Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1910-09-14
FARMERS PICNIC AND DE-
M0NSTRATION MEETING
An Enjoyable and Profitable Gathering
Well Attended

Last Friday, 400 farmers of this and
adjoining counties spent an enjoyable
and profitable day on the farm of the
Vernon county asylum. The occasion
was the annual demonstration meeting
conducted on the fields and lawn of the
asylum farm. The meeting began at
1000 a. m. and closed at 400 p. m.
The morning hours were taken up by
lectures in the grove on rusts and
smuts of cereals. The use of the for
maldehyde treatment for the eradica-
ton of smut was demonstrated. This
treatment can prevent loss of ten to
seventeen per cent. of the crop of oats
annually. The use of high yielding
varieties and strains of grain was en-
phasized. The experiment station has
tested and bred varieties of pedigreed
and improved grains which can be OBJ
tanned at the asylum farm.
In the afternoon the farmers were
taken to an alfalfa field where the eff
feet of soil incubation on alfalfa was
strikingly illustrated by the fact that
the stand, vigOr, color and yield of al
falfa were much better where inoculat-
ed soil was applied than where not APP
piled A talk was also given on alfal-
ia. Next were shown the differences
between various strains of corn grown
in a breeding plot. A talk was given
on corn breeding in which farmers were
urged to select their incest looking ears
and grow them in special part of the
field by the ear-to-row method. The
closing lecture was given at field of
corn where field test was made of the
corn used by thirty five growers Of this
county. This gave striking emphasis
to the fact that by using improper
methods of curing and testing seed
corn, farmers of this county are losing
from twenty to fifty per cent. of their
corn crops. The average stand of the
corn used by farmers of this county is
this year only sixty per cent. The
cause of this is the fact that the aver
age termination of their corn as tested
by the station was only fifty-two per
cent. The remedy for this condition
lies in curing the seed with heat and
good ventilation.
THE FLOWING CONTEST
A very interesting part of the pro-
gram was blowing contest participant
ed in by nine young men with teams
and plows. Each contestant plowcd
one-half an acre, laying off his own
land. They we're then judged on the
following points: FIST, laying out the
land; second, stra lghtrcss of furrow;
third, uniformity OF depth and width of
furrow; fourth, the covering; fifth, the
cutting, turning and laying of the fur
row; sixth, handling of the team; sew
enth, the time.
The contestants were judged by a
committee consisting of Messrs. r. L.
Bentson, Thornton Taylor and Theodore
Stoleson. Following young men won
prizes: LIST, l.. Fisher; End, II, Buchan-
an, Bird, A. Moore; 4th, l.. S. Ander-
son: 5th, p. Fisher; 9th, w. A. Smith;
18th, G. Hetland.
Business men of Viroqua responded
most literally by furnishing the prizes
for the occasion. Prizes and donors
were as follows: John Deere pillow,
Knudson Bros. set fly nets, First Ma
tional Bank; pair shoes, w. +. Linde-
mann Co. +; lap robe, l.. u. Favor; u.
S. Army hat, 7. I. Sanwic.;, bottle Of
perfume, A. j. johnson; $l.00, J. G..
Moore of Fox River Butter Co.
Coffee and sandwiches were served
by the asylum authorities in addition to
the picnic dinner provided by the ladies.
The weather was perfect and all APP
pearcd to enjoy the day very much.
superintendent Wilkins in introduc-
ing Professor Norgord, spoke very ear
nestly of the need of more Knowledge
and more application of up-tO-date and
profitable practices on the farm. He
urged young men to attend the course
of agriculture provided for them at
Madison.