Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1908-06-12
Able Corps Of Instructors
Give Excellent TaIk--At-
tendance Quite Good

fruits. He said that apples could not
only be gorwn in this part Of the
state, but grown successfully for both
home and commercial purposes. He
would limit the variety to be grown
here at the present time to three,
Duchess of Oldenberg, the Patent
Greening, and the Wealthy, which
varieties have been thoroughly tested
and found peculiarly adapted to this
soil and climate He said that while
there were other varieties equally |
coed, they have not been proven 50 by
trial, and he advised farmers to limit !
growing to these three for good
results :;
Miss Mary L. Bull, assistant director
of the domestic science division of
the Minnesota Agricultural school, /.
gave very interesting talk on
domestic work. She took up in detail
household conveniences by which the
ladies would be enabled to econemize !
in labor, explaining cOnveniences
which make this work interesting and
easier
Mr.. Mcconnell followed this with a
talk on cooperation, in which he said
that the farmer has only half done his
duty in producing good animals and
crops. His duty is also that of provid-
ing a good market for them. He
believes that the fact that farmers are
building, equiplng and then furnish
ing raw material for more than 1000
butter factories in Minnesota, shows
conclusive]y their busienss ability to
successfully hand and market their
farm products at remunerative prices.
The speaker gave instances showing
how this could be done; not by at
tempting to control the market, but by
more economical handling.
He then talked on the Importance of
raising potatoes as rotation crop in
the upper Mississippi valley, stating
that the sandy land was peculiarly
adapted to the raising of the best
quality. He said as far as possible it
should be worked in the farmers
rotation after a clover crop He
emphasized the Importance of good
seed, saying that it was a mistake
to use all the large potatoes for
culinary purposes and to use the
small ones for seeding purposes; it
effected the crop in the same manner
as it would in the animal klndom, if
the farmer was to use last years stock
for breeding purposes The speaker
said the farmers in one community
should plan together SO as to raise the
same variety of potatoes, and then
cooperate and ship in carload lots,
thus efecting a great saving in
marketing them. Coming back to the
Importance of securing good seed Mr..
Mcconnell said that the potatoes for
seeding should be saved when digging,
taking them from the hills containing
the largest potatoes.
The afternoon session opened with
a question box, conducted by Mr..
Mcconnell, which enabled the farmers
to ask questions which were answered
in pleasing and instructive manner,
giving valuable information.
Mr. Bracket gave a fine talk on
small fruits. He claimed this state was
the peer of any state in the raising
of this class of fruits, and gave a
detailed outline of the kinds of hardy
fruit which are adapted to this part of
the northwest
He then spoke on spraying, and
distri buted booklets in which are con-
tanned many formulas for spraying
potatoes and fruits.
Miss Bull gave an excellent talk,
demonstrating the value and i'm
portance of the use Of vegetables
found on our farms.
Mr.. Mcconnell then took up con-
siderable time on the dairy industry,
claiming it to be the greatest industry
for the largest number of people of
any industry in the country. He
emphasized the importance of culling
out the herds and only keeping the
best animals. He said that farmers
should draw the line on any COW not
producing sufficient butter-fat to
make 200 pounds of butter annually.
The speaker claims that with such
cows and pure bred sires Of pro-
nounced dairying breeds, heifer calves
from same will enable the farmers to
economize and build up dairy herds
that will more than double the
capacity of the cows now found in ou1
dairy communities. This he said,
will result in adding immensely
to the profit Of this great industry,
which, in Minnesota, now exceeds the
tremendous value of $25, 600, 600. Mr..
Mcconnell likewise impressed upon the
farmers the Importance of conserving
and maintaining the fertility of the
soil.
He followed this talk with one on
hog raising. He claimed that for the
best results it was just as necessary
to pasture the hogs as 1t was to pas,
ture sheep and cattle. The speaker
claimed that by pasturing hogs in
clover fields they gained considerably
in weight and the quality of the
pork was much better, thus selling
at from two to two and d-a-haf cents
higher than they would without
pasturing.
Both sessions of the institute were
we'll attended, especially SO at thu
afternoon session.