The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1911-09-01

AIOA . OtuO was nCIu Ou
the 23rd inst, at the home
of A. 81. Mendenhall, Blue Ball
with the following members and
visitors present: Pres. / Wayne
Reynolds, Treas, J. "a. Maxwell,
r. X. Rawlings, M. G. Reeder, J..
T. Grove, @. r. Biles, A. II
Mendenhall, Harry Maxwell, W.
r. Cameron. Martin L. Thompson,
Alfred B. McVey, Joseph s.
Scarborough, Palmer McFadden.
Visitors Samuel Wilson and
Howard Mendenhall. ,
The recording secretary being
absent Alfred B. McVey was ap.
pointed secretary pro TEN.
Minutes of June meeting were
read and approved.
On call for experiments, A. e..
Mendenhall said he had put bone
on, for COW peas, but thought phos.
plate would have given better re
suit, the peas were turning yellow
Mr.. Rawlings, stated his COW
peas planted in alternate drill
teeth, with hungarian seed broad
cast were doing very well without
any fertilizer, bnt was uncertain
about the proper time to harvest
them.
Mr.. Reeder has been growing
COW peas with good result for ten
years, and thinks the lack of
bacteria cause the vines to turn
yellow, and not the fertilizer, he
has not been successful with sega
beans, believing the cow pea much
better for improving the soil. The
peas planted on the same ground
as last year produced three times
as much as adjoining ground that
had not been sown to peas.
Mr.. Reeder spoke of the forage
plant known as Gocinite, which
makes very large growth com
pletely covered with leaves re-
sembling corn; he had cut 80 stalks
from one grain and in three weeks
it had made a record growth of 10
inches. Cattle are very fond of it,
the seed is formed on the top; be
lieve it the coming forage crop, it is
claimed i acre of Gosinite will
furnish roughage the whole year
for one COW.
Mr.. Grove reported COW peas and
oats were not satisfactory, thought
the oats hnrt the peas. Cow peas
and millet proved profitable, as did
Canada peas with oats sown early.
Harry Maxwell said he could tell
in corn this year where COW pea
stubble were plowed down four
years ago, corn promising a third
more on the pea ground.
Mr.. Rawlings gave aninteresting
account of his visit to lime kilns in
in Virginia, where gas is used to
burn the lime stone, part of which
is ground while other is Stacked in
large concrete; rooms, dried with It's
own heat and sold as hydrated
lime at about 81 per ton. lump lime
81. 80 and ground lime So per ton.
Ground lime used for wheat did
not show for Mr.. McFadden; but
there is a marked difference in the
hay this year in favor of the lime.
The host responded with the
following essay on "Soil Fertility.
Farmers in America first found the soils
fertile. They drew yearly on the deposits
made by nature which in the beginning was
wise. Gradually the fertility has been used
up; the richest of the western states are be-
ginning to learn this now. In the past men
moved on, and today they are moving to the
Canadian Northwest and to the newer irri-
gated sections of America. There is no lon yer
many new lands to which man may move
There are undiscovered riches in our own
boundaries and it is cheaper and better to
take possession of our own.
In the Old World man knows better than we
how to farm. have read of fields that have
been farmed for two thousand years and
found more fertile than the best field in
America. What is soil fertility? We don't
know all of it yet, but this we know, that soils
are living, growing, breathing things. They
are inhabited by millions of microscopic
organisms known as bacteria. The more
useful bacteria soil has in it the richer it is
and the fewer bacteria the deader it is There
is no evasion of this law; rich soil is living
soil. How can living soil be made2-1st, by
getting the stagnate water out of it by drain.
age Air is necessary for life, then if sour,
lime it-lime promotes wonderful bacteria life
in soil and soils filled with lime naturally tend
toward increase in fertility. Few soils have
enough lime in them to produce full crops and