The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1908-12-31
TWO SESSIONS Of THE
FARMERS INSTITUTE
Held In the Court House at Oakland
Yesterday With Large Attendance.

D NA9 AAloN4ohbC liClu III LllC NOul L iipuoC
here yesterday, one IN the morning and
one in the afternoon. both of which
were attended by large numbers of
farmers from many sections of the
county who evinced great interest in
the lectures delivered by the speakers,
Dr. Augustus Stabler, of Montgomery
county, and DR.. Joseph Wing, of Me-
chanicsburg, Ohio, the former speak
ing on Bacteria" and the latter on
alfalfa Culture" and the sheep in
dustry.
Mr.. VIM. Lee Amos, director of the
State Department, Farmers Institutes,
presided at both sessions.
The interest manifested in the pro-
ceedings was repeatedly shown by the
frequent questions asked by those pres
ent as to the best methods along GER
tain lines and many apparently knotty
problems were unraveled to the salts
faction of the questioners as well as the
rest of the audience.
In his talk on ''Alfalfa Culture" Mr..
Wing said that there was something
wrong with soil that would not produce
alfalfa, and that soil that would produce
alfalfa would grow anything else, hence
when the farmer knows that he has
produced good crop of alfalfa on a
piece of land he may be certain that he
can raise crop of anything else on the
same land. The speaker stated most
emphatically that lime in sufficient
quantities was necessary to grow alfalfa
IN Maryland, although it grows in Utah
without cultivation. In Alabama alfalfa
is grown in large quantities, the land
being full of lime, and more money is
made out of it in the latter state than
any other crop. Mr.. Wing said that in
Kentucky they told HIM they could grow
alfalfa but he induced the farmers there
to try lime and success has followed the
experiment. In the same way alfalfa
can be grown in this state, the product
standing best if sown in the fail, par
ticularly in the eastern states. Mr..
Wings lecture based on "A Story of a
Woodland Farm" was composed of a
series of anecdotes taken from his own
actual experience as a boy and man on
his fathers farm in Ohio, where he now
is a successful farmer. In making
comparison between the farmers of Ma
ryland and those of his section of Ohio,
the speaker said that it seemed to him
that the main difficulty with the far A.
ers OF this state was that they lack
faith and determination in their work;
that the farmers of Ohio believe more
in it, see more in it, work harder and
probably borrow little more money to
make things 90 and that they are doing
so. Also that it is necessary to inject
the germ of faith and determination to
do things in farming, not so much to
tell how but to find out from experience
for oneself.
DR.. Augustus Stabler, of Sandy
Springs, Montgomery county, Md,
gave much valuable information on
bacteria and hygiene together with
facts in connection with the care of
cows and milk in both his lectures, and
was repeatedly piled with questions.
The great points, he said, in connection
with the production of pure and whole
some milk are that the stable should be
kept clean, that there should be no filth
in the stalls, also plenty of light and
ventilation, matters of which so many
farmers take little heed. The COW,
quietly chewing the cud and apparently
asleep, requires a certain amount of
pure cold air to assist III the great
work that is taking place In the prepar-
alton of the milk. The highest type of
milk cannot be obtained from the COW
in a stable not properly ventilated.
Some of the reasons that health boards
desire a regular inspection of dairy
farms are that the farmer is careless,
is too busy to give the required atten-
ton to his stock, knows little about
bacteria and the proper way to preserve
the milk and how to deliver it to his
customers in perfect condition. The
speaker advocated that the farmer
should not be required to shoulder any
expense of inspection or loss from cattle
laid off on account of disease, as these
measures were in the interest of the
public generally. AS it is now, the
farmer has to shoulder the loss, which is
hardly fair under the circumstances.
If the farmer is fairly treated he takes
more interest, but under present con-
ditions where he has to bear all loss in
cured from the state inspection and
what may follow he is apt to be afraid
and feel that he may just as well be
engaged in a less hazardous business.
such as sheep or grain raising, which
are also more profitable. The inference
drawn by the speaker was that the
farmer in providing pure milk for hui
manity is to a certain extent philan-
thropist, if he is doing it right, and that
he is not getting paid for it.
Mr.. Wing, at the afternoon session,