Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-02-01

he would like to see them put their
pennies together at the beginning of
the school year and buy pig.
Feed it on scraps from your bas-
kets," he said, land at the end of the
year when IT is fattened, sell it and see
how much money you have earned.
Buy decorations for your school or
help TO improve the school premises
and YOU will be well satisfied with your
original investment"
Following a song by the $50 school
children of Gratz, $. c. George, of In
diana county, talked on Some Farm
Problems; How TO Solve Them" Mr..
George first took up farm buildings,
explaining the difference between
buildings of old and modern times.
In years gone by" stated the
speaker, the farm house was built
close to a spring, but the modern
farmer in erecting his dwelling,
chooses an elevated position for the
home where he will have good drain
age and plenty of fresh air The barn
is built on a lower level and the wa
ter from the spring or well situated at
almost any place on the farm can be
pumped TO house and barn by modern
appliances. Roofing for the buildings
is another serious problem. Shingles
sold to-day do not have the same
wearing qualities as those sold years
ago so some provision must be made
to use other materials"
Fences were also talked of by Mr..
George and along this line he opposed
the use of barbed wire to build the
entire fence. The top and lower line
he believed should be barbed wire but
TO make the entire fence of that ma
terial he thought would be dangerous.
smooth wire. hessaid, should be used
for the other lines.
Elimination of Weeds
One of the most important questions
touched upon by Mr.. George was the
weed problem.
Most weeds" said Mr.. George can
be eliminated by constant moving.
Others the kind which grow along
the ground, must be treated differently.
Wild carrots must be pulled out by the
roots and nettles, If hoed persistently
Will disappear.
Soils in various parts of Pennsylva-
MIA wash more easily than others and
Mr.. George spoke of the gulleys which
result The best way to protect these
washouts, he believes, lis to throw
timothy into the gulley. The seeds
viii take root and protect the ground.
The next time the field is plowed, do
not tear up the gulley and in a short
time the ditch will be eliminated"
{. G.. McLain, of Jefferson county.
who was assigned to the institute as
drainage expert and engineer told the
audience of the various water systems
now in use. Springs and wells" said
Mr.. McLain, ARE the usual sources of
water supply on farms and of course
the gravity water system is the cheap
est if a good spring is elevated so as to
carry water to the buildings. How
ever such springs cannot be found on
all farms so other means must be
taken. Air pressure is probably the
best where some force is needed to
carry the water above its level. Why
shouldn't something be done to send
water intothe farmers house and les
sen the burden of his wife's work.
Moving machines, thresher, reapers
and other machines are in use in the
field to lessen the mans work, so l
feel that something should be done to
ease the work of the woman. Carrying
buckets of water from a we'll or spring
every day is no easy task" At the
conclusion of his talk Mr.. McLain was
asked a number of questions concern
ing water system which he answered
and in addition offered the services of
the State in mapping out plans for
water systems for farmers in this
neighborhood.
Talks on Corn Culture
Last evenings session was excep-
tionally well attended and the big
crowd listened attentively to addresses
by e. L. Phillips, of Clarion county
II. NJ. Anderson, of York county, and
S. w. Funk of Boyerstown.
Mr.. Anderson was the first speaker
and he talked on Corn Culture" He
gave his audience a number of point
ers on improving corn and urged the
farmers TO take the stalk into con-
sideration as we'll as the ear itself
He explained that the food for the
ears is in the leaves and he requested
farmers to do all they possibly can to
make more leaves. Mr.. Anderson said
the stalks should not be more than
four and half feet high and that
then good results could be secured
He spoke of seed termination and
gave number of examples of testing
The speaker suggested that the corn
lands be narrowed deep at least a half
dozen times during the season.
p. l.. Phillips, of Clarion county, who
conducts a poultry farm on which
are more than 5000 chickens. talked
on Poultry Farming" He told of
sanitary conditions in which poultry
should be raised and in a forceful
manner condemned the farmer who
maintains filthy pool on his prem
ises where chickens drink Dirty
nests were also attacked by the speak-
er and he stated that it was quite pos
sible for filth to filter through the
shell to the inside of the egg. on his
own farm he said eggs are collected
twice and sometimes three times daily.
If any of them have any dirt on the
shells they are promptly cleaned and
polished. Eggs from Mr.. Phillips
farm are graded and packed in attrac-
tive appearing cartons, containing one
dozen, before they are shipped to
the markets. BY the system which he
maintains 1t is possible for purchasers
to have eggs from the Phillips farm
on the table at noon following the
day they are laid. Mr.. Phillips urged
the farmers in this vicinity to send
only clean eggs to the markets and
asked that efforts be made to have
them packed in cartons made to hold
a dozen. He showed by figures how
better prices could be procured for the
product.
Mr.. Funk was the third speaker at
last evenings session and he talked
on ''an appeal to our Farmer Boys"
Mr.. Funk declared that if the farm