Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1914-10-14
1915 FAR IN Err s, 4 NsTtTUrE.

1915 FARM Err s, iNsTtTUTE. s #..s
At two OF the afternoon sessions
o. the Farmers institute last year not
all who desired to attend could be
accommodated, although we had L.
2l0 sittings. At q recent conference
with the opera house manager 1t
was agreed that certain changes will
be- made that will make room for 900
more chairs, giving us this year L.
800 sittings. r.
The writer is delighted to learn
that several of our. Delaware county
farmers are experimenting, with small
fields Of alfalfa and with excellent
success. In conversation with one OF
our best farmers only last week he
made the statement that within three
years Delaware county will have as
many acres OF alfalfa as timothy.
This is certainly an optimistic view
to take. and whether; that desirable
end shall be, achieved inas such q
short time or not; OF this we are al
ready assured, that as farmers come
to appreciate the real moley value OF
alfalfa, and how the crop may be sue
cessfully grown and saved, the more
acres OF it will be grown each year.
The editor OF the Herald, published
at Hedges, Montana, has evidently
been boosting for alfalfa. as jndicat-
ea by . letter from one of his SUB
scribers in the issue Of the 22d OF
September. The writer's language
was not as chaste as it might have
Been, but his points were very clear.
Here Is the letter, and doubters as
to the rapid growth Of this greatest.
Of all forage plants, should be sure
and read it,:
@ ''If you don't want lots Of trouble,
don't SOW alfalfa in Montana. Along
the middle Of June. when the corn
Deeds cultjvating most, we had TO-
stop to cut that burned alfalfa patch
1t was all In bloom, three feet high.
We had to- haul 1t in twenty hg
loads of hay. 7.s ..4. &
'G%a ..In July the folks in town invited
us to spend a week attending Chau-
tauaua, II expect they were glad
when they got my card: Cant come
cause have to cut that durned ~
acre alfalfa patch Gee, 1t was hot
hauling that hay! ss$ sg. I. '.t,.
Worse still, l got four bushels
more Of clean alfalfa seed and put 1t
in. It's sure to grow; Next Summer
I'll expect to get. rest on rainy days
from hauling alfalfa. 1t got raining
in September; first ! knew tnat
burned alfalfa was three feet high
again, and all In bloom. Had to have
another haircut.
"Then got a bill by mail that
Barnum & Bailey would be In town.
Durn my buttons II ! didn't have to
miss that show for the first time In
forty years and haul in twenty more
loads of that alfalfa. I got mad and
turned the pigs and calves all IN;
still it keeps growing. But still
these cold ground hog days it makes
mighty fine stuff for. the cows. Ev-
erything on the place eats it. except
the hired girl, and she hasn't been
here long. Yours in trouble,
a ,s John Peterston.'
The Alfalfa session at our insti-
tute will be, worth attending. s,sGa !.
4 No one Of the speakers at last
years institute was Listened to with
more interest and pleasure than
Prof a MaEsten, chairman Of the !
Iowa State Highway commission f914
D61llkt Tie FlIEbL yChI u NAkCStASO 6SkbIS \
work on our highways your secretary
thought an address by Prof. Marsten,
a report on what had been
during the year, would
be interesting to our farmers. We
Therefore wrote the professor a cor
dial invitation to be with US. and sug-
gested that our people would enjoy
hearing from him as to the practical
workings Of the state commission.
morning 8 mail brought his
letter Of acceptance and in which he
states: IT shall be glad to be with
you again this winter, on which ever
date you may select, and II you want
films showing just what has been
1one will bring them, and man to
handle them, provided you can fur
nish the machine This, am sure,
we can do, and we may confidently
expect to be even more highly enter.
tained than last winter.
The question is often asked: Do
you think 1t possible to have another /
as good an institute as we had last !,
winter? My reply is, il the weather
man will be as good to us as he was
last year, and If the farmers turn out
IN as large numbers as they did last
year, we will have as good, II not a
better institute, than we had in 1914.
]. F. MERRY, Secretary.