Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1916-01-27

S, WATERToWN. $. ..
in FIVE distinct branches, according
to plans laid. The first Of thesel
branches win be the acre corn con-
test for boys, which has been held in
the last two years. closing with a
corn show in the fall, at which pre-
NUNS for the best corr were award
ed. A pig contest will be held this
year. Pig contests were organized
for the first time among the boys and
girls of the state last summer. They
were $ successful that they have be-
come a permanent part OF the club
work for the Young people.
Garden and canning clubs will be
organized in the spring, and demon
%strations in canning fresh vegetables
will be given this summer.
Next summer, girls of Codington
county win be given an opportunity
to enter a contest in raising poultry
and at the close of the season, those
who are most successful will be
awarded prizes.
Last, but not least, the baking and
lsewing cGntests which have been an
annual feature in connection with the
boys corn show, will be held again
this year.
Fertilizers and Manures.
Friday morning MI. Sloan spoke on
| % G,,rfj1i1opr and MnpY,ypsp Hp am
phasized the Importance of organic
matter in the soil to make mineral
| plants available, and explained the
value of different manures and ferti-
~llizers, telling how best to handle
them. In part, he said:
at has been found that all neces-
sary minerals for plant growth are in
abundance in South Dakota soils with
the exception of the element pros
phorus. Minerals are made available
for the use of plants through decay
of organic matter. The most promls-
ling crop for the maintenance of plant
foods in the soil, / believe, is sweet
clover. 1t contains 40 pounds of nit
rogen to the ton, and if n crop is
Iplowed under it makes from 2 to 3
lions of fresh organic matter available
in each acre. There is a certain loss
iof plant food in feeding forage crops
land grain to animals that cannot be
avoided. It is found that 25 per cent
of the phosphorus and 10 per cent OF
the potassium is retained in the body
.Iof the animal, and that ~two-thirds OF
Ilall organic matter is destroyed.
The study Of the different classes
of manure was taken up. 1t was
shown that the average value OF barn
iyard manure as plant food is S2.4l
Il per ton. ii has been found, Mr., SioaI
explained, that manure exposed TO the
air for a length of time loses 65 PEI
cent of its value, in case it is horse
manure, and that COW manure loses
80 per cent of its value.
After organic matter has been de
leaving for some time, Mr. Sloan said
it becomes inert, due TO the fact tina.
Its percentage Of carbon is lowered
| Decay is a bacterial process and bac
\ teria feed on carbon. Therefore
many old soils, though high in himn'
! need fresh organic matter to max
: more mineral plant food aVai!apie
;. the speaker explained.
Forage Crops.
4 Mr.. Sloan was followed by Mr.. +
T iW, Hall, whose subject was @Forag'
Crops" Under this subject ther
u was a general discussion in which a
the farmers present participated, eac
L giving his personal experience an
views. Different methods of handlln
sweet clover were first outlined
Most farmers, said Mr.. Hall, prefe
= I'd cut the first crop for hay and tn
!. second cop with an ordinary bl1de'
~threshing the seed in the u wa.
\ Taking up the pasture crops, M
l. Hall said in part:
"Brome grass, medium. red Glove
: Timothy, and blue grass are the PEI
f pasture crops for cattle. Alfalfa an
Il sweet clover are the best for hog
N No man should SOW bronze grass wit
4 tout first submitting the seed to u
~ county agent or the State Coles
a for testing to ascertain if there
any auack grass mixed with it. Nea
x, ly all quack grass is started ITO
seed mixed in with bronze grass see
Giving a report on alfalfa in SplI
county in 1915, Mr.. Hall said: fo'
e, hundred bushels of seed were SO
IN ia 231 farmers. Out of 81 farme
q who reported on their 1915 0
It had a good stand, four a a Ia
NJ stand and one had a failure. ~
failure was due to planting the Sc
ut too deep"
to Reports showed that forty-slx
this number sowed with a nurse or
and eighteen without. Most OF tno
On who sowed with a nurse crop US
on barley, planting three peeks 70 !.
nj acre. Even with this light seedl
he the barley yielded an average OF o
he bushels per acre. The aifaiia y
sowed at an average rate OF !
pounds per acre.
90 Seeding Alfalfa.
he Most of the farmers preferred
,h- sow their alfalfa on corn groui
nd Twenty-six sowed on ground USED !
ge year before for corn; thirteen SOW
oil on wheat ground and five on s.
oil Twenty sowed Oh ground Where on
So crops had been raised.
of Twenfy-three farmers OuDle ulSk