The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1907-10-04
The Deer Creek Farmers Club.

The Deer Creek Farmers Club met on
Saturday afternoon at prospect HILL"
the home of Mr.. Frank H. Jacobs, the follow
ing members being present: John Moores,
president; G. Cover Street,, secretary; Messrs.
William Is. Hopkins, $. y. Williams, w. b.
Harlan. ]. b. Wysong, II. b. Bruins, w. w.
Fnney, ]. l.. Mccormick; Fred. Lochary and
John u. Worthington, VISITORS Rev, T. b. A.
Allison, Joseph r. Hopes, William w. Wilson,
Robert b. Munnikhuyseu. Swepson Earle,
Harry H. Coale, Lewis Carlisle and Professor
J. w. Nelson, of the Bureau of Soils, Washing
ton. ID. c.
Because of inclement weather a committee
of inspection was not appointed, though
probably property within the circle of the
clubs influence could well stand the
scrutiny of an examining committee that
of Mr.. Jacobs. The farm consists of 200
acres of gently rolling land IL rectangular
| form. surrounded on three sides by the public
highway, well watered, highly fertile, and all
tillable except about acres heavily W CODED.
large ancestral stone mansion built in 500.
is surrounded by spacious lawn crowned
with lovely shade trees and covered with
green grass with the old-time stone spring
| house at the foot. the pastoral effect being
heightened by a flock of % sheep which
| grazed there. The other buildings, which
| would constitute a good sized village, are
| all in good order.
The great crop of the farm is hay; last
summer Mr.. Jacobs harvested 81 four horse
| loads of prime clover and timothy hay.
| besides considerable second cutting. He had
fifteen acres of good wheat, 1t acres ofheavy
| corn. and from acres of tomatoes he has
already picked 900 bushels. the most ofthe
| ,,In tad RI
Fifteen acres of fallow, besides seven acres of
| tomato land were set in grass in the summer
and is now very fine. In addition to the
sheep, from which he marketed thirty lambs
he has 20 head of fat cattle, and IL head of
horses and other home stock. In fact. every
foot of the farm Is intensely active in helping
| its owners bank account.
The lecturer of the evening was Professor
| I. w. Nelson. of the Bureau of Soils, who dis
cussed the soils of Hartford and how to use
| them Professor Nelson has spent much of
| the past four months on the Maryland and
| Delaware peninsula. and detailed in most
interesting way the rapidly improving con-
ditions of husbandry there and the responsive
| attitude of farmers towards the department.
| especially in experimenting with crops believ-
| ed to be we'll adapted to their soil. Among
| other things he mentioned that from North
cumberland and Accomac counties alone
| forming the extreme southerly portion OF
the peninsulal a million barrels of white
| potatoes will be shipped this year and that
| a number of farmers located near the water
| are profitably engaged in raising delicious
figs. He has also organized 81 farmers near
| Middletown, Delawre. for the cultivation of
| straw berries next year, their soil being highly
| adapted to this crop.
| Hartford county belongs chiefly to the Pied
mont (pedes montes) belt with an elevation of
from 200 to 700 feet while that portion lying
south of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad be
longs to the Coastal plain NEW lands) with
an elevation of from 10 to 30 feet. Having
first welt upon the possibilities of the Gabbro
Cred clay) soil. which when properly handled
is capable of sustaining a maxim nm amount
of plant life, and runs in n wide belt from
Conowingo to Fallston, he showed how n
large proportion of the county located on
each side consists of the highly productive
Cecil loan, the western half containing n
mixture of mica. He lays down the general
proposition that at least one third of our
| commercial fertilizers is wasted; at any rate
a large proportion of the nitrogen (Which is
twice as costly per pound as the potash and
phosphorus) can be secured from the atmos
phere through the legumes
Starting with a given portion of soil
Professor Nelson showed how the tender
roots work their way through the spacing
and wind the tiny hair roots around the
! portions of rock which are gradually dis
migrating through chemical action, thus
forming plant food; and he showed that l
this root activity is interfered with by cxces
sivc water the oxygen of the air is excluded
from the soil and plant drowning ensues
| Hence the imperative need of first seeing I'll Ia
all soil is properly drained. Nothing so assist
! in reducing to soluble form for plant food TIL
various soil ingredients as does lime, ap
pliCation of which at the rate of about ~
bushels per acre every three or four years h
urgently recommended. Replying to al
inquiry lie said that contrary to the theor,
S of former years 1t Is now considered tina
scientific analysis cannot definitely detcrniu
the variety and amount of fertizing ingrC
dents a given soil needs to produce max
mum crop. and detailed series of expert
, | mcnt al Investigations made at the same tim
f in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Mort
| Carolina, from which this conclusion wa
, reached. He urged n gradual deepenin
Il of the soil in blowing from year to year, an
corrected an erroneous be.iefthat our commo