The Republican journal., 1909-02-11
NORTH WALDO POMONA.


Despite the bad travelling and extremely
cold weather goodly number of patrons
assembled in Northern Light Grange hall al
Whites Corner, Winterport, Wednesday, Feb
ruary Sd, and held profitable and interesting
! meeting. The pomona was formally called to
order by the master, J. B. Nealley, with all
the officers present with the exception OF
three. After the preliminary exercises a
cordial address of welcome was given by Mrs.
Edna Harquail, to which pleasant response in
behalf of the pomona was given by Mrs. Eda
E. Clements. Owing to conditions above re-
corded but four oranges in the jurisdiction
were represented, and these were reported to
be in excellent condition Northern Light
Winterport, the Oldest in Waldo county, by
its master, C. H. Libby; Morning Light Mon
roe. the largest, by its master, C. C. Clements;
Sunrise, by G. H. York, and O. Gardner, West,
Winterport, the youngest in the county, by D.
l.. Dyer. Remarks by l. F. Cook, former
secretary, Leonard Clark and Mrs Mary B.
Aiken lecturer of Penobscot Pomona, COM
pleted the exercises of the morning session.
After the recess for dinner and song by the
choir of Northern Light Grange, the master
introduced Prof. w. D. Hurd, dean of the
University of Maine, who addressed the pat
rons on the subject of Potato Culture" The
lecturer had charts and diagrams showing the
growth and formation of the potato its enemies
methods of culture and formulas for fertilizers
and spraying, which latter were copied by
referred to Aroostook county as the greatest
potato producing country in the world of its
size; but said that in the past few years very
noticeable increased acreage was found in
other counties and that the best methods of
culture are to initiate those of the Aroostook
issued by the U. S. Department of Agriculture
showed the comparative values of certain
leading crops in the State of Maine for the
year 1905 per acre, corn yielding $23.6S; wheat
$25.O5; oats, $15.75 hay, $3.50; while the value
of the average potato crop per acre last year
was S105. He continued:
"The potato is one of the three native Amer
lean products, corn and tobacco being the
others, and in selecting soil for its production
it is necessary that natural conditions prevail.
Do not expect good crop on wet soil for it
is working against nature. good loan is the
best soil and the rotation of crops money
saver. Clover is hardly realized yet, by the
farmers, to be of the value it is in increasing
the fertility of the soil, and as feed. Being
rich in protein it is of great value. Potatoes
do especially well in following a clover crop.
Experiment stations have found that it in
creases the yield from 40 per cent in some
cases down perhaps to % or % per cent more
than if the soil is not rotated
"In selecting seed you will find it as neces-
sary to have good seed as it is to have good
animals from which to breed. Do not take po-
tatoes for seed after the women folks have
picked them over and culled out the good ones
all winter. Go in the fall and take those that
produce the largest and best yield in hill and
Ilant then, and so on, each year repeating this,
and better potatoes and larger yields can not
fail to result. Use clean seed that is not af
fected with scab. Scabby ones will produce
scabby ones, which cannot be sold in the mar
ket for good price as clean smooth potatoes.
This is the hardest disease to control. 1t
results from bacteria that get into the soil and
may also be carried by seed potatoes; if so it
may be treated as disease; if in the soil it
will have to be planted to corn, oats, hay or
other crops until the disease is eradicated. If
on..the seed, get formalydehyde take one pint
in 80 gallons of water and soak potatoes for "a
hours.Thi will kill all germs of the disease.
Inns uisease also IHrlses where hnle OF "ood
ashes have been used; they grow freer from
this in soil that is slightly acid"
Dean Hurd then spoke at some length about
planting and cultivation, the implements used
and how operated; and gave formulas for ferti-
izers and the spraying form also used at Ex-
pertinent Stations. He also gave results the
stations have arrived at in regard to spraying
or not Bordeaux is the preparation that giVeS
best results, as per following table: