Connecticut western news., 1914-04-16
THE FARMERS INSTITUTE
Successful Gathering and Fine Leo
 lures and Demonstrations-

The Farmers Institute and FtGfM m setinH held In the Grange Hall at taas Stevens Farm in East Canaan Wed3em- day last under the auspices of the Stala Dairymen's Association was largely wG- tended and the hall we'll filleI at botA the morning and afternoon sesaoas- The heavy rainfall in the morning umA muddy roads prevented about 100 frem coming that had written would attend. among them L. H. Healy, the Secretary of the State Board of Agriculture; H. T. Wheeler, Past Director Rhode IslaB1 Experiment Station and several proasi- nent men of the state.
 Credit for this large attendance was largely due to the efforts of. Mir. N- g. Stevens who had work ed up the progran and advertised the affair throughout this section. the register taken showing an attendance of over 100 from some 2S viI- lages.
 Mir. F. K. Duffy the president of the Association presided during the day and in opening presented the work of the | Association.
 Mr. Henry O. Stevens gave the address of welcome on behalf of the Grange and The Stevens Farm. and said in pAEt= We are pleased to welcome so many of you here today and hope that it will bc . profitable day for all of you. This farm has been In tho Stevens family for four generations. Today every door is wide open and you are welcome to sec all th~S we have. Our farm is located Ut the junction of the Whiting and Blackberry streams; the former rises in New Marl- boro and the latter has it's source in Nor folk. Campbell Falls three miles away is beautiful spot where the @ster dashes over falls of nearly 100feet inta basin where is fam ous pionic groand- The 'hlr with it's two loag arches made by the 0. N. K. R. R. Is also worth s visit, bearing in mind thatthe procuring of stone for it was the origin of the nnd- ing of the noted marble quarry where the stone for our state capitol at Harz- ford was taken from.
 "The principal industry of our villsGs is that of dairymg. while we have itn>a kilns, marble quarries. iron furnaces ana three general stores, church and R. N Station adorn the village. This ststiom has the reputation of the greatest tonnage of any on the road. Our farms here lare in the main we'll kept up and the soil good. It IS a pleasure to welcome you here to-day and your large attendance on such day is appreciated"
 President Duffy gave a very fitting Ue- sponse and expressed the pleasure of the company for the hospitality shown by The Stevens Farm, remarkng there were few farms in the state that were se we'll kept.
 Hon. Wilson H. Lee, Of New Haven, president of the Connecticut Alfalfa Growers Association, gave a splendid address upon "The object of tue .Staha Association. He said he was pleased to see so many of the younger men present and impressed upon them shs fact that the farms could be made to Pxy- He spoke of his experience in New HaEen and the disadvantages of city life and said that the last twelve years he had lived on his farm. The great need is co. operation today. He was pleased ts see in this institute the different @ugan- izations of the state with the Grange and college working together. Often ia rural communities there is iealousv where there should be pride. Prices of dairy products are rising and must rise he said. The cities must be fed Farm ing in order Co pay must be weH done. Variety in production is necessary. Ar ter ten years experience with alfalfa he was prepared to say every dairymsH should raise it.
 Prof. E. If. Jenkins, Director of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment. Station was the next speaker aud went into detail regarding the growing of Alfalfa in the state. Out of his large experience he gave the kinds of soil and the conditions under which it had beeA grown successfully. The advantages of it he pointed out. It was richer thsr any other crop or grasses or corn. at does not need re-setting but will grow for years and gives three cuttings year Yet it enriches the land and there Is nc exhaustion. Its most valuable proper ties comes from the ar. Its roots Ueach down deep into the subsoil. While a hard crop to winter 1t is grown suocess- fully in Canada and Russia. He nrsed all the farmers to set aside some dand for the crop this year but said they must be prepared to spend money and lots of work to get it started successfully. He went into detail regarding the matter of seed. fertilization and the prepamng Sf the seed bed and answered many ques- tions of practical nature. The exper- fences of many in growing AffGfs and their failures and successes were an i'm. portant part of this hour.