The Greeley tribune., 1906-03-08
FARMERS INSTITUTE DIsdLosEs SECRETS
OF SCIENTIFIC FARMING
Two Days Of Last Week spsI in Valuable Dis.
cussions by Expert AsriculE Eurists. Talks by
WeIl-Known Teachers nd Practical
Farmers Topics Of y de Scope

The Farmers Institute held here
last Wednesday and Thursday, while
not the first ever held in the Greeley
section, was by far the largest and
most successful, andss probably re-
suited in distributing more valuable
information to farmers OH subjects
In which they are interested than
anything else done here In a long
time, if ever.
The sessions, of which there were
six, while not exceedingly long, had
so much crowded into them that
few If any who attended went away
without receiving full value for the
time spent.
The sessions opened in the armory
at 10 o'clock Tuesday morning when
Ernest R. Bliss, president of the
local institute, introduced Director
Fred P. johnson.
Ebbert on Sugar 8eots.
w. d. Ebbert Of Rocky Ford was
the principal speaker of the morning
session, his subject being, Sugar
Beet Growing in the Arkansas VAL
ley" He began by saying that he
saw Horace Greeley at the conven-
tion that nom mated him for presi-
dent. He always loved Greeley be-
cause his heart was in the right
place, in regard to agriculture.
That was all he desired to say about
Greeley.
Then taking up his subject proper
he surprised some of the Greeley beet
growers by stating that he would ir-
rigate sugar beets as little as 1T was
possible to get along with. He would
flood the ground good, either before
plowing, or after, and then not irrf-
gate again until the beets showed
the absolute need of more water.
For his part, he probably would not
irrigate until July ], or later. lie
did not believe water necessary, even
If the beet tops wilted down in the
heat of the day, so long as the cool
of the nights again revived them.
In the preparation of the soil lor
the seed lie stated that he wanted a
firm hard bed for the seed. This
might be obtained either by rolling
the ground, or letting it lay for a
time before planting, and letting the
clods all break up. In case OF roll
ing the soil he would never let IL
Law long in this condition after the
beets came up, for fear of heavy
wind coming on and sweeping the
Young beets out of the ground. by
some means he would roughen the
soil surface. He had come to the
conclusion that the hard seed pea
was the best, because at the ends OF
the rows where the ground was
trauped down by repeated turnings
of the team and plow the staho Oh
beets was always the best.
On thinning of beets he staoeo
that from numerous experiments ana
frnm information gathered by Prof'
Olin of the Agricultural college as
TO the preference of the best oeeo
growers, ten and a fraction 1ncnes
apart was considered the best conai,
tion for the beets. He had trieu
sayeraI distances, but this year
would ,enye his beets the ten inches
,r,rt IN the row. In the Arkansas
Valley they prefer irrigating IN
avery row, and consequently plant
their rows IS inches apart on slopins
ground and 20 inches on the ievei.
In thinning the beets he woulo a'
- &C nearly all in one day as poss'-
hoi the idea being that there was a
.,aht time to do this, and one part
~ - the field needed thinning as much
as Nc another, at that time.
Tn the Arkansas Valley they
usnally commence planting oee's
about April l.. r,,,.rt
"' nal, Moving for beets MIR. Ebberc