The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-07-27
TALKS OF VITAL INTEREST
AGRICULTURAL EXPERTS HOLD
A SPLENDID MEETING AT
NERNERSVILLE.

1ASII IA
institute PARTY Sent GUS by the Etats
Department Of agriculture and travel
ing in two Southern Railway cOache
closed their first week here today
This party is composed of MI. L. =
Parker and Mr.. B. S. Shaw. Of tn
Department Of ~Agriculture; Prof. c
L. Newman and Prof. J. L. Jeffrey, O.
the A. & NJ College,. and Mrs. SUI
Hollowell and Miss Josephine Evans
Each member of the party IS elatet
over the success Of h Institutes helt
and gratified to have such larg'
crowds to meet them at each Of tn
appointments.
Your correspondent has ATTENDED
several hundred institutes II
North Carolina and other states. Du
it has never been his pleasure to NEE
with such close attention and sucf
eagerness on the part Of the farmer:
and their wives IS has been ShOWf
at the six institutes held this week
They have come to the setting aside
of Farmers Institute a the knock
ing off" from the cares Of farm WORE
and the packing of Well-filled bas-
kets that they may take full dvan'
tage Of the suggestions, advice anC
instruction given by the institute lee.
turers and demonstrators. That these
institutes are Of great benefit to TN
people of the State is shown by the
large crowds which attend; the close
and eVer-eager attention given; and
by the expression Of pleasure ane
gratitude by the farmers and thel1
wives for assistance and benefit they
have received. One cannOt attenG
these meetings and fail to be impress.
ed with the f~ar-reaching good result
ing to the farmer and through MIN t
the State.
The past few years have witnessed
c,,oI -,arx-1D,c ncro -, ccionne
as related to agriculture that the far
mer in his isolation finds hiInsel1
caught in the onward and upward cur
cent and is ready to receive at frs
hand the encouragement, sympathy
and instruction from the experts sen
to them. A few years ago they were
skeptical, but by degrees they have
begun to put into practice the teach
ings Of the institute workers and have
demonstrated their truth and value
But h good does not stop here
Their neigrbors see the improvements
wrought and are benefited. Thus each
progressive practice spreads in neigh
borhoods and the improvement be
comes progressive.
The policy of the institute worker
is to learn from the more progressive
farmers at each institute the most evi
dent needs of the locality and the pro
gram us arranged accordingly. The
audiences are encouraged to ask Ques-
tons, and thus the knOtty local prom
lens are brought out and discussed.
The morning sessions for men be-
gins with the means and practices OF
soil Improvement. The subject of till
age, embracing deep and better plOW-
ing with better implements and better
stock to draW them, is usually frs
discussed, together with the necessity
and mean OF preventing the great
loss of fa1tI1itN nv heavy "a If FL l The
soil is the Store-hOuse for plant food
the reservoir for water and the home
of the plant and the first cOnSidera-
ton of the farmer should be the care
and preservation Of his soil. Modern
land l~abOr-saving implements are car
ried in one of the cars for the pu,
pose of demonstrating their use a
benefits, and demonstrations are mad,
that the farmer may see these nipple
mentS work The necessity Of rOta-
ton and Investigation is made clear
and better systems and practices Of
farm management are suggested by
which the indir:5ual farms NAV pro-
duce not only more live stock, but
by their production on the farms IA
cilitate the adoption Of a we'll regu-
lated TOtative n diversificative sys-
tenn, utilize low price products by CON
Verting them into high-priced and
salable commodities; and, at the same
iAi1S Duiiu w ldIi1SI lIIdn ulSSlDdCG
the soils fertility. The nature. COM
position, value, and functions Of com
mercial fertilizers are taken up in de-
tail and so discussed as to enable the
farmer to better know what a fertili-
ger for his use sould be of.
how he should apply it to different
soils n for different plants and how
he may know what to buy and how to
buy.
The value of selecting such crops
as may be grown in an organized sys-
tenn, rather than in independent units.
and the relation Of q well-baIanced
system to the fertility Of the soil Is
emphasized. The peculiar value of
that class Of plants known as egumes
and their necessity on the farms of
North Carolina is one Of the subjects
discussed hat is particularly interest
no 70 t1a forr, o~I o01- c--4,