Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1913-10-11
TRIES OUT NEW IDEA
AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION IN
MUSKEGON COUNTY.
Encouraging Results Obtained From
Planting Vetch Seed Under Super
vision of the County Authori-
ties-Plan Proves Success.

A new idea In agricultural extension
IS being tried out in Muskegon coun-
". Two years ago one of the mem
bers of the county board of supervi-
sors was bold enough to suggest an
entirely new idea along development
lines. namely, that the county use
county money and buy vetch seed,
which should be loaned to the farm
ers who would agree to cultivate II
under supervision the farmers to re-
turn to the county at the end of the
season seed equal to the amount orig
1nally received. This summer the first
harvest was made and the results
were sufficiently encouraging to war
rant the supervisors in continuing the
plan. Now committees are at work
getting the seed to be distributed this
fall ready for the growers. A total of
5000 pounds has been secured by the
under the direct supervision Of the
state and federal governments by the
agricultural experts of both.
y few weeks since a canvass was
made to see what farmers wished to
help with the plan and the acreage
that each could devote to vetch grow
ing. As result of this canvass SUI
pervisior G. |. Guiles Of Muskegon
township Is enthusiastically in favor
Of the plan. He was a member of the
committee that made the canvass and
in summing up the situation spoke as
follows:
Some Of the things we found as
tonislied us. In places we discovered
lands so sour that they would scarce
ly grow anything, while only short
distance away were beds of mari that
tested almost pure lime. If the farm
er hauled few loads Of this mari
and spread it over his land it would
Increase the fertility wonderfully.
Farmers wouldn't believe their land
was sour They swore it was sweet,
but only poor soil We touched a
piece of litmus paper to the ground.
and the red shot up In it almost as
quickly as If you had placed in in pure
acid Then we placed the litmus in
the mari and it turned blue again.
We put the litmus in hydrochloric
acid. to demonstrate to the farmer that
It was acid that turned it red. Then
we neutralized the soil with mari and
turned the litmuS blue.
''In this way, and by considerable
argument, we finally convinced the
farmer that his soil was acid. In one
place he triumphantly showed us
splendid corn on land we thought
sour. We found that the corn was
growing where he scattered his win
ter ashes, the lime in the ashes neu-
Trailing the acid in the soil only a
few feet away, however, the corn was
scrawny and sickly, due to acid in the
soil
we found scores of outside peo-
pie. particularly from Chicago, who
have come here and are trying to
make a start farming. These people
are intelligent and are eagerly absorb
ing every bit OF information they can
get. An agricultural expert who could
go to these people and show them on
their own land what methods to en-
ploy, who could test their soil and tell
them what amout Of lime to r,e.
would be god-scnd to them.
I'm the Carleton creek basin we
fcuad a bed OF mari that is almost
pure lime. y is almost white in col.
or. Some of the farmers have dscov-
cred this bed and are hauling from
f. while others don't realize itsvsluc
IN claoora.ng upon the value of a
federal county agent 90 give expert
advice, Mr. Gulics said:
"rarners who attend an institute
hear Lei or things that wo1ld benefit