The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1915-02-12

III q oCpdTdIc piOt anu tue SuCCccuiHB
year the largest heads were again se-
lected for seed, the number of berries
to the stalk resulting from this planting
running from $50 to 22O From this
harvest enough large heads of grain
were secured to yield bushel of seed,
which was sown in an acre of ground
and yielded crop of 100 bushels. From
this field the best individual heads were
again culled. which yielded, in turn,
specimens having as high as 300 grains
to the head, 80 bushels of grain for one
whole field and 85 bushels to the acre
on twenty acre plot. The same meth
DDS would hold good, Mr.. Moore said,
with corn, beans and potatoes and he
laid the decline of many of the varie-
ties that had been famous in days gone
by not to the fact that they had run
out, but to the fact that there had
been no intelligent selection of the best
specimens for seed. He showed sam
pie stalk of beans which contained over
200 pods and said that when a proper
method of planting and selection were
finally evolved yield of 375 bushels of
beans to the acre should be possible.
He said the farmer who would take
pains to select his seed grain carefully
need have no fear about profits, as he
could sell every bushel of it at high
fn nf hA @ol,
necessary care. He regarded seed Sc
lection as the most important feature
of agriculture, with the single excep-
tion of soil fertility. which was funda-
mental
On Saturday forenoon j. n. Mcbride,
of Burton, one of the most successful
and extensive bean growers in the
state, gave an instructive talk on
"Beans and Their Diseases" having
special reference to anthracnose, which
is becoming an increasing menace to
the success of the bean growers of the
entire state. The remedy he suggested
was a careful selection of individual
grains for seed, or the buying of seed
that is free from the disease. w. j.
McLane and other local farmers fol-
lowed Mr.. Mcbride and told of a new
enemy of the bean crop that developed
in this vicinity last season, the same
being white grub, found only on
sandy land, which destroyed large num-
bers of plants by eating them off at the
ground. A new insecticide which is
designed to prevent anthracnose by be-
ing sprayed on the plants was men,
toned, but no one had had any exper-
ience with it.
On Saturday afternoon Mr. Mcbride
gave very interesting talk on the
marketing of farm products, showing
the most extensive knowledge of the
subject, in which he took the ground
that the middle-man should not be dis
pensed with but that he should COM
bine with the farmer in order to secure
a fair return to the latter. He also
outlined plan that is quite likely to be
put into practice the coming season to
start this scheme in operation. A joint
commission of The Michigan Bean job
bers Association and the Michigan Fed
GRAFTON of Farmers Clubs is to esti-
mate carefully the probable volume of
the bean crop and start the price at
fair figure. If this plan is put in oper-
alton and works out successfully, it is
likely to work a vast change in the
marketing of many other farm pro-
ducts.
On Friday evening, Mrs. w. T. Hill,
of Dawson, gave most charming talk
on "Our Feathered Friends and Enc
mics, which was illustrated by large
number of mounted specimens of the
birds of Michigan, loaned by the Agri-
cultural College. Mrs. Hill was thor
oughly at home in her subject and
showed how delightful and interesting.
as well as valuable, study of bird life
may be made.
D. d. Aitken, of Flint, gave a most
interesting talk on dairying and the ad-
vantage of pure bred stock. M. P.
Cook, of the same city, was on hand
with an extra good crop of stories, as
we'll as practical advice on different
farm topics. F. d. Reimen, of Burton,
gave a practical talk on Profitable
Methods in Dairying, and Mark Piper,
of Flint, told of the advantages of silos
and ensilage. Other speakers were
Geo. Geiger, Harry d. Gage, w. j.
Smith and E. L. Powers, the latter
telling in a way that elected the closest
attention of how he developed the po-
tato and prepared the ground that
made him the prize potato raiser of
three states. He also said that he was
going to make big effort to raise 600
bushels of potatoes to the acre next
year.
The entertainment features of the