. w. Scott of Gilby continued the
discussion and substantiated the
theory advanced by Prof. Hoverstad.
The first days work was closed
with an entertaining talk by Joe
Wing on his visit to one of the big
farms in France. While in Europe
studying agricultural subjects, he
asked the French minister of agricul-
ture to direct him to one of the big
farms of the nation as those he had
been inspecting were one, two and
three-acre ones. The minister gladly
consented and gave him letter of
introduction to the owner of one of
the barOnial estates about forty miles
from Paris. His note to the owner
asking for the privilege of visiting his
place was answered by the owner in
person appearing to conduct him to
the farm. 1t was reached by rail, and
at the station they were met by a
armoralded carriage and driven over
the farm.
The wheat was being cut by ma
chimes driven by OK teams, and the
grain was the heaviest the speaker
had ever seen.
Large fields of sugar beets were be-
ing cultivated with hand hoes, and
the grass of which there were i'm
mense fields, was cut with scythes
fastened on straight sticks and used
by hand, while the grass was gath
cred together by the women, shocked
and tied lat the top somewhat like
corn, and these shocks stood SO thick
in the fields that the ground was
hardly visible. <
The residence was one of four sides
of rectangle, one of the sides at
right angles being a sheep barn in
which 1000 sheep were kept, and the
opposite side was the COW barn where
large herds of the finest cattle were
kept. The side of the rectangle was
open and through this the products
of the land were brought in and con-
verted into money by feeding in the
barns.
All the windows of the palace look
ed out on the court yard enclosed
as described, and the most cOnspicu-
GUS object there was a gigantic man
ure pile which was added to daily
from the barns, and which was later
sent back to the land to make it yield
the gigantic crops it was producing.
This land had probably been Gull
tivated for thousand years and was
yet as rich as many of the famous
farms in the older states.
A. w. Litchard took up the discus
sion of the dairy COW, and while much
of the talk was along lines discussed
at farmers meetings, he gave prac.
.tical turn to the matter by giving the
rules by which a good dairy COW can
be selected. In general way he said
the best dairy cow was always the
ugliest They need to be open in
frame and build. The following were
the judging tests:
Horns, medium in Size and yellow
In appearance. . &
Large, erect ears and with sufficient
moisture inside to give the finger,
when inserted, an appearance of hav-
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