t>tatt College of g[griculture 
 
 a Cornell ?Hnibec£(itj> 
 
 atftaca, i?. g. 
 
 Htfirarj) 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of tiiis bool< is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924051825671 
 
ELMIRA FARMERS' CLUB. 
 
 ^1 
 
 HH 
 
 
 FOR THE YEAR 1874. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE CLUB. 
 
 Reported for the Elmira Daily Advertiser, and for the Husbandman. 
 
 4 
 
 ELMIRA, N. Y. 
 
 ADYEBTISBR ASSOCIATION STEAM BOOK AND .JOB PB1NTBE6 
 
 1875. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 HI8T0EICAL SKETCH. 
 
 It has fallen upon pae to prepare an introduction to this the first published vol- 
 ume of the reports of the Elmira Farmers' Club. 
 
 The Club has been often urged to preserve its reports by putting them in conven 
 ient form for reference and use. In compliance with this demand, which has come 
 from its many friends in different parts of the country, the Club has provided a 
 small edition of its reports for the year 1874, which is nearly exhau sted by the 
 orders already received. 
 
 The exacting and constant duties which now engage the attention of Secretary 
 Armstrong, have prevented him from giving his personal attention to the publica- 
 tion, hence no revision of the reports has been made. For the information of 
 new acquaintances of the Club, and as relating to a career quite jemarkable, I pro- 
 pose to give a brief review of its history. Not having been prominently connect- 
 ed with the Club, I feel at liberty to speak concerning its growth and successful 
 labors with some degree of freedom. 
 
 The Elmira Farmers' Club was organized on the 14th day of December, 1869 . 
 There were present at this first meeting the following farmers: Geo. W. Hoffman, 
 W. A. Armstrong, James McCann, Charles Heller, Lewis Fitch, Samuel A. Chap- 
 man, Seely P. Chapman, John Bridgeman, Samuel Oarr and Daniel E. Howell. 
 These practical and thoughtful farmers did not fully measure the importance of 
 that little meeting as they gathered about the stove in a rude wagon shop, having 
 the light of a single tallow candle. They were agreed that they could be of great 
 service to one another by counseling concerningfarm methods and by investigating 
 such agricultural questions as were of interest to them. But that they were to per- 
 form a great service for the agricultural advancement of their country, that their 
 discussions were to be read with interest and profit throughout the length and 
 breadth of the land, that there were in that little party men whose ability and 
 worth would shine out brightly through the discussions and labors of their Club, 
 they did not fuUy realize. 
 
 G. W. Hoffman was elected President, W. A. Armstrong Secretary, and Seely 
 P. Chapman Treasurer. The first discussion was held on the evening of Decem- 
 ber 22nd. Secretary Armstrong reported the discussion and modestly submitted 
 it to the editor of one of the city papers. Concerning this little incident, the ed- 
 itor of that paper, Mr. C. G. Fairman, at a reunion on the third anniversary of the 
 Club, on which occasion the Secretary was presented with a beautiful set of sil- 
 ver, spoke as follows : 
 
"Id the fall of 1869, the Elmira Farmers' Club was organized, and very soon 
 thereafter I was waited upon at my editorial sanctum in the Advertiser office by 
 one Armstrong, whose first name is William A., a farmer residing just upon the 
 brow of the West Hill. He bore in his hands a little roll of paper, which he placed 
 upon my table and rnodestly remarked that it was a report of the discussion at the 
 Elmira Farmers' Cluli, and requested that it might be published. After he had 
 retired I took up the roll of manuscript and began to glance at it with no other 
 idea than that it would soon go into the waste basket, for the faculty of reporting 
 such a discussion with intelligence and interest is a very rare one, which many 
 who have been drilled at it for years in the schools of journalism fail to acquire. 
 Indeed, it can not be acquired. It may be improved. But nature implants it in 
 the breast of him who has it, and he who has it not cannot get it. You need not 
 be surprised, therefore, that I looked with apprehension upon the daring effort 
 of this plain farmer man from the West Hill. You have all taken u]) articles to 
 read, the first sentence of which has confirmed you in reading them through. Just 
 so you have all been chilled by an opening paragraph, and have doubtless thrown 
 much good wheat away as chaff. I began with Mr. Armstrong's report, and I was 
 at once charmed with its beginning, I saw that a master band grew out from 
 that farmer head, and that the Advertiser had drawn a prize in the great Agricultu- 
 ral Lottery. The waste basket was cheated of its prey. All that went into it was 
 the useless manuscript after it had been transformed into letters of living light and 
 received the magic touch of the printing press. I do not say too much when I 
 seek to impress upon you the fact, that the regular publication of your reports has 
 been the foundation stone of your great prosperity; and I say altogether too little 
 when I declare that no other man lives, either in the town or city of Elmira, who 
 could have reproduced your discussions with the skill and success of Mr. Armstrong. 
 It has not only been a work of great skill, but it has involved great industry and 
 hard labor. " 
 
 These reports were eagerly sought. They were so plain and practical, they 
 supplied the kind of literature which is far too rare even in our best agricultural 
 papers. The thoughts presented in these discussions, the advice, the counsel giv- 
 en to correspondents, wereall fresh from the actual experiences of the farm. 
 
 The Olub rapidly increased in membership. Progressive farmers from neighbor- 
 ing towns, then from adjacent counties, and afterwards from other States even, 
 sought membership in this enterprising and prosperous Club. 
 
 For three years it held its meetings in a small hall belonging to one of its mem- 
 bers. A library was started. Gen. A. S. Diven gave $250; as much more was 
 immediately raised. A competent committee selected the books. A valuable col- 
 lection was made of such books as were of special interest to farmers and their 
 families, including all the standard works upon agriculture, horncukure and flori- 
 culture in their various branches. This library has received several important 
 additions, and includes now 2,000 valuable and much read volumes. 
 
 Three years ago the Club resolved to build a hall suited to its wants. At this 
 time there was quite an effort to get it to locate in the business pmi of the city, 
 as it had won for itself great popularity as an important institution of Elmira. 
 But wise counsels prevailed, and it was resolved to keep it near the scene of its na- 
 tivity, among the farmers who had started and built it up. 
 
 Though always welcoming to its meetings the " city farmers, " it realized that 
 its plain, laboring, practical farmers would not feel that freedom to engage in tlie 
 discussions were its hall so located that there would be a large audience of profes- 
 sional and business men. However earnest in their sympathies, many such spec- 
 tators would be known as accomplished speakers, and their presence would em- 
 barrass the free and unvarnished speeches of professional workers and careful ob- 
 servers, but not speech makers. 
 
3 
 
 For building the hall members advanced liberally of their means. Mr. David 
 T. BiUings presented the Olub -with a lot. A substantial and showy two-story 
 building, adorned with a lofty tower and flag staff, was erected, having in the 
 second story the spacious hall. 
 
 The library is neatly arranged in the alcove of the tower oflf the main room. 
 The lower story of the building had not been used except on the occasion of the 
 Olub festivals, or as a place for exhibiting farm products and machinery brought 
 for the inspection of the Club, until last summer, when several influential and en- 
 terprising members of the Club organized The Husbandman Association and 
 commenced the publication of an agricultural newspaper. To this new undertak- 
 ing the Olub has lent the most earnest aid, furnishing its spacious and commodi- 
 ous rooms. There, right among the farmers, in the Farmers' Hall, owned, edited 
 and managed by farmers, is to be seen one of .the most complete and practical print- 
 ing offices in the country. With material entirely new, supplied with a finely- 
 working engine, with the rooms heated by steam, with the best of workmen, who 
 take pride in their work, a paper is weekly issued which is not only a source of 
 pride to the Olub, but which is rapidly gaining favor all over the country on ac- 
 count of its practical and fresh farm literature, and its thorough devotion to the 
 farmer's cause. 
 
 He who has in his unselfish devotion to agricultural progress,- by his ability as 
 a writer, by his inimitable reports placed the Elmira Farmers' Olub far in the van 
 of all similar bodies, and has achieved merited distinction for himself, is ably 
 conducting the editorial management of the Husbandman. 
 
 I mention the character and success of the paper because it is really a Olub en- 
 terprise, in which not only the Secretary, but President Hoffman and many of the 
 leading men of the Olub are earnestly interested, giving it the support of their ac- 
 tive minds and ample means. 
 
 No enterprise in which the Olub has engaged has lacked a vigorous push, nor 
 has come short of a reasonable success. The implement trials which it has conduc- 
 ted have been among the most important of the country, calling into competition 
 scores of machines and attracting thousands of farmers. The selection of this 
 county by the State Agricultural Society as a permanent location for the State 
 Fair Grounds, was mainly due to the impetus given to agricultural improvement 
 in this section through the exertions of the Club. The President of the Olub, G. 
 W. Hoffman, a man of vigorous thought, of quick perception and prompt action, 
 by his practical knowledge of agriculture and his great executive and general busi- 
 ness ability, has stood as a mountain of strength. It is but just to say that men of 
 unusual talent and of especial fitness for the work assigned them, have constantly 
 served as his able coadjutors. 
 
 The Farmers of Chemung County and citizens of Elmira feel a just pride in the 
 success and important work of the Club, and many intelligent farmers in far dis- 
 tant States freely declare that the reports of these discussions are worth to them 
 more than the cost of any agricultural journal in the country. 
 
 J. S. VAN DUZBB. 
 
ELMIRA FARMERS' CLUB. 
 
 COLORADO liETIEE. 
 Sathkday Evening, January 3, 187i. 
 The following exceedingly valuable let- 
 ter was written by a member oi the Club 
 •who 'desires his name withheld, but as a 
 guarantee of its genuineness the Club 
 vouches for the character of the writer, 
 who is a gentleman well known in this 
 portion of the State. The letter was writ- 
 ten in Denver, Colorado. The writer is a 
 close observer and a clear thinker. The 
 observations made and the facts gleaned 
 have the force of truth, which made its 
 impress, on the mind of the gentleman in 
 such a manner that to-day he has his 
 herds on " th.e plains" lazily transmuting 
 the scanty though rich herbage into glit- 
 tering* and substantial wealth. He writes: 
 W. A. Armstrong, Secretary Elmira Farm- 
 ers' Club: 
 I have just spent eight weeks in the far 
 Western States and in Colorado, much of 
 the time among the stock men of Kansas 
 and Colorado. I have seen droves of two 
 thousand head of Texas cattle, some of 
 which are very good. The cows of this 
 class mated with short horned bulls pro- 
 duce really fine stock. Kansas has as 
 much grass on one acre as Colorado has 
 on twenty, yet the cattle do better on the 
 scanty feed of the Territory, because it is 
 very sweet and exceedingly rich and nu- 
 tritious. I send you samples of Colorado 
 grass, which you are to understand grows 
 •very thin. Some cattle men permit 
 their stock to run the whole year without 
 
 even seeing them more than once, 
 which is in the spring, when they go all 
 over the country and gather up all that 
 can be found, into one place called the 
 "Round-up." There they are assorted 
 by their respective owners, and each ani- 
 mal receives the distinctive brand when 
 all are again turned loose, when away 
 they go to graze and multiply at will un- 
 til the next annual assembly at the round- 
 up. 
 
 This, however, is not the general prac- 
 tice. The more methodical breeders keep 
 men with their herds all the time, and 
 carefully keep herds of different owner- 
 ship distinct, each having a separate 
 range, and this is a far better way and 
 more certain of profit. 
 
 AU this country constituting the great 
 cattle range is undulating, with no timber 
 except on the margins of streams, in 
 which may be found the finest water, for 
 it comes from the pure snows melting in 
 the mountains not far away, where it 
 glistens in the sunlight pleasant to the 
 view of the herdsman, in every month of 
 the year. The mountains contain val- 
 leys of surpassing loveliness, where the 
 footfall sinks in a cushion of the richest 
 herbage, the limped streams stored with 
 delicious fish, and where every breath of 
 air is exhilerating as the ambrosia of fa- 
 ble. I went yesterday up to Estes Park, 
 which is about twenty miles from the 
 plains, (the common designation of all 
 the lower land,) and about five thousand 
 feet higher, and with an altitude of twelve 
 
6 
 
 thousand feet above the sea, Long's 
 Park is near. The Park is a valley of 
 about thirty thousand acres in extent. It 
 has the finest grass and water and is 
 adorned with numerous beautiful trees so 
 disposed as to suggest the idea that na- 
 ture in this, her paradise, has especially 
 desired to please the eye, while giving ad- 
 equate protection against the fierce glare 
 of a noonday sun, which looks in through 
 an atmosphere so remarkably pure 
 that the retina has pictured upon it the 
 distant landscape as distincly clear as if it 
 were within a stone's throw. Yet all this 
 beauty is visited, perhaps adorned, by 
 nightly frosts. In this valley Messrs. 
 Brown and Southroup have eight hun- 
 dred head of oattle. A few figures, which 
 I obtained from Mr. G. G. Evans, will in- 
 terest some members of the Club. Two 
 years ago these gentlemen sent five hun- 
 dred head into this vaUey, and a year la- 
 ter four hundred head. The nine hundred 
 head cost nineteen thousand doUars. — 
 From these they have sold to the amount 
 of eleven thousand dollars, and to be pre- 
 cise, have now seven hundred and fifty 
 head worth twenty-five dollars per head, 
 and two hundred and fifty young ones 
 worth ten doUars apiece. Remember, it 
 costs nothing or thereabouts to keep, so 
 let us make up the account thus : 
 
 750 head @ $25 $18,750 
 
 250 yonng, @ $10 2,500 
 
 Sales 11,000 
 
 $32,250 
 Deduct original investment 19,000 
 
 Leaves profit $13,250 
 
 All this in Colorado, as the result of a 
 little capital fairly invested and left to 
 take care of itself for two years. Nowhere 
 in the Territory is hay or grain fed to cat- 
 tle. Some graziers prefer mountain ranges 
 and some plains ; but everywhere the cat- 
 tle are fat, some of them very fat. Dro- 
 vers are here from Iowa, buying all the 
 
 steers they can get to take home and be 
 fed with corn until spring, and then sent 
 east, first-class beef. It is alleged that 
 these steers when put to corn feed, take 
 on fat much better and more profitably 
 than the home reared. The price here 
 ranges from three to three and a half 
 cents per pound, live weight. My friends, 
 McCann of Elmira, and Carpenter of Big 
 I'lats, can get good steers here for feed- 
 ing. Send them out. 
 
 Of course you understand no cultivated 
 crops can succeed here without irrigation 
 — nothing but the native grasses, not a 
 shade tree nor any kind of grain without 
 irrigation, except the trees in favored 
 valleys and along streams where the roots 
 reach down to moisture. 
 
 I met to-day at Greeley, G. S. Hill, 
 from HiUsboro, thirteen miles distant. — 
 He has been in the territory thirteen 
 years, and has been raising cattle since 
 1865, when he commenced with just two 
 thousand dollars — all the capital he had. 
 After five years in the business, in 1870, 
 he sold his herd for sixteen thousand two 
 hundred and eighty-eight dollars, which, 
 deducting his small capital, stands as the 
 profit of his venture, for he had all the 
 time supported his family out of the busi- 
 ness. He began with a few American 
 cows, (which means cows driven in from 
 the old States, or their descendants), and 
 used short horn and Devon bulls. The 
 latter he likes better because hardier. — 
 His three-year old steers have averaged 
 eleven hundred and fifty to twelve hun- 
 dred and fifty pounds each, and he has 
 usually sold for three cents per pound. — 
 He feeds no hay nor grain, and lets the 
 calves run with the cows until their in- 
 stincts or disagreements bring about the 
 weaning. He thinks calves so raised make 
 as good steers at three years old as those 
 raised by hand at four or five years old. 
 
 The cost of the three year old steer thus 
 raised, he estimates at from three to five 
 dollars exclusive of the interest on capi- 
 
tal invested in the mother, wliich at the 
 high rates prevailing, may be put down 
 at three dollars, making the average cost 
 of the steer -when he goes to market, six 
 to eight dollars. 
 
 Mr. Hill has now on hand two hundred 
 and thirty-sis head of cattle, forty of 
 which are' two year old steers, for which 
 he has already been offered twenty-eight 
 dollars per head. He gives some atten- 
 tion to the rearing of horses, and thinks 
 a three year old colt costs no more than a 
 steer of the same age, except what is due 
 to the greater cost of the mare, than of 
 the cow. He has now thirty horses on 
 his farm, which embraces four hundred 
 and thirty-six acres. His grain crop is 
 mostly wheat, of which for the last three 
 years he has had each year seventy -five 
 acres, averaging thirty-seven bushels per 
 acre, or two thousand seven hundred and 
 seventy-five bushels for his yearly crop. 
 The crop makes but little cost beyond 
 labor and seed; there are no rains, and 
 it can stand safely in shock until a con- 
 venient season for threshing, which is 
 usually done in the field. The seed is 
 sown about the first of March, and the 
 land irrigated about the first of June, 
 with the water kept on until the tenth of 
 July. Harvest comes in August. Oats 
 do not succeed as well as they did five 
 years ago. Now,thirty-five to fifty bush- 
 els to the acre is a good crop, which is 
 not more than a fair crop in well tilled 
 lands in New york State. Barley yields 
 from forty to sixty bushels to the acre. — 
 Mr. Hill has land which he says has been 
 cropped for eleven successive years with- 
 out any return of fertilizing matter, ex- 
 cept what comes through irrigation, and 
 during aU this time there has been steady 
 annual improvement in the yield. He 
 says he has raised on several acres an av- 
 erage yield of wheat to the acre, of fifty- 
 four bushels. The cost of irrigating, 
 which varies somewhat according to local- 
 ities, expense of appliances, etc., is in his 
 case about fifty cents per acre. Of course, 
 
 this is quite independent of the original 
 cost of the canal which in a general way 
 is estimated at one dollar to every acre. — 
 The exceeding dryness of the summer 
 so thoroughly abstracts all moisture from 
 the wheat berry that to insure good flour 
 it is necessary to moisten artificially some 
 hours before grinding. Thus treated, 
 the wheat makes the very best quality of 
 flour. What will seem curious to you, 
 the moistening is done by running the 
 bin full of water, in which the wheat 
 soaks eight or ten hours, just previous to 
 the grinding. You can judge somewhat 
 of the exceeding flintiness of the berry 
 which requires such treatment to fit it for 
 grinding, and you may reasonably infer 
 that the climate is intemperately dry. 
 
 I propose to give you now the figures 
 of one other herd of, cattle, that of Mr. A. 
 B. Daniels, who has been four years in 
 the business. He bought, to begin with, 
 twenty-three hundred head of cattle, cost 
 thirty-two thousand dollars. He has 
 sold to the amount of thirty-five thous- 
 and five hundred dollars and has now on 
 hand cattle, estimated value, thirty-six 
 thousand five hundred dollars. His ac- 
 count stands : 
 
 Sales in four years $35,500 
 
 Stock on hand 36,500 
 
 Total value $72,000 
 
 Deduct original investment 32,000 
 
 Profit in four years . 
 
 .$iO,000 
 
 Mr. Daniels' operations are in South 
 Western Colorado, one hundred and forty 
 miles from Denver. He says the cost of 
 the care of his cattle does not exceed sev- 
 enty-five cants per head for the whole 
 time of keeping. In other words that 
 sum covers all expenses of herding, and 
 that is all the care he has to give. 
 
 He lives in Pennsylvania, and this over- 
 ture is simply a httle outside speculation. 
 Such instances, with varying degrees of 
 profit, can be cited all over the grazing 
 district, but lest you tire of the subject, I 
 
hasten to give you somejresults attained 
 with sheep for which I am indebted to M. 
 D. Potts, of Pueblo : 
 
 In the summer of 1869 he bought one 
 thousand Mexican sheep for one thousand 
 dollars. He used twenty merino bucks. 
 In four years he sold wool to the amount 
 of ten thousand two hundred and eighty- 
 six dollars, and six hundred wethers [for 
 one thousand nine hundred and fifty dol- 
 lars, and has now on hand three thousand 
 seven hundred sheep, valued at nice 
 thousand two hundred and fifty dollars. 
 His merino bucks cost twenty dollars 
 each, making for them four hundred dol- 
 lars, and the whole account: 
 
 Sales wool in four years $10,286 
 
 Sales 600 wethers 1,950 
 
 Stock on hand 9,250 
 
 Total proceeds 21,486 
 
 Deduct original capital 1,400 
 
 Profits 20,086 
 
 He has a man who takes all the care^of 
 his flocks for one-half the net profits. — 
 Shelter is provided, and some hay is fed 
 during the month of April and a portion 
 of May. The remainder of the year the 
 sheep graze. I am satisfied that there is 
 greater profit in sheep husbandry than in 
 cattle raising, provided good care is taken 
 of the sheep, but in this easy country 
 men hesitate at any outlay that looks to 
 the provision of artificial comfort for 
 stock, and for that reason most of the 
 graziers prefer cattle as being hardier and 
 therefore more certain to withstand the 
 rigor of a, climate, which in certain por- 
 tions of the year, tells with considerable 
 severity on the unprotected flocks. The 
 estimate of increase is eighty calves an- 
 nually from one hundred cows, and the 
 table of values : 
 
 1 year old SlO 00 
 
 2 " 20 00 
 
 3 " 30 00 
 
 4 " 40 00 
 
 And this is expected above all cost of 
 raising and keeping. I am satisfied the 
 calculation is well based. This year half 
 a million Texas cattle will be driven into 
 Colorado and Kansas, where they will be 
 sold for fattening, and to^establish herds 
 for breeding, at about the following 
 rates : 
 
 1 year old $ 7 
 
 2 " 10 
 
 3 " 16 
 
 4 " 20 
 
 Cows 15 
 
 I saw in Kansas not less than one hun- 
 dred thousand of these cattle feeding on 
 the sweet grass of which the specimen 
 sent you is a fair sample. It stands thin 
 on the ground and never grows taller 
 than the tuft I send you. It dries up in 
 the fall and cures standing, with all its 
 nutriment retained, so that cattle* fatten 
 on it all winter. The buffalo grass, of 
 which you have also a sample, grows 
 thick, but never more than about four 
 inches in height. 
 
 There is some of this in Colorado, but 
 for the most part it is found in Western 
 Kansas. 
 
 I could give you figures relating to gen- 
 eral farming, but there is no especial 
 need. Wages are about twenty-five dol- 
 lars per month, but no great degree of 
 intelligence comes within that range. — 
 There are certain and magnificent profits 
 for him who puts mind intU business,and 
 so far the terrible uncertainties of eastern 
 farming come not to affiiot the husband- 
 man. 
 
 BEAUTIFYIKG HOMES. 
 
 Friday, Jan. 10, 1874. 
 The attendance was kss than usual, per- 
 haps becauae the subject for discussion was 
 suggestive of the shortcoming of several 
 members aud therefore embarrassing to 
 speech. Several members, who are usually 
 
9 
 
 good talkers, remained silent during the 
 meeting, althougti there wa8 unusual 
 pressure to bring them out. Many of the 
 chairs were occupied by ladies, who evinced 
 lively interest in the remarks of those mem- 
 bers bold enough to talk of beautifying 
 homes. Trees, flowers, gardens and other 
 outward adornments of home, constituted 
 the theme which inspired many beautiful 
 tlioughts, beautifully set forth. And some 
 of the speakers, touching upon the moral 
 beauties of well-ordered home life, betrayed 
 emotion which did honor to their hearts. 
 
 This report cannot do justice to the elo 
 quence which was exhibited, not in words, 
 but in those signs which reveal the good 
 impulsts of warm hearts. All that was 
 said was earnestly given, and deeper mean- 
 ing was but half concealed. The coming 
 spring will witness the planting of many a 
 tree and vine and ornamental shrub, whose 
 freshness and beauty in after years shall 
 serve as mementoes of this meeting of plain 
 farmers, whose most ' sacred treasures are 
 their homes. 
 
 A brief communication from S C. Taber, 
 read by the Secretary, was the key-note of 
 all. lie explains that absence from the 
 city until the day of the meeting prevented 
 his receiving notice of the demand upon 
 him to open the discussion, and proceeds : 
 
 " ' Mother' and 'Home' are two of the 
 deareEt and most beautiful words in our 
 language, and both are so intimately con- 
 nected that whatever will tend to beautify 
 the one will tend to increase the happiness 
 of the other. L fe is short, and our oppor- 
 tunities for happiness are limited. AVe 
 should improve and enjoy the opportuni- 
 ties to the fullest extent. Our homes 
 should furnish us our greatest enjoyments. 
 In order that they may do so they should 
 be beauffied most beautifully. Thus we 
 shall increase our own happiness and con- 
 tribute to the happiness of others. Too 
 many of us farmers are disposed to devote 
 our energies to the cultivation of the soil 
 rather than to a cultivation of a taste for 
 
 the beautiful. This need not be so— this 
 should not be so. We can, and we should 
 render our homes beautiful in themselves 
 and beautiful in their surroundings. What 
 some would esteem beautiful, however, 
 others would not. There is a glory of the 
 moon, and a glory. of the stars. The glory, 
 of the stars cannot equal the glory of the 
 moon, and the beauty of some homes can 
 not equal the beauty of some others. But 
 inasmuch as the smallest star has a glory 
 peculiar to itself, so also our smallest homes 
 can have a beauty which for tliem cannot 
 be surpassed. 
 
 " Our houses need not be large in order 
 to be beautiful. There is beauty in every 
 house where love and contentment abijle, 
 but without love beautiful palaces are by 
 no means beautiful homes. If we would 
 have our homes truly beautiful, we should 
 obey the eleventh commandment, and 
 'love one another.' This should be no 
 promiscuous love, but we should love our 
 wives and our children, and no h,ome can 
 be beautiful without a -wife and children. — 
 As soon think of enjoying summer without 
 sunshine, or winter without snow, (such as 
 we are now suffering) as to have or enjoy 
 a beautiful home without a wife and chil- 
 dren. Any and all other adornments can 
 be dispensed with better than these. But 
 with these, and with such beauties as al- 
 ways cluster around the spot where they 
 are gathered together, will be found a 
 beautiful home. And 'be it ever so humble 
 there's no place like Tiome.' 
 
 " But, without going into further details, 
 Brother Armstrong, we should all so beau- 
 tify our homes while we have homes to en- 
 joy, and our li,ves while we have lives to 
 live, that when we come to 'shuffle ofi^ this 
 mortal coil,' and to turn our toes to the 
 roots of the grass, we shall be prepared to 
 enter into and enjoy the beauties of that 
 beautilied home of many mansions, pre- 
 pared before the foundations of the earth, 
 whose builder and maker is God." 
 
 G. S. McOanjn — There is much room to 
 ta' k on this sul iject which Mr. Taber has 
 
10 
 
 but just opened. There are a thousand 
 ways to beautify our homes — ways that are 
 within the reach and means of the most 
 humble. Much, very much, can be done 
 by planting trees, which adorn any home, 
 and their cultivation and care serves to ele- 
 vate our tastes for the beautiful. When 
 we pass by houses so adorned, we are 
 pleased by their beauty, and we should be 
 thus reminded of our duty in this way to 
 please others. I am greatly in favor of 
 planting trees, and I would recommend to 
 farmers and their families the planting and 
 cultivation iy their own hands, as a means 
 of pleasure and happiness which cannot in 
 such full measure be derived from the beau- 
 ties created by others. Plant a tree your- 
 self, and give it your personal care, and 
 you must feel more interest in its growth 
 than if the labor were done by another. — 
 By all means set trees about your homes 
 and along the road fences. It does not 
 require wealth to do this, a little pleasant 
 labor and watchful care, that is all. Time 
 and the seasons will do the rest. The poor 
 man can always beautify his humble home 
 with trees, which by their freshness and 
 beauty serve to make him more happy and 
 become also a public pleasure. I have said 
 it does not require wealth for this species 
 of adornment, and I may say, also, wealth 
 does not always make beautiful homes. — 
 Often we pass by the homes of the rich, 
 where the outward appearance is elegant, 
 the house handsome, and the grounds giv- 
 ing proof of refined taste in their adorn- 
 ments, and we are led to suppose comfort 
 abides within. Alas, it does not always. 
 Love, contentment and kindness must have 
 their homes within the family, or all these 
 outward beauties fail to give the delight 
 of which thoy are capable. After all, with- 
 in the house, woman has most to do to se- 
 cure for all the greatest happiness. With- 
 out her kindly ministrations no home can 
 be complete, but with her delicate atten- 
 tion to a hundred little things, home can 
 be blessed and happy — the "dearest place 
 on earth." Let one have such a spot, and 
 
 roam the world over, he cannot forget the 
 charms left behind. Hourly his heart will 
 return to his home, the abo:Ie of happiness, 
 which he can no where else find ; and more 
 especially is this true if with that home 
 there is associated the remembrance of a 
 godly mother. Yet with all these good 
 influences by which the very name of home 
 is made sacred, man sometimes recklessly 
 destroys all that is good, and makes home 
 miserable. Ilia blighting influence may 
 darken the brightest spot. He has duties 
 within the house as well as without; But 
 let him get refinement by the cultivation of 
 trees and flowers, and he is better fitted for 
 the kind offices at home. Ho can begin 
 very cheaply. Suppose he set out and cul- 
 tivate a Siberian crab. It is beautiful in 
 its foliage, beautiful in its bloom and beau- 
 tiful in its crimson fruit. No farmer is so 
 poor that he may not have such beauties 
 clustered around his home, and if he has, 
 besides, thrift and cleanliness within, the 
 children clean and tidily clad, the smiles 
 of contentment over all, he cannot be very 
 unhappy. I have seen log houses where 
 the surroundings pleased the eye and true 
 happiness found there a home. Let it once 
 be learned that wealth is not necessary to 
 make home beautiful and happy, and then 
 let all begin to do something to adorn the 
 spots where they must stay, so will homes 
 of beauty spring up everywhere and all be 
 made more happy. 
 
 Me. S. M. Caer — I can hardly agree 
 with Mr. McCann that so mnch of the re- 
 sponsibility for happy homes rests with 
 woman. She has her duties, it is true, but 
 man has more influence for evil. He is to 
 provide and she to care and arrange. He 
 must see to the surroundings, but let these 
 all be fixed — let there be trees and drives, 
 walks and fountains, and all that is con- 
 venient and beautiful to the eye, he, with 
 sour looks, can effectually spoil it all. — 
 When he comes in, if he seats himself in 
 the library and engages himself with the 
 paper, waiting for the bell to summon 
 him to his meal, to which he goes with a 
 
11 
 
 fault finding spirit, think you there is hap- 
 piness then for him or for his family ?— 
 Now, there are hundreds of, such homes 
 with their beauty marred. Let him remem- 
 ber that the wife during his absence has 
 had the care of the children and household 
 matters ; that she has been faithfully try- 
 ing to minister to his comfort and may be 
 more weary than he. It is his duty to 
 come with pleasant words and no unselfish 
 heart. Lst him have pleasant words to 
 give to wife and children. Take the latter 
 into familiar conversation, kindly asking 
 and receiving questions. If he is too sel- 
 fish to do this, he drives to despair. He 
 should get down to the little wants and 
 pleasures of his little ones, leaving what 
 may be his burdens out of the home which 
 it is his duty to make happy. He should 
 tax his mind to arrange pleasures for tUose' 
 whose happiness depends upon him. It is 
 dreadful to live so that children fear to 
 approach. The suiliyflit of his counte- 
 nance should beam upon his home as the 
 light of heaven falls upon earth, warming 
 it into beauty and loveliness. If he chooses 
 to live in the other way, he chooses to sink 
 his manhood into brutiahness and is un- 
 worthy of the pleasures which a well-or- 
 dered home can give. A loji; house with 
 cheerful faces and kindly words is fj,r pref- 
 erable. It may be pleasant and even beau- 
 tiful. 
 
 In response to calls made by the ladies, 
 Mr. D. E. Howell said : — I have been 
 thinking my door yard is not as beautiful 
 as I have often been invited to make it. — 
 Facts and sentiments have been well set 
 forth, and meet my cordial approval. It 
 is truly said no home is beautiful without 
 love, no matter how costly its fittings. It 
 is pleasant, when one after absence returns 
 to his home and is met by his children 
 gleefully exclaiming, "Papa has come." 
 It delights him to be the object of such 
 affection. But suppose he is tired with 
 his labors and finds this cheerful greeting 
 followed by "a call for stove wood ! Will 
 
 he not achieve a victory over himself if he 
 can repress a scowl and go cheerfully to 
 the added task ? For myself, I am always 
 glad to go home and glad to stay there. — 
 I wish I were there to night. There is 
 truth in the old couplet : 
 
 "Man wants but little here below, 
 Nor wants that little long." 
 
 What is needed to make home pleasant 
 is unity of feeling and active with earnest 
 desire to please. People overlook the 
 humble requirement. They soar high and 
 incline, too, to spread, out. They measure 
 beauty by height between floors. They 
 build big houses with lofty ceilings, and 
 really think they have ''gone and done it ;" 
 as if happiness can be commanded in such 
 ways. It is all a mistake. Show and 
 glitter cannot bring happiness. I do not 
 condemn expenditures of great sums for 
 houses, if they can be afforded — good 
 comes from money so used. What I mean 
 to say is, that great houses are by no means 
 essential to happiness. Modest houses, 
 decorated with taste and good judgement, 
 are quite compatible with the highest de- 
 gree of home enjoyment, while misery al- 
 ways comes with vain efforts to ape the 
 grand or to outshow our neighbors. 
 
 Mr. W. S. Cabr — So far in this discuss- 
 ion I have heard nothing about the older 
 children — the nearly grown up young men 
 and women. May not home be made so 
 pleasant that they shall not feel obliged to 
 go out to seek pleasure ? I am satisfied 
 that our children go out too soon, and that 
 if parents provide better for their happi- 
 ness they' may be restrained from many 
 evil ways. In many homes the parental 
 notions of propriety are so strict and se - 
 vere that the young are unduly repressed. 
 
 Their amusements are often boisterous 
 and may be so, and yet harmless. It is 
 quite natural that they should be noisy, 
 and even perhaps rude ; but they may be 
 guided by sympathies rauher than by se- 
 verities. It often happens that the few 
 
12 
 
 books which have S3rve(l the needs of the 
 pareats are thought to be sufficient for the 
 youQg men and women, while they thick, 
 and justly, too, that more are needed. — 
 They hear of newer works, and desire to 
 read such. Lat them be provided. The 
 world is advancing— the old is not always 
 the best. Aid them to the fullest extent 
 in their endeavors to seek knowledge. Be 
 assured if the parents are so engrossed in 
 the pursuit of wealth that they cannot heed 
 tlie reasonable demands of children, evil 
 will come. Cultivate in them a taste for 
 pure literature and provide the means for 
 its enjoyment. Strive always to make 
 home the dearest 6pot ou earth, so that 
 when they must go abroad their thoughts 
 will turn to the good old home with pleas- 
 ure. There is another thing to consider. — 
 Home to be beautiful must be permanent. 
 Oar American homes are too shifting — at- 
 tachments grow. Home to be a reality 
 must be permanent. The trees and shrubs 
 thus become objects of affection. We shall 
 find that our efforts to make home beau- 
 tiful will at last enlist the aid of our chil- 
 dren as their growing attachments fasten 
 upon objects with which they are long fa- 
 miliar. 
 
 Mr. James MoOann — I desire to add 
 conflrmation to the idea that wealth is not 
 necessary to produce the finest adornments 
 of home. Trees and flowers and neat sur- 
 roundings are easy to procure — within the 
 reach of all. Ic is true, enjoyments depend 
 upon disposition. Outward appearance is 
 not all. But the outward adornments are 
 easy. It needs only tbe disposition to en- 
 sure their provision, A little time, which 
 can easily be spared— a little care, which 
 can easily be given. 
 
 Mr. FLETcnER Carr— Upon mothers de- 
 pends the education of the daughters, and 
 in ray judgment they should be so brought 
 up that they would make good wives for 
 farmers, and not be led to suppose their 
 chief happiness depends upon unices with 
 city clerks. The center-table should be 
 
 provided with something better than yel- 
 low covered books. Mr. Carr proceeded 
 to delineate character, and drew forcible 
 contrasts between proper management and 
 the fashionable follies of some homes. 
 
 AGKICULTURAL NEW3PAPEKS. 
 
 Satl'Eday, January 17, 1874. 
 
 According to previous announcement ag- 
 ricultural newspapers were discussed — it 
 may be added — with considerable freedom. 
 In these times of independent thought far- 
 mers profess the ability to define their own 
 wants. And in some instances they have 
 made vigorous moves toward the attainment 
 of the desired benefits. They have brought 
 the question of cheap transportation to the 
 front, and given it such prominence that 
 the entire country is interested in its con- 
 sideration. 
 
 The agency through which these matters 
 are reached is the newspaper, and latterly in 
 these reforms the agricultural newspaper 
 has had its part. It will be seen that the 
 Club has given bold expression to its ideas 
 about the duties of these papers. A fine 
 attendance applauded the sentiments ut- 
 tered. 
 
 Mr. W. S. Carr was called to the opening 
 and read the following paper : 
 
 Intelligence has done for the farmer with- 
 in fifty years what toil and patient labor had 
 failed to do in the ages past; it has lifted 
 him from a condition little better than serf- 
 dom; it has brought him profits from his 
 labor, whereas before it was a struggle for 
 hfe ; socially it has made him the equal of 
 men of any other calling ; his awakining in- 
 telligence has brought the world to see his 
 needs and to fill the demands. Bailroads, 
 canals and telegraph lines have been laid ont 
 with reference to his uses ; the markets 
 of the world are brought to his 
 very door. The inventive genius 
 
 of the world is taxed to pro- 
 
 vide for him the implements his intelli- 
 gence demands. Educated in the principles 
 of economy, he is everywhere regarded as 
 
13 
 
 tKe enemy of corruption and fraud, and there 
 is no ofSce under the government to which 
 he may not aspire. To what does he owe 
 this improvement in his condition ? Clearly 
 to his , increased intelligence, and, if so, a 
 growing intelligence will be his best surety 
 for the future. Among the means of infor- 
 mation the newspaper stands preeminent. 
 At an average cost of five cents it contains 
 more matter and information than a bound 
 volume costing two dollars ; hence it 
 becomes the most available means 
 of information. Agricultural news- 
 papers, as their name implies, 
 are supposed to be for and devoted to the in- 
 terest of the farmer. Their editors should be 
 practical farmers, the better to guard 
 against eiTor and the more able to sympa- 
 thize with their readers ; the paper should 
 be weekly at least, open to communication 
 from subscribers — in fact relying on them 
 for much of its matter. It should give full 
 market reports and advices thereon, and give 
 the fullest assurance that they are not in the 
 interest of speculators. Political only so far 
 as to fairly state the political situation and 
 status of all parties. Politics do not usually 
 add to a farmer's intelligence, they rather 
 tend to make a fool of him. 
 It should be fearless in its exposure 
 of frauds and corruption in high places; of 
 dishonest seedsmen and nurserymen ; of 
 humbug patents, with a name but no merit. 
 Belying on the farmer for its support, it 
 should always be true to his interests. Ad- 
 vertisements "in it should be limited, and 
 the fact of their being admitted should be a 
 sufficient guarantee of the responsibility of 
 . the parties advertising. An advertisement 
 many times is of more practical benefit 
 to the farmer than the rest of the entire 
 paper. It should be a family paper contain- 
 ing much of real interest to every member 
 of the family; in the story department, care- 
 ful to educate the children to a love of home 
 and the vocation unto which they were bom. 
 It should stand at the outposts of scientific dis- 
 coveries in this chosen field of ours, and by ex- 
 periment and theory endeavor to establish 
 facts. Above aU it should have a moral tone, 
 not conservative but setting forth the accept- 
 
 ed doctrines of our Christianity in purity and 
 with power, "for what shall a man profit if 
 he gain the whole world and lose his own 
 soul ?" 
 
 Such a paper I recommend as being of great 
 value to us all ; the common newspaper we 
 stand in great need of, but the agricultural 
 newspaper is a necessity; as well might a sur- 
 geon go forth with a carpenter's kit as for a 
 farmer to expecK success through a common 
 newspaper alone. • As we aim to be practi- 
 cal, and as some have expected I would name 
 a paper suited to our uses, I do name the 
 Rural New Torlcer as a paper containing 
 all the points that I have set forth. Other 
 papers may be as good, but with them I 
 have not so thorough an acquaintance. 
 
 Mr. J. S. VanDuzee. — In closing his re- 
 marks Mr. Carr opens out a point upon which 
 there may be much disagreement. He recom- 
 mends a particular paper while there are mem- 
 bers here who take others and some members 
 several others, which they regard as better 
 suited to educate the public mind or to serve 
 their personal needs. I am sure I should 
 differ with his preference. It is a fact that 
 all who have studied agricultural papers, 
 have found much that is of doubtful utility. 
 The useful must be gleaned out and the im- 
 practical rejected. Very many agricultural 
 writers are theoretical, and some papers 
 which rank as agricultural are trashy in 
 their character. Their is so much space to 
 be filled, and matter goes in which is worse 
 than doubtful in its tendency. If we aecept 
 all, we shall be led astray. Since the en- 
 largement of the paper of which our friend 
 speaks so highly, it is less reliable than be- 
 fore because of the necessity for filling the 
 great space which is given more to theorists, 
 and to weak writers who serve up trash not 
 of an agricultural character. 
 
 As far as my observation and experience 
 go, the Country Gentleman is much beeter for 
 the thoughtful farmer, and taking the liber- 
 ty to recommend, as Mr. Carr has, I say to 
 those who take a single agricultural paper, 
 let that be the Country Gentleman. It does 
 not deal in mere theories, and if articles are 
 admitted whieh, by their extravagance are 
 
14 
 
 likely to mislead, the editors are quite sure 
 to accompany them with words of caution. 
 A few weeks ago an instance occurred to il- 
 lustrate this careful disposition to save read- 
 ers from imposition. An article on the 
 profits of dairying set forth figures and al- 
 leged facts by which it was made to appear 
 that the business is immensely remunera- 
 tive, and to the unsophisticated all had the 
 appearance of truth itself. There were so 
 many quarts of milk as the daily yield of a 
 cow, and the average carried along through 
 the year, with estimates of butter and 
 cheese to be made from all, but the trouble 
 was the premises were wrong. There is no 
 such yield, no such average, and of course 
 no such result. Now the editors obviated the 
 pernicious tendency of the article, by print- 
 ing with it a note calling attention to the 
 false bases of estimates. Such care is com- 
 mendable and saves in this case 
 perhaps many disastrous failures. 
 Our essayist has also said that the paper 
 shoxddbe weekly. That is well; but I have 
 to add that there is no paper which gives me 
 more pleasure than I have in perusing the 
 American Agriculturist, and it is published 
 monthly. Much of its excellence is due to 
 that veteran writer, Joseph Harris, who Ip,- 
 bors in the cause with the zeal of an enthu- 
 siast and the honesty that inspires confi- 
 dence. We shall all agree that great good is de- 
 rived from reading agricultural papers, but 
 I would urge farmers not to depend upon 
 them alone for their teaching. Let farmers 
 think for themselves. Perhaps the best use 
 of the papers is to stimulate thought. 
 
 There is no doubt in my mind that we 
 need here an agricultaral paper, that could 
 have a local interest, and I believe it could 
 be well sustained. Or if the venture be too 
 great, we do at least need an agricultural 
 department in the weeklies already estab- 
 lished. Do not suppose I mean a page 
 marked "Agricultural," to tickle the fancy of 
 the farmer who is asked to subscribe. I 
 mean more. There is an imperative demand 
 for agricultural matter in the weeklies that 
 go into general circulation. It seems to me 
 that our papers should make a department 
 devotedj to our interests, and that there 
 
 should be employed thereon talent which 
 should be properly paid and reqxxired 
 to prepare in every issue something calcu- 
 lated to interest and to teach farmers. I am 
 not speaking of these reports. We read 
 them and are interested, but we want other 
 original matter, and a steady effort to pro- 
 vide it. I have just returned from the an- 
 nual meeting of the American Dairymen's 
 Association at Utica, where I was greatly 
 pleased by the full reports of the proceed- 
 ings in the columns of the TJtica Herald and 
 Utica Observer. It is not too much to say 
 that the great success of the dairy business 
 in Herkimer and other counties, now famous 
 for their products, is due to the well directed 
 efforts o; the Herald. It started the board 
 of trade which brings the producer and con- 
 sumer together, and saves to the former the 
 profits before reaped by the middleman. 
 Purchasers from across the ocean wait upon 
 the sellers there. Now aU this is of great 
 importance to the manufacturers of cheese 
 and butter. The Herald is not exclusively 
 agricultural, but the deep interest it takes 
 in our affairs, and the energy it displays in 
 providing matter of interest to farmers have 
 given it great favor among us all. Agricul- 
 tural matter is more generally read than any 
 other. Even the reports of our proceedings 
 are sought after away from here. 
 I met in Utica the _ secretary 
 of an institution in a western 
 county who had long been an interested 
 reader of our reports, and who asked me to 
 name some members of our Club upon whom 
 his society might call for agricultural ad- 
 dresses and essays. 
 
 Mr. D. E. Howell — In regard to the Rural 
 New Torlcer, the last speaker has expressed 
 my views. For many years I was a subscri- 
 ber, but I began to think it decreased in in- 
 terest and dropped it. Of late I do not know 
 much about it, but it is ctuite certain it fails 
 te please me as it used to. I have been a 
 reader of the Practical Farmer and regard it 
 as sound and good, but when it gets along it 
 is always overdue. If I were to express my 
 sentiments about the Rural I should say that 
 it feeds us on very coarse fodder, like sowed 
 com for our cattle. There are too many 
 
15 
 
 loose statements instead of facts. If a 
 young inquirer after knowledge should be 
 guided by such teachings he would be lead 
 astray. This criticism will apply to much 
 agricultural writing. Figures which are 
 wild are set down as the true basis of an es- 
 timate and they lead into trouble. There 
 must be deductions for drouth, something 
 knocked off for worms, and allowances for 
 evil effects from other causes quite be- 
 yond the farmer's power to' regulate. 
 I don't believe in the inflammatory and 
 elongated articles about the riches of the 
 butter business and of grain raising. The 
 allowances must be made. 
 
 After aU the agricultural papers have done 
 a great deal of good and have power for 
 gi-eater good. They have helped to 
 make farming pleasant and profita- 
 ble. They have done much to edu- 
 cate the young, and to adorn and beautify 
 our homes. They go out over a wide field, 
 hence the greater importance of their good 
 teaching. 
 
 There is one matter in which even the 
 Rural has humbugged us amazingly — in the 
 character of its advertisements — while it 
 has professed to admit nothing of a deceptive 
 character, the allurements of money have 
 opened its columns to much that is really 
 pernicious. Under this plea of honesty there 
 is more capability of evil in swindling ad- 
 vertisements. I would not so much object 
 ta their admission if the paper needs the 
 money and would withhold the implied en- 
 dorsement, which is given with their pub- 
 lished determination to admit only such as 
 are worthy of confidence. 
 
 This feature alone is capable of working 
 infinite harm and great losses of money. 
 
 Mr. James F. Bbboheb — I read the Rural 
 New Torher, and I must object to these criti- 
 cisms. It is a good paper, And its labors are 
 in the interest of agriculture. There is no 
 reason why we should not have statements 
 of great successes with the figures that seem 
 to look extravagant to some of our poor far- 
 mers. Here is a man who speaks disparag- 
 ingly of com fodder, and likens the articles of 
 
 the Rural to such "coarse fodder," as he calls 
 it, because he does not know how to raise it 
 or cure it or use it. Other members, in pre- 
 vious discussions, have talked without knowl- 
 edge of this valuable crop. (Mr. Beeoher 
 entered with warmth into the defense of the 
 crop so much aspersed, and recommended 
 farmers to learn of the proper management 
 by reading the Rural New YorTcer.) 
 
 Geokqe S. McCann — There is much im- 
 provement in agricultural papers in the 
 last few years, and of this we ought to 
 be proud ; but in our own papers there 
 is negligence in a certain department. I al- 
 lude to the market reports. I object to 
 the way these are handled by the Advekti- 
 SBB and by the Gaiette. Look at either of 
 them to find the market value of any pro- 
 duct and you will not learn much. Tou are 
 anxious about any kind of grain, and on look- 
 ing at the market reports you find this infor- 
 mation : "The market has declined two 
 cents since our last report." Now you go 
 back a week and you find nothing. Gro an- 
 other week and there is notice of another 
 two cents decline or advance and you have 
 learned nothing. Now let them give us full 
 detailed statements of all that happens in the 
 market with statements of real transactions 
 Let them publish more matter which directly 
 interests the farmer. Let them teU us the 
 history of oats, and of wheat, and where, and 
 when tobacco originated. 
 
 (The speaker was promptly referred to Mr. 
 BilHngs.) 
 
 The Horseheads Journal in these matters 
 excels them both. If the Gaxette would 
 spend the time and money upon agricultural 
 matter that it gives to its Illustrated Month- 
 ly Supplement, I have no doubt it would at- 
 tract ten new subscribers for every one it 
 gets by that bait. The New Tork "Weekly 
 Tribune was one of the first to enter the field 
 here indicated, and it obtained a great in- 
 crease of circulation because it met a public 
 want. And I say now, whoever reads the 
 Tribune attentively and thoughtfully wiU 
 become an educated man. I do not refer to 
 its politics — it is a paper devoted to tho in- 
 terests of mankind. It treats religion, sci- 
 
16 
 
 enoe, commerce and art, and so elevates all 
 its readers in knowledge. 
 
 Mr. Van Duzeb — Let me add my endorse- 
 ment to all he has said of the Tribune. It has 
 done and is now doing a great work. Among 
 the dairymen assembled at TJtica I found the 
 Tribune and the Times almost without excep- 
 tion the two papers accepted as author- 
 ity in the price of dairy products 
 and the transactions with customers based 
 on their quotations. Writers in the agricul- 
 tural department of the Tribune are employed 
 from that class known as practical farmers, 
 who know whereof they write. Such a man 
 is L. B. Arnold. Utterly simple in his man- 
 ners, conscientious to the last degree, 
 thoughtful and earnest in all that he does. 
 A devotee of science, he entered upon the 
 study of chemistry almost in his old age, 
 because such knowledge was needed to elu- 
 cidate knotty points in his profession. I was 
 pleased in a recent interview to learn that he 
 is likely to enter upon a permanent engage- 
 ment as an agricultural writer. 
 
 Mr. James McCann — Agricultural writings 
 are good for all farmers, but he who depends 
 upon them alone to guide his practice will 
 be but a poor farmer. 
 
 Mr. S. M. Caer defended the Rwral New 
 Yorher at length and advocated the exercise 
 of more thought in farming. 
 
 Satueday, Jan. 24tli, 1874. 
 Vice President McCann called the meet- 
 ing to order promptly at the hour at which 
 time there was a very fine attendance. There 
 had already appeared the premonitory symp- 
 toms of a storm within the hall, while there 
 was a shrieking gale without. But the omin- 
 ous muttei-ings were harmless. A tilt with 
 the newspapers, no doubt, -was thought of, 
 because it would be a delightful way to grat- 
 ify the pugnacity of some members. The 
 last meeting had offered the gage of battle, 
 at a single point, but while this was well 
 
 fortified and reinforced, this meeting showed 
 no desire to precipitate hostilities. The 
 newspapers will stdl exist, and Club mem- 
 bers will buy and read them, except in times 
 of political excitement, when farmers having 
 not the slightest interest in politics, can not 
 of course be expected to care for what the 
 papers say. The fact is, farmers are just 
 ready for that blessed state when the lion 
 and the lamb shall lie down together, and 
 imtil that period they will see to it, that the 
 lamb shaU hurt no one — not even a defences- 
 less newspaper. 
 
 Mr. James F. Beechee — -There have been 
 many subjects discussed here, and no doubt 
 some of us have some good reason to change 
 opinions. That is necessary if we advance. 
 When we find ourselves holding to error we 
 must be always ready to cast loose. There 
 are men who have condemned the raising of 
 pumpkins, and I suppose continue that error. 
 Practice and observation have taught me 
 that pumpkins are good to fatten cattle, 
 good for milch cows to increase and improve 
 the butter, imparting a fine yeUow color, and 
 good for aU farm stock that wUl feed on them. 
 Much has been said here of root crops, and 
 not all in favor. Certainly turnips, beets 
 and carrots are all excellent to feed cattle. 
 They improve the health, make growth and 
 impart vigor. But here, as we are situated, 
 in a market always calling for these crops at 
 a good price, I cannot say it is always profit- 
 able to feed them. It is doubtful if the 
 value of turnips for feeding cattle is ever 
 more than twenty cents a bushel, and forty 
 cents is a common price paid. Better let 
 them go and put the money in com meal or 
 wheat shorts, or buckwheat bran, for any of 
 these at the cost will be more profitable to 
 feed. 
 
 Corn fodder has rather fallen into disre- 
 pute in this Club. I must insist it is because 
 of lack of knowledge. "With an experience 
 in raising and feeding it nearly fifty years I 
 feel that I can not be mistaken in my esti- 
 mate of its value. There are no such diffi- 
 culties in its management as we hear narra- 
 ted. My own way is to sow in drills using 
 Southern seed because sweeter — ^rows far 
 enough apart to permit a horse to pass — cnl- 
 
17 
 
 tivate thoroughly until the crop has complete 
 possession of the ground, harvest before 
 frost, or about the time of cutting field plant- 
 ed corn. Set up in stooks of moderate size, 
 and bind only the tops, and draw in when 
 cured, which, with good weath«r may be in 
 a, week. In this way there is no trouble nor 
 loss. I have just fed out the last 
 of mine sweet, and fresh as at 
 the first. I think a, cause of 
 much trouble is that the stooks are often 
 tightly bound about the middle by which the 
 circulation is impeded and the inner portion 
 is not cured when the stalks go to the barn. 
 As to the seed I think most farmers use too 
 much, many five or six bushels to the acre. 
 Half that amount is plenty enough. If our 
 friend Van Duzer wiU try the plan I have 
 drawn, he wiU no longer mislead the pubhc 
 by declaring sowed corn worthless. 
 
 Something has been said about beautify- 
 ing homes — all in too narrow a sense — I call 
 my farm my home, evei-y field and tree is 
 part and parcel of the home^I would beautify. 
 Even the growing crops, the playful lambs 
 skipping in their pastures, all are of my 
 home. I would never relax effort to improve 
 all these, because such efforts add always to 
 the beauty of home. I would say something 
 of the papers but they were fully discussed 
 last week. As to the market reports we can 
 help ourselves to what information there is 
 to be had, and not get it two weeks behind 
 the times. The wonder to me is that the 
 market reports are so good, considering the 
 difficulties. 
 
 Mr. S. M. Caeb — Four years these discus- 
 sions have been maintained, and there is 
 quite too much to review. I remember well 
 the first discussion, with its surroundings. 
 We talked of timber — the best time to cut; 
 and of fence posts — how to set to promote 
 durability, whether top or butt downward. I 
 well remember on that occasion when these 
 ten men convened for a modest talk, one of 
 them, in retiring after all had been said, de- 
 clared himself well repaid for aU his cost 
 and trouble by the accession of ideas. In 
 subsequent meetings many things have 
 transpired to interest us all, and no doubt 
 
 instruction has come to many. I shall not 
 attempt even to enumerate the topics dis- 
 cussed, much less to review them all. Only 
 here and there shall I touch some salient 
 point, and then only for the purpose of pro- 
 moting thought. In 1871 we had before us 
 the "rotation of crops," and our secretary 
 read an original essay full of interest to me, 
 but if I may use the expression, he stepped 
 on the toes of many members. He asked 
 what would be thought of a man who should 
 draw upon his banker untU his deposits were 
 gone and credit exhausted, and then, 
 when his drafts should be dishon- 
 ored, he should berate the banker 
 for his failure to extend unmerited favors. 
 And to such a man he likened him who 
 exhausts the fertility of his fields by continu- 
 al cropping without the proper deposits 
 and then grumbles about the hardships of 
 farming. He advocated rotation as a means 
 of maintaining fertility, and our friend Geo. 
 McCann insisted that three crops of wheat 
 might be raised in succession just as well as 
 the three successive crops, com, oats and 
 wheat. The proper uses of bam yard manure 
 have made the theme for a. great deal of 
 talk. We have all agreed upon its great 
 value for land and we have all recognized 
 the fact that we cannot get enough of it to 
 maintain fertility. And so has he arisen 
 question, what shall we use instead ? Our 
 Secretary said clover, and most of us agree ; 
 but here is Mr. Beeoher, who said timothy 
 would do just as well. Of course we shall 
 not all agree in aU matters, but to him who 
 thinks, and from whose eyes the scales of 
 prejudice have fallen, through these discus- 
 sions truth shall be made to appear. Ex- 
 travagant statements are sometimes made 
 and possibly allowed to pass, but it is our 
 habit to offer combat at once whenever there 
 appears a monstrous form of wrong. Some- 
 thing has been said informer meetings about 
 educating our chUdreu and the best ways of 
 interesting them in our business. I remem- 
 ber one prominent member of this club let 
 Jihe remark drop, that a good common school 
 education was enough for any farmer's chil- 
 dren. Was he in earnest ? I would give 
 my children all the education my means 
 
18 
 
 would permit and their capacity allow, even 
 to passing them through the best colleges, 
 and any other courses, which would add to 
 the sum of their knowledge. I would sur- 
 round their home and minds with every ob- 
 ject of interest and of beauty. I would in 
 every way provide the means of satisfying 
 their inquiring minds. 
 
 We talked of beautifying homes at a re- 
 cent meeting, and I say now, whoever, hav- 
 ing a home, shall read that discussion and 
 fail to add some ■ beauty to his home is not 
 worthy to be of us. That is indeed a happy 
 subject. There is none so poor that his 
 home cannot have some new beauty. Let all 
 remember the more love there is within the 
 home, the more beauty there will be. 
 and with these there comes the 
 reward which attends well-doing — happiness. 
 Our last meeting more unfortunate than 
 ever before assumed to discuss agricultural 
 papers and strayed to papers not agricul- 
 tural. Of course we should be particular in 
 what we say,not as precise as in forms of law, 
 but at least particular to treat all interests 
 fairly. One of our city papers has seen fit 
 to publish a pointed article relating to that 
 discussion and incidentally to this Club. I 
 except to the tenor of the article. There is 
 blame with us no doubt, and it is certain 
 there is blame with the papers, but let it be 
 understood we do not attack our city papers. 
 No one has said aught against the Gazette 
 Supplement, and yet it is represented in the 
 article, that Mr. MoCann did condemn it. — 
 It is true the market reports were criticized. 
 It may be we do not all understand the dif- 
 ficulties in the way of the reporter who 
 collects the information. Take the matter 
 hoine : I found last season summer butter 
 quoted twenty-five cents, and for some time 
 sold mine at that price, because on inquiry 
 I found that was the regular rate, but after 
 a time a dealer who wanted it said he 
 would give me thirty cents, but I 
 must say nothing. Well, I| took the 
 thirty and said nothing. How are the 
 papers to get hold of such transactions ? And 
 yet they are going on all the time in hay and 
 grain and every thing else that goes to mar- 
 ket. What we want is a Board of Trade to 
 
 give authority to markets. Perhaps the 
 transactions are not large enough but we may 
 be assured such as they are they will con- 
 tinue to be irregular until we have establish- 
 ed such a board. 
 
 And now there is one other matter in the 
 Gazette article against which I must enter an 
 emphatic protest. It is said that the success 
 of this institution has depended on and does 
 now depend on W. A. Armstrong. It is ab- 
 surd. We know better. Must we admit 
 that we are so low that but one of us all can 
 perform his labor ? I indignantly spurn 
 the idea. There are many who could take 
 his place and do his work. And then if 
 we are not reported at all, are we to die out ? 
 Certainly not. We should continue to exist. 
 I admit with a restricted field of useful- 
 ness, but with us no lack of interest. We 
 cheerfully give credit to the papers for all 
 they have done for us but let them not for- 
 get that there is an obligation on 
 both sides. I know of several subscribers, 
 who take the city papers solely on account 
 of the reports of these discussions, and I 
 know too, that we buy extra copies to send to 
 our friends abroad, all of which must be of 
 some benefit to the publishers. Let us be 
 fair on both sides. I admit the cheapest pur- 
 chase I make is the weekly newspaper, with 
 its narration of events, chapters of accidents, 
 market reports and a hundred other things, 
 j ust what my family and I happen to want, 
 at a cost of less than five cents. I cannot 
 estimate their value too highly. It is per- 
 fectly proper for us who are farmers to wish 
 these same papers might give us more agri- 
 cultural matter, but that would not suit all, 
 and we do not complain. We ask only, that 
 what they do toward us be fair, and we ex- 
 pect also to be fair. If they cease to Tise our 
 reports we shall not cease to exist, and we 
 shall prove to ourselves as well as to others, 
 that we are under no especial obligation to 
 any reporter, and that the Gazette errs egre- 
 giously, when it says Mr. Armstrong is so 
 necessary to our existence, or if it supposes 
 there are not others with us whd could do 
 his work as well. 
 
 O. S. MoCann— This club I call my home. 
 
19 
 
 Ever since it was formed I have taken a 
 great interest in it, and I have learned mucli 
 tlirough. it. I think I have learned more from 
 smaU farmers because their experience cen- 
 tres more in single things. I have been a 
 thousand times interested in these discus- 
 sions, and believe noTv there is not one in ten 
 of our farmers who may not learn some use- 
 ful lesson here — not that we claim to be 
 wiser than others, but here is the place 
 where our experiences are told and views 
 compared. ' We talk with freedom, as we 
 should. We do not always agree, but we 
 may disagree in terms not offensive. I do 
 not agree with what the Gazette said of me 
 this week. I had spoken freely of the paper, 
 and can substantiate what I said, but I will 
 not charge upon it as its editor did upon me 
 — falsehood. I have been looking over the 
 files, and I find abundant proof of the fault I 
 named — especially in the year 1871 in quo- 
 tation of meat, dressed hogs and barley — I 
 hive not looked through the late yearSi It 
 is enough to know its own columns bear out 
 the truth of my statements. Now 
 in regard to the "Illustrious Monthly Sup- 
 plement" (I must be precise — that is the title 
 by which the Gazette designates it in our 
 last report), I never meant to say anything 
 to its djti-iment. I never have said such a. 
 word, and I am qmte ready to say now what 
 I believe is true, that the "Supplement" 
 alone is quite worth the cost of the paper — 
 two dollars a year. I regard the "Supple- 
 ment" as worth more than the Gazette itself, 
 and yet in the article assailing me, the editor 
 says I would take this "source of pleasure" 
 from homes. Oh, no ! I don't want the 
 "Supplement" stopped, nor do I want any 
 home deprived of the pleasure it gives. 
 
 There is one other matter — an allusion to 
 my experience, when the editor, elegant as 
 usup,l, speaks of "slopping over." The phrase 
 is new to me, but I think I know what it 
 means, and may properly style it an offensive 
 slur. 
 
 Mr. Pletchee Cakr.— In looking back 
 over the past few years we find great im- 
 provement in i ournalism . Not long ago none 
 of the weekly newspapers except a few of the 
 
 greatest in the great uitius gave any upaoe 
 or attention to agricultural matter — 
 no local paper had any notice of 
 our business. Note nowthe change. Every 
 town, village and hamlet has its newspaper 
 giving more or less attention to farm mat- 
 ters; furnishing weU prepared reports of 
 Club meetings. Granges, or giving well 
 written articles by farmers who have stud- 
 ied to some purpose. All this shows that 
 agrioultm'e is making rapid strides in im- 
 provement and that it is already raised to a 
 higher plane. 
 
 The difficulties o£ making complete and 
 accurate market reports are great as any of 
 us may learn if we go into the market to en- 
 quire prices. I think if the Elmira Farmers' 
 Club would devise any plan to add to the 
 completeness of the statements, the city pa- 
 pers would be very glad to adopt the im- 
 provement. But there is one thing of which 
 we may justly complain — the disposition to 
 fill their columns with blood-curdling de- 
 tails of horrid crimes. Why not shorten 
 their hideous proportions? I concede the 
 right to chronicle crime, but spare us the 
 disgusting details and save this space for 
 matter of real utility. I am not referring 
 to our papers alone. All over the country 
 there is this disposition to hunt the sensa- 
 tional and the revolting. 
 
 Mr. James McCANN^With others here I 
 say there is benefit in these discussions. I 
 too, remember well the first one, and I re- 
 member that it was much talked of for six 
 months afterward and that it excited 
 thought. So, too, another discussion of the 
 ways of seeding to grass, wherein I recom- 
 mended crops giving the least shade, and 
 President Hoffman said, sow no other crop 
 with grass seed. The idea was new, but I 
 have become almost a convert. I have sowed 
 grass seed in that way and I have seen it 
 done successfully by others. So have I been 
 benefitted by the ideas here expressed about 
 trimming trees — the proper time and man- 
 ner, and how to heal the wounds. 
 
 The last discussion, running on newspa- 
 pers, seems to have excited some feeling, but 
 I think there is nobody much hurt. Readers 
 
20 
 
 will look to see what is said on the matter 
 this week and may perhaps be amused — I 
 hope not hurt. 
 
 There is no doubt this Club is known fa- 
 vorably or otherwise, over a wide extent of 
 country, and the newspapers have been the 
 agency through which our doings are dissem- 
 inated. I was in Albany this week with 
 President Hoffman and had the pleasure of 
 seeing him congratulated on every 
 hand because of his position with us. And 
 what was surprising, he was so well known 
 and so often pointed out as the President of 
 the Elmira Farmers' Club. 
 
 Mr. Cake reiterated his ideas about re- 
 porting, and declared he often arose with 
 trembling because he knew that what he 
 should say would be put in the papers. He 
 believed many were deterred from speaking 
 by the fear of appearing in print. 
 
 Loud call made for "Chapman,'' aroused 
 Dave Billings from a comfortable doze, and 
 understanding the word " Chaplain," he 
 sprang to his feet with a profusion of apolo- 
 gies for not before appearing. Butevennowhe 
 declared he could not address the chair on the 
 questionbef ore the house,because he had given 
 all the energies of his mind to the illustra- 
 tion of the forttcoming volume of discus- 
 sions, and was never more troubled than at 
 that moment, by the effort to devise cuts 
 to represent the grotesque attitudes of 
 speakers who had preceded him. Certain 
 animal profiles would do in some cases, and 
 the bird of wisdom should stare from the 
 opposite page on the reported remarks of 
 some sapient members, and at last subsiding. 
 
 Mr. S. A. Chapman, respondui Lo the call : 
 Since the formation of this Club I have 
 never ceased to have a deep interest in all 
 its affairs. I know I have learned much. I 
 know that I am prepared to be a better 
 farmer through the means employt^d here. 
 These meetings have given me much 
 pleasure as well as profit, and I have been 
 benefitted also by a better acquaintance with 
 my neighbors. As to the newspapers which 
 have come up for remarks, I can say that 
 they are welcome visitors to my house for 
 about nine months of the year. I read with 
 
 interest both the Advebtisee and the 
 Gazette and my family have a like interest, 
 but in the other three months we can spare 
 them as well as not — that is during the time 
 of a political campaign when they wUl both 
 tell untruths. 
 
 AUusion has been made to the hesitation 
 shown by some members, who are well able 
 to speak. I confess to that feeling myself 
 and must say that at the first, I could hardly 
 overcome the reluctance caused by the fear 
 that something might get into print to make 
 me feel unpteasant. But that has worn off. 
 I have learned that I wOl be taken care of, 
 and for such care I am under a weight of 
 obligation to the reporter. 
 
 Mr. Beeohee. — I have read our city papers' 
 for the last nineteen years and I regard the 
 Advebtisee 'End the Gazette as both valu- 
 able. Both are much improved within the 
 past few J'ears. It is well to take both be- 
 cause you thus get more full local news and 
 other matters of interest. It has just been 
 said that both are untruthful during politi- 
 cal campaigns. Now, really, there has been 
 very great improvement in their tone within 
 three years past. They are more truthful 
 in politics, and in fact there is no particular 
 disagreement between the papers so far as 
 politics are cencemed. 
 
 [Dave suggests here the image of a 
 dove.] 
 
 SELECTION OF SEEDS. 
 
 Satl'Iid.^y, Jan. 31, 1874. 
 The fine moonlit evening and the interest 
 in the subject brought out a full attendance, 
 an unusual proportion of which came with 
 something to say. The first matter was an 
 inquiry from a Big Flats farmer, how to get 
 rid of scab in his sheep, to which Mr. D. E. 
 Howell said ; He will find it very difficult in 
 winter, but in mild weather a strong decoc- 
 tion of tobacco thoroughly applied wiU ef- 
 fect a cure. 
 
 Mr. Edwabd Wakd— If he has but a few, 
 let him kill them — it is the best way. If he 
 undertakes to cure them by a tobacco wash 
 
21 
 
 in this weather, he must shear them, and 
 that will kill them without the wash. 
 
 An inquiry from a lady about washing 
 with hard water unfortunately had been long 
 overlooked, but will be submitted to farmers' 
 wives familiar with the processes, and an- 
 swered at the next meeting. 
 
 President Hoffman having been absent at 
 the last meeting was, according to the cus- 
 tom, assigned to the opening of the subject 
 — selection of seeds — and said : 
 
 The proper selection of seeds I look upon 
 as a subject of the greatest importance to 
 the farmer. By due attention to this matter 
 he can change the entire character of a crop 
 within a few years. He can make vast 
 changes in the line of improvement. The 
 wonderful possibilities are well illustrated in 
 the flowering annuals, which by a fewyears of 
 careful selection, have developed plants of 
 such different character and bloom as to look 
 like new species. With farm seeds there is 
 none more readily improved by selection 
 than com. Within ten years merely by se- 
 lection, the character of the ears may be so 
 changed as to form a distinct variety. This 
 is more easy than with oats, or wheat be- 
 cause the ears having more size, extra quality 
 is more easUy discerned, but with sufficient 
 pains, I do not doubt as great changes may 
 be wrought in the smaller grains. 
 
 The president exhibited two ears of dent 
 com, remarkable for their size and the per- 
 fect development of the grains, and said : — 
 These ears I took out of the crib in the dark, 
 and regard them as a fair sample of the lot, 
 and yet this com comes by selection from 
 the small white flint com without dent, 
 raised on the same farm since 1^36 or 1837, 
 with the product of a single ear to establish 
 the dent. Many years ago an ear was 
 brought from Oliio and planted in the gar- 
 den, and the product planted on one side of 
 the fleld adjoining the flint the following 
 year, and with this exception all the seed has 
 been raised on the place since the date 
 named. It was desired to produce the dent- 
 ed com, and by selection this was accom- 
 plished to such a degree as to make many of 
 the ears too light, and that again corrected 
 by selection, without change of seed. I do 
 
 not say that changes so noticeable can bo 
 produced in all our crops, but this principle 
 illustrated in the com can be profitably 
 worked in all our seeds. 
 
 I met recently a gentleman from St. Law- 
 rence county, largely engaged in the culture 
 of beans. He expects to plant next season 
 one hundred and twenty-five acres, and when 
 I saw him he had the ground nearly plowed. 
 Now, for all that planting, he told me he 
 should have the seed selected three times — 
 twice by caref id men, and the last time he 
 should do it himself or entrust it to some 
 man especially trustworthy. And after all 
 this care he intends to- select from the whole 
 crop. He suggested that it is not well to 
 look for the largest seeds, whether of corn, 
 or beans, or potatoes. In all, he regards the 
 medium in size better. Said he, "I would 
 not breed from monstrosities; a large horse, 
 overgrown, is not as good as the average in 
 size. So with the potato and so with the 
 man." Which I thought a modest conclu- 
 sion for him, for he must measure full six 
 and a half feet in height. The principle is, 
 medium size seeds are likely to have more 
 perfect development and greater vitality. 
 The corn I have shown you is increased in 
 size of kernel one-half over the original white 
 flint, but that had a cob as long as these, 
 or even longer. We have shelled the 
 tips and butts from the ears 
 and used the rest for seed, with 
 the idea that the rejected kernels were im- 
 perfect. The main point is to get seed as 
 nearly perfect as possible in all the require- 
 ments, and so continue to select. I believe 
 whoever sows ten acres or five acres of wheat 
 will be will paid if he will take down his 
 sheaves in the winter, and cull from them 
 the best heads for all his seed. It would be 
 well if he could have this done at the har- 
 vest, but there is too much hurry. Such se- 
 lection should be made at least every second 
 year, and if the labor should seem too great, 
 at least enough could be carefully selected 
 to sow for seed, thus using the product of 
 the selection. 
 
 I believe, too, it is better to raise our own 
 seeds than to depend upon professioned 
 growers. Of course, we need change from 
 
22 
 
 different localities in some of tlie crops. — 
 Oats seem to do better on our low lands 
 when the seed is brought from the up land, 
 and the reverse is also advantageous. Still, 
 care mnst be taken in changing seed pro- 
 duced in other localities. This corn would 
 not do to take North whei'e the season Is 
 shorter than here, but if I were going to 
 plant in Virginia, I would use it. We get 
 heavy oats from Vermont, or some other 
 northern placQ, and they grow lighter with 
 us. I think mainly because of our careless 
 culture. I believe if we should sow only the 
 best kernels we could keep the quality up. 
 It would be well to try this selection with 
 oats by casting seed over the floor, the heav- 
 iest going the farthest, or by an arrange- 
 ment of the sieves in the fanning mill to get 
 the heavieat and use them for seed. 
 
 Now, in regard to garden seeds, many of 
 us are troubled because those we buy wiU 
 not grow. I believe the real secret, in very 
 many instances is, their vitality is lost by 
 age. Seedsmen, I believe, gather up the 
 unsold of one year and mix with the new 
 seed for the next year's sales, and there are 
 many kinds of seeds, that when old, will not 
 germinate. Some lose vitality after one 
 year; some after two, while others retain it 
 indefinitely. Especially those kinds which 
 are worthless when old, should be produced at 
 home and careful selections oonstaiitly made 
 to improve quality. Get as near as 
 you can to the standard you have fixed, 
 and raise such from the specimens selected. 
 If for instance you have a desire to produce 
 cabbage of a given form and quality, find 
 that which approaches the nearest, and from 
 that get your seed and the heads grown from 
 that seed, some of them at least will come 
 nearer your standard. From them raise seed 
 again and so continue, and you will estab- 
 lish just the variety you seek. I confess I 
 have not been successful in producing good 
 cabbage seed, but it is because I have not 
 learned how. 
 
 3Ir. James McCann — Take good sound 
 heads in the spring and set out just as they 
 were when pulled in the fall. Now when 
 the seed sprouts start, one will grow right 
 throught the middle of the head, from that 
 
 save the seed. Break off all the others. 
 The late Mr. Horning, gardener, practiced 
 this method and I used to buy plants of him, 
 always more vigorous than any obtained 
 elsewhere, and of late I have attended to 
 the raising of such for myself and such seed 
 always came up. 
 
 President Hoffman — It is notorious that 
 many seedsmen produce seed from very infe- 
 rior plants and put such seed on the market. 
 The small, ill-formed beets and carrots, 
 small potatoes, and other produce rejected in 
 the market, but having the power to produce 
 seed are set out by firms and we buy the seed. 
 Can we expect with such a start to come out 
 with the best products ? 
 
 James McCann. — I find my peas deterio- 
 rate if I undertake to use the seed I raise. 
 It is better to send every year to Canada for 
 the seeds if you would have early peas. 
 
 Mr. John Beidgman — A great deal of the 
 timothy seed that comes into our market is 
 skinned or hulled und I believe it will not 
 grow as well as soiind whole seeds. I am 
 particular ip buying to get if possible that 
 which is threshed by the flail. It is quite a 
 serious matter, to be cheated out of the 
 grass seeding when your laud is ready, 
 and I take much pains to get 
 seed which is sure to grow. On one occasion 
 I took home from a dealer a sample of the 
 pulled timothy seed, and made every effort 
 to sprout it in the house but could not, and 
 I say therefore it is not good. I believe it 
 will not grow any more than will hulled 
 buckwheat. 
 
 Mr. Edward Ward — If you take a very 
 ripe head of timothy and shell it in your 
 hand carefully, you will find this same skin- 
 less condition which I attribute to over 
 ripeness. I cannot say such seed wiU grow. 
 
 Mr. D. E. Howell — I bought once several 
 bushels of old timothy seed and sowed it but 
 it did not grow. The fault I thought was 
 in the age. 
 
 Mr. J. McCann— How old must it be to 
 lose vitality ? 
 
 Mr. Wilkes Jenkins — After ten or fift;:en 
 
23 
 
 years kept in manure it will grow, as I can 
 vouch from having seen it. 
 
 Mr. McCann — On my wheat last fall 
 I sowed timothy seed cut three years 
 before, and it came up well. 
 
 President Hoffman — There is no doubt 
 that old seeds require a longer time to ger- 
 minate. Wheat for instance a year old 
 sowed by the side of new seed will be several 
 days later in coming up. I believe any seed 
 is better if not thoroughly ripe. Certainly 
 it is quicker to grow and the plants seem to 
 have more vigor. 
 
 Mr. Geo. Conqdon — Is there any seed 
 quite' as good to grow, and as likely to pro- 
 duce a good crop, after it is more than a 
 year old ? 
 
 President Hoffman — No, I believe not. 
 
 Mr. BiLLiNos — It is claimed by gardeners 
 that cabbage seed improves by age within 
 certain limits — ^tliat the heads produced from 
 old seed are firmer and in other respects 
 better. 
 
 Mr. CoNQDON — In malting barley, I have 
 noticed that old requii'es more time. We 
 sometimes get a lot in which there is a mix- 
 ture of old, which I suppose farmers put 
 in through ignorance, but we -never 
 fail to find it in the malting. Barley a year 
 old wUl grow, but it will take three days 
 longer than the new to start the spear and 
 root, so of course they cannot be malted to- 
 gether. ' Last year I malted fifteen hundred 
 bushels of old barley, and after that experi- 
 ence I say now I would not undertake to do 
 it again and to dispose of the malt if the 
 grain were given to me. I can't get the 
 quality — it looks good but it won't yield. 
 Honey is the only thing that can take the 
 place of barley malt, but it will not keep 
 well. 
 
 I have seen old barley sowed, but it didnpt 
 come evenly like new seed, and barley to be 
 excellent miist be even and ripen together 
 Five years ago I bought of 0. H. Fitch a 
 lot of barley that weighed but forty-one 
 pounds to the bushel, and I let it go for 
 seed to be sown on Caton HiUs. The farm- 
 ers who took it were influenced by its being 
 
 the cleanest lot I had. I was afraid it would 
 not do well, but in the fall those men brought 
 me the crop raised from that seed, and I 
 never saw prettier barley. It weighed plump 
 forty-eight pounds and was without fault. 
 
 Mr. Bbidqman — I bought oats on the bill 
 two years ago for seed, and my crop raised 
 from them was lighter in weight than the 
 seed. 
 
 President Hoffman — Were the oats heavier 
 than if raised from your own seed ? 
 
 Mr. Bbidgman — They were, but we cannot 
 on our flat land keep up the character of oats 
 raised on the hills. 
 
 Mr. J. S. Hoffman — And we cannot get 
 as good barley on these pine plains as on the 
 hills. 
 
 President Hoffman — We aU know that 
 these flats will not produce as good barley, 
 but will it not always be better to bring seed 
 from the hills, thereby insuring better grain 
 than if the seed were grown on the flats ! 
 And may it not be better also for the hiU 
 fariners to take their seed from the 
 flats ? With com this would not do, 
 because frost would interfere with 
 the change. So with Mr. McCann' s early 
 peas. He goes to Canada where there is a 
 shorter season, and he finds peas acclimated 
 and adapted to the curtailed season — he 
 brings them here, and for a, single season 
 they preserve something of their acquired 
 character, but they soon begin to adapt 
 themselves to our season, and he therefore 
 finds it necessary to get new seed. 
 
 Now if he were to go to Norfolk and get 
 peas which are called early there, he would 
 find them late here, but in adapting to our 
 season they would the next year be earlier. 
 All seeds tend to adapt their growth to the 
 changed circumstances. Take our flint corn 
 to the west and it will dent. 
 
 J. S. Hoffman. — I have seen our yeUow 
 com taken to the Wabash valley by a man 
 who was going late in the spring, and so 
 wanted our earlier corn to plant there. I 
 saw the ci;op and it all dented the first sea- 
 son. 
 
24 
 
 Mr. EvEEETT — A Minnesota farmer, asked: 
 Didn't dent corn grow near to cause the 
 change by mixing ? It will dent though as 
 Mr. Hoffman says. I, too, have seen it in 
 Minnesota. Henry Matthews took there 
 some of our small seed and that dented. 
 Our rule in changing seed is to take 
 seed from the timber lands to use 
 on the open prairie and from the prairie to 
 the timber lands. 
 
 Mr. Jenkins. — I think the benefit of the 
 change comes through the different soils 
 rather than the localities, in our neighbor- 
 hood changes. You get seed from the hills 
 and it is usually raised on clay, while on 
 these flats it is gravel or loam. Now if you 
 should bring seed from a gravel or loam soil 
 on the hill I think there would be not much 
 advantage in the change. 
 
 Mr. Waed enquired if any one had known 
 wheat raised from seed continuously pro- 
 duced on one farm as long as six years. 
 
 Mr. EvEBETT. — Yes, ten or twelve years, 
 and the quality kept good. 
 
 Mr. Ward. — When I came into this vaUey 
 I found a man who had so raised wheat 
 six years, and his crop was one-fourth 
 chess. 
 
 Mr. McCann asked if it was advisable to 
 cut seed potatoes ? 
 
 Mr. J. S. Hoffman — They are betterplant- 
 el whole. 
 
 Mr. Fletches Cakr — I have experimented 
 in this matter for the last five years, and I 
 find that the whole seed comes up quicker 
 and I think produces better potatoes. 
 
 Mr. J. E. CoNKLiN — Something depends 
 on the variety, the early rose for instance, 
 with too much seed is not so early, besides 
 more small potatoes are produced ; so with 
 that variety, I prefer cut seed and small 
 pieces in the hiU. 
 
 Mr. Billings ui-ged that if we are to be- 
 lieve the sworn statements of men, who claim 
 to have produced all the way from three 
 hundred to six hundred pounds from one, an 
 argument would seem to be furnished in fa- 
 vor of cutting. 
 
 Mr. J. S. Hoffman — But how about the 
 land planted with single eyes, as in such in- 
 stances where the object is to propagate a 
 
 variety ? 
 
 The President — There is the difBculty. 
 They make great yields according to the 
 seed, and small yields as it regards acres 
 planted. 
 
 Mr. BiLLiNftS — The president has made 
 his argument in favor of raising our own 
 seed, while I have given some attention to 
 the matter, and while I have been successful 
 in producing good seed, I have been able to 
 procure equally good or even better by buy- 
 ing. He thinks the old seed is gathered in 
 from the retail dealers and mixed with the 
 new. It may be true, but I have for some 
 years bought my seed from James Vick, of 
 Eoohester, and never failed to get fresh and 
 good. 
 
 Mr. CoNGDON— Do you buy it here or send 
 to Vick ? 
 
 Mr. Billings — I send direct to him. 
 
 Mr. Howell — Why not buy here cheaper ? 
 
 Mj. Billings — Because I did not know his 
 seed could be procured of our dealers and 
 besides don't Mr. HoweU know I like to put 
 on style by sending abroad and paying 
 more ? 
 
 Mr. S. M. Cakk— It has been my practice 
 to raise my own garden seed until within the 
 last few years, having grown careless I have 
 bought, and with very poor fortune. Last 
 year aU the seeds I bought failed. Cabbage, 
 I obtained from three or four sources 
 and it all failed. I had nothing to succeed 
 except a very few beets, and I attribute the 
 failure to the old seed, as suggested by the 
 President. In raising we must be particular 
 to get the best, and also to gather just at 
 the right time. Better take aU the care 
 than to be imposed on by dealers with worth- 
 less seed. 
 
 Mr. CoNQDON — Erom six papers of parsnip 
 seed, which I bought and sowed last year, I 
 had just six parsnips. 
 
 Mr. Billings— I know Mr. Carr ig skillful, 
 but I must attribute his failure to other 
 
25 
 
 causes than poor seed. He has not closely 
 observed his cabbage, and guarded the ten- 
 der shoots from the depredations of insetts- 
 The tiny plants will come up in the morning, 
 and if the state of the atmosphere is favor- 
 able, a little flea will light upon them and in 
 twenty-four hours destroy all. Or if there 
 is a long dry time just after the 
 sowing, and then a beating rain, the earth 
 is packed so hard the plants cannot push 
 through. I insist that cabbage and turnip 
 seed are both good, with unimpaired vitality, 
 if they are kept as old as he is. 
 
 Mr. HowEiiL — I saw yesterday a dealer in 
 timothy seed with samples from Canada, and 
 he was told by our dealers that they could 
 do as well or better than to take his, in Chi- 
 cago. He said he never sold his fine seed in 
 Chicago, but he did sell them his inferior 
 seed — what he called the tailings. 
 
 Mr. Billings — I wouldn't buy his fine 
 seed and take his promise to deliver. 
 
 Discussion running on to pumpkins grew 
 facetious and the President promptly closed 
 it.. 
 
 PLANNING FOK SPKING. 
 
 Satukday Evening, Feb. 7, 1874. 
 Strangely enough, there are men with high 
 credit for success in farming, who visit the 
 Club week after week and listen with appa- 
 rent interest to all that is said, but can never 
 be provoked to interject a word — until after 
 the President declares discussion closed, and 
 the meeting adjourns, when these same men 
 at once become the most voluble Solons, 
 from whose lips issue little rivulets, broad 
 streams, great floods of wisdom. No presid- 
 ing officer knows how to call them out. Per- 
 haps there is nothing to come out until the 
 leaven has leavened the whole lump. Cer- 
 tainly they do not rise until after the meet- 
 ing is closed. The attendance at this meet- 
 ing was rather less than usual, but comprised 
 farmers from several of the surrounding 
 towns. The true scope of the question was 
 apparently not perceived by all, and as usual 
 there were disagreements, good-natured, 
 critical and captious. The Club library 
 continues to receive notice, especially from 
 
 the younger members and from ladies, many 
 of whom visit the Club at every session to 
 exchange books. The librarian always 
 opens the hall an hour in advance of the 
 regular discussion to afford proper time and 
 facilities for the selection of books. 
 
 An inquiry by Mrs. AUen about washing 
 with hard water was referred to a member 
 whose wife is known to be an excellent ' 
 house-keeper, and she replies : "Use sal soda 
 at the rate of half a pound to the barrel of 
 water if moderately hard, and more if very 
 hard. The water must be drawn and the 
 soda thrown in ten or twelve hours before 
 using in order to give time for the lime to 
 precipitate. When used, dip it carefully 
 without disturbing the sediment. The same 
 result can be attained by the use of good, 
 strong, wood ashes, taking two quarts tied 
 in a bag and thrown in thte water a few hours 
 before using. Of course ley will accomplish 
 the same change by neutralizing the lime 
 but there is danger in its use, that if strong 
 the hands would be likely to be made sore.'' 
 
 After the usual preliminary business the 
 President caUeil the subject and Mr. Samuel 
 A. Chapman, who said : Farming stands at the 
 head of all business. Upon its success depends 
 the success of the merchant, the mechanic, 
 and all classes and kinds of useful business. 
 It is therefore of the first importance that 
 the farmer should have his plans well laid to 
 insure the successful production of food for 
 all, and if possible a reasonable degree of 
 profit for himself. He should know now 
 just what fields to plow in the coming spring 
 and where he will cut the grass for his cat- 
 tle. Now is the time to perfect his plans, 
 while the ground is locked by frost, and 
 there is time for thought. Very many aids 
 to success can now be arranged, which if left 
 to spring, must then in the hurry and pres- 
 sure of work be neglected. If I may men- 
 tion some of those provisions which should 
 be made now for the coming season, I should 
 say first there is nothing which looks more 
 satisfactory to the tired farmer than his shed 
 well stored with wood prepared for burning, 
 and I advise that such provision 
 be made before the first of April ; 
 otherwise there is little likelihood 
 
26 
 
 that it be ilonu at all. We all know that it 
 is very unpleasa-nt to have a call for wood, 
 when we come tired from the field and get 
 that wood, must in some way be had. It is 
 true economy to provide it now. 
 
 Another matter which should now receive 
 attention is the putting of farm tools in effi- 
 cient order. The harrow teeth, if not sharp, 
 should at once Ije sharpened ready for use. 
 It does not look vrell for the farmer to be at 
 the shop with such a job at the very time 
 when his harrow should be at work in the 
 field. Another requirement is the prepara- 
 tion of seed sra^i'i which is sure to be done 
 better if done now, liecause there is time to 
 use. If you have not good seed, now is the 
 time to look about and find it, and to put 
 what you have through the mill, making it 
 as pure and clean as you can, ready to cast 
 on the field. It never pays to use poor seed 
 if good can 1 le obtained at any co-^t of labor 
 or time. 
 
 Many fai-mers make terrible mistakes in 
 the treatment of their animals. It is the 
 custom with some to turn their horses out to 
 pick their living as they may, aided 
 only by a straw stack and late in March or 
 April, to take up the poor animals and give 
 a little grain as a fitting for severe labor at 
 the opening of spring. I teU you a horse 
 taken from such keeping can not be made 
 ready for service in one or two weeks. The 
 true way is to use him moderately all winter 
 that he may be hardened for the excessive 
 strain to 1 >e put upon him in spring. We 
 have all observed that more horses are lost 
 in the busy spring than at any other season, 
 and I have no doubt that the real cause is 
 the imperfect fitting for labor, rather than 
 the excess of labor. 
 
 Good trusty helji must be sought now if at 
 all, and having found it, I recommend pay- 
 ino- liberal wage.-i. With help of this char- 
 ter you can att'ord yood pay better than with 
 careless laljorers without any pay. 
 
 I have but indicated a few of the import- 
 ant matters that demanrl attention now. AH 
 the plans for spring must be arranged now, if 
 thi' work is to go forward in good order. It 
 is cheaper, easier and in every way better 
 
 to enter upon the work with plans and pre- 
 parations complete. 
 
 Mr. James McCann furnished his quota of 
 thought in the following suggestive paper, 
 which he passed to the Secretary to read : 
 
 "No time of the year is strictly a period of 
 rest with the industrious farmer, yet the 
 long winter coolpels a cessation of out of 
 door work and gives time for thought and 
 study within the warm rooms of home. Now 
 is the time for the farmer to arrange plana 
 for the coming year for without plans no 
 good end can be certainly attained. Hence 
 he should determine during these long win- 
 ter evenings exactly what fields he shall 
 plant with each crop, the quantity and char- 
 acter of manure he will apply, and form an 
 estimate of the results he hopes to attain. 
 Some may say that all this is visionary, or 
 building castles in the air. In my view it is 
 prudence and good judgment. Admitting 
 that all may not occur in exact accordance 
 with the plan laid down ; it then becomes 
 the farmer to show himself a good general 
 also and to devise and adopt a new 
 plan suited to the altered circum- 
 stances aud this may be done all 
 the more readily if the winter studies 
 have been thorough and comprehensive. No 
 good general cammences a campaign without 
 first having made a plan with all the influ- 
 ences that may cause him to deviate there- 
 from, carefully studied and how such lines of 
 deviation may lead to success. The year's 
 work of the farmer is nothing but a campaign 
 agaiust weeds and insects and adverse influ- 
 ences, in the struggle to di'aw from the soil 
 the fruits and vegetables, the grain and the 
 grasses which furnish the necessary sub- 
 sistance for himself and his dependants in 
 the march thi-ough life. All this must be 
 done in spite of drouth or insects. He must 
 retrieve disaster and conquer disease in his 
 cattle, it he would find profit in leading them 
 fat to the shambles or with the fading year 
 if he would send them into winter quarters 
 ncreased in numbers and sound in health. — 
 To accomplish all these ends, and to win every 
 fight isjno easy task, and requires much care- 
 ful preliminary thought. Now is the 
 time for it. Soon the snow will 
 
27 
 
 have passed away and the mellow 
 ground be ready for the plow and 
 the seed, and then, if no plan has been 
 formed, the farmer will be but little better 
 than a ship at sea without rudder or com- 
 pass. He will be behind in the beginning 
 and a laggard at the harvest— while his 
 neighbor who has his plans well made will 
 be early in sowing, early in reaping, and 
 early in the market, thvis securing the profits 
 of spring prices. 
 
 There may seem to be, with some of us. 
 much difiioulty in forming such plans, but 
 really, nothing is more easy, if we give care- 
 ful thought to the work. We must look 
 over the fields and carefully note the differ- 
 ent requirements, by which we shall be able 
 to decide what seeds to sow and what fertili- 
 zers to use. Having done all this, he will 
 find profit, as the season advances, in jotting 
 down performances, with such observations 
 as he may make about weather and dates of 
 the various operations of plowing, sowing 
 and harvesting, together with a record of 
 the growth and changes in his crops. This 
 will afford him tTlfe means for better 
 calculations in the succeeding year. — 
 Will he refuse to do this because 
 it is so much trouble ? Let him once begin 
 and hs wiE be surprised to see how much 
 interest there is in the record of facts which 
 serve not only to guide his present work, 
 but to lead to the use of greater intelligence 
 in future operations." 
 
 . President HoFrMAsr — I think I do too 
 much planning, and that I carry out too few 
 of my nicely arranged plans. My wife says 
 I build castles in the air, and so say all who 
 know me. I have plans now ten years old 
 and not yet executed, but I am striving in 
 that direction. Those plans are not written 
 down in a brilliant volume, such as they 
 might make, but they are stored away in 
 memory, and I look them over often, and at 
 least have pleasure in that.. For the last six 
 months I have been planning ditches which 
 are not yet dug. I have been looking after 
 the details, and the other day I happened to 
 speak aloud of my subject of thought, in the 
 presence of a gentlemen who had given 
 much attention to drainage, and he 
 
 gave me a hint which wiU save me 
 hundreds of dollars. There is profit then in 
 thinking and laying plans for the future. 
 The fact is the improvements in our farms 
 and our business grow out of carefully ar- 
 ranged plans, and I venture the remark that 
 we cannot plan too much, unless we fail en- 
 tirely to execute. 
 
 Mr. Samuel M. Cake — One of our present 
 needs is to see how our work can be advanced 
 by the use of new and improved imple- 
 ments, for the fact stands out with promi- 
 nence that labor has advanced beyond other 
 things since our late civil strife ; while the 
 products of th6 farm have settled back to old 
 values, labor costs twice as much as it did 
 in 1861, and we must govern ourselves ac- 
 cordingly. He who wbrks one hundred or 
 two hiindred acres of laud must have help of 
 some sort, but let him ask, will it pay ? I 
 say it will not pay to employ labor at the 
 present prices and we must therefore depend 
 upon implements. I an thankful that 1 can 
 get four or five days' work in one by the use 
 of the mower and my horses, and now we 
 want in the other departments of the farm 
 similar aids, or our lamls must lie left in 
 idleness. Of course at this season it is im- 
 portant that everything be put in order for 
 work, that there may be no delay 
 when the busy season comes. Every possi- 
 ble aid must be had and used, if there is to 
 be an adequate return for farm labor. Lands 
 must be drained and otherwise put in the 
 best condition. And beyond all this, care of 
 the family ib a special subject for the farm- 
 ers' thoughts. With three or four sons able 
 to help, he may feel sorely tempted to deny 
 the privileges of school. Let him consider 
 well if he has a son with the promise of use- 
 fulness to be developed through study. He 
 has no right to sacrifice the bright hopes of 
 ambitious young manhood to his own good. 
 Let him so plan his work that the young 
 man of promise can develop his talent, for 
 the world will want to vise it. 
 
 Mr. Chapman — About seventeen years ago 
 in a store in this place I noticed a single 
 kernel of com which wasfarge and showy, but 
 had something like a frosted look. Speaking 
 of it, the proprietor told me it came from the 
 
28 
 
 Hoffman farm. Some time after, passing by 
 the old man's place, I called to make further 
 inquiries about the corn, and the result of 
 my visit was that I brought away some of 
 that corn for seed, and I planted it on hill 
 land and it grew enormously, 
 and yielded as good a crop as I 
 ever saw grow. I continued the use of that 
 seed, always getting good crops for a few 
 years, when it got mixed, and I .went back 
 to the original source with like success and 
 result, too, for that mixed from a neighbor's 
 corn across the road. I went then to a son of 
 the old man and got the same variety, which 
 yielded as before. I mention this success, 
 continiTod through many years, because it 
 was the direct result of an attention to small 
 matters. If I had waited until time to plant 
 I should never have had an ear of that seed 
 nor the profits therefrom. In the hui-ry of 
 the season I should each year have planted 
 from my own crib, and should not have had 
 as many dollars as I have now. 
 
 Mr. Wilkes W. Jenkins — If we keep an 
 accurate account of all our operations I think 
 we shall not find much profit. If such ac- 
 counts had been kept by all the members 
 of this body for years past, in my opinion 
 there would be no Farmers' Club here now, 
 for the success noted would be so small that 
 we should long ago have been driven into 
 other business. Charge up the labor ive do 
 at the prices we have to pay for what 
 we hire, and there is nothing 
 left after paying up the bill. And then we 
 cannot estimate results, as the merchant or 
 the blacksmith can. There are too many 
 elements to enter into the calculation. We 
 may provide certain time and labor for 
 gathering the hay, and while the calcula- 
 tions would do for fair weather, there comes 
 a series of rainy days and we find the cost 
 and trouble more than double our estimates. 
 There is no fixed criterion by which we can 
 measure cost and residts. ■> 
 
 Mr. Pletchek Cabk — Such remarks from 
 such a source are quite sirrprisiug and at va- 
 riance with the facts. We can keep accu- 
 rate records at least of all that we do and by 
 these records determine the question of profit 
 and loss and so be better prepared to act in- 
 
 telligently in future ventures. I have kept 
 such records and can tell you now the exact 
 cost of each crop I raised in 1873, the num- 
 ber of day's Ijbor in each field and the re- 
 turns therefrom. On some fields I find 
 I have lost and on others I have made nice 
 profit. It does pay well to keep such ac- 
 counts, and it is a shiftless lack of method to 
 conduct a farm without. 
 
 A few days ago I called on Mr. EockweU 
 and found him engaged in preparing seed for 
 the coming spring, putting it through the 
 mill and fitting it thoroughly for immediate 
 use. I was pleased with his forethought, and 
 I am sure he will have his reward. If he 
 should defer that extra labor to the busy 
 season of spring it would not be done at aU 
 and he would have diminished crops. And 
 there is another field in which we should all 
 begin exploration, the great field of experi- 
 ment. Where would be the telegraph novf 
 but for the persistent experiments of Morse, 
 or the ocean cable but for the continued 
 struggles of Field ? Shame on those men 
 who pi-ate of discouragement, where there is 
 good hope of abundaSt reward. We may 
 fail in some things, we shall not in all. I at- 
 tempted improvement in the culture of 
 strawberries, and I lost the beds, but I 
 gained knowledge. I lost a baiTel of'apples 
 m testing the ways of keeping, but I learned 
 how to save an infinite number of other bar- 
 rels. This field of experiment is open to all 
 and if every member of this Club would 
 spend a little of his time working it, we 
 should surely discover new sources of profit. 
 
 Ct. S. McCann. — Eight, all through his 
 speech. And now after making two dollars, 
 try to save it, or spend it for good pui-poses. 
 Crockett's adage is still good "First see you're 
 right then go ahead." 
 
 Mr. Seely I. Chapman. — It is possible to 
 go too fast, quite right to get all ready, but 
 not to hurry always so soon as Spring opens. 
 I have a neighbor who sowed a nine acre 
 field ef oats last spring, and the field was 
 capable of producing fifty bushels to the acre 
 but he harvested a little less than five. He 
 hurried too much, his ground was wet and he 
 sowed because he couldn't wait, while others 
 
29 
 
 were getting their seed in drier ground. I 
 tried the same thing on two acres when my 
 horses would sink at every step to the let- 
 looks because the land was wet. I didn't 
 get half a crop. We have to wait. Our 
 neighbors on their gravelly soils can sow be- 
 fore we can stir on our clay hiUs, but let us 
 wait until the ground is ready and ourselves 
 well prepared and we shall not come out 
 second. 
 
 MAEKETING CBOPS. 
 
 Sathbdat EvENiNo, Feb. 14, 1874. 
 Much of the session was devoted to cor- 
 respondence, of which but a small portion 
 is of general interest. Several inquiries re- 
 lating to spring wheat offered by Mr. Everett 
 of Minnesota, for seed, at a recent meeting, 
 have reached the Club and been duly ans- 
 wered. They suggest the propriety of briefly 
 advertising the seed with the price, in the 
 weekly newspapers. 
 
 J. E. L., Big Flats, writes — "I notice, in the 
 discussion bytheCoimty Agricultural Society 
 at Breesport, a recommendation to sow buck 
 wheat, rye and grass seed all together. I 
 wish you would call out the experiences of 
 the Club, as I have a low wet piece to seed 
 dcwn which on account of the wet I can not 
 sow until too late for good oats. If the plan 
 is possible I would like to put the same in 
 practice." 
 
 He must remember an important paa^t of 
 the instruction, relating to this mode;, was the 
 necessity for repeated plowings, insisited on 
 by "Old Jo Kice" the Breesport speaker. His 
 statements were based on truth. There are 
 some portions of Steuben county where the 
 plan is often adopted. The grass-seed can 
 be delayed until the following spring if J. 
 K. L. is in doubt about the catch when sown 
 as directed — or better stiU, sow a portion 
 heavy with timothy and clover at the time 
 of sowing the buckwheat and rye, and the 
 remainder sow in the usual way in the next 
 March on the rye, thus affording data for 
 future plans. None of the members in the 
 large attendance of the evening had tried 
 the way proposed. Mr. Fletcher Carr re- 
 ported an erperiment in a neighbor's field 
 
 last year, the rye and buckwheat being sown 
 together with u, satisfactory crop of buck- 
 wheat and the rye now promising. Presi- 
 dent Hoffman had been informed of a field 
 in Chemung sown in the same manner with 
 excellent results. The Club advises J. E|. L. 
 to venture, and to re|)ort his management of 
 the field in question from the time of start- 
 ing the plow to final results. So good a far- 
 mer as he will be sure to make thorough 
 preparation by repeated stirring of the soil 
 before the seed is sown, for therein lies much 
 of the hope of success. 
 
 C. R. Stuart, Watsonville, Maine, having 
 noticed in thd published report of Club dis- 
 cussidns, disparaging remarks about sowed 
 corn, sends his experience. He writes : 
 "The difficulty in curing fodder corn is owing 
 to the size of the stalk. So it occurred to 
 me late in the fall of 1871, that curing might 
 be facilitated by crushing. Accordingly I 
 arranged a pair of wooden rollers to operate 
 something like a clothes wringer, but not 
 brought so close as to squeeze the juice from 
 the stalks. I put through a small quantity 
 which, after crushing, I spread on the 
 ground to dry, but it was too late in the fall 
 — too late for drying anything. I noticed, 
 that it dried quite as fast as some second 
 crop which I out about the same time. I 
 was encouraged to further experiment. So 
 the next year, 1872, I went to the foundry 
 and got a couple of suitable rollers, which I 
 arranged for the work of crushing, and at- 
 tached a horse power, and commenced 
 putting tho stalks through. I crushed 
 four or five tons, but owing to the ex- 
 tremely unfavorable weather it nearly 
 all got more or less damaged before it eoul(| 
 be made sufficiently dry to mow away. Yet 
 my cattle ate it well and seemed to do as 
 well on it as on hay, and it was no small help 
 to me in a year of scarcity, with hay at thir- 
 ty-five to forty dollars per ton. The past 
 year, having a great deal of other work to 
 do, I planted only what corn I wanted to 
 feed green, but I like the plan of crushing 
 so well that I shall get a two-horse power 
 and try it again soon as I am able. I 
 think it is not ^ more expensive than 
 
 the plans usually adopted, especially when 
 
30 
 
 we coiisidur that it can be stowed away in 
 bulk like hay. It can be run through the 
 the machine very fast, and will dry, I should 
 judge, in about the same time as coarse Eng- 
 lish hay." 
 
 Here is a Yankee' idea astray, for anybody 
 engaged in raising fodder can pick it up. 
 
 This is the way improved methods are at- 
 tained. Mr. Stuart deserves commendation 
 for his efforts to utilize a crop well nigh 
 worthless to the average farmer, because of 
 the difficulty in curing. "VVe are constantly 
 learning, or at least we ought to be 
 learning. And some of our best 
 farmers have learned that it is more 
 profitable to raise grass than to get enor- 
 mously laarge crops of juicy corn stalks. 
 President Hoffman said labor must be cheap- 
 er in Maine than here — there is less j nice in 
 the stalks to dry out — or the process cannot 
 Ije profitable. There is the carrying to and 
 from the machine, and all the increased hand- 
 ling which can hardly be compensated by the 
 benefit derived from crushing. 
 
 The subjected selected for discussion was 
 
 MARKETING CROPS, 
 
 and the president called Mr. Ezra Rockwell, 
 who said : In order to reach the market with 
 desirable products, and to obtain the good 
 prices which we all desire, the first requisite 
 is the careful selection and cleansing of seed. 
 All foul seeds must be screened out, and 
 then to save further risk and trouble from 
 them they should be chopped into feed (cook- 
 ing would do) and fed out to the cattle in 
 winter. 
 
 To get the greatest profit from the sale of 
 buckwheat it should be sown early and 
 threshed just as early as possible, free from 
 dirt and at once flou]-ed. If kept late the 
 price invariably declines. Oats, too, should 
 be carried to market early, and to do that 
 very early sowing is necessary. If they cannot 
 be sold early, better hold over to sell in win- 
 ter or spring, because after the first early 
 market is supplied, drooping prices are sure 
 to prevail for a considerable time. My own 
 practice is to sow mixed seed, because two 
 or more varieties wiU yield a greater crop 
 than any single variety. I should recom- 
 
 mend holding wheat for a good price if it 
 cannot be well sold as soon as thi'eshed. Any 
 time of year will do, and it is a crop which 
 will keep safely. I get my rye fioured in 
 winter, and sell the flour-, which yields as 
 much profit as the whole grain, and leaves 
 the coarse parts to feed. There are proper 
 seasons for all our products, and by observ- 
 ing these much advantage in price is secured^ 
 Cattle which are fed for beef should be well 
 kept until in March or even later, when good 
 prices can always be had, because the supply 
 at that time is always reduced. I am some- 
 times in doubt when to sell potatoes, but 
 when there is a good price I think it is well 
 to take them at once from |:he field to the 
 purchaser. This season it has been profita- 
 ble to hold them over, but that involves a 
 considerable extra labor and care. 
 
 Mr. Seely p. Chapman — We as producers 
 I suppose are quite as much interested in the 
 markets as the buyers are, and it is our 
 business to observe the proper time and 
 manner of delivering crops. With wheat 
 and barly I have commonly done well by- 
 taking the first market price, getting the 
 thresliing done and delivery made as soon as 
 possible. Later there are fluctuations in the 
 price, sometimes advantageous to one side, 
 and sometimes to the other. I had as lief 
 take the first price, if that is fair, and be 
 satisfied. As to buckwheat, I have usually 
 found that in getting it floured and selling 
 only the flour, I get about as much money as 
 I wovild have if I sold the whole grain, and 
 the bran is left as clean profit. If the price 
 of potatoes is fair in the fall, I would always 
 sell them and save all the risk of rotting, 
 freezing and shrinking, to say nothing of the 
 extra handling involved in keeping for a 
 spring market. I have in past years sold 
 considerable hay, taking it from the meadow 
 and filling barns in the city, and have 
 thought that there was no better way to sell, 
 but I incline now to the belief that farmers, 
 situated so near to market, would do better 
 to hold hay and watch opportunities. With 
 good roads the stables are always supplied 
 from distant farmers, but there are times 
 when they can not draw over long muddy 
 roads, but with the short distance I have to 
 
31 
 
 go, I cau take my hay in at such times 
 fix my own pi-ice. 
 
 and 
 
 President Hoffman — If you can get forty 
 cents for your potatoes in the fall, how much 
 more should you want in the spring to pay 
 your risk, oai-e and extra labor of handling ? 
 
 Mr. Chapman— Forty cents from the field 
 in the fall would be quite as good as fifty 
 cents in the spring. I think it would be 
 better. 
 
 Mr. Charles Hellek — My advice is to 
 market all crops just as soon as they are 
 ready, if prices are fair, for in holding there 
 is always waste from rats and mice, besides 
 in some crops there is a great deal of shrink- 
 age, and in all, risk. 
 
 W. A. Armstrong — One of the mo^t im- 
 portant requisites is the neat a.nd careful 
 preparation for the market. Let everything 
 be put in the best order, and be of the best 
 quality, and let this become the established 
 character of the farmers' products. Thence- 
 forth there will be no seeking u, market, 
 purchasers will seek the products 
 and always pay the highest rates. 
 Chai-acter counts for a great deal, as it 
 should, and when once established should be 
 vigilantly guarded, the excellent products 
 running into the same channels year after 
 year. Here is our friend Han-is, an excellent 
 dairyman, who believes in character. He 
 puts up his packages in good sweet order, 
 and when he is ready to sell, b uyers swarm 
 upon him and he gets five cents more per 
 pound than other equally good dairies which 
 lack character. He is a good judge of qvial- 
 ity, and I have his word that other butter 
 just as good as his — and that is strictly fine 
 — sells five cents lower, because it has not 
 made reputation. There are customers in 
 New York who await the ari-ival of his dairy 
 every fall, and from it buy their winter sup- 
 ply at advanced rates, because they have 
 learned to have confidence in it. Now this 
 matter of character is scarcely less import-, 
 ant in all the other products of the farm. 
 The true course with a poor article is to sell 
 it as such, or if grain, imperfect in growth or 
 damaged by exposure, feed it to cattle or 
 
 work it into pork and sell that for just what 
 it is, and it may be excellent. 
 
 Mr. G. W. HoLBEBT. — I think there is 
 something in being known. I am reminded 
 of an effort I made once to sell a calf in our 
 market. It was good, but as I took it around 
 from place to place, every dealer would blow 
 on quality, and offer me a ridicuously low 
 price until at last I let it go for half what it 
 was worth and learned my lesson, I say, 
 now, any farmer who brings his produce into 
 our market without first having found his 
 customer is a fool — sure to be imposed upon 
 and to get less than the real value. I tried 
 the same thing once with butter and I 
 met the same fate. I said then I would get 
 enough together and send to New Yoi-k, and 
 I have done it ever since, and always with 
 prompt and fair returns. I had some tubs 
 of butter a year or two ago which I wanted 
 to sell here, but the same difficulties arose 
 so I sent it to New York and got eight cents 
 a pound more than I could get offered here. 
 If farmers would get together and send an 
 agent down to make arrangements for the 
 sale of their products there, they would real- 
 ize always a handsome profit above any sales 
 they Can make in this market, and 
 I say so after due trial. Even the grain 
 market here amounts to naught. Millers buy 
 their supplies at the west, and stand quite 
 independent of us. They all want to take 
 the profits off from the producer, and be- 
 tween him and the consumer there are sev- 
 eral profits to be made. A few days ago I 
 saw a farmer dragging a load of poultry 
 about town, and altough it was in nice order 
 the dealers sneered at it as they did about 
 my calf. If he sold it all he had to take a 
 very small price, but I think he had to draw 
 it home again. Now I could have directed 
 him as I can you, where to send and get full 
 returns without any commission taken out. 
 
 Mr. Billings — Have you found a man in 
 New York who will handle your produce 
 without commission ? How does he sustain 
 himself? He must do a very large business 
 to make his profits. 
 
 Mr. HoLBERT — He asks a greater price of 
 the consumer — there is the spot where he 
 
32 
 
 gets his profit— tut he sends me prompt 
 and full returns. 
 
 Mr. Billings (an idea peering out under 
 his eye brows)— Oh ! I see ! He don't make 
 anything out of you. He don't want com- 
 missions ! 
 
 Mr. W. A. WakDj (a formermiller andfar- 
 mer.) In this grain matter Ihave held both 
 ends of the handle in my hands, and may 
 therefore be able to speak of the trueprofits. 
 In my judgment the proper time to sell is 
 any time when there is a fair price and the 
 farmer is ready. It is true, however, that 
 there are certain seasons for some crops, as 
 for instance barley, which has a market until 
 malsters are supplied or have in their stock, 
 and during that time is the proper season for 
 selling because later the want being supplied 
 there is no call and the odds and ends 
 which then come must go for what is offer- 
 ed. The disturbance last fall in the finances 
 has made, it is true, an exception of this year 
 but I venture to say not twice in twenty 
 years has the late market for barley been as 
 good as the early. So of buckwheat there is 
 a time to sell and later prices always drop . 
 But 11 smaller portion of the country 
 produces or uses this grain, and the de- 
 mand is always early and lasts not 
 long. To some extent the time of buying 
 wool is also restricted, but this is an article 
 that may be safely kept over. Wheat is an 
 article in every day demand by every person, 
 and therefore has always a market. If the 
 price is not satisfactory it may be held with 
 a certainty that it will always sell. Our 
 heme demand may make the late market for 
 oats better. I suppose all we raise are con- 
 sumed here, and the farmer may be left to 
 use his own judgment about the time of sell- 
 ing. I svippose there is not a farmer here 
 who may Bot save the coarse parts of his 
 buckwheat to feed his stock, getting asmuch 
 for his flour as he would for the whole grain, 
 and of course serving him as profit. I hear- 
 tily second the remarks of the Secretary 
 about the character of products. Therein is 
 the true secret of satisfactory sales, and 
 then as a rule get the early market, for I do 
 assure you there is enormous waste in hold- 
 ing. There are rats and leaks and shrink- 
 
 age—perhaps I shall sui-prise you when I 
 say my estimate of losses from all causes, 
 taking in the interest account, will often 
 reach twenty -five per cent, for six months 
 holding. 
 
 There is much prejudice against speculat- 
 ors in grain, but I assure there is very little 
 grain actually bought up to hold for a rise. 
 Men can, and do speculate as in stocks, make 
 prices for future delivery, but no grain is 
 handled in the operation. It is simply gam- 
 bling, betting on the market. 
 
 Mr. D. B HovcELL — I have used the Elmi- 
 ra markets many years, and cannot accept 
 the statement made by Mr. Holbert. I have 
 sold many calves, both on good and dull ' 
 markets, on contract and on the street, and 
 the same rule applies here which fits all 
 markets. When there is a fuU supply, of 
 course dealers are not anxious to purchase. 
 Butchers engage their supplies before Thurs- 
 day and there is no difficulty in realizing 
 full prices while they are seeking supplies, 
 but if Mr. Holbert takes his calf in and offers 
 it after there are ah-eady enough on the 
 market he must not be surprised if he has 
 to come down. He is forcing a market. I 
 believe in patronizing our home market, 
 ind there is a great advantage in having 
 such a market. A great deal of 
 inferior products, which would not bear 
 transportation, find a market here. 
 The trade in wool is ticklish, and there are 
 almost as many grades as in butter ; but it 
 has one advantage — there is little or no 
 shrinkage. Some men even claim that if 
 closely packed it will gain slightly in weight 
 by a year's keeping. But for several years 
 past, with good opportunities for observing, 
 I have been satisfied that those who sold 
 immediately after shearing have generally 
 done the best. I know now of a lot for 
 which sixty-five cents was refused two years 
 ago, and the next spring it had fallen to 
 forty-five cents, and now with another clip is 
 awaiting next spring market. As to holding 
 potatoes, I should rather accept forty cents 
 in the fall than sixty cents in the spring, for 
 not to speak of shrinkage and rot, I would 
 not carry them in and out of the cellar for 
 ten cents a bushel. Whoever deals fairly in 
 
33 
 
 our Elmira marke1;s will bo fairly treated 
 himself, I have no douht, and I regret to 
 hear disparaging remarks ahout the advan- 
 tages presented by onr home market, 
 for which we ought to be thankful. 
 
 Mr. HoLBEBT — He is a dealer and wants 
 us to sell our calves to him low. Why, last 
 spring my brother sent three calves, hog- 
 dressed, to New York, and they were only 
 two or three weeks old — bobs. He got thir- 
 ty-two dollars net. He could' nt have sold them 
 to Mr. HoweU for half that. 
 
 Mr. Howell — No ; I don't deal in bobs. 
 I never have dealt in them. 
 
 The Pbesident — The best lesson of the 
 evening is in the remarks about honest deal- 
 ing and establishing character. 
 
 Mr. Geoeoe S. MoCann — Yes ; and next 
 best let us aid the establishment of home 
 manufactories of all kinds, for the workmen 
 will consume our productsi and we shall thus 
 aid ourselves. 
 
 FARM WASTE. 
 
 Satukdat Evening, Feb. 21, ISli. 
 All day, the clouds hung down upon the 
 earth and dripped out a continuous drizzle. 
 The roads were horribly muddy and the night 
 dark, biit all these discouragements were not 
 enough to prevent a meeting. There were 
 farmers who had come two miles and more, 
 on foot, to take part in the discussion or to 
 get useful hints tending to the prevention of 
 waste. There was a show of statistics, to 
 prove that the waste of seed, from its own 
 imperfections and poorly prepared soU, and 
 the waste in harvesting, are in this country 
 much more than the tax upon all farms in the 
 county. The recommendation was to dimin- 
 ish the areas in culture without lessening the 
 amount of labor. Thus the one hundred 
 and fifty thousand bushels of wheat now 
 produced annually in Chemung co,unty for 
 which twelve thousand acres are required 
 might as surely be raised on six thousand 
 acres if all the labor expended on the great- 
 er area be concentrated on the smaller area, 
 thus saving one half the seed or "as much as 
 ten thousand bushels in this small oounty, 
 where wheat is not a leading article of pro- 
 
 duction. And there would be in such a sow- 
 ing a, greater gain in the release of one half 
 the fields from tillage, and therefore a vast 
 increase in grazing • lands and in the 
 fertility of all. 
 
 The census figures, by which it appears 
 that the annual productions of farms in this 
 county are but two and a quarter millions of 
 doUars, afford plausible arguments to those 
 who insist that farming does not pay. With- 
 out doubt, it does not in the case of those 
 who by their shiftless practices have reached 
 this negative|conclusion, and who seem more 
 anxious to fortify their misery by arguments 
 than to find a way out. Waste does not 
 yield any profit. This meeting yielded as- 
 sent to the proposition, that there is an av- 
 erage loss on the hay crop of fuUy one dollar 
 per ton, amounting to fifty thousand dollars 
 in the county, every year ; and this waste, 
 resulting mostly from over ripeness, might 
 be corrected without the least ' increase of 
 cost or of labor. If it were generally known, 
 that one ton of sweet, early cut hay con- 
 tains much more nutrition than a ton of the 
 later cut, with its greater proportion of 
 woody fibre, a step would be taken toward 
 the prevention of the waste. It is true that 
 farmers look upon all innovations in their 
 practices with suspicious concern. There is 
 no lack of intelligence, but there is steady 
 conservatism bred in from the begin- 
 ning, hence change is adopted with slow 
 caution. In the old days of hand labor it 
 was not possible to gather the hay crop all 
 in its season, and the habits established 
 then are likely to last with the generation. 
 
 Mr. J. S. Van Duzeh — When I commenc- 
 ed farming I had been trained to business in 
 New York city, where every minute detail of 
 affairs received careful attention. In con- 
 versation with a friend I made the remark, 
 that if farmers gave as close watchfulness to 
 their business, there woiild not be a handful 
 of grass left to waste in the fence comers. 
 It is a small waste perhaps, in the mere loss 
 of hay, but it is common on eome farms to 
 run the mower as near the fence as it is con- 
 venient to drive, and to leave the comers 
 uncut, thus losing the product of so mucll 
 land, and making besides plaoes for the pro- 
 
34: 
 
 dviction of thistles and other pests, which 
 work in and are left to ripen and distribute 
 their seed. And besides there is a great 
 waste in fences. There is no reason why an 
 ordinary farm should be cut up in four or 
 five acre fields. Oho half the fences in this 
 county are waste and the cost of mainten- 
 ance is enormous. When I commenced busi- 
 ness, I took two adjoining farms, one of 
 which had been poorly tilled and fenced and 
 the other not much better, but the fences 
 furnished plenty of material to enclose large 
 fields for both farms, and I used them to 
 make such fields, effecting a great saving in 
 material, in cost of maintenance and in avail- 
 able land and in my experience thus far, 
 there has resulted from the change no in- 
 covenience. 
 
 It is difficult to estimate farm waste in fig- 
 ures. There are so many conditions of waste, 
 so many unnoticed losses, including many 
 which in their very nature are inevitable, 
 that we can scarcely approximate the real 
 sum by which our receipts are annually di- 
 minished. In the figures shown us there are 
 the elements of truth. Enough is shown to 
 prove the necessity for greater vigilance. I 
 believe in better tillage as the means of in- 
 creasing farm products. ICevertheless, most 
 farmers do now complain of the difficulty in 
 procuring labor for such tUlage as they give 
 and with then- extra efforts to achieve excel, 
 lence, they believe they do not attain ade- 
 quate rewards. I attempted thorough tillage 
 in a field, in preparation for wheat and I had 
 as my reward an enormous crop, but the 
 next year with labor lavishly applied, as be- 
 fore, I was forced to accept a yield of but 
 five bushels per acre. We have to meet dis- 
 couragements quite out of our power to pre- 
 vent. We must depend, after all our efforts 
 are put forth iipon favorable conditions of 
 the elements. Perhaps these very uncer- 
 tainties are the reason why we are so careless, 
 although they furnish no argument against 
 better tillage. There is always more hope of 
 success in thorough preparation. 
 
 W. A, Aemsteonq. — In the second exjieri- 
 ment, which brought Mr. VanDuzerthepoor 
 yield of five bushels of wheat to the acre, lie 
 may not have lost as much as the statement 
 
 shows. No doubt that the field was fitted 
 for future production, and the increase so ob- 
 tained may yet furnish 'his full reward. I 
 attempted a great crop of wheat a year or 
 two smce, and to give perfect preparation, I 
 expended two hundred and seventy-five dol- 
 lars in well appUed labor and manure on 
 three and a half acres. I got no harvest of 
 wheat — not one sheaf — but I made an un- 
 productive field fertile. Before, it was with- 
 out value, because it returned nothing more 
 than the cost of the labor applied, and labor 
 will bring its price in any market. Wow the 
 field is a safe dependence every .year. A 
 great crop of wheat would have been very 
 gratifying as proof of my advancement in 
 knowledge and no doubt I should have 
 pointed to it with an assumption of 
 superiority, but the complete failure 
 of my expected reward did not di- 
 minish the value of the lesson learned. — • 
 My neighbor, on a field near the scene of my 
 failure, in the same year, harvested a fine 
 crop of wheat, and the seed was put in with 
 the most shiftless lack of preparation, as he 
 himself declared. The explanation was that 
 his field was uroist, low land, while mine was 
 upland loam, and during the whole month of 
 May not a shower of rain came. My wheat 
 died from lack of nutrition, which was abun- 
 dant within reach of the roots; but there 
 was not moisture enough to release it. In a 
 wet May his wheat would ha^-e perished from 
 OiCess of moisture. 
 
 Mr. S. M. Cark — There is very great waste 
 in seeding to grass. My observation leads 
 me to believe that in this county the grass 
 crop is seriously restricted by scanty seeding. 
 The waste is stinginess. There are farms in 
 the back towns where an acre gets but four 
 quarts of grass seed, and there ' are many 
 farmers who regard six quarts to the acre as 
 very liberal seeding. Now that is not more 
 than half the amount I use, and I am sure 
 that I do not irse too much. The 
 true way is to fill the surface with grass 
 roots at the beginning for it is an enormous 
 waste to start here and there a stool and wait 
 for them to spread over all the field. 
 
 We waste fertility by keeping land too 
 long under the plow before returning it to 
 
35 
 
 grass, and wu wasto our grass and hay in 
 feeding stock of poor grade. A miserably 
 mean animal will eat as muoh. as one of bet- 
 ter breed. A poor unproductive cow will 
 consume as muoh as one that yields a full 
 mess of milk. All that is fed to the former 
 is thrown away and the profit from the latter 
 must make up the loss. It is better to get 
 rid of poor stock even if it must be killed to 
 get it out of the way. There is improvement 
 going on in the breeds of cattle in this 
 county which is gratifying, but there is need 
 of haste. 
 
 I do not agree with Mr. Van Dnzer in the 
 matter of enlarging our fields, although I 
 know it is expensive to maintain fences. I 
 prefer to have small fields, say four or five 
 acres on small farms, thereby insuring fresh 
 pastures. In large fields the con- 
 tinued efforts of cattle to select the 
 best, tramp the grass down, and 
 their lying on it and dropping 
 the excrements render all unpalatable at 
 last. By smaller fields this matter is cor- 
 rected in givina; to fields seasons of rest. 
 
 Mr. ViN DuzEE — How small would you 
 make fields on a farm of two hundred acres, 
 with forty cows ? 
 
 Mr. Cake — On such a farm, ten acres ; but 
 my remarks were meant to apply to ordinary 
 smaller farms. 
 
 The discussion here took a. wide range, 
 running over the preparations for Spring 
 work and the general carelessness of farmers 
 in the care of tools, and in their lack of fore- 
 thought. 
 
 The President — We do waste u, great 
 deal, and we do not seem to know how to 
 stop waste, nor where the eifort- shall begin. 
 I have a forty-acre meadow which gives a 
 crop of grass so fine that it needs a fine tooth 
 comb to rate it. I think the land ought to 
 be worth $150 an acre for farm purpose, 
 but it does not pay five per cent, on 
 fifty dollars. Now there is a waste in 
 that field. Will some one tell me why ? and 
 how I may prevent it ? I know I do suffer 
 loss from the soaking of the manure pile, for 
 the soakage escapes through the soil. How 
 shall I prevent that ? 
 
 With others here who speak of improvcil 
 tillage, I believe in lessened areas of culture. 
 Iiast season I had a field sown with wheat — 
 one portion after oats and another after a 
 hoed crop, the land highly manured last 
 winter and the crop planted in the spring 
 and thoroughly hoed during summer. On 
 this portion nine-tenths of the wheat stands 
 to-day, and it looks better than it did in the 
 fall. The portion after oats is now without 
 promise, and I confess should not have been 
 sown with wheat. The argument is aU in 
 favor of thorough preparation. If there is 
 any profit in wheat, it must come from that 
 direction. We all admit that in our ipan-' 
 agement there is great waste. Now the 
 eifort should be made to find out what are 
 the sources of waste and then shut them off. 
 Wo do not waste time in coming here to dis- 
 cuss these matters if we profit by the losses, 
 and we may go to Van Etten and to Breese- 
 port to discuss the sam^ things there, with- 
 out charging our time and work. 
 / 
 
 Mr. John Bsidgman — One great obstacle 
 to success is the habit into which some farm- 
 ers fall of beginning late. There is a time 
 in the spring when the seed should be sown, 
 and if it is deferred to a late period it is be- 
 hind in growth, in yield and in profit. This 
 is especially true with corn, and besides, 
 the labor of attending it is greatly increased. 
 I believe that corn planted in good season 
 may be kept properly cultivated and clear 
 from weeds at one-half the cost required 
 when there is a little delay in the planting 
 and working. 
 
 Another bad habit into which some farm- 
 ers fall is, the frequent change of employ- 
 ment by' which the day is divided by several 
 employments, every change producing 
 waste of time. It is best to continue the 
 working force upon the job first begun, if 
 that be possible, until it is done. 
 
 Mr. Van Duzek expressed his dislike to 
 subjects of discussion which permit so wide 
 a range. He would consider discussions 
 more likely to result in a profitable increase 
 of knowledge if we could narrow them more 
 to individual experiences and observations. 
 He did not regard the farmer's time wasted 
 
36 
 
 when not engaged in manual labor, provided 
 there was an exercise of brain faculties. — 
 Those who have large operations may gener- 
 ally do better by giving their time to thought, 
 arranging and devising plans, giving system 
 to the work, and keeping the force usefully 
 employed, than by taking hold with the la- 
 Dorers. He regarded as a good rule for such 
 men, never to undertake a task which one of 
 his laborers could perform as well. 
 
 Mr. S. A. Chapman — Three years ago I had 
 fifteen acres of wheat on my farm and that 
 spring I put a tenant on with an agreement 
 that he should cut the wheat whenever I said 
 it was ready. When I thought it was about 
 fit I drove out and cut a few sheaves, but it 
 seemed a little green, so I told him to wait 
 about three days. Then when he began he 
 broke his cradle and lost a day, next day it ' 
 rained, and the next he was sick, and as the 
 result of my little delay, I lost as much as 
 twenty bushels of wheat, and wheu I sold 
 the crop the miller complained that I had 
 let it get too ripe, and he was right. 
 
 Mr. Fletcher Caeb — It was the motto of 
 a famous man tliat "He who rejects time — 
 time wiU reject," meaning of course, it is 
 better to seize upon the moment. Mr. Carr 
 argued in favor of larger fields by which the 
 cost of fences is lessened, and there is less 
 proportion of unsightly corners too often 
 suffered to grow up to thistles and other 
 promiscuous weeds, which adorn the farm 
 about as a dirty shirt collar does the wearer. 
 
 CULTIVATION OF EAKLET. 
 
 Satdkdat Evening, Feb. 28, 1371. 
 
 The first business of the evening was the 
 exhibition of samples of spring wheat for 
 seed, J. H. Fountain showing beautiful 
 white seed raised in Minnesota. It is inden- 
 tical with that shown by S. Everett a few 
 weeks since, so Mr. Everett turns liis orders 
 over to J. H. Fountain & Co., who have the 
 seed in fall supply at their mill. Other 
 samples raised in Winona, Minnesota, were 
 shown by Samuel Hotchkin, who has also 
 enough to meet the demand, and at low 
 rates. His varieties are Eio Grande and 
 
 Gold Drop, both red or amber and very lino 
 for milling. All these are well worth trial 
 and may fairly be expected to prove hardy 
 and productive. Many inquiries for spring 
 wheat have reached the club, and these ref- 
 erences must be accepted as an answer to 
 all. 
 
 Mr. M. C. Baldwint, of Chemung, writes 
 to enquire how he shall attempt to change 
 the kind of timber on his wood lot, and what 
 profits will attend the operation. He wants 
 chestnut and walnut, where he now ha's 
 pitch pine and scrub oak. Last fall he 
 buried several bushels of the nut-i to be 
 ready for the spring planting, and is now in 
 doubt which is the better plan, to sprout in 
 the garden or nursery and set after a few 
 years growth, or to plant at first where he 
 desires the trees to grow. There is no man 
 in the county whose judgment is a safer 
 guide in these matters, than Mi-. Baldwin 
 himself. The opinion of the club, however, 
 seemed to favor filanting in the place where 
 the trees are desired to stand, if the land is in 
 a suitable 'condition to receive and germinate 
 the seed. There is not much more work than 
 in nursery planting and all the labor of re- 
 setting, which is much more than the origi- 
 nal planting, is thus avoided. 
 
 On the question o; profits Mr. Baldwin 
 prdents an attractive table of estimates 
 footing up a total of J12,800 in twenty years 
 growth on forty acres, with such slight de- 
 ductions for care that the whole sum might 
 bo regarded as profits. He would expect to 
 crop the land without detriment to the 
 the trees, or, perhaps, with real advantage 
 to them. 
 
 On the profit silo Mr. S. Cars to 
 whom the subject was referred to at a pre- 
 vious meeting now presented an elaborate 
 report, most of which, however, it was deem- 
 ed better to reserve for a future occasion. He 
 cites one case : "A man bought a poor farm 
 in Delaware about twenty years ago, and 
 planted pine seeds and chestnuts along the 
 bank of a creek where the land was gullied. 
 The cost was twenty dollars for the labor 
 and seed. He now has hundreds of cords of 
 wood foi' fuel aiil alj'.m lance of saw logs 
 
37 
 
 for his own use as ttie growth oJ twenty 
 years as profit on the trifling investment. 
 
 Vice President McCann, who occupied the 
 chair, called the regular subject for discus- 
 sion at a late hour — 
 
 CULTIVATION OF EAELST 
 
 Mr. Charles Heller — If I might select 
 the ground most likely to meet the require- 
 ments of barley I should take com stubble, 
 or ground which had been planted to pota- 
 toes the previous year. I would cultivate it 
 very thoroughly to get it in a fair tilth. If 
 that could not be done by plowing once, I 
 should plow twice. I would not be in a hur- 
 ry to sow the seel in the early spring — bet- 
 ter wait until the ground is dry and warm, 
 so that growth can begin at once. Barley is 
 a tender plant and suffers by frost almost as 
 much as corn does. As to the seed, it should 
 be barley, not oats and barley, nor barley 
 and other stuff, nor even poor barley, but 
 nice, even, plump seed all, and it should be 
 very evenly distributed, either broadcast or 
 drilled. The necessity for the even charac- 
 ter of the seed and the even distribution ap- 
 pears when the crop is offered for gale. If 
 it is not uniform it is not only less in price 
 but is reaUy less valuable for malting. Now 
 this care taken in the selection of seed and 
 even sowing all tends to insure even ripen- 
 ing. Then comes the critical moment. It 
 must be harvested at exactly the right time 
 to have the greatest value, and that time i.i 
 when the field has a white silvery color. It 
 should be cut after the dew is off in the 
 morning, and after it has had the sun until 
 the middle of the afternoon] it 
 should be rake 1 up and ab once drawn into 
 the barn. If I ha 1 one acre of barley I 
 would harvest it aooor ding t o this plan, be- 
 ing careful to cut it at the precise time 
 when it has the silvery hue, and 
 to draw it in on the same day 
 without a drop of dew upon it, and 
 if I had ten acres I should try to get help 
 enough to get it all in on one day. Barley 
 wants good ground, and it should never fol- 
 low oats, because there will come some of 
 ■ the lattej seed with the barley, thus damag- 
 ing the crop. It these conditions are all 
 
 met, thero is as much profit as in any other 
 grain crop, and the land is left in good con- 
 dition for wheat — almcst as good as a sum- 
 mer fallow. 
 
 Mr. Geokoe Mabt — How wUl it do on a 
 clover lea ? I have such a piece which I 
 have thought of plowing for barley this 
 spring. 
 
 Mr. Hellbk — I never succeeded on any 
 sod turned over for barley. It has a quick 
 growth, and therefore needs a fine tilth, so 
 that it can grow right forward from the be- 
 ginning. I have harvested the crop in nine- 
 ty days after sowing. On a clover field not 
 long seeded, or in other words without much 
 sod, perhaps it would do to venture. 
 
 Mr. Samuel A. Chapman — Would it be 
 safe to stow away a ten-acre crop cut in that 
 silvery state and drawn in on the same day ? 
 
 Mr. Hellek — If evenly ripened, without 
 green heads, there would be no risk, and the 
 grain would thresh out bright and without 
 fault. 
 
 Mr. John Bkidoman — Although of late I 
 have not raised much barley, I used to make 
 the crop a specialty. I preferred barley as less 
 exhausting to the soil than oats. My mode 
 was to turn under the rowen in the fall, getting 
 all the growth after mowing in the proper 
 season, for a fii'st crop of hay. This on clo- 
 ver meadow makes a good coat of green 
 manure to work in. On that I planted corn 
 in the succeeding spring, and the next 
 spring I plowed the corn stubble for barley. 
 At that plowing the clover manuring showed 
 plainly all throngh the furrow, and the field 
 would be mellow like ashes. I never failed 
 of a good crop when so managed, and as Mr. 
 Heller has said, the land was always left by 
 the barley in a good condition for wheat. 
 
 A miller who dealt in barley, then tuld me 
 that in a long experience he had found the 
 best season to sell always before the close of 
 October and advised me never to hold later, 
 and I think he was right. I do not know 
 about the propriety of drawing in barley on 
 the same day it is cut. I am afraid it would 
 not often be ripened bo evenly as to admit 
 such stowing with safety. Of course it would 
 
38 
 
 have to be rakod loo^e and would require a 
 great deal of room if tlie crop was large. I 
 have always bound it in sheaves and set up 
 in shocks to dry. Speaking of binding I know 
 men object because of the beards, but I 
 would rather bind barley than oats or wheat 
 because the straw ha3 less harshness than 
 either. A heavy dew is as hurtful to barley 
 as a rain for both color the grain in such a 
 way as to lessen the price very materially. 
 
 The Secretary offering his modicum of 
 knowledge said : It wiU not always do to 
 sow barley after corn, even when the corn 
 crop has been very good, indicating the re- 
 quisite fertility in the soil. I remember an 
 experiment wherein I undertook to raise an 
 extra crop and with that design gave most 
 thorough fitting to one acre, which was then 
 planted and duly attended, even to pulling 
 by hand the few weeds that appeared after 
 the corn was too big to allow tilling. The 
 acre gave one hundred and fifty bushels of 
 ears, and the stubble was as clear of weeds 
 as a naked fallow. The next spring it was 
 plowed and sown with barley in the expecta- 
 tion of a great crop. The seed came up with 
 a promising start, but soon there appeared 
 innumerable weeds, and their vigor far sur- 
 passed the barley, so that long before the 
 harvest they overtopped the crop, and not 
 waiting for ripeness I cut and raked up 
 the stinking mass for fodder. The mistake 
 was in not planting again with corn and by 
 every means coaxing into growth every weed 
 seed in order to insure destruction by thor- 
 ough tillage, for the land which could give 
 one such crop of corn was strong enough to 
 give another and then raise a good crop of 
 barley. The old sod had been used more 
 than twenty years for pasture and occasion- 
 ally mowed, and thus the surface held an 
 accumulation of weed seeds which had 
 been awaiting the proper condition 
 for germination. When the sod was evenly 
 tumel the first season all these seeds were 
 safely preserved, and when brought to the 
 surface by the subsequent plowing, then was 
 t"ie opportune moment, and all sprang into 
 vigorous life. 
 
 Not only must the land bo rich and clean, 
 it mvist be even in character, for Mr. Heller 
 
 has well said, barley must reach that silvery 
 state all at once to insure the best product. 
 Hence there must be no wet spots nor dry 
 knolls to distm-b equality of character in the 
 different portions of the field. But in oae 
 matter my experience does not tally with 
 Mr. Heller's instruction. I have succeeded 
 better when the seed has been sown early. 
 I know the young plants will not endure 
 heavy frosts, but I would venture a little 
 chance of absolute safety. 
 
 Mr. Seely p. Chapman — My objection to 
 Mr. Heller's plan would be to the drawing 
 in on the day of cutting. If bound and well 
 set up with caps on the shocks, or if raked 
 loose and left 1 o cure in cocks a day or so, I 
 think there would be more safety. 
 
 Mr. F. MoCoNNELL — There is very much 
 to be said in regard to the proper cultivation 
 of barley, as well as of the modes of produ- 
 cing other grains. Barley is a delicate crop, 
 and will not stand weeds, as we have 
 just been told, but then, (with u. 
 glance toward the Secretary) good farmers 
 don't raise weeds. We are often told how 
 to till our land for this crop and for that. I 
 have in mind the recollection of one man 
 who was ever ready to give advice as to what 
 to raise, how and where to raise it, where to 
 settle down to farming, untU with aU this 
 weight of responsibility he became demented 
 and not long ago died lamented. There is a 
 little story which wiU serve to indicate the 
 great need : 
 
 Two neighbors, farmers, with lands sep- 
 arated only by a division fence, raised — one 
 fine large crops, with luxuriant growth and 
 regular profit ; the other, poor, sickly stunted 
 growth, and no profit — said he to the other, 
 oneday,looking over from his sorry field to his 
 neighbor's, "How is that you succed while I 
 do not ? What manure do you use on your 
 land ?" 
 
 "Brain;;," said the other. 
 
 Well, now, brains are the very substance; 
 they make the very best manure ; they are 
 good for barley, and for- all our crops. With 
 proper preparation ant care, barley 
 is a very productive and profitable 
 grain, and if my friend Maby wants 
 
39 
 
 to turn his clover field for barley lie 
 can do it with, safety if there is not much 
 timothy in the sod, provided he will he care- 
 ful to get the right kind of seed. In fact 
 clover makes a good fitting for harley. It is 
 true that weed seeds will remain for years in 
 the ground and yet be ready to grow when 
 the opportunity comes. Any one may find 
 the proof in his clover field if he will observe 
 where a balk is made in sowing — there the 
 weed seeds spring into life. 
 
 But now in this matter of barley seed. I 
 bought what was regarded as very superior 
 barley, paying fourteen shillings a, bushel, 
 and then I washed this fine seed until one- 
 half had floated off, and the remainder had 
 then cost twenty-eight shillings a bushel, I 
 used for seed with this result — sixty bushels 
 to the acre as the yield,headsallon the upper 
 surface even, plump and bright. How did I 
 do it ? Why, by washing. It is one of the 
 best preparations. There will be kernels too 
 light, some with the hull knocked, some 
 broken and this process separates all 
 these and leaves for use only good 
 seed. Now roll it in plaster after 
 the water is well drained off, and the plaster 
 will take up the moisture, aid in sowing and 
 is in itseK a fertilizer. I can by this process 
 raise the straw so high, (elevating his arm 
 to a horizontal poiition) and the only true 
 way to take up is to bind in sheaves, then 
 set them two and two, with the heads firmly 
 pressed together, in which position they will 
 not hurt even if there be some rain before 
 drawing. I wiU. risk all the dews. Observe 
 all these directions and you will harvest 
 bright, heavy barley. 
 
 Mb. S. a. Chapman. — Do you say rain will 
 not stain it ? 
 
 Me. MoConnell. — Yes sir. I say that 
 barley properly bound and set up wOl take a 
 considerable rain without appreciable injury, 
 and if I could' nt raise it tall enough to bind 
 I would quit the business. You effect that 
 by taking out in the washing process the 
 poor seeds, which, although they might 
 grow, would not have vitality to push up 
 where you want the crop. 
 
 Me. J. F. Beechee. — Do you raise that 
 tall barley in this county ? 
 
 Mr. McCoNNELL. — Yes sir. And to prove 
 to you that these things can be done I will 
 take a clover lea and raise a piece the com- 
 ing season. 
 
 Mr. Chapman. — Would you drill the seed? 
 
 Mr. MoConnell — That is a mere matter of 
 taste. If the seed is evenly distributed by 
 hand it is just as well. 
 
 Mr. Hellee — I will gather mine and put 
 it in the barn the same day without bind- 
 ing, and it will come out brighter than his 
 will. 
 
 Mr. MoConnell — If it rains, what will 
 you do P 
 
 Mr. Hellek — If it rains mine will be"hurt 
 and his not less hurt. 
 
 Mr. W. W. Jenkins enquired if barley 
 would not color before cutting, and was an- 
 swered by Mr. Heller. 
 
 Yes, in wet weather, and if cut with heads 
 lying on the ground, wUl grow in twenty-four 
 hours. 
 
 Mr. Van Gokdee questioned Mr. MoCon- 
 nell about the tall growth, and receiving as- 
 surances that it could be produced, solicited 
 some bundles to be used next fall in binding 
 up his corn. 
 
 Vice-President McCann — Grood clover lea 
 may be safely used for barley without doubt. 
 I think it would be quite as good as corn 
 stubble or potato fields. Some years ago I 
 remember cutting Mr. Heller's barley with 
 a reaper, and he took it in, as he has told us, 
 on the same day. I thought it would be in- 
 jured, but I saw it threshed in the following 
 winter and it was bright. 
 
 Mr. J. H. Fountain — Two or three years 
 ago I undertook farming on high priced land 
 whihh I bought near Seneca Lake. I 
 thought I could do something with barley 
 and according had a piece fitted. My neigh- 
 bors advised me to sow early. The soil was 
 a black loam with some clay, and in the 
 spring wet, but I had barley sowed early, in 
 the wet as advised. Before I got through a, 
 
40 
 
 neighbor advised me to trade horses with 
 him because as he said it would be better 
 for me, and being advised I acted^ by which 
 means I had one liorse that worked and one 
 that wouldn't. Well tlie seed came up spar- 
 ingly — quite sparingly — and then there came 
 drouth which didn't help it much. Soon there 
 came beautiful pink blossoms scattered all over 
 the field which my neighbors said were this- 
 tles — Canada thistles, and they advised me to 
 get a supply of gloves to bind in. "Well, be- 
 ing advised, I sent for the gloves, but we 
 didn't need them, because there wasn't straw 
 enough to bind. When we got it raked up 
 and ready to draw I found that it was very 
 bad to load. While we built up on one side 
 of the rigging the barley would slide off on 
 tlie other. However, we got it to the barn 
 where I intended to stack it. They advised 
 me to stack it. Well, such work was very 
 perplexing. One side of tlie stack would slip 
 off, and when we axranged that the other side 
 would slip, when it was done it was a very 
 singular locking stack. My neighbors ad- 
 vised me to thresh it which I fe^t 
 quite inolined to do, because it 
 stood in plain view of the 
 road. Being advised, I did thrash and put 
 the crop on the market. I believe I sold 
 for about fifty cents a, bushel, and my crop 
 showed a gain of one hundred per cent. — 
 that is, I got two bu hels to sell for every 
 one I sowed. 
 
 Mb. McConnell. — He raised bailey under 
 advice, and was served right. 
 
 Mk. Fairbanks narrated experience thus. 
 — I plowed an old pasture and planted to 
 corn and p3tatoa3, which I cultivated and 
 hoed well, making all tolerably clean of 
 weeds, but as in other fields there were 
 some of the little weeds left to perfect their 
 seeds. The next spring I plowed the whole 
 and sowed barley, aud it grew as high as 
 my shoulder ; it was all cut by a cradle and 
 bound :'n sheaves. There was no trouble 
 with weeds. I think perhaps if barley can 
 be cut when Just right it may safely be put 
 in on the same day. 
 
 Now there is much difference of opinion 
 expressed in these discussions, as I observe 
 by reading the reports. Why? Because 
 
 men do not consider the different circum- 
 stances. A witness, being asked which way 
 a flight of stairs led, answered, " That de- 
 pends on where you stand — if at the foot, it 
 leads upward; if at the top, it leads down- 
 ward. Now there are such differences ' to 
 consider in farm operations. There are dif- 
 ferences of soils and of situations. Not all 
 soils will raise barley. 
 
 Mr. Beechek. and others endeavored to 
 draw forth statements of yield, but without 
 effect, big stories passing at a, heavy dis- 
 count. 
 
 Mr. EvEKETT, of Minnesota, would venture 
 one. "In my section one man planted twen- 
 ty-seven hundred acres of white beans," and 
 being properly vouched, the story was al- 
 lowed to pass, although several members 
 pronounced it windy. 
 
 Mr.EvEKET^ explained — "He was the agent 
 of a colony, who came a yea ' in advance, and 
 used this crop to fit the land for future ope- 
 rations." 
 
 OVEKSTOCKIUa. 
 
 Satuedat Evening, March 7, 1874. 
 
 The membership of the Club is steadily 
 increasing, and the interest is in no degree 
 diminished. Although the roads have been 
 in a horrible condition for several of the last 
 meetings, and the difficulty of reaching the 
 hall farther aggravated by drizzling rains, 
 there has not been a meeting since the year 
 began which was not well attended, and in 
 which the discussion was not animated. A 
 noticeable feature in the accession of names 
 is the unusual proportion of young men who 
 join. They attend, too, with regularity, 
 patronize the library, and sometimes take 
 part in the debates. 
 
 In the regular order of basiness the Pres- 
 ident calls on the members to state their 
 wants. Stock, grain or other property to 
 sell — what is wanted on the farm, and sug- 
 gestions of a general nature touching the 
 interests of the institution. This call at the 
 last meeting brought ten horses, in teams 
 and single, from fair to extra good, all seek- 
 
41 
 
 ing purchasers. So there were calls for 
 seed, for swine, and other needs. Sometimes 
 it happens that very considerable transac- 
 tions are made in exchanges of this charac- 
 ter within the five minutes given. 
 
 Everything being ready. President Hoff- 
 man opened the selected subject 
 
 OVBKSTOCKING. 
 
 This subject is susceptible of various 
 meanings, but the sense in which we are to 
 consider it, is the excess of stock on our 
 farms — beyond the profitable limit— too many 
 in number and requirements for the feed. 
 It needs no argument to prove that such 
 overstocking is always wrong. Whoever 
 does so stock his fields with whatever kind 
 of stock commits a great evil. But what one 
 farmer would call an excess of stock another 
 would not. We shall not consider this mat- 
 ter all with the same ideas of what consti- 
 tutes the evU. Should pasture be fed down 
 close ? I have some friends in Orange 
 county, very successful grazers, who say old 
 pastures should be fed down for the good of 
 the sod, and they certainly do establish the 
 grass firmly on their lands, but we are to 
 note the fact that their soil is better adapted 
 to permanent grass than ours. Now while 
 these men keep a great many cows and feed 
 their pasture close, they would be overstock- 
 ed if they fed nothing more, but they feed in 
 the stable grain every day to their cows, and 
 they also offer hay or grass fodder of some 
 kind. Of course we can carry a great stock 
 on a little land if we supplement the short 
 pasture with a proper allowance of grain, 
 and the man who does that is not over- 
 stocked. I have been speaking more of 
 keeping cows than other stock. When they 
 are required to keep pastures so close that a 
 weed cannot spring up, and no extra feed is 
 given them, they will not yield much profit, 
 and under such treatment the grass in the 
 pastures will at last die out, I think. 
 
 Now if I were pasturing fattening steers, 
 I should not want such close eating as the 
 cows have. To judge from our friend Car- 
 penter, who is eminently successful in feed- 
 ing steers, I should say one-half the grass 
 on the pasture land must be allowed to grow 
 
 up and mature. Putting on so many hoofs 
 as to prevent any of the grass from reaching 
 fuU development he would regard as over- 
 stocking with steers. I believe he is right, 
 and the proof is in his great success. But 
 his is a specialty — ^beef. Now we must not 
 apply the same rules to other stock. We of- 
 ten pass fields where we see large herds of 
 cattle, and the grass grazed close to the 
 ground and we may say hastily, that land is 
 overstocked. Now it will not do to decide 
 just on the appearance of the pasture ; we 
 must first see the grain bins and ask what is 
 fed out of them. I believe it is an advan- 
 tage the farmer has when he keeps more 
 stock than his pastures can carry and makes 
 up the deficiency with grain. There are so 
 many circumstances to consider that our 
 rules can only be general, leaving every 
 farmer free to modify them according to his 
 knowledge of his own situation. And this 
 leads me to ask : Are we overstocked in 
 knowledge ? I believe we do not reach that 
 condition. We do get too much knowl- 
 edge — in our own estimation. ^But we de- 
 ceive nobody but ourselves when we grow so 
 wise in our own conceit. But, seriously, I 
 believe some do get overstocked in book 
 knowledge. Their stvidy has" filled them 
 with much that is not useful. It certainly is 
 possible to pursue knowledge with so much 
 zeal as to forget the affairs of our lives de- 
 manding every-day attention. 
 
 In one particular branch of farm stock it 
 is very easy and very common to overstock. 
 I allude to horses, and the fact that five or 
 six teams are offered here for sale proves 
 that these farmers are ready to unload. 
 Now if I were to make one general rule for 
 aU farmers to regulate the number of all the 
 animals to be kept, I should say keep no 
 more than can be maintained in such aver- 
 age condition aU the year round that one 
 half of the number could at any time be fit 
 to drive to the butcher. If cattle are not 
 kept up to that standard they are not doing 
 as well as they ought to do. Of course I do 
 not mean that they should be finished beef, 
 but rather in that high condition of thrift 
 which would pass the inspection of the 
 butcher almost as well. Whoever has more 
 
42 
 
 animals than he can keep according' to this 
 rule should sell off down to that point where 
 he can improve keeping, until his stock at- 
 tains the degree of thrift indicated. Now 
 this rule as I have sk,id must be regarded as 
 a, general one, but all will understand that 
 milch cows cannot be kept fat, there are 
 seasons when they will be poor, especially 
 such as are of superior value as milkers. 
 With such good feed means good products if 
 there be not fat. 
 
 Now in answer to the question how close 
 shall we feed pasture land, I can only answer 
 generally. With such stock as I keep — 
 cows, I prefer to feed rather close and add 
 feeds of grain whenever there is need. In 
 the Spring I would turn on some fields so 
 early that the cows should get the first green 
 blade. There are fields when the herbage is 
 of a, rank, coarse character — lauds a little 
 swampy, or swales — such pasture fed early 
 and close is much sweeter than when further 
 matured. Of course, I would keep such 
 closely fed, in order to make all that grows, 
 fresh. 
 
 Mr. Pitch — I give hearty assent to all 
 that the President has said. In my experi- 
 ence I have fallen more than once 
 into the error of overstocking, and I have 
 always lost by it. As I now feel I judge 
 thirty cows enough to put on a farm of two 
 hundred acres of good land. Some would 
 say forty, and others, fifty ; but I would be 
 satisfied with the thirty, and better feed, — 
 Of course, I would not expect to feed up 
 everything produced by the farm. My opin- 
 ion is that cows want more grass than fat- 
 tening cattle need. I find that I always 
 over-estimate the carrying capacity of my 
 pastures in the Spring. I buy what steers 
 I want and put on, thinking they cannot con- 
 sume half the feed, but even with that esti- 
 mate I sometimes find the pasture overstocked 
 along in August or September. I remember 
 one season, when in June I turned in thirty 
 steers and the grass was certainly big enough 
 then to cut a ton to the acre. I couldn't get 
 all the stock I wanted at fail' prices so I told 
 a neighbor he might put on some of his 
 steers, which I thought better than to let 
 the grass waste. The result was when I 
 
 went to inspect my cattle two or three weeks 
 after, they were not as good as when I had 
 that extra lot turnedin,so I told my neighbor 
 to take his steers out at once. He did and 
 mine went on improving. Now there was 
 plenty of grass for all, in bulk, but I sup- 
 pose it became unpalatable from the tramp- 
 ing of so many feet and the increase of the 
 droppings. 
 
 My opinions have undergone another 
 change in regard to the season of turning 
 out. I would turn out as soon as the snow 
 goes off and the first young grass appears, 
 especially on clover pasture, which is thus 
 kept young and fresh, and I would keep less 
 cattle than I wotild want, in order to secure 
 good fresh feed in the fall. Such feed saves 
 very much of the cost of animal keeping. In 
 open winter weather young cattle on such 
 fields get much picking that is good for 
 them, and the past winter, the first in years, 
 I have been induced to let my cows run out 
 by the apprehension that I should lack fod- 
 der. The result is I shall have several tons 
 of hay to sell. 
 
 liiquisitive members siibjeoted Mr. Fitch 
 to a rigid questioning in regard to the limit 
 fixed, thirty cows to two hundred acres of 
 land, and thereby drew out plans which ap- 
 peared to include the raising of grain for 
 the double purpose of securing ample supply 
 of nutl'itious food for the cows at all sea- 
 sons of the year, and to afford a surplus for 
 sale. He had fixed the limit low in numbers 
 to insure absolute plenty of feed, thereby 
 obtaining the best guaranty of profit. 
 
 Mr. S. P. Chapman — Thirty cows to two 
 hundred acres ef land looks to me like very 
 light stocking, it certainly is light if one ex- 
 pects to get the profit from the cattle alone 
 I boiight twenty-six acres of land from Mr. 
 Fitch, so I can speak from the same ba<iis of 
 knowledge, and I wDl give you a report of 
 what I did on that land. Ten acres of it was 
 wood land and the remainder but partially 
 cleared. I cut ofl' the bushes and put the 
 sixteen acres through a summer fallow on 
 which I raised a good crop of wheat, and 
 seeded with clover and timothy. The next 
 season after the harvest, I put on twenty 
 head of young cattle, and there proved to be 
 
43 
 
 more pasture than they needed, so I took 
 eight horses to pasture and there was enough 
 for all on the twenty-six acres, although the 
 ten acres in timber produced very little. — 
 Certainly if land is devoted to stock it will 
 bear more than he would allow. 
 
 Mr. Fitch — Young stock will not begin 
 to consume as much as full grown cows in 
 mUk. I believe the cows want more feed 
 and better feed than any other class of 
 stock. 
 
 Mr. J. E. CoNKLiNQ — There is no doubt 
 that land may be pastured so closely as to 
 kill out the grass even to the roots, and this 
 is especially true with close fall pasturing, 
 by which the protection which should be af- 
 forded against the severity of winter is re- 
 moved. Year after year of such nakedness 
 will utterly destroy the best sod. 
 
 Winters like the one just past, with little 
 protection from snow, are particularly inju- 
 rious to closely fed grass lands. He who has 
 so much stock that he must bare his pastures 
 of the protection given by the late growth is 
 certainly overstocked. 
 
 The President — In my judgment a good 
 sod may be maintained even with close pas- 
 turing if the soil is properly constituted for 
 grass, and the necessary conditions observed. 
 But we cannot do it and take everything off 
 to sell. It will not do to depend on the drop- 
 pings alone to maintain fertility. There is 
 always taken away the elements that make 
 bone— the constituents that enter into all 
 the growth — the beef, the mUk, the wool 
 — and by and by these elements 
 are so far abstracted from the soil 
 that the sod fails to afford profit. Now if a 
 just return be made of all these, there is no 
 reason why a thickly set, firm sod may not 
 be indefinitely maintained. If we give grain 
 feed and return the manure we effect this in 
 some degree. It is said that oil meal used 
 as feed makes the manure rich. Hence it is 
 a favorite feed in England, where due atten- 
 tion is given to the preservation of fertility 
 in the soil. An old acquaintance, in Orange 
 county, once said to me, "We are fast ex- 
 hausting our lands by running off the mUk 
 to New York. We are taking the substance 
 
 right out of them, and if we don't soon bring 
 back our trains laden with mantire, we shall 
 soon quit sending off milk." Dairymen are 
 effecting this now by the use of grain. They 
 sell milk and buy grain to feed, which is a 
 compensation to the land. 
 
 I think Mr. Fitch has not Deen understood 
 in the estimate he has made of the number 
 of cows to keep on a two hundred acre farm. 
 He means mixed farming, and he would fix 
 that low limit as a safe one, and then feed 
 all his coarse grains as fsy: as needed. He 
 would use up his corn and and the refuse of 
 his wheat and other stuff and sell butter and 
 milk and oats and wheat. He is certainly 
 right when he says that good cows are vora- 
 cious feeders, and looking to the maximum 
 of profit he is right in providing a fuU gen- 
 erous supply of good feed at all seasons of 
 the year. I think a good cow will eat more 
 than a working ox — more than our friend 
 McCann's mammoth steer. 
 
 Mr. J. McCann — Any lean animal will eat 
 more than a fat one of the same class. A fat 
 steer will eat less than a growing one. With 
 steers it is bad policy to pasture closely in 
 any part of the year, and especially bad in 
 the fall, because the sod gnawed down will 
 not withstand the winter. When I used to 
 make a business of feeding steers I kept as 
 many over winter as I thought I would on the 
 pastures, and in the spring if the number 
 .seemed too great I sold down always to the 
 point of safety. With pastures fed off not 
 more than one-half or two-thirds the growth, 
 the sod will thicken and get better from year 
 to year, but if fed much closer, on most 
 lands in this vicinity, it will thin out. A 
 field, which I used exclusively for my steers, 
 about thirty acres in extent, grew constantly 
 better under this partial grazing and with 
 frequent applications of plaster, so that at 
 last when I sold it the feed was always su- 
 perior in flesh-producing capacity. 
 
 Mr. Fitch — Carpenter has two hundred 
 acres of the best land in this county, and I 
 know he does not average over thirty-five 
 steers on it the year through, and only one 
 span of horses. Every year there are two or 
 three months with no stock — his steers be- 
 
44 
 
 ing sold off and the purchases of other stock 
 , not yet made. 
 
 These small estimates of stock again called 
 out the queries of cavillers — Why should so 
 much land he used to accomplish such small 
 results ? Would it not be better to soil ? 
 
 Mr. Bkidgman — I have given much 
 thought to this matter of soiling, and with- 
 out full experience the only diflaculty seems 
 ot be labor. There is no doubt thai the car- 
 rying capacity of our land might be vastly 
 increased by soiling — giving the stock a run 
 on only a very small piece. I should like to 
 attempt it but for the labor, but I am well 
 assured that to meet" all the requirements a 
 vast increase of labor in the upper story 
 would be involved, and besides far more 
 serious backaches than I now have. The 
 provision to be made, the methodical man- 
 ner of supply, the absolute regularity of at- 
 tention, all indicate a, higher degree of skiU 
 as a prime requisite of success, and this skUl 
 is not obtained with every laborer. I should 
 like very much to show what I could do on 
 my one hundred and thirty acres. I should' 
 not hesitate to start with eighty cows, but 
 the dread of extra labor deters me, while I 
 know there would be magnificent profit. 
 
 The President — I have a friend who at- 
 tempted soiling on his farm of one hundred 
 acres — about seventy under high cultivation. 
 He went through one year with a large stock 
 of cattle, and then abandoned soilmg. I 
 asked why ? Said he,"It produces too much; 
 my land doubles its capacity. But I cannot 
 stand the labor." While, he proved the plan 
 entirely practicable, he found the diificulty 
 Mr. Bridgman apprehends — his own labor 
 was made too exhausting and he chose to ac- 
 cept less profit with less labor. 
 
 CTLTIVATION AND USES OP THE CORN CKOP. 
 
 Saturday, March 14. 
 The chess question has vexed the world 
 for ages, and will continue to, it may be, af- 
 ter Darwinism, evolution and transmutation 
 are all forgotten. But here is a new kind of 
 vegetable metempsychosis. A gentleman 
 whose experience is obtained in SuUivan 
 
 county, writes : "I cleaned a piece of new 
 ground and summer fallowed it, and at the 
 proper season sowed on it good clean winter 
 wheat free from all kinds of foul seeds, chess 
 and cockle included. Thesoil wasablack muck 
 and my prepai-ation had put it in good order 
 A portion of the field was soil of a different 
 character, and on that I obtained good wheat 
 at the harvest, while on the muck I cradled 
 as heavy a crop of cockle as I ever did of 
 buckwheat. It was all cockle. Now I want 
 your judgment on its origin." 
 
 The Secretary — He may feel sure, not a 
 kernel of his wheat produced cockle. 
 
 Mr. D. T. Billings — That cockle was in 
 his wheat although he i bought it was clean. 
 I have seen hundred.s of samples of seed war- 
 ranted pei'fectly clean, in which careful 
 search revealed both cockle and chess. 
 
 The President — It appears he had wheat 
 on a portion of the field, while the muck pro- 
 duced cockle, thus showing that all might 
 have been due to the soil. 
 
 Mr. Bbidqman — I want to ask the Secre- 
 tary — does he believe wheat wiU turn to 
 chess ? 
 
 The Secretary — Eespectfully. No ! 
 
 Mr. Bkidgman — Long ago my father pre- 
 pared a piece by a thorough summer fallow, 
 and he sowed wheat in season to get a heavy 
 fall growth. He thought it well to reduce 
 the top and accordingly turned on several 
 hundred sheep, and they gnawed it close. 
 The next harvest brought an immense yield 
 of chess, with scarcely any wheat. It was 
 his opinion that the wheat actually turned to 
 hess. 
 
 The President — I remember ihe field. He 
 broke it up with four yoke of cattle, and al- 
 most the whole summer he had three horses 
 cross-plowing, and then he had it dragged 
 by these horses. There was some wheat, I 
 remember, but a great portion of the yield 
 was chess, which I attribute to the chess 
 sown with the wheat. Being a hardy plant 
 it will not succumb to hardships which de- 
 stroy the more tender wheat. 
 
 The question wOl not be so profitable as 
 
45 
 
 that on wMch Mr. McCann is now to speak. 
 
 THE CULTIVATION AND USES OF CORN. 
 
 Mr. George S. McCann — Com is a grain 
 of great value — next to wheat in the support 
 of man. It is supposed to have had its ori- 
 gin ill America, although there are writers 
 who speak of South Africa as the field where 
 it first appeared. At present there is no 
 known place where it is a spontaneous 
 growth. 
 
 To produce good full crops, corn requires 
 warm rich land, and it must be dry soil. I 
 prefer sod and tl.at it should he plowed in 
 the fall, especially if there is much clay, 
 and I think the fall plowing sod land 
 for com, good, even on gravel land. Just 
 before planting I should plow again. I 
 would not plow very deep — five or six inches 
 are enough. Furrow out three and a half 
 feet apart — the field, of course, being very 
 thoroughly dragged beforehand. It is very 
 important that the seed be good ; every 
 farmer should be particular to select the best 
 when he husks his crop. My idea is th&t 
 stalks which produce two ears are better to 
 furnish seed. My choice is the eight-rowed 
 yellow, and next eight-rowed white flint. 
 These varieties have small cob and sound 
 bright grain, while the twelve or sixteen- 
 rowed kinds have always very large cobs. 
 Eoll the seed in plaster, and if it is desired 
 to keep the crows off, coat it with gas tar. 
 
 The seed I would cover rather deep — I 
 think as much as two inches of fine earth is 
 about right to put over the seed taking an 
 average of seasons. As soon as the shoots 
 appear above ground put on plaster and com- 
 mence cultivating. In a twenty acre field 
 it wiU. pay to keep a man and horse constant- 
 ly employed until the growth is so great 
 - that he cannot longer work without breaking 
 the stalks down. 
 
 Hoeing is also an important process. The 
 later cultivation should be done with the 
 plow. At first throw the furrow from 
 the hiUs, and the next plowing towards the 
 hills, keeping the earth stirred as much as 
 possible as long as work is practicable. Af- 
 ter the com has made a good start, it is well 
 
 to give it a second plastering, broadcast this 
 time, because the roots wiU extend over the 
 whole surface about the time the stalks are 
 knee-high, and the plaster sown will do as 
 much good as dropped on the hills, and 
 the sowing is more expeditious and easy. 
 I have tried some experiments with manures 
 in the hiU. I put hen manure on two rows, 
 and could see an improved growth all the 
 season. The next season I tried a mixture 
 of ashes and hen manure applied to the hills 
 in alternate rows. No effect whatever was 
 seen from the application. I learned after- 
 ward that the ashas neutralized the proper- 
 ties of the hen manure. Now as to the num- 
 ber of stalks in the hill, it is important not 
 to have too many. Pour are enough, and 
 three are still better. The fewer number is 
 likely to produce the greater yield of grain. 
 I think two stalks are better than six in a 
 hUl. As to the time of planting, on our 
 gravelly, warm flats I would get the seed in 
 the very first of May, certainly not later 
 than the tenth. On clay uplands, from the 
 tenth to the twentieth of May. When we 
 come to harvest, there is more particular 
 work to get it cut and shocked up just at 
 the light time. Do this early, before the 
 stalks are dried up, and then just as soon as 
 it will do to husk, attend to that, saving the 
 seed then for the next crop, and the best 
 way to save it is the old-fashioned way of 
 braiding and hanging up. If any one can 
 make a rat-proof crib, there is the best place 
 to store the corn; and the stalks, as soon as 
 husking is over, should be put into a stack. 
 
 Now with all this care, the farmer whose 
 land is capable of producing corn, may be 
 tolerably sure of a, fair crop of the 
 most generally useful of all the 
 grains. Corn is good for man and 
 for his domestic animals, it is good for birds, 
 and of it is made whiskey, which many pro- 
 nounce good — doubtful, I should say. 
 
 I have made estimates of the various items 
 entering into the cost of • com, by which it 
 win appear that there is not much cash 
 profit. In fact the figures put the balance 
 on the wrong side. My estimate -is on land 
 worth one hundred and fifty dollars per acre, 
 and the stalks I count as a fair offset against 
 
46 
 
 the cost of the manure used to produce the 
 corn : 
 
 Interest and tax on land SIO 50 
 
 Plowing and dragging 5 00 
 
 Furrowing 1 50 
 
 Seed and plaster 1 00 
 
 Cidtivating 3 00 
 
 Gutting and husking 4 50 
 
 Drawing, storing, marketing, hand- 
 ling, &c 5 00 
 
 S30 50 
 I think we don't average in this county 
 any more than thirty bushels to the acre, 
 but I wiU suppose thirty-five, and that it is 
 worth, seventy cents per bushel, making the 
 acre worth $24 50. Actual cash loss per 
 acre ?6 00. 
 
 It is true, this allows a, profit on the work; 
 what loss there is comes out of that, because 
 at four dollars a day for team work the esti- 
 mate is large. Still all this work would 
 bring cash without the use of the land. I 
 conclude, there is an actual loss on every 
 average acre. 
 
 W. A. Aemsteong — "Lame and impotent 
 conclusion !" Why, there is no crop of more 
 general use, and none more certain to pro- 
 duce fair profits. I am astonished that so 
 good a farmer should find a loss of six dol- 
 lars on every acre of corn, and if he is speak- 
 ing of his own production, it is still more 
 wonderful, for we all know his land is of the 
 best kind. Certainly there is some mistake. 
 He has vmderestimated the value of the 
 stalks, although if he stacks them and feeds 
 in the open field he is not far wrong because 
 he encounters such extravagant waste. That 
 is not the way to realize their worth. They 
 should be stored and fed under good shelter, 
 and then they make excellent fodder — better 
 than sowed corn. If in averaging the corn 
 production for the county he takes in all the 
 wet cold lands of the hilly towns where 
 farmers raise, not for profit, because they 
 know their soil is not favorable for corn, but 
 nevertheless where for their own con- 
 venience they do plant small fields, he 
 takes a wrong basis and thereby gives 
 the county a. bad showing. He should 
 speak of what we are accustomed to 
 style corn lands. Now can it be possible 
 
 that on these lands — say his own lands— he 
 regards thirty or thirty-five bushels a fair 
 average per acre ? If so, there is sou^ething 
 wrong. I gathered one hundred and fifty 
 bushels of ears from one acre 
 three years ago, and there are men in this 
 hall who have beaten that considerably. 
 Less than one hundred bushels is not a good 
 fair yield. 
 
 Mr. McCann — I had a nice field of corn 
 which looked so good that I thought the 
 best acre might take a premium at the 
 County fair. Accordingly I had an acre 
 measured out of the best of the field, and 
 when it was husked I found I had ninety- 
 seven bushels of ears. I don't dispute that 
 one hundi-ed or one hundred and fifty bush- 
 els can be raised on an acre, but I assert 
 that we don't make any such average. As 
 to the stalks, I do not value them very 
 highly for fodder. 
 
 Mr. James M. Baker — Wouldn't it be 
 better on faE plowed sod land, to omit the 
 spring plowing ? 
 
 Mr. McCann — No sir ; I would plow just 
 before the planting, thus mellowing the 
 soil and destroying the weeds which had al- 
 ready started. 
 
 Mr. Bakee — I tried that course once, and 
 I thought it destroyed my crop. My theory 
 is that in disturbing the hot bed made by 
 the decaying sod, I deprived the yoimg 
 plants of a vigorous start. It is certain 
 that I got but a poor yield and the chance 
 was good but for my mismanagement of the 
 sod. 
 
 Mr. G. W. HoLBEKT— Mr. McCann has as 
 good land as there is in the county, so we 
 may regard his estimate of the yield per 
 acre as fully up to the truth and perhaps 
 considerably beyond. 
 
 Mr. Matt Beown.— The trouble with 
 those farmers who get light yields of com is 
 that they don't put on elbow grease. — 
 They must work for it. The weeds must be 
 kept down and the ground kept loose. A 
 good crop of corn don't grow on land that is 
 producing a great crop of weeds at the same 
 time. With good land and enough corn I 
 
47 
 
 know we can do better than Mr. McCanA's 
 estimate. For five years I raised corn in 
 New Jersey and I got good crops and profit 
 with them, but I didn't fail to keep the 
 weeds out. We depend too much on ma- 
 chines which we can ride. Now get back to 
 the old-fashioned hoe and honest work, and 
 there wUl be no failure in corn. 
 
 The President enquired about the general 
 sentiment in regard to the proper depth to 
 plow, when with entire unanimity aU de- 
 clared five or six inches deep enough to turn 
 the sod for com. 
 
 Mr. McCann — How about grubs i' 
 
 Mr. S. M. Cabb— I think the trouble with 
 them generally comes in old timothy sod. 
 After a very unfortunate experience with 
 such a field, I now declare oats a better crop 
 the first season, because the grass will not 
 quite support them and they are liable to 
 clean out corn. I planted such a piece last 
 season and not one hill in fifty was left. This 
 year I shall plant the same piece although 
 that is not regarded as good farming, but the 
 grubs have had their day and I shall have a 
 chance to get a good crop. In my judgment 
 the best preparation for corn is a good clover 
 lea. 
 
 Mr. McCann— Pall plowed ? 
 
 Mr. Cabb — Not on my land. It may do 
 well in some situations, but I never had suc- 
 cess in fall plowing for any crop. As to the 
 yield, wc can certainly obtain one hundred 
 bushels of ears to the acre isithout more than 
 ordinary good care. 
 
 Mr. Feed F. Mills — My experience has 
 been on hill land. I would plow my land in 
 the fallandin the spring just before planting, 
 while the surface is' dry give very thorough 
 dragging, by which I would make the seed 
 bed mellow and would also destroy the 
 weeds. The harrow will destroy more weeds 
 in a day than I can with a hoe in a week. 
 The marking is better done with a. plow, at 
 least one way. The marker will do very well 
 to cross, and will fiU the furrow somewhat 
 with the loose earth lifted by the plow. 
 Hen manure is excellent, but if used in the 
 hill it should be dropped and thinly covered 
 
 with earth, because if in contact with the 
 seed it will heat it so powerfully as to spoil 
 it. Last season I had four acres on my hill 
 farm that gave me one hundred bushels of 
 ears to the acre, and there was not a hoe 
 used in the field except to straighten 
 what the cultivator pushed over. Twenty 
 rows were left without manure in the hill, 
 and although all other circumstances were 
 the same, those rows were behind in the 
 start — stayed behind all the season and 
 came out with less yield. They were not 
 half as good as the manured portion. I would 
 not plant as deep as Mr. MoCann directs. In 
 fine growing weather an inch or even less is 
 plenty of covering for the seed. In back- 
 ward weather perhaps a little more earth is 
 better to prevent drying out. The cutting 
 and husking should be done just as 
 soon as the corn is fit. Now, whoever will 
 work by this plan on any land at all suited 
 to corn will succeed in obtaining a profitable 
 crop. 
 
 Messrs. Griswold, Bridgman, Coats, Hol- 
 bert. Heller and others furnished estimates 
 of theii' average production per acre through 
 a period of ten years. It is enough to say 
 that their figures were quite too modest to 
 present to the public gaze. 
 
 President Hoftman — I, too, feel like hav- 
 ing a, tilt with Mr. McCann. My cause of 
 complaint is in the use of the plow, as he re- 
 commends when the corn is so high that 
 the horse knocks it down by rubbing 
 against it. Has he not himself 
 
 furnished a reason why the plow should 
 not be put in at that late stage of growth ? 
 Does he desire to cut off those roots which he 
 says interweave the whole surface soil be- 
 tween the rows and thus deprive the growing 
 plants of their sources of growth ? I should 
 say then is the time when the deep work of 
 the plow is to be avoided, and if work must 
 be done, let it be with the cultivator which 
 scarifies the surface. I would use the plow 
 early and on rough land. I can accomplish 
 more with it than he can with the cultiva- 
 tor. At the earlier stages of growth it is 
 more work to clean off, dig out, and straight- 
 en up the hills after the cultivator, especially 
 
48 
 
 when the laud is uneven or rough, than it is 
 to use the plow and hoe. After the plants 
 are fourteen inches high give clean surface 
 cultivation, but after they have attained two 
 feet do not use the plow unless an argument 
 can be furnished for cutting off the roots. 
 
 And then, gentlemen have put the average 
 yield too low. The Secretary has well said 
 that it will not do to count in 
 the patches raised on lands not fit- 
 ted for the crop and where the 
 effort is only made as a matter of personal 
 convenience. Mr. Mills has reported the pro- 
 duct from his hill land which is much better 
 than several speakers claim on these flats. 
 And I have seen as good corn on the farm 
 adjoining as I ever saw. I have seen one 
 hundred and twenty bushels of sound assort- 
 ted corn to the acre on that farm and this 
 was the average of a large field. I could 
 not put the average of our corn lands, 
 whether on the hills, or on the flats, at 
 less than forty-five bushels shelled corn to 
 the acre. 
 
 Mr. MoCann makes another error when he 
 puts the stalks against the manure. Now 
 can this Ije fair when all will admit that the 
 crop which succeeds the corn, whether it be 
 wheat, (which it is true must be a little be- 
 hind the proper season of sowing) or barley 
 or oats will do better than if sowed as the 
 first crop. Every day's work or load of man- 
 ure applied with a proper degree of intelli- 
 gence should count fifty per cent, of its value 
 towards the permanent improvement of the 
 land on which it is erpended. 
 
 Mr. Fletchee Cake- 
 corn ? 
 
 -Will it pay to raise 
 
 The President — Why, yes ! It is true we 
 have the great west to compete with us, but 
 still corn pays. 
 
 Mr. McCann— Of all the tools to make 
 corn I declare the plow the best. I would 
 break the roots for that causes them to push 
 downward where the nourishment lies. Try 
 it. I speak from experience. I liave no pet 
 theory, but I know it pays to plow corn. And 
 as to the value of the stalks I think it is not 
 
 too great to offset against the clover plowed 
 up to make the com. 
 
 The great interest in the discussion, to- 
 gether with the fact that the uses of corn 
 were not at all considered, caused the whole 
 matter to be put over to the next meeting, 
 when Mr. Samuel A. Chapman will speak of 
 corn culture on the uplands of the county. 
 
 COKN CULTURE. 
 
 Saturday Evening, Marcli 21, 1874. 
 I 
 
 The old habitues of the Club were agreea- 
 bly surprised on entering the hall to find a 
 large number of ladies already in possession, 
 and entirely at 'ease, as though it were the 
 most ordinary occurrence for them to attend 
 a Club meeting to discuss corn culture. 
 They had organized about a dozen clubs in 
 various parts of the hall, and each was dis- 
 cussing in the most animated way its own 
 separate subject, making the walls resound 
 with the cheerful hum of business, when the 
 President's gavel fell and the regular order 
 was called. 
 
 Minutes read. No errors. Approved. 
 Membership elections. CoiTCspondence. 
 Good of the institution. 
 
 Mr. George Congdon arose with the good 
 in every feature, and standing by the Presi- 
 dent's desk a moment without words, set 
 expectancy wild. The old members then 
 saw the gleam of jlelight in every corner of 
 the hall, the ladies were beaming with pleas- 
 ure, visitors' faces wore happy smiles. Mr. 
 CoNGDON began . 
 
 Me. President, Ladies and Gentlemen 
 
 — There is a duty which I have been selected 
 to perform to-night. These ladies have 
 called on me to address you in thoir behalf. 
 I told them I could see but one qualification 
 which I possessed to fit me for the place, 
 and that is — size. In that respect 
 few could fiU it better. The ladies of the 
 Elmira Farmers' Club desire to present to 
 you a testimonial of their regard, and they 
 have selected as the proper token of their 
 ^ood will, this book, (displaying a costly 
 
49 
 
 bible,)— the book of all books— tho book 
 whioli contains more true science than all 
 others — the book from which yoii may- 
 gather knowledge of farming-, in short the 
 bjok which contains instrnction suited to aid 
 yon in all the affairs of life. In behalf of 
 these ladies I exhibit to you the gift, and I 
 cannot in any other way, reveal to you their 
 thoughts and impulses so well as I can read 
 from their gift. I will present the twelfth 
 chapter of Eomans, a chapter which in itself 
 is abundantly able to establish the authen- 
 ticity and divinity of its origin, were all else 
 destroyed. (Mr. Cougdon read the entire 
 chapter with occasional effective comments 
 and preceded.) 
 
 Mk. President and Gentlemen of the 
 Club — I now present to you this book, the 
 gift of the ladies c f the club. Take it, study 
 it, and profit by it. Learn to prize it for its 
 teachings ; it is the gift of love ; it testifies 
 the warm regard in which you are held by 
 God's best gift to man — woman. 
 
 In behalf of the Club President Hoff- 
 man said : This body will, gladly accept the 
 beautiful gift, and through me, offers for it, 
 sinoerest thanks. It is little to say 
 that we thank you. Surprise prevents saying 
 more. We are at a loss to know why we are 
 thus honored ; we have done naught to merit 
 the high distinction. Perhaps it may be 
 thought by some that it is a, kind of mag- 
 nanimity on our part that causes the opening 
 of this haU for religious services every Sun- 
 day. It is not. It is for our own pleasure 
 and profit. We rejoice that we can open a 
 place where any may come to receive the 
 ministration of this book. 
 
 To you, Mr. Congdon, I say : You may as- 
 sure the ladies whom you represent that 
 their gift is exceedingly appropriate, and 
 that we are made happy in receiving it. I 
 cannot find the words to give expression to 
 my feelings. Let me say only this, we thank 
 the women for this beautiful token of their 
 regard, and the sentiment proceeds from our 
 inmost heart. 
 
 During his speech the President labored 
 under great embarrassment. He, as well as 
 the members generally, were completely 
 surprised. And the rich token was presented 
 
 with so much solemnity and svich evident 
 religious emotion, that there was no escape 
 for the President through the avenue of 
 hilarious mirth. It was a show of hearts. 
 Even Mr. BUlmgs, who points more shafts of 
 ridicule than all the other membership can, 
 who is the chosen minister of Momus, be- 
 came serious, and responding to a call on the 
 chaplain, said : 
 
 This gift is truly an appropriate one, I have 
 often thought it was strange, that all those 
 shelves laden with treasurers as they are, 
 have never borne a copy of the Holy Bible 
 The need is met. We may now verify sorip- 
 tiiral quotations given in debate. I as chap- 
 lain, may read to this club lessons of wisdom. 
 We owe our thanks. I tender mine. 
 
 A vote . of thanks was proposed by Mr. 
 Carr in order to provide a formal entry on the 
 minutes, when Mr. Billings arose again and 
 said: 
 
 I am the bearer of a message from Gen. 
 Wm. M. Gregg. Long ago he notified you 
 that he would enrich our library by a, rare 
 old work when the proper time should ar- 
 rive. The time has come, the gift is now in 
 the hall. I bring you from Gen. Gregg all 
 the volumes of the "Colonial History of the 
 State of New York." It is long out of print 
 and therefore increasing in value. At pres- 
 ent but few complete copies can be found, 
 and these advancing time makes rarer. Be- 
 sides this valuable present Gen. Gregg has 
 sent you other volumes of real worth. Here 
 are three which contain the register of every 
 regiment which left New York to serve in 
 the late war, and the list of engagements in 
 which each regiment took par-t. And stU 
 other volumes. They are yours. 
 
 Mr. John Bkidgman moved that as a to- 
 ken of appreciation of the gift, the Club 
 have entered upon its record the name of 
 Gen. Wm. H. Gregg as the first life member. 
 With great enthusiasm the Club voted a 
 unanimous aye. 
 
 These pleasant ceremonies being conclu- 
 ded. President Hoffman caUed the regulai- 
 order — the discussion of corn culture, put 
 over from the last meeting, Mr. Samuel A. 
 Chapman having been assigned to the open- 
 ing, but ho did not appear. The Secre- 
 
50 
 
 tary, taking tlie stand, proceeded to vindi- 
 cate the character of Chemung county agri- 
 culture, which he declared had been aspersed 
 by discouraged farmers at the last meeting. 
 The general average of corn production had 
 been set too low. He could produce on his 
 land twice as much per acre as a distin- 
 guished gentleman had estimated for the 
 corn lands of the county. He had raised 
 one hundred and fifty bushels of ears from 
 an acre, and declared himself able to do it 
 again, and he knew that there were farmers 
 in the Hall who could do much better. Yet 
 the average had been fixed by Mr. George S. 
 McCann at thirty-five bushels shelled, or 
 seventy bushels of ears, and in doing it the 
 gentleman had made a show of liberality. 
 A farmer tilling land worth five hundred 
 dollars per acre had dared to assert that 
 every average acre of corn in the county in- 
 volved a direct loss of labor amounting to 
 six dollars in value. The statement 
 was absurd, and he hoped it would 
 meet emphatic contradiction here. He 
 would advise the gentleman to essay 
 better culture or abandon the crop. His 
 failures ought not to bring a stigma upon 
 the county. He declared it just as easy to 
 raise fifty bushels of shelled corn from an 
 acre as to raise twenty bvishels. 
 
 The President — I too felt that the county 
 was maligned by the pitiful estimate of the 
 gentleman, but when I consider how he 
 treats the crop I am not surprised that he 
 fails to get returns for his labor. You will 
 remember he spoke of plowing five inches 
 deep for this crop, and then in the late culti- 
 vation he would push the plow beneath tliis 
 into the cold earth, cutting off the corn roots 
 in their search for nourishment and offering 
 the cold comfort of that unfitted soil. If 
 that is his process I can conceive why ho 
 should fix the low limit. I can understand 
 why he should harvest but twenty bushels 
 to the acre and take the loss of six dollars 
 worth of labor with it. But let him not 
 charge such poverty on the county. Last 
 week WO' 'obtained estimates from other 
 gentlemen here. They were too modest to 
 teU aU their success. They hesitated to 
 show the disparity between their production 
 
 and that of the princijal speaker of the 
 evening but later in conversation with a 
 Southport farmer, who was present at 
 the meeting, he told me that a 
 common average used to be one hundred 
 and twenty bushels of cars to the acre be- 
 fore so much of their land was devoted to 
 tobacco. The attention to the latter crop is 
 so close that the former has suffered neglect 
 and the average is therefore reduced, but it 
 is stUl one hundred bushels of ears. 
 
 Mr. S. A. Chapman now appearing was 
 called — In my experience there is no other 
 crop which has proved so satisfactory to my 
 wife, and I have always thought I could see 
 profit in corn. I could hardly believe that 
 one hundred bushels of shelled corn could be 
 raised on an acre, until I heard the state- 
 ment of a man noted for his careful regard 
 of truth, who vouched for a field that gave 
 a yield of one hundred and nine bushels to 
 the acre ; and another made oath to one 
 hundred bushels as the average per acre for 
 a field of corn raised by himself. Now I in- 
 sist that those who occupy these fine, high 
 priced and productive lands, do disgrace 
 themselves in producing but twenty-five or 
 thirty bushels per acre (if it be true that 
 they get no more) and they should quit. I 
 cannot agree with the Secretary that it is as 
 easy to get fifty bushels to the acre as twen- 
 ty, but it is certainly possible, and as there 
 is no profit in the smaller yield, the larger 
 should be attempted. And I connot 
 agree with the President in re- 
 gard to the hurtful effects of 
 cutting the roots by the plow in the later 
 cultivation. My father used to cultivate the 
 surface soil only at first, but in the later 
 growth he pushed the plow down, and ob- 
 tained benefits from such culture. I think 
 if the corn could speak to us of the effects of 
 such treatment, it would say : "Thanks, 
 those roots of mine were creeping down to 
 the cold earth where there is no light nor 
 air, but now they are permitted to turn te 
 warmth and light." 
 
 I prefer sod for corn and I would rather it 
 be plowed five inches than six, and that the 
 work be done in the fall. Let it lie undis- 
 turbed until the surface is well dried 
 
51 
 
 and warmed by the spring, and then put on 
 a heavy roller to hring all the furrows down 
 to a smooth surface. After that, harrow it 
 to a fine tilth, mark in checks shallow, and 
 plant good sound seed, not less than three 
 nor more than five kernels in a hill, covering 
 rather less than over an inch, and spat the 
 hill with the hoe. I think with the hill 
 spatted to compact the loose earth the 
 sprouts will come two days earlier than 
 without. I would cut the crop as soon as I 
 could see all the ears fairly glazing which 
 is earlier than most farmers like to 
 do it. It is said that such early 
 cutting makes the ears hard to 
 husk. Perhaps it is true, hut there 
 is loss in leaving it later, and besides this, 
 very early cutting makes the crop of stalks 
 far more valuable for feeding. 
 
 President HorFMAN— "Why do the roots 
 want to be diverted from their natural direc- 
 tion ? 
 
 Mr. Chapman— There is more warmth and 
 more available fertility in the upper soil. 
 Cutting the roots by the plow is much like 
 root pruning to an apple tree which is bar- 
 ren, it is thus made to fruit. 
 
 President Hoffman — Can you inprove on 
 nature? Is there not as much reason t© 
 trim off the leaves ? 
 
 Mr. Chapman — The leaves do not furnish 
 the nourishment. The case is not analagous, 
 but we do improve the fruiting of our orchardb 
 by trimming the limbs, cutting out twigs 
 and leaves. We increase the size and 
 eicelleuce of the fruit by such judicious 
 pruning. 
 
 President Hoffman — I have frequently 
 seen portions of corn fields thus plowed, cut- 
 ting the roots, and in warm, di'y weather the 
 leaves at once roll while other portions not 
 plowed remain green and fresh. This idea 
 of late deep plowing among the roots I con- 
 sider an old fogy notion. Then is when 
 there should be no plowing, but it will do to 
 scratch the surface as much as you please. 
 
 Observing Col. PioUet of Bradford county, 
 Pennsylvania, in the room the President 
 called on him to speak, when seeing a strong 
 
 desire manifested for his appearance, he 
 came foward and said : I confess to surprise 
 that there should be prominent farmers in 
 this beautiful valley of the Chemung who 
 are so unsuccessful in the cultivation of 
 corn. I came to Blmira to attend this session 
 of your Club, supposing your location to be 
 in the central portion of the city, where I 
 might easily slip in and listen to your dis- 
 cussion, but I found I must be indebted to a 
 friend who has kindly driven out with me to 
 your hall. I have read your proceedings as 
 reported in the city papers, with miich in- 
 terest, although as I have said, I have been 
 surprised that the average production of 
 corn should be put so low. If true, it is » 
 great falling off from the earlier days. I 
 suppose the real wealth of the country is 
 largely drawn from the soil, and I am aware 
 that it is the prevailing idea that not so 
 much cultivation of the mind, and not so 
 much education is necessary as in the pro- 
 fessions. Yet it is necessary that the farmer 
 should be carefully educated in all that per- 
 tains to his business. I am largely interested 
 in land, in farming. I have considerable money 
 invested and like others I desire to make it 
 productive. So I have interests in all these 
 discussions which tend to add to the sum of 
 our knowledge. Now sir, there is among the 
 professions a sense of honor which impels 
 men to observe certain rules for the good of 
 their profession. So it seems to me it is in- 
 cumbent upon every farmer to observe this 
 point of honor in his treatment of his soil" — 
 viz. to continue the preservation of the vir- 
 gin properties in his fields. If he can not do 
 that he should enter upon some other busi- 
 ness. We know that years ago this valley 
 did produce seventy-five or eighty bushels of 
 sheUed corn to the acre. I have seen many 
 such fields here, and I have seen here twenty 
 or thirty bushels of wheat and sixty or sev- 
 enty bushels of oats as the average. Now if 
 you are getting less, that point of honor has 
 been violated. Yoa have robbed the soil of 
 some elements of fertility which you should 
 have kept in full supply. Here you may ob- 
 tain large supplies of manure because you 
 have a great center of population from which 
 to draw. You cannot oft'er a valid excuse 
 
52 
 
 for diminished fertility, wliile we who liave 
 no such sources of supply might plead the 
 want. 
 
 I apprehend the great fault in all our 
 country is that we endeavor to produce crops 
 without returning to the soil anything to re- 
 compense the draft. We do not think enough 
 of wasted fertility. Now sir, one of the 
 chief benefits derived from such institutions 
 as this is, they awaken thought ; they 
 stimulate more enlightened effort. There is 
 another movement at this moment in active 
 progress — it is the work of an order which is 
 designed to draw farmers more closely to- 
 gether to secure their intellectual and social 
 advancement. It is a movement/ destined to 
 accomplish great resultc. It is ah-eady wide- 
 spread and powerful, and I venture to com- 
 mend it to you as a powei'ful worker in the 
 right direction. • 
 
 I believe your methods with corn are not 
 right. Forty years of experience has satis- 
 fied me that it is not economy to sacrifice 
 your clover for corn. On the clay lands of 
 these hills it may do to use a timothy 'sod 
 for corn, but even then a better course can 
 be found. Those lands are wet. Inverting 
 the soil answers as drainage for a single year 
 and so permits a growth of com. But a 
 better course is to drain those lands — under- 
 drain them so that clover may fiourish. Get 
 out the full growth of clover and then use 
 the land for wheat. I undertake to say 
 your wheat stubble is the best place for corn. 
 There is no other condition of your fields 
 better suited to the application of coarse 
 manure, and then if plowed in the following 
 spring there is no worm to eat the com. 
 Now there are no natural — or strictly speak- 
 ing — -native grasses that are of any great 
 value. Clover, timothy and all the list which 
 we are accustomed to regard as our valuable 
 grasses, are imported, and of all these, clover 
 is most valuable. 
 
 It does not exhaust the soil. Its broad 
 leaves stand forth and woo the ammonia from 
 the pasping atmosphere. It drinks in the 
 wealth that floats over it. And then its long 
 roots perforate the soil and leave there their 
 mark. You know the great bulk that good 
 soil permits above the surface — tons of fer- 
 tilizing matter. Now if you examine the 
 
 roots you find as great value in an acre of 
 them as you have in the top. You do not 
 want to destroy this, valuable plant until it 
 has done all its work. Don't plow it in for 
 corn when its office is not half performed. 
 Now, some object to planting corn on astub- 
 ble, because, as they allege, it is so much 
 more work to attend it. The fact is you can 
 cultivate corn for less money on a wheat 
 stubble than in alrhost any other situation. 
 You can even raise wheat again if the laud 
 is kept in proper tilth and heart. And of 
 course land which is strong enough to raise 
 wheat after wheat, will do to raise corn after 
 wheat, especially when manure intervenes, 
 as I have shown it may with excellent re- 
 sults. 
 
 We must pay more attention to clover. It 
 is our hope. The past year I cut about one 
 hundred acres and I have wintered on the 
 crop something over one hundred head of 
 cattle. I am going to discard timothy and 
 other grasses and place reliance on clover. 
 Those cattle have been wintered entirely on 
 clover and they are in fine condition. I 
 would rather have clover for all neat stock, 
 than timothy or any other grass. There has 
 been a difficulty in the curing which has de- 
 terred many farmers from raising so much 
 as they would with this difficulty removed. 
 It is easy to cure clover by the use of hay 
 caps. When it is in the proper condition to 
 put up set it up in moderate cocks and put 
 on the caps, which are simply square pieces 
 of canvas with eyelets in the corners, through 
 these insert pins to fasten them to the 
 ground, and then under them let the clover 
 sweat ; it will not sweat again when that 
 operation is over, and it is then safe to take 
 in the barn. 
 
 Now to return to corn and the point of 
 honor which I insist has been violated, if 
 your corn production is so light as speakers 
 at the last meeting alleged. The general 
 average in the counties of Lancaster, York, 
 Cumberland and Dauphin in Pennsylvania, 
 has been kept quite up to the early standard 
 because of this point of honor. The mainte- 
 nance of tlie virgin properties of the soil has 
 been duly observed. Those excellent farmers 
 buy largely of western cattle to feed up 
 
53 
 
 their products and return to the soil. That 
 is the argument — put back on the soil some- 
 thing for what is taken away. We must 
 make farming profitable. Men will never 
 embark their capital in enterprises which 
 will not promise fair returns. Now farming 
 will pay if all its affairs are properly man- 
 aged, and if not that is our fault. 
 
 Col. PioUet here pronounced a glowing 
 eulogy on the Dutch farmers of Pennsylva- 
 nia, and declared them the best agricultural 
 teachers of the age. He gave narratives of 
 their triumphs, beginning with the time of 
 Wm. Penn, who first tried to use the Eng- 
 lish for the improvement of the state, but 
 found them as averse to steady, honest work 
 as they are now, and then he tried those 
 Dutch who accomplished all he expected. 
 He gave them the credit of establishing the 
 first schools and serving always in the in- 
 terest of the country. With them one hun- 
 dred bushels of shelled corn to the acre, on 
 lands occupied by several generations, is no 
 extraordinary yield. 
 
 At the close of his remarks there was a 
 great desire on the part of several gentle- 
 men to speak, but it was judged better to 
 put over the subject to next week, when clo- 
 ver will be considered in connection with 
 
 CLOVEB. 
 
 Satubdat Eveniko, March 28, 1874. 
 A very full attendance proved the interest 
 in a subject already discussed at two meet- 
 ings — corn culture. Not so miTch desire 
 was shown to settle upou any particular 
 mode or modes of culture. The question 
 leaned rather on the profits, u, considerabe 
 number of the members inclining 
 to the theory that every fair average field of 
 com in Chemung county is produced at a 
 loss, if the farmer counts full market price 
 for his labor, and seven per cent, interest on 
 the value of his land. And these speakers 
 believed also in a low average yield — thirty- 
 five bushels per acre or less ; while others 
 insisted with much earnestness that the 
 whole basis of argument was wrong — that 
 the average production on well tilled fields 
 would appi-oaeh fifty bushels ; that there is 
 
 no loss, and that the crop is one of the most 
 reliable and useful. 
 
 Before entering upon the discussion the 
 Club gave attention to correspondence. A 
 long letter from Osceola, Pa., on fall plow- 
 ing was referred to a committee to report at 
 the next meeting. Several other letters of 
 little general interest were duly considered. 
 
 Mr. John D. Davis, of Beading Center, 
 Schuyler county, appeared with a new seed- 
 ing potato, which he originated and . has 
 raised five years. He represented it as 
 early as the earliest, better in qual- 
 ity than most of the early varieties 
 more productive and better as a late keeper. 
 The \specimens shown supported the last 
 claim for there was no appearance of a 
 sprout. To enable the Club to test the 
 merits of the seedling, Mr. Davis very gen- 
 erously distributed specimens which mem- 
 bers will plant, and report upon the products 
 at the close of the season. 
 
 President Hoffman led off on corn culture 
 with clover as a preparation, as follows : On 
 much land capable of producing excellent 
 crops of corn, clover is almost indispensible. 
 On heavy soils it serves an excellent pur- 
 pose to lighten them. We were interested 
 and instructed at the last meeting by the 
 remarks of Col. PioUet on clover, and if you 
 will recall his words you will find something 
 new to us. He advocated planting corn on 
 wheat stubble, the clover going to the bene- 
 fit of the wheat. I have given some thought 
 to thq plan, and there seems but one trouble, 
 that is, in getting the 1 ind back to clover. 
 Th6 re-seeding must necessarily be done in 
 the spring on barley, spring wheat or oats; 
 Neither of the first two is regarded as very 
 favorable to the seed and oats, to save the 
 seeding well, must be thin. I believe so far 
 as the corn is concerned the mode is good, 
 the wheat stubble being a safe place for it, 
 but there is the difficulty, I have suggested 
 in getting back to clover. We all know that 
 clover is the best plant we have for 
 fertilizing the soil and it fallows, the 
 more we have of it the better we are treat- 
 ing our lands. It makes all other crops good 
 and it is the means, through which those of 
 our friends who report low averages of corn. 
 
54 
 
 should advance to a higher standard. If it 
 be true as some have estimated that the 
 average production of corn in the county, 
 even on the corn lands, will not exceed thirty- 
 five bushels per acre, then are those lands 
 depreciated in value full fifty per cent. 
 
 If I understand correctly Col. PioUet's plan, 
 to be turning clover under for wheat and 
 then manuring the stubble for corn ; it is 
 good. Now may I inquire if this mode 
 would not admit the raising of wheat again 
 after the corn, thus permitting clover to be 
 sown on the second wheat cropi. On laud 
 suited to these crops, clover, wheat and corn, 
 I think fertility might well be maintained. 
 From my own experience I am prepared to 
 say that grubs, cut worms and other pests 
 do so diminish corn production that such a 
 change as this promises better profits, if as 
 reported, it brings exemption from the trou- 
 bles. My present mode of farming does not 
 admit a liberal use of clover, but if I had it 
 to use I should certainly attempt such use 
 of it. I have for years been trying to estab- 
 lish grass by top dressing my meadows, and 
 I am reluctantly compelled to say that I 
 have couiplotoly failed to realize my hopes. 
 There may be some cause or causes whicli I 
 have not discovered, and which if pointed 
 out would still enable uic to maintain grass, 
 the very crop on which my 
 profits depend, but present apj^ear- 
 ances indicate the necessity for 
 a change of pasture. Sliall I go back to 
 clover, wheat, manure and corn ? I confess 
 that when I used to, practice something like 
 this course, depending on the profits of 
 clover ill the courses, I never failed of good 
 crops. Corn with clover as a preparation 
 always provi'd satisfactory in the yield. 
 
 Mr. Jame? McCann — The very unfortunate 
 speech by Geo. S. McCann, two weeks ago, 
 in which he put the average of corn in t'.iis 
 valley at thirty-five bushel.^ per acre, has 
 stimidated discus.iion, and brought forward 
 other estimates mucli hi^■her. ISTow I must 
 add confirmation to his unpopular estimate. 
 Take tlie whole yield of this valley, from 
 IlornellsviUe to the Susquehanna, and in my 
 judgment thirty-five bushels to the acre is a 
 full average. The Secretary has told us of 
 
 one hundred and fifty bushels of ears wliich 
 ho luised on one acre, but he said nothing of 
 the acres which he raised with a less yield. 
 This is a common way of showing — a good 
 yield is published and commented upon but 
 the poor yields are not mentioned. I do not 
 doubt his statement, but I maybe pei-mittod 
 to say I never gathered so largo a crop from 
 any one acre. 
 
 Mr. Bbidgman — The Secretary spoke of 
 one acre on which he had expended much 
 labor, and I insisted that he should tell us of 
 his other acres, but you will remember he 
 had no report of them. I planted twenty- 
 eight acres in one year, and thought my 
 yield was fair, but I had only fifty-three 
 loads of forty-two bushels each (2,226 bush- 
 els of ears, or almost precisely 80 bushels per 
 acre.) I do not dispute his great yield but I 
 object to it as tending to mislead. 
 
 President Hoffman — I do know that from 
 thirty-three acres I gathered an average of 
 one hundred and twenty bushels of ears per 
 acre. 
 
 Mr. George S. McCann- 
 our average production in 
 judgment ? 
 
 -How much is 
 
 the Secretary's 
 
 The Seceetaey — Fifty bushels shelled 
 corn to the acre if the land be suited to the 
 croi5, and proper attention be given to its 
 culture. I make no estimate of the failui'es 
 which result from lack of care or otlier 
 causes, but I do insist that my estimate is 
 fair whenever the crop is fairly treated. 
 
 Mr. G. S. McCann— Not by a great deal, 
 unless every hill be enriched. (An original 
 process delineated by the Speaker). Tliere 
 is not one acre in ten that will produce it. — 
 I know the President well or I should doubt 
 his story. Col. PioUet said at the last meet- 
 ing that he had seen many fields, years ago, 
 in this valley, the yield of which was seven- 
 ty-five bushels, or even eighty bushels to the 
 acre. Now I am as old as he, and have had 
 somewhat extended observation in this same 
 valley,and I never saw such fields. Mr. Chap- 
 man gave the statement of a friend, that he 
 had raised one liundr xl and nine bushels of 
 shelled corn from an acre. What are such 
 
55 
 
 statements but India rubbei- stories ? Why 
 that yield would almost cover the gi-ound 
 with ears ! I tell you it is seldom that wo 
 get forty bushels to the acre, and I know of 
 what I am speaking. AU such statements as 
 these which inilato the real average are 
 pernicious in their tendencies. They mis- 
 lead the public mind. Tliey persuade men 
 outside of our bxisiness that we are growing 
 rich in raising corn, and they load to bitter 
 disappointment. They enter upon farming 
 and prove that wo have deceived them. 
 
 There are many who .differ with mo as to 
 the value of corn stalks for fodder. I hold 
 them as the Secretary does pumpkins — -nearly 
 worthless. Perhaps good for some purposes, 
 but not of such value as to go far against 
 the labor it costs to raise the crop. My esti- 
 mated average of production takes in the 
 planted fields, whether lost by worms, over- 
 run by buckwheat or weedSj or going on to a 
 full crop, and I set it down as a fixed fact 
 that thirty-five bushels to the acre is a full 
 average for this valley. We can raise now 
 as great yields as we ever had. Our soil is 
 not exhausted, but we have never had such 
 crops as are spoken of by these loose orators. 
 
 And now as to the uses of corn, which in 
 the heat of this discussion we have allowed 
 to escape our notice, I have only this to 
 say : There is one u.se which degrades man- 
 kind. All corn which goes to the distilleries 
 is worse than wasted, and if my prayers avail 
 aught this use will cease. I am in sympa- 
 thy with the woman's temperance crusade — 
 their object is good, and their labor is bring- 
 ing forth some fruit; but in my judgment the 
 full attainment will not be had until they 
 shall pray for and have conferred upon them 
 the right of suffrage. Then their fine percep- 
 tions will discover the way and their votes 
 will effect the changes in our organizations 
 by which not only this unholy traffic shaU be 
 suppressed, but other monstrous powers of 
 wrong shaU cease to oppress and degrade 
 our race. 
 
 The sentiment was warmly applauded 
 throughout the hall. The voice of the speak- 
 er, tremulous with emotion, grew husky 
 and quite failed of utterance, as the noble 
 aspiration arose from his heart and took 
 form in words. 
 
 President IIoi'fman — Lot me ask if the ef- 
 fect of statements given here of good yields 
 of corn are likely to prove pernicious, what 
 must be said of the effects of such estimates 
 as were given to the public two weeks since 
 by the last speaker, in which it was sot 
 down as fact that every acre of fair average 
 corn involved a loss of six dollars in labor ? 
 If that be true does it not show to young 
 men that farming brings starvation ? Can 
 such a loss be sustained year after year and 
 the farmer keep out of the poor house ? I 
 hope that sober second thought will induce 
 the gentleman to revise his figures. We do 
 not lose money nor labor in raising corn. IIo 
 has just told us that our land is as good as 
 ever. Then has he not refuted his own as- 
 sertion of loss ? For in all these years he 
 has been growing rich. Now I am willing 
 to admit that we -do not get as good 
 crops of corn as we did once, and 
 he true reason is, we do not work at it as 
 wo did years ago. We can not get the labor 
 at such prices that we can afford to use as 
 much of it as we want, and besides in the 
 quality of labor there is a falling off. Now, 
 if there has been a falling off in the average 
 yield of corn I think it is our fault, and its 
 correction falls upon us. I believe we can 
 easily increase the average by ten or fifteen 
 bushels to the acre, and at the same time in- 
 crease our profit, for I insist we do find 
 profit in raising corn. We do grow richer in 
 farming. There is no claim to immense 
 profits. We do not get sudden wealth, but 
 we do make money in farming, even in corn. 
 Mr. McCaun has not lost sis dollars on every 
 acre of corn he has raised in the last thirty 
 years. Wealth like his does not come 
 from such losses. Let me assert it as a fixed 
 fact, that in real, true, legitimate farming 
 there is always profit, if not large profit. 
 We can feel rich with less money than other 
 kind? of business men must have. "WTiile 
 there is no such thing as absolute independ- 
 ence in this world, the farmer comes nearer 
 to it than the man engaged in any other pur- 
 suit. 
 
 Mr. G. S. McCanjSt — Was my estimate of 
 the cost wrong ? 
 
 President Hoffmau — Perhaps not, though 
 
56 
 
 it was very liberal. Thirty dollars will do a 
 great deal on an acre of corn. 
 
 Mr. McCann — Well, that estimate em- 
 braced interest on the land at one hundred 
 and fifty dollars per acre. Yon see, then, if 
 I lose a little in labor, I get full interest on 
 the investment. I can as well afford to lose 
 a little labor on corn in getting interest on 
 my investment as to lose labor in collecting 
 the interest on any other investment. 
 
 President Hoffman — Twenty years ago I 
 had a small farm located away from supplies 
 of manure, and I undertook to bring it up 
 by the use of clover and plaster and by 
 bringing stuil raised on other land, on it to 
 feed out. That land cost me for everything 
 justly chargeable to the corn crop. Just thir- 
 teen dollars to the acre, not counting inter- 
 est on the land. The price of labor now is 
 much greater^ it is true, and thus the cost 
 would be increased, but as to interest I think 
 an inves'-iment so safe as land and constantly 
 appreciating should not be reijuired to pay 
 seven per cent. Three and a half should be 
 ample interest. 
 
 Mr. McCANN^Money brings seven. 
 
 President Hoffmai, — True ; and you can 
 sell your land for money, but your money will 
 not of itself increase in value while your 
 land does. 
 
 Mr. S. M. Caee— If this Club should offer 
 one dollar a bushel for all the crops of corn 
 raised in Chemung Valley, which exceed 
 fifty bushels of shelled corn per acre, a vast 
 sum of money would be required to make 
 payment, I think ; and I think Mr. McCann 
 is wrong also in his estimate of 
 the value of corn stalks. I have 
 had much experience in their u=o, and I may 
 say that an acre which has yielded a full 
 crop of ears will give stalks of as much value 
 as an average acre of timothy mea^low. Even 
 if one proposes to sell, the stalks will bring 
 as much as the hay. 
 
 Mr. W. S. Caes — I have had it, brief expe- 
 rience in raising corn, and I must say that 
 the Secretary's estimate of yield strikes me 
 as fair vmder the conditions he names. I let 
 a piece — about one and a thinl acres — for 
 corn, and from my lialf I solil ninety bushels 
 
 of eai's. Another piece, upland, eight acres 
 in extent, gave three hundred and forty 
 bushels, worked by a tenant. The next year 
 I planted it and failed completely. The 
 smaller piece I planted the next year and 
 obtained a crop I judged fjuite as good as the 
 first. 
 
 Mr. M. H. Thukston inquired about the 
 yield on the piece reported by the Secretary, 
 the season following. He knew from per- 
 sonal obsei'vation that the riuh old sod turned 
 back to light and warmth, sent out a million 
 shoots of weeds, which usurped the place of 
 every useful seed; and he knew equally well 
 those weeds met destruction at the Secre- 
 tary's hands regardless of the barley crop 
 which was attempted on the ground. 
 
 Mr. Feank McConnell — All arc aware 
 that the man who is the most fluent speaker, 
 or he who writes the best article, is not 
 therefore to be considered the best farmer. 
 (Delphic-Secretary). The estimate of aver- 
 age yield of corn, as made by Mr. George S. 
 McCann, is correct. I have known him since 
 we were school boys, and in aU that time he 
 has been very ajjt to be correct in all his 
 estimates. His present affairs prove that he 
 is a very correct man. He is very sure in 
 every ventare to count the cost, and that 
 being done he decides his course, and if you 
 have been at all careful to observe it leads 
 out to profit every time. In fact I may say 
 with a somewhat thorough knowledge of his 
 character, that he is the best counter I over 
 knew. Now if he had made corn a specialty 
 he would have gone to the poor house no 
 doubt, but he knew better. He made it 
 rather a pastime, and it has not made him 
 very poor. 
 
 Now, it is easy to speculate and theorize 
 on these matters wherein all our hopes lie, 
 but we want something better than mere 
 speculations and theories. We want facts — 
 solid facts. Tiiese are vital matters with us. 
 We really do want to know what are the re- 
 sults of our labors in every other crop as well 
 as corn. We \va,nt to know to what u-es our 
 soils are best adapted, and then Cijnform one 
 practice to that knowledge. If we have not 
 the faculty to fin! out and apply such knowl- 
 edge we have mistaken our vocationSj and 
 
57 
 
 we shall do well to seek some other business 
 less dependent upon conditions of which we 
 are ignorant. The real fact is, farming is a 
 science. A man may talk learnedly of crops 
 and betray only his ignorance. Things hap- 
 pen here which look strange to the thought- 
 ful. Only the last ineeting was signalized 
 by the speech of a gentleman from abroad, 
 who dilated upon the virgin properties of 
 the soil and the ammonia ; and when I 
 asked him what those virgin pro- 
 perties produced he could . not an- 
 swer me. On the same occasion 
 my friend MoCann was attacked for the ut- 
 terance of truth, and the attack has been 
 kept up. He was right, as I shall proceed 
 to show. I have given the matter some 
 thought and I am now quite ready to defend 
 his statements. We are trying to reach the 
 average. 
 
 In my own experience there is something 
 by which to judge of the average yield of 
 corn. My land is good, as all will admit. 
 Much of it is annually let to be used for 
 corn, and the share which I receive indicates 
 the entire correctness of his statements. 
 That more might be produced I do not deny. 
 I know it might, but we are to talk of these 
 things as they are. I spoke here on this 
 floor at a recent meeting of sixty bushels of 
 barley raised on one acre, and there were 
 men who showed a disposition to call me to 
 account for the expression of trii^h. That 
 acre was specially fitted. If I had averaged 
 the whole field I could not have made so 
 good a showing. So in the case of the Sec- 
 retary's acre of com I have no doubt of the 
 possibility, but let us get at a just average. 
 
 Mr. MeConnell proceeded to the analysis 
 of soils, the question being too abstruse to 
 have a general interest. His remarks were 
 continued at great length, but far beyond 
 the "average" of comprehension." 
 
 Satubdat Etenins, April i, 1874. 
 
 With the broad old-fashioned style of hos- 
 pitality the Corning Farmers' Club had_ en- 
 tertained a large delegation of this body 
 during the day, releasing it only in season 
 
 for the regular meeting. The affair was the 
 theme for an hour's talk before the regvdar 
 order. Those who did not go to Corning 
 were exceedingly curious to know what was 
 done there, and they were duly informed 
 with words and manner that promoted in- 
 finite regrets for pleasures missed on the 
 part of the inquirers. 
 
 President Hoffman hurried the order or 
 business after the start was made. Corres- 
 pondence was passed almost without com- 
 ment. The following from a distant mem- 
 ber of the Club was approved in a few re- 
 marks, and will be the subject of comment 
 no doubt at further meetings : 
 
 "It is inconvenient for me to attend your 
 meetings, but I read with much interest the 
 reports of your discussions, and I have been 
 especially interested in the discussions of 
 the corn crop. We should give Mr. McCann 
 thanks for bringing forth the beacon of 
 light, figures. They are the means to show 
 us our success or failures in 
 agriculture. His critic pointed out 
 
 poor farming, high priced manure 
 and low value of stalks but there 
 was the fact left that Mr. McCaun gained 
 but three per cent, on capital invested. Fig- 
 ures show, teo, that he would have gained 
 seven per cent on the same capital with com 
 at eighty-six cents per bushel instead of 
 seventy. Whether Mr. McCann's estimates 
 are correct or not, I believe actual facts, told 
 in figures, will show that the area of corn in 
 Chemung county, averaging one hundred 
 bushels of ears to the acre, is small. And 
 this county will compare favorably with other 
 counties is the State. 
 
 Colonel PioUet comes to our rescue from 
 Pennsylvania and gives us his opinion that 
 we should do better or else our soU has de- 
 clined in fertility. The figures bring out 
 the manure question and in that connection 
 he teUs us of the importance of clover — ^how 
 from the product of one hundred acres in 
 clover he wintered well one hundred head of 
 cattle which is a good showing, but he failed 
 to show us the per centage of profit on the 
 capital invested. This, too,- is the greatest 
 in importance, of all the aspects of the ques- 
 
58 
 
 tion. The cost, manner o£ producing, and 
 the actual per centage of gain or loss in the 
 capital, all these we must know, and then 
 we can adopt the paying methods and reject 
 the losing ones. Until we get such precise 
 knowledge we shall spend much time in the 
 vain effort to make agriculture a paying 
 business. 
 
 Ali other occupations know the cost and 
 the per cent, to be realized on all of their 
 articles of sale. But the farmer takes his 
 produce tomarket,and strange asitmay seem, 
 shows his stupidity and ignorance in not 
 knowing the cost of scarcely an article pro- 
 duced. 
 
 Members of the Club, if on Monday you ■ 
 you should take a load of grain, hay, vege- 
 tables or butter to the city for sale, could 
 you state the cost and per cent, profit you 
 expect to realize ? If not, such things 
 ought not so to be. Is this intelligence ? Is 
 it progression ? Is this protecting our own 
 interests and keeping pace with other oc- 
 cupations ? 
 
 J- Li ':'m merchant or grocer know the 
 cot'j oi .: rticles of sale ? We all know it 
 douj aot take loiig to leam this, if we make 
 a purchase. Is our occupation any less de-' 
 serving of care than others ? Using figure:; 
 has a tendency to make us more thorough in 
 our business habits and keep us from spend- 
 ing much time in changing to various 
 ' kinds of labor. Some may claim it 
 is impracticable. Is it any more im- 
 practicable than to buffet against the 
 tide of high prices of other occupations, 
 and not know our own position or its proper 
 surroundings ? Would it not have a strong 
 influence toward reguiatinT the price of 
 land, labor and produce, and might it not 
 help solve the question why so many leave 
 the farm for other occupations. 
 
 I wish to give one illustration of the use of 
 figures. The dairy interest being considered 
 as profitable as any in the county, I will 
 take an illustration from dairying. Take a 
 farm of 120 acres, worth §100 per acre, 
 stocked with twenty cows, the cows to pro- 
 duce 200 pounds butter each. The capital 
 invested in the farm is $12,000 ; value of 
 
 cows, $1,000 — total money invested, $13,- 
 000; quantity of butter produced, 4,000 
 pounds, and deducting one-half for 
 labor, we have 2,000 pounds butter as an 
 offset against the interest of $13,000, which 
 is $910, which brings the actual cost of the 
 butter at 454 cents per pound by aEowing 
 the refuse milk as an offset against taxes, 
 insurance, &c. Now, if we could have 
 12 per cent, for capital invested, the 
 butter would bring 78 cents per pound, and 
 farmers ooxdd make their occupation as hon- 
 orable and could afford to pay as much for 
 help behind the plow as the merchant can 
 for his behind the counter. Not that I 
 would use figures to discourage agriculture, 
 but to improve it and place it in its true 
 light, use figures to awaken thought, create 
 inquiry, extend observation, and stimulate 
 to action that they might prove a ble_ssing to 
 agriculture and a benefit to the true tillers 
 of the soil ; but to be of any practical utility 
 to our club a committee of three should be 
 appointed on each main agricultural produc- 
 tion to note, during the coming season, the 
 actual cost of producing the crop, the amount 
 produced, and the per cent, profit or loss re- 
 alized on each, and I doubt not the reports 
 would make the meetings of next winter in- 
 structive and profitable, as we would have 
 actual facts instead of estimates, and we 
 could teU" intelligently what the price of our 
 productions should be." 
 
 Justus M. WoBKs,of Osceola, Tioga county. 
 Pa., writes ; 
 
 Gentlemen : — There are many solid and 
 substantial reasons favoring the practice of 
 late fall plowing. I know of no crops or soils 
 excepting sandy soils, which are not im- 
 proved by fall plowing, which we would re- 
 commend to be performed as late in the sea- 
 son as it can be, in order to prevent vegeta- 
 tion starting anew. For thus a larger 
 amount of vegetable matter is turned under 
 to be incorporated in the soil, than when the 
 peration is delayed until spring. And vast 
 numbers of insects are turned up to perish 
 by the cold, and the seeds of useless and 
 troublesome plants or weeds, that have ger- 
 minated in early autumn, ai-e also disturbed 
 
59 
 
 and destroyed. But there are other advan- 
 tages to be derived from plowing in the fall. 
 The work is usvially performed at a time 
 when the farmer or his workmen have most 
 opportvmity for it, when the hurry of the 
 season is over, and the teams are in good 
 condition. And in the spring does not the 
 farmer feel happy in the reflection that by 
 timely forecast and indnstry he has a very 
 necessary work performed in advance of the 
 seasons. He is. ready to avail himself of the 
 earliest favorable weather for putting in the 
 seed, and is thus enabled to keep up in the 
 routine of farming operations with the for- 
 wardness of the season. He is certainly 
 much better prepared in this respect than 
 could possibly be the case if his plowing had 
 been deferred until spring, when the un- 
 certainty of the weather adds greatly 
 to the pressure of work on hand. 
 Earthy and mineral ingredients of the soil 
 assist, very materially, in its pulverization, 
 and prepare it for more thorough and ef- 
 fective tUIage. The subsoil rendered more 
 loose and pulverulent, will absorb the am- 
 monia of snow, which chemistry proves to 
 contain a greater amount, than the same 
 amount of rain water has. Perhaps it will 
 not be out of place here to remark, that 
 most soils are improved by plowing a little 
 deeper than has previously been done, in 
 order to bring up a new stratum for the new 
 disintegrating and decomposing influences 
 of winter and the elements. I have thus 
 hastily glanced at some of the advantages 
 that necessarily results from fall, or late fall 
 plowing ; the subject is far from being ex- 
 hausted, and much yet remains to Tafi added 
 in favor of this practice. The subject is one 
 of importance and will abundantly repay 
 every farmer who wUl give it the considera- 
 tion it merits. For loose and sandy soils 
 fall plowing cannot in any way be recom- 
 mended, unless the subsoil be of a heavy or 
 clayey character. In such instances my 
 judgment is, that fall plowing will prove 
 beneficial, rather than otherwise, as the 
 changes of the weather in winter wOl promote 
 amorethoroughminglingofthedifferentsoils, 
 a portion of the subsoil being turned up with 
 the surface, hence the labor required in the 
 spring preparation for sowing or planting 
 will be lessened. 
 
 But when the light drifting soil extends to 
 a greater depth than the plow can reach, the 
 treatment must be very different from that 
 recommended for heavy clay. The latter re- 
 quires mellowing and loosening — the fprmer 
 should be compacted. 
 
 Mr. Bkidgman — The letter contains many 
 sensible ideas. ' I expected to make an ex- 
 tended report iipon the whole subject of 
 which it treats, the matter having been 
 placed in charge of a committee of which I 
 am chairman, but the week has brought too 
 many other duties. With further time my 
 committee may yet be able to say something 
 of the matter. 
 
 President Hoffman — The committee can 
 take all the time it pleases. Meantime the 
 letter is well able to appear without com- 
 ment. 
 
 I am in want. Who can tell me what 
 kind of grain drill to buy ? I want one to 
 sow grass seed as well as grain, and I ask, 
 should the seeder be attached in the front or 
 rear ? My judgment is that when the seed 
 drops in front of the hoes it must be 
 covered too deep- -at least, much of it — -and 
 of course wasted, '^t may be argued that if 
 dropped in the rear some must fall on the 
 ridges and so dry out and fail. 
 
 Mr. Fletcher Caek — I seeded with the 
 Bickford and Hoffman drill last spring — the 
 grass seeder in the rear — and the catch was 
 very fine. Many of the neighbors, whose at- 
 tention was attracted by its appearance, re- 
 marked that the work was very wen (''one, 
 and yet during the seeding a, st. cng- , , j: fi 
 was blowing. It made, however, no s: _ , : t 
 or spots in the work. 
 
 Several other members agreed with Mr. 
 Carr that the seeding attachment in the rear 
 generally proves more satisfactory. 
 
 A patent wire fence was recommended by 
 a circular and diagrams. Its owner and in- 
 ventor, Mr. Eappleye, of Farmer Village, 
 Seneca county, N. T., has high endorse- 
 ments, but not being present, the matter 
 was referred to the members, with instruc- 
 
60 
 
 tious from the President eaoii to report after | 
 Ms mvestigation. 
 
 During the proceedings several gentlemen 
 entered with a corn sheller, patented lately 
 — or to be particular — by John W. Bicker 
 May 3, 1870, and now first offered to farmers 
 of New York State by a company of capital- 
 ists in Elmira, who have the sheller manu- 
 factured by the La Prance Manufacturing 
 Company, Elmira, N. T., to whom orders 
 may be given, or to the agent of the owners, 
 Chauncey M. Beadle, hardware dealer, 130 
 Water street. The sheller was exhibited to 
 the Club by John N. HiU, of East Concord, 
 N. H., who is the general agent for the Uni- 
 ted States. Of course a thorough test was 
 made in the actual work of shelling damp 
 and dry, large and small ears, with rapid and 
 with slow motion. The President appointed 
 a committee to take charge of the entire 
 operation, and it was composed of the most 
 careful men in the body — a fact which needs 
 no proof to those who observe the names and 
 have personal acquaintance with the mem- 
 bers. Their report is appended, and it is 
 proper to add, was warmly endorsed by aU 
 members present. 
 
 "We have given the Eicker corn sheller a 
 very careful inspection, and are now able 
 to pronounce its mechanism very excellent 
 with an appearance that indicates great 
 durability. We have required performance 
 with varying speed and such changes of cir- 
 cumstances as we could devise to increase 
 the difficulty of the work, one object being 
 to make the test as severe as possible. We 
 find its capacity for work about one shelled 
 bushel in five minutes of time, two men be- 
 ing required to work it ; or rather one man 
 to furnish the power and one to put in the 
 ears. Any boy big enough to handle the 
 ears could take the place of one man. We 
 mention this capacity as the fair average. 
 The machine actually did shell in our pres- 
 ence two bushels of ears from the basket in 
 a little less than three minutes. A notice- 
 able feature of the work is that every cob is 
 completely divested of all its grain before it 
 leaves the machine. This is effected with 
 absolute certainty even though th 
 
 largest ears be alternated with the 
 smallest and although they be 
 thrust in buts or tips foremost. The 
 shelling is actually perfect in either case. 
 This is secured by a process of double shell- 
 ing before the cob is finally ejected unbro- 
 ken, but stripped entirely. The cleaning is 
 performed at the same time and the win- 
 nowed grain delivered in a receptacle, fit for 
 market. With common rate of speed there 
 is no scattering whatever, but we found it 
 possible by excessive motion to carry scat- 
 tering kernels out with the cobs, which are 
 arried completely out of the way by an au- 
 tomatic movement provided by the sheller. 
 The work is easy and the machine itself eas- 
 ily moved — it having been brought into the 
 Hall by two men, a fact which may be re- 
 garded as indicating what could easily be 
 done in practical work requiring changes 
 from crib to crib. With a desire to point 
 out defects if they exist, as plainly and f uUy 
 as we have merits, we are obliged to say 
 with the present showing, that we can only 
 commend." Charles Hblleb, 
 
 Chairman. 
 Geo. S. McCai™, 
 Samuel M. Caek, 
 John Bkidgman, 
 William S. Cake. 
 
 Saturday Evening, April 11, 1874. 
 
 The ' night was bitterly cold, with a pierc- 
 ing north wind to cool the zeal of any who 
 ventured to test the weather with a view to 
 attend the Club if not too 'cold. It proved 
 too cold for aU but the boldest — ^rather the 
 bravest. There were farmers from South- 
 port, five miles or more distant, who had 
 faced the norther all the way, and now felic- 
 itated thenjselves that compensation would 
 be had in propulsion homeward — a pleasure 
 they seemed willing to hold in prospect, for 
 they were plainly willing not to " go home 
 till morning.'' Early in the evening light 
 wagers were laid that less than twenty mem- 
 bers would appear at the meeting, but the 
 guess was wild. Twenty, thirty, and then 
 
61 
 
 scattering others, vintil the seats contained 
 about forty, which is doubtless the smallest 
 meeting of the season. 
 
 Mr. George S. McCanit placed on the 
 President's desk a, jelly glass of timothy 
 seed, much of which was stripped of its 
 outer hull, presenting the appearance which 
 is usually denominated skinless, and is ob- 
 served so often in Western seed. He asked, 
 " Will it grow ?" This same question, at 
 one of the winter meetings, brought out a 
 diversity of views, the most careful farmers 
 declaring in favor of sound seed encased in 
 hulls. 
 
 This time the President called members to 
 ths desk to make critical examination. In 
 all respects the seed was fine, except the 
 skinless portion, which doubtless had ap- 
 peared plump as the other before its coat 
 was stripped. The point to consider was the 
 vitality. If that was impaired, much of the 
 seed offered in market is worthless. 
 
 Mb. Bridoeman — 1 tried some seed of this 
 character by testing counted seeds in a pan 
 of earth. They failed, as I suppssed, from in- 
 jury in the skinning process. The experi- 
 ment was made years ago, and my recollec- 
 tion is not distinct in the details, however 
 it has led me to prefer f uU seed. 
 
 But lately I met Mr. Perguson who, hav- 
 ing noticed the reported remarks on this 
 subject at a previous meeting, wisely made 
 the test for himself, and he told me there 
 was no appreciable difference in the time of 
 germination, or the vigor of the shoots from 
 the hulled and the whole seeds. So I con- 
 clude my experiments were not conclusive — 
 the seed might have been poor from other 
 causes. 
 
 Mr. Bandpield — A few years ago I sowed 
 some in a field where I lacked plump seed to 
 finish all. I got some which had this skinless 
 character, and sowed it by itself. It grew 
 just as well as the best. 
 
 Mr. Valentine Stkouse — Yes, if only the 
 hull is off there is no hurt ip the seed. 
 
 The President taking some of the whole 
 
 seed in his hand gave it a slight rubbing* 
 when it was all divested of the outer coat. 
 He attributed it to over ripeness, and ex- 
 pressed the opinion that it would be quite 
 safe to use such seed if no other fault ap- 
 peared. 
 
 Mr. Carmi Compton — I tried some of 
 these seeds, sprinkled on a pan of earth 
 about twelve days ago, and the result is, 
 these seeds with the outer skin off grew just 
 as quick and apparently just as strong as the 
 others. I could discern no difference in the 
 plants from the two kinds, and they are now 
 about three-fourth of an inch high. 
 
 This was justly regarded as a practical 
 settlement of the whole question. 
 
 The President called again for the experi- 
 ence of those who had used seeding attach- 
 ments to grain drills, whether the work was 
 better in the rear or front of the hoes. 
 
 Mr. V. Stbouse — I should prefer hand- 
 sowing to either. I use a drill, but I did 
 hot care in buying to get one with a grass 
 seed attachment. They make too much 
 trouble. If I were to use one for grass seed, 
 however, I should certainly have it drop the 
 seed behind the hoes, because when dropped 
 in front and followed by the hoes, there 
 must be great loss by covering too deep. If 
 seed is dropped on loose fresh earth it needs 
 no covering. If it is dragged at all, a light 
 brush is enough. There is always in the 
 seeding attachment risk of getting the seed 
 spread too thick or too thin or not at all, 
 making constant care necessary. So I pre- 
 fer the old-fashioned hand sowing. 
 
 President Hoepmah — And yet there are 
 advantages in the seeding machines. Cer- 
 tainly, so far as labor is concerned, there is 
 relief. And there is another advantage in 
 having the grass seed dropped at the very 
 moment when the ground is freshly stirred. 
 It is difficult now-a-days to find men skilled 
 in sowing seed, so if we can get that work 
 off by the use of a machine it is much like 
 lightening our own burden, for as things go 
 we have to do this ourselves if we are to 
 feel at aU sure of having it well done. Then 
 
62 
 
 again, supposing the seeder to distribute 
 evenly, that is ,i great advantage. As to 
 dropping the seed before the hoes, I judge 
 it would be much like dragging the seed 
 with a heavy diag, and that has never suc- 
 ceeded well in my practice. 
 
 Mr. Geo. S. McCann — How much grass 
 seed would you use to the acre ? 
 
 President Hoffman — Not over twelve 
 quarts of timothy and clover, half and half, 
 on land suited to the seed. With every con- 
 dition exactly right, much less would do. 
 With perfect fitting of the seed bed, and the 
 seed itself entirely sound, I have no doubt 
 that six quarts would be an ample supply. 
 I made an estimate once of the seeds in four 
 quarts of timothy, by counting the contents 
 of a thimble, and then using the thimble to 
 dip a pint cup full, multiplying the number 
 of times by the number of seeds. I found 
 the number of seeds in four quarts was 
 sufficient to allow one and a half seeds to 
 every square inch in an acre. Of course this 
 supposes even distribution.- . Now one plant 
 to the square inch is quite sufficient, so one 
 third of this allowance would be thrown away 
 if all the conditions were perfect. Clover 
 being of larger bulk, more seed is required. 
 I am in favor of thick seeding. The ground 
 must be occupied by the grasses if good 
 crops are to be produced, but there is more 
 depending on the fitness of the soil for the 
 seed than upon the amount sown. It has 
 often happened that light seeding has pro- 
 duced very full crops of grass. 
 
 Bandfield — My experience has been 
 a fine quality of hay is produced by 
 
 Mr 
 that 
 
 thick seeding. I would never use less than 
 twelve quarts to the acre, clover and timothy 
 mixed. 
 
 President Hoffman — It depends on your 
 ground, the evenness of distribution and the 
 soundness of the seed. AU these Just right, 
 and as I have shown you, four quarts to the 
 acre is thick seeding. With the conditions 
 all perfect three quarts would be ample. — 
 Then it would seem we are annually throw- 
 ing away vast amounts of seed. Yv^e do it 
 because we fail to make proper preparation. 
 
 As I have just declared, I am in favor of 
 thick seeding to grass, and in view of the 
 imperfect preparation so commonly given ,it 
 is better to sow twelve quarts than four, 
 even though half of it be wasted. Too thick 
 seeding regulates itself at last. 
 
 Mr. Bandfield — I have sowed six, eight, 
 ten, twelve, and sixteen quarts to the acre, 
 and on new land, (with which I have had 
 much experience,) the heaviest seeding has 
 produced the best hay and the heaviest 
 crops. Thin seeding usually results in coarse 
 timothy stalks and light crops. 
 
 Geo. S. McCann — A great fault is we 
 don't take pains enough to sow on fresh 
 earth. Seed spread on dry, hard soil is 
 wasted. 
 
 Mr. Bandfield — Yes. ITor that reason it 
 requires more seed on winter wheat than on 
 a spring crop, as, for instance, oatSj with 
 the ground freshly stirred. 
 
 President Hoffman — Which would you 
 prefer for seeding, wheat Croats ? 
 
 Mr. Bandfield — Oats, for the reason I 
 have given. 
 
 Mr. Billings — Here are samples of the 
 two near the Hall. The seed was sown on 
 the same day, and that put on the wheat in 
 the same field with the oats is the better 
 now and has been from the start. 
 
 President Hoffman — So in my expe- 
 rience, the catch has always been better on 
 wheat. 
 
 Mr. McCann— Last year I seeded a field 
 and although the grass made a good start, 
 from some cause it died. Would it do to sow 
 the same ground this spring. 
 
 Mr. Banfield — I should try it. Sow it 
 now and the chances will be in favor of a 
 good catch. 
 
 The Secretary— Have any members tried 
 sowing red top with timothy. 
 
 Mr. Beidgman — Some years ago I sent to 
 New York and bought red top which I sowed 
 
63 
 
 in liberal quantity on a iield, expecting good 
 results, but the seed was all wasted. Scarce- 
 ly any red top appeared in the meadow, and 
 in after years it did not come. 
 
 Mr. Aemsteong — I made the experiment, 
 but having to pay an unreasonable price for 
 the seed I put on but a small amount, aboat 
 three bushels on nine acres, whereas, there 
 should have been a bushel to the acre. 
 It should cost not more than two dollars 
 a bushel, but I had to pay five 
 dollars and go to Bath for it. I sowed 
 it five years ago and the first season v cry lit- 
 tle red top appeared. The. next it showed 
 more and has continued every year to im- 
 prove. The seed being very light, the oasts 
 did not extend across the lands, as it was 
 last year plainly noticeable in the fields in 
 streaks as I spread tue seed proving that the 
 growth of red top U from that seed rather 
 than any accidental cause. 
 
 President Hoffman — Pour years a,go I 
 sowed six bushels on six acres and very lit- 
 tle result has appeared. On the same [Jpiece 
 I sowed two bushels of tiaiot'jy seed, two of 
 blue grass, aild one and a half ot clover 
 seed the ground being in faultless condition 
 having had a whole season of thorough pre- 
 paration for grass alone. The first crop was 
 cut on the occasion of the great trial of 
 mowers on my farm in 1870, and many of 
 you remember that the grass on that piece 
 was very thick. In all the crops since I 
 doubt if I have gathered more than five 
 hundred pounds of red top and a thousand 
 pounds of blue grass, the rest beiug all 
 timothy. The first crop seemed to come 
 entirely from the ten and two-thirds quarts 
 of timothy seed sown to the acre, and it was 
 too thick to produce hay of good quality. 
 The next year the quality was better. I 
 cannot say what became of the red top. 
 The land had before produced an abundant 
 spontaneous growth. 
 
 Mr. Akmstkong — I think I heard the 
 President a, little while ago declare four 
 quarts of timothy seed an abundant allow- 
 ance to the acre, with the only conditions 
 
 that the seed be perfect, the seed bed per- 
 fect, and the distribution even. 
 
 President — Yes. And I am telling you now 
 how I threw away a great amount of seed. 
 Everything but the timothy was thrown 
 away, and the timothy was too thick. 
 Last year the clover made a feeble struggle, 
 but with no profitable re.sult. I still say that 
 with the p erf ect fitting and even destribu- 
 tion four quai-ts, or even three quarts of 
 good timothy seed are enough to an acre. It 
 is the nature of timothy to spread by stool- 
 ing, and it should bo thin enough to permit 
 such extension for thus the plants become 
 vigorous. Sow tinder good conditions and 
 wait for the stooliug of the next Spring and 
 you will get most substantial meadow. 
 Timothyis never perfect untd the roots have 
 passed throuL;'i a winter. If the plants are 
 too thick growth is hampered. I am satis- 
 fied that one half the seed we sow is thrown 
 away because of imperfection in the seed it- 
 self or the lack of thorough preparation. 
 
 I hope I shall not be understood to recom- 
 mend but three quarts of timothy to the 
 acre. Careless farmers would do better with 
 twelve quarts, because grass is better too 
 thick than too thin. Tlie former trouble is 
 not often seen, and the cure is soon worked. 
 One great lack is m the preparation of the 
 seed bed. If that be not perfect, it is wrong 
 to expect complete success to result from any 
 amount of seed. And I repeat if that be 
 perfect a small allowance of seed is even bet- 
 ter than a great one. 
 
 At this juncture Mr. Jud Griswold ap- 
 peared with a request for a committee to ex- 
 amine the operation of a potato planter, 
 mounted on wheels to be operated by a 
 horse. The President asked that the ma- 
 chine be brought in, which was done, when 
 David T. Billings, M. H. Thurston and 
 David Oonklin were appointed a committee 
 to make examination which they made as 
 thoroughly as possible, failing only to make 
 the furrow and cover the seed, the appliances 
 for which are so much like others in common 
 use, which work satisfactorily, that it is 
 safe to conclude no failure is likely to ap- 
 
64 
 
 pear in this matter. After very careful ei- 
 amiuation they made the following report : 
 
 "We have carefully inspected the opera- 
 tion of True's potato planter, exhibited by 
 Mr. Jud Grriswold, with such trial as the oc- 
 cassion permitted and so far as we can judge, 
 it promises well. There is absolute precision 
 in the cutting and dropping of the seed 
 which is put in furrows at regular intervals 
 of one and a half feet or three feet as desired. 
 The heaviest and most disagreeable part of 
 the labor of planting is thus performed by a 
 horse with a man to drive and gmde the ma 
 chine, which would seem quite as easy as to 
 hold a plow. Of course the entire operation 
 of planting includiiig cutting, dropping, 
 marking- and covering is effected as the ma- 
 chine moves forward, thus rendering the 
 the planting as rapid as ordinary marking, 
 except the difference caused by the greater 
 draft of the machine, and the time used by 
 the manager in replenishing the seed box. 
 
 We tested thoroughly the cutting and 
 dropping, the only portions of actual work 
 which we could subject to actual work and 
 with these operations we now report our- 
 selves quite satisfied, while we add, that the 
 devices for plowing the furrow and covering 
 the seed are almost identical with others in 
 common use, and which are proved by years 
 of trial to be efficient and reliable. We 
 therefore conclude that the machine as a 
 whole is likely to prove a saver of labor, as 
 well as the means of improving the character 
 of the work. 
 
 We have given due attention to the 
 mechanical construction which we do not 
 hesitate to declare in the machine exhibited, 
 of a durable character. 
 
 We liave not been able to judge of the at- 
 tachment for dropping fertilizers ui with the 
 seed — no test having been made. 
 
 (Signed,) David T. Billings, 
 
 Chairman, 
 M. H. Thukston, 
 Bavid Conklin. 
 
 CAKE OF TEEES, EOBESTS AND OBCHABDS. 
 
 Satuedat Eventsg, April 18, 1874. 
 
 The preliminary business was fastened 
 forward without a pause long enough to sell 
 a horse, or buy a cow. Strangely enough 
 these animals which have been regularly of- 
 fered at the Club for the last six weeks gave 
 no response to the call at this meeting. Not 
 one was offered — nor was there any inquiry. 
 Very many accommodations are made in the 
 few minutes devoted to wants. A farmer 
 who needs seed oats, or wheat, or clover, 
 or spring pigs states his want and finds a 
 supply as soon as his words are spoken. 
 
 This meeting was very well attended al- 
 though there was nothing particularly inspir- 
 iting in the selected theme. It was, however, 
 timely. The planting and care of trees are 
 considered by the Club every year. There 
 are some of the members who have made 
 the subject a life study — there is one at least 
 so expert that he wiU lift a pine out of its 
 natural bed and re-set where he desires it to 
 grow almost with certain success. 
 
 Before getting to the trees B.C. Sttles, an 
 Owego friend, advised the President by let- 
 ter where to di'op grass seed thus : 
 
 Noticing in the Elmira Advektiser of 
 April 14th, some remarks made by different 
 gentlemen at youi' Farmers' Club meeting, 
 in regard to sowing grass seed, and their 
 opinion in regard to the best place to have 
 and use the grass seeder on a grain drill. — 
 And I, wishing to give my experience to my 
 neighbors, take the Uberty of writing you 
 at this time ; and would say, I have a grain 
 drill with grass seeder, and it is arranged so 
 that.tlie seeder can be used in front or rear 
 of the hoes, and changed with very little 
 trouble. I have tested it thoroughly and 
 my experience has caused me to change my 
 mind in regard to the best place to have and 
 use the grass seeder on a grain drUl. My 
 first impressions were that it should be in 
 rear of the hoes to prevent covering the 
 seed too deep ; but I now use mine in front 
 of the hoes, for the following reasons : 
 
65 
 
 The seed is scattered evenly over the 
 ground in front of the hoes, and as the hoes 
 come along they open up their furrows, the 
 grain is deposited, and the soil rolls back 
 and covers the grain, leaving the grass seed 
 just mjxed with the surface soil ; and if 
 there is any one place the seed is thinner 
 than another, it is where the hoe ran along 
 (where the grain comes up.) But reverse it. 
 Put the seeder on behind the hoes, and I 
 find when the hoes have passed over the 
 ground, that the drill where the grain is at 
 that time is the lowest place on the surface, 
 and that the seed sown after the hoes has a 
 tendency to work into the holes or lowest 
 places on the surface, and that the first 
 shower, land roller, or whatever levels the 
 surface, has a tendency to carry the seed 
 down with the soil, and the result of it all 
 is, I have a portion of the grass seed covered 
 deeper than any I would have if I used the 
 seeder in front of the hoes. And the worst 
 of it all is, I find a thick streak of the grass 
 seed in the drill where the grass grows, 
 where I do not like to have it. 
 
 The letter excited but little comment, al- 
 though it furnished plausible reasons in sup- 
 port of the writer's theory. The general 
 conclusion among Club members, who have 
 used the ' grass seeders attached to grain 
 drills so far as it has found expression in 
 the Club, has been in favor of rear distribu- 
 tion, and there are not' wanting good farm- 
 ers who prefer the old fashioned hand sow- 
 ing over all the devices offered. But consid- 
 ering the winds which prevail during the 
 spring time, when grass seed should be sown, 
 these seeders are certainly desirable, and it 
 must be left to each farmer to decide for 
 himself whether he will have the distribu- 
 tion in the front or rear of the hoes, and 
 as a fair means of deciding the respective 
 merits of the two methods, the drill used by 
 Mr. Stiles, which performs either require- 
 ment, is commended to the incyiiring mind. 
 
 On the planting and management of trees, 
 Mr, Fletcher Carr read the following paper : 
 
 When we take into consideration the many 
 different kinds of fruit and fruit trees, their 
 
 culture and the care we must bestow upon apart a day in April which is called "Arbour 
 
 them from the time we plant the seed until 
 we gather the fruit, my brief effort must fail 
 of full treatment. 
 
 Let us look at the avenge growth of tim- 
 ber. Prom the results, observations and 
 testimony of reliable men the following table 
 is shown to be the average growth of forest 
 trees in twelve years : White maple, one 
 foot in diameter and twenty in height; 
 white willow, one and one-half feet in diam- 
 eter and forty in height ; white ash, ten 
 inches in diameter and twenty in height; 
 yellow willow, one and one-half in diameter 
 and forty in height ; Lombardy poplar, ten 
 inches in diameter and forty in height ; 
 chestnut, ten inches in diameter and twenty 
 feet in height ; black walnut and butternut, 
 ten inches in diameter and twenty feet in 
 height; while the different kinds of ever- 
 greens wiU make an average growth of from 
 eighteen to twenty inches in height annual- 
 ly. In this section of the country the forest 
 tree is often neglected. Riding througb the 
 country for miles in succession you will no- 
 tice the same kind of tree planted along the 
 ■highways. Why not for a certain distance 
 plant elm or poplar, then maple pr chestnut? 
 Do not plant your shade trees all of one 
 kind. 
 
 And again I would ask you if it would not 
 richly repay us to plant trees on the boun- 
 daries of our farms ? would it not be a 
 beautiful sight to see a row of thrifty wal- 
 nut or chestnut extending around the 
 boundaries of our farms. Not only would it 
 beautify them, but it would shelter our 
 fields and serve as a wind break for them. 
 On the farm which I now occupy there is a 
 belt of trees extending north and south 
 nearly in the center of the farm ; and I have 
 noticed that while the snow would be entire- 
 ly blown off the other fields, the land near 
 by these trees would be covered with snow. 
 One of the most succcessful peach growers 
 in Illinois attributes his success to the fact 
 that he has a thick row of trees planted 
 around his orchards, thus protecting them 
 from the cold blasting winds. But in plant- 
 ing forest trees the Western States are far 
 ahead of us. The state of Nebraska has set 
 
66 
 
 Day," giving liberal premiums for the 
 largest number of trees planted, while near- 
 ly all of the State and County Agricultural 
 Societies give lar^f preuiiums for the same 
 object. And I hope the time is not far dis- 
 tant when this club shall set apart a day and 
 make of it a, general holiday for tree plant- 
 ing and give premiums not for the largest 
 number of trees planted, but to the one 
 whose trees shall show the best care and 
 cultivation. 
 
 In planting fruit trees you all have your 
 plans and methods ; you also diiler on prun- 
 ing ; some of you would have your trees 
 pruned high, others battle for a low pruned 
 ti-ee. In selecting your trees out of the mul- 
 titude of varieties, plant some of the old 
 tried ones, such as the Rhode Island green- 
 ing, red astrachan, Baldwin, Tolman sweet, 
 and a few of the early ones. Tlien after you 
 have planted your orchard, draw u, map of 
 it, and place the name of each tree correctly 
 in its place ; put it into a common frame, 
 hang • it upon the wall,' and you will have 
 something which my experience has proven 
 to be very useful. What tree in its natm-al 
 state is more ungainly than the apple tree ? 
 Broad, low, with limbs sprawling in 
 every direction. By its side the pear and 
 cherry tower in gracefulness, and the peach 
 with its light spreading branches has a 
 grace that is much more attractive, while 
 the domesticated elm and maple leave it far 
 behind in its misshapen form. But when 
 rounded out in bloom all its rivals fade be- 
 fore its charms. Its very shape increases its 
 beauty. But we should remember that this 
 flowering is only for fruiting. The blossoms 
 are not for enchantment. They are for fu- 
 ture use. They mean apples — the red- 
 cheeked apples follow the red-cheeked blos- 
 soms. Even so teaching us a, lesson, that 
 beauty is naught without goodness. Plant 
 trees. Not only will you be richly re-paid 
 in your own life time, but your children who 
 follow you, win eat of the fruit of your labor 
 and rise up and call you blessed. Eural 
 adornment also in its simplest form comes 
 within the reach of us all. It is possible to 
 every farmer, in every possibility of landscape 
 to effect by the grouping of trees, the massing 
 
 or cutting away of foilage here and there, 
 improvement. Such adornment requires no 
 great expenditure of capital ; but it 
 demands cultured taste and some time. Good 
 buildings are requisite certainly but money 
 shows better when invested in ornamental 
 suri-oundings. Trees, flowers and ^shrubs 
 call for popular admiration ; they speak elo- 
 quently to every cultured soul. They have 
 a language that all may understand. It is 
 their mission to uplift and elevate the com- 
 monest lives. 
 
 We plant the little seed in the earth and 
 watch the shoot with much care and solici- 
 tude. The years roll by, and it has grown to 
 be a large, thrifty, beautiful tree ; and as 
 we rest under the shade of its wide spread- 
 ing branches and see the fruit of our labor, 
 there is something ennobling about it, some- 
 thing that lifts our thoughts up out of the 
 every day cares of life and our hearts are as 
 happy as the bird that carols his song 
 among its branches. Let us leave the city 
 with its cramped up walls of brick and mor- 
 tar, made by the hand of man, and walk in 
 the fleld of God's planting where there is al- 
 ways room. Let "us wander into the dim 
 grand old aisles of the forest. Look you upon 
 that grand old oak, the monarch of the for- 
 est, with its moss grown trunk. It has 
 bravely stood when the storms of winter 
 have wrapped its limbs in a white mantle, 
 and where the pitiless rays of the noonday 
 sun of summer have beaten down upon it, 
 and its parched leaves have made mute ap- 
 peals for water. When the fierce tornado 
 passed over its top, it bowed its head to the 
 fury of the blast only to lift it again with 
 fresh courage and strength. Year after year 
 the happy songsters have returned to build 
 theu' nests and rear their young in its friend- 
 ly branches. Is their one of us who can look 
 upon one of these grand old monarchs of the 
 forest, without having within his heart a 
 feeling of reverence for Him who created 
 these blessings for our enjoyment and use ? 
 When I shall pass away from this life, I 
 would ask for no sculptured work of art or 
 tablet of stone — no monument of costly ma- 
 terial to be placed over my grave, but rather 
 let me quietly rest under the shadow of a 
 
67 
 
 tree of my own planting, whei'e the birds 
 can sing their glad songs to Him who first 
 gave them spring, and the weary stranger 
 may find grateful rest under the shade of its 
 overhanging branches. 
 
 Mr. Billings — I notice one error — the red 
 apples do not follow the red blossoms. The 
 fact is, red blossoms are followed by the 
 lighter colored fruit, and the white blossoms 
 by the red fruit. I only point to the error 
 because it is perhaps a popular' one, and it 
 is just as easy to know the fact as to indulge 
 in a guess. 
 
 I observe many dead elms on the Presi- 
 dent's grounds. Can he assign a reason for 
 his losses ? 
 
 President Hoffman — I am not sure that I 
 can. The trees were set with care in sucli 
 soil as I had, and the losses are gxeat. Part 
 are in loam and part in coarse gravel. All 
 were mulched with spent tan for a space of 
 three or four feet about the bodies. I mis- 
 trust that they were planted too deep, for on 
 removing the mulch to take up some of the 
 dead trees, I found the roots buried some 
 twelve inches or more. These trees were 
 fresh when set, having been drawn one day 
 and planted the next. Some of them were 
 set in coarse, hard, shai-p gravel soil, from 
 which the sui-face had been removed, and 
 the proportion living is greater than on the 
 loam meadow land. Another place, where a 
 swamp was filled in with three to five feet of 
 gravel, was planted, and the trees on that 
 are neai-ly all alive. I think my ti-ees 
 may have suffered from the drouth for where 
 the loss is heaviest the trees were set in the 
 spring following a very dry wintei', and there 
 was -very little rain until the middle of sum- 
 mer. About one-half died. 
 
 Mr. BiLLTNGS — I think that is a fair ex- 
 planation of that loss. The fact that the 
 trees lived in the gravel with which the 
 swamp was filled, and died in other locations 
 in similar soil, proves lack of moisture. 
 
 It is not necessary to set elm trees deep, 
 and I presume losses have followed too deep 
 setting. 
 
 If the President had plowed a strip about 
 four furrows wide wherever he wanted his 
 row of trees, I think he would have saved 
 nearly all. Eight here by this hall I plowed 
 on one side of the street such a nai-row strip 
 and set roughly with apple trees. All lived 
 and made thrifty growth without care, or 
 with very little. On the oth'r side in the 
 same manner I set maples, and not two in a 
 hundred failed. I have never foimd any dif- 
 ficulty in getting trees to live when planted ' 
 under such circumstances and proper care 
 given afterward. The true condition is that 
 nothing else grows about the tree. 
 
 President Hoffman — My difficulty has 
 been only with the elms. I have set many 
 Lo'Jibardy poplars on the same kind of soil 
 and all lived. With the same chance of soil 
 on the gravel and on the loam I set a hun- 
 dred maples and not three failed. Again I 
 set one hundred and fifty with not more 
 than ten lost. I recognize as good the doc- 
 trine that nothing should be suffered to. 
 grow about the tree to divert moisture and 
 substance, but there is left the fact that the 
 elms died while other varieties lived and 
 made thrifty growth. 
 
 Mr. S. A. Chapman — Does Mr. Billings 
 take pains to set his trees as they are taken 
 up, regarding the points of compass ? 
 
 " Mr. Billings — On the contrary I set the ' 
 heaviest side of the top to the north west, 
 and it is fair to presume that it grii^w to the 
 south west, being pushed thereto by the 
 stronger north west wind. 
 
 Mr. Geoege S. McCann, a very successful 
 planter, narrated his way — With pines he 
 had succeeded in saving on one occasion 
 sixty-eight out of seventy. This result he 
 attributed to the care taken in lifting them. 
 He places great stress on the importance of 
 putting the earth back in the excavation — 
 sti'ata in the order taken out. The fibrous 
 roots which formerly he regarded as essen- 
 tial to the life of the tree he now carefully 
 cuts away. 
 
 On the call to name six apples best suited 
 to this locality, three lists were prepared^ 
 
68 
 
 and on comparison it was found that Ehode 
 Island Greening, Baldwin and Northern Spy 
 were on all the lists. After that the choice 
 ran to Komanites, Hendriok Sweet, Tallman 
 Sweet, Indian Fall Pippin and Eed Astra- 
 chan. 
 
 8ATUiiDA"K Evening, April 25, 1874. 
 
 All day snow had been falling fast, melt- 
 ing at first until the earth had parted with 
 warmth so much as to be unequal to the 
 task, then gathering into a thick, damp, 
 heavy coat, and still accumulating as the 
 hour for the Club meeting arrived. It was 
 well calculated to dampen the ardor of far- 
 m.ers bent on discussing fair weather topics. 
 It dampened everything in doors and out, 
 but in spite of the storm a goodly number of 
 farmers gathered in excellent humor, ready 
 for business. 
 
 J. NixoM", of Bath, N. T., writes the ques- 
 tion — "Will the members of the Club state 
 £heir experiences with alsike clover, and 
 what the results of their experiments have 
 been. I am anxiovis to try some if reported 
 favorably, and would be glad to know where 
 pure seed can be obtained, and at what cost, 
 and the amount of seed requii'ed per acre. I 
 wish to use it on moist upland." 
 
 W. A. AEmsTEON.j — My experience with 
 alsike clover has not been satisfactory, 
 and I have sown a great deal of seed 
 on a large amount of land. The 
 last season that I used it to any extent I 
 seeded with it forty-five acres, much of this 
 being of the character Mr. Nixon describes 
 — moist upland. That was not my first ex- 
 periment. I had used the seed several 
 years, and it furnished past^ire so excellent 
 in some respects, that I was desirous to es- 
 tablish it on enough ground to pasture all 
 my stock. After all the observation I have 
 had, I now declare it does not approach out 
 common red clover in value. As a pasture 
 plant it is sweet and palatable — cattle eat it 
 with avidity — but after it is once grazed off, 
 that is an end of it for that season. It does 
 not start as early as red clover, its growth 
 
 is not as rapid, and after it is mowed or 
 grazed there is no second growth worth 
 counting. 
 
 Pure seed can be obtained at the Eoehes- 
 ter seed stores, and there are many farmers 
 in Livingston county who raise it to sell. — 
 The cost is about ten dollars a bushel in 
 large purchases, and abou.t ten pounds per 
 acre, or a bushel to six acres, is sufiicient. 
 Many recommend sowing but three pounds, 
 but that is not enough. I have sowed twen- 
 ty each of alsike and red clover on the same 
 ground. 
 
 Mr. n. T. Billings — I have had some ex- 
 perience with it, and would not recommend 
 an extensive trial. I, sowed an eight acre 
 field mostly with alsike, but getting short of 
 seed I finished with red clover. There was 
 no comparison between the two, the alsike 
 was so far inferior. All there is of value Mr. 
 Nixon must look for the first year, for he will 
 find no profit afterward. 
 
 President Hoffman — All that tallies with 
 my experience. I have had some of the fin- 
 est pasture from alsike that I ever saw. A 
 piece seeded on oats took evenly and stayed 
 well through winter, and the next season 
 furnished pasture so excellent there was 
 nothing more to be desired and continued 
 good all the season. Another piece of creek 
 bottom land furnished one good crop for 
 mowing, but that was the end of it. I think 
 it may be set down as a fact that the one good 
 g rowth in average fields is all that can be 
 expected — there is no aftermath. 
 
 Messrs. G. S. McCann and S. M. Cahu 
 narrated similar experiences; all who had 
 used alsike agreeing as to the excellence 
 of its quality and all declaj-ing 
 it unprofitable from insufficient growth. 
 
 Mr. David T. Billinos. — In this connec- 
 tion I desire to say that it is important that 
 we use oare m making statements here, be- 
 cause they go out to the public through the 
 press, and it is manifestly wrong to let in- 
 correct teachings go forth to mislead. I refer 
 to what was said here at the last meeting in 
 regard to the growth of trees. I read from 
 
69 
 
 the published report ; — "Let us look at the 1 
 average growth of timber. From the results 
 of observations and testimony of reliable 
 men the following table is shown to be the 
 average growth of forest trees in twelve 
 years. White maple one foot in diameter 
 and ,twenty in height." Now there is not a 
 man in this room who ever saw such a 
 growth. I read again — "White willow, one 
 and one-half feet in diameter and foi-ty 
 feet in height ; white ash, ten inches in di- 
 ameter and twenty feet it height; yellow 
 willow, one and one-half feet in diameter and 
 forty feet in height." I venture to say no 
 man in Christendom ever saw such amazing 
 growth — certainly no such average was ever 
 attained any where in this vicinity. We 
 have yellow willow distributed all over this 
 portion of the country, and I believe as 
 large growth as the average in any other 
 section, but there is no approach to these 
 figures. I think there is not half so much 
 growth made in twelve years. Again — 
 "Lombardy poplar, ten inches in diameter 
 and twenty feet in height ; chestnut, ten 
 inches in diameter and twenty feet in height ; 
 black walnut and butternut, ten inches in 
 diameter and twenty feet in height." Did 
 any man ever see black walnut or butternut 
 or chestnut, with twelve years' growth, of 
 half that size ? I appeal to Mr. George Mc- 
 Cann, who sits here, a, man who has set hun- 
 dreds of these trees, and who is noted for 
 his success, — did he ever see one of these 
 trees attain a diameter of four inches in 
 twelve years ? Why, I have a black walnut 
 n ear my bam in ground highly manured. It 
 had been growing there, I suppose, a dozen 
 years when I came on the place, and it has 
 certainly been making thrifty growth since, 
 and altogether in twenty years I think it has 
 made not more than six inches diameter. 
 
 Men who read these extravagant state- 
 ments, ask, why let them go out? Let us 
 approach truth in our estimates or stop the 
 publication of reports which must mislead 
 and damage the public. There are maple 
 trees on Water street, which have been set 
 about forty-five years,and without'measuring^ 
 I dare say here, there are few which have at- 
 tained in aU that time a greater diameter than 
 
 twelve inches. I have in mind a black wal- 
 nut which stands in a place favorable to 
 growth, and as far back as my memory runs 
 it has been there, and yet to-day I think it 
 will not measure more than one foot in 
 diameter. It does not give me pleasure to 
 make these criticisms, but in the line of duty 
 I have regarded it as a work to be done. 
 
 President Hoitman — I am rather glad, 
 and yet sorry that such work must be done. 
 We invite criticism — we want f act^ — we want 
 to get down to hard pan. These statements 
 regarding average growths of forest trees, 
 attained in twelve years, I confess struck me 
 as large, but I repeated that I had not seen 
 all the world and there might be localities 
 where such things are possible. I have seen 
 some large growths, but never anything 
 like these. Of maples we all have some 
 knowledge and we know that it takes many 
 years to reach twelve inches in diameter. 
 Under favorable circumstances Lombardy 
 poplar might attain a growth somewhere 
 near the estimate made, judging from the 
 thrift of some which I have growing, but 
 this is the only variety in all the list in which 
 I could expect an approach to the figures 
 given. In maples the most rapid growth I 
 ever saw was made by a tree on Water 
 street, which some man in the spirit of 
 vandalism cut down a short time ago. I do 
 not know how long it had been growing, but 
 probably more than forty-five years and it 
 was eighteen inches across the stump. 
 
 Mr. Billings. — Thirty years ago that tree 
 had such size and top that in a heavy wind 
 it went over, lodging on the fence. My 
 brother managed to pry it back to its up- 
 right position, and it went right on in its 
 growth. It was a shame — vandalism to cut 
 down so fine a tree. 
 
 I would like to have yellow wiUows shown 
 me that have made a foot and a half diame- 
 ter in twelve years. Prom my observations 
 I should say with the foot off the estimate 
 would be nearly correct. Permit me to ask 
 Mr. Carr where were these observations 
 made ? Where did he ever see such astonish- 
 ing growth ? 
 
70 
 
 Mr. Pletchek Cabr- — I did not say that I 
 ever made such obsorvations. Mr. Billings 
 knows that I could hardly have observed 
 those matters twelve years ago. I spote 
 of the "observations and testimony of relia- 
 ble men." 
 
 Mr. Samuel A. Chapman — Seventeen years 
 ago I set out some maples in a locality suit- 
 ed to their growth taking them np with great 
 care and re-setting not more than twenty rods 
 from the spot where they had grown. I 
 thought they had made fine growth, but in 
 passing near them two days ago my attention 
 was directed to the size by these estimates, so 
 I took a careful look without getting out of 
 my wagon to measure. I think they would 
 average two inches in diameter when set, 
 and that now they are less than six inches 
 at the point where a chopper usually cuts 
 the stump. Yet these trees are thrifty, with 
 full tops and fresh smooth Vjark. 
 
 Mr. BiTjLings — The maples near Park 
 church were set when I came here seventeen 
 years ago. I don't know how large they are 
 now, nor how much size they had when set, 
 but there is no such growth as that of which 
 we have heaxd. 
 
 Mr. Chapman — Since the last meeting I 
 have set maples in places where I set others 
 last year and all died. Now I have a theory 
 about the cause of my loss. I took those 
 trees up with great care, securing as big a 
 lump of earth with each as I could, expect- 
 ing thus to secure growth ; but I think now, 
 since digging them out, that the earth I took 
 up with the roots caused the death of the 
 trees. On examination I found each tree 
 bedded in a dry, lifeless, mucky mold. In 
 the same places I have now set other trees, 
 and this time I have carefully cleaned off 
 the earth, except on two trees, which I set 
 with the lump of earth, as in last year's set- 
 ting. I expect to lose those two trees, but T 
 can afl'ord the experiment. 
 
 Mr. S. M. Caek — In regard to the estima- 
 ted growth of forest trees it is not fair to take 
 as the criterion the trees which grow along 
 our highways and in the city parks, 
 where every passer by may wrench and 
 
 twist their bodies and where cattle incline to 
 rub and otherwise damage growth. I agree 
 with the criticisms made, that the average 
 growth as stated is too large, but let us not 
 apply tests manifestly unfair. I am not pre- 
 pared to say what may be accomplished in 
 tree growth at the west, but without doubt 
 growth there is much more rapid than 
 growth here. Fifteen years ago I set a 
 sm:;ll ailanthus, and I will give you my 
 head for a football if it is not eighteen inches 
 in diameter at the ground to-day. So I have 
 apple trees set all the way from fifteen to 
 twenty years ago, which, at the ground are 
 twelve inches in diameter. Of course these 
 trees have had good care. Growth has al- 
 ways been stimulated, and encouraged. I 
 believe there are soils and conditions which 
 will produce such size as the table of esti- 
 mates given has named in twelve years with 
 constant and intelligent care. Still I do not 
 endorse the propiriety of sending such figures 
 out to the public. They are like statements 
 of three tons of hay as the average produc- 
 tion per acre. 
 
 Mr. Billings — Precisely, and calculated to 
 mislead. 
 
 President Hoefman. I think these crit- 
 icisms have gone far enough. It now goes 
 out that the table of figures was extravagant, 
 on an average, and yet it may be under- 
 stood that under the most favorable circum- 
 stances and with extra care astonishing 
 growth may be assured. 
 
 We cannot reiterate too often the necessity 
 for careful attention to our apple trees at 
 this season of the year. There is an enemy 
 to growth — an enemy which works with such 
 energy that it just about thwaits aU effort 
 so far put forth to increase the acres of 
 orchards in this country. I speak of the 
 borer. It is easy to prevent its ravages if 
 we are prompt and vigilant in onr care. 
 Once entered, the borer worjis on until de- 
 stroyed through violence or the limitation 
 of its period. The knife and chisel are the 
 proper implements to open its hiding place 
 and destroy its life. Do this work thorough- 
 ly, now and then wash the trunks with weak 
 
71 
 
 ley and then furnish some protection to the 
 bark for about two feet above the ground so 
 that the beetle cannot deposit her eggs and 
 you have immunity from the pest at least for 
 one season. I advise weak ley for the wash 
 because of the ease of handliag, and I think 
 it acts too as a prevention to the deposit of 
 eggs. But there is other protection needed 
 and this may be roofing felt, or building pa- 
 per, 01 even common newspaper in several 
 thicknesses, wrapped about the bodies for 
 two feet above the surface of the ground, 
 and some earth put about the bottom to 
 hold it in place and prevent any opening for 
 the deposit of, eggs. Anything which fur- 
 nishes this prevention will do — paper or tar 
 and tallow, or tar alone, or two horse-shoe 
 tile — anything not injurious to the tree. — 
 This faithful digging out of all that may 
 have entered the tree, and then iJirevention 
 for the future is all — nothing less Will save 
 our apples. None of the patent solutions 
 warranted to extract borers are worth the 
 trouble of applying. 
 
 There are some who claim that the proper 
 place to raise apple trees is in sod. [ dis- 
 claim all such doctrine. Set oat trees in 
 ground that is to be used for hoed crops, 
 and, as Mr. McCann directs, put in just such 
 earth as is taken out of the hole prepared 
 for the setting, and in the order which it 
 had, mulch with long manure or stable ma- 
 nure, or whatever else will keep other 
 growth in check and retain moisture about 
 the young tree. 
 
 Mr. AKMSTEorra — I doubt the infallibility 
 of the protection urged against the borer. — 
 I am sure that the weak ley, or even very 
 strong ley, will not prevent a deposit of 
 the eggs, and while I admit the truth 
 of aU the statements about the paper pro- 
 tection, I must say it is good only so far as 
 it goes. This miserable pest usually enters 
 near the ground, it is true, but I have seen 
 instances where the entrance was made two 
 or three feet above. 
 
 Mr. BiLLiN&s — Yes, even among the limbs. 
 The female needs a little protection — a 
 screen to hide her operations, and wiU then 
 deposit eggs. A cloth placed in an angle of 
 
 'the tree will usually induce a deposit. I 
 put an opened joint of stOve pipe around 
 each of several trees that I wished to pro- 
 tect from pigs, biit it gave no protection 
 from the beetle, the eggs were deposited all 
 over the trunk inside the pipe. 
 
 President Hoffman — Were not those borers 
 already in the tree before you gave the pro- 
 tection ? With my trees the protection of 
 which I have spoken has proved sufficient. 
 
 Considerable discussion of the habits of 
 this pest was had, all of which was based on 
 observed facts and led to sustain the Presi- 
 dent's theory ot protection. 
 
 GrEORSE S. McCann added a word of cau- 
 tion about setting. Drive a forked stick 
 down over the largest roots to hold them in 
 place, and steady the tree against heavy 
 vTinds. 
 
 Satcedat Evenikg, May 2, 1874. 
 
 With good roads and u, fine evening, there 
 was a full gathering or' farmers, all desiring 
 to say something or to hear what others 
 might offer. A score or more of lady mem- 
 bers enlivened the meeting until the prosy 
 matters of plowing and tree planting were 
 about to be presented, when they filed out 
 in fine order, followed by beseeching invita- 
 tions to " come again." 
 
 The first subject considered was the re- 
 spective merits of deep and shallow plowing, 
 as presented in a, philosophical letter by 
 Justus M. Works, Osceola, Tioga county. 
 Pa. 
 
 "Nature knows no tillage of the soil; but 
 in her relation of crops, one dies and another 
 springs up, leaving the soil and subsoil in 
 their natural relative positions ; that part 
 containing the more organic matter nearer 
 the surface. 
 
 Now it appears to me that a wise lesson 
 may be learned by the study of Nature's 
 ways and laws. We are told that milk is 
 for babies and strong meat for men. Just 
 
7a 
 
 so witli plants, wMcli require organic matter 
 to promote the first tender growth. Conse- 
 quently that matter is placed at the surface 
 or near it, where the feeble rootlets can take 
 it up. But when the plants increase in size, 
 and their roots penetrate deeper into the 
 subsoil, there they can obtain inorganic food 
 to harden and mature their stalks and to 
 form the seed. If we reverse the order of 
 nature by bringing the subsoil to the surface, 
 we thus prepare a seed bed in which the 
 young plants make but a sickly start, for 
 while young their proper nourishment is out 
 of reach. I have often observed in wheat 
 and corn puny growth at the start, from this 
 cause, and from the debility thus induced 
 the plants never fully recover. Therefore I 
 say we should never plow below the surface 
 soil with a common plow. But if we wish to 
 mellow the earth to a greater depth, it 
 should be done with n subsoil plow which 
 stirs and loosens the lower stratum without 
 bringing it up to the surface. However, I 
 think if farmers would seed often and thor- 
 oughly with red clover, the necessity for 
 subsoiling would be obviated, for the clover 
 roots extend deep into the earth and their 
 decomposition furnish just the friability and 
 the nourishment needed by the succeeding 
 crop. I am, furthermore, of the opinion 
 that if the farmers in the grain growing re- 
 gion of Tioga county would seed often and 
 burn the clover on the ground, it would put 
 money in their pockets. Nature never tirrns 
 the tops of plants under to enrich the soil, 
 but suffers them to decay upon the surface 
 whence the soluble part may be carried by 
 rains into the soil. Consequently but little 
 except the inorgaine parts ever reaches the 
 growing plant to afford it nourishment. True, 
 shadeis afforded forthe earth audthe mulching 
 which our mode of culture does not furnish — 
 while I may be wrong in my conclusions!, 
 there is still the fact that nature is a great 
 teacher, and while we may aid and improve 
 her gifts, we should never lose sight oE her 
 designs for they always lead in the right di- 
 rections." 
 
 W. A. Abmstbong — This letter has in it a 
 lesson. It points to clover as the great reno- 
 vator of our soils. While I am an advocate 
 
 of deep plowing for heavy moist lands I am 
 ready to agree with the writer that clover^ 
 fr€jquent and abundant clover will in the end 
 accomplish all that I would undertake 
 through deep plowing and clover. Nearly 
 all our clay uplands need systematic thor- 
 ough underdrainlng, but in the present state 
 of affairs this is hardly attainable because of 
 the great cost of the labor required and the 
 difficulty of procuring the labor at any cost. 
 Draining is at the best, a costly business and 
 until these lands become so high in price, 
 that improvement of this character shall be 
 forced, in order to secure such yields of grass 
 and grain as shall pay something like a fair 
 interest upon the sum of the enhanced values, 
 we need not expect much through drainage. 
 The best substitute is deep tillage and 
 clover. Not necessarily the lower 
 earth brought to the surface, although 
 at the worst, that is but temporary harm, and 
 sure at last to result in good — but such 
 opening of the compact earth that surplus 
 water may sink away and findapertures, late- 
 ral as well as vertical, by which it may be 
 carried off. Clover roots alone will effect 
 this condition, with sufficient time, and while 
 they are doing it they also enrich the soil. 
 In undertaking deep plowing in heavy clay 
 it is well to deepen gradually. If every time 
 the work be done, one inch of the lower eauth 
 be added to the surface soil, the rains and 
 snows, the air and frost, wiU. so act upon it 
 in the course of the year as to convert it mto 
 proper soil for the nourishment of plants, 
 and the addition of one inch at each subse- 
 quent plowing soon makes a depth suiEoieat 
 for all the needs of every crop to which these 
 lands are suited. The writer avers that 
 clover would bring profit if all the tops were 
 burned, and he does not assert too much, but 
 there is profit in the tops as weU as in the 
 roots. 
 
 Mr. Geo. S. McOann — I have tried deep 
 plowing without much success, or rather 
 without adding much to knowledge. On the 
 Eeformatory grounds I made an effort to put 
 the plow down, but found it impossible to 
 attain much depth ; the reason for failure 
 was apparent when the grading for the 
 building was made. (The subsoil was a 
 
73 
 
 cemented drift.) But I saw no difference in 
 the wlieat crop between the deep and shal- 
 low plowed. 
 
 I have a field seeded with clover on oats 
 last year, and this spring there is not more 
 than one-fifth of the clover left. Will it 
 pay to hoe the plants ? 
 
 President Hoitman— Hoe them well with 
 the harrow, when by this means the whole 
 field is thoroughly mellowed sow on more 
 seed. 
 
 I took a fancy to do some deep plow- 
 ing a few years ago and accordingly bought 
 a double Michigan plow and with four 
 horses hitched to it went to work. I had 
 first plowed a strip around the field in ' the 
 ordinary way. The soil was creek bottom 
 or loam and the land in stubble. "With the 
 plow set to run just twelve inches I plowed 
 until frepzing weather and had a portion in 
 the middle of the field left for spring. Part 
 of that I plowed with my Michigan plow in 
 the spring and part with the common plow. 
 The only difference in the crops raised on 
 the various kinds of plowing was between 
 the spring plowed and the fall plowed with 
 out any regard to depth. AU the fall plow- 
 ed produced crops twenty-five per cent, 
 greater than those on the spring plowed. I 
 tried the sanie kinds of deep and shallow 
 plowing in sod for corn and without notice- 
 able difference in results. That, satisfied 
 me that I had a double Michigan plow to 
 sell. The same results might not follow on 
 hard pan land or in soils where heavy clay 
 predominates, but I think it will generally 
 prove better to break the loose heavy earth 
 rather than bring it to the surface. 
 
 The following letter from L. D. Austin- on 
 a subject which for the last, two meetings 
 had received attention, was read : 
 
 "The following ideas on tree planting I 
 have formed from experience and close ob- 
 servation. The first thing to be looked af- 
 ter in setting trees is, the state of the soil. 
 Let it be well drained by artificial means if 
 it has not sufficient natural provision to effect 
 this necessary object, for no good result can 
 be obtained where the soil is kept cold by a 
 surplus of water. After drainage put the 
 land in condition for a crop of corn or wheat 
 
 and if the character of the soil be heavy clay 
 subsoiling is an essential process, because it 
 opens up depth into which the tree roots 
 may enter and which serves in two ways to 
 aid growth. 1st. The roots taking deeper 
 hold, the tree is not so liable to be loosened 
 and iniured by high winds, and 
 2d : It will retain its vigor through 
 protracted drouths better than if the sole de- 
 pendence is on surface soil, for a great poi'- 
 tion of the roots which serve as feeders will 
 in such loosened earth push deeper; which 
 serves also another purpose, in permitting 
 near cultivation with the plow, without in- 
 jurious interference with the roots. And I 
 may remark here that I think cultivation by 
 the hoe or plow is just as beneficial to a 
 young tree as to a hill of corn. 
 
 In setting, see that all bruised roots are 
 carefully pruned off with a sharp knife, for a 
 clean, smooth cut wiU heal more readily than 
 a ragged one and is less liable to rot. In 
 preparing to mulch dig about a foot and a 
 half about the tree, removing a few inches 
 of earth, and in this depression put the 
 mulching material covering with the earth 
 to prevent the entrance of injurious insects to 
 deposit eggs. The safest protection against 
 the borer which I have found is in strips of 
 cloth wound around the trunk which must 
 irst be covered with tar and a 
 coating applied to the cloth after it is put 
 around the tree to the height of a foot or 
 more above the ground, and then a little 
 earth heaped around the base. The coating 
 win last four or five years and wiU serve an- 
 other very useful purpose in preventing the 
 depredations of mice in winter. 
 
 I prefer centra] pruning by which air and 
 light are admitted to aid in perfecting the 
 fruit. While the trees are young and thrifty 
 the roots should not be much broken by the 
 plow, but when they lack vigor, through age, 
 I think the cutting up of the roots by the 
 plow, is beneficial because it tends to the 
 formation of a new and more vigorous 
 growth. But I would be careful to prune 
 away the top quite as much as I cut the 
 roots, that there may be no draft which the 
 remaining roots may not supply while the 
 new growth is making. 
 
 I cannot agree with the estimates of tree 
 
74 
 
 growth, as made by one of your speakers at 
 a recent meeting — but there is enough to 
 justify more extensive planting and greater 
 care in the cultivation of both fruit and or- 
 namental trees.'' 
 
 This letter did not excite comment for the 
 reason that trees had become a hackneyed 
 theme. But it opened the way for a person- 
 al explanation by Mr. Fletcher Cask who 
 arose, and with some manifestation of feel- 
 ing said : 
 
 "When you did me the honor a fortnight 
 since to assign me to the opening of the dis- 
 cussion on tree culture, I accepted with hesi- 
 tation, because this is a subject in which 
 that observation which comes through long 
 years has an especial value, and there are 
 many in this body who are vastly my supe- 
 riors in this regard. I see here, now, men 
 who have passed two score of bvisy years — 
 some who approach three score, and who 
 have tvu'ued those years to good account in 
 beautifying the earth with trees. How should 
 1 teach those men ? I, who have lived but 
 just beyond one score of years. I, who have 
 not watched any thing like half the growth 
 with which these my seniors are familiar. 
 And yet I tried to perform the task as- 
 signed me according to the poor ability 
 I possessed and in order to aid the Secretary, 
 who has tasks enough assigned him, I put 
 my thoughts in writing, although in the 
 busy season of farm work, I had to steal the 
 hours from sleep to do it. Well I made a 
 mistake. I presented a table of tree growths 
 and in it there was a mistake. I put right 
 in the beginning the word ajccrage, and it 
 should not have been there. Sharp eyes at 
 once detected it and instituted comparisons 
 between my unfortunate average and the 
 trees on the street, wliich every boy wrings 
 and twists until they outgrow his efforts to 
 damage and which passing cattle never 
 cease to rub and bruise. I appeal to these 
 men, is it fair to judge me by such a stand- 
 ard. Now I have found in the past week a 
 gentleman who has maples set less than 
 thirty years ago, as he assures me, and 
 they range from sixteen inches in diam eter 
 down to twelve, a foot and a half above 
 ground. Another has maple trees set twenty- 
 
 three years and they run twelve inches down 
 to ten." 
 
 The speaker gave numerous examples of 
 tree growth to fortify his position or at least 
 to prove the possibility of such growth he 
 had unfortunately called average, and then 
 in an eloquent peroration presented his de- 
 fense against what he was so unfortunate as 
 to style a personal attack. 
 
 At the close. President HoFrMAN said: 
 
 Perhaps one word may be needed now 
 from me. The estimates presented by Mr. 
 Carr were large, very large, and they ap- 
 peared as average growth of trees, the word 
 being used twice. Now there was real ne- 
 cessity for correction. We want real hard 
 fact. We would not put forth any false 
 teaclaing. We may differ in opinion, but in 
 statement of fact we must be accurate. He 
 who speaks here, be he young or old, must 
 submit to criticism. In the case of our 
 young friend, he has, I am sure, misappre- 
 hended the spirit in which correction was of- 
 fered, the necessity for revised estimates he 
 now concedes. Let us end the matter here 
 and start anew in search of facts. 
 
 Several others made brief remarks consol- 
 atory and otherwise, when at last the meet- 
 ing adjourned in good feeling. 
 
 .S.iTUKDAT EVEKING, May 9, 1874. 
 
 For twenty-one weeks the Club has held 
 every Saturday evening a regular session. 
 Very many times tlie elements have made 
 attendance a difficult task, and especially 
 during the spring months, when the roads 
 have been very bad, yet with all these dis- 
 couragements there has been no flagging of 
 interest. Never before since the organiza- 
 tion of the Club has there been such uni- 
 formly good attendance, and so much zeal, 
 as during the past five months. Rarely has 
 there been a meeting witliout the presence 
 of spiritetl f araiers from distant tov.'ns. And 
 all the time there has been a healthy growth 
 of membership, and, what is of vastly greater 
 impovtance, there has been active exercise of 
 thought. Even among those who seldom or 
 never appear in the list of speakers, there 
 
75 
 
 has been gratifying evidence of profitable 
 reflection, and now as spring work is in pro- 
 gress, tbe plans and the work of these silent 
 but useful members testify to the value of 
 these meetings. w 
 
 A very backward spring has crowded the 
 farm labor into restricted time, and embar- 
 rassed the most carefully devised system of 
 farm operations. But all those farmers who 
 have been accustomed to wait and consult 
 are better prepared to provide for 
 the exigencies of the season than if 
 they had preserved the old isolation. — 
 There has been developed a community 
 of interest by which accommodating 
 aids have been brought into existence and 
 into use. In the brief time given at every 
 meeting to state wants, there has been 
 opportunity to find seed, implements, ani- 
 mals and farm help of every kind, so that 
 these men enter upon labor fully provided 
 and equipped with every requisite for the 
 successful prosecution of their plans. 
 
 The season of labor being now reached, the 
 Club wisely concluded to suspend the meet- 
 ings for a few weeks. The regular order 
 will not be resumed until September ; not 
 until the seed now sown sha,ll have fulfilled 
 its destiny and the ripened crops be garner- 
 ed, thus giving to the thoughtful and ob- 
 serving husbandman new lessons of experi- 
 ence, which shall form themes for many 
 future discussions. Meantime there will be 
 now and then ameetingtonote progress. The 
 librarian will open the hall to those who find 
 time to read, on alternate Saturdays, begin- 
 ning with Saturday, the 23d inst., at 6:30 p. 
 M., giving one hour for the taking of books. 
 The first business of the session was the 
 answering of a question put by an old mem- 
 ber. "When should sod ground be plowed 
 for corn ?" He said, "I have heard it stated 
 that there is much less trouble by worms, if 
 the land be plowed just before planting. Yet 
 there are good farmers who insist that 
 - earlier plowing is better. Something must 
 depend on situations, it is true. There is 
 much good corn land that necessarily must 
 be worked late if at all, because early in the 
 season it holds a surplus of moisture." 
 
 W. A. Abmstbong — There is much to be 
 said on this subject of plowing, but first the 
 
 question addressed to us, desei-ves a specific 
 answer. Plow the sod immediately before 
 planting. It is alleged that the green tops 
 and roots of the inverted sod will serve as 
 palatable food for worms, which failing to 
 find this supply, would feed upon the young 
 corn plants, and the theory is plausible. 
 But there is another reason for deferring 
 the plowing until close to the time of plant- 
 ing. All our soils are infested with the 
 seeds of weeds, which await only the proper 
 condition and season to spring into life, and 
 when you turn the sod over, you bring to 
 the surface fresh earth already planted with 
 innumerable seeds whose germs have won- 
 derful vitality. The good farmer who essays 
 a crop of corn finds in these his chief ob- 
 stacle to success. He must ■nage unequal 
 warfare, if he by plowing early provides the 
 needed condition to induce this troublesome 
 growth and then plants his corn on ground 
 already occupied. Here is reason enough 
 for the lateness of plowing, so that the seed 
 he plants may have at least an even start 
 with the useless growth against which he is 
 thenceforth to battle or fail in his crop. But 
 if early plowing be done and the weeds thus 
 advanced into growth, means must be 
 devised to effect their destruction. Very 
 thorough harrowing or cultivating will ac- 
 complish this, but it is almost as tedious as 
 the original plowing, and therefore to be 
 avoided. 
 
 Now, there is yet another reason for put- 
 ting off until the latest day the plowing sod 
 for corn. It is the fact that the decomposi- 
 tion of the roots covers them at about the 
 time when it can do most good to the young 
 plants. The heat thus developed and the 
 nutriment thus furnished seem to meet the 
 critical period in the growth of ,corn when 
 aid must be given liberally or the crop fails. 
 
 President Hoffman — Very many farmers 
 claim that the chances of all farm crops are 
 improved when the plowing precedes the 
 planting of the seed aa closely as possible. 
 Thus if all our land should be plowed the 
 same day the seed is put in, it would be bet- 
 ter. And such is my opinion. 
 
 The question being answered, about the 
 time to plow for com, I have now something 
 
76 
 
 to say about tlie execution of the work. — 
 Plowing, whether in spring or in fall, ought 
 to signify the thorough breaking up of the 
 soil — every inch of it. In this I used to 
 take pride when I guided the plow by my 
 own hands, more than I do now. It is a 
 positive saving to do the work weU, leaving 
 no balks to correct. Of coui'se there will be 
 an occasional slip, but do not promise to cor- 
 rect such faults in the next round. The 
 true way is to back up and correct them 
 just when they are made. If left until the 
 next round, they are left beyond hope. I 
 have attempted to hii'e plowing by the acre, 
 with the promise that it be well done. — 
 My hopes, based on such promises 
 have often proved delusive. Years ago, 
 such a bargain brought me trouble which 
 lasted eight or ten years. During all that 
 time the balks made in that poor plowing 
 were plain to be seen. I do. not argue for 
 depth, but I ask that whether deep or shal- 
 low plowing be attempted the whole be 
 plowed leaving no balks. The proper depth 
 depends very much upon the character of the 
 soil. On our gravelly flats I am satisfied 
 that five inches are enough depth for corn, 
 although if the work be done in the fall, 
 greater depth, perhaps even ten inches, 
 might do as well. 
 
 Mr. J. M. BucKBEE — Twenty-three years 
 ago, when I took possession of the farm I 
 now occupy, there was on it one field so 
 poor that it produced almost nothing — not 
 even weeds. During the summer there was 
 not enough growth to hide the gray earth. 
 The soil was a heavy clay. I re- 
 solved to plow it for wheat, and accor- 
 dingly put on two teams, a yoke of oxen and 
 span of horses hitched to a stout plow, and I 
 put it down as deep as 1 could — almost 
 to the beams. In this way I plowed 
 all the field, and in the same wav 
 I crossed it at the proper season, putting the 
 plow as deep as before. After this fitting I 
 sowed winter wheat, and the crop I obtain'ed 
 was very heavy. Much of it grew so tall 
 and heavy that it lodged. I approve of 
 deep plowing on lands of a heavy character, 
 when the same is to be crossed bringing 
 again to the surface the soil which the first 
 plowmg buried. 
 
 After general remarks on the various re- 
 quirements of different soils, and the true 
 methods of restoring fertility in exhausted 
 lands through the agency of the plow, the 
 club adjourned four weeks. 
 
 Prom May 9th, adjournment was made 
 from time to time, without discussion, 
 until September 5tli, when the regular 
 weekly meetings were again resumed. 
 
 Sattiedat Evening, Sept. Sth, 1874. 
 
 According to previous announcement 
 the first regular meeting of the Club for 
 the season took place at the hall on Sai- 
 urdav evening. The attendance was not 
 large, owing doubtless to the la(5k of read- 
 iness on the part of many members and 
 the pre.s8ing demand.s of the season. 
 Many are busy during all the good weath- 
 er, in the preparation.? for the fall seed- 
 ing, others are attending to their harvest 
 of hops, while others are gathering the ~ 
 second crop Of grass. Nevertheless there 
 was a good degree of interest manifested, 
 the discussion being quite spirited, al- 
 though no subject had been assigned nor 
 speakers selected for the occasion. 
 Among those present there was a score or 
 so of the old members, who for years 
 have steadily kept their places, solid men, 
 not all talkers, but active thinkers ; men 
 who, by a single question or remark, sug- 
 gest a topic and excite reflection which 
 leads to the developement and presenta- 
 tion of truth. Men to "whom the country 
 is indebted for agricultural improvement; 
 practical farmers who elaborate ideas to 
 which they give sententious iitterance, , 
 and for the rest point to results attained 
 in their own practices, their silent argu- 
 ments bearing the eloquence of illumin- 
 ated truth. 
 
 After an hour spent in social inter- 
 course, President Hoffman called the 
 meeting to the business before it, and 
 
77 
 
 proceeded to sketch briefly the situation. 
 He said : 
 
 " We meet again after a busy seaaon. 
 The work of our farms has engaged our 
 best energies since the close of our spring 
 meetings. We litive learned in the school 
 of labor doubtless many new facts to be 
 reported in these discussions.now regular- 
 ly resumed. Most of us, I am sure, have 
 pleasant reports to bring. In all my ob- 
 servations I cannot recall the memory of 
 a summer which has brought to the first 
 of September a crop of corn more excel- 
 lent and with such certain promise of full 
 ripening. Wheat has disappointed us by 
 its excellence. The other grains now 
 garnered have given full yields. Hay is 
 not abundant, yet it' is in fair supply, 
 and the quality is generally excellent. 
 Potatoes, in spite of the fears expressed, 
 give promise of a bountiful supply. The 
 only farm crop likely to be small in the 
 product is buckwheat. Fruits are in full 
 supply and of excellent quality. As farm- 
 ers we have reason to be thankful. I 
 trust we are. And in opening this meet- 
 ing, I desire to give expression to the 
 seotiment which I know exists in the 
 hearts of all present. Thanks, earnest, 
 sincere, honest thanks, to the Almighty 
 God for the many blessings which He has 
 vouchsafed to us in the summer now 
 closing." 
 
 The President's remarks met the full 
 ■sympathy of all. Resuming his seat there 
 were a few moments given to general 
 conversation, regarding the present wants 
 of members, when the question of seed 
 wheat being presented, he called up Mr. 
 Samuel Hotchkin, miller; and an , expert 
 judge of the various kinds of wheat which 
 enter our markets. The newspapers of 
 the last fortnight having frequently call- 
 ed attention to a variety, new to this por- 
 tion of the State, brought from Michigan 
 by Mr. Hotchkin, beautifully white and 
 plump, and repcirted very prolific, mem- 
 bers were desirous to learn more. 
 
 Mr. Hotohkin. — When I presented 
 some time ago a sample of this wheat to 
 the Secretary of the Olub, my only ob- 
 ject was to show a very fine specimen. It 
 is called the White Egyptian. Having 
 been noticed in the papers, there are 
 statements by which farmers maybe mis- 
 led and to these I desire to give correc- 
 tion. In examining the sample it appears 
 to have much resemblance to the Soules 
 and to the Diehl, but a critical examina- 
 tion leads me to assign it a place midway 
 between these two varieties. In its most 
 important features, it is not" essentially 
 different from the Diehl, but has so many 
 characteristics of the Soules that I con- 
 cluded it is a separate variety dis- 
 tinct from both. I have not been 
 desirous to offer it as seed, but 
 as I am ccyistantly receiving it by the 
 oar load for milling purposes, I can 
 supply it if there are any who want to 
 make the venture. There seems to be 
 some confusion regarding the sample in 
 question, which is reported to have been 
 taken from a field of one hundred and 
 fifty acres, the average yield of which 
 was forty-three bushels to the acre. Now 
 I do not know that this identical sample 
 is from that field. I have stated to some 
 gentlemen of the cliib that I read in a 
 Eoohester paper of that extraordinary 
 field of that Egyptian wheat, but I have 
 no means of knowing that this sample is 
 taken from it. The gentleman, who 
 sends me this wheat from Michigan says, 
 take a half dozen counties around Kala- 
 mazoo and they have not estimated the 
 average at more than twenty-four bush- 
 els to the acre in that entire territory. 
 You have not the statements as made to 
 me. All I claim is that this wheat is of 
 very fine character, and is reported to 
 give large products. 
 
 I have given much attention to seed 
 wheat, but I do not like to take upon my- 
 self the responsibility of urging upon 
 our farmers any particular kind. And 
 now let me say, that after fifteen years' 
 experience in milling, the wheat that for 
 
78 
 
 some years past has given the best result 
 is the Wicks. No doubt it has been im- 
 proved by cultivation. At least it pleas- 
 es me bettor than it did on first acquain- 
 tance. I have none for sale and no inter- 
 est in making the statement other than 
 to give expression of the facts as I have 
 observed them. 
 
 This is a good time to discuss the ques- 
 tion of seed wheat, but I do not claim to 
 be able to instruct these farmers in the 
 matter of selection. This white Egyp- 
 tian, of which I have spoken, .comes from 
 a latitude considerably lower than ours, 
 and what may be the effect of the change 
 when sown here I do not know. The 
 current opinion among farmers, I believe, 
 is that it is better to bring seed from the 
 North than from the South. In regard 
 to wheat culture in this county, I do not 
 know but it will soon become unprofit- 
 able. I am almost inclined to think it 
 will. The improvements made in milling 
 in the last four years have forced the con- 
 viction that the finest products are ob ■ 
 taiued from the hardest grain. To-day 
 the finest St. Louis flour is outsold in the 
 Boston market by the products of the 
 extreme northwest by an advance of 
 three or four dollars per barrel. And I 
 noticed yesterday in the Eochester re- 
 ports Amber wheat was selling twelve 
 centsjper. bushel below No. 2 Milwaukee, 
 which is not the highest grade. I think 
 the markets will rule against us for some 
 years to come. It is certain that other 
 interests will prevent us from producing 
 wheat largely in this section of New 
 York. But perhaps there is nothing un- 
 fortunate or discouraging in this. Our 
 lands are very generally adopted to grass, 
 and there may be more profit in cultivat- 
 ing this crop, giving more attention to 
 dairying. We make excellent butter, and 
 we can fatten cattle and so turn these 
 lands to profitable use. 
 
 President Hoffman. — The great ex- 
 perience of the speaker in working up 
 our grain makes his remarks especially 
 
 valuable. We want to raise the kind of 
 wheat which works into good products. 
 It is not enough to get a, full yield. The 
 test of manufactured — the grinding is 
 yet to come, and, of this Mr. Hotchkin 
 must know far more than we who raise 
 the grain. Let there be a free talk now 
 while farmers are interested in seeding. 
 
 Mr. Hotchkin — I have noticed many 
 remarkably fine samples of spriug wheat, 
 and I have shown some to the President 
 and to the Secretary of this club, who 
 have expressed the opinion that there 
 was some mistake and that I was really ex- 
 hibiting very fine winter wheat, so much 
 of the characteristics of sjoring wheat 
 was lacking. I have found upon inquiry 
 that these samples were Irom crops where 
 the seed was sown in January or Febru- 
 ary, taking care that it be put in thus 
 early that the ground might for a sea- 
 son be covered by -snow. I would sug- 
 gest that some experiments be tried with 
 fall or winter sowing of spring wheat by 
 the farmers of this club. I can hardly 
 hope tliat you wiU do it, but I believe 
 that the character of the grain might be 
 greatly improved by such seeding. The 
 ground might be put in readiness, and 
 late in the season — say the last of De- 
 cember — the seed could be put in with al- 
 most a certain prospect that the spring 
 wheat thus sown would partake of the 
 best charactistics of winter wheat. 
 
 President Hoffman — Many yeais ago 
 that was the practice, at least it was put 
 in very early, the ground being prepared 
 in the fall and the seed sown in any spell 
 when it could be dragged in. Then 
 we succeeded in producing good crops of 
 spring wheat. Now tlie practice is to 
 wait until the ground is dry, then plow 
 and sow, and by this plan we do not suc- 
 ceed. I believe there is good sense in the 
 suggestion of Mr. Hotchkin, and I, too, 
 hope some of our farmers will act upon 
 it. 
 
 We are constantly having new varieties 
 
79 
 
 of winter wheat presented to our notice. 
 Some have been tried by members of the 
 club. Last year several ventured to sow 
 considerable quantities of the Olauson, 
 which was new in this vicinity and gave 
 fine promise. Perhaps there are some 
 present who are prepared to report. 
 
 Jambs MoCann— I sowed about thirty 
 bushels, partly on oat stubble and the re- 
 mainder on wheat stubble. Neither is 
 regarded as a good chance, but mine is a 
 good sound crop so far as yield is con- 
 cerned. But I have heard that the Olau- 
 son does not grind well. I cannot say 
 what its qualities for milling may be, 
 not having tried it. I should be glad 
 to hear from Mr. Hotchkin upon this 
 point. 
 
 Mr. Hotchkin — I have never ground 
 much of it aud therefore cannot say of 
 my own knowledge what its milling qual- 
 ities are. Last year I saw very beauti- 
 ful samples of it in North Hector, on the 
 east shore of Seneca Lake. I never saw 
 them excelled except perhaps by the 
 finest Missouri, and the samples carried 
 around to fairs by those interested in' 
 western lands to induce farmers to immi- 
 grate, and I have no doubt those samples 
 were picked by hand. But I met some 
 time ago a very excellent miller on the 
 shore of Seneca Lake who had bought 
 largely of it and ground many hundreds 
 of bushels. He told me he was exceed- 
 ingly disappointed. I have felt like re- 
 lying upon his judgment. Another told 
 me he had tried it very thoroughly and 
 wanted no more of it. A few bushels 
 were left at my mill not long ago, and af- 
 ter grinding I enquired' of my miller 
 about the product. He said : "It ground 
 fairly but not as well as the wheat that 
 was in before. " That was the Michigan 
 Tread well. I have noticed, as many of you 
 may, that when a kernel is cut in two it 
 does not present that floury appearance 
 in the interior which we like to see. — 
 
 There seems to be in every kernel a sub- 
 stance like horn. It is a very handsome 
 wheat, as fine in appearance as any I 
 have ever seen, but from the observations 
 I have made, and the reports which come 
 from experienced millers, while I should 
 be very sorry to discourage any one, I 
 should advise gentlemen to use caution 
 until its merits are more fully deter- 
 mined. 
 
 President Hoffman — My experience 
 with the Clauson covers only one year, 
 but I must say that I have never raised 
 any other variety which has pleased me 
 so well in the field. It grows vigorously, 
 has a stiff straw which stands well, and 
 gives a good yield, the best I ever had, 
 taking into account the character of the 
 land on which it was sowed. I had ten 
 acres, seven of it oat stubble which I re- 
 gard as a poor chance for wheat always, 
 but it diminishes the chances of the crop; 
 the land itself was poor, stony and un- 
 promisiog, what is styled ^ic/cciMa^, near- 
 ly coveri^'d with cobble stone. The re- 
 maining three acres were in good condi- 
 tion for wheat as land can well be made, 
 being toliacco lauds, which I considerthe 
 very best for wheat. I have had the crop 
 threshed and the product of the ten acres 
 is two hundred and seventy -four bushels 
 and one peck. The wheat is very fine in 
 appearance, but as to the grinding I have 
 made but a single test. I took twelve 
 bushels to the mill as soon as it was 
 threshed. When the crop was put in the 
 barn I was obliged to store it on a mow of 
 hay in which about six feet in depth was 
 put in damp. Every part of the mow 
 was moist as far down as I could reach 
 when the wheat was put on. When it 
 was threshed the moisture had reached 
 half way through the wheat which was 
 dry when put on. When I took the grist 
 to the mill the miller pronounced the ap- 
 pearance beautiful, but on threshing in 
 his hand he said, "why this is very damp, 
 I cannot get a full yield of flour." Of 
 course I did not expect a full yield. I 
 
80 
 
 gave of the product a sack to Mr. Gris- 
 wold and another to Mr. Hotchkin to 
 test, and took the remainder homo. Mr. 
 Griswold brought me a loaf of bread 
 made from his and it was fine. For my 
 own family it is pronounced as good as 
 we want. 
 
 James McCann- 
 good color ? 
 
 -Does the berry hold 
 
 President Hoppman — When my wheat 
 was nearly fit to cut there came a whole 
 week of raiu by which cutting was too 
 long delayed. The color therefore is not 
 so bright as it should be, but there are 
 kernels of the later heads as bright as one 
 could desire. On the whole I never saw 
 finer wheat except Oregon samples. I 
 like it so well that I shall sow twenty-five 
 acres of it this season. No doubt the 
 fault in color is owing to the bad weather 
 by which the grain was allowed to become 
 too ripe. 
 
 Ghablbs HeltjEB — That is a sufficient 
 explanation for the dark color. 
 
 Jambs MoCann — I have been advised 
 to sow clover with my wheat this fall. A 
 gentleman in Spencer who saya he ha.i 
 practiced such fall sowing for several years 
 informed me that he had found it success- 
 ful in every instance. I think I shall try 
 an acre or two. 
 
 President Hoffman — I have tried small 
 patolies later than this but I always lost 
 the seed. 
 
 I should like to hear from Mr. Heller, 
 who is an excellent wheat farmer, when 
 to sow wheat. 
 
 Mr. Hellee — I should sow as soon as 
 possible, now if the ground is ready. 
 
 President Hoffman— Have you never 
 seen failures of the crop which could fair- 
 ly be charged to early sowing ? 
 
 Mr. Heller — Never, when sowed at 
 this season, but I have often seen failures 
 from late sowing. 
 
 President 
 sowing. 
 
 Hoffman — Yes, very late 
 
 Mr. Hblleb — Yes, even when sowed 
 as late as the twentieth or the fifteenth 
 of September. I should prefer having 
 the seed in now, and in very early sow- 
 ing I would use the drill and put the seed 
 in deep. 
 
 Mr. HoTOHKiN. — In relation to the col- 
 or of the Wheat which has seemed to 
 change, the reasons assigned are quite 
 sffloient to account for it. I have exam- 
 ined this wheat very carefully with the 
 microscope, and as the result of my in- 
 vestigations I am forced to believe it is 
 identical with the white Wabash raised 
 low down in Indiana, with only such 
 changes as are due to the different situa- 
 tion and climate. The white Wabash, 
 for years, was the best wheat that I re- 
 ceived, giving the best flour and the best 
 results. In shape, color, size and other 
 characteristics the Clauson and the white 
 Wabash seem identical, but there is a 
 softness about the latter not to be found 
 in the former. My theory is that bring- 
 ing the seed from a warmer to a colder 
 climate accounts for all the difference. I 
 have seen, in Canada, samples of the 
 Olauson which had not held color and 
 there was suspicion among farmers that 
 this fault was characteristic of the variety. 
 
 James McOann. — I raised four kinds 
 the past season and certainly the Clauson 
 is the best, the largest heads and the best 
 berry. Other kinds li id better ground, 
 some being on summer fallow, but I doubt 
 if any other would give so good an aver- 
 age, although not all is threshed. 
 
 President Hoffman.— In mine I notic- 
 ed that on long or short straw the heads 
 were all of good length and well filled. 
 
81 
 
 So far as the habits in the field are con- 
 cerned it developes very fine character- 
 istics. 
 
 Some farther remarks were made about 
 the amount of seed required to the acre, 
 which seemed to range from one and one- 
 fourth to two bushels, according to cir- 
 cumstances. Drilling as against broad- 
 cast sowing, had also partial considera- 
 tion, when, the hour of closing having 
 arrived, the Club selected for discussion 
 at the next meeting, "Management of 
 Agricultural Fairs," and adjourned. 
 
 Saturday Eve,, Sept. 12. 1874. 
 The subject selected for discussion at 
 this meeting was of timely interest, but 
 it did not attract a large audience. 
 
 In the absence of President Hoffman, 
 who was engaged in the service of the 
 State Agricultural Society, Vice Presiden. 
 MoOann, who is President of the Che- 
 mung County Society, occupied the chair, 
 In opening the meeting he said : 
 
 It is very fortunate that this club has 
 chosen to discuss the management of ag- 
 ricultural fairs at this opportune season, 
 when the numerous organizations are 
 about to open their annual shows. No 
 doubt there is room for great improvement 
 in the manner, if the way should be point- 
 ed out. The officers are generally desirous 
 of receiving suggestions and will not be 
 slow to act on such as seem -to promise 
 for their institutions increased usefulness. 
 For myself I do not claim to be able to 
 say or do anything for the good of these 
 shows beyond the ability of every exhib- 
 itor. There are gentlemen present who 
 can furnish us aid without doubt by such 
 hints as we need. I shall call on Mr. 
 Armstrng, who will excite remark by his 
 ideas of the management. 
 
 Mr.ABMSTBONG — If there is any person 
 in this hall who is most thoroughly ac- 
 
 quainted with the chief requisites to give 
 the fairs usefulness, he is or should be the 
 presiding officer, who has for weeks been 
 actively engaged in devising plans to 
 make the coming show of our county so- 
 ciety successful as well in the excellence 
 of the display as in the receipts of money. 
 While I shall not assume to instruct him, 
 I shall venture a few suggestions. 
 
 No fair is successful if it does not con- 
 vey to spectators some useful lesson, or 
 at least make such sight-sesiug as shall 
 give pleasant memories to the beholders. 
 The mere money receipts at the gate do 
 not constitute the most important object 
 to be sought, nor is the cash value of, the 
 premiums the chief desire of the intelli- 
 gent exhibitor. All excellence depends 
 more on the farmers and laborers in other 
 branches of industry who live in the sur- 
 rounding country than on the officers "of 
 t"he society, who generally have much la- 
 bor to perform and not always many 
 thanks. If each should carry in his best 
 specimens of wheat and wool and butter 
 and corn and display them by the side of 
 the best products of his neighbors" skill, 
 thereby exciting pleasant and friendly 
 strife for excellence in the products of 
 future labor, the great object for which 
 fairs are devised would be well attained. 
 But men need premiums to attest such 
 excellence, and the award of these prizes, 
 it is alleged, depends more upon the 
 name and position of the exhibitor than 
 on the merit of his articles. It is said 
 that the judges will mark down a prize to 
 the president, or to any other high officer 
 of the society, to make favor for them- 
 selves, even when these officers are not 
 justly entitled to the award through mer- 
 itorious display. Only recently the Su- 
 ral JSfew- Yorke}- depicted in a cartoon a 
 set of easy judges viewing a miserably 
 forlorn sheep, and awarding the prize on 
 the information that it was bought with 
 the money of a wealthy dignitary, and 
 was reputed to have a moneyed pedigree. 
 The whole is a base caricature of human 
 
nature. Those who insist that these 
 things go by favor to names and position 
 betray in themselves a wickedness which 
 unfits them for places of trust. Now in 
 this hall is a fair representation of the 
 class of farmers from which these judges 
 at the fairs are selected. Many of them 
 are now assigned to such positions. 
 Dare any man charge that one of them 
 could be induced by any consideration of 
 favor to rob merit of its just award to 
 please a dignitary, no matter how great? 
 Say the judgment of these men is at fault, 
 and it may be true, although the charge 
 rests on the judgment alone of other men 
 who are themselves equally liable to err. 
 But it will not do to say that these 
 men are capable of selling an opinion. 
 That there are individual oases of wrong 
 prompted by impure motives, I do not 
 deny, but I enter an emphatic protest 
 against that malignity of spirit which 
 assails the integrity of an honest class. 
 
 Much has been said and -written about 
 the horse trots which form a feature of 
 so many of our fairs. We have in this 
 county ^hitherto prohiliited such exhibi- 
 tions at the fairs, but now for the first 
 time under amended laws we are to have 
 trials of speed. The horse is an agricul- 
 tural animal. His rearing and training 
 is an important interest. He is valuable 
 somewhat in proportion to the devel- 
 opment of a rapid gait. I am quite will- 
 ing that premiums shcmid be offered for 
 speed jjrovided only that the disreputable 
 practices which attach to ordinary racing 
 shall be efi'ectually prohiiiitt.d. The men. 
 who have this matter in hand will uot 
 countenance wrong. If they find the 
 turbulent element too strong for restraint 
 the experiment will be abandoned, but I 
 believe they will prove themselves able to 
 subject even a horse trot to such whole- 
 some rules as they are sure to impose on 
 all who enter. It is my desire that all 
 these fairs should be conducted in the in- 
 terest 'of agriculture, and the dependent 
 industries, giving pleasure as well as pro- 
 
 fit to all, and leaving no bitterness nor 
 animosity to mar the remembrances of 
 the entertainment. 
 
 One other matter regarding the future 
 and 1 shall give place to others. There 
 is no other place in this State possessing 
 in so full a degree all the essential ele- 
 ments for a grand and successful agricul- 
 tural show as this. Here are the grounds 
 of the State Sticitty, ample in space and 
 ■with all the elaborate appointments for 
 stix-h. display of products as all the coun- 
 ties within a circuit of a hundred miles 
 about us could make. We belittle our 
 opportunities if we suffer this to be a 
 mere county show. We want something 
 of more grand proportions. We want the 
 farmers of Pennsylvania and of New York 
 to meet here on terms of ab-jolute equal- 
 ity so well assured that all efforts may be 
 expended in the one diveclion of excel- 
 lence. It is easy to give this assurance 
 and to inspire them all with direct per- 
 sonal interest, but to do it an effort must 
 be put forth. There must be such orga- 
 ization as to give all the territory com- 
 ,mon interest and then the matter must 
 be set forth in the newspaiiers until there 
 shall be no doubt left. It is within the 
 province of the officers of this society, 
 ■who will find their efforts in this line 
 properly and ably seconded by the best 
 citizens. If they neglect this important 
 matter they fall .short of their duty. 
 
 President McOann — It is very true, as 
 just remarked, th:it the work of the offi- 
 cers will uot count for much unless there 
 is cordial cooperiition by farmers and 
 others having articles to exhibit. Great 
 pains have been talien in the selection of 
 judges, so that there should be no reason- 
 able suspicion of wrong The managers 
 met six times ^to give these matters full 
 and careful consideration. For the horse 
 classes the several committees are com- 
 posed of two members living in other 
 counties, and one in this in every case, 
 the object being to insure absolute fair- 
 ness by obtaining gentlemen against whom 
 
83 
 
 no charge of jjrejudice coald be brought. 
 But in spite of all these precautions there 
 are ah-eady owners of horses who cry out 
 that there is a job planned. As to the trot 
 I may say that I have not held it in favor. 
 Personally I should prefer to exclude it, 
 but a majority desiring to make a trial of 
 this attraction, I have felt obliged to 
 yield, and hope it will result in no evil. 
 As chief officer I promise that every ef- 
 fort shall be directed to make the test 
 fair, and to divest the performances of 
 demoralizing influences so far as possi- 
 ble. The making of money is not the 
 chief object of the society. If it were 
 there are many ways of accomplishing it. 
 To-day I had the offer of eighty dollars 
 in hand for hhe privilege of setting a table 
 on the grounds prepared with colors and 
 balls to roil, in some way depending on the 
 colors, making an opportunity for bet- 
 ting. Of course the money was declined 
 with a refusal of the privilege. Another 
 person wished to enter for the purpose of 
 selling cakes of soap each of which was 
 done up in a package alleged to contain a 
 cash prize ranging in value from twenty- 
 five cents to fifty dollars. He too with 
 his tempting soap, was refused. No doubt 
 we might make monay by these per- 
 nicious attractions, but money so offering 
 we do not want. 
 
 Mr. J. S. VanDtjzeb. — It seems to me 
 that whatever we plan relating to the fair 
 we shall find when the occasion comes 
 there will be something to amend. There 
 is need nevertheless of the best prepar- 
 ations we can make. The arrangements 
 require a great deal of care and thought. 
 Much is entrusted to the superintendents 
 of the various departments, and however 
 capable they may be their parts will not 
 be well performed unless their duties are 
 assumed beforehand. I am reminded of 
 this by an embarras.sing failure last year 
 caused by the failure of the forage super- 
 intendent, who did not provide subsis- 
 tence for the animals until near the close 
 of the first day. Much of the stock which 
 
 came in early was in a sorry plight, jaded 
 with travel and suffering with hunger, 
 while there was unavailing effort to iind a 
 proper officer to procure the supplies. 
 There should be not only men to purchase 
 but time given to this iiaportant part of 
 l^reparation. Whatever ability the presi- 
 dent and secretary and their general 
 superintendent may possess, there must 
 be men on hand to execute or all will 
 count for naught. The requirement is 
 much the same as that of a general in the 
 field. He may plan, no matter how well, 
 and if he has not subordinates and troops 
 to execute, he will not accomplish much. 
 
 Another source of dissatisfaction last 
 season was found in the imperfect entries, 
 and these were caused by the great h^ste 
 and rush of the first day of the show, 
 which, in the secretary's office, was de- 
 voted almost exclusively to receiving en- 
 tries. Much hurey is incompatable with , 
 good order. The result was many articles 
 and animals were assigned to wrong class- 
 es, by which exhibitors were greatly dis- 
 satisfied, althougli clearly enough the 
 fault was their own. Let us hope farmers 
 will not delay their entries until the last 
 day this year, but let them be assured if 
 they do so delay, that the rush to the 
 secretary's office will render it impossible 
 for them to obtaiii such consideration as 
 as they desire, and the confusion of last 
 year wiU be repeated. I would recommend 
 that in the future there be a day appoin- 
 ted, some time in advance of the opening, 
 when all entries shall close, thus giving 
 time to revise and correct errors, which, 
 under the best management, are liable to 
 happen. 
 
 And then we want a complete, well or- 
 ganized, comprehensive plan of present- 
 ing all the requirements of farmers 
 through circulars, hand bills, posters 
 and newspapers, so that none may plead 
 lack of ■ information. This done, the 
 secretary and superintendents of the 
 departments should unite in consulta- 
 tion to discuss the various requirements; 
 
84 
 
 each of these officers should be especially 
 adapted to the place assigned him, and 
 he should be well provided with compe- 
 tent assistants. If all these repuirements 
 should be fully met the confusion and 
 vexatious disapointments of the last fair 
 would be obviated. 
 
 Still another irregularity which charac- 
 terized the last fair should be noticed and 
 prevented in future. Many farmers enter- 
 ed the grounds with their teams and ap- 
 propriated quarters assigned the animals 
 entered for exhibition, encroaching upon 
 them to such an extent that neither 
 proper sp&ce nor supplies could be pro- 
 cured until patience was quite exhausted. 
 Certainly such management is so glar- 
 ingly wrong that it would seem, only to 
 du'eot attention to it, to prevent its oc- 
 currence. I would permit teams to enter 
 in any available space, and I would ever 
 have supplies for sale, but in no case 
 would I permit vifsitors to usurp the priv- 
 iligea assigned to exhibitors. 
 
 President MoCanm, — I regret that the 
 general superintendent is not here for the 
 suggestions are such as he would be 
 pleased to consider. 
 
 It may be promised, however, in his ab- 
 sence that there will be no neglect of duty 
 on his part ; and the several department 
 superintendents present will heed the 
 suggestions. I know there was cause for 
 complaint last year in the waste of fodderi 
 besides the cons'.imption by teams driven 
 in and quartered on the society. There 
 was complaint also of animals entered by 
 those who sought only to get keeping. — 
 This year the general superintendent will 
 reject all animal.s lacking merit and the 
 fee will be forfeited to the society. 
 
 Mr. Beeohee. — As one of thesuperinten-. 
 dents last y^r I can certify to the lack of 
 forage and the abuses specified. There 
 were cattle from near Albany and the 
 interior of Pensylvania, brought in, by 
 rail, in the morning and compelled to go 
 
 without food until nearly night, because 
 it could not be procured. We sent for- 
 aging parties into neighboring corn fields 
 and obtained what we could in this way, 
 but it was insufficient. 
 
 Mr. Jesse Owen. — In my department 
 last year, the domestic, there was no serious 
 complaint, but I was aware of the trouble 
 had by others. It seems to me nearly all 
 the provisions could be so well understood 
 before hand that there need be no repeti- 
 tion of the embarrassments. It would be 
 well if a general consultation could be 
 held by the department superintendents, 
 secretary and president, a day or two be- 
 fore the fair opens, each defining every 
 want not yet fully supplied and so secur- 
 ing provisions. The only trouble I had 
 in the domestic department arose from 
 the desire on the part of nearly every lady 
 exhibitor to secure the best dis[>lay for 
 her entries, but soft words and discreet 
 attention pacified and, apparently, satis- 
 fied all. Now let us meet and -arrange 
 everything as well as we can a day or two 
 before the opening, and there laeed be no 
 cause for complaint. Meantime we should 
 keep it before the people that fair treat- 
 ment is what we desire to give and what 
 we will exert ourselves to offer to all. 
 
 Mr. S. M, Cabk — After an extended 
 experience in the department- man- 
 agement of fairs, I am prepared to say, 
 that the greatest difficulty arises i'rom 
 the confused manner of making entries, 
 and this in turn is caused by tlie rush 
 and pressure of business at the last- 
 Many entries are made in wrong classes 
 because there is not a correct under- 
 standing on the part of the exhibitor 
 of the requirements, and the pressure on^ 
 the secretary will not permit explanation. 
 Earlier entries would obviate all tliis, but 
 if mistakes occur there should be th e 
 ready means of correction. 
 
 There was last year a line carriage team 
 entered in the class given to farm horses. 
 
85 
 
 Mr. Taylor, the exhibitor, was without 
 doubt, plain In his direction, and besides 
 a, mere glance was sufficient to show that 
 his were carriage horses and nothing else. 
 I tried earnestly to have correction made, 
 but without avail, and Mr. Taylor was 
 cheated out of a prize, for plainly enough 
 he had the best carriage team on the 
 ground, by carelessness not his, entered 
 in the farm class. There were many sim - 
 ilar oases. , 
 
 In making up the committees great 
 care should be taken to fill the places 
 with some who have nothing to exhibit 
 in the classes which they judge.' I think 
 the managers sometimes fail to meet the 
 requirements in this respect. 
 
 As to the trot I fully believe that it may 
 be managed without the evil practices 
 which usually attend such exhibitions, and 
 if it can I do most heartily approve of it. 
 Let wrong doing find its penalty; let the 
 officers be vigilant and we shall have no 
 trouble growing out of the trot; all gamb- 
 ling or betting must, of course be prohib- 
 ited, and the whole management subject 
 to the rules of the society. 
 
 Mr. Owen. — Very many of the entries 
 are made by letter, and insufficient data 
 are given to enable the Secretary to place 
 animals in their proper classes. No 
 doubt that officer does the best he can 
 and finds embarrassment enough without 
 being obliged to assume the blame which 
 should fall on exhibitors themselves. 
 
 Mr. Cabk. — But if there are mistakes 
 should they be rectified .'' 
 
 President MoOann. — Every means 
 should be used to prevent mistakes, and 
 if they do occur the best possible thing 
 must be done. They cannot always be 
 set right. The society distributes five 
 thousand pamphlets with the printed 
 rules set forth. Certainly exhibitors 
 
 should nse their own intelligence. The 
 Secretary is not required to examine every 
 team entered to decide in what class it 
 shall be put. 
 
 Mr. Van Duzbb. — There is a great deal 
 of hard work attending the conduct and 
 management of a fair, and, as a rule, it is 
 poorly paid. I insist that the men who 
 devote their time and energies to the 
 building up of the fair should be liberal- 
 ly paid. Let us pay a good salary to the 
 secretary so that he may afford to devote 
 time to the work, and with our excellent 
 faoihtes and central position there is no 
 reason why we may not have shows as 
 great as those of the State society itself- 
 It was the design of those who encourag- 
 ed this location of the State society that 
 we should build u() a great institution 
 which .should be an honor to the whole 
 country about us. Let us hasteu to ac- 
 complish the design. 
 
 Mr. G. S. McOann. — If we do not have 
 a successful fair the whole blame should 
 be charged upon the Club, for there are 
 enough of us to make a good show, if we 
 have the proper spirit. I say then the re- 
 sponsibility rests with us. Let every 
 man , every woman and every child take 
 something of excellence, as all may, and 
 there will be no failure. But let no one 
 look over the articles and say, " I could 
 beat this." He should be ashamed to say 
 it, for it is proof that he has neglected a 
 duty. 
 
 As to committee work I know it is dif- 
 ficult. I have been obliged to award pre- 
 miums on the statements of exhibitors 
 who showed samples of grain and gave 
 statements of the yield. I could not dis- 
 pute them nor believe them. They 
 should be required to verify by oath that 
 more truthful men may get their just 
 dues. 
 
 Mr. HoTOHKiN. — I have had presented 
 to me frequently the j_idea of an inter- 
 
86 
 
 county fair on the grounds placed at our 
 disposal. Gentlemen in the aurrownding 
 counties hvive frequently expressed their 
 desire for such an organization. May it 
 not be well to consider it? Our fairs are im- 
 proving, and we ought not to favor com- 
 petition. We do much better than a fair 
 of which I read not long ago — I think in 
 a Utica paper — where the articles exhio- 
 ited were a calf, a goose, and a pumpkin. 
 
 After further remarks by several of the 
 speakers and long after the proper hour 
 of closing, it was resolved to continue the 
 subject at the next meeting, which hap- 
 pens to be the evening of the last day for 
 taking entries of horses, cattle, sheep and 
 swine, grain and dairy products. Presi- 
 dent MoOann promised the attendance of 
 a clerk for taking entries, of whose service 
 any belated exhibitors may avail, at the 
 Olub IrlaU at the next meeting. 
 
 Saturday Eve., Sept, 19, 1874. 
 Several of the old members appeared 
 bearing signs of fatigue, for they had 
 spent more or leas of the week in attend- 
 ance at the State fair in Koohester. Pres- 
 ident Hoffman having filled his place of 
 executive officer in charge of a depart- 
 meut, had given a whole week of exhaust- 
 ive labor to the performance of duty, but 
 at the usual hour of opening he was in 
 his place and called the Club to the order 
 of business. 
 
 Late last fall Mr. Davis, a farmer in 
 Keading, Schuyler county, presented to 
 the Olub specimens of his seedling potatoe 
 which had acquired some local celebrity, 
 his object being to secure an impartial 
 test of its qualities. The potatoes were 
 at that time assigned singly to several 
 gentlemen who engaged to plant and re- 
 turn statements of observed facts when 
 the products should be gathered. Mr. 
 Davis attended this meeting in expectation 
 of hearing full reports of the several tests, 
 but only Mr. George S. McOann was pre- 
 
 pared with a statement; the others, gen- 
 erally, not having gathered their crops. 
 He had planted his single potato, out to 
 small pieces, with the design of securing 
 the greatest yield, and to make a compar- 
 ative test he had planted in close proxi- 
 mity an equal number of hills of the early 
 rose, ^vith the difference only that of the 
 latter he used the full average amount of 
 seed. On digging he' found the product 
 of the Davis potato forty-five and three- 
 quarter pounds, and that of the early rose, 
 forty -eight pounds. This test he regard- 
 ed as in favor of the former, taking into 
 account the diminished seed, but as to 
 appearance the rose was superior because 
 the specimens were fair and smooth, 
 while the Davis product came out rough 
 with prongs, which might be owing to 
 too great richness of the soil. Of the 
 quality for the table no te.9t was reported. 
 At a future meeting, when the other ex- 
 perimenters shall have gathered their 
 crops and the facts of growth, full re- 
 ports will be submitted to the Club and 
 reported in the proceedings. 
 
 President Hofbman, in opening the 
 subject for discussion, " The Management 
 of Fairs," said that his duties in the ser- 
 vice^of the State Society had so engrossed 
 his time and attention during all the week, 
 that he had only a few hours before been 
 able to read the report of the last discus- 
 sion, when the county fairs had received 
 a very full criticism, at which meeting he 
 had not appeared to explaiu some of the 
 causes of complaint. He was quite will- 
 ing that all faults should be pointed out, 
 and he hoped that means of correction 
 would be found. As he read the report 
 of the former meeting the remissness of 
 officers had been pointed out, and for 
 whatever fell within his department he 
 was ready to answer. 
 
 Mr. Samuel Cabk — I think the report- 
 er misapprehended some parts of my re- 
 marks at the last meeting. It is true that 
 
87 
 
 I spoke of entries whicli, by being assign- 
 ed to wrong classes, made vexatious 
 trouble, but I charged no fault on the 
 general superintendent Hoffma,n, who 
 certainly labored assiduously to bring or- 
 der out of the chaos of errors. I say now 
 if we would have successful and well or- 
 dered fairs there must be salaries paid to 
 the officers in charge, so that they can 
 not only aflford to devote their personal 
 services to the work, but may employ suit- 
 able assistants. 
 
 W. A.. ARMSTKONa. — The speakers at 
 the last meeting pointed out faults whi(;h 
 were charged to the account of soine of- 
 ficers. Let us not at this meeting fear to 
 face the responsibilities. I see tlie presi- 
 dent, secretary, general superintendent, 
 and many of the departraent superintend- 
 ents, are hero, interested in all that re- 
 lates to the manageioent of I'jiirs. I; we 
 said things with some freedom of speech 
 a week ago let us see uow huw much we 
 can sustain. Allot' iis w.-tat to make the 
 approaching fiiir suceosifiil in the mau- 
 agement, in the display ot' products, 'and 
 in its influence upou a.u-ic.nltiir-^. 
 
 Mr. Cakb. — I spoke of errors in entries 
 by which carriage horses were put into 
 my class of farm horses, and when 1 tried 
 to get correction mule, in the iaterest of 
 the exhibitor,' I could not; so we had 
 charges of wrong, which were true, and 
 we made enemies where we might have 
 made friends. I say the secretary should 
 know the proper olas-i ia which aaimals, 
 horses especially, should appear. The 
 idea that I wished to enforce at the last 
 meeting was, that it is the duty of the 
 secretary to inform exhibitors just where 
 their entries should appear, aud to enable 
 him to do all this we should pay a liberal 
 salary and provide for capable assistants. 
 Men come with their horses to exhibit 
 and they have no definate idea of the ar- 
 rangement which divides them into class- 
 es. There must be some officers to give 
 them the information or these mistakes 
 
 will certainly occur. Of course this 
 comes within the province of the secre- 
 tary's duties, but if mistakes do happen, 
 after all possible care to put things X'ight, 
 why there should even then be means of 
 correction. There should be some com- 
 petent body, having jurisdiction which 
 may right errors and restore favor to 
 those who vex themselves by many en- 
 tries. 
 
 Mr. Donald, of Veteran, made facetious 
 remarliis about tlie carriage team ' which 
 so deeply excited Mr. Carr's compassion 
 by being forced into t£ie farm class. He 
 said there was no mistake made as alleged. 
 One of the liorses in question he raised 
 and wi irked until h's found he was not 
 good enough for a farm horse, and than 
 sold him to a purohusef who procured the 
 same day a mate, and called the pair a 
 earriige team, but thay had no <iualities 
 to entitle them to that designation, and 
 were very properly entered as farm hors- 
 es, except that he did not regard them as 
 good enough for that class. If the Sec- 
 retary told the exhibitor to put them in 
 that, class it wos the best that he could do 
 and proved good judgment on his part. 
 
 Mr. Davis, of Schuyler County. — T 
 was in hopes to hear and see in this meet- 
 ing something which wonld instruct the 
 managers of our agricultural fairs in the 
 best plans of conducting them so as to 
 bring about the greatest good. These 
 fairs are comparatively new features of 
 our amusement apd should be so man- 
 aged as TO furnish protitable enjoyment to 
 farmers and their families at a season of 
 the year when the crops are mostly 
 gathered, and there is season for social 
 gatherings. "We are social beings and must 
 have some time and occasion for social 
 intercourse. Tears ago we used to have 
 general trainings, when the youngsters 
 would expend a little money in sight see- 
 ing and for the purchase of ginger cake 
 and sweet cider, and had a good time 
 
88 
 
 generally. We have passed by all that 
 uow ; for the old-fashioned way of mak- 
 ing soldiers T,as found too slow. Three 
 days drill on the modern plan is said to 
 be more eflScient than all the general 
 trainings we ever had. So these social 
 gathej-iugs have faded into the past, and 
 we have sub.stitnted county agricultural 
 fairs, at which there is a great deal to be 
 seen besides agricultural productions. 
 Now when farmers first established these 
 shows they were as good as good could 
 be, in the show of the finest productions. 
 Every hard working, honest farmer went 
 to see the best calf or horse or pumpkin, 
 and he took alon'g the best products 
 of his own industry, and the yoang folks 
 gathered there witJi a little money for in- 
 nocent enjoyments. Now all is very dif- 
 ferent. There is a very great change in 
 the whole pliin. Enter the gate of one 
 of our modern fairs and the noise and 
 hubbub is such as one would expect on 
 entering bedlam. There are peddlers of 
 all kinds of gew-gaws shouting them- 
 selves hdarse over their worthless wares, 
 in hopes to get the money which used to 
 go for ginger bread, and if they leave 
 anything then gamblers with their tempt- 
 ing games displayed in every corner to 
 rob our youth of their cash and their 
 purity. 
 
 Pnsident HoFji'it i.N — It cannot be the 
 gflritleman has evi'i- visited Cliemang 
 comity faij-s. None of the'^ii things have 
 ever been known, nor will they be per- 
 mitted on our c,Tonnds. 
 
 Mr. Davis — I supposed all fairs were 
 very much alike, but my observations are 
 m.ide in the Schuyler oanty fair.-;. What 
 we want is to get farmer.-i to attend with 
 their best cattle aad sheep and corn. 
 And their wives and daughters, too, with 
 boquets of fiower.s ; and mechanics should 
 g<j with their goods ; and tlien, having 
 brought together so many excellent arti- 
 
 cles, all should have a good time together 
 without the riotous sports that disgrace 
 our fairs. But when all these things are 
 brought in for display there is a class 
 which set to work to see how much money 
 is to be made out of the honest toil of 
 these men and women. Tlie farmer's 
 daughter makes up the finest bouquet she 
 can plan, having cultivated the flowers 
 with her own hands at such times as she 
 could spare from drudging work, and she 
 carries it through the village exulting in 
 the prospect of a moderate premium for 
 her taste and skill, but some town lady, 
 who never soiled her hands in the flower 
 garden, sees the beautiful thing, and 
 forthwith resolves to make another more 
 showy, with which to rob the poor girl 
 of her just reward. So she sends out and 
 buys or gets, by any means, flowers to 
 outdo the modest bouquet, and if she 
 cannot get the premium without, she 
 manages to buy up the judges. All this 
 time of the show there is another class 
 which is constantly striving to get the far- 
 mer's last dollar, and then get him as 
 deeply in debt as possible, compelhng at 
 last a mortgage on his farm. There are 
 merchants who keep busily engaged in 
 their schemes during the days of the fair, 
 instead of closing their stores as they 
 should, and go in to show whatever they 
 have to please the eye, and refusing to 
 sell until the show is over. The truth is 
 they want to make all the money and 
 then sneer at the fair, saying, "flow poor 
 it is !" while they have done their best to 
 make it so. I do not know how you 
 manage your fairs here, but these cheat- 
 ings and gambling practices are common 
 in Watkins. 
 
 Jambs MoCann, President of the So- 
 ciety—Our friend will do well to visit 
 our Fair next week, where he will find 
 none of the irregularities of which he 
 complains. 
 
 As we have met to devise plans for im- 
 provement,it seems to me we cannot do bet- 
 
89 
 
 ter than to call up President Hoffman, 
 who has spent the week in attendance at 
 the State Fair, and who will, no doubt, 
 be able to report his observations in such 
 a way as to afford us some valuable sug- 
 gestions. 
 
 E. B. Van Goeder — We took him for 
 counsel an<1 instruction in all these mat- 
 ters. So I join in iIk; call ou iLe pret>- 
 dent. 
 
 Pbesident Hoffman — I cannot regard 
 myself as an instructor, bii t I am glad 
 to say that the arrangements for the ap- 
 proaching Fair are more carefully consid- 
 ered,! believe, than ever before in the his- 
 tory of our Society, and as far as I know, 
 great effort is made to carry out the plans. 
 The premium list has been arranged with 
 great care, the light of past experience 
 aiding in the work. It was thought that 
 some of the annoying errors of which 
 members have freely spoken, were due to 
 the haste in making entries at the last 
 moment and while the fair was in pro- 
 gress, and there has therefore been a rule 
 adopted by which entries are to be clos- 
 ed a few days in advance, of the opening, 
 thus giving time for the arrangements. 
 The rule being new many seem to have 
 failed to observe it. Perhaps it has not 
 been pressed sufficiently on their notice, 
 and the result now is that there are many 
 desiring to enter worthy articles for ex- 
 hibition and to-night the time expires,- 
 thus shutting them out unless the rule be 
 relaxed. This closing of entries in cer- 
 tain classes some days in advance of the 
 fair is a new feature with us. The State 
 society closes its entries thirty days be- 
 forehand, giving time for full prepara- 
 tions, and the plaa seems to work well. 
 But to meet the wants who have failed to 
 understand the requirements which is 
 now with us, I recommend that in the 
 present instance the time for entries be 
 extended to Wednesday, the opening day, 
 at two o'clock in the afternoon. 
 
 A.S to the entries that happen to be 
 
 made in wrong classes there should be 
 somebody to put them right. Perhaps 
 this would fall within the duties of the 
 department superintendents. As gener- 
 al superintendent, I should not undertake 
 to change entries. If a case should hap- 
 pen where the entry is clearly wrong, I 
 should appeal to the secretary's books, 
 aud if thfrc should appear an error aris- 
 ing from the misapprehi'nsii in or ignor- 
 ance of the exhibitor, I think through 
 the superintendents and the secretary it 
 could be corrected. When the goods are 
 properly assigned to their several depart- 
 ments and the judges put in charge, it is 
 the duty of the superintendents to see 
 that every thing is brought to their notice, 
 that nothing escapes inspection. The 
 Judges, I believe, are, or may be, cloth- 
 ed with sufficient power to protect them- 
 selves against undue influences by im- 
 portunate exhibitors. It is their right to 
 ask any questions relating to the charac- 
 teristics of the entries that come under 
 their observation, and they are entitled 
 to such information, but they need not 
 accept extravagant statements by inter- 
 ested parties. I hope judges at our fair 
 will take such statements, especially of 
 the produce of fields or dairies, only for 
 what they are worth. I have just heard 
 a case of this kindt where loose state- 
 ments are put forth as facts. I was de- 
 puted to judge farms entered for prem- 
 iums wit)i the State society and with oth- 
 ers visited the place in question. Certain 
 printed questions are submitted by the 
 Secretary requiring answers by the appli- 
 cant, which are to be filled in the blanks. 
 Learning that the farmer had received 
 the form, I asked, Have you answered 
 the questions? "No, not yet." Will 
 you ? "Yes, yes, I guess I can aU right. " 
 " Do you keep books of account for your 
 fields?" "No, but then I know about 
 how things are. " The fact was he guess- 
 ed his potatoes were planted at such a 
 time, He guessed the product was so 
 much. He guessed he had sowed so 
 
90 
 
 much seed;fin a grain field. He guessed 
 there -was so many acres in it. Now when 
 we make these guesses the basis of an 
 award^we are very likely to do injustice 
 to some more accurate and more honest 
 competitor. 
 
 In regard to gambling at fairs I am glad 
 to say it has not been countenanced by 
 our society, and I hope it will never be. I 
 know it is a feature of some of our neigh- 
 boring fairs, ranging from the grossest 
 kind to that which attends horse racing. 
 I regret that it has been judged best to 
 admit trotting for horses at our approach- 
 ing fair. I want these shows kept pure- 
 ly agricultural, and^would be willing to 
 accept the condition that if they cannot 
 be sustained on that basis they should 
 go down. But having admitted the race, 
 for such it is, let us do the best we can 
 with it and restrain the evil tendencies as 
 far as possible. I do not believe we can 
 make it reputable, but°let us do what we 
 can [in thaf'direction. I hope the time 
 will come when'the State appropriations 
 to county agricultural societies shall be 
 withheld'from all which permit the mix- 
 ing of races with the agricultural shows, 
 and'the sum so withheld'shall be appor- 
 tioned to those societies which exclude 
 these immoralities. As to the gaming 
 tables and the scenes that surround them, 
 I can assure our friend who sees so much 
 to condemn in his own county fairs, he 
 can visit our fair without having his 
 sight oflfended in this respect, for so long 
 as I am superintendent no such practices 
 wiU obtain] admission to the grounds. 
 [Applause.] 
 
 Jesse Owen. — It happens often that 
 the judges who are expected to serve do 
 not appear. Should not authority be 
 given to the superintendent to fill the 
 vacancies after consulting with the ex- 
 ecutive officers ? 
 
 President .Hoffman. — That is really 
 the duty of the executive board, and for 
 this and other work it should be conven- 
 
 ed every day of the fair, but custom has 
 put the work on the superintendents. 
 
 Secretary Cuetis. — Although deeply in- 
 terested in the fair, I did not come here 
 to make any remarks. I expectgd my 
 part to be criticised, and desire to profit 
 by criticism. As to the case of the dis- 
 satisfied exhibitor of last year I have no 
 knowledge, but if gentlemen will call to 
 mind the rush and pressure at my office 
 when so many of these entries were made 
 after the fair had opened, they will only 
 wonder if there were not many wrong 
 entries. I think I may congratulate my- 
 self on the fact that no others are report- 
 ed here. But even this may not have 
 been my fault Men come to make en- 
 tries of their horses, and after looking 
 over the classes point to that in which 
 they desire to be placed, and the entry is 
 so made, although it may not suit them 
 after they iind other entries to compete 
 with theirs by which they feel assured 
 their chances for premiums are damaged. 
 Sometimes in such cases they desire to 
 go into more promising classes. I can 
 not see that it is my duty to assign them 
 places. They should be better able to 
 judge of the merits of their stock than I 
 am. Of course, if there is an error dis- 
 covered it should he corrected, no matter 
 who is the author, but when this is done 
 there will always be dissatisfied exhibi- 
 tors. The case to which allusion has 
 been made was the main reason for 
 changing the practice by closing the en- 
 tries some days in advance of the open- 
 ing, hoping thus to avoid the confusion 
 incident to the hurry and bustle of the 
 first day. The books have now been 
 constantly open at my office for two 
 weeks, and for the last four days at the 
 Hathaway House in this city. For the 
 first two of these days but little was 
 done, for exhibitors would come in and 
 ask a few questions and then say, ' ' Well, 
 you win be here a day or two yet, I will 
 come again. " There is always this dis- 
 
91 
 
 position to put off until the last. Still 
 there is the advantage in the early clos- 
 ing of entries that it permits the Secreta- 
 ry to transcribe the entries in a proper 
 manner, by which he may detect and rec- 
 tify mistakes. The Society acts in good 
 faith to all exhibitors, and the oificers are 
 always anxious to give fair treatment. 
 
 The question of judges is one which 
 has always given much trouble. There 
 are delinquents, making hasty appoint- 
 ments necessary, and when the very best 
 that can be done, is done, there are charg- 
 es of favor. For this reason especial care 
 has been taken this year to appoint judg- 
 es in some of the more important classes 
 of horses, resident out of the county. 
 These gentlemen so appointed have been 
 notified by letter and some of them have 
 given their promise to attend while others 
 will not be able. 
 
 It would relieve me very much if the 
 executive board would meet daily and 
 fill all vacancies. So far the entries are 
 very satisfactory, especially in horses and 
 cattle, and there seems to be a lively in- 
 terst in the first. 
 
 It is trae I meet once in a while a man 
 who carries the reccoUection of a real or 
 fancied wrong he received fifteen or 
 twenty years ago from the society, and he 
 informs me that he " will not exhibit un 
 til that thing is settled," and then other 
 men are occasionally met who say," Get 
 me a place within the ring and I will go 
 in. " The utter abturdity of these suspic- 
 ions is only laughable. 
 
 Mr. DoNAiD, of Veteran, asked numer- 
 ous questions in regard to the exhibition 
 of old productions, such as beans, buck- 
 wheat, clover seed, etc., which seemed to 
 demand answers, but this being a meet- 
 ing of the Farmers' Club, nothing athori- 
 ative could be said. The club therefore 
 adjourned, when President McCann call- 
 ed an executive meeting of the officers of 
 the Chemung County Society in which 
 these questions were discussed and it was 
 
 decided that the products spoken of by 
 Mr. Donald might be exhibited whether 
 old or new, and it was also resolved that 
 the time for taking entries in all the class- 
 es be extended to two o'clock p. m., on 
 Wednesday, the opeing day. 
 
 SATtTEDAT BVB., OOT. 3, 1874. 
 
 At the close of the last week the Club 
 tendered its hall to the executive com- 
 mittee of the County Agricultural Socie- 
 ty, the fair having just closed and the re- 
 ports of committees with their awards of 
 premiums then pressing for consideration- 
 The offer having been accepted, the Club 
 held no meeting for discussion. So at 
 the present meeting no speaker had been 
 selected nor any subject assigned. 
 
 Two weeks ago a partial report was 
 made of the product of a few seedling po- 
 tatoes given to the Club by Mr. Davis, of 
 Beading, Schuyler county, five or six in 
 number, each of whom was expected to 
 give good cultivation and care, to develop 
 the true characterictics of the seed. Mr. 
 Gt. S. McCann made a detailed report of 
 his potato and the product at the last 
 meeting. His opinion of the yield was 
 favorable, but he objected to the rough- 
 ness of the new potatoes, there were too 
 many nubby protuberances. At this 
 meeting several of the experimenters were 
 prepared, not only with their reports, but 
 with baskets of potatoes to exhibit. The 
 first to make his statement was Mr. Hel- 
 ler, who said: 
 
 "I planted my potato on the 27th of 
 April, having cut it to single eyes, each 
 of which was the seed allotted to a hiU. 
 The situation was a calf yard, and I 
 think the ground was too rich to produce 
 good potatoes. The spot selected for this 
 seed was where the trough had set for 
 feeding the calves, and of course was very 
 rich, which accounts for the knotty 
 
92 
 
 appearance of the product. The yield 
 from one potato was a half bushel, which 
 may be counted as good. But there is 
 something about the yield which makes 
 it look like the product of impure seed. 
 Here are potatoes streaked, spotted and 
 of the original seed, looking like so many 
 varieties. Perhaps on poorer ground, or 
 rather on ground better suited to the 
 growth of fair potatoes, these would have 
 been smoother and of more even appear- 
 ance, but with my present observation, 
 I prefer the early rose, specimens of 
 which I have to show in comparison. 
 From the Davis potato I had one hun- 
 dred and five potatoes of a suitable size 
 for the table, and fifteen or twenty small 
 ones, which, so far as yield and size go, 
 were well enough, but the prongs are a 
 serious objection if they are a character- 
 istic of growth." 
 
 Mr. David Oonklin — I received one of 
 these Davis potatoes for trial. I cut it in 
 pieces and planted on the 15th of May, 
 and dug the product on the 25th of Sep- 
 tember. The seed weighed nearly one- 
 half a pound, and the crop was seventy- 
 six pounds of very knotty and rough po- 
 tatoes, and many of them small. There 
 were but few merchantable potatoes in 
 the lot, perhaps not more than one-third. 
 The potato planted was a red one, but 
 those raised from it differ very much in 
 appearance. Some resemble the peach- 
 blow, others the pinkeye, others the early 
 rose, and one is a long white potato like 
 the Prince Albert, yet generally they 
 were red, and as knotty a lot as you would 
 care to see. 
 
 W. S. Oare. — As compared with the 
 early rose, my preference would be for 
 the latter. I had one of the Davis pota- 
 toes assigned me, and the product was 
 knotty and irregular in character, 
 although the yield was good — about a 
 half bushel from one small potato. It is 
 two weeks later than the early rose, and 
 I can not see in what respect it is better. 
 
 I have not tested its cooking qualities. 
 
 Now I would like to ask if this prongy 
 character is not produced by raising the 
 crop on too rich land ? The seed left us 
 by Mr. Davia was smooth, but here comes 
 all these samples covered with rough 
 prongs. 
 
 President Hoffmak. — No doubt the 
 land was too rich, and that accounts some- 
 what for the roughness. I have seen the 
 early rose grow like the samples here 
 shown, when the explanation was the 
 richness of the soil. As to the various 
 colors and appearances presented by these 
 potatoes, I should say that the seedling 
 had not been grown long enough to have 
 its characteristics fixed. It is not 
 thoroughly and perfectly established. It 
 is the experience of those who raise seed- 
 ling potatoes that not one variety in a 
 hundred of those produced is worth 
 propagating, and besides many that do 
 well in the first three or four years then 
 prove worthless. No doubt this seedling 
 presented by Mr. Davis was good in his 
 hands, but with us it has not proved de- 
 sirable, and has nothing to commend it 
 over the early rose and other varieties. — 
 Enough having been said of these pota- 
 toes, let us now, consider other matters. 
 No subject having been selected for dis- 
 cussion at this meeting, let all feel free to 
 speak of any matters of interest. Since 
 we last met our county society held its 
 annual fair, at which I trust many of you 
 have learned important lessons. For 
 self I think I have learned several as su- 
 perintendent. I have learned something 
 of Agricultural horse trots. In the last 
 race, which, however, I did not see, there 
 were four horses entered, and to prove 
 the honesty of the test, general rumor 
 has it that only three of the horses were 
 sold out. Of course there must have 
 been one honest trotter ! 
 
 But I learned more important matter 
 touching our agricultural productions. 
 I saw wheat taken from a field where one 
 
93 
 
 acre produced fifty -At© bushels, fine, nice 
 Diehl wheat. That -was quite worth see- 
 ing. Long ago I expressed the opinion 
 that land used for raising tobacco was 
 thereby put in the best condition for rais- 
 ing wheat, and now that opinion is con- 
 firmed by the story of this crop which 
 was raised on tobacco land. I doubt if 
 even a summer fallow is as good fitting as 
 the preparation given by raising good 
 crops of tobacco. There is the necessary 
 fertility and freedom from weeds. And 
 then we had corn on exhibition which 
 was gathered from a crop on Mr. Q. S. 
 McCann's farm that gave two hundred 
 and ten bushels of ears to the acre, or at 
 least from the one acre which was re- 
 ported. We are pleased by such an 
 exhibition, but there was even a larger 
 yield — two hundred and forty bushels of 
 ears from one acre, produced on the farm 
 of Mr. Owen. Here are lessons to con- 
 sider. I would ask, if such a crop may 
 be raised in this valley on one acre, is it 
 not a fair inference that it can be repeat- 
 ed on another acre ? The same fertiliz- 
 ing and the same care would produce two 
 acres or ten acres of such corn to be re- 
 ported at future fairs. It may be an ex- 
 pensive job, no doubt it is, but it shows 
 that the capabilities are here. Mr. Mc- 
 Cann reported a very liberal application 
 of manure, fifty-two big loads on his acre. 
 Very well. He is rewarded by a great 
 yield of corn this season, and he has not 
 yet exhausted the virtues of the manure. 
 He will be able to note its effects on the 
 next crop and the next, and I do not 
 know how much further. He has made 
 something like permanent improvement. 
 If we can produce such crops, and not 
 know how to keep up fertility, we should 
 go to school and learn how. 
 
 Mr. Billings — I would like to have the 
 production of Mr. Owen's acre kept by 
 itself and shelled when the proper time 
 comes, to see how it would hold out. 
 
 Mr. Owen — It was not kept separate, 
 and is now fed out. 
 
 Mr. Billings — Was it measured or 
 weighed, and if weighed, how many 
 pounds were allowed to the bushel ? 
 
 Mr. Owen — It was both measured and 
 weighed, but having had nothing to do 
 with the raising or handling, I can not 
 say how many pounds were called a bush- 
 el, although I do not doubt the usual es- 
 timate was accepted. 
 
 Mr. HoTCHKiN. — At the west seventy- 
 two pounds of ears are called a bushel 
 from the time of husking until the first 
 of January, when it is supposed to be 
 dry, and about seventy pounds are the 
 allowance thereafter. 
 
 G. S. McCann. — My acre did not pay 
 for its cost by a great deal. Fifty-two 
 loads of fine manure were used oi; the 
 land, and every load was well worth two 
 dollars. Of course 210 bushels of ears 
 will not pay that cost ; but besides that 
 there was the labor, which was great, for 
 everything was done that was needed, so 
 far as we know how, to encourage growth. 
 We really had two hundred and twelve 
 bushels of efirs, for one pile of two bush- 
 els was found husked and overlooked 
 when the measure was made. 
 
 Mr. HoTCHKiN. — Three or four years 
 ago I bought about a thousand bushels of 
 as nice gourd seed Western corn as I 
 ever had, and it was raised on the Genes- 
 see flats. Now, I ask, is it certain that 
 such corn can not be raised on our flats ? 
 
 G-en. DiVBN. — What advantage would 
 it give if we could raise it ? 
 
 Mr. HoTCHKiN. — It is generally under- 
 stood that it is better than our varieties 
 for feed, because there is more nutriment 
 in it. It is thought to be better for all 
 purposes. It will even make more whis- 
 
 ky. 
 
94 
 
 President Hoffman. — While I cannot 
 inform Mr. Hotchkin about the possibility 
 of producing the gourd seed variety here, 
 I can state my observation of some 
 experiments made with Ohio corn thir- 
 ty years ago we planted it in the 
 hope of improving the yield, and from 
 the crop raised we planted again, when it 
 was plainly seen it began to put on the 
 characteristics of our corn, thus adapting 
 itself to the situation. The stalks were re- 
 duced in height, and the growth less lux- 
 uriant, It was later in ripening, iiud 
 on the whole the experiment was not 
 deemed worth pursuing, so it was aban- 
 doned. 
 
 Mr. Owen. — The President spoke some 
 time ago about the fitting for tobacco be- 
 ing excellent for wheat and yet tobacco is 
 generally considered an exhausting crop. 
 My experience has been that it leaves 
 the land in excellent condition for any 
 grain which may follow, including wheat 
 and rye. The soil is loose and free from 
 weeds, and if good crops of tobacco have 
 been raised there is abundant fertility 
 for producing full grain crops. 
 
 When the great yield of corn was pro- 
 duced, which our farmers reported at the 
 fair, no manure was used. Eight or nine 
 years ago the field was in poor grass, not 
 having sodded well, and was plowed well 
 and planted with corn, giving the largest 
 yield we had ever obtained then. After 
 that a grain crop was raised, and on that 
 clover and timothy were sown and a good 
 sod made. Ever since it has been mown 
 or pastured until this crop, when the sod 
 was' turned over and planted, giving the 
 largest yield we ever had. 
 
 President Hoppman — I hope both Mr. 
 Owen and Mr. McCann will, at some fu- 
 ture meeting, give us the precise figures 
 of the cost of production so that we may 
 havethe' full lesson. 
 
 Mr. BimjINGS — Don't Mr. Owen think 
 tobacco is an exhausting crop. 
 
 Mr. Owen — I never raised much and 
 
 therefore cannot say from my own expe- 
 rience, but I know it is so regarded. 
 
 Mr. BiLMNGS— I never knew a man to 
 plant it on his poorest field. On the con- 
 trary, it always has the most fertile land, 
 and this, after being stimulated by ma- 
 nure, to enable it to produce full crops of 
 tobacco, is left with enough fertility to 
 produce less exacting crops, but I appre- 
 hend that the mere fact that tobacco has 
 been raised does not constitute any 'fit- 
 ting for another crop. 
 
 Mr. Owen — My father has been a farm- 
 er for more than fifty years and he re- 
 gards corn as one of the most profitable 
 crops which he raises. 
 
 Mr. Jambs McOaNN — Last spring, in 
 discussing the average production of corn, 
 it was estimated that thirty-five bushels 
 to the acre was a full average for the corn 
 lands of this valley. Since then I have 
 conversed with many farmers upon this 
 matter, and as many as three out of four 
 pronounce the estimate too high. I am 
 inclined myself to consider it so. These 
 crops reported at the fair should not be 
 considered in estimating the average 
 yield. It is not fair to put them forth as 
 anything like a possible average. So far as 
 George McCann's crop is concerned, I 
 know it would be unfair, for that had very 
 costly preparation, as he has told you, and 
 I know it had everything done to pro- 
 mote growth. Besides all that, this has 
 been a very fruitful year, bringing all the 
 advantages together. I am satisfied 
 thirty-five bushels to the acre is a full av- 
 erage. 
 
 Gen. DivEN. — And so I think. Some 
 fields yield thirty-five bushels of wheat 
 to the acre under favorable circumstan- 
 ces, but the average is much less. Ac- 
 cording to statistics gathered a few years 
 ago the average yield of wheat in this 
 State was estimated at twenty bushels to 
 to the acre. In Pennsylvania it was less, 
 while in Michigan it was only seventeen 
 bushels to the acre. 
 
95 
 
 Whether it is profitable to raise corn 
 or not depends on the ground used, 
 whether that is suitable or not. I had a 
 piece a few years ago that produced a lit- 
 tle over one hundred bushels of shelled 
 corn to the acre. Before that crop the 
 land was in meadow, but finding it diffi- 
 cult to get a good firm sod I planted it 
 and raised that good crop of corn. The 
 situation was suitable. The same field is 
 again in corn, the sod having again fail- 
 ed. It was plowed last fall and was plant- 
 ed in the usual season Not much care 
 has been given to it, not what it needed, 
 but I invite any gentleman present to 
 visit it, and I think that he will see that 
 it is as good as the crop which Mr. Mc- 
 Cann has reported, raised by so great an 
 expenditure of manure. The simple 
 reason is that the land is suited to the 
 crop. Oats will not do well on that field, 
 nor will rye. They will lodge. I want 
 the' field in grass, but I am at a loss to 
 know the proper course to establish a 
 good sod on it. 
 
 I have raised corn on the gravely flats, 
 but I do not regard such soils as the best 
 for the crop. I used to prefer a good 
 clover lea, but of late years the plants 
 have been so much injured by worms 
 that 1 have formed the habit of using 
 stubble lands, which are less infested 
 with these pests. 
 
 W. A. Armstrong. Should we not ex- 
 pect on good corn lands at least twice as 
 many bushels to the acre as the average 
 production of wheat in the State ? 
 
 Mr. HoTOHKiN. I think as much as 
 that, or more, might fairly be expected, 
 and if so, there ought to be profit in rais- 
 ing corn. I cannot see that there is much 
 more cost to cultivate an acre of corn 
 than to perform all the operations on an 
 acre of wheat. Corn can be kept until 
 paying prices come, if not enough is off- 
 ered when it is produced. Two years ago 
 there was little variation in price for a 
 whole season. I had a car load arriving 
 
 from the west every week in the year, 
 and it cost me there twenty-two cents per 
 bushel, put in the car and started. Our 
 farmers in this portion of the State may 
 be considered as having good business if 
 they can produce of corn double the 
 average of wheat, and, on suitable lands, 
 my observation is that they exceed that. 
 
 Mr. Owen and Mr. Garb presented 
 arguments to show that Mr. McCann's 
 cost of production was improperly esti- 
 mated. The stalks had not been counted 
 at all and thus it was entirely wrong to 
 charge up the whole cost of manure, 
 much of which must remain to augment 
 fertility. Mr. Owen raised the query, 
 might not ten loads of manure, applied 
 directly to the hills, have produced just 
 as good a crop as the whole spread over 
 all the surface ? If so, he insisted forty- 
 two loads should have their cost charged 
 over to future crops. Both declared that 
 such crops could hardly be reduced with- 
 out profit, direct or indirect, and if a fair 
 division of benefits were made in almost 
 all cases direct profit would be shown. 
 
 Later the discussion ran upon the pro- 
 per means of saving winter fruits, espec- 
 ially apples, but as the hour of closing 
 arrived it was found that the fruit raisers 
 had so many facts to report that the next 
 meeting would have its time fully occu- 
 pied in considering them and the subject 
 was accordingly put over, with Messrs. 
 David Conklin and Fletcher Cabr as- 
 signed to the opening. 
 
 Saturday Eve., Oct. 10, 1874. 
 At the meeting of the club a week 
 ago, President Hoffman put the inquiry, 
 at a late hour, " What are the best ways 
 of preserving fruit for winter ? " The 
 rule being to close discussion at precisely 
 nine o'clock, there was not sufficient time 
 to narrate the practices of the several 
 members who rank as successful fruit 
 raisers, and who give careful attention 
 to the saving ; but there were several 
 
96 
 
 who gave brief answers, showing that it 
 was possible to preserve ordinary winter 
 apples to the next spring, or later. 
 Among these, Fletcher Carr and David 
 Conklin detailed experiments by which 
 fruit which commonly perishes during 
 winter, had been kept in good condition 
 months later, and without great expense 
 of care or labor. Mr. Conklin, speaking 
 of the proper time to pick apples, said : 
 ' ' My crop of apples requires about two 
 weeks for the careful picking, for at this 
 season there is always more or less bad 
 weather, so in order to finish as early as 
 I like, I usually begin on the first of 
 October. I think the later picked apples 
 keep better than the earlier. " 
 
 Gen. DiTEN. — May not that be owing 
 to the fact that they are better ripen- 
 ed ? Immature fruit wiU. not keep well, 
 and there are varieties of winter apples 
 which, on the first of October, hardly 
 have thorough ripening. Tl\e best suc- 
 cess I ever had was one season when my 
 apples were picked so late that there 
 were fallen leaves in which to pack in the 
 barrels. The leaves were gathered and 
 a layer placed in the bottom of the bar- 
 rel and on that the apples in a single 
 layer, then leaves again and so the bar- 
 rels were filled with alternate layers of 
 leaves and apples. The fruit kept per- 
 fectly until the next summer. I do not 
 remember now whether the leaves were 
 the fallen ones from the apple trees or 
 not, nor do I suppose it is of any impor- 
 tance. Cut hay or straw would probably 
 be quite as good. The idea is that the 
 fruit was saved from pressure and kept 
 from contact by which the long keeping 
 was promoted. 
 
 President Hoffman. — I made a experi- 
 ment once with Esopus Spitzenburg ap- 
 ples, wrapped each separate one in paper 
 and so packed in barrels and put away 
 for winter keeping iaa cool cellar. They 
 kept in good condition until late in May, 
 but when the wrapping was removed I 
 noticed the apples very soon decayed. 
 
 Those not so pre'serYod rotted long before. 
 For late keeping I should recommend 
 wrapping each apple separately, or in 
 some way to save them from contact and 
 from exposure to the air. 
 
 Gen. DrvBN — Yes, and keep them out 
 of a cellar in which there is a furnace. 
 
 Mr. Billings— Will not tightly headed 
 barrels of apples keep better than open 
 ones ? I believe so, and that they will 
 keep even better than on racks. 
 
 Mr. Conklin— I never head mine up 
 for winter keeping. I fill the barrels and 
 leave them in a cool place until severe 
 weather, when they are removed to the 
 cellar and set in tiers one on another as 
 high as the situation will permit and the 
 topmost barrel loosely covered. 
 
 Mr. Hblleb — ^I have had better success 
 with tight heading and stowed away in a 
 place as cold as possible without danger 
 of severe freezing. Even if the apples 
 freeze a little in the barrels they are not 
 hurt by it. 
 
 Mr. Conklin— So far as the cold is con- 
 cerned that is right, I believe. There is 
 frequently frost adhering to the inside 
 of my barrels, but no hurt comes to the 
 fruit. 
 
 Gen. DrvEN — Most of my winter apples 
 are brought from Watkins, where they 
 are kept in a cool cellar, coming out 
 sound and fresh, but very soon after put- 
 ting them in my cellar, where there is a 
 furnace, they begin to decay. 
 
 At this stage of the discussion it be- 
 came evident that the evening would not 
 suffice for all to express their views, and 
 accordingly the subject was put over to 
 the present meeting, with the saving of 
 vegetables for winter use added, and 
 Messrs. Fletcher Carr and David Conklin 
 appointed to open the discussion. But 
 as the hour approached the closing show- 
 er of the rainy week set in with an ac- 
 companiment of thunder which kept 
 
97 
 
 timid members at ' home, by which the 
 meeting was made very thia ia numbers 
 Even President Hoflfraan did not a|)p«ar, 
 but his place was well filled by George S. 
 McCann, for whom lightniiig and thun- 
 der, rain and mud, and even political 
 conventions have no terrors, for with a 
 fresh experience of all these he was 
 promptly on hand and ready for duty, 
 and quite unable to comprehend the rea- 
 sons which deterred his brother farmers 
 from attending the club. After uneasy 
 delay in expectation of the fuller atten- 
 dance, he called to order and announced 
 the subject. Mr. Oonklin failed to ap 
 pear, but his young associate, Fletcher 
 Carr, was on hand and on him the chair- 
 man called. 
 
 PLE;rcHEE Cakr. — My experience in 
 keeping winter fruits has not been ex- 
 tensive, but I have made some experi- 
 ments with apples by which I have gain- 
 ed valuable knowledge. In the first place 
 let me say, that much depends upon the 
 picking. If this be not carefully per 
 formed no efforts at long keeping will be 
 successful. The only true way is hand 
 picking and careful placing of the fruit 
 in baskets, to be as carefully removed to 
 the receptacle in which it is to be finally 
 stored for winter keeping. 
 
 Two J ears ago I picked two barrels of 
 Nortbern Spy apple^ ou tlie tenth uf Oc- 
 tober. All imperfect specimens were re- 
 jected, only the^finest being packed, and 
 these were wrapped separately in paper, 
 and when so enveloped packed carefudy 
 in the barrels and set away to save a- 
 long as they would, firat in a place where 
 the tempurature was just above freezing 
 in fall weather, and after three or four 
 weeks, when daager was imminent, they 
 ■were moved without jolting or rough 
 handling to the cellar, where the lids 
 were a little tilted, in which condition 
 they were left undisturbed until the tenth 
 of May, when they were opened for ex- 
 amination, and there were only three or 
 
 symptoms of decay, doubtless imperfect 
 specimens when packed, which my care 
 had failed to detect. Satisfied that fur- 
 ther preservation was possible, the sound 
 fruit was again wrapped and repacked, 
 and so kept until the fourth of July, at 
 which time it was taken out for use and 
 found to be fresh aud juiry, fully preserv- 
 ed and with the mellowness of ripe fruit. 
 For an )ther experiment I took one barrel 
 of Bambos, picked in like careful man- 
 ner, and packed in a barrel specially pre- 
 pared by having slats fastened through 
 the middle to supijort the fruit and leave 
 a space for ventilation, which was sup- 
 plied by holes bored through the staves, 
 permitting free circulation of air through 
 the space cut off by the slats, and of 
 course giving a restricted circulation 
 around the fruit. The.se apples kept well 
 but not near as long as those ia the other 
 ca>e wrapped so as to nearly exclude all 
 air. 
 
 I tried one other barrel of Rhode 
 Lsland greeuings packed in dry chaff, 
 without other means of preserv aiou, and 
 that was an expensive experimeat for I 
 lost the whole. 
 
 Iq my j\idgraent the main requisites to 
 late keepiug are careful picking at the 
 right season, as careful handliug there- 
 after, and no more thau is necessary, and 
 .sep,a-,itiou by such means as I have indi- 
 onted, which I believe will prove success- 
 ful iu every case where the fruit is of the 
 right character. 
 
 As to the keeping of roots and vegeta- 
 bles I do not feel as well prepared to 
 speak, but I may say that in such experi- 
 ences as I have had, beets, turnips, and 
 other roots have kept well packed in dry 
 sand, by which the air and light are ex- 
 cluded. 
 
 The chairman stated a case of several 
 hundred cabbages now spoiling by the 
 cracking of the heads, and asked if pre- 
 vention were practicable. He had heard 
 
 four apples in each barrel exhibiting it said that lifting so far as to start the 
 
98 
 
 roots would olieck the evil, but a trial 
 proved -wholly inefficient. 
 
 Mr. Billings. — You can stop it by lift- 
 ing them quite out of the soil and invert- 
 ing them, in which condition they will 
 probably keep until the proper season for 
 making sauerkraut, which is the best 
 thing to do with them. You have pro- 
 bably made a mistake in setting, getting 
 them out too early. Winter cabbage 
 should be set so late that at this season 
 of the year the heads shall not have 
 reached full size, as they do before crack- 
 ing. This month and the next are the 
 best for the growth of heads for winter 
 use. 
 
 As to keeping apples, grapes and other 
 fruits, I never have any trouble after 
 they are put in the cellar. It comes be- 
 fore that, while exposed in the orchard to 
 thieves. If any one can tell me how to 
 keep the accursed thieves away I shall 
 have no trouble about winter keeping. 
 Not a day passes but these marauders lug 
 away bushels from the orchards in this 
 vicinity. Even now I dare say the reason 
 Mr. Oonklin is not here to tell what he 
 knows about keeping apples, he is en- 
 gaged in watching his orchard to keep 
 some portion of the fruit for himself, for 
 without such watching the thieves would 
 get all. There are men, women, boys 
 and girls every day and every night from 
 the time his apples get big enough to use 
 until they are all stolen or gathered, car- 
 i-ying away immense quantities gotten by 
 open shameless theft. 
 
 Mr. HoTCHKiN. — I would suggest, as 
 the best means of preventing these loss - 
 es, that Mr. Billings gather these thieves 
 into the Sunday School and give them 
 instruction. 
 
 Mr. BiiiMNGS. — No, that will not do. 
 They are not going to be gathered for 
 any such purpose. They make a busi- 
 ness of gathering supplies on Sunday as 
 long as there are nuts or fruit on the 
 trees. 
 
 Mr. HoTOHKiN. — WeU, say they have 
 the instruction in winter then, when 
 there are no enticements on the trees. 
 
 Mr. Billings. — I must be permitted to 
 doubt the efficacy of such influences. 
 
 Mr. Owen. — If Mr. Billings is ambi- 
 tious to become an office holder, the law 
 makes him a deputy sheriff with power 
 to arrest any trespassers on his orchards. 
 Our laws have thrown every safeguard 
 that legislation can provide around our 
 trees and vines to preserve their fruit 
 from such depredations, and yet I know 
 that there are great losses sustained by 
 those who attempt fruit culture in the 
 vicinity of a city. A crop of nuts, es- 
 pecially, for miles around is never left to 
 the peaceable possession of the owner, 
 however much he may prize them for 
 winter use. The general testimony of 
 the owners is that this discouragement is 
 too great to make profitable culture pos- 
 sible. Unless something can be done to 
 create a wholesome public sentiment in 
 regard to this matter, it would be as well 
 to let all in together as freely as they 
 please. 
 
 Mr. Billings — I have hickory trees , 
 which produce great crops of nuts amount- 
 ing to many bushels, which I should like 
 to have at least to supply the wants of 
 my family and a few friends, but I rarely 
 get a j)int. I could submit to this if it 
 were all, but the effort to save brings up- 
 on me the most opprobious epithets from 
 the vile thieves against whom there is no 
 adequate punishment, at least for the 
 abuse ; and for the depredations, if an 
 owner would have the penalties inflicted, 
 he must take a great deal of trouble and 
 this abuse which is worse. To-day I ar- 
 rested a man in the act of gathering nuts 
 from my trees, a full bag of which he 
 had secured, but while fully intending to 
 take him to the Recorder to be dealt by 
 according to the statute, I was overcome 
 by his plaintive pleadings and fine prom- 
 ises to abstain from similar theft in the 
 future, and so gave him his liberty and 
 
99 
 
 Ms booty. We buy land and pay the 
 taxes and are robbed by day and by niglit 
 of the fruits which are our own. We 
 are too tender to bring punishment upon 
 the offenders, while they are tough to 
 stand all the odium of theft and bold 
 enough to heap personal abuse upon the 
 anxious owner if he ventures to malte a 
 feeble, modest effort to preserve some 
 portion of his own fruits for the use of 
 his family. 
 
 S. M. Cabr. — Those charges are too 
 true, but I think something might be 
 done if the offender could be brought in- 
 to our Sunday schools or otherwise under 
 religious teachings. Certainly these are 
 restraining influences, but those who 
 steal do not enter the places where better 
 practices are taught. It is a sorrowful fact 
 that on any fine Sunday those of us who 
 go down Walnut street to church may 
 see two or three clubs of young men 
 engaged in ball playing. They do not 
 go to church — their parents do not go. 
 The law prohibits this desecration of the 
 holy sabbath, and yet the shameful spec- 
 tacle, of which I have spoken, may be 
 seen to-morrow if the day is flue. And 
 those who go to church from this vicinity 
 will return to flnd their trees despoiled. 
 The day is chosen by the recldess evil 
 ones who abound in the city, for spolia- 
 tions through a circuit of miles around. 
 Something must be done to check their 
 lawlessness even if it be only in the in- 
 terest of preservation of the peace and 
 the quiet of the well disposed citizens 
 who suffer long before they take the 
 necessary steps to protect their private 
 rights. 
 
 The discussion of this matter consum- 
 ed a great part of the session, because 
 every one present had a grievance, the 
 outrageous thefts of fruit reaching every 
 one. The general sentiment seemed to 
 favor vigorous application of the law un- 
 til a wholesome public sentiment regard- 
 ing private rights should prevail. The 
 great laxity of morals in this regard was 
 
 well illustrated by one gentleman, who 
 narrated to a knot of listeners after the 
 adjournment, a story of a minister who 
 called to make a parochial visit at the 
 house of a parishoner, and'flnding the 
 doors closed and the family absent, he 
 took a stroll about the ground^. Espy- 
 a young pear tree with ripening Flemish 
 beauties hanging on the branches, he 
 plucked eighteen in number, which was 
 all the tree bore. These he carried away, 
 probably without a thought of wrong 
 doing. But the truth was, they were 
 the treasures of the owner, carefully 
 watched and preserved with a sentiment 
 a kin to affection, because they were the 
 first fruit to reward years of care in the 
 rearing of the tree, and this reward ap- 
 propriated — yes, stolen by his spiritual 
 guide and instructor. 
 
 The keeping of grapes received brief 
 consideration, none of the members pre- 
 sent claiming to have much experience, 
 and the principal speaker, a gentleman 
 whose observation was extended, he hav- 
 ing traveled through the finest grape dis- 
 tricts of the world, carefully noting facts, 
 and therefore well able to instruct, gave 
 free expression to his opinions, but 
 modestly requested that no report be 
 made of his remarks, because not having 
 personal experience, except to a limited 
 degree, readers might be misled by his 
 observations made during a few months 
 of travel in a land where the practices 
 were all new and therefore Uable to be 
 misappreh ended. 
 
 Mr. Thurston gave his experience in 
 handling grapes for the market, in which 
 he had been instructed by a foreign rais- 
 er, who taught to gather the clusters 
 without touching them, and in all the 
 future handling to avoid removing the 
 bloom by contact with the hand. His 
 packing was affected by alternate layers 
 of papers and clusters in boxes of fifteen 
 or twenty pounds capacity, of such depth 
 as to receive about four layers. From 
 the clusters all immature grapes were 
 
100 
 
 carefully removed by pointed scissors, 
 and groat care was taken to pack witli 
 full freshness, in wliich condition he 
 claimed they might be kept through win- 
 ter. He had sold many hundreds of 
 pounds of the grapes so picked and pack- 
 ed, and iu this market they invariably 
 commanded from three to six cents per 
 pound more than other equally fine fruit, 
 more carelessly handled. An important 
 matter he regarded the lifting the lids to 
 allow the e.scape of evaporated moisture, 
 and he recommended also that picking 
 be done while the vines are quite dry. 
 
 The heading of barrels of apples again 
 coming up for consideration, the opin- 
 ions of members were divided as to the 
 propriety of the practice, many being in 
 favor of complete exclusion of the air 
 and pronouncing the so-called "sweating 
 process" a complete delusion. But all 
 agreed that very careful handling from 
 the boughs to final use, was a necesijity 
 to insure late keeping, and there was also 
 complete agreement as to the necessity 
 of a, low temperature almost to freezing, 
 to preserve flavor and freshness, as well 
 as to prolong the keeping. 
 
 Saturday Eve., Oct. 17. 1874. 
 There was again a light attendance, 
 partly owing to the interest felt by many 
 members in a political convention in ses- 
 sion at Horseheads. The same influence 
 operated to reduce the attendance at the 
 last meeting, although the few who were 
 iu, engaged earnestly in the discussion. 
 In the history of the Club the fall meet- 
 ings immediately preceding the aunual 
 elections have been 'lightly attended, 
 partly because of the considerable inter- 
 est felt in the selection of men well suit- 
 ed and qualified for the places to be fill- 
 ed, and partly because at this season 
 there is work to be done needing all the 
 strength and energy of farmers. Much 
 of the excellent corn crop is yet unhusk- 
 ed, and thousands of bushels of potatoes 
 
 are yet in the ground, besides the or- 
 chards on many farms have yet their bur- 
 dens of fruit. It is not wonderful that 
 when Saturday night approaches, men 
 who have labored diligently in their fields 
 during the week are reluctant to go out 
 of their way to discuss the subjects with 
 which their physical energies have grap- 
 pled until they are worn to the last de- 
 gree of endurance. The farmers who 
 are active members of the Club are them- 
 selves vigorous laborers in their own 
 fields. They are very sure to gather their 
 corn and potatoes and apples before they 
 give time to discussion of the methods. 
 All this done, they come in to talk of the 
 lessons they have learned, whether by 
 success or failure, to devise plans for the 
 future, and to develop those social quali- 
 ties which give the chief enjoyment to 
 farm life. A month later the chairs now 
 Vitcant at the Club meetings will be filled, 
 and the list of speakers will have a cor- 
 responding increase, giving zest to the 
 discussions and creating an interest which 
 will extend over the wide field where 
 these reports are read. 
 
 President Hoff.m.^n called to order 
 promptly on time and elicited from John 
 Bridgman the first remarks which related 
 to his perdoual want of fall pigs, which 
 reminded the President that he himself 
 had vacant pens to be filled when the 
 proper stock shuidd ofler, 
 
 W. A. Aemsteong suggested the pur- 
 chase of thoroughbred Essex or Berk- 
 shire, instancing the stock of Joseph 
 Harris, of Rochester, and expressing the 
 belief that more profit would be derived 
 from the feeding of such pigs, even for 
 home use, than from the mongrel in com- 
 mon use. 
 
 Mr. Bridgman made the objection that 
 the first cost would be so high as to pre- 
 vent all profit iu the feeding, to which 
 answer was made that breeders like Mr. 
 Harris who desire to sell only those ani- 
 mals which approach perfection, for the 
 
101 
 
 purpose of breeding, have always in their 
 full pens specimens exhibiting faults in 
 shape, lacking that symmetry which they 
 have fixed as a standard, and these hav- 
 ing ail the excellence for feeding of the 
 handsome animals, because of their lack 
 of beauty are oflfered at low rates for 
 feeding, and if not sold for such use, are 
 devoted to it by tlie breeders. It would 
 be well if more attention should be paid 
 to improvements in the breeds of pigs 
 by which greater profits in pork, making 
 could be made. The great necessity now 
 apparent in this valley is for breeds which 
 will fatten easily. Pigs which will dress 
 tljiree huadred or more at eight months, 
 make much cheaper pork than the course 
 breeds which must have twenty months 
 of feeding to reach such proportions, and 
 the latter are as good as the average in 
 this valley, while there is abundant proof 
 that the crosses of the fine thoroughbreds 
 on ordinary coarse sows, by good feeding, 
 would easily make the weight named in 
 the lesser time, and there was the farther 
 argument that the pork so made is great- 
 ly superior in quality. 
 
 Instances were named of Berkshire 
 crosses which had exceeded three hun- 
 dred pounds weight at eight months old 
 without a pretense of skillful feeding, 
 and the argument was made that such 
 success might just as well become general, 
 if only the proper attention were given 
 to the employment of pure bred males, 
 looking always in the progeny to the 
 capabilities of assimilating food rather 
 than to color or great size. 
 
 Mr. Owen — We have in our near neigh- 
 borhood a breeder whose stock was origi- 
 nally procured from Joseph Harris, and 
 who could doubtless meet the wants nam- 
 ed. Mr. Van Duzer, of whom I speak, 
 had on exhibition at the late fair very 
 fine specimens of Essex pigs, perhaps as 
 good, for all purposes, as those offered by 
 the older breeders. My farmer bought 
 one of them, quite satisfied to pay 
 
 the small extra cost. It appears to me 
 that the farmers in this vicinity are 
 behind in this matter. There need be 
 no fear that all animals and articles of 
 superior excellence will fail of a market. 
 The truth is there is no difficulty in find- 
 ing purchasers for whatever we have that 
 is good. If one could see the inquiries 
 that reach our secretary, not only from 
 farmers within a circuit of a hundred 
 miles, but even from distant States, for 
 everything which belongs to better farm- 
 ing, for better seeds, for nursery stock, 
 and even for supplies which farmers gen- 
 erally produce for themselves. Even 
 now he is publishing a Vermont call for 
 winter apples by the car load, and in his 
 office are inquiries for steel plows and 
 other implements. Such demands come 
 from as far distant States as Texas. It 
 will thus be seen that we need have no 
 fears of a market for whatever is good. 
 This should stimulate us to improvement. 
 Whoever moves in this matter will be 
 very sure of profit. Our situation is 
 favorable. Our facilities for producing 
 are all we could ask ; while the chances 
 of marketing are beyond doubt far bet- 
 ter than most of us realize. 
 
 Mr. G. S. McOann, who has been for 
 some years engaged in experimenting 
 with the breeding of Cheshires, ven- 
 tured the opinion that the crosses were 
 better for feeeding than the pure bred 
 animals. 
 
 The President observing in the hall Mr. 
 Hiram Ketchum, of Ashland, who is a 
 large manufacturer of cider, which has 
 an extended reputation for excellence, 
 and Mr. C^rr, who also makes up thou- 
 sands of bushels of apples every fall, seiz- 
 ed the opportunity to bring out a state- 
 ment of the processes by calling first on 
 Mr. Ketchum, who said: 
 
 ''The chief thing to be sought is a prop- 
 er condition of the apples. To secure a 
 good product, almost everything depends 
 upon the quality of the fruit. First in 
 
102 
 
 importance is ripeness. Apples must be 
 fully matured to make good cider. With- 
 out such maturity the cider may be suffi- 
 cient in amount, and may present a good 
 appearance but it will be lacking in qual- 
 ity, and it will not keep as well. It does 
 not have that richness, that body which 
 is desirable and which is sure to be ncitio- 
 ed in the cider made from fully matured 
 apples with the other conditions of excel- 
 lence, the most important of which is 
 cleanliness. 1 have tried for years to stu- 
 dy the proper requisites forthe production 
 of good cider, and I am prepared to say 
 after all my investigation that the chief 
 things to be desired are full maturity in 
 the fruit, and cleanliness in all the process 
 of making, including, of course, the gath- 
 ering of the apples, and this matter is one 
 in which there is great need of reform. 
 Farmers are very apt to be very careless 
 in picking. The apples are often gather- 
 ed very late, long after they have fallen, 
 and the grass has grown up over them, or 
 perhaps the orchards are sown to wheat, 
 and the fall growth covers the fruit, and 
 the blades are picked and all put together 
 in wagons which are dirty by other uses, 
 and in this condition the fruit is taken to 
 the mill to be made into cider as though 
 there was no need of care to insure a good 
 product. It is impossible to get good 
 cider out of fruit gathered under such 
 conditions, unless hand picking should 
 select from the lilthy mass the good apples 
 free from dirt and fit to crush. It often 
 happens that many loads of this careless- 
 ly gathered fruit, are filled in the bms with 
 a large proportion of rotten apples to 
 damage farther the cider, and from these 
 mixtures of filth and rot the manufactur- 
 er is expected to produce a good kind of 
 cider, when the truth is the task is im- 
 possible. Even without the rot there can 
 be no hope of good cider. 
 
 "I have, by way of experiment, taken 
 pains to wash and thoroughly cleanse the 
 apples for a barrel or two of cider, using 
 for the purpose a tub which would hold 
 
 two or three bushels, stirring these around 
 in successive waters until they were made 
 clean. Take any ordinary apples which 
 do not seem very dirty, and two or three 
 bushels will make a barrel of water look 
 very nasty. The cider made from apples 
 so cleansed has proved to be much finer 
 in quality than the ordinary average from 
 carelessly picked fruit. 
 
 "It would surprise many farmers to see 
 what nice cider may be made from knotty, 
 poor fruit, provided only these condit- 
 ions of full ripeness and cleanliness 
 have proper attention. It used to be 
 claimed in days when cider was distilled 
 for whisky, that such fruit gave the best 
 product, and I am not sure but it did 
 There is. no doubt they would produce 
 more whisky than apples of mild flavor. 
 
 "As to the grinding, it is important 
 that it be done in the proper manner. I 
 think it is better that the apples be prop- 
 erly crushed rather than to have the flesh 
 very much torn by graters. They are 
 often so finely gi'ated the pomace has the 
 consistency of stewed pumpkin, in which 
 condition it will not release the juice. 
 It is something like rotten apples which 
 prevent good yield and spoil what is made. 
 
 "With proper care in all the processes 
 of making a barrel of cider, should draw 
 down to the last just as clear as the first 
 I have made many such barrels and I have 
 had many returned to be filled, when I 
 would find two or three pailsfuU of sed- 
 iment consisting raainly of rotten pomace 
 in the bottom of the barrel. Now that 
 was all wasted to the purchaser besides 
 the damage it effected to the cider." 
 
 President Hoffman — When your cider 
 is well made and put in good barrels, can 
 you keep it during the working, if the 
 barrels are air tight? 
 
 Mr. Ketohdm — Of rourse not in ordi- 
 nary barrels. They would burst if tightly 
 bunged. I have heard of a man who had 
 barrels made of staves an inch and a half 
 in thickness, and well hooped, who put 
 
103 
 
 in his cider and bunged it tight, the bar- 
 rels being stoat enough to resist the pres- 
 sure. He said his cider kept sweet and 
 fresh through two years when so confin- 
 ed. 
 
 President Hoffman — Do you crush or 
 grate? 
 
 Mr. Ketchum — I have crushed and 
 grated. My first experiments were with 
 the old Hiokok mill, run by horse 
 power. I could not set it fine enough to 
 suit my ideas of the proper grinding, so I 
 dressed down the grater and filed down 
 the cogs in the effort to get something 
 like crushing. I found better and better 
 work followed my efforts. I then took 
 the grater out and made a smooth cylin- 
 der which did not permit the apples to 
 enter fast enough without a pressure from 
 above. I provided tor tliat, and now use 
 one smooth iron cylinder and another 
 smooth one of wood covered with zinc, in 
 which tacks are driven thickly providing 
 for grating. These run so clo.sely that a 
 small apple seed must be squeezed by the 
 passage through. Witli tliese I can 
 grind fifty bushels, and the groiiad pro- 
 duct piles up below instead of spreading 
 out in the vat. I have seen Mr. Low- 
 man's mill, which is provide 1 with a 
 small cylinder, arranged to run at a high 
 rate of speed, and it reduces the apples to 
 pulp, by which I regard the yield as di- 
 minished, and the prodact is also infer- 
 ior. I learned by experiment with a 
 small hand machine that too fine pomace 
 would not yield the juice. Take a hand- 
 ful of fine pomace from a cheese which 
 has been pressed and watered until it will 
 yield no more, and hand squeezing will 
 show that it is still saturated. Besides 
 the palp mixes with the cider and injures 
 the keeping properties. The great secret 
 of keeping is in the cleanliness and free- 
 dom from pomace. 
 
 President Hoffman — If the ground 
 apples are immediately pressed, is the ci- 
 der as fine as when they are kept a few 
 hours ? 
 
 Mr. Kbtohum — No, I think it is better 
 to let them lie a few hours. There is 
 certainly better color and less of raw ap- 
 ple flavor. 
 
 President Hoffman — Have you ever 
 tried Harrison apples, so that you can de- 
 cide whether they are better for cider 
 than the common kinds ? 
 
 Mr. Ketchum — Not exclusively. I have 
 used them, but always in connection with 
 others, so that I cannot say how desira- 
 ble they are. 
 
 Mr. Oaee — .Ifter a long experience in 
 cider making, I feel prepared to say that 
 the methods indicated by Mr. Ketchum 
 are correct. Especially in the matter of 
 cleanliness he has not enforced,tlie lesson 
 too much. Farmers are very careless 
 about the picking. They do not seem 
 to understand that good cider cannot be 
 made from rotten fruit mixed with other 
 filth. I remember one who brought his 
 apples to my mill in such a condition that 
 I could not receive them, and I therefore 
 told him he could unload them for my 
 hogs or draw them home again. One 
 half or more of the fruit was rotten, and 
 from that he expected good cider, which 
 was simply impossible. 
 
 Much of the difficulty in keeping cider 
 is chargeable to the pomace which passes 
 into the barrels. Keep that out by any 
 process and you can keep the cider sweet. 
 If much of it gets in it tends to spoil the 
 cider, besides the room it takes in the 
 barrel. I can take cider after it begins to 
 work and by rectifying in such a manner 
 as to remove all the pomace, arrest fer. 
 mentation. In one instance I did this in 
 December and kept the cider fresh until 
 the tenth of the next May. There is, 
 however, a serious difficulty in the way 
 of producing first-class cider. It is in 
 the fact that not enough is paid for it' to 
 recompense all the care required in the 
 making. 
 
 Mr. WiNraENSHAn, of New York— I 
 have observed in Dutchess county the old 
 
104 
 
 cider makers "had a process by which they 
 produced a very flnearbicle. Issao Hayt, 
 a noted maaiifaotiirer, made cider that 
 kept well for years. I know he was very 
 pai'tieular about the apples, and he 
 ground them by much the same process 
 as the gentleman who first spoke on this 
 subject has described — one smooth'cylin- 
 der of iron and another of wood. The 
 cider weat into large vats that would 
 hold, say three hogsheads each. There it 
 was suffered to I'emain until the pomace 
 and other impurities had settled, and a 
 seum risen also to the top, which latter 
 would be the thickness of one's linger. — 
 When this scum began to crack, the cider 
 was drawn oil into barrels or hogsheads, 
 and so taken to New York, where it was 
 racked olf and bottled. In this condition 
 I know of an instance in which it was 
 sent to San Francisco and kept for ten 
 years, at the end of which time it was not 
 very hard. 
 
 Mr. [lOTCHKiN — I have not much ex- 
 perience in making cider, but I can nar- 
 rate what was told me by a Catholic bish- 
 op who was a fellow voyager, and with 
 whom I had the pleasure of drinking a bot 
 tie which he said was made in Bordeaux. 
 He described the process. The apples of 
 which it was made were not ground 
 They were crushed by hydraulic pressure 
 and the cider left in large vats uutil it 
 reached the proper condition, when it 
 was filtered, and after that rectified and 
 put up in casks or bottles ; I suppose fit, 
 
 benefitted by setting largely of them for 
 the sole purpose of producing cider 
 apples. They are not large, but yield 
 abundantly and make the fioest cider. 
 
 Mr. HoTOHKiN — Will Mr. Ketchum say 
 which is the better process, crushing or 
 grinding the apples? 
 
 Mr. Ketchum— I should certainly pre- 
 fer crushing if I had any means to effect 
 it. I remember one season I had some 
 nice white apples picked in the fall, to 
 make up the last cheese, and I had aa 
 order for cider for family use from a gen- 
 tleman in the city. The product of those 
 clean, white apples was so colorless I 
 disliked offering it to him. It looked 
 like water, but it was the last of the sea- 
 .son and I could not do better, so I ex- 
 plained the matter to him and he took 
 the cider. The next fall I was invited to 
 his house to dine, and a bottle of that ci- 
 der, previously opened, was brought out 
 and proved very fine. He insisted, how- 
 ever, that another bottle not before 
 opened be brought, which was done, and 
 I never tasted any better. It proves only 
 that color is not needed to make cider 
 good. 
 
 Another matter which I should not 
 neglect to meutioain speaking of the com- 
 mon packages, is the common fault of 
 mu8ty barrels, or must anywhere in the 
 process, even musty straiv brought in the 
 wagons with the apples. A very little 
 must will spoil the cider made from a 
 hundred bushels of apples — there is no 
 
 -Will you give his 
 bishop of 
 
 for use. The bottle I consumed with him j help for it. It may make up right in aU 
 
 other respects and may look well but the 
 must will spoil the taste entirely. 
 
 President Hoffm:a.n — Is there no pro- 
 cess t ) cleanse musty barrels? 
 
 Mr. Ketohcm — I have tried various 
 ways but .so far without satisfactory results. 
 Potcish having been recommended I have 
 been giving that a trial, but I cannot say 
 how it has succeeded. I think it may be 
 set down as a hard matter to cleanse mus- 
 ty barrels and I should prefer not to use 
 them. 
 
 was remarkably fine, 
 
 President Hoffman- 
 address? 
 
 Mr. lIoTOHKiN — He was tin 
 New Mexico. 
 
 Mr. Carr— The President inquired 
 about the product of Harrison apples and 
 was not definitely answered. While I 
 have never made a whole cheese of this 
 variety I have used enough to know that 
 it is greatly superior to the ordinary kinds. 
 Our farmers, I am sure, would be much 
 
105 
 
 Mr. HoTCHKiN — The Prencb. use carlooys 
 which are more easily kept clean and are as 
 cheap as barrels. 
 
 Mr. Ketchum — I have read lately that 
 small packages willnot keep as wellas larger 
 ones.and it is true so far as wooden packages 
 are concernedj the reason being that there 
 is more contact with the air. Wood admits 
 air through its pores, as may he proved by 
 drawing from a cask without vent until it 
 ceases to run, and the next day a trial will 
 succeed again, showing that air has entered 
 through the wood. Now the exclusion of 
 air is an essential condition to the preserva- 
 tion of cider and glass may therg tore be con- 
 sidered better than wood for saving it. 
 
 The main thing for us to look after, how- 
 ever, is greater cleanliness to which our far- 
 mers mast be educated before we can have 
 first-class cider. 
 
 President Hoffman — The lessons to be 
 derived from this discussion are, first that 
 which has just been stated — cleanliness. And 
 then the experience of these cider inakers 
 points also to the excellence of Harrison ap- 
 ples for cider. I have made some effort to 
 produce this variety for the purpose of 
 using for cider. The cultivation of Harri- 
 son apples will, to some extent, prevent the 
 depredations of fruit thieves, for they are 
 not enticing to the taste, and they 
 are smaU, but for the purpose named, 
 they are easy to gather, good yielders and 
 vigorous growers. I recommend orohardists 
 to lop the branches of those trees which 
 bring no profit, whether .because of valueless 
 fruit or barrenness and graft in Harrisons 
 which are sure to bring profit. The cider 
 made from them is worth much more per 
 barrel than the product of the common va- 
 rieties. 
 
 The discussion here ran upon wine mak- 
 ing and was very interesting, but being 
 chiefly the observations father than _ the 
 practical experience of the members, it is 
 withheld. 
 
 One matter, however, was noticed and had 
 entire concurrence of all who were present, 
 which is worthy of mention. It was hearty 
 earnest condemnation of all the com- 
 pounds made from currants, elder berries 
 
 and other berries and miscalled wine. There 
 is in them nothing of the vinous principle, 
 although enough of alcohol, which is not 
 wine. The addition of sugar converts into 
 alcohol, thus bringing intoxicating poison to 
 the mixtures which' is really the only incen- 
 tive to their manufacture. 
 
 The subject for the next meeting is "Fall 
 Plowing." 
 
 S vTUBDAX Eve., Oct. 24, 1874. 
 In the history of the Club, the few weeks 
 immediately preceding the general election 
 have always sho wn a thin attendance, which 
 is due to the fact that other attractions en- 
 tice even steady farmers, who always work 
 up some partisan feelings or who delight to 
 put themselves in the way of political influ- 
 ences. The power which they exert through 
 their votes makes them worth propitiating, 
 and accordingly fine entertainments are pro- 
 vided in the way of speeches by famous ora- 
 tors, at the expense of the patriots who hold 
 office or desire. This evening, with a flood 
 of moonlight and a delicious October air, 
 farmers prated of their corn fields and their 
 husking while they marched to the Opera 
 House, where free seats invited them to lis- 
 ten to the finished oratory of a famous man. 
 Only votes were required to reward all the 
 eloquence. It is well. There is a time for 
 every purpose under the sun. 
 
 The first enquiry at the Club was by Mr. 
 Fred. Mills, who wanted to know the chek,p- 
 est and best way of conducting water fraom 
 spring to his buildings, a distance of forty 
 rods, with a fall of not more than ten feet . 
 Permanance of the water course he regarded 
 as an important matter, and he suggested 
 also that the exposed situation would require 
 especial safeguards against freezing. The 
 soil through which the course must be cut 
 is principally clay. "Wooden pipe would no 
 doubt work well for a time, but decay sooner 
 or later ipakes removal necessary. 
 
 W. A. Aemstkong. — Good cement pipe, 
 well laid below frost is the cheapest way in 
 which the water may be safely carried. But, 
 to make it sure, it must be put down so deep 
 that the expense of making the ditch will be 
 a material item of cost . Three feet in that 
 clay soil wUl be very safe. Possibly two and 
 
106 
 
 a half feet would answer against frost, but 
 the possible injury to the pipe by wagon 
 wheels passing over when the ground is wet 
 and soft, or tbe pressure of horses feet when 
 plowing over the pipe makes the greater 
 depth safer. And besides if the water is to 
 be used for drinking, it is kept at a lower 
 temperature. 
 
 In making cement pipe no greater degree 
 of skill is required than for the efficient use ' 
 of our common farm machinery, although a 
 little experimenting for the purpose of ac- 
 quiring an acquaintance with the require- 
 ments would be necessary before venturing 
 upon the real work. After obtaining the 
 proper material the tools needed are very 
 simple, being simply a long narrow box to 
 serve as a mold for the prepared cement, 
 and a round stick the size of the desired ori- 
 fice. The stick should have a very slight 
 taper. The work is done by laying the ce- 
 ment in the box placed in the bottom of the 
 ditch where the pipe is to be, the stick occu- 
 pying the place of the proposed conduit, and 
 of course surrounded by cement. As soonas 
 all is properly packed and the cement has 
 set sufficiently to prevent closing, the stick 
 is drawn forward, not quite away from the 
 section laid, and then the box moved for- 
 ward, when the operation is repeated, mak- 
 ing a second section of pipe united to the 
 first with the orifice continued by the stick 
 which had not quite left the first. This 
 operation is repeated until the whole length 
 is completed. It is easy to see that no great 
 degree of skill is necessary to perform the 
 work. The main thing is to get material of 
 the right kind and to mix the cement and 
 gravel in the right proportions and the 
 proper consistency. AU this is learned by 
 the preliminary trials. Such pipe well laid 
 is practicably indestructable when placed 
 below the reach of frost and injuries which 
 come from passing vehicles or from the 
 tread of animals. 
 
 President Hoffman — I know good success 
 has been attained in the use of such pipe, 
 but I think it is very important that the best 
 material be used. I made a trial once with 
 what was called the best Syracuse water 
 lime, and the work failed because the mix- 
 
 ture aid not set properly. "When the stick 
 was drawn forward the cement would settle 
 and close up the orifice. After repeated 
 attempts to make pipe of that material I 
 was obliged to abandon it. I would recom- 
 mend Mr. Mills to procure the best Rosen- 
 dale. 
 
 James MoCann — My mind has been occu- 
 pied by this subject for some time. I have 
 a spring sixty rods from my barns, from 
 which the water is brought in wooden pipes 
 laid about seventeen years ago. Part of the 
 way is through gravel soil, and part through 
 clay. In the latter the pipe has remained 
 good, unless it be now decayed, but in the 
 gravel in has been once replaced and now 
 the course has broken by some means so that 
 while the water enters the pipe at the source 
 it does not pass through to the barns. I 
 have been planning to lay the whole over 
 with wooden pipe, but I should be glad to 
 find something better without greatly in- 
 creased expense. Perhaps this cement will 
 do, but I have been discouraged by a man 
 who told me a few days ago that he had 
 tried it and found the difficulty named by 
 the President, ^he settling of the cement 
 filled in the pipe so that his work was lost. 
 
 Mr. BiLLiNas — I saw some men engaged 
 in laying Rosendale cement for the Water 
 Works Company a few days ago, and it set 
 as fast as they could use it. I think that 
 with good material there need be no appre- 
 hension of trouble on this score, and with 
 poor material failure ought to come. 
 
 President Hoffman — No doubt much of 
 the trouble comes from the use of common 
 bank sand. The better way is to go to some 
 gravel bar along the river and get clean, 
 washed sand and gravel, which, with good 
 Eosendale cement, would insure Setting and 
 no doubt, very hard, firm pipe. 
 
 W. A. Abmstbong — Certainly, common 
 sand, having considerable loam intermixed, 
 is wholly unsuited to this work. Clean 
 gravel is the proper material with which to 
 mix the cement — nut coarse, but rather fine 
 stones with sharp angles. With this, set- 
 
107 
 
 ting is quick, and when thoroughly hardened 
 the work is like rock. On the farm which I 
 now occupy there is a pipe made of such 
 material, put down more than twenty years 
 ago, and still efficient, . except that it has 
 been injured by pressure from above, which 
 would not have happened if it had been put 
 down to a sufficient depth. The lower por- 
 tion taken up because of such injury broke 
 up like stone and when exposed for a whole 
 year to the action of the elements still had 
 the firmness of rock. 
 
 Mr. Mills — I have been told that such 
 pipe would not bear the pressure necessary 
 to raise a head of water. 
 
 W. A. AaMSTEONG-pOf course no great 
 head should be put upon it until it is firmly 
 set, nor even then, but there is no difficulty 
 whatever with a head of ten or fif- 
 teen feet if the work be properly done and 
 if a greater head is needed, the pipe should 
 be reinforced with a surrounding layer of 
 cement. As to the cost it need not be half 
 that of wood, with the further advantage 
 that it will never rot, whether laid in clay or 
 gravel soil. If Mr. Mills desires to attem pt 
 its use, he can find in the American Agricul- 
 turist, for November 1874, puts of all the 
 tools used in the work, and very full direc- 
 tions about the manner. A few cents expen- 
 ded for that number wiU return him many 
 dollars of saving in the laying of his forty 
 rods of pipe, and he need take no trouble to 
 find a skillful workman for he can do it all 
 himself. 
 
 Mr. McCann — My ai-rangements being 
 made I think I shall lay wooden pipe again. 
 Now I would Uke to ask if duiabUity would 
 be promoted by coating the wood with gas 
 tar. 
 
 President Hoffman— I think not. I have 
 .tried in it in setting fence posts and I have 
 set posts without it. So far as I can see 
 there is no difference in the lasting. They 
 all rot whether, sap or heart posts, and 
 whether coated with tar or not, in my ex- 
 perience without appreciable difference of 
 time. 
 
 In Mr. McCann's case I would suggest 
 iron pipe, inasmuch as he desires a lasting 
 conduit and has proved the unreliability of 
 wood. 
 
 Mr Mills — I ascertained the cost of iron 
 to-day. For three-eights pipe eight cents 
 per foot, or if lined with enamel nine cents 
 per foot. 
 
 President Hoffman — ^No such pipe should 
 be used. The bore is too small. One inch 
 pipe is as small as should be used to con- 
 duct water. It is a very common mistake 
 and the cause of many failures, that pipes of 
 insufficient calibre is used. Such work is 
 expensive at the best, but it should not be 
 spoiled by stinting the expense to the use of 
 improper means. Perhaps iron would not 
 be the best material, but I am very sure 
 that the small iron pipe named would not be 
 reliable. 
 
 On the subject of fall plowing, selected 
 for this meeting. President Hoffman called 
 Mr. Ezra Koekwell, who said ; 
 
 "The practice of plowing land iu the fall 
 for crops the next season does not meet my 
 approval, except under special conditions. 
 Sod land of rather heavy character may 
 sometimes be profitably plowed iu the fall, 
 but as a rule I do not think it is the best 
 time for even such land. I have tried it and 
 have tried fall plowing of stubble lands, 
 generally without good result. 
 
 In my experience grass seed has not taken 
 so well as on similar lands plowed in the 
 spring. This experience has been on hUl 
 lands. Perhaps fall plowing on the gravelly 
 fiats might do better. I have lately learned 
 of a farmer near Horseheads, who plowed a 
 field last fall and a portion of it he crossed 
 in the spring and sowed all with oats. On 
 the part crossed his crop was almost worth- 
 less, while on the portion not crossed he had 
 a moderate crop and the grass seed showed a 
 like difference in favor of the piece not 
 crossed. He thought the failure both of the 
 oats and the grass on the cross-plowed land 
 was due to the dryness of the soil, and that 
 it was made to dry out more quickly by the 
 crossing. I conclude that fall plowed land 
 
108 
 
 should not be crossed iu tlie spring, t>ut it 
 should "be well harrowed before sowing the 
 seed. Two years ago I plowed part of a 
 field in the fall and the remainder in the 
 spring, when all was sowed to spring wheat. 
 The spring plowed portion yielded the bet- 
 ter crop without any reason that I could dis- 
 cern, except the time of plowing. The seed- 
 ing of grass was also better on the spring 
 plowed portion. 
 
 Land having roots and bushes, of which to 
 dispose, I should always plow in the fall, be- 
 cause there is more time to spend in J irking 
 them out, and because the freezing which 
 they get is excellent to kill them. Any time 
 is good for sroh land but late fall is the best 
 of all. So also might foul land be profitably 
 fall-plowed, by which tue weeds and foul 
 seeds would stand some chance of being 
 frozen to death." 
 
 President Hoffman — Have you ever ob- 
 served the effect of fall plowing on the sec- 
 ond crop ? Any loss of fertility ? 
 
 Mr. Rockwell — 1 have not, although I 
 have in mind a piece which was plowed in 
 the fall to get rid of a troublesome growth 
 of m.ustard, and the next season it raised a 
 fine crop of buckwheat, after which it was 
 again fall plowed, and the following spring 
 s owed to oats, which proved a failure. There 
 might be other causes, however, than the 
 fall plowing. 
 
 Mr. Feed Mills — My experience has been 
 very different, and I must say in favor of 
 fall plowing for hill lands. Last fall I had a 
 fourteen acre field which I began on and did 
 not finish until spring. Nearly all the field, 
 including the fall plowed portion, was sowed 
 to oats, and the crop was certainly better 
 on the fall plowed. As the land lay 
 it was convenient to plow around it, which I 
 did, so giving a fair test as to quality of soil. 
 I do not think there was any material difference 
 in thenumberof bushels to the acre raised on 
 the two portions, but it was plain that the 
 oats raised on the fall pi owad ground were 
 heavier and brighter, and li.tie is also now 
 a plain difference in the seeding of grass in 
 favor of the fall plowed. On this the clover 
 
 shows well and the timothy is promising, 
 while on the former there is no clover to be 
 seen and but little timothy. 
 
 One great reason why fall plowing proves 
 so unsatisfactory to some farmers is, that it 
 is done too early. I think that explains one 
 failure of which Mr. Rockwell spoke, for I 
 remember he plowed in September with some 
 thought as he told me, of sowing rye. Nov 
 land plowed at that season gets afterward all 
 the fall rains and is beaten down hard. I 
 would prefer to have the work done as late 
 as possible, so that the furrows may lie losely 
 when winter sets in and they will come out 
 loose in the spring. 
 
 Mr. James McGann. — Which part ripened 
 the oats earlier, on the field partly fall 
 plowed or partly spring plowed ? 
 
 Mr. Mills. — I do not think there was any 
 difference in the ripening between parts of 
 each sowed on the same day. The oats were 
 ripe so that we cut through both at the same 
 time. 
 
 There is another reason why fall plowing 
 is unsatisfactory to some farmers, and that 
 is in the imperfect preparation they give the 
 surface for the seed in the spring. It needs 
 more work to fit for the seed, but there are- 
 many who drag over lightly and then sow. 
 Of course the seerl cannot take hold of the 
 hard ground, and the crop proves a failure 
 when the fault is in not doing the work re- 
 quired in the spring. My neighbor, Mr. 
 Harrington, plows a great deal in the fall 
 and I have watched his operations several 
 years. In the spring he harrows the fall 
 plowed land at almost the expense of time 
 that would be required to plow, and he gets 
 no failures. 
 
 President Hoefman. — Did you ever ob- 
 serve the second and third crops on fall 
 plowed land to note loss of fertility ? 
 
 Mr. Mills— 7I never noticed that land was 
 made poorer by th e process except by very 
 early plowing. I think the soil is materially 
 injured by September plowing for a crop to 
 be put in the following spring. Now, in the 
 last of October is a good time to begin and 
 
m 
 
 November is the best of tlie montlis for fall 
 plowing. 
 
 Mr. J. F. Beecheb — My experience proves 
 the correctness of Mr. Mills theories. In 
 eighteen years of tilling of hill lands I have 
 fall plowed a great dealj always having tried 
 to get as much of the work done in the fall 
 as possible and invariably my crops, whether 
 oats, spring wheat or grass,have proved bet- 
 ter on the fall plowed than on the spring 
 plowed. It has often happened that the test 
 has been made in the same field by portions 
 left in the fall unfinished, which were plow- 
 ed in the spring, giving Eilways inferior 
 yields. One season a twenty-five acre field 
 which I tried to plow in the fall proved to 
 big a, job for the time allotted, so I had a 
 portion left over. The fall plowed I got into 
 wheat and oats in March, and then plowed 
 and put in the remainder. The yield of 
 each kind of grain was nearly twice as great 
 on the fall plowed as on the spring plowed. 
 For grass seeding also I have great pre- 
 ference for fall plowed land, because it takes 
 better, and I think it holds better. In my 
 experience I have often found several days 
 difference in the ripening of oats sowed on 
 the same day on land plowed part in fall and 
 part in spring, always in favor of the fall 
 plowed. And I never saw any injurious ef- 
 fects to the land — no loss of fertility or hurt- 
 ful chang3 of condition. My soil is clay and 
 loatn with 'but little that is gravely. 
 
 As to crossing in the spring, I have made 
 some experiments without beneficial results 
 and I would set it down as a rule that fall 
 
 plowed land should not be again plowed in 
 the spring. 
 
 Mr. McCann. — My observation and experi- 
 ence are in accord with these gentlemen who 
 favor fall plowing of such lands as they 
 have. I think nearly all the hill lands may 
 be safely and profitably plowed in the fall, 
 but such soils as mine, gravely plains, are 
 not at all benefitted, they are perhaps even 
 injured by fall plowing. Loose enough at 
 the best they do not not need to be stirred 
 in the fall. Such lands admit early work in 
 the spring, so there is no argument for fall 
 plowing. 
 
 Mr. EocKWBLL — I plowed last faU a por- 
 tion of a five acre field and finished in the 
 spring. The crop on the spring plowed was 
 very much the better. I felt sure that I 
 harrowed the fall plowed very well. 
 
 Mr. Mills — I thinir I can account for the 
 difference.. The fall plowed portion has 
 never before been plowed and it did not turn 
 up suitable soil for the growth of the crop. 
 It was new and raw and would not have 
 brought a good crop if plowed in the spring 
 
 Mr. EooKWBLL — There is truth in that, 
 but not all the fall plowed was of that char- 
 acter. 
 
 President HofebA-N — I add my testimony 
 to that offered by Messrs. Mills, Beecher and 
 others who favor fall plowing for land com- 
 posed largely of clay or, in other words, for 
 heavy soils, and such is the character of 
 nearly all our hill lands. I have had some 
 doubt about the influence of such plowing 
 on the crops in after years, for there ar- 
 farmers who contend that it is, in the end, 
 ruinous to land. No evidence to prove it 
 has come to mj notice, but I have fancied 
 there might be some truth in it, and have 
 therefore tried to bring out such evidence, 
 if there were any here. 
 
 Pall plowing on my heavy land has cer- 
 tainly brought better results than spring 
 plowing, and the comparative test has been 
 made in the same field under like conditions 
 in other respects. 
 
 On one occasion I plowed a strip in the fall 
 in the ordinary manner, one rod wide, around 
 a five acre field. Then with a double Michigan 
 plow plowed three acres twelve inches deep, 
 1 eaving two acres in the middle for spring 
 plowing. One acre of this was plowed twelve 
 inches deep, and one acre to the ordinary 
 depth, when all was sown to barley. I could 
 see no difference i;i the crop in favor of the 
 d eep plowing, but all the fall plowed gave 
 more satisfactory results than the spring 
 plowed. On the former the barli^y ^tood up 
 well on strong straw, making the gathering 
 nearly as easy as oats, while on the latter it 
 crinkled badly, and of course did not give as 
 fine grain. 
 
110 
 
 Mr. EoOKWELL — On our hill lands I have 
 noticed that the raw soil turned wo in the 
 fall runs together during the spring thaw- 
 ing until at last it is as tight and compact 
 as if it had never been plowed. 
 
 President Hoffman — On such land make 
 furrows about two and a half feet deep at 
 such intervals as may be needed, and lay in 
 them drain tile, by which the surplus water 
 which causes that running together will be 
 drawn off. 
 
 Mr. Beeoher — That is his want. I have 
 laid pipe in such soils and found the condi- 
 tion so improved that I could go on early in 
 the spring to work where before I had to 
 wait beyond the season, and so, of course, 
 failed of good crops. 
 
 The next meeting will discuss the breeds 
 of pigs, with especial reference to the wants 
 of small farmers and those engaged in mixed 
 husbandry. 
 
 Satuhday Evening, Oct. 31, 1874. 
 Several members who have not heretofore 
 attended the fall meetings came in, although 
 the evening was unpropitious. Interest is 
 mahifestly increasing. "When the political 
 excitement incident to the annual election 
 shall have passed, the hall will be well filled 
 at every meeting, no doubt, as in previous 
 years. One of the first rules established by 
 the Club was that "No political discussion 
 shall ever be permitted at the meetings." 
 No single infraction of this rule has ever 
 been made, nor would one be possible under 
 the stern presidency of the present executive 
 ofBcer. Even the merits of candidates for 
 office are never presented in any casual way 
 during the session. The rule is wholesome, 
 no doubt, but there are times when many of 
 the enthusiastic partisan workers stay away 
 rather than place themselves under the in- 
 hibition. They must have fields where the 
 ebullition of party spirit can work without 
 restraint, and where they can cultivate ora- 
 tory v/ithout the difiiculties which usually 
 beset plain truth tilling. 
 
 As the season for social festivities ap- 
 proaches the Club begins to consider its an- 
 
 nual public reunion, and to receive invita- 
 tions to the similar pleasant parties arranged 
 by kindred societies. The first matter pre- 
 sented at this meeting was the following 
 formal invitation from Genesee county : 
 
 "The members of the Elmira Farmers' 
 Club are respectfully invited to meet with 
 the Genesee County Farmers' Association on 
 Saturday, November fourteenth, at one 
 o'clock p. M., at the Court House in Batavia. 
 [Signed] J. G. Faego, Secy. 
 
 Unfortunately the day selected is the reg- 
 ular Club day, these 'meetings being held 
 every Saturday, but so strong was the dis- 
 position to attend that a division of forces 
 will probably be effected, giving a delegation 
 to Batavia without suspending the regular 
 order of meeting. 
 
 The question assigned to this meeting be- 
 ing "Pigs, with especial reference to the 
 wants of small farmers and those engaged 
 in mixed husbandry.'' The following letter 
 from Joseph Juliand of Terrace Hill stock 
 farm, Bainbridge, Chenango county, N. Y., 
 was quite opportune. It must be premised 
 that the letter was written partly as an an- 
 swer to questions considered by the Club at 
 one of its recent meetings, when some of the 
 speakers advocated the use of pure breeds 
 and recommended especially the Essex or 
 the Berkshire, both breeds noted for their 
 early maturity and the excellent quality of 
 their meat, but both being objectionable to 
 common farmers who have an unaccountable 
 prejudice against all the breeds which arc 
 blacK. Here is the letter : 
 
 "About thirty years ago, the hog of the 
 country vas a long nose, flat-sided, long- 
 legged, long-bodied 'races.' I can call them 
 nothing else. An animal that was turned 
 by the dozen, as shoats, each fell iutj the 
 woods, living upon nuts and tender roots, 
 and in a good 'slack' year, would in fall and 
 early winter become, if not fat, almost dou- 
 ble in size, many of them wintering without 
 a mouthful of extra feed, these, although 
 good breeders, were most ravenous creatures 
 of great power of lungs, but could be made 
 of great size. One, years ago, was skinned, 
 stuffed and remained thus in its true shape 
 a long while in ,the Agricultural rooms at 
 Albany, on exhibition. Its live weight was 
 over 1,200 pounds. About that time Mr. 
 
Ill 
 
 Erotoli, of Morris, Otsego county, N. T., im- 
 ported the Berkshire from England. A few 
 years later, Mr. Washburn, of Butternuts, 
 N. Y., also made an importation. My father 
 and myself purchased from that importation 
 two sows and one boar. There was a preju- 
 dice against black hogs. We sold a few. 
 The half-bloods were scattered through the 
 country, still there was no great demand for 
 them. Asking a farmer why he did not pat- 
 ronize the new breed, he says : "Your pigs 
 make good halns and shoulders, and it costs 
 little to keep them, but we board all our own 
 hired men and we want good, solid, 'broad- 
 side pork,' that , as they say 'will stick to 
 their ribs and they can work on.' " 
 
 "The new breed ran out but left its im- 
 press, the noses were shortened, there was 
 not quite so much music back of the house 
 about feeding time. This was thirty years 
 ago. From ten to fiifteeu years later, the 
 report came up that certain Dutchmen in 
 Chester county had most superior hogs. 
 These were tried by many of our best farm- 
 ers with good results. About this time Col. 
 Morris, of Pordham, New York, imported 
 some very choice Berkshires. Later, Mr. 
 Crozier, of Northport, made extensive im- 
 portations. From these gentlemen we re- 
 newed our stock. The demand for them is 
 increasing every year. These later importa- 
 tions show the perfection to which an animal 
 can be brought by careful and judicious 
 breeding." 
 
 "A debatable point is whether the large 
 hogs for which Jefferson county and other 
 counties in the western part of the State are 
 so famous, are Jthe most desirable, or the 
 finer Essex and Berkshire, whether one 
 thousand pounds of pork can be made more 
 cheaply and of Setter quality from two pigs, 
 or from three. With us the dairy districts 
 of Chenango, Otsego and Delaware, away 
 from large centres of business, demand be- 
 ing the home market only, nicely cured hams 
 and shoulders meet a ready sale. These, the 
 smaller Berkshires, and their grades supply 
 in perfection. There is a great change in 
 our modes of living. The dish of baked 
 pork and beans, or huge pieces of boiled 
 pork, is now seen upon our tables. So cer- 
 tain am I, that the pure Berkshire boar, 
 used upon our common sows, makes an un- 
 
 equaled cross ; that in my report as execu- 
 tive officer in charge of sheep and swine at 
 our State Fair, I have recommended a spe- 
 cial prize for the best pen of pigs — grades, 
 the cross of a pure boar on different breeds, 
 not bred for breeding purposes, but for the 
 butcher only," 
 
 "Within the past year I have filled several 
 orders from parties in Chester County, Pa., 
 sending to one gentleman there two sows in 
 pig, to my imported boar "King William," 
 the first prize boar in Albany in 1873. Mr. 
 Frank L. Sellers, of Franklin County, Pa., 
 writes me under date of October 12, 1874 : 
 
 "The piejudice against black hogs is fast 
 wearing away. The large Cheaters are dis- 
 appearing, the pure Berkshires with its rich 
 marking, short dished face, deep carcass, 
 thick hams and shoulders, are taking its 
 place. The pair of Berkshires you sent me 
 ■<vere awarded the first prizes, and the young 
 boar was said to be the finest boar of any 
 breed ever exhibited upon the grounds of the 
 Cumberland Agricultural Association. 
 
 "Joseph Juliand. 
 
 P. S. — Lilje all women I must add a post- 
 script. In all breeding, whether cow, sheep, 
 pig or chicken, let the male be a thorough- 
 bred, and let him be bred from the best fam- 
 ilies of the breed noted for the peculiarities 
 yon wish developed in the off-spring, and 
 feed all your animals without stint, keeping 
 them as near the perfect shape they will al- 
 wajs assume under the generous' care of the 
 dam. J. J. 
 
 Following this came a letter from Kennett 
 Square, Chester County, Pa.: 
 
 "I notice in the proceedings of > the Far- 
 mer's Club that some of the members are in 
 want of pigs. I am breeding and shipping 
 Chester Whites, Berkshire, and Essex pigs, 
 and I send out but those of my own stock. 
 I would be glad to ship some to your sec- 
 tion and I do not want any fancy prices as 
 you will see by my price lists. I would like 
 to ship a Chester white to you, and if you 
 have any in your vicinity that are superior to 
 him as regards ears, nose and general points 
 I will not charge anything for him. 
 
 "My Berkshires are perfect and my Essex 
 good. If you can send me an order for five 
 or six pairs at a time, I will make a deduc- 
 
112 
 
 tion from the regular rates. My stock is ad- 
 vertised in the Husiandman and I give refe- 
 rence if desired. 
 
 "Prices — Chester Whites, eight to ten 
 weeks old, weight fifty to sixty pounds 
 each, singly $12.00, in pairs, $20.00.— 
 Twelve to sixteen weeks old, per pairs, 
 $25.00. 
 
 "Berkshire eight to ten weeks old, weight 
 forty to fifty pounds each, ,^18.00." 
 
 Edward Walter, 
 Kennett Square, Chester Co., Pa. 
 
 President Hoitman — Without any doubt 
 very great improvement can be made by our 
 farmers in their pigs if they will send to some 
 of these pains taking breeders and get pure 
 bred stock of the most improved varieties. If 
 a, few should venture a small expense for 
 this purpose, through their liberality they 
 would have profit, and besides all the pigs 
 in this vicinity would be soon improved in 
 character. 
 
 In my own pens 1 have now several of un- 
 known breeds that eat voraciously, but do 
 not fatten. They grow in frame without 
 putting on fat. They are unprofitable, be- 
 cause they have to be fed too long before 
 they mature into good pork, and it may 
 even be a question if they ever become as 
 good a,nd fine in the quality of the meat they 
 will make as the. pigs that mature earlier. — 
 But at the best they have to be fed several 
 months too long, by which they diminish the 
 profits of pork making materially, if they 
 do not render profit impossible. Viewing 
 the matter in the light of profitable feeding, 
 I might better kill them as they are, al- 
 though' they would need another full year to 
 reach full devirlopment. 
 
 E. B. Beckwith, of Bradford county. Pa. 
 — The great need of common farmers is a 
 breed that will become fit for the barrel at 
 seven to nine months age. Quiet, docile 
 animals that will make growth and fat rap- 
 idly enough to reach early maturity, thus 
 relieving the farmer of the necessity of car- 
 rying them through the winter before they 
 can become solid, well matured pork. 
 
 President Hoffman — There is much rea- 
 son to expect all this in the finer breeds like 
 
 the Essex and the Berkshire. There is in 
 the letter of Mr. Juliand something, which 
 permits the inference that between these 
 breeds there is not much choice, for he cou- 
 ples them as the Essex and Berkshire, and I 
 have been reminded by the Secretary that 
 Joseph Harris, who has made the Essex fa- 
 mous by his judicious feeding and skillful 
 selections, i« much in the habit when writ- 
 ing of pigs to use the same coupled terms, 
 Essex and Berkshire, or Essex or Berkshire. 
 Of the two the Berkshires are somewhat 
 larger, and possibly not quite so fine in the 
 meat. It is possible, if not probable, that 
 the Essex mature earlier. Both are black, 
 the Essex entirely and the Berkshires ex- 
 cept white markings on the legs and the 
 face. 
 
 Mr. Pitch — I fully agree with the Presi- 
 dent that we need these pure breeds if for 
 no other purpose, for the good they effect in 
 the crosses with our coarser mongrels. I 
 had a little observation of the good results 
 to be obtained by the cross in the case of a 
 pure Cheshire bought by Mr. McCann and 
 crossed on a Chester .white sow. One of the 
 pigs of that cross which I fatted weighed 
 more than six liundred pounds at a year old, 
 and d airing all the period of growth was 
 chiefly kept on the most common food. 
 
 Mr. Harris — The best I have ever had 
 in dairy feeding were reputed Chester whites, 
 but there is so much uncertainty as to the 
 breeding that I can only say I bought them 
 as that breed. I have fed half-breed Birk- 
 shires which gave very good jeturns, so good 
 that I should be quite willing to try again 
 or to buy the pure breed pigs, if I could 
 find them at reasonable rates. 
 
 Mr. Armstrong — There may be better 
 breeds than the Berkshire,but with a limited 
 experience, in which the breed has come in 
 for a good share, I must say that they have 
 fine points. The hams, which are the finest 
 portion of the carcass, are very superior, 
 certainly better than the hams of common 
 pigs. It is claimed, with the appearance of 
 truth, that no breed gives a finer quality of 
 meat than the Essex and the Berkshire. Take 
 this in connection with their early maturity 
 
113 
 
 and quiet dispositions, and there is every 
 requirement that an ordinary farmer needs 
 in his pigs. The popular prejudice against 
 the black color will now stand any test of 
 examination on real merits. What we 
 need is the breed which will 
 give the greatest return in meat of fine 
 (luality, for the feed given, and it is quite 
 likely we have this in the breeds named. 
 The question of first cost in procuring the 
 pure breed animals is that which deters or- 
 dinary farmers from entering upon the im- 
 provment, but this after all is a very small 
 matter as the figures submitted to this 
 meeting show, and in view of the advan- 
 tages recognized and stated by all the speak- 
 ers, is not worth considering. 
 
 President Hoffman — The Chester whites 
 do not seem to be a fixed breed. Their char- 
 acteristics are not clearly defined. A few 
 years ago when the Pennsylvania Statt 
 Pair was, held at Williamsport, there .were 
 twelve or fourteen pens of pigs marked 
 Chester white, and looking them over I 
 observed pigs with long hair.pigs with shore 
 hair, pigs with long ears, pigs with short 
 ears, in fact all types of the species, all pur- 
 porting to be Chester whites. There was 
 only a single characteristic in which ■ there 
 was uniformity,all were white. Enquiring of 
 the exhibitors I was informed that all were 
 bred in Chester county, or from stock 
 brought from there. 
 
 Mr. Pitch — I think the Chester whites 
 are not a distinct breed, but represent only 
 the improvement on the best of the old 
 kinds in that region, without such breeding 
 as to fix their best characteristics. 
 
 President Hoffman — Very likely. Giving 
 a name to them does not make a breed. 
 Many years ago I bought some Allegany 
 cows which were called by farmers there 
 "'N'oggerheads.'' They were streaked with 
 white, good milkers, and had a certain uni- 
 formity of look, but were not a distinct 
 breed. A few days ago I bought another 
 lot up there; and in looking over the cattle I 
 observed traces of these characteristics still 
 prevalent. 
 
 W. A. Akmstbono — Do we want pigs of 
 any breed ? May not many of our farmers 
 
 find better profit in feeding thfeir refuse to 
 poultry ? 
 
 President Hoffman — I have managed to 
 get along a year or two without pigs, with 
 great discomfort, and I am now prepared to 
 say we need pigs while we keep our farms. 
 I am ready to buy a pair of Essex or of 
 Berkshire, even if I must pay a fancy price. 
 The latter, I am inclined to think, come 
 nearer the standard I have fixed, having 
 rather more size and greater proportion of 
 ham, I think. 
 
 Mr. Pitch — There are many of us who 
 would be likely to buy these breeds if the 
 breeders would advertise prices and save the 
 trouble of correspondence. 
 
 Thirty years ago in Chenango county there 
 were many of the breed then called Berk- 
 shire, and they were very easy keepers, al- 
 ways fat but not large. 
 
 Mr. BiLLiNos — It was down that way, 
 where the big hog exhibited in the State 
 Agricultural rooms at Albany had his breed- 
 ing. I recollect a story of two gentlemen 
 riding leisurely by the place where he was 
 kept, wheu a farmer, leaning on his gate, 
 attracted their attention, and they stopped 
 to make a few inquiries about the country 
 and its products, to which the farmer gave 
 ready answer, until seeing the gentlemen 
 about to leave, he said : 
 
 "Have you never heard of our big hog ?" 
 
 "No," said they, "hew big is he ?" 
 
 "Big ! Why he is the biggest hog in 
 
 America. He is right here in the pen. I 
 
 show him to a great many people. It costs 
 
 you only a quarter for both of you." 
 
 "Is that aU ?" said one of them, reaching 
 out the quarter, which was greedily seized 
 by the farmer. 
 
 "Go 'long," to his hors^. 
 
 "What, aint ye goin' to see him ?" said ths 
 farmer. 
 
 "No," languidly replied the gentleman, "I 
 take it for granted you are the biggest hog in 
 America. We don't want to see the other 
 one ! Go 'long." 
 
 This finished the discussion of the pig 
 question for the evening. 
 
 A postal dBjvd from Addison, N. T., brought 
 the question "What variety was the com 
 
114 
 
 on |ilr. Owen's farm fbis season, 
 was reported at tbe Club as having 
 
 raised 
 
 wMcli 
 
 yielded two hundred and forty bushels from 
 
 one acre ?" 
 
 Mr. Owen being absent several gentlemen 
 who had examined samples reported that it 
 was of the common eight rowed yellow kind, 
 with good length of ears, which, of course, 
 might be expected in so large a yield. 
 
 A statement was made concerning a field 
 of corn comprising twelve aores,raised by E. 
 B. Van Gorder, of A-ihland, in the pa.st sea- 
 son. He turned over the sod in good season 
 and as the laud had lain long in pasture he 
 was apprehensive that the corn might be 
 damaged by cut worms, and therefore told 
 his men to drop plenty of seed to make al- 
 lowance for the worms, but it was not dis- 
 turbed by them, and so of course the plants 
 stood very thick. Ifot finding time to thin 
 them out by hand,the process being tedious, 
 all were suffered to grow. He cultivated 
 about twice each way and then hoed the 
 field over, after which nothing was done, 
 although he recognized the necessity 
 for further work, but failed to find op- 
 portunity to do it. He has just finished 
 the husking and has twenty-four hundred 
 bushels of ears from the twelve acre field. 
 
 At this point the discussion ran into gen- 
 eral conversation regarding varieties of seed, 
 the probabilities of mixing, and the policy of 
 procuring seed from distant places. On the 
 last point Mr. Heller, who is eminently suc- 
 cessful in raising corn, expressed strong 
 preference in continuiDg indefioitely the 
 seed, si-lecting always the best. Tiiis idea 
 was supported by President Hoffman and Mr. 
 Joseph Hoffman, the latter citing instances 
 of mixed seed, which, by selection, he had 
 in a few years made nearly or quite pure. As 
 a curious fact he mentioned that in his ef 
 forts to raise pure white ears from seed orig- 
 inally red and white . he bad found the red 
 for years after he ceased using the seed, 
 being careful to plant only the pure white 
 which, however, would occasionally sport in 
 colors. 
 
 Saturday Evening, Nov. 7, 1874. 
 The beautiful sunny days, which, without 
 interruption by a single storm, have for sev- 
 
 eral weeks given farmers opportunity to 
 bring up their fall work, have served also to 
 bring that fatigue which follows severe la- 
 bor, and by which attendance at these meet- 
 ings has been diminished. But now the 
 regular farm work being well over for the 
 season, many of the old habitues of the Club 
 gathered in, ma,king an attendance very re- 
 spectable in numbers, and giving increased 
 interest to the discussion. 
 
 Several communications relating to the 
 matters discussed at the previous meetings, 
 were read, and formed topics for brief com- 
 ment. Offers of Berkshire pigs from breed- 
 ers in various sections of the State, naming 
 terms favorable to purchasers, were duly 
 considered, resulting in orders enough to 
 put this county in condition to supply aU 
 home demand in the future. 
 
 No subject having been assigned to this 
 meeting all were free to speak on any mat- 
 ters connected with farming. W. A. Arm- 
 strong said : "There is published in Philip's 
 Southern Farmer a priz^e essay on forage 
 plants, in-which Alsike clover is highly com- 
 mended, and f he statement made that in 
 clay soils of moderate fertility when once 
 well set it affords abundance of good feed 
 whether for pasture or meadow, and becomes 
 permanently established for either use. How- 
 ever true this may be at the South, for our 
 latitude it is sure to mislead. Alsike makes 
 good pusture while it lasts, but it has no 
 such endurance as our native grasses, and 
 except as pasture in its brief season will 
 bear no comparison with our common clover. 
 There are many in this hall who have given 
 it full tests and they will perform a duty to 
 farmers at the North in stating their exper- 
 ience, by which they may counteract the 
 evil effects which would follow full accept- 
 ance of the teachings in the prize essay in 
 which Alsike is so highly praised." 
 
 Mr. Billings — I have sowed the seed 
 with great hope of producing good and per- 
 manent pasture, but disappointment fol- 
 lowed. I had ten or twelve acres seeded 
 with Alsike and found it made but small 
 growth, and the plants did not stay. There 
 was nothing like tbe amount of feed I ex- 
 pected from the descriptions given of growth 
 elsewhere — much less than on average pas- 
 
115 
 
 tures of native grasses, and what there was, 
 soon disappeared. 
 
 , President Hoffman — I sowed Alsike clov- 
 er two years in succession, sparingly it is 
 true, but enough to satisfy me that it would 
 not serve my uses. The first year after the 
 seeding it looked well, and made a fine 
 growth in every case, the pasture being of 
 fine quality, but that season was all in 
 which there was anything to commend. I 
 had some made into hay which looked green 
 and fresh as if it would be dainty feed for 
 cattle, but by my standard it proved very 
 inferior. 
 
 E. C. Aemstbong — I have used it to a 
 small extent and with the same results. It 
 made excellent pasture while it lasted, but 
 as hay it was worthless, my cattle would not 
 eat it. After the second year it disap- 
 peared. 
 
 President Hoffman — That is all there is 
 of it, good pasture while it lasts no after- 
 growth and no permanency. But here is Mr. 
 McCann who has also experimented with Al- 
 sike andnow.has an opportunity to commend 
 it if he found it worthy. 
 
 James McCann — It has all been said. I 
 regard it as a complete failure. 
 
 W, A. Armstbong — The question of gras- 
 ses is one of the most important which we 
 have to consider. It lies at the foundation 
 of successful farming. How to promote the 
 growth and how to establish permanent sod 
 are sabjects worthy of our study. 
 
 I have just had half a years' supply of 
 barn yard manure drawn and spread on my 
 meadow, although I am not convinced that 
 it is the best use to which the manure could 
 be put. For years I have been making trials 
 of top dressing grass lands, and while there 
 are fine successes which I might report there 
 are too many failures to discourage such use 
 -of manure. None of us can p..fford to waste 
 this source of fertility, and the experience I 
 have had, together with my observations of 
 the results on my neighbor's lands, lead me 
 to the belief that there is sometimes great 
 waste in top dressing meadows. There have 
 been instances in my own practice where a. 
 liberal appUoation of fine manure has pro- 
 
 duced no improvement that could be dis- 
 cerned, when the top dressed portion was 
 compared with oth'er parts of the field not so 
 treated, with the observations carefully made 
 even during the second ar>d third years after 
 the application. Miist I not conclude that 
 manure was wasted ? If in such instances 
 the land had been plowed and the manure 
 spread upon the raw surface either in the 
 spring or fall, and harrowed so as to incor- 
 porate it with the soil, the beneficial effect 
 would surely be visible in whatever crop 
 might be raised, and if then grass seed be 
 sown success would be assured. 
 
 The desire to establish permanent grass is 
 my only argument for continuing the fall 
 speading of barn yard manure on meadow 
 land. It must be admitted that the average 
 of meadow land in all this county, and per- 
 haps throughout this State, does not reach 
 more than half the production of which it is 
 capable. I shall not be disputed when I say 
 that our average product is not more than 
 one ton the acre. Can we rest satisfied short 
 of two tons ? The desire to reach this stan- 
 dard induces these continued experiments 
 with top dressing even after the most con- 
 vincing proof that, as conduoted,there is too 
 often much real loss of manure. To have 
 permanent meadow, or pasture, the surface 
 must be fully occupied by grass. The s^id 
 must be so close that whenever the foot falls 
 in passing over, it shall be on a soft cushion 
 of grass. Get this condition and there is re- 
 liability in the sod. lo is meadow, or it is 
 pasture, a safe dependence always. It is an 
 argument against the plow forever. If it 
 could be assured I should be quite willing to 
 risk the waste of which I have spoken for 
 ypars. There may be better ways to use tho 
 manure. I know that when put on a newly 
 inverted sod in the fall to be used for corn 
 in the following season, it' returns full value 
 in the crop, and it may do as well if put on 
 in the spring, or possibly if spread on the 
 sod, and then just the sod without greater 
 depth be turned. It must certainly serve to 
 enrich the soil even if its effects be not dis- 
 tinctly seen in the first crop. And when used 
 in any of these ways, when the seeding of 
 grass comes it is encouraged to good growth, 
 but it does not make that compact old sod 
 
116 
 
 whiob is the delight of the farmer who de- 
 pends on grazing for their profits. 
 
 President HoprMAu.— rMy experience on 
 such lands as the Secretary has saidjeads me 
 to recommend that sod be plowed in the fall 
 and the manure then spreaOj if there is to 
 he corn planted in the spring. If there is a 
 lack of time the manure may be drawn on 
 any time in the winter. When spring comes 
 harrow the ground thoroughly, by which the 
 manure is intermixed with the soil. This 
 will bring corn and weeds too if the seeds are 
 in the manurej bat cultiytition will destroy 
 them. The time to draw manure is when 
 you have it. I am not one of those who be- 
 lieve in saving manure to draw when it is to 
 be immediately used. I do not credit the 
 theory that it will lose by washing on any 
 soils of ordinary porosity. It is true that on 
 soils already occupied by as much water as 
 they can hold there can be no absorption of 
 the juices of the manure. But such places 
 should not be manured until the surplus 
 water is first drawn off. I would not plow 
 in manure even under a thin sod. The 
 proper place to apply it is on the surface, 
 when it is ready to draw upon as soon as the 
 young roots feel the need. On gravelly soil 
 I would not plow in the fall and would 
 therefore wait until spring before applying 
 manure for corn. For such uses it will do 
 to save manure until spring, but on other 
 situations I should not be hindered from 
 drawing in the fall or winter, by any fear of 
 washing, even if the snow were a foot deep 
 when the manure is spread and the field be 
 hillside ; unless it be too steep to till. And 
 even on grass land used as a top dressing 
 there need be no fear of washing if the soil 
 is reasonably dry. I should spread as fast 
 as drawn, and in such condition the soakage 
 will pass into the soil to benefit the crop. 
 
 W. A. Akmsteong — My work in this line 
 is all done for the season. The manure lies 
 spread on the meadow, but I have been que- 
 rying if it would not be well to harrow it 
 well now, even at the risk of tearing up raw 
 soil. I think such a course would promote 
 absorption of the liquid soaking from the 
 fall rains and the melting snows of spring, 
 and if there should be need, a sprinkle of 
 grass seed would be likely to take root. 
 
 President Hoffman— Yes, harrow now 
 with a Thomas smoothing harrow, which 
 •will tear the lumps to pieces without tearing 
 the sod much. A common drag would only 
 knock the lumps about and would do much 
 more injury to the sod. 
 
 Mr. Seelt Chapman — What time would 
 the Secretary recommend as the best in 
 which to apply the manure ? 
 
 Mr. Aemstbong — Now, in advance of the 
 fall rains, especially if it is to be put oa 
 grass lands. 
 
 Mr. Chapman — That tallies with my ex- 
 perience, but I do not believe that such is 
 the best use to which manure may be put on 
 our hill lands. I would rather have one load 
 applied as I want it than ten loads as it oft- 
 en is. There would be more good results 
 visible from the one load, as I would use it, 
 than from the ten loads as I have seen them 
 used. The waste comes when the manure 
 is drawn on moist hillsides while the ground 
 is frozen — perhaps on snow which floats the 
 manure off as it melts, leaving only the 
 coarse refuse. I speak from observations 
 made in a neighbor's field, where every day 
 in winter the manure from his stables is 
 drawn. I have seen it float oS, and I have 
 seen the water in the gutters by the road- 
 side which take the soakage from the field, 
 richly colored by the manure. Could that 
 be without loss of its best properties ? And 
 besides I have noticed that there was very 
 little improvement to the grass upon which 
 the manure was spread, as compared with 
 other portions of the field on which there 
 was no application. 
 
 The method is to put manure on newly 
 plowed ground, and if it be in the fall, for 
 wheat, I think it is the very best way be- 
 cause it makes a good crop almosut sre and 
 aids very much the seeding of grass which 
 is to follow. But even when it is left until 
 spring lying in the yard and then put on af- 
 ter the ground is plowed for corn, or oats, 
 or barley it is sure to tell. 
 
 Mr. David Stbatton — Two years ago I 
 drew manure on sod and saw no benefit from 
 it. Last December I plowed part of a field 
 in sod, for corn, and drew manure upon it. 
 The remainder was plowed in the spring just 
 
117 
 
 before planting, and no manure used. The 
 difference between the portions was very 
 much in favor of the manured part. 
 
 President Hoffman — Might it not be 
 owing somewhat to fall plowing ? 
 
 Mr. Stbatton — It might be, but I think 
 mainly to the manure. 
 
 Ml'. A. D. Mills — I have drawn manure 
 on grass lands more or less for many years, 
 and I faila'.ways to see as good results as 
 when it is put on the raw earth. I am sure 
 that on our tight clay sods there is a good 
 deal wasted by washing.especially if there is 
 much slope to the field. In one instance 
 when I drew on sod and put the manure in 
 heaps, the water which ran by from melting 
 snows was deeply colored after it reached 
 the road, thirty rods distant. It would be 
 difficult to persuade me there was 
 no loss. It is true the good 
 effects of top dressing meadows are some- 
 times so plainly conspicuous that it seems 
 almost certain it is the right way to do. I 
 have had a crop of grass doubled by such top 
 dressing, but there is too much uncertainty 
 — too much (depends on the season. If it be 
 dry there is but little good to come from the 
 manure, and if it be very wet too much of it 
 is washed away. On the whole I conclude 
 the safest way is to put it on newly plowed 
 land where it can be slightly mixed with the 
 soil. I have drawn on land fall plowed for 
 oatSj and spread it evenly, and in the same 
 field left in heaps until spring and then 
 spread just before sowing to oats. No differ- 
 ence was discernable in the crop on these 
 differently treated portions, but all were bet- 
 ter than a part of the field on which no man- 
 ure was put. If I were to offer advice about 
 the proper application of manures on our 
 tight hill lands, I should say put it always 
 on the raw soil. As a rule I think one load 
 so used will show more good results than 
 five loads put on sod or plowed in. 
 
 President Hoffman — Here is our friend 
 Geo, McCann who sometimes argues iu favor 
 of plowing in. 
 
 W. A. Aemstkong — That is' ths way he 
 getstwo hundred and twelve bushels of ears 
 of corn to the acre,but it is unfortunate that 
 so good a crop o^ coin could not have a lit- 
 
 tle fertility from the fifty loads of manure 
 used to make it, to help the grovth of the 
 next crop, as Mr. McCann insists it has not, 
 I suppose because he charges the manure all 
 to the corn crop. 
 
 Mr. McCann — I happen to think just now 
 of a little story. Eiding by the Secretary's 
 corn field my attention was called by a man 
 who was with me to his estimate of average 
 production made in the discussion last 
 spring, when the Secretary would not be- 
 lieve thirty-five bushels to the acre was a 
 full average. The man said : "Look over 
 there," pointing to the Secretary's corn. 
 "Do you think that will average thirty-five 
 bushels ? Stalks and ears together wouldn't 
 make it ; it might though if you take in the 
 grass." 
 
 President Hoffman — The question of the 
 application of manures depends very much 
 on the object sought. On these hill lands 
 many of the farmers make hay to sell, and 
 reasoning from "that stand point they are 
 right about applving manure to the 
 ground for the crops which precede the 
 grass, because thereby they get a, good 
 growth of coarse timothy, which pleases the 
 purchasers. Good, bright, coarse timothy is 
 regarded by city buyers as the perfection of 
 hay, and farmers who supply their wants do 
 well to produce what sells best. When their 
 lands fail to bring such, a quality of grass, 
 very properly they break xip and underseed. 
 But if these farmers want to feed their own 
 cows for milk or even to feed steers, such 
 hay is not the best. Quality, then, is better 
 than bulk. All agree that the pasture on 
 the old sod is more valuable whether to make 
 milk or flesh than the pasture of newly 
 seeded fields. If this be true, does it not fol- 
 low that there is the same difference in the 
 hay made of these grasses ? 
 
 And if we are to get permanent old sod, 
 how can it be gained without the application 
 of manure to the sod ? Even admit there is 
 is waste — the object when attained justifies 
 all. I believe that for my use in producing 
 milk or for Mr. McCann in feeding steers, 
 one ton of fine grasses cut from a. well set 
 old sod is worth fully one and a half tons of 
 coarser growth cut from newly seeded 
 meadow. Certainly if we are to manure 
 
118 
 
 laud tlie ways here recommended' are right 
 — put it on the raw surface, but if we are 
 to manure the meadows there is no way 
 but to put it on the surface. On 
 much of my land I can not establish 
 permanent grass even by such manuring, be- 
 cause the soil is too open. But on the hill 
 lands I do not doubt that a firm sod niay be 
 secured by top dressing, and I shall continue 
 to recommend the practice to all who want 
 to feed up their own products. On the hill 
 land whore Mr. McCanu has so long fattened 
 steers there is a sod which is worth more for 
 the purpose than the best pasture he could 
 produce on the gravelly flat. I venture to 
 say he could not be persuaded to have it 
 plowed. We do not plow land to enrich it. 
 There are many who plow and sow grain 
 and apply manure to bring about the con- 
 dition suitable for re-seeding with grass. If 
 the object sought is to enrich the soil, clover 
 is cheaper and effective as manure, taking 
 into account the diminished cost of the la- 
 bor required and the other fact that not 
 enough manure can be made to spread over 
 all the fields. 
 
 So much has been said about the wash of 
 manure on hillsides that I am persuaded to 
 narrate my observations in my own fields. I 
 have no land as steep as the fields of some 
 of the speakers, but I have one place where 
 I have spread manure on the grass with the 
 surface inclined on about one foot in four, 
 horizontal measure. The soil is loam and 
 clay. Last spring I watched the eifects of 
 the rains, and while the grass was improved 
 wherever the manure was put, I am confi- 
 dent that six feet down the slope from the 
 termination of the manure, as spread, there 
 was no visible effect. 
 
 Mr. Mills. — I do not think the virtue of 
 manure is often all washed away, but on 
 very tight soils much of it passes off wasted. 
 Of course there is less waste on porous soils 
 — perhaps there is none. Land in good 
 grass will keep so even without manure, if 
 not grazed too close, but break that sod up 
 and raise two or three crops of oats or other 
 grain and it will be very difficult to get a 
 sound sod again. There is a farm in the 
 east part of this town where the meadows 
 have been unbroken for, forty years and the 
 
 grass continues good. Portions of that old 
 sod have been plowed and cropped with 
 grain, and all efforts to re-establish per- 
 manent sod, have been unavailing. 
 
 Mr. HoTCHKiN. — I want to ask President 
 Hoffman if when he looks forward to the pos- 
 sibly not distant future, with his lands 
 greatly increased iu value by the encroach- 
 ments of the city, it will not be more profit- 
 able to pursue a different system of feeding ? 
 Will he not find it more profitable to take 
 his cows off from the grass where their feet 
 tramp down and destroy twice as much as is 
 needed for their sustenance ? Will not soil- 
 ing become with him a necessity ? By this 
 system permanent meadow can be saved in 
 good condition and by the better saving and 
 application of manure the yield of grass can 
 be greatly increased. 
 
 President Hoffman. — Yes, sir. All this is 
 worth thought. It has occupied my mind a 
 great deal. At present lam land poor, hav- 
 ing too much to treat by this rt ethod. A 
 farmer does not want more than fifty or sev- 
 enty-five acres if he is to pursue soiling. He 
 can not handle more with profit. We are 
 coming to this, many of our farmers are now 
 practicing partial soiling, and I am satisfied 
 that near our large cities farmers will be 
 driven to adopt it fully. 
 
 Mr. Owen. — This matter of grass and the 
 use of manure to establish it, is a subject of 
 much magnitude. I know of a field which it 
 is alleged has been seventy years in grsss, 
 and I am sure the owner would not permit 
 it to be plowed for anything less than the 
 value of the land. We mho have always 
 been engaged in grazing, especially steers, 
 know well the value of old pastures. And 
 there is as much difference in favor of old 
 sod for milk producing, as for making 
 flesh on steers. The milk made from old 
 pastures will bear longer transportation 
 without souring. 
 
 After further remarks by Mr. Owen on the 
 benefit to be derived from soiling, Mr. Doo- 
 little narrated his experience in surface ap- 
 plications of manure in the past season, 
 when the cifeots were notably good to the 
 grain crop on which it was applied, and he 
 gave also statements of Lurprising yields 
 of grass obtained solely by care of his 
 
119 
 
 meadow, tte principal requisite being a good 
 coat for winter protection, to insure which 
 he rigidly excluded all animals after hay- 
 ing- 
 
 Next meeting will discuss "Soiling," Mr. 
 wen being 
 
 Saturday Evening, l^ov. 14, 1874. 
 When the last meeting selected the sub- 
 ject of Soiling for consideration at tbis meet- 
 ing, it was alleged by some of the members 
 that there was not enougb of practical 
 knowledge to make the discussion valuable. 
 This was admitted, but it was also said, 
 "this matter of soiling is pressing upon our 
 notice, it will soon become a necessity, and 
 here is tbe place and now the time to con- 
 sider it." These arguments prevailed, and 
 there prpved to be such attraction in the 
 subject that a fine gathering of farmers came 
 in, most of them to listen rather than to 
 speak, but still giving proof that real inter- 
 est attaches to the subject. 
 
 President Hoffman, after dispatching the 
 usual routine business, called for the reading 
 of letters received durirg the week, when 
 several relating to Berkshire pigs were 
 offered and passed without comment, the 
 ideas having been presented in a recent 
 meeting It is worthy of note, however, that 
 the writers, although mainly all breeder^ of 
 other stock, agreed in commending the Berk- 
 shires. 
 
 A rambling letter from 'James Miller, of 
 Penn Tan, giving bis opinions on the appli- 
 cation of manures and on other subjects, is 
 - given m full so f a r as the writer confined 
 bimself to the manure question: 
 
 I have been very much interested in read- 
 ing the report of last week's discussion upon 
 the application of manures. I am a firm 
 believer in top dressing. My observation 
 and practice have cbnvinced me that to se- 
 cure the greatest benefit from the use of 
 manure it must be applied upon the surface, 
 and that the soil to which it is given must 
 be in a porous condition. If the field be de- 
 signed for wheat the manure should be well 
 rotted. There have been times when I have 
 spread manure upon portions of fields just 
 before drilling in the seed, and the benefits 
 
 have been clearly discovered as soon ais the 
 plants appeared, all the advantages being 
 conspicuous until the harvest, when the ma- 
 nured portions have given twice the yield of 
 the unmanured, and in the seeding of grass 
 to follow the wheat, like improvement has 
 shown for at least two succeeding seasons. 
 The most notable instance of this occurred 
 in my fields about a dozen years ago, since 
 which time I have made frequent experi- 
 ments in the same way, which have uniform- 
 ly resulted in great improvement, both to 
 the wheat and the grass. I do not exagger- 
 ate when I say that sometimes the crop of 
 wheat so stimulated has been three times as 
 great as on the portions not manured, and 
 that the grass for two seasons thereafter has 
 exhibited a like ratio of improvement. In 
 some of^these cases the product of wheat has 
 been fully fifty bushels to the acre. 
 
 "I think I have learned that grass lands 
 do not receive the real benefit of manure 
 unless it be applied within the first two 
 years after the seeding. After that there 
 have been instances in my experience when 
 the application has seemed to be entirely 
 lost. I regard this subject of the application 
 of manure as one of the most important for 
 farmers to consider and should be glad if I 
 could meet with you some time when it is up 
 for discussion." 
 
 After the reading of the letter. President ' 
 Hoffman said : "The theme is worthy of a 
 great deal of thought, but this meeting hav- 
 ing the subject of soiling to consider, will 
 not have time to take up other, matter. We 
 are too ignorant in all our business, and es- 
 pecially in soiling, which, with us, is almost 
 untried. Since there are none of us who can 
 speak from an extended experience, latitude 
 will be given in the hope that valuable sug- 
 gestions will be made, leading to more com- 
 plete knowledge of this important ma.tter. 
 Of course so far as practical speakers will 
 confirm themselves to observed facts. Mr. 
 Owen having been designated to present the 
 subject will, I trust, be able to give us all 
 instruction." 
 
 Mr. Owen — At the last meeting some one 
 remarked that we knew so little of soiling 
 that we could not give it profitable discus- 
 
120 
 
 sion. ■ It is none the less true tliat through, 
 the consideration given to the matter the 
 road to knowledge may be obtained. We 
 must begin somewhere and in this case it 
 seems at the beginning. For myself I have 
 to say the President has seemed desirous to 
 start at the beginning, in naming one who 
 has so little practical knowledge, to lead off 
 the discussion. My experience has been 
 only the common one with sowed corn for 
 feeding cows in the season of short pasture. 
 This I have had for many years, and its use 
 has seemed to be attended by good results. I 
 de not care to speak now o£ the different 
 ways of raising it, because I have a more 
 interesting matter, to present. It is a letter 
 from Samuel Gillett, of Genesee county, as 
 follows : 
 
 "In regard to soiling stock I cannot nar- 
 rate as favorable results as some others re- 
 port who claim to make the produce of one 
 acre keep a cow one year. With me it takes 
 about two acres. I have, after deducting 
 woodland, roads and yards, fifty acres, and 
 keep an average of about twenty cows and 
 four horses, or about equal to twenty-five 
 cows, fed for making milk. The crops grown 
 this year have been about as foUows : Thir- 
 teen acres in meadow, eleven in wheat, seven 
 in oats, four in potatoes, four in corn, three 
 in sowed or fodder corn, one in oats and 
 peas sowed together, one in sugar beets, 
 and six in pasture. The pasture is 
 not turned in until it gets a good 
 start in the spring, say absut the 
 28th of May. It keeps the cows until 
 the clover is .large enough to cut, which is 
 fed until the crop is cut for hay, when the 
 oats and peas are used until ripe enough to 
 cut for crop, when the land mowed for hay 
 will keep for two or three weeks after which 
 we depend on sowed corn and beet tops to 
 finish out with until winter. I milk in the 
 stable and feed grain of dome kind every 
 day in the year. I buy brewer's grains and 
 bran and damaged or stained beans for feed, 
 in addition to what I raise. I do not know 
 the amount of money paid for feed, but am 
 satisfied that after supplying my family 
 with bread and mostly with meat from the 
 farm, I sell from it, besides milk, more than 
 I buy. 
 
 "I am very sure my land is growing richer 
 
 and more productive every year with its 
 present management, and hope in a few 
 years to make a better showing." 
 
 This is the statement of a farmer who is 
 able to keep one cow on the products of two 
 acres of land, which is much better than any 
 one can do by the ordinary system of pastur- 
 ing. Tears ago, in Orange county, I began 
 raising sowed corn for soiling, by a method 
 which practice has proved is not the best. 
 I sowed, on one occasion, six acres broad- 
 cast, and to get it thick enough I sowed 
 twice, the second sowing crosswise. It 
 would have been better in drills, for that 
 permits cultivation by the plow, and of 
 course the destruction of weeds, thus im- 
 proving both the growth and the quality of 
 the crop. The feed is also more easily 
 gathered for use. 
 
 But few of our farmers have read "Quincy 
 on Soiling," and I may therfore be per- 
 mitted to present ideas gathered from this 
 work. In talking of the advantages to be 
 derived from this system of feeding, he 
 enumerates six heads in the order : First, 
 saving of land ; or the investment of money 
 having in view the keeping of a given 
 number of animals. Thus as we 
 have seen in the letter of Mr. Gillett 
 twenty-five cows are kept on fifty 
 acres by soiling, while we all know that 
 twjloe as many acres are generally required 
 in the ordinary way of feeding. There are 
 men who claim that every acre properly 
 brought into service will serve to keep a 
 cow. But with the facts we have, all will 
 admit, that the system does tend to a 
 large reduction in the amount of land re- 
 quired, and this is a strong argument in its 
 favor. 
 
 The second advantage named by Quincy 
 is in the saving of fences. Let any of us es- 
 timate the amount required on a farm of 
 one hundred and sixty acres divided into ten 
 acre fields (and this is about the usual size 
 on such farms) making sixteen fields. With- 
 out taking any account of extra fences for 
 small lots set off for special purposes, nor for 
 road fences, nor for any irregularities by 
 which the length of fencing is increased, 
 there will be required nine hundred and 
 sixty rods. I think it will be admitted that 
 the annual cost of maintaining this, including 
 
121 
 
 first cost, necessary repairs, and rebuilding 
 when Occasion requires, which extended over 
 a term of years, will reach at least one hun- 
 dred and fifty dollars. Now this sum would 
 serve to pay one man through the period for 
 soiling, thus disposing of the usual-objection 
 that the cost of labor renders the system im- 
 practicable. I believe the figures given as 
 the cost of maintaining the fences are low, 
 and yet at the low estimate of annual cost, 
 so far as expense is concerned, the farmer 
 will find that the extra labor involved in 
 soiling is fully compensated by exemption 
 from the other tax of fences. But this is not 
 all. The removal of fences makes better 
 and cleaner culture possible and is in itself 
 an actual saving in land, giving material ad- 
 ditions to the area available for use, as well 
 as better access to the different portions of 
 the farm with these artificial obstructions 
 removed. 
 
 The third benefit is found in the greater 
 economy of food. It is qiiite plain to us all 
 that there is great waste in the common 
 mode of feeding. I need only mention the 
 losses resulting from causes apparent to ev- 
 ery observer : The tread of the animals' feet 
 in their necessary and unnecessary travel 
 over the pastures — the solid and the liquid 
 excrements dropped at random, and render- 
 ing the grass unpalatable — making it un- 
 mitigated waste — and the spoiling of other 
 fresh pastures by the lying down of the cat- 
 tle when they are filled, making those spots 
 unpalatable. These and other ways of loss 
 make it necessary to provide vast areas of 
 land for pasture beyond what is needed to 
 to afford sustenance to the cattle. I shall 
 not stop to make deductions. I give you 
 only my opinion when I say that the losses 
 from these causes on an average stock farm 
 are quite sufficient, if saved, to pay the extra 
 labor required by soiling. 
 
 The fourth advantage is in the greater 
 comfort and thrift of the cattle. It is easy 
 to see that many of the annoyances which 
 cattle suffer when at pasture would be avoid- 
 ed by feeding in stables. Certainly the 
 torments of files would be much less and 
 the comfort of shade would be always 
 afforded. It has been urged by the opponents 
 of .the systeni that health is promoted by the 
 exercise which cattle take in their search for 
 
 pasture' I cannot say the argument is 
 without weight, but I answer that soiling 
 does not contemplate constant confinement. 
 Arrangements are made for proper exercise, 
 and I believe very little of this will meet all 
 the requirements of perfect and continued 
 good health. Cattle at pasture roam ufinec- 
 essarily and often uneasily, witbout a pur- 
 pose, and with no beneficial results. With 
 every want of food and drink provided in 
 the stable, there cannot be need of extended 
 exercise. 
 
 The fifth advantage in considering the 
 soiling of cows, to which Quincy gave most 
 of his care, is the increased product of milk. 
 I am not prepared to say how much this 
 may weigh in favor of soiling, but I have 
 no doubt that an important increase might 
 be thus secured. Full feed, quiet and com- 
 fort prouote the secretion of milk. It is 
 reasonable to suppose that the good care 
 and watchfulness which should always be 
 given to animals in the immediate chaxge of 
 a sensible keeper, would tend to the attain- 
 ment of this result. 
 
 But the sixth advantage is so obviovs that 
 it scarcely needs comment. It is the vast 
 increase in the available supply of manure. 
 By the common . mode of pasturing it is al- 
 most safe to say that the manure made dur- 
 ing the summer is lost. Dropped anywhere, 
 exposed to the burning heat of the sun or 
 the washings of rain, or on places where the 
 waste is total even if the virtues were not 
 burned nor washed out, it certainly does not 
 conduce much to the enriching of the fields. 
 We count for use only the accumulation of 
 winter, for it is all that can be made avail- 
 able. But it is of no more value than that 
 which is made in summer, if that could be 
 only served for use, as by this system of soil- 
 ing it must be. 
 
 I have thus presented some of the plainer 
 ad vantages which soiling promises. They 
 are certainly worth our consideration. I do 
 not claim m what I have said originality. In 
 common with many of you I am in pursuit 
 of farther knowledge regarding this matter, 
 for I see that there is a growing need on 
 these high-priced lands of some more suc- 
 cessful way of feeding than that which has 
 descended to us from those who occupied the 
 land when it was new. At the last meeting 
 
122 
 
 you, Mr. President, stated as an objsotion to I would see less fence than on the drive 
 entering upon this economy, that you were | from here to Horseheads, six miles. 
 
 "land poor." That means too much land to 
 be subject to this treatment. There are 
 many of us in like condition. Would it not 
 be true economy to reduce by sales the num- 
 ber -of acres, if we can be assured of undi- 
 minished products on what is retained f All 
 tl e arguments are in favor of such a step. 
 On a large farm the undertaking would be 
 very great involving great ovitlays for' labor, 
 but I firmly believe that the profit attending 
 it would be ample reward for all the increase 
 of cost. 
 
 Mr. HoTCHKiN — If, Mr. Presidsnt, I 
 might claim indulgence, I could speak of 
 what I have seen of the practical working 
 of this system of feeding. I have no knowl- 
 edge beyond that acquired by observation, 
 and the study of the benefits as illustrated 
 in a great extent of country where soiling is 
 the established rule. I have seen hundreds 
 of miles of farm lands where all the cattle 
 were fed continually in stables. Of course I 
 refer to another country, to observations 
 made in Europe. It must be evident to any 
 one who gives the matter but cursory exam- 
 ination, that our farming is in a transition 
 state. This valley is passing from new to 
 old, and rapidly too. What might have 
 been commended as the wisest practice a 
 generation ago, or even but a, dozen years 
 since, may not now be applicable to the 
 changed situation. The practices and modes 
 which prevail in countries widely separated 
 must necessarily differ because there are dif- 
 ferent objects and requirements as well as 
 different capabilities. But from such coun- 
 tries useful hints may be drawn. In South- 
 ern Europe, and especially in the South of 
 Prance, the products differ widely from ours, 
 and therefore the lessons of travel are 
 scarcely applicable to our agriculture, but 
 passing into the province of Burgundy or 
 Normandy the climate and the products are 
 not so essentially different from ours that 
 the study of their practices may not be of 
 service to us. If you were to go there you 
 would note the entire absence of fences. 
 You might pass over the usual routes of 
 travel from the Mediterranean to the Eng- 
 lish channel, and in the entire trip you 
 
 Another matter which would attract ob- 
 servation is that all the land is in some way 
 utilized. Along the highways trees are 
 planted, but there are no fences to mark the 
 boundaries. The whole country has the 
 impress of this system of soiling which is 
 in its agriculture obedience to the scriptural 
 injunction, "Gather up the fragments, that 
 there be nothing wasted." In passing from 
 the road to a farmer's house, you notice as a 
 conspicuous object, an enclosure for cattle, 
 scarcely ever more than an acre in extent — 
 often much less. In the middle of that is 
 the soiling house, with low gables and high 
 pitched roof. At the ends suitable entrances 
 are provided, and near by is the well. With- 
 in and about the building all the necessary 
 provisions are made for feeding the cattle 
 and for saving tue manure, even the urine 
 having a tank provided for its reception, 
 whence it is pumped on the solid manure to 
 aid in its preparation for use, or is drawn in 
 casks, something like our street sprinklers, 
 and applied directly to the meadows. With- 
 in these soiling houses, or within the enclo- 
 sures which surround them, cattle are kept 
 all the time, nearly all the year. If they are 
 ever suffered to graze they are tethered by a 
 rope, one end of which is secured to a stake 
 driven for the purpose, so that they cannot 
 move beyond the narrow circle measured by 
 the rope. There is much uniformity in the 
 appearance of the soiling bouses, and in all 
 the arrangements for feeding and otherwise 
 attending to the wants of the cattle. In a, 
 country divested of fences, as might be ex- 
 pected, there is very clean culture and every 
 evidence of very careful farming. Weeds 
 are eradicated to make room for useful 
 plants. 
 
 What we speak of here as so very desira- 
 ble — permanent meadow land — is attained 
 there through soiling. Meadows abound, 
 unbroken for a life time. Of course excel- 
 lence and permanence are secured by the 
 application of the vast supplies of manure, 
 all saved in the soiling houses ready to use 
 when occasion demands. The man in charge 
 goes out to the grass and cuts what he 
 wants, which is drawn by a donkey to the 
 cattle. It is true there are specialties in 
 
123 
 
 farming there, as here, but the description I 
 have given is applicable to large districts of 
 the country. Near large cities especial at- 
 tention is given to the production of milk 
 and butter, while farther back in the country 
 the varied interests of agriculture all receive 
 attention, but everywhere the one mode of 
 feeding cattle prevails, whether the chief 
 object be gain or dairy products or crops of 
 any kind. There are fields of flax, the extent 
 of which would surprise an observer from 
 this country if he did not reflect that those 
 fields produce flax from which is made the 
 linen for the world. Vast amounts of lime 
 are used for mechanical purposes and to fer- 
 tilize the land. 
 
 On the subject of soiling, if I should not 
 weary your patience, I would present the 
 views of a man who has adopted the practice 
 — a gentleman who has attained literary 
 fame and who is also successful as a farmer. 
 His farm embraces two hundred acres, two 
 miles from New Haven, Connecticut. It has 
 a face much like President Hoffman's farm, 
 but it is not so good in soil. Sir years of 
 occupancy under the system of soiling pro- 
 duced great improvements. I read : 
 
 "From the eighty-acre flat beloif — so like 
 a carpet, with its checkered growth — I order 
 every line of division fence to be removed ; 
 the best of the material being? kept in reserve 
 for making good the border fences, and the 
 remainder cut, split and piled for the fire. 
 The neighbors who cling to the old system 
 of two acre lots and pinched door yards,open 
 their eyes and mouths very widely at this. 
 The novelty, like all novelties in a quiet 
 country regiop, is at once astounding and 
 oppressive — as if the parish parson were 
 suddenly to come out in the red stockings of 
 a cardinal, or a sober-sided select-man to 
 appear on the highway without some impor- 
 tant article of his dress. 
 
 I fancy two or three astute old gentlemen 
 leaning over the border fence as the work of 
 demolition goes on. 
 
 "The Squire's makiu' this ere farm inter a 
 parade ground, a'n't he ?'' says one ; and 
 there is a little, withering, sarcastic laugh of 
 approval. 
 
 Presently another is charged with a reflec- 
 tion which he submits in this shape : "Ef a 
 
 critter breaks loose in such a rounge as that 
 I raether guess he'll have a time on't." And 
 there is another chirrupy laugh, and s-gnifl- 
 cant noddings are passed back and forth be- 
 tween the astute old gentlemen — as if they 
 were mandarin images, and nodded by rea- 
 son of the gravity of some concealed dead 
 weight — (as indeed they do.) 
 
 A third suggests that "there woant be no 
 great expense for diggin' o' post holes," 
 which remark is so obviously sound, that it 
 is passed by in silence. 
 
 The clearance, however, goes forward - 
 swimmingly. The new breadth which seems 
 given to the land as the dwarfish fields dis- 
 appear one after another, develops a beauty 
 of its own. The yellow -weeds and withered 
 wild grass which had clung under the shel- 
 ter of the fences, even with the best care are 
 all shorn away. The tortuous and irregular 
 lines which the frosts had given to the reel- 
 ings platoons of rails, perplex the eye no 
 more. 
 
 Near to the centre of these opened fields 
 is a great feeding shed, one hundred feet by 
 forty, its ridge high, and the roof sloping 
 away in swift pitch on either side to lines of 
 posts, rising eight feet only from the ground. 
 The gables are covered in with rough mate- 
 rial, in such shape as to leave three simple 
 open arches at either end ; the middle open- 
 ing — high and broad, so that loaded teams 
 may pass beneath ; the two flanking arches 
 — lower, and opening upon two ranges of 
 stalls which sweep down on either side of 
 the building. These stalls are so disposed 
 that the cattle are fed directly from carts 
 passing around the exterior. Behind either 
 range of cattle is a walk five feet broad ; and 
 between these walks, an open space sixteen 
 feet wide, traversing the whole length of the 
 building, and serving at once as a manure 
 pit, and gangway for the teams which de- 
 posit from time to time their contributions 
 of muck and turf. Midway of this central 
 area is a covered cistern., from which, as oc- 
 casion demands, the drainage of the stalls 
 may be pumped up to drench the accumula- 
 ting stock of fertilizing material. 
 
 This simple building, which serves as the 
 , summer quarters of the dairy, is picturesque 
 in its outline; for I know no reason why 
 
124 
 
 economy should abjure grace, or why farm 
 construction should be uncouth or tawdry. 
 A small pasture-close, with strong fencing 
 — with gates that will not swag, and with 
 abundance of running water, supplied from 
 the hills, serves as an exercisin g ground for 
 the cows for two hours each day. Other 
 times, throughout the growing season, they 
 belong in the open and airy stalls. The 
 crops which are to feed them, are pushing 
 luxuriantly within a stone's throw of their 
 quarters. An active man with a sharp 
 scythe.a light horse-cart and Canadian pony, 
 will look after the feeding of a herd of fifty, 
 \tith time to spare for milking and stall 
 cleaning. 
 
 From the tenth of May to the first of 
 June, perhaps nothing will contribute so 
 much to a full flow of milk, as the fresh- 
 springing grass upon some outlying pasture 
 on the hills. After this, the cows may take 
 up their regular summer quarters in the 
 building I have roughly indicated. Prom 
 the first to the tenth of June, there may be 
 heavy cuttings of winter rye ; from the 
 tenth of June to the twentieth, the lucerne 
 (than which no better soiling crop can be 
 found) is in full season ; after the twentieth. 
 clover and orchard grass are in their best 
 condition, and retain their succulence 
 up to the first week in July, 
 when, in ordinary ' seasons, the main 
 reliance — maize which was sown in mid- 
 April, is fit for the scythe. Succeeding crops 
 of this, keep the mangers of the cows full, 
 up to an early week in October. Afterwards 
 may come cuttings of late sown barley, or 
 the leaves of the Mangel, or carrot tops, 
 with which, as a bonne houche, the cattle are 
 withdrawn to their winter quarters, for their 
 dietary of cut-feed, oil-cake, occasional bran 
 and roots. 
 
 They leave behind them in their summer 
 banqueting house, a little Ehigiof fertilizing 
 material — not exposed to storm^, neither too 
 dry nor too moist, and an unctuous fatness, 
 which will make sundry surrounding fields, 
 in the next season, carry a heavier burden 
 than ever of purple Mangel, or of shining 
 maize leaves. 
 
 I perceive, too, very clearly, in further- 
 ance of the illustration, that one acre will 
 produce as much nutritive food, under this 
 
 system, as four acres under the old plan of 
 waste — by poaching — and by exposure of aU 
 manurial to the fierce heat of the sun, and to 
 the washings of rain storms. I perceive that 
 the land, as well as the cattle, are all fairly 
 in hand, and better under control. If at any 
 time the season, or the market, should indi- 
 cate a demand for some special crop, I am 
 not disturbed by any apprehension that this 
 or that enclosure may be needed for grazing, 
 and so, bar the use. 1 perceive that a well 
 regulated system must govern all the farm 
 labor, and that there will be no place for 
 that looseness of method, and carelessness 
 about times and details, which is invited by 
 the old wfiy of turning cattle abroad to shirk 
 for themselves. 
 
 No timid team will be thrashed, in order 
 to wipe the fence posts with the clattering 
 whiffletree, at the last bout around the head, 
 lands. There will be no worrying of the 
 Buckeye in old and weedy corners; not a 
 weed nor a Golden-rod can wave anywhere 
 in triumph. The eye sweeps over one stretch 
 of luxuriant field, where no foot of soil is 
 wasted. The crops, in L ug even lines, are 
 marked only by the successive stages of their 
 growth, and by their coloring. There are 
 no crooked rows, no gores, no gatherings. 
 
 If the reader has ever chanced to sail 
 upon a summer's day up the river Seine, he 
 will surely remember the beautiful checker- 
 work of crops, which shine, in lustrous 
 green, on either bank beyond the old Nor- 
 man city of Eouen. Before yet the quaint 
 and gorgeous towers of the town have gone 
 down in the distance, these newer beauties 
 of the cleanly cultivated shore-land chal- 
 lenge his wonder and admiration. I name 
 the scene now, because it shows a cultiva- 
 tion without enclosures ; nothing but a 
 traditional line — whi^^h some aged poplar, or 
 scar on the chalk cliff marks, — between ad- 
 joining proprietors ; a belt of wheat is 
 fringed with long-bearded barley', and next 
 the plume-like tufts of the French trefoil, 
 make a glowing band of crimson. A sturdy 
 peasant woman, in wooden sabots, is gather- 
 ing up a bundle of the trefoil to carry to ner 
 pet cow, under the lee of the stone cottage 
 that nestles by the river bank. 
 
 And I indulge my fancy with the idea of 
 some weazen-faced New England farmer 
 
125 
 
 looking down upon all this from some shat- 
 tered loop-hole of the wrecked chateau 
 Gaillard, and saying— " Gosh, ef a critter 
 were to break loose, I guess they'd have a 
 time on't." 
 
 There are some things we New England 
 farmers have not learned yet. 
 
 I trust, Mr. President, that if you and I 
 live out the allotted "three score and ten 
 years we shall witness the great change pro- 
 duced by this system on your own farm long 
 before you find it necessary to order your 
 ascension robes ! 
 
 President Hoetman — With such a show- 
 ing I am constrained to ss,y there is certain- 
 ly something in soiling which claims our at- 
 tention. I think I have stated here on an- 
 other occasion what was told me by a friend 
 m Orange county, who gave it a trial for one 
 year. He had one hundred acres of very 
 rich land. I visited him a year after the 
 trial, and desirous to obtain information, I 
 asked him why he did not continue soifing. 
 He answered : "There are two objections. 
 One is, I got too much milk.'' I thought 
 it a singular objection, but it was partly ex^ 
 plained by the fact that in the year of his 
 trial milk in New York was low and the cart- 
 age consumed all the profit, so that the 
 more he handled the worse for him. I want- 
 ed the other objection and was surprised to 
 hear him say, — "It makes too much man- 
 ure." This he explained by saying that his 
 rich land had no need of such expensive 
 dressing as soiling gave, and he got "sick 
 and tired of drawing manure." He ex- 
 pressed the belief that he could by proper 
 attention to bis forage crops, easily keep a 
 cow to every acre of his land. He be- 
 lieved that the grass, by this system, could 
 be so improved in quality that when made 
 into hay, there would be less need of m^al 
 than with ordinary hay. 
 
 We are educated to the ways adopted by 
 those who preceded us. We are creatures 
 of habit. It is this which makes us look up- 
 on any radical change with distrust. To us 
 it would seem funny to have the cattle care- 
 fully shut up while luxuriant pastures were 
 close in sight. It is a shook to habit and 
 nothing more. All of us do more or less of 
 soiling, and some of us must adopt it fully 
 
 soon. Sowed corn, probably one of the 
 poorest of soiling crops, is nearly our sole 
 venture, and all agree that there is profit in 
 using it. For the successful practice of full soil- 
 ing there is needed a year of preparation and 
 a succession of crops that will afford at all 
 seasons good and abundant food. I should re- 
 commend for this purpose the cultivation of 
 cabbage, for I believe a given area will pro- 
 duce far move nutriment in cabbage than in 
 sowed corn, and it is not susceptible to injury 
 by heavy frosts, which would destroy the 
 corn. First in order I would sow rye in 
 August, to be cut for feed abo^it the middle 
 of next May. The ground should be thor- 
 oughly enriched to insure a good growth. — 
 After the rye, greeu oats and then sowed 
 corn, and after that cabbage with beet and 
 turnip tops. But with both the cabbage 
 and the turnip tops there should be given 
 feeds of meal, that no bad flavor be imparted 
 to the milk. Corn meal and bran mixed 
 would be better than meal alone. On all 
 these feeds, with clover and grass cut in 
 season, the season from spring to winter can 
 be safely passed. 
 
 Several other speakers, including Messrs. 
 Geo. Harris, Geo. McCann, J. F. Beecher, 
 Geo. Oongdou and Carmy Compton, contin- 
 ued the subject. Mr. Congdon related an 
 experience with rye out as green food. A 
 crop'upon which he commenced early gave 
 thi'ee cuttings, which was a matter of sur- 
 prise to some of the members, but was auth- 
 enticated by the experience of others. Mr. 
 Compton narrated an experience covering a 
 considerable part of the past season, in which 
 the results were so very favorable that he 
 intends to adopt the full practice as soon as 
 the necessary arrangements for a proper suc- 
 cession of crops and for the feeding can be 
 made. 
 
 On the whole the Club has never before 
 exhibited so much interest in soiling. It is 
 now almost assured that extensive prepara- 
 tions will be made by many of the mem,bers 
 for a full adoption of the system within the 
 next season. 
 
 "Farm Accounts' 
 next meeting. 
 
 will be discussed by the 
 
126 
 
 Satubday Evening, Nov. 21, 1874. 
 Many of the members who are usually in 
 their places were absent from this meeting 
 for causes which served as valid excuses. 
 President Hoffman was detained at home by 
 ill health. Mr: John Bridgmau was assigned 
 to his place. The thin attendance might be 
 explained on the theory that the subject for 
 discussion was distasteful to the absentees. 
 Pr.rm accounts seem to be regarded as intri- 
 cate ana puzzling problems, quite beyond 
 the requirements of most plain farmers, who 
 are content to invest their money and toil 
 and care through years burdened with 
 earnest effort, and no where a landing place 
 for observation. 
 
 Mr. Hakeison, of Grand Eapids, engaged 
 the attention of the Club for a few minutes 
 after the opening, in a description of a neat, 
 and strong farm wagon, for which he acts as 
 s-lesman. After affording adequate gviaran- 
 tees for all the excellence claimed, the chief 
 point in his speech was the exceedingly low 
 price for the wagons put down, freight paid 
 in Elmira. He objected to giving the offer 
 the publicity which would be inevitable if it 
 were incorporated in the report of the pro- 
 ceedings because he did not propose to keep 
 his offer open for any considerable time. He, 
 however, authorized the Secretary to com- 
 municate the price with his references, to 
 any farmer desiring to purchase within a few 
 days. These will be furnished on applica- 
 tion, meantime it is but fair to say that the 
 Club considered his propositions well worthy 
 of consideration, and with one accord pro- 
 nounced his offers very favorable to those 
 who desire to become purchasers. 
 
 Less than the usual list of wants was re- 
 ported, the chief one being five hundred 
 bushels of nice clean oats by Farmer Cong- 
 don, who is well known as a liberal buyer, 
 looking more to the quality of his purchases 
 than to price. 
 
 Ihese matters being over, Mr. Bridgman 
 in the chair said ; "Faj'm accounts has been 
 selected for discussion, and it is uufortunate 
 that so few of our farmers are hero to ex- 
 press their opinions on soimportant a matter. 
 Any who are present can have freedom of 
 speech on the subject." 
 
 W. A. AkmS'ironq — When one reflects 
 
 that agriculture in this country is abusineas 
 which employs more capital than all other 
 kinds of industry — that its products are an- 
 nually greater in value than the aggregate 
 of all manufactox'ies, and of mining, and of 
 public improvements for the same period, it 
 is surprising that it cannot present more ac- 
 curate statistics of cost. Even the estimates 
 of production are from the necessities of the 
 case, but little better than conjecture be- 
 cause there is everywhere such neglect of 
 figures that positive knowledge is impossi- 
 ble. For this reason prices are but arbi- 
 trary resolves of a few men in position to 
 operate for profit in the well earned fruits of 
 the farmer's labor. Even the government, 
 through its agricultural bureau, can only 
 approximate the truth regarding the amount 
 of crops, with not even a guess at the cost. 
 There is no method by which these facts of 
 vital importance can be made to appear un- 
 der the present careless disregard of records 
 by farmers themselves. The year opens, 
 with labor in which they actively engage, 
 and as each succeeding month comes with 
 its tasks they are met with muscle, but the 
 lightening processes which come through 
 intelligence are neglected, so that with the 
 close of the year the lessons of experience 
 are utterly lost, except so far as the treach- 
 erous memory of overworked men may have 
 srved here and there a scrap of knowledge to 
 direct future efforts. 
 
 There is a common complaint that "fenc- 
 cing does not pay.'' That is a guess of tired 
 men. Ask them for a statement which shall 
 prove the expression and how many can give 
 it ? Ask how much is the cost of producing 
 a bushel of oats, or of wheat, or a pound of 
 butter, and if any answer comes, it is a guess 
 sustained by no record of' facts — a mere gen- 
 eral estimate of the chief items of cost and a 
 rounding off with a jump as though tha 
 query were anomalous, and in no" sense 
 worthy of consideration. "What right have 
 men to say that "farming does not pay," un- 
 less they can bring some proof of the asser- 
 tion other than dicta ? Pressed closely 
 these men sometimes reluctlantly admit that 
 by the rise of land they do receive profit, but 
 that is the only source of gain to Ahe farmer. 
 How absurd ! If the farmer has not im- 
 proved his land while it has advanced in 
 
127 
 
 value from fifty dollars per acre to one hun- 
 dred dollars, how can he produce his grain 
 more cheaply after the advance ? And if he 
 can not produce more cheaply how is the 
 profit of farming greater ? The truth is the 
 advance of land is no profit whatever until 
 sales are made, and instead of cheapening 
 products they are made dearer, hecause taxes 
 are greater. Of course this supposes that 
 the advance is due to other causes than in- 
 creased capacity for production. And it is 
 likewise true that farming- does not pay in 
 spite of the asseverated objection. But there 
 is proof that it does efford profit, in the gene- 
 ral and continued prosperity of the country 
 for we are not distinctively a commercial nor 
 a manufarturing people. 
 
 If we could have a full and acourrate un- 
 derstanding of the amount of agricultural 
 productions of any given year, with the fig- 
 ures which represent their cost, there would 
 he the basis of intelligent farming. We 
 should know what crops have too much at- 
 tention and what too little. We should 
 know wherein profit lay in each particular 
 locality and how to apply labor to its best 
 uses. We should kmwj what oar crops are 
 worth rather than what they will bring, and 
 we should know whether it would be better 
 to work them into finished products or to 
 put them raw upon the markets. All this 
 would come with the careful keeping of 
 farm accounts about which there need be no 
 difficulty if the effort were made with any- 
 thing like such determination, as the farmer 
 carries to the execution of hea.vier tasks. It 
 would be an insult to the intelligence of the 
 Club to question the ability to keep such 
 records. Whoever is unfit to do it is unfit 
 to be a farmer. The inclination is all that 
 is lacking. With that it would be just as 
 easy to say what a bushel of oats, from any 
 given crop, has cost as for the President to 
 name the cost of a quart of milk — a branch 
 of knowledge in which he is more deficient. 
 Let us see how much is necessary. A record 
 of the expense includes first the plowing.: — 
 That is easy. Of the dragging and other 
 necessary fitting. That is easy. The seed 
 and the sowing — the harvesting and thresh- 
 ing — all easy. Where is the intricacy in the 
 problem of cost P With these records com- 
 
 plete how plain a matter to divide the total 
 cost by the number of bushels produced,and 
 BO ascertain the cost per bushel ! Or to go 
 farther with such records, the sum of pro- 
 duction in all the fields of the farm will 
 plainly show the percentage of profit on the 
 investment. If it will please the objectors 
 more let us admitthat such record will show 
 the percentage of loss. 
 
 If a farmer has a family he will tell you 
 they must have support, and that he has no 
 way to make it except from his farm. How 
 hard that is ! Still he does not see that is 
 rather hard on the farm to give it no credit 
 for such support. Perhaps he could not do 
 much better if he was planted in Wall street 
 with the amount of capital which his farm 
 represents, as a start in business, and in 
 that case he would say that Wall street 
 doesn' t pay. 
 
 This matter of farm accounts has been be- 
 fore us at other meetings, and the discussion 
 has not borne profit. Perhaps it will not 
 now, but let us at least hesitate to repeat the 
 stories of losses in farming unless the fig- 
 ures can be brought as proof. Let us teach 
 no such lessons as that published to the 
 world by a distinguished member of this 
 body, who in the spring discussions gave us 
 bis estimate of the average yield per acre of 
 corn in this fertile valley, and appended the 
 surprising statement that every acre of full 
 average yield involved a loss to the producer 
 of six dollars. Let us first inform ourselves 
 by the facts and the figures by the record, 
 before we out such discouragement in the 
 way of those who might bring to our tasks 
 more intelligence and better methods than 
 we use. Before we talk glibly of losses let 
 us be able to produce the records to substan- 
 tiate his assertions. Mere guesses in farm- 
 ing are hot much better than in other kinds 
 of business, and good, sound and successful 
 men in other pursuits do not rely much on 
 guesses. With the approaching year let us 
 hope that our members will| open and keep 
 accounts. 
 
 Mr. Owen — In my situation it would prove 
 very difficult: to keep a strict account of all 
 farm operations because there are so many 
 different interests of different degrees of 
 magnitude. I have never kept accurate 
 
128 
 
 farm aooounts, for in the last twenty years, 
 I have heen satisfied with the dairy system 
 as being more productive of real profit than 
 grain raising, and have accordingly stocked 
 the farm with cows, depending on them for 
 the best proceeds, and raising only such 
 grain as seemed to be required for the prop- 
 er employment of the fields and for the 
 needs of the stock. Having spent so much 
 of my life in dairy regions I do not claim to 
 know much about the necessity of farm ac- 
 counts in other branches of husbandry. I 
 admit the necessity of more complete knowl- 
 edge about the cost of dairy products, but in 
 my situation it appears rather difficult to 
 obtain such information so we continue 
 along doing the best we can in the absence 
 of figures and possibly with nearly as good 
 results. Still there is the necessity. We 
 should know what our products cost that we 
 might better know how to sell. By carry- 
 ing through a course of years a system of 
 accounts by which we shall arrive at the cost 
 of production, there would como precise 
 knowledge about the proper course to pur- 
 sue. We should learn what crops produce 
 profit and what are attended with loss. In 
 some cases we should fortify belief while in 
 others our theories would no doubt be upset. 
 I have always entertained an opinion that as 
 a grain crop, corn brings with us in this val- 
 ley, the most profit, a. principal argument in 
 proof being that the stalks do so much for 
 the winter keeping of cows. But I cannot 
 say what is the average cost of a, bushel of 
 fiorn, although it would be difficult to per-; 
 suade me that a fair crop is attended with 
 loss. 
 
 Mr. Bbidgman— Can you tell us the "cost 
 of the field reported here some time ago, in 
 which one acre gave two hundred and forty 
 bushels of ears ? You will remember the 
 cost was then asked. 
 
 Mr. Owen — The husking was not then fin- 
 ished, but it is now. Tlie field was twelve 
 acres. The whole cost was one hundred and 
 forty-five' dollars and forty-five cents, or 
 twelve dollars and twelve cents per acre. 
 The items which entered into the cost and 
 their proportions were : 
 
 Plowing ten days, at .So $ 30 00 
 
 Dragging three days, §3 9 00 
 
 Marking (one horse) 2 00 
 
 Planting, five days, ,$1.50 7 50 
 
 Hoeing, twenty-five, .51.50 37 50 
 
 Cultivating and plastering 27 50 
 
 Plaster, 1,400 lbs., say 5 50 
 
 Seed, three bushels, say 2 45 
 
 Cutting 24 00 
 
 $145 45 
 This is the cost of the crop before husk- 
 ing, and of course all will agree that the 
 stalks much more than pay for the husking, 
 but as I have not a report of that item of 
 cost, it will not quite make up the cost of 
 the grain and the stalks separately. 
 
 One of the chief difficulties in keeping 
 farm accounts is in the cost of team work, 
 the teams being owned and kept on the 
 farm. In this case the price allowed tas 
 been that at which the labor could be hired, 
 and that is certainly enough, because that 
 will always do the work. But if we were 
 required to ascertain the real cost of teams 
 kept on the farms, sometimes idle and some- 
 times at work, but fed all the year, the prob- 
 lem becomes difficult. In our lumber busi- 
 ness we consider it cheaper to hire team 
 work than to keep our own teams, so for the 
 hauling of a million feet a year we have only 
 one team, and that is used for odd jobs which 
 the men who are hired dislike to undertake. 
 But in farm work it will not do to depend 
 on hired teams because they might not be 
 forthcoming just at the time when needed. 
 It is a necessity to keep the teams on the 
 farm even if the cost be greater. 
 
 I confess it has always appeared strange 
 to me that we should know so little of cost 
 in the business which is our life study. Per- 
 haps it is because there has been no system 
 of keeping farm accounts devised which has 
 proved suited to the need. There are blanks 
 advertised for this use, but I have not seen 
 them. Just what we want in these days is 
 to Jinow something more of precise results. 
 
 Mr. Owen having taken his seat no one 
 seemed willing to utter a word in favor of 
 keeping farm accounts. 
 
 Mr. Bbidgman, by a happy inspiration, 
 called Mr. BUlings, and as happily excused 
 him after his brief speech. 
 
 Mr. Billings — I have always been so much 
 troubled by store accounts that I resolved 
 
129 
 
 long ago not to have farm aeoounts ! 
 
 Mr. D. C. CuBTis — The necessity for keep- 
 ing aeoounts is apparent in all kinds of busi- 
 ness, and certainly not less in farm affairs 
 than in other transactions. Go to any bank- 
 er or merchant or manufacturer, and yon 
 find that he has an ai'Ouvate i-ecord of all 
 transactions. He can show you at the end 
 of the year not only what has been done but 
 the cost of doing it, and the profits or losses. 
 This is (essential to his success, but not more 
 so than to the proper understanding by the 
 farmer of his business. In my business as 
 an attorney I have often been saved great 
 annoyance by having proper vouchers to 
 show what otherwise might be doubted, and 
 this necessity appears more in dealing' with 
 farmers than with other classes, for it is so 
 eommon for them to trust all their affairs to 
 memory. Not long ago having made a col- 
 lection for a farmer, he called on me for the 
 sum, and I felt sure that it had been paid. 
 On referring to my journal it was charged to 
 him, but 1 did not recall the incident of pay- 
 ment, although I could not doubt that the 
 book was right. Taking down my checks 
 which had passed through the bauk and been 
 retftrned to me, I found one drawn to his 
 order for the exact sum, endorsed by him, 
 and of course paid. That settled the doubts 
 and illustrates the need of careful records 
 and vol chers in all accounts. 
 
 Besides this pi-otection there is in keeping 
 accounts that discipline which is likely to 
 aid in all the business affairs of the farmer, 
 lit makes him [more methodical, and so adds 
 to his knowledge that he can be able to lopp 
 off useless or unnecessary expenditures. It 
 is directly conducive to success. There may 
 perhaps be more necessity for elaborate book- 
 keeping in bankers' and merchants' ac- 
 counts, in the fact that they have more per- 
 sons with whom to deal than farmers have, 
 but to the full understinding of his business 
 earef ul accounts are as essential to the far- 
 aier as any mau . 
 
 I have noticed that much litigation grows 
 out of this carelessness among farmers, by 
 which they are content to trust to memory 
 affairs wMch should go upon record. A 
 hired man in the fall claims more than the 
 
 farmer is disposed to allow. He denies pay- 
 ment which the farmer alleges has been 
 made, and both having trusted to memory 
 the accounts of the season, the disagreement 
 leads to law, which may be profitable to me, 
 but is certainly not to them, and there should 
 be no necessity for resorting to it. As to 
 the difficulty of keeping the accounts, 
 it vanishes with the undertaking. There 
 is no more trouble in keeping full and com- 
 plete records of all transactions than in mak- 
 ing a memorandum of purchases at the 
 store and certainly every average farmer has 
 intalligence enough to do this. A little at- 
 tention day by day when all is fresh in mind 
 is all that is necessary, and but very little 
 time is needed. 
 
 I apprehend that whoever undertakes any 
 system by which such a record will be made 
 will find the profit^so great that he will after 
 the first year of trial never again feel able 
 to conduct his affairs without it, and that 
 it will year by year make hira more success- 
 ful. 
 
 Mr. Van Duzee. — I supposed this matter 
 of farm accounts meant more particularly 
 such records as would enable us to know the 
 cost of crops and the profit or loss attending 
 their production, rather than the keeping of 
 ordinary business accounts. Having entered 
 late, I do not know what former speakers 
 may have said, but I have heard of a sup- 
 posed difficulty in keeping farm accounts, on 
 account of the intricacy of the methods. 
 Now, it is not a serious task to make such a 
 farm record as will show all important trans- 
 actions and the cost of every crop . All that 
 is needed is a daily journal in which every 
 day the farmer should enter what has been 
 d'one on that da.y and what it ha,s cost. He 
 knows of course the cost of the labor which 
 he hires, and it is as easy to set that down 
 and as easy to put down every other item of 
 expense. At the proper time he can enter 
 the several items in the ledger against the 
 crops for which the expense was~ made, and 
 he thus has the figures to show what his 
 business is doing ; even showing where profit 
 is and where loss is. This is very important 
 to his success. It leads to the lopping off of 
 those parts of his business which do not 
 bring profit. He shows cause. He finds 
 
130 
 
 this record will enable him to work more 
 intelligently. He knows the cost of plow- 
 ing, of dragging, and of harvesting, by which 
 he can decide where to rctrendh, if there is 
 anywhere too much expenditure. He 
 learns, too, to make better estimates of cost 
 for such operations as he contempiat=s. If 
 he has raised a field of barley and taken ac- 
 curate account of cost aad account of sales 
 he knows just what has been paid on his la- 
 bor and capital. — Now as it costs more labor 
 to put in a crop on some fields than on others 
 he is able to estimate the probabilities of 
 profit in other situations. On a rough or 
 stumpy field he will make allowances by 
 which he is prepared to decide if it is better 
 to venture upon that field at all. And then 
 again he learns that meadows with a small 
 yield of grass cost too much. The mowing 
 is just as expensive for an acre of grass that 
 gives one half a ton as for another acre that 
 gives two tons. So he plans the methods to 
 bring up his meadows to a higher standard 
 thus reducing the cost of his hay. 
 
 A good result of keeping farm accounts is 
 noticeable in the dairies which send milk to 
 factories. I remember in the beginning of 
 my cheese making many of my customers 
 wanted to drop oil on the first of November, 
 or earlier, and others wanted to milk but 
 nee a day. My contracts were to the first 
 of December, and I was obliged to hold 
 them. So in the spring they wanted to be- 
 gin in May. Now, after some years thes^ 
 farmers having had their accounts kept for 
 them by the factory, they want to begin as 
 soon as I am ready or before, and they are 
 very willing to stay until the close of the 
 season, milking up closely twice a day, and 
 feeding extra feed to increase quantity. Tl>e 
 truth is they have learned where the profit 
 comes in and have therefore changed their 
 practices to insure the greatest pi ofit. With- 
 out these accounts they would still be prac- 
 ticing the old methods. They have come to 
 learn by this system of daily accounts kept 
 for them that even pumpkins have value, 
 and that corn fodder is worth far more than 
 its cost to make milk. 
 
 Mr. Bkidoman — For two years I kept an 
 
 accurate daily account of my receipts of 
 
 . milk, and the amount distributed, as well as 
 
 that sold, but the personal supervision in 
 the milk trade proved a very burdensome 
 task and I abandoned that method, pre- 
 serving, however, such a system of accounts 
 that 1 am able to know general results with 
 such a system of accuracy that I am satis- 
 fied. 
 
 The difficulty I apprehend, in the way of 
 keeping farm accounts, is that the farmer 
 comes in tired and is therefore reluctant to 
 attempt any intellectual effort. If he begins 
 Lhese accounts there comes a season of es- 
 pecial fatigue, and he passes the matter 
 over for' a few days when he feels intense 
 disyust for the task of bringing up. Habit 
 governs us in this matters as in others. If 
 we had always subjected ourselves to the 
 methods required there would be no diiBoulty, 
 but I apprehend that old farmers will be very 
 slowly to attempt these accounts. 
 
 Mr. VanDuzee — I hope I did not make 
 the keeping of these accounts seem difficult. 
 It is a very simple matter. A daily memor- 
 andum of aifairs, not requiring fifteen min 
 utes of time, will serve the purpose. So 
 much valuable knowledge would be gained 
 that I cannot see how farmers feel willing 
 to dispense with these o.ccounts. They lead 
 to direct profits. There are many who keep 
 too many horses because they do not know 
 the cost of keeping. There are others who 
 do not keej) enough, a,nd so their work falls 
 behind. These accounts show both errors 
 as well as all the other errors of farm man- 
 agement and they are therefore indispensa- 
 ble in everything like intelligent farming. 
 Having diversified interests I have neces- 
 sarily more complex work, but I have always 
 been able to know the cost of the cheese 
 which I make, and of the pork and the grain 
 products of the farm, as well as the products 
 of my own dairy, at least, approximately. 
 
 Mr. CoNGDON — It seems to me this should 
 prove the easiest part of farming. In or- 
 dinary mixed farming it woula require infin- 
 itely less labor and precision than in the 
 trade of Mr. Bridgeman. He has to take 
 account of every small transaction, but 
 great in number, whereas in the other 
 case a brief record serves for all that is 
 done. 
 
131 
 
 It sounds strangely to me wKen I hear so 
 many farmers complain of poverty, and I see 
 that they grow rioh. Not long since I was 
 told by one of this class ttiat he was not 
 making anything. I asked him to say what 
 he was doing, and he enumerated sales, and 
 concluded, "I don't make anything. You 
 see I dont get anything like seven per cent. 
 on my land." Well," said I, "you have 
 some pork not counted." "Yes." "And 
 supplies for your family, fruit and grain, and 
 whatever you have raised." 
 
 "Why, yes," said he, "bi.it you see I must 
 have their living any way." 
 
 "Of course," said I, "but don't yom see 
 that if I had money to let at seven per aent. 
 I would have to take out of that interest the 
 cost of purchasing all the things for my fam- 
 ily?" 
 
 The fact was he was making no account of 
 all the farm produced, except that which he 
 sold. Now every merchant or banker or 
 manufacturer supports his family fi'om the 
 profits of his business; and the fa.rmer seems 
 to think these things are to be taken out of 
 his business without any allowance, whereas 
 they should all count so far as they come 
 from the farm, to the credit of the farm. 
 
 One of the great benefits to be derived 
 from the careful keeping of farm accounts 
 is that it leads to careful purchases and pay- 
 ments in cash, and therefore cheaper pur- 
 chases. Here is a gentleman who has aome 
 from Michigan to offer you farm wagons. — 
 He knows exactly what they cost, and if he 
 sells to you he will receive your cash, so, as 
 a, means of procuring that, be <,ffers you 
 such low rates that you are surprised. His 
 careful accounts of the cost of construction 
 enable him to give you the surprise, and 
 perhaps make for him satisfactory profit. 
 This business of dealing for cash is worthy 
 of more notice. I met one of our townsmen 
 once who told me what he consideied tt, 
 laughable incident. He was good for all his 
 orders, but he had sent to an Eastern manu- 
 factory for a wagon, and had a prompt reply : 
 "Dear sir, your order received. We can not 
 send you the wagon until we iiave received 
 the cash. We make twenty-five wagons 
 daily, and sell them so close to the cost that 
 there is but three dollars profit on eaeh. 
 
 You will readily perceive that this margin 
 will not permit us to take orders unaccom- 
 panied by cash." There was in this a lesson 
 of great force. Eeady cash makes low pur- 
 chases. Now careful accounts lead to ready 
 cash, and therefore to greater profits in 
 farming. 
 
 Mr. J. E. CoNELiNa — I have kept these 
 accounts for years in mixed farming, and 
 while the matter is practicable, I cannot say 
 it is unattended by trouble. The greatest 
 difficulty is to divide up time as it is applied 
 to the many different tasks. It is very easy 
 to keep the records of total cost and total 
 production. 
 
 Mr. CoNQDON — I would undertake to make 
 all these entries in fifteen minutes for each 
 day if Mr. Conkling would report to me 
 what is done. The task is in no manner 
 difficult. 
 
 Mr. Billings — He watches his barometer 
 and takes account of the changes. Then he 
 hoes cabbage a little while, and weeds the 
 beets and prunes his vines and fruit trees, 
 and divides the day into twenty perfor- 
 mances. Therein lies the difficulty of keep- 
 ing farm accounts when one desires to em- 
 brace every little affair. 
 
 Saturday Evehing, Nov. 28, 1874. 
 
 All the afternoon rain had fallen steadily, 
 the only change being bigger and more fre- 
 quent drops as the hour of meeting ap- 
 proached. Nothing can more effectually 
 damp the ardor of the average farmer for 
 evening meetings than a chill November 
 storm. The present instance conformed in 
 all respects to the general rule. But few 
 farmers ventured out, but there were enough 
 to make a very interesting discussion. Du- 
 ring the week several letters from other 
 Clubs had been received. Generally they 
 had conveyed a desire for information con- 
 cerning the workings of this institution, 
 which for years has maintained an excep- 
 tional popularity. These letters were sub- 
 mitted to the Club, together with the Sec- 
 retary's replies, and were the subjects of 
 considerable comment, in fact shaping the 
 
132 
 
 subsequent disonssion. A general review of 
 transactions through past years was had, 
 members taking occasion to point out faults 
 or remissness or the failure to profit by the 
 lessons offered, as well as the benefits ap- 
 parent to all who have attempted to measure 
 the influence of the Club, and the effect of 
 its teaching's as shown by improvements in 
 the agriculture of the district which it rep- 
 resents. Mindful of the sentiments uttered 
 as criticisms or as monitory lessons. Presi- 
 dent Hoffman said : 
 
 It is plain that we do not all estimate our 
 responsibilities properly. We come here for 
 self-improvement, and if we attain that ob- 
 ject something good is done, but this is not 
 all. What we say here goes through the 
 press to many thousands of readers, who take 
 as deep an interest in tht.-e discussions as 
 we do ourselves, and we are made the in- 
 struments for shaping thought in a wide 
 field. I believe we nave not properly con- 
 sidered this part of our responsibility. ISfo 
 doubt we ha.ve had direct profit through this 
 school. Tlie evidences of improvement — of 
 increased knowledge are every where seen 
 in our practices. We have learned to think 
 more fully and wisely of our business. We 
 have learned by experiments conducted with 
 a view to the bringing out of truth. 
 
 To-night as I walked along- the streets to 
 this meeting my mind was occupied by re- 
 flections on the discussions had in years past. 
 I thought I should be glad to meet here our 
 friends McCann and Carpenter, who com- 
 bated, and perhaps I may say ridiculed, a 
 theory of mine put forth at one of our meet- 
 ings. I advocated grades of Jersey, got by 
 the use of pure bred males on our native 
 cows, for the dairy whether for milk or but- 
 ter. I thought I had evidence that the cows 
 obtained by such brceiiing would have great 
 value. These gentlemen scouted the idea 
 that the little Jersi'vs were useful for any 
 purpose. Tbey styled them '^lats" and 
 "mice." They had been accustomed to feed 
 shapely steers, noting growth, and flesh, 
 and beauty, as measured by their stan- 
 dard. They worked for profit, and wisely 
 too, but they could not see where profit 
 eould come out of this diminutive breed. 
 Then I had no thought of breeding for my 
 own use any of the grades, but soon after I 
 
 was led to do it, and I have raised ten oi' 
 twelve heifers in accordance with the theory 
 I advocated. I wish my friends were here 
 to-night to compare notes. These heifers 
 are milking now with s;itisfaclory profit. 
 One that aborted at six mouths is exhibiting 
 excellent qualities for the uiilk dairy. 
 
 I have mentioned this to show that we are 
 learning through the uismissious held here 
 in v;hich we are ■ sometimes led to test our 
 theories, to silence opposition by proof of 
 their soundness, or to satisfy ourselves what 
 is truth. I was led to test this matter of 
 grade Jerseys as milkers to satisfy niyself.oi' 
 to put It in another way, 1 was driven to it 
 by the opposition of members of the club 
 who could see no excellence in the Jerseys, 
 lacking the one requirement as they viewed 
 it, size. 
 
 Another m^lt^e^, often discussed here, in 
 which I have had for opponents Messrs. 
 Eockwell, Mile.*, Chapman and others, is the 
 top-dressing- of meadows. I have been anx- 
 ious to establish sod on my grass lands by 
 this method, and have betn trying faithfully 
 for years. These gentlemen siiy my prac- 
 tice is wrong-. I confess, after years of 
 effort, my faith is much shaken. I have 
 tried to produce facts to show the wisdom of 
 such use of the manure, while other men 
 have been trying to find other facts to prove 
 my practice wrong. Herein is a valuable 
 means of instruction, I gather all I can of 
 knowledge from u;;, practice and observation 
 of the course chosen, and besides all this I 
 hsA-e the benefit of the facts gatliered by a 
 like course on the other side. 1 here is good 
 in this. What we want in all our pursuits 
 of knowledge is the hard bony fact. "X'o the- 
 ories to be upheld as such. Let all meet 
 the test and fall, if they must, by it, or abide 
 only as so supported. 
 
 I am reminded in this connection of a let- 
 ter received from a Kuohesler gentlemen, a 
 year or two ago. Hv was interested in an 
 agrieultui-al club, and iiesi)-ed advice about 
 the best means to in.sure usefulness and per- 
 U!anei;cy. I replied, anything will d.. better 
 than flowery speeches. U'hoever presents 
 the uiosl facts, plain hard facts, is the best 
 speaker, without much regard to his style of 
 oratory. 
 
133 
 
 That we have sained real profit through 
 this club no doubt. We are constantly step- 
 ping forward, stimulated by thought which 
 finds expression here. As an illustration I 
 may cite the discussion a, few weeks ago on 
 the breeds of pigs. Growing directly out of 
 that many purchases have been made, all of 
 the pure breeds, selected from a wide extent 
 of uouutry, so that the farmers of this val- 
 ley, will be able to change the character of 
 the swine from the common stock to the fine 
 breeds, and if they keep their accounts, as 
 your last meeting showed they suould be 
 kept, they will.be able, in a few years, to 
 inform us how much more of profit there is 
 in these better breeds, and which one of 
 them is best for our use. 
 
 But leaving these practical applications of 
 our teachings, I think I may say that none 
 of "us step squarely up to duty in our atten- 
 dance and labor here ; in view of the fact wo 
 stand forth as educators through the press. 
 Whether worthy or unworthy, these reports 
 have thousands of readers who are more or 
 less governed by the ideas presented. Doubt- 
 less they give us credit for more wisdom 
 than we possess. But this thought, that so 
 many minds are, to some extent at least 
 guided by what is said here, should make us 
 careful to present only truth as we view it, 
 fortifying by such facts as we can bring, 
 ready, always, to abandon error and work by 
 the best lights we have. 
 
 Mr. Bkidgeman. — In what the President 
 has said I fully agree. As an old member 
 of this Club I am ready to acknowledge 
 many valuable lessons obtained through it, 
 and I trust it has yet a great field of useful- 
 ness before it. 
 
 The President briefly hinted that top- 
 dressing his meadows has not met his expec- 
 tations. This is a matter in which I am 
 much concerned. I have thought much of 
 the matter, etpecially for the last two years, 
 led, as I have been to close observation, by 
 the objections lo the mode given in the dis- 
 cussions here within the last three or four 
 years. I have believed that such top-dress- 
 ing of grass lands was the best use to which 
 I could put my supply of manure, but my 
 faith is broken, at least so far as such dress- 
 ing applies to the renovation of old meadows. 
 
 I have had too many total failures. There 
 have been poor, weedy spots which 1 have 
 top-dressed very heavily with an utter ab- 
 sence of results, if I may except a greater 
 growth of the weeds. In many such ca-ses I 
 have been unable to find any improvement 
 whatever to the grass. Now I am anxious 
 to get the manure from my stables as fast 
 as u-ade, and I have therefore striven to find 
 profit in this application to the meadows be- 
 cause it is the most convenient use of it ; 
 but I am compelled to admit that some other 
 means, by which I may realize more of the 
 value of the manure is my present de.'iire. 
 I should be glad to escape the labor of hand- 
 ling three or four times before the manure is 
 applied to the fields, although this course 
 seems inevitable if it is used for winter 
 wheat, in which way I have had the best re- 
 ttirns. I confess I do not know what is the 
 best way to use my supply of manure after 
 abandoning the top-dressing of the meadows, 
 which is waste. Keeping cows being my 
 principal business I do not desire any great 
 breadth of grain. For the corn and root 
 crops which I want there is no demand for 
 more than a small portion of the manure 
 which accumulates through the season. 
 
 Two years ago I top-dressed one half of a 
 field of winter wheat. On that portion the 
 crop was very much better than on the oth- 
 er half not top-dressed, and a like difference 
 was plainly discernable in the seeJing of 
 timothy and clover, the catch being even 
 and strong on the former, while on the latter 
 it was weak and spotted, large plots showing 
 no grass at all. Must I accept the argument 
 and go back to wheat farming ? I am satis- 
 fied that as I have practiced there is utter 
 waste of the great bulk of the manure. On 
 newly seeded grass lands full benefit may be 
 derived from the manure spread on the sur- 
 face, but these newly seeded lands mean 
 grain. The old sods are what I want to im- 
 prove, and I find, after years of trial, that 
 the method is ineffectual and involves great 
 waste. If the President can enlighten me 
 about some more profitable use of nauure I 
 shall be glad. 
 
 President Hoffman. — With your experi- 
 ence, plow this fall and put on the manure 
 where you expect to sow or plant spring 
 crops. 
 
134 
 
 Mr. BKiDaMAN. — My experience with 
 manure put on the freshly plowed land for 
 oats has not proved satisfactory, and I have 
 very little el^ie to sow in the spring. 
 
 President HoirFMAN. — Plow the corn 
 ground an.', the land on which you expect to 
 sow cor.i for fodder, and manure as the sup- 
 ply is furnished during- winter. 
 
 Mr. Beidgman. — After drawing out 
 through winter there is enough of the spring 
 make for these needs. 
 
 Presideat Hoffman — Well, then I will go 
 a step farther. Plow as much of the dryest 
 ground as you think you can enrich with all 
 the manure at hand, and sow rye at the rate 
 of about three bushels to the acre, after 
 harrowing thoroughly to incorporate the 
 luanure with the fresli soil. As soon as the 
 growth in the spring is great enough, before 
 it be'jins to hsja.d, begin cutting and feeding 
 the green crop to the wOws, by which you 
 will increase the flow of milk. Continue 
 this fe-^d as long as it gives good results, and 
 what is left inay go to ripen, giving profit in. 
 another w;i,y. 
 
 This is a step towards soiling which I may 
 luention as another instance ol:" valuable in- 
 struction !.,cming through these discussions, 
 for when we had this matter before us a few 
 weeks aoo, I ^'as led to the conclusion that 
 both Mr. Bridgman and myself must soon 
 adopt this method to insure continued profit 
 from our cows. I only regret that I have 
 not the manure to use in the way I have ad- 
 vised that I might hasten more rapidly to 
 soiling. My yards are dry and clean so that 
 this opportunity with me is lost. 
 
 This difEoulty experienced by Mr. Bridg. 
 u;a,n in the use of manure affords another 
 instance of the influence exerted by this 
 club. He has doiibtless bciru led to continue 
 the uie in a way which he now regards as 
 waste, by the arguments in favor of the 
 method offered him. I confess to my full 
 share oi blame in the apprehensiqn that he 
 has to fooie extant been misled by my pi-ac- 
 tice. In our earnest desire to obta.in per- 
 manent grass, perhaps we have tried to dis- 
 cover benefits rather than to note failures. 
 The measure of my success has been greater 
 than his owing to the more favorable soil, no 
 
 doubt. I have been an earnest advocate of 
 top dressing meadows because it seemed to 
 aiford the only means to establish that char- 
 acter of meadow which wfe so much desire. 
 Through the earnest and repeated discus- 
 sions we have been led to closer observation, 
 in defense of our theories if you please, but 
 ihe result is we have gathered facts by 
 which we are forced to conclude that the 
 wisdom of such use of manure on our soils 
 is doubtful. This whole question of the ap- 
 plication of manure is one of which we have 
 too little knowledge. I hope more careful 
 experiments will be made and reported here, 
 and that other clubs will take up \,h.e matter 
 and give us more light. 
 
 Mr. Thukston — Lei; Mr. Bvidgman culti- 
 vate a few acres in tobacco and he will ]pe 
 able to get rid of the manure. 
 
 President Hoffman. — It is easy enough to 
 get rid of it. We want the good there is in 
 it. I am buying manure now, and I wantto 
 utilize the virtues it has. 
 
 Mr. Billings. —Mr. Bridgman has been 
 putting it on the poorest places. I com- 
 mend the practice and suggest that he bring 
 it to my place, which is one of the poorest I 
 know of, and -.'.'ill make a fine test of the 
 theory that waste places may be made fat by 
 the liberal use of manure. 
 
 I feel so much interest in the matter that 
 I am willing to relieve him of the labor, and 
 with his permission will draw the manure 
 myself. 
 
 President Hoffman. — My mind has lately 
 been exercised about the proper means for 
 watering stock in the yards. To-day I have 
 been putting a pump in a well forty-six feet 
 deep, to be used in raising a supply of water 
 for the cattle, and as near as I can e.-;timate 
 cost, the expense will prove greater, to put 
 in the appliances for effecting the ohject, 
 the well being already dug, than the whole 
 cost of a better method. I found myself 
 driven by a necessity and therefore did the 
 work without much time to reflect or to de- 
 vise ways. I was too late for that. What I 
 have done was to avoid a greater trouble, for 
 without some ready means of supply the 
 cattle would have been driven a quarter of a 
 mile to the river, or what would be my choice 
 
135 
 
 rather than take that evil, tlie water would 
 have to be drawn and stored in casks for their 
 use. I have been thinkiner that there are 
 many of us who have springs not more 
 than fifty or sixty rods from our barns, from 
 which water might be brought even without 
 much fall,and by means of cisterns, store for 
 use when needed. Even the supply afforded 
 by the root conducted into cisterns and 
 there held, wouli be not only sufficient but 
 in the end cheaper than wells. Such a cis- 
 tern as this would require might be con- 
 structed under any barn on level ground, 
 simply by digging to the proper depth, and 
 of sufficient capacity, grouting the bottom a 
 few inches thick and laying the wall a foot 
 thick in cement. Or if there is a bank at 
 one side the excavation may be made in that 
 which would be better, liecaussj the water 
 could be drawn off without putnjis. I be- 
 lieve this method would prove less expen- 
 sive than the digging of a well twenty feet 
 deep and fitting it witii appliances for draw- 
 ing the water — cheaper than to bring the 
 water from a source sixty rods distaut, re- 
 quiring the use of pipes. And wiiUe we ore 
 about tile work it is easy to proriie good 
 pure water in abundance for the iioiise as 
 well as for the barn, by the SiJ.mo cistern, 
 . having only a filtering wall through which 
 the water must percolate before beiug drawn 
 to the house. 
 
 My recent experience has reminded me of 
 a conversation with a gentleman from Sene- 
 ca Falls, Wm. G. Wayne, who visited me in 
 the latter part of the summer, and narrated 
 his experience He had been obliged to 
 drive his cattle fifty or more rods to 4rink, 
 until he said he "got tired of it." Giving 
 the matter proper tliought he devised a plan 
 which by a small outlay of money brought 
 permanent relief. He provided' cisterns of 
 sufficient capacity to hold over a dry time, 
 and therefore had no trouble or thought 
 about water for his cattle. 
 
 Mr. Mills. — How much capacity would be 
 needed to supply ten head of full grown 
 cattle ? 
 
 President Hoffman.— I can only guess, 
 but I should say a cistern ten feet long, six 
 feet wide and six feet deep would be suffi- 
 
 cient. I have one eighteen feet long, and 
 six feet in the other dimensions, which,when 
 full, serves my cattle four days, and the herd 
 numbers about seventy-five. 
 
 Mr. Bkidgman. — I think the President 
 makes too low an estimate. I frequently 
 have to pump three hogsheads for one wat- 
 ering of my cows — forty head. They will 
 drink that amount twice a, day in mild 
 weather. The animal which does the pump- 
 ing has often drank in a day five pailf uls of 
 fourteen quarts each. 
 
 W. A. Aemsteonq — The only thing re- 
 quired is space enough, if the cattle are to 
 be watered from cisterns fed by the rain fall. 
 Careful observation carried through a series 
 of years has shown that the annual rainfall 
 is in this State about thirty-six inches. It 
 is easy to estimate the size of the reservoir 
 for holding this, taking the roofed area as 
 the basis. But of course provision need not 
 be made for all this supply, for distributed 
 a« it is over the year, one-fourth or less 
 saved at a time won.lil hardly be used up be- 
 fore a su;.iily would be pouring in. I think 
 it has often beeo proved by actual experi- 
 ment, that the water shed by the roof of a 
 barn will supply all thatis needed by as many 
 cattle ,1.5 the barn will shelter. After aU, I 
 believe that in situations w!iere there are 
 living springs, even a hundred yards distant, 
 so located that water can be furnished by 
 gravity, that is the best way. 
 
 President Hoffman. — -This question of 
 water supply has been on my mind a long 
 time. While putting in the pump in the 
 forty-six feet well I reflected that I had been 
 driven to an expedient, while I should have 
 been prepared to do something ijetter. I 
 looked toward the spring one hundred and 
 fifty yards distant and thought of the cost 
 to bring that water, which, as I should want 
 it, would be one thousand dollars, for I 
 should not use wooden pipe, which soon de- 
 cays or becomes otherwise unservica- 
 ble, although it is the best conduit while it 
 lasts. I should put down galvanized iron 
 pipe in the start. Then I looked to the roof 
 of the barn and believed a full supply could 
 be derived from that source, but the 
 season is too late. The pump is 
 an expedient. At the corner of the barn 
 
136 
 
 the sills are going to decay and new ones 
 will soon be needed. So I have resolved to 
 take that opportunity and construct a. cis- 
 tern, or receptacle, iu the baseiuent into 
 which the water trouj the roof shall be led 
 and whence it can be drawn by a .-;hort lift, 
 as occasion requires, by a pump witi, say a 
 four inch bore. There it will be safe from 
 frost, and always at Laud. 
 
 Mr. AEMSTEOsra — I should go to that 
 spring it it has ilow enough to serve the 
 needs, nnd 1 should not use iron pipe. Pine 
 loijs eight or ten inches in diameter, bored 
 with a two inch augur through the heart, in 
 the old fashioned way, and laid in a ditch 
 three feet deep, the logs connected by 
 means of iron tubes tapering into the ends 
 i-iLumed to r.. ceive theua, will last a gr.eat 
 many years if in clay soil. If kept fiilled 
 with water they would be almost imperish- 
 able. 
 
 Mr. Billings. — Yes, they will last long 
 enough. The reason they iiave been dis- 
 c irJed by ma.ny is that each log in the old 
 way was tapered down thin to enter the ori- 
 fice in the next, and there was the spot where 
 decay set in, and of cour.se one bad spot spoils 
 all. 
 
 Mr. Abmst i.oxa. — The ElmiraWaterWorks 
 Co. uses wooden pipe, and wc don't hear of 
 decay, although ns the logs are prepared 
 there is an occasionally weak spot which 
 gives trouble. 
 
 Mr. Lameeeaus. — I have assisted in mak- 
 ing many repairs for the Company, and I 
 have, noticed the defects are usually bad 
 knots or spots in the timber, which had be- 
 gun to rot before tlie logs were placed. The 
 evidences -.f decay when found are generally 
 at the ends where the logs join. 
 
 Satorday Evening, Dec. S, 1871, 
 DarJnu' the pa.st month interest in the dis- 
 cussions has bo-ea steadily increasing, and 
 the attendance growing greater. Ic would 
 seem also that iu the adjoining counties, both 
 iu this State and in Pennsylvania, as well as 
 in more reuiote fields, there is a growing de- 
 sire for the formation of agricultural clubs. 
 
 for numerous letters have been received by 
 the Secretary, requesting information about 
 ':he requirements of this club, and the practi- 
 cal workings. To all such applicants prompt 
 answer* have been given, but the matter be- 
 ing so frequently presented, the club was 
 moved to more full expression regarding the 
 subject of inquiry. President Hoffman in a 
 lew general remarks, set forth the advan- 
 tages to be derived from the practical discus- 
 sions of the topics which engage the thought 
 and work of all farmers who desire advano- 
 ment,and then called the Secretary,who said: 
 "These letters coming to us continually dur- 
 ing the past few weeks, evince a desire on 
 the part of farmers throughout a wide ex- 
 tent of country, for the realization on their 
 part of the many advantages so fully attain- 
 ed by this club. "We meet here regularly to 
 impart and to receive ideas regarding the 
 business in which our best energies are en- 
 gaged. Perhaps some of us come with 
 plausible theories, insufficiently supported 
 by the evidence of the tried fact. But we 
 desire truth. Our business is so great in its 
 requirements, so varied . in its demands, so 
 vast in its proportions, and withal so cer- 
 tainly susceptible of improvement in its best 
 practices, that we must have somewhere a 
 common field which all may enter to carry 
 in what they may and to cull thence ideas to 
 use in the practical direction of affairs. None 
 of us can assume to possess the sum of all 
 knowledge needed to secure the best rewards 
 for our labors. We plow and we sow the 
 seed, we raise cattle and provide their sus- 
 tenance, we provide the chief necessities of 
 life, and the accomplishment comes often at 
 too great cost of labor because we have too 
 lii tie knowledge. It is true practices must 
 differ, because different situations are at- 
 tended by different requirements, and may 
 not,'_therefore, conform to specific rules. It is 
 this which makes us so often appear to those 
 superficial thinkers who regard farming as a 
 very simple business, as playing at cross pur- 
 poses, with no hope of agreement. Tet we 
 do learn. "Who does not know that a wide 
 extent of country has had its agriculture 
 changed through the influence of this club ? 
 I may point to Lhe practices of members who 
 cheerfully testify to their own advancement 
 in knowledge, and who give abundant evi- 
 
137 
 
 dence on their farms of the uses to which 
 thought expressed here has been applied. An 
 idea put forth here becomes a public pos- 
 session, and is subject thenceforth not 
 only to the rasping contact of other ideas, 
 but to the critical tests of multiplied prac- 
 tice. 
 
 It is but a few days since two honored 
 members arose here with confession of error. 
 Our President and Mr. Bridgman, both de- 
 sirous of promoting, by every possible 
 means, a substantial growth of grass such 
 as comes from firm, reliable, compact sod 
 have for years appUed lavishly to their 
 meadows of their great supplies of barn 
 yard manure. They believed the end would 
 certainly be attained by these means. Their 
 faith has not been justified. With that ad- 
 mirable candor which proves that the at- 
 tainment of facts rather than the defence 
 of theories is their desire, they come now 
 before us and say "we have not been able 
 to produce proof of the truth of our teach- 
 ings.'' That is the spirit which makes pro- 
 gress possible. These farmers have for 
 years been advocates of the practice which 
 they now propose to modify, and both have 
 often defended it here, but while doing so 
 their minds have cot been closed to the log- 
 ic of facts. It is but an incident, yet it 
 gives fair illustration of the influence exert- 
 ed by these discussions. Here is a single 
 question in which every one of our farmers 
 is directly interested, the application of ma- 
 nures and nothing but the most general 
 facts regarding it may be set down as fixed. 
 What oar friends fail to accomplish on their 
 soils, we all know is accomplished in othed 
 situations. 
 
 I wiU not pursue the argument. It needs 
 no proof here to show that farmers' clubs, 
 acting with a desire to eliminate error, from 
 the practices of the members and to pro- 
 duce naked, hard, solid fact to point the way 
 to success, are sure to attain some portion at 
 least of the objects sought. 
 
 . It has been so often asked "How are these 
 clubs organized and governed ?" that I may 
 be permitted to say briefly here what the 
 chief requirements are, perhaps I shall do 
 well enough if I quote the familiar saying, 
 'Where two or three are gathered together 
 
 in the name of the Lord, He is with them,' 
 and asks inquirers to make the adaptation. 
 Get together in the interest of agricultural 
 progress and in spite of rain, or snow, or 
 mud or even laziness, continue the efforts 
 and it is just morally impossible that no 
 good should reward the efforts. The great 
 interests which we represent can not safely 
 be committed to individual hands. There 
 must be a grouping of facts and ideas to 
 give broad basis to progress. Mere talk 
 will have no effect that is good, but that 
 spirit of enquiry which looks always for 
 light and truth wiU, while gaining these, 
 be sure to bless others. 
 
 As to the government of these clubs noth- 
 ing is wanted more than careful observance 
 of the proper rules of order. Every intelli- 
 gent body of farmers will be able to devise 
 means to meet all legitimate expenses. This 
 club, being incorporated, has its general 
 business affairs subject to rules provided by 
 law, but no club need incorporate until its 
 substance is such as to need legal protec- 
 tion. 
 
 Mr. Jesse Owen — Of the importance of 
 farmers' clubs and the discussion of farm 
 matters there can be no doubt. The great 
 difficulty in the way of progress is the farm- 
 ers are so little inclined to thought. They 
 perform enough of physical labor and too 
 little of mental labor. The great need of 
 the times, so far as agriculture is concerned, 
 is more thorough education. There is no 
 other interest so great, but all the lesser 
 kinds of business have more of discussion 
 and plans, and study, about the way of pro- 
 moting their welfare. In my judgment the 
 whole country would be immensely benefit- 
 ted by the establishment and maintenance 
 of a farmers' club in every township, of 
 course providing that there should be enough 
 of spirit in each of such communities to give 
 interest to the meeting. 
 
 As a proof of the advancement which 
 grows out of discussion, and the ventures to 
 which farmers are thereby incited, I desire 
 to speak just here of an incident of which i 
 am reminded by the report of your last dis- 
 cussion. A good word was spoken for Jer- 
 sey cows. I thought of my experience of 
 the opposition, and the ridicule excited 
 
138 
 
 among my neighbors when, some years ago^ 
 I determined to introduce the breed. Among 
 these wise neighbors the .Terseys were called 
 rats, runts, scrubs— the laughing stock of all 
 dairymen. I think my father was chief 
 among those who labored to prejudice the 
 public mind in the matter, but, for the last 
 four or five years, now that the experiment 
 has been made, he has declared that no man 
 should undertake dairying without an infu- 
 sion of Jersey blood in his herd. 
 
 President Hoffman — Do you mean to re- 
 commend the Jersey grades for all dairy pur- 
 poses or only for butter ? 
 
 Mr. Owen — My experience has been most- 
 ly in butter making, but for two years I sold 
 the milk to Mr. Holbert, who, as a manager 
 of the creamery business, occupies the front 
 rank, and the test thus afforded was very 
 satisfactory. The tests of quality were often 
 made by the cream guage. There is a wide 
 difference in the richness of the milk, not 
 only between individual cows, but between 
 different diai-ies the percentage of cream va- 
 rying through many degrees. 
 
 J. S. Van Duzee — Oifferent seasons of the 
 year in which the tests are made, account for 
 much of the difference in richness. In the 
 fall, with shrunken yield, there is always a 
 greater percentage of cream. 
 
 Mr. Owen — Yes, that is, true, and it is also 
 true that another cause tends to create dif- 
 ference of quality, the kind of feed. Eich, 
 old pasture from close, well set sod, makes 
 better milk than newer pasture. 
 
 Now there is another question to which al- 
 lusion has been made on which we are not 
 clearly settled — the practice of spreading 
 manure on old sod. I have done a great 
 deal of that business, and my experience has 
 led me to conclude there is at least a great 
 deal of waste in the practice. We take too 
 many things for granted. The old way was 
 to draw out the manure aud spread it on the 
 meadows immediately after haying. With- 
 out much thought as to the wisdom of the 
 practice we fall into it, but through the ob- 
 servations aud the criticism of speakers in 
 these discussions we are led to more careful 
 examination of results, aud we find that it is 
 ot profitable. We have a meadow which 
 
 has been untouched by the plow for forty 
 years and it certainly yields, in good seasons, 
 as much as two and a half tons to the acre, 
 without manure. But there are poor spots 
 on which large amounts of manure have 
 been put and without any visible results. 
 
 Mr. Beechee. — Perhaps there was some 
 difference in the soil. 
 
 Mr. Owen. — Not that we could discern. 
 All is bottom land. 
 
 Mr. Beechee. — Why draw on those spots, 
 poor to start on? Why not encourage growth 
 where there is already a sod, and therefore 
 some chance of grass ? 
 
 Mr. Owen. — These spots not being good, 
 of course, we desired to bring them up to 
 the excellence of the rest of the field. We 
 have been obliged to employ the plow on 
 some of these meadows where every effort to 
 establish grass by the use of manure and 
 seed had failed. But, once plowed, there 
 seems to be no way to secure afterward per- 
 manent sod. I had a meadow twenty-six 
 yea.rs in grass, and always good, until one 
 season, at a, critical period of growth, there 
 came a drouth which spoiled the crop an^ 
 the sod so that I had to plow. It never had 
 a good sod again in spite of all efforts to es- 
 tablish it. 
 
 Mr. Vandxtzee— I have been pleased by 
 many of the remarks made here, but es- 
 pecially by the graphic narration of experi- 
 ences by the last speaker when he was con- 
 si<iering Jersey cows. I have heard them 
 called butter stock, small stock, and even 
 fancy stock, but never before, laughing 
 stock ! I am glad to hear the Farmers' Club 
 bring out these good things. Eeally, there 
 is in these institutions great good. And now, 
 with Granges established all over the coun- 
 try, there are the means of multiplying this 
 good. Every Grange should set apart times 
 and occasions for the discussion of farm 
 matters. Some Granges are already doing 
 this, aud find it attended by profit. I ati 
 tended such a. meeting last night, and, al- 
 though the subject under consideration was 
 not one to excite much enthusiasm, the dis- 
 cussion was really spirited. There is very 
 much good to be derived from comparison 
 of ideas. There is, on the part of many 
 
139 
 
 farmers, a reluctance to speak at these 
 meetings, which is due solely to the fact that 
 they have all their lives been unaccustomed 
 to public speaking. They are afraid they 
 shall not give proper expression to their 
 ideas. Yet those farmers, if they could be 
 shown the sketch of their remarks made by 
 a skillful reporter, while they talk with their 
 neighbors of their stock, their crops, or their 
 plans, would be surprised to find it very 
 readable. Just this is what they should eon- 
 tribute to the club. Certainly they can re- 
 late their experiences, state their projects or 
 go farther and make suggestions, and all 
 these lead to thought. 
 
 Mr. BitfDGMAN— I am not yet satified 
 about the manure question, althovigh as I 
 stated at a recent meeting, I am convinced 
 that it is total waste to spread it on some 
 parts of my meadow. A large field which I 
 have been very anxious to keep in grass is 
 passably good at one end, half or more be- 
 ing worth saving, and of the remaining half 
 there are considerable portions of tolerably 
 good sod. But the -poor spots, which have 
 been abundantly top dressed again and 
 again, give no signs of improvement. These 
 spots are mostly gravel. All my efforts to 
 cover them .with sod have resulted in abso 
 lute failure. I see here Mr. Donald, of Vet- 
 eran, who is reported to have surprising re- 
 sults from the use of straw spread on grass 
 lands. From him I should be glad to learn 
 if through this course there is hope for me. 
 
 Mr. Donald — For the last seven 'years I 
 have been actively engaged in farming, as 
 in fact all my life I have been a farmer ex- 
 cept that for fifteen or twenty years previous 
 to this last venture I was engaged in 
 other business so that I was only an obser- 
 ver. I may say that even during that period 
 I never lost sight of nor interest in the busi- 
 ness. All my observation has tended to 
 prove that Nature is a good guide to follow. 
 All have noticed that road sides, not pastur- 
 ed lanes, and fence corners, yards and pro- 
 tected places about buildings, prodvce good 
 crops of grass year after year, without any 
 fertilizing by manure. I have asked myself 
 "what is the reason ? Why should not these 
 places cease to produce P I have ' been led 
 to look for the causes, for there is always a, 
 
 cause for these things. Take the poorest, 
 hardest piece of laud in the county, and 
 cover it over with stone, keeping it sheltered 
 the whole year, and its condition will be 
 totally changed. I do not pretend to say 
 why, for it is enough now to know the fact, 
 but reasoning by this I have been led to use 
 other and cheaper covering with just as 
 much of good results. 
 
 A few years ago I had a farm at Dean's 
 Comers, where it is said "hard pan ap- 
 proaches the second rail in the fence," and 
 there was on it an old meadow which had 
 been twenty years in grass, or weeds, and I 
 found almost nothing but weeds. Eumag- 
 ing about the place I found a heap of some- 
 thing which had lain for years unmolested, • 
 and on digging into it I found it was com- 
 posed of ashes. Of that I drew forty loads 
 on the worn out meadow, although often in- 
 formed by kind neighbors that itwould spoil 
 the grass, which warning failed to alarm me 
 because there was not enough grass to be 
 worth preserving. Well the result was that 
 the next season gave as luxuriant a crop of 
 grass as I ever saw. Not so thick, it is true, 
 as good sods produce, but clean grass stand- 
 ing three or four feet in height. Isold the 
 place next year, but after three or four years 
 I saw the man who had it and asked him 
 how the grass lasted. He said it was good 
 until plowed, and he ha,d raised wheat and 
 other crops on the field, all of which were 
 good. 
 
 When I moved from that place to the 
 farm I now have, I found on it a hard, dry 
 knoll, which scaraely had any growth of 
 grass or weeds, stunted daisies being the 
 chief production. On that I drew a cover- 
 ing of clover straw. The next season there 
 was a fine growth of grass, although not 
 thick, but rank and strong. Then I plowed 
 it and the soil turned up light and fresh. — 
 I had a crop of barley on it which gave for- 
 ty-three bushels to the acre, and the clover 
 was very thick, quite as thick as any I ever 
 saw from seeding, but I plowed it under for 
 wheat and had a good crop, and on that 
 seeded and the seed took well. 
 
 Another small piece of like poor character 
 I kept two years covered with wheat straw, 
 by which a total change in character was 
 effected. It was at the beginning too hard 
 
140 
 
 to plow. It took two men on tlie beam to 
 get the plow in, and tlien one team could 
 not draw it. After the straw covering it 
 plowed easily. Last season I sowed on it 
 winter wheat and top dressed, or covered it 
 with straw, and in January sowed clover 
 seed. The straw was spread thickly enough 
 to hide the wheat, but it lived through and 
 I am confident the yield was forty bushels 
 to the acre, and the clover seeding as fine as 
 could be desired. 
 
 Last spring I drew on a worn out sod a 
 good thick covering of straw, calculating to 
 break it up for corn, but the work was a 
 little more than I could reach, so I let it go, 
 and I never saw a finer nor more luxuriant 
 growth of grass than that which grew up 
 through the grass protection. I conclude 
 from these experiments that grass needs 
 protection from the hot, burning sun of sum- 
 mer, and from the freezing winds of winter. 
 Such an office the straw performs. I believe 
 that the continued grass along highways is 
 due to the protection afforded by the growth 
 which is suffered to remain. I believe that 
 straw is worth ten dollars per ton to spread 
 on grass lands, although in the market it 
 brings only eight dollars, and farmers are 
 foolish enough to draw it for that. I have 
 so far escaped that poverty which would 
 drive me to sell it at all as long as I have 
 any soil to renovate, and I hope I always 
 shall escape it. 
 
 Sometimes I take the liberty of advising 
 my neighbors that it would be much better 
 to borrow ten dollars than to sell a load nf 
 straw for that price. 
 
 As to Mr. Bridgeman's meadow, I am sure 
 if it were mine I would cover it with straw 
 as early in the season as possible, and then 
 at the proper time I would sow timothy seed, 
 expecting the next season to have a thrifty 
 growth of grass. 
 
 Of course I cannot say he would find this 
 result on spots nearly all gravel, but on 
 sandy spots on my farm success has been 
 perfect. 
 
 G S. McCann. — Wouldn't you do just as 
 well to bum the straw ? 
 
 Mr. Donald. — It would not be giving the 
 protection which I think is the chief benefit. 
 
 Keeping the roots protected is one of the 
 main elements of succes I apprehend. 
 
 E. C. Aemstrong. — In removing the 
 straw which was left on the fair ground, and 
 lay in little heaps for six or eight weeks, I 
 noticed that every spot which had such pro- 
 tection had also a growth of grass fully 
 twice as great as that on the surrounding 
 ground, not protected. 
 
 Mr. Owen. — In corroboration of Mr. 
 Donolds' theory, I remember years ago a 
 border of grass field gave no crop, and I 
 concluded to cut away a strip of timber ad- 
 joining it, a rod or so in width. In the 
 cleared field along by the timber there was 
 nothing growing but fine finger vines. In 
 falling the trees many of the tops went into 
 the field and there was a heavy growth of 
 timothy grass which came up under them. 
 I had the brush drawn away and straw 
 drawn and spread about. No other manure 
 was used, but there was good grass on that 
 strip for many years after. 
 
 Another piece of four or five acres was al- 
 most surrounded by woods. It was treated 
 in a similar manner and produced like re- 
 sults. 
 
 Mr. Donald. — Observation is an excellent 
 teacher. We see good results attending cer- 
 tain practices and we are supposed to learn 
 the lessons. Yet here is a gentleman who 
 narrates to us what he observed years ago 
 regarding the use of straw in restoring worn 
 sods, and btxt a little while ago he was tell- 
 ing us of his failure to restore grass by- the 
 use of barnyard manure, thickly applied. 
 If he has gained knowledge he has failed to 
 apply it. [Great laughter.] 
 
 There is no joka in this. Let us talk of 
 facts, and I point out a fact when I say he 
 should have used the knowledge he gained 
 years ago and saved the great quantities of 
 barnyard manure he has put on the poor 
 spots of his meadow. I have read the re- 
 pbrts of these discussions for years, and 
 while I have been interested and have often 
 wished I could join you more often, I have 
 not failed to notice that you do not settle 
 questions. There is too much guessing at 
 results. I noticed that the President asked 
 the gentleman when he was lauding Jersey 
 cows if he meant to approve them for all 
 
141 
 
 purposes or just for the butter dairy. It 
 needed the question to put the matter right 
 and send it forth as fact, that these cows are 
 only good for the butter dairy. But for 
 that question, men who do not understand 
 the characteristics of the breed might run 
 and get Jerseys to make cheese or milk and 
 be disappointed. However good these cows 
 may be for butter, most of us know they are 
 not of the right breed from which to sell 
 milk. 
 
 I believe I can show as much of farm rec- 
 ords as any member of this Club, except 
 perhaps the Secretary. But I noticed when 
 you discussed this question of accounts a few 
 few weeks ago no one prod uced any figures 
 of his keeping. So a few years ago you dis- 
 cussed fences, and a learned blacksmith es- 
 timated the djratiou of a 'well seasoned 
 white oak post, at twelve or fifteen years. 
 That caused me to write to Orange County 
 to ascertain about the fence along a certain 
 lane where the posts had been set on one 
 side, with a hole bored in near the bottom 
 and filled it with salt, and on the other side 
 set without such preparation. The answer 
 came promptly back, but it being March, 
 with the ground frozen, careful observation 
 could not be made. As it appeared, the posts 
 were good on both sides, with no difference 
 disoernable. Now I had helped set those 
 posts of green chestnut twenty-six years ago, 
 and I doubt not they are still standing. So 
 along Lake street, in this city, there are 
 posts standing which I drove twenty-five 
 years ago. The big ones are all gone but 
 many of the small ones are yet good. Even 
 a split hemlock will last a dozen years. 
 
 Mr. Van Dusee. — We want to be exact 
 here, and I therefore ask if Mr. Donald has 
 his private mark on those posts ? For I am 
 afraid they may have been changed. [Laugh- 
 ter.] 
 
 Mr. Donald.— I saw them so often that I 
 know them. ' Tes, I may say I had my mark 
 on them. 
 
 Mr. Van Dtjzee, — I am glad — because we 
 must be particular as to facts. 
 
 Mr. Owen. — I can explain to Mr. Donald 
 in the fact that when I lived in Orange 
 County I raised plenty of straw to put on 
 
 grass, but here in Chemung I cannot get 
 enough to bed the cattle. 
 
 He speaks of the durability of fencing ma- 
 terials but there are plenty of instances in 
 which the stuff of which fences are made 
 has lasted much longer than the time he 
 mentions. !■ know a worm fence which has 
 stood with scarcely any repairs except occa- 
 sional renewal of stakes, for fifty years. The 
 rails are of swamp cedar. 
 
 Mr. G. S. McCann. — There are many per- 
 sons who say there is no benefit to land to 
 be derived from a coating of straw. I asked 
 about the burning a little while ago, heca,use 
 there are some who think the land is as 
 much inproved by the burning of str^w on 
 it as by the rotting. Besides I am somewhat 
 interested for I had a hundred or more loads 
 bnrned by the sparks from a locomotive. I 
 called on the railway authorities for pay- 
 ment of damages, E^nd they told me it was 
 quite as well to have the straw burned as to 
 let it lie and rot. [Intense merriment.] 
 
 Well, I thought it was funny, but I begin 
 to think there is truth in it. 
 
 To leave that subject I would like to have 
 the President describe a good cow. 
 
 President Hoffman. — And that is what I 
 would not like to attempt. If you show me 
 a cow I will undertake to pointout her faults 
 as I view them. 
 
 J. S. Van Duzeb. — What is a straight 
 cow? 
 President Hoffman. — A good one. 
 
 J. "S. Van Duzee. — That is defined clearly. 
 
 notice members speak of top dressing the 
 
 poor places on their meadows. Wouldn't it 
 
 be better to put the manure on when there is 
 
 some growth to encourage ? 
 
 Mr. Beecheb. — That is the query which 
 was in my mind when I asked Mr. Owen why 
 he put the manure on the poor spots. It 
 would seem that he expected manure to 
 make grass without any sod to start on. I 
 have always had good results from the use of 
 manure on grass land, and so I have from 
 straw, but I always put it where the grass 
 is, rather than where it is not. 
 
 President Hoffman. — Does not the straw 
 interfere with gathering the crop ? 
 
142 
 
 Mr. Beechek. — I never had trouble witli 
 it. 
 
 President Hoppman. — Do you not suppose 
 that the ma nurial properties of the straw 
 are of great benefit to the grass ? 
 
 Mr. Beechee. — No. I suppose the muloh- 
 iug is the improvement. 
 
 Mr. Donald. — Tou all know Frank Hulett 
 as a successful feeder of cattle. He draws 
 straw as a thick covering on his meadows 
 after they are mown, and the grass springs 
 up fresh and rant the next year, always giv- 
 ing him good crops. 
 
 G. S. McCann — I think it is poor policy to 
 pasture meadows after haying. I believe 
 if after haying they should not be grazed 
 they would get better and Detter without 
 manure. 
 
 President Hoffman — Would it be well to 
 cut the second urowth and let it lie spread 
 as Mr. Donald does his straw ? 
 
 G. S. McCann — I don't know. I am very 
 well satisfied that it should not be removed, 
 but I do not know that it should be cut. 
 
 Mr. Donald — The second growth if cut 
 and left on the ground would be injurious 
 because it would lie so close as to smother 
 out the roots if there should be much rain 
 to pack it. Straw lies lightly and there is 
 under it a circulation of air. I saw a piece 
 of clover, the second crop, cut for seed, and 
 there came wet vzeather so that it could not 
 be gathered, and the consequence was the 
 roots Tvere killed, so that the next year there 
 was no clover. 
 
 President Hoffman — Have you not known 
 clover to be killed by the winter in fields not 
 mown for seed, and the crop left an the 
 ground ? Do you kuow that the canse of 
 killing was as you have stated? 
 
 J. S. Van Duzer — We must be particular 
 here. We have just been informed that the 
 Club does not present enough of fact. It 
 seems to me that his statement has one fact 
 in it — that the clover did not appear next 
 season. 
 
 Mr. Donald— The clover was killed, cer- 
 tainly, and I suppose the crop left lying on 
 it was what killed it. 
 
 President Hoffman — But in view of that 
 other fact that clover is often killed in pass- 
 ing the winter, without any direct cause 
 which we can point out, it will hardly do to 
 present it as a fact, that the crop left on it 
 killed the clover in that particular field. 
 
 E. C. Aemstkono — As an illustration of 
 the benefits to follow protection by the after 
 growth, I may mention an experience nar- 
 rated to me by Mr. Dunlap, of Hornby, 
 Steuben county. He told me he had a. field 
 of about a dozen acres, from which he gath- 
 ered but six loads of hay. He suffered the 
 after gfrowth to remain, and the next year 
 the crop was twice as good. The third year 
 he applied a light top dressing of barn yard 
 manure and on the fourth year the field gave 
 thirty loads of hay. 
 
 J. S. Van Duzee — Mr. Donald in his re- 
 marks about Jersey cows conveyed the idea 
 that for a dairy from which to sell milk they 
 are not suited because they give rich milk. 
 I wish it could be understood that rich milk 
 is what buyers of milk want. Of course I 
 could not expect those t^'ho bring milk to 
 the factory to get Jerseys for the purpose of 
 making rich milk. Yet, while I am satisfied 
 with the character of the milk bronght, I 
 know there are many who aim only to pro- 
 duce quantity even at the expense of quali- 
 ty. Milk has three constituents — its batter 
 properties, caseine and water. Poor milk 
 has only more water. Of course no man 
 could be justified if he were to dilute direct- 
 ly vfith water, but so far as the products are 
 concerned that would be as well as to use 
 cows that give poor thin mUk. All buyers 
 want good, rich milk, but there are oows 
 which never give such milk, although so far 
 as quantity goes they are good cows. 
 
 Mr. McCann. — Some years ago my farmer 
 tested the milk of different cows, and he 
 found that the cows which gave the most 
 milk usually gave the best. 
 
 Mr. Van Duzek. — And that proved noth- 
 ing except that his best oows were good 
 milkers. Milk may be rich by the cream 
 guage and not rich in caseine.and some co\5;s, 
 or breeds of cows, may be excellent for cheese 
 making but not for butter making. 
 
143 
 
 President Hoffman. — Those gentlemen 
 wlio have recommended tbe Jerseys, I sup- 
 pose, have not meant tx) be understood as ad- 
 vocating the use of the pure breed for tlte 
 dairy. My experience and observation have 
 been confined mosl^ly to the grades, an^ I 
 should say that for ordinary dairy purposes 
 the cross of a pure bred Jersey male on oor 
 best milkers would prove better for our prae- 
 tioal dairying than thoroughbred cows. By 
 such a cross the richness of the Jersey milk 
 might be in a great degree preserved with- 
 out diminishing quantity to much extent. 
 Possibly Ayrshires would be the best breed 
 on which to cross, but in any event good 
 milkers should be used. 
 
 , Satubday Evening, Dec. 12, 1874, 
 This meeting being close t" the anniver- 
 sary of the Club, many of the old members 
 prompted thereto by the ladies of their fam- 
 ilies, expressed their desire for a re-union to 
 which should be invited such frionds as 
 would derive pleasure from the social eu1or- 
 tainmeut. The delights of the party of 1874 
 were recounted and used as ai-^'Umunts for a 
 similar one this year, although the provision 
 for personal comfort is somewhat restricted 
 by the business conducted in the first story 
 of the Club building. But with an earnest 
 disposition to accommodate, the parties hav- 
 ing charge volunteered to take every trou- 
 ble of providing suitable room for tables, 
 leaving nothing in the way of pleasure seek- 
 ers. The Club therefore made the necessary 
 provision for the coming festivities so far as 
 the management is concerned by appointing 
 the proper committees. To will is to d-. 
 with this body. The many friends of the 
 Club may therefore expect to receive soon 
 their invitations to an entertainment which 
 will be characterized by that broad hospi- 
 tality for which farmers are noted. 
 
 Passing this matter, Mr. James McCann 
 made announcement of the death of Edward 
 Ward. He said : Wh;le we have been con- 
 sidering the proper manner in which to note 
 the anniversary of this institution in accord- 
 ance with our established custom, let us not 
 forget that one of our valued members lies 
 to-night cold and lifeless, having finished 
 
 his work here. We have all been interested 
 and instructed by the lessons he has given 
 us here. He was an earnest worker and 
 good thinker in the business which he had 
 chosciu. For many months we have missed 
 his presence, not because he had lost inter- 
 est, for his thoughts were with us, but be- 
 cause his feeble health would not permit 
 him to join us. We owe to his bereaved 
 family and to ourselves an expression of the 
 regard in which Edward Ward was held by 
 us all for his manly qualities illustrated in a 
 useful life. Let us therefore, as a token of 
 respect, attend the funeral, where our sor- 
 rows shall mingle with those of many 
 friends, earned by a life of honest worth, 
 unpretentious but valuable in the lessons it 
 leaves to those who are left. 
 
 W. A. Akmstrong said — It is well to 
 make pause, that we may consider the pro- 
 tecting providence which has hitherto kept 
 unbroken the circle of active members of 
 this body. Death has not often entered our 
 ranks, but now for the first time is taken one 
 who used to Hnter here zealous in his work, 
 an effective speaktr, possessed of that knowl- 
 edge which made him a valuable instruetor 
 to many whose experience and 'observation 
 were bounded by narrower limits. Edward 
 Ward was a farmer from choice. Peculiarly 
 fitted by years of mtelligent effort, in which 
 griculture had been a study, with fields of 
 labor more expensive than those surveyed by 
 the most of us, there was grown up with 
 him a love for farming. This Club has by 
 his death suffered a great loss. I do most 
 heartily approve the suggestion made by 
 Mr. McCann. 
 
 It may be proper here to say that but lit- 
 tle more than a year has passed since our 
 ranks were first entered by death. A mem- 
 ber whose age and whose habits did not per- 
 mit him to meet us here to discuss the topics 
 in which in common with us, he felt warm 
 interest, was then taken ; and to-night tbe 
 home broken by that grief is again in mourn- 
 ing, death having entered again. 
 
 But a few weeks have passed since anoth. 
 er member of this Club was carried to his 
 last narrow home, and now we are again re- 
 minded that work for us all, at the farthest, 
 must soon be ended. 
 
144 
 
 The real businfiss of tke meeting was in- 
 troduced by its correspondence. A house in 
 this city largely engaged in the agricultural 
 implement and seed trade sent in excellent 
 propositions to members, by which no doubt 
 many farmers will be led to make purchases. 
 Offers of this character are alike advantage- 
 ous to the parties concerned. Farmers buy 
 their seeds and their tools where they find 
 the best articles, and the disposition to deal 
 fairly and honorably. Such propositions as 
 these, so communicated, really give the most 
 direct and satisfactory means of advertising. 
 
 The next letter was very suggestive of 
 possible saving in the management of farms. 
 It excited the principal discussion of the 
 evening- in tlie absence of any topic especial- 
 ly assigned. The writer is a thoughtful 
 gentleman, who through a long life has given 
 much attention to farm economy and who 
 has performed valued service in behalf of 
 agricultural improvements. The letter fol- 
 lows : 
 
 MlLtpOBT, Deo. 9th, 1874:. 
 
 "In a recent number of the Tribune atten- 
 tention is called to the law of Fences, by a 
 writer in Halifas county, Va , who thinks 
 that all laws in relation thereto ought to be 
 abolished, and a law substituted compelling 
 all men to take care of their own animals." 
 
 "He says : 'As the war left no fences in 
 many sections, we have done away with all 
 legislation in regard to them, a,nd now simp- 
 ly require every man to be responsible for 
 the keeping and good behavior of his ,own 
 animals. Every man is at liberty to aild 
 fences around his crops or not, as he chooses, 
 but is compelled to see that his cattle do not 
 injure his neighbors. The complicated 
 laws about fences are as obsolete as those 
 about slavery, etc. So it now appears that 
 one loss — the destruction of fences — which 
 the people of Virginia regarded as one great 
 calamity of the rebellion, has proved a bless- 
 ing in disguise. 
 
 "Now, knowing the great expense to which 
 we are often subjected by being compelled 
 to build line and other fences where we do 
 not want them, wholly to accommodate some 
 other man, would it not be well to ask the 
 next Legislature to so amend the ' Fence 
 Laws ' as to allow every man to build fence 
 or not, as he ctiooses, holding him responsible 
 for the condtict of his mvn animals 'i And 
 would not such a law save much contention 
 and litigation, and teach every man his duty 
 in this matter ? 
 
 "Please consult your Club on this question 
 and let me hear your conclusions soon." 
 
 H. Seaman. 
 
 "W. A. Akmstkonq — This subject has often 
 before been discussed here and always with 
 agreement by all, that the expense of mam- 
 taining farm fences is a serious tax which 
 should, in a great measure, be avoided. It 
 has been estimated by competent authority 
 that the fences m this State cost more than 
 all the farm buildings in ihe State. Who- 
 ever gives the subject a little study will see 
 that there is the appearance of truth in the 
 statement. In one of the discussions Mr. Geo. 
 S. McCann brought the fact to show that in 
 a period of twenty years his fences had cost 
 something like twenty thousand dollars. At 
 a recent meeting it was shown that a farm 
 of one hundred and sixty acres, fenced into 
 fields of moderate size, would, for the pur- 
 pose of construction and maintenance of 
 the fences, require an annual outlay suffi- 
 cient to hire the labor of one men 
 during all the working season. A 
 square field of ten acres requires one hun- 
 dred and sixty rods of fence to surround it, 
 and I assume that on an average this cannot 
 be built for less than two dollars a rod, or 
 three hundred and twenty dollars in all. If 
 of stone or rails it would cost much more, 
 but with ordinary posts and boards, at the 
 cost I have named,' there would soon come 
 necessity for repairs, and at the end of ten 
 years, counting first cost, interest and re- 
 pairs, the whole will be double the original 
 cost, and with such material as we generally 
 use the fence will be so far decayed as to be 
 worthless, or nearly so, and the whole must 
 be repeated, if the fence is to be maintained. 
 Now let us ask why we should do this ? By 
 what principle of law or equity should we be 
 required to pay so much to guard against 
 the depredations of trespassers ? So far as 
 the law is concerned we are not required to 
 build fences along the highways. Some- 
 times men say it is very shabby to leave 
 fields unprotected from damage by cattle 
 passing along the roads. Is it not the proper 
 business of the owners of such cattle to see 
 that they do no damage in passing ? It is 
 certainly a heavy tax upon us to fence against 
 them. Once let it be understood that per- 
 sons driving cattle along highways must ■ 
 keep them under proper restraint, or pay 
 damages, and this matter would cease to 
 trouble us. 
 
145 
 
 Wa were told here a few weeks ago, while 
 soiling was considered, that large districts 
 of country in Europe, of which the speaker 
 gave us the story of his personal observa- 
 tions, were entirely destitute of fences, ex- 
 cept such as each farmer might chance to 
 make for his personal convenience. There 
 are in this State whole townships in which 
 the road fences have been removed, and no 
 trouble is reported as growing out of the 
 practice of such a course. The truih is, 
 this matter of fences needs revision. We 
 are tied to old and and unprofitable practices. 
 We tax ourselves heavily to maintain fences 
 for which we have no real need. If we set- 
 tle fir ally upon the principle that every far- 
 mer is responsible for the damage which his 
 cattle may do his neighbor, there will be no 
 need of a law requiring line fences, and that 
 principle is in such exact accord with strict 
 justice that no man could complain of its 
 operations. I agree with Mr. Seaman that 
 it is proper to memoralize our legislatures 
 on this matter, that even these line fences 
 may or may not be built, as the convenience 
 and interest of the parties may decide. 
 
 Mr. Gr. S. McCann. — I agree with the sen- 
 timents expressed, but I think that the law 
 is good enough as it stands. Let every 
 man take care of his own stock and we 
 would have but little need of fences, ex- 
 cept E uch as our own convenience might re- 
 quire. 
 
 Before selling off a part of my farm I had 
 eleven miles of fences, which cost, as I esti- 
 mated it, five thousand dollars. Computing 
 the interest on this and compounding it, 1 
 found that in twenty-one years it would 
 amount to twenty thousand dollars, and the 
 fence would then be all gone. If we could 
 only dispense with road fences it would be a 
 great relief, but with the loose public morals 
 we can hardly protect our crops from them 
 even by good fences. We are harassed more 
 by these street cattle than by all our own. 
 Of course we should not be required to pay 
 so heavy a tax to their depredations. Per- 
 haps if we should take away the fences and 
 use the protection the law gives ua it 
 would do away with this trouble and lighten 
 our costs. 
 
 President Hoffman — The Secretary, I 
 think, overstates the cost of fences. For a 
 rod of board fence two posts are needed, 
 which, at twelve cents each, would be twen- 
 ty-four cents ; thirty-two feet of boards, at 
 fifteen dollars per thousand, forty-eight 
 cents, five cents for driving the posts and 
 five more for putting on the boards, which 
 would make eighty-two cents. 
 
 ■W . A. ABMSTEONa — I do not accept the 
 estimates ; they are incomplete. The posts, 
 if good and suitable are certainly worth 
 more, and then as to driving it is a well 
 known fact thE^t all over the hill lands of 
 this county, driven posts will not stand. 
 Holes must be dug deep enough to reach be- 
 low the frost, and this will cost often as 
 much as twelve or fifteen cents to each 
 post, and in this estimate there is not 
 enough lumber and no provision at all for 
 nails. 
 
 Mr. James McCaun. I can buy all the 
 good white oak posts I want for ten cents 
 each and the hemlock boards for ten dollars 
 per thousand, and there is no difiiculty in 
 having the fence built for twelve ' and half 
 cents perTod. Of course it is fair to take 
 actual costs as the basis of our estimates. 
 
 Mr. S. P. Chapman. I have a great num- 
 ber of second growth chesnut posts which I 
 will sell on the graund, for ten cents each, 
 or delivered for twelve and a half cents. 
 
 M. H. Thurston. Having just completed 
 a long line ot fence I must say I could not 
 do it as cheaply , as these gentlemen say. 
 More boards were needed than the Presi- 
 dent has estimated as necessary, and I could 
 not buy stuff as low as the prices I hear 
 spoken of now. 
 
 W. A. Aemstkong. It is hardly necessary 
 to talk of the cost, but I must again say 
 what every speaker knows to be true, that 
 driven posts will not stand in our clay up- 
 lands. As well stand them on the ground 
 for the frost will certainly lift them out. It 
 is only on these gravelly plains Jthat driving 
 posts can be considered good practice. Of 
 course then tuese speakers should not as- 
 sume to measure cost by their method, which 
 
146 
 
 ia inadmissible in nine-tentlia of the 
 of this county. 
 
 But this is not the real question. All ad- 
 mit that at the cheapest, fences are very ex- 
 pensive. The matter to consider — why do 
 we have them ? I have attempted to show 
 that we submit to this expenditure mainly 
 to protect ourselves against the damages 
 which come from cattle in which we have no 
 interest, and therefore against which we 
 should not be required to erect barriers at 
 any cost, no matter how small. The princi- 
 ple is sound. When we enforce it, a vast 
 amount of capital will be released and may 
 be profitably used in real farm improyements 
 which will yield substantial profits. Even 
 the release of the land occupied by the fences 
 is a matter of great importance, and when 
 we can by proper and wholesome public sen- 
 timent in this matter be exempted from the 
 requirements to keep up fences, which is 
 only upheld by habit, we have lifted from us 
 a tax sufficient in itself to depress our agri- 
 culture. 
 
 President Hoffman. In my judgment the 
 time has not yet come in which we may 
 wisely dispense with our fences. Not until 
 we adopt soiling can we expect to be re- 
 lieved of the burden ; but we are moving in 
 that direction. We need not go to the Leg- 
 islature in this matter. I ought to 
 build one-half of the fence between 
 my neighbor and myself. 1 think 
 you will agree with me that we 
 should have line fences, and having them it 
 will be convenient to have division fences. 
 Of course they are expensive, but with our 
 methods they are still necessary. The law 
 regarding highways gives us ample protec- 
 tion, if we choose to use it, against th depre- 
 dations of street cattle, and shall probably 
 depend still farther upon it as the fences de- 
 cay, although I am aware that it wil subject 
 me to the charge of meanness, from those 
 persons who have profited by appropriating 
 the street pasture, to which they never had 
 a just claim. Let us move slowly but right. 
 When we get to soiling we shall be able to 
 enjoy the advantages pointed out by those 
 who advocate entire exemption from fences 
 only as we may want them . 
 
 J. S. Van DtrzEB — I hope we shall not be 
 confined to the question of cost. There is 
 no doubt in my mind that we lose a great 
 deal by too small fields; which besides inter- 
 fering with ordinary operations of the farm 
 require great cost to maintain them. About 
 eleven years ago my father bought a farm 
 in Veteran which was out up in little fields, 
 most of the fences being very poor. We took 
 the material from the interior fences and 
 used such as was good in making good line 
 fences, and such other fences as seemed to 
 be needed, having plenty enough and to 
 spare. For this use there has_been so far a 
 full supply, but there is not one-fourth the 
 number of fields to keep fenced thus lessen- 
 ing the requirement very much and bringing 
 no inconvenience with the larger fields. I 
 would not be induced now to accept the 
 smaller fields if new fences could be put 
 about them without cost. In this way, by 
 larger fields, much of the great tax required 
 to fence our lands may be avoided without 
 any injury to our farm management. 
 
 G. S. McCann — I have had some experi- 
 ence with the gate fence, and I like it very 
 much. It is cheap, easily made and handy. 
 It permits teams to enter anywhere, and 
 when frost lifts the posts they are easily 
 driven in again without damage to the 
 panels. Each length hangs on hooks driven 
 into the posts, so that any one can be taken 
 off without interfering with the others. 
 
 President Hoffman — Good will grow out 
 of the larger fields recommended by Mr. 
 Van Duzer. It leads to the exclusion of cat- 
 tle from the mea.dows, for these larger fields 
 win be occupied by wheat, or oats, or corn, 
 with meadow in the same enclosure, and 
 while these grain crops are on of course no 
 cattle will be admitted. The meadows will 
 thus have increased protection. In my judg- 
 ment it is better to have large fields for pas- 
 ture too, because the cattle graze more con- 
 tentedly. I know this is not in accordance 
 with old notions, but it accords with my ob- 
 servation. 
 
 Mr. Beidqman — I think, with my cow 
 changing from field to field, as the pastures 
 get old, there has been a tendency to make 
 
147 
 
 unruly animals. I have changed about too 
 much. We are all in the habit of making 
 too small fields. But I cannot see that we 
 are yet prepared to do without fences. No 
 doubt we shall begin soiling before long, we 
 shall be driven to it, and then we can aban- 
 don our fences, except such as we need to 
 yard the cattle. 
 
 President Hoffman — Will your cows do 
 as well when changed to new pastures fre- 
 quently as when confined to the field large 
 enough to feed through the summer ? This 
 changing makes them uneasy. 
 
 Mr. Bbidgman — I think it does. When 
 they eat off the freshest of th» pasture they 
 begin to look over the fences, and if they see 
 feed which looks better they try to get to it, 
 and if there is one unruly animal in the herd 
 all will soon break through. I have one cow 
 which I bought and she proved troublesome 
 about the fences. Nothing on my farm can 
 stop her. In two minutes she can go through 
 the best board fence. She brings disquiet 
 in the whole herd and that is hurtful to the 
 products and also engenders bad habits. 
 
 James McOann — Whether large fields are 
 desirable or not depends very much on what 
 are the uses to which the farm is put. For 
 grain or mixed farming I thmk large fields 
 would not bd desirable. They would cause 
 the fa>"n to be used to great disadvantage. 
 As, for instance, if wheat were on a portion, 
 the remainder could not be pastured in the 
 fall when the wheat is young. And if the 
 preparation be a summer fallow, and corn or 
 other grain crops, or even meadow, be on the 
 portion not fallowed, the pasture of the fal- 
 lowed ground is lost. 
 
 President Hoifman — What pasture would 
 you expect on a summer fallow ? 
 
 Mr. McCann — If not plo.vod until June, 
 which is the usual time, there should be a 
 great deal. 
 
 President Hoffman — Would it be worth 
 the fence to separate, above its manurial 
 value to the fallowed land. 
 
 Mr. McCann — Well, I cant say how much 
 it would be worth, but I feel very confident 
 
 that a hundred acre farm divided into four 
 fields of twenty-five acres each, would not be 
 so good for all purposes as if made into much 
 smaller fields. As to pasture, I would rather 
 keep cattle m a field large enough to feed 
 them through the reason. If the pasture 
 be kept abundant the cattle will do better 
 than by frequent changes. 
 
 Mr. VanDoseb — This idea about separat- 
 ing crops by fences is wrong. One may 
 have wheat, corn, and barley, and grass 
 within the same enclosure just as well as 
 when divided by fences, and there is really 
 no trouble in it. I have a field of fifty acres 
 in which I have passed a regular rotation of 
 com, barley and wheat, using parts of the 
 field separately for each. 
 
 An important matter to consider in ar- 
 ranging the fields is to get in one enclosare 
 land of as nearly uniform character as possi- 
 ble, because all will be subjected to thfe 
 same treatment. Thus dry, tillable lands t« 
 any extent desired may be enclosed in one 
 field, but it would not be well to have a large 
 enclosure of land one-half of which would 
 be fit to plow and the other half wet mead- 
 ow or pasture land. So far as summer fal- 
 lowed lands are concerned, the pasture they 
 afford, if properly treated, is not worth con- 
 sidering. They want to be kept bare, 
 Whatever weeds or grass appear should be 
 destroyed by cultivation. 
 
 Speaking of this bare fallow in large fields 
 I'am reminded of an experience in the field of 
 which I have spoken. In 1869 1 planted about 
 eight and a half acres to corn, the ground 
 being rather wet in character and the spring 
 backward, by which planting was 
 made late. Then there came a wet 
 time so that the corn could not be cultivated, 
 and before it was dry enough the Canada 
 thistles were up so high that a horse could 
 not be driven between the rows. Of course 
 I got no corn. The next year I plowed the 
 piece and kept it a naked follow all the sea^ 
 son until time to sow the wheat. There was 
 no spot where the thistle troubled about 
 binding the crop, and I had the excellent 
 yield of three hundred and fifty bushels, and 
 the catch of grass seed was also excellent. 
 
 Mr. McCann. I had a piece infested with 
 
148 
 
 thistles. Two years ago it was in meadow 
 but badly run out by thistles and other 
 weeds, so I plowed it and sowed buckwheat. 
 The thistles came up promptly, making the 
 field green and of course interfering with 
 the growth of buckwheat. The next sea- 
 son I plowed the piece three times and cul- 
 tivated it twice, keeping all green growth 
 checked. At the proper time I sowed wheat 
 and there was not a thistle to be seen with 
 the crop at harvest. 
 
 I had also an experience on this field wit! 
 air slaked lime. I put eighty bushels on less 
 than an acre before sowing. After the lime 
 came the dragging, and then the drilling. 
 I never saw the least eiiect of that lime 
 in the wheat crop nor in the grass which 
 followed. 
 
 President HopJman. — Did you sow any 
 part of that field with timothy alone ? 
 
 Mr. MoCann. — Yes, two pieces, of about 
 three-fourths of an acre each, and I could 
 not discern any better growth than where it 
 was sown with wheat. It took well on all the 
 field where sowed in ^ne fall, although it was 
 late, and when sowed in the spring it was 
 good. 
 
 Mr. Beidgmah — Take one season with an- 
 other, is it safe to sow timothy with wheat 
 in the fall ? I never sowed so but once and 
 then my judtjment said it would damage the 
 wheat. There was a strip on one side sowed 
 in this way and the remainder sowed in the 
 spring. The result was as I feared — on that 
 strip the wheat was choked out. 
 
 Satubdat Evenikg, Dec. 19, 1874, 
 
 Farmers from Southport, Ashland, Horse- 
 heads and Big Flats, as well as Elmira, ga- 
 thered in at the appointed hour, filling the 
 hall with interested members and visitors, 
 many of whom were of the highest rank in 
 their profession. The subject selected for 
 consideration was the stabling of cattle with 
 such eminent farmers as Willis D. Sayieand 
 Levi Marshall of Horseheads, Wm. S. Car- 
 penter of Big Flats, James McOann, George 
 S. Hoffman and John Bridgman of Elmira, 
 all of whom have attained remarkable suc- 
 cess in the management of cattle, to deliver 
 opinions, besides such men as Alpha D. Gris- 
 wold of Southport, Hiram Ketchum of Ash- 
 land, Jonas S. VauDuzer and J). C. Curtis of 
 Horseheads, anr" James F. Beecher, George 
 McCann and many others of Elmira, to pro- 
 mote interest by sharp questions. The sub- 
 ject is always of fresh interest to farmers at 
 this season of the year, and especially in 
 this locality, where hay and all other feed 
 rules high, making the business of feeding 
 precarious at the best, and with any thing 
 short of the best management certainly un- 
 profitable. 
 
 President Hoffman opened the way for 
 debate by a few general remarks on the ne- 
 cessity tor reaching the best practices in 
 this important branch of farm economy, and 
 in closing, expressed the desire that eminent 
 feeders present would make full statements 
 of practice and be free also with sugges- 
 tions. 
 
 Mr. McCann — It is not a safe way for the 
 wheat, but it is very safe for the timothy. — 
 It is so sure to catch and do well when sown 
 in the fall on wheat that I am willing tc 
 take some chance. 
 
 President Ho]?i'man — My practice is tc 
 wait a few days after the sowing- of the 
 wheat before putting on timothy seed. By 
 this means its growth is so retarded that 
 the injury by crowding the 
 erally avoided. 
 
 J. S. Van Duzer — While there are so 
 many here well qualiiied to instruct ordinary 
 farmers on this matter of stabling cattle, it 
 is certain that this meeting will be a profit- 
 able one, even if they do no more than to 
 relate experiences, which, with them, have 
 run through a long course of years in the 
 handling of all the common classes of cattle. 
 I regard it as very fortunate for us that Mr. 
 Willis B. Sayre, who has been specially in- 
 vited to meet us, is present. A brief state- 
 ment of experiences and observations in the 
 matter of stables and their ventilation, re- 
 cently published in the Huslandman, related 
 wheat is gen- j to his management, and as I am informed 
 I is pronounced by him quite correct. We 
 
149 
 
 have now the opportunity to call out more, 
 and I hope he may be called at once because 
 his suggestions will assuredly stimulate dis- 
 cussion. 
 
 Mr. Satke. — I have read the reports of 
 your discussions for years, with both pleas- 
 ure and profit, and I am here now, rather for 
 the desire of more information than to ad- 
 dress you. But willing to contribute such 
 ideas as I have gathered by years of observa- 
 tion in the feeding and management of cat- 
 tle, 1 shall claim your attention for a few 
 minutes. 
 
 The point which I desire to see move 
 plainly is, what is the difference in the cost 
 of keeping cattle in a good and growing con- 
 dition in well constructed and properly ven- 
 tilated stables, or in the barn yard and field 
 with fair shed protection ? 
 
 I have had some experience, but it has not 
 been entirely satisfactory. I have, however, 
 been led to believe by such experience that 
 there is a marked difference in the amount 
 of hay consumed in these respective condi- 
 tions, and that there is decided economy in 
 stabling, the wisdom of which depends upon 
 the care in feeding and management, and 
 the proper ventilation of the stable, and 
 upon the protection from winter winds, 
 when the animals are turned out for water or 
 for exercise. I deem it important that the 
 stable should be so ventilated that the air 
 within shall be at all times as nearly pure as 
 possible as compared with the outer air. And 
 it is hardly of less importance that the cold 
 air should be let in for ventilation in such 
 a manner that it shall not flow directly upon 
 the cattle. To avoid the evil effects of cold 
 currents of air in direct contact, provision 
 should be made to let in the outer air through 
 openings as far above the backs of the cattle 
 as possible. 
 
 My early experience led me to doubt the 
 wisdom of stabling cattle when feeding, with 
 the objects of improvement and increase of 
 growth. I think it was because I overlooked 
 the necessity for sufBcient and properly lo- 
 cated ventilation as well as the necessary 
 protection to the cattle from the cold winds 
 while in the yards. 
 
 Mr. Van Duzeb. — Permit me to interrupt. 
 Why would you protect the cattle when 
 turned out ? 
 
 Mr. Satbe. — In very cold or windy days 
 there is too much contrast between the full 
 protection of the stables and complete ex- 
 posure without. I deem it very necessary to 
 provide partial protection to avoid the shock 
 which comes from such contrast. 
 
 But to return to the ventilation. There 
 is necessity that it should be regulated ac- 
 cording to circumstances. Openings very 
 well suited for use to-day may not be what 
 will be suited for use to-morrow. Even in 
 the coldest weather I find it better to let in 
 the outer air, but I have such provisions that 
 the wind wUl not drive directly on the cattle. 
 The windows are located as high as they can 
 be placed, and are about twenty inches 
 square. Now when a north wind is blowing 
 I open the south windows and keep the north 
 windows closed — and so when a south wind 
 prevails I change the order to suit. 
 
 The information I seek is in regard to the 
 difference m the amount of hay required to 
 keep a given number of cattle of the same 
 class and character, taking account also of 
 their weight, in doors and out ; keeping all 
 in both cases alike improving. My experi- 
 ence and observation in practical tests made 
 with a view to the solution of this problem 
 has been confined to two experiments not 
 sufficiently accurate to satisfy my mind as 
 to the precise difference in cost, although in 
 general results very conclusive so far as 
 these tests were carried. The first was with 
 sixteen steers weighing from ten and a half 
 to eleven hundred pounds each. For fifteen 
 days when stabled the daily consumption of 
 hay by each animal was eighteen and a half 
 pounds, and besides each steer had a daily 
 feed of two pounds of meal. During this 
 time all were evidently improving. This 
 was in the last half of April. 
 
 In another year I fed twenty -five cows in 
 the yard and field during the entire month 
 of April and found the daily requirement of 
 each cow was twenty-two pounds of hay 
 with no grain. The hay was carefully 
 weighed and fed either in clean places in the 
 yard or on the sod of the adjoining field of 
 two acres, and all litter was kept cleaned up 
 
150 
 
 every day, so there was seemingly no waste 
 of hay. I may add, these cows plainly ex- 
 hibited improvement during the thirty 
 days. 
 
 These experiments were not entirely sat- 
 isfactory because one was with steers fed for 
 growth, and the other with cows, and in the 
 one case there was a feed of grain, while in 
 the other there was not. I settled only the 
 amount of feed required in each ease, hut 
 there is the question left : Did those steers 
 eat any less hay because of the two pounds 
 of meal fed to each every day ? 
 
 My conclusions after some years of what 
 may be called careful observations are, that 
 taking account of the actual requirements 
 for food and the inevitable waste in out of 
 door feeding, the difference in favor of prop- 
 erly constructed and well ventilated stables 
 in the saving they make possible in food, 
 is fully one-fourth, and that in such stables 
 the better comfort and thrift of the animals 
 is attainable. 
 
 Mr. Van Duzer — How often did you feed? 
 
 Mr. Satbe — Twice a day. In the morning 
 as much as the cattle would consume and ad- 
 ding to the feed as they seemed to require, 
 and after having fed full nothing more given 
 until the evening feed when they were again 
 given all they would eat. 
 
 Mr. VanDuzee — Do you use stanchions to 
 confine the animals to the stable ? 
 
 Mr. Sayee— Both stanchions and gates. 
 The latter are not admissable for cows in 
 milk, because they can slip forward and back 
 too much for convenience,but for som esteers 
 reluctant to enter the stanchions, that would 
 enter the gates cheerfully. This I have ac- 
 counted for on the supposition that in the 
 stanchions these steers have been overawed 
 by the demonstrations of those standing 
 near.but in the gates there is complete isola- 
 tion and therefore no steer has fear of his 
 neighbor. 
 
 Mr. Van Duzer — Did you never mate a 
 comparative test between in door and out 
 door feeding ? 
 
 Mr. Satre — Years ago I had twenty-one 
 steers of as nearly uniform character as I 
 
 could select, and I put twelve of them in the 
 stable, leaving'nine to run in the yard, with 
 sheds for protection. The nine were fed from 
 racks with the bars so close that they had to 
 pull out fodder by their tongues. By this 
 means I expected them to feed more slowly 
 and to waste less of their feed. Of course 
 they could get enough, but it required a 
 longer time than if they could thrust their 
 noses in. When the weather was very bad 
 I spread hay on clean places so that they 
 could feed more quickly. There was no 
 accurate weighing to decide how much 
 more hay they required than those fed in the 
 stables, yet it was evident that each animal 
 consumed more than any one in doors. 
 
 President Hoffman — Did your observa- 
 tions lead to a comparison of the growth of 
 the two lots ? 
 
 Mr. Satre. — Yes. I had an old friend who 
 watched the experiment with me. At first 
 he thought that the out-of-door lot was 
 more thrifty, an opinion which I shared. 
 Later it was a matter of doubt and after 
 some weeks we agreed that the stabled 
 steers were making the better growth. We 
 concluded, also that the nine head out-of- 
 doors consumed as much as the twelve head 
 in the stable. 
 
 Mr. Van Duzer.— -Why do you feed but 
 
 twice a day ? 
 
 Mr. Sayrb. — Because when the catde are 
 fed full in the morning they have no need 
 during the day and being deprived of hay for 
 that time causes them to return to their feed 
 with good appetites, when their evening sup- 
 ply is offered. 
 
 Mr. Van Duzer. — Then it seems to be 
 your object to induce them to eat as much 
 as possible. 
 
 Mr. Sayre. — Certainly. We do not want 
 to just keep our cattle, we want them to eat 
 for another purpose, to improve. I am con- 
 vinced that in the experiment in which I 
 gave a daily feed of two pounds of meal, the 
 steers eat none the less hay, on the contrary 
 I think they eat more, because the meal gave 
 i ncreased vigor, and therefore increased ap- 
 petite. 
 
151 
 
 Mr.W. S. Cabphnteb.— You couldn't carry- 
 that far. 
 
 Mr. Satre. — Ne. Large feeds of meal 
 would diminish the requirement for hay, but 
 if I want to induce my cattle to eat all the 
 hay they can, I think such a small grain feed 
 secures the desired result. 
 
 Mr. Caepenteb. — This is a, subject in 
 which we all feel great interest. I have been 
 turning it over in my mind for the last ten 
 years, and I do not yet feel decided whether 
 stables are better for steers than good yards 
 with open sheds. Sometimes I have thought 
 that I would build stables in which to keep 
 the stock closely confined, and at other 
 times I thought it would be waste. Let me 
 say right here that no man need expect to 
 succeed in feeding cattle simply by following 
 Mr. Sayre's instruction — at least to succeed 
 as he does. It would be necessary, with or 
 without stables, to do as he does. He is the 
 best feeder in this section of the State, cer- 
 tainly the best in this county. Possibly 
 Charles Balcom, in Steuben, is his equal, 
 but let uo man start off and attain their suc- 
 cess, for he will be disappointed. He will 
 not grasp the true idea of management as 
 they do. I have come to the conclusion that 
 not all men of equal talent can succeed alike 
 in the same business. Some men, with fine 
 ability, fail where others, not suppesed to be 
 their superiors, succeed. 
 
 As for myself, I could never succeed in 
 getting my steers to eat heavy in the 
 stable, and I may say my father met the 
 same difficulty. I have taken hay out from 
 the bunks after the steers ] had persistently 
 refused to touch it on the gi-ound, when the 
 same steers in fifteen minutes after being 
 turned out, would eat it with fine relish. It 
 s in my mind an open question, if steers 
 will not do better out than in, especially in 
 the spring, when the temperature is grow- 
 ing milder. Certainly in my experience, 
 they have eaten better. I have one bunk in 
 my yard from which I could | never induce 
 the steers to eat hay, and yet from this^bunk 
 the hay has been carried out to the open 
 ground and there eaten greedily. 
 
 I fuUy concur in the opinion expressed by 
 Mr. Sayre that stabled cattle need protec- 
 
 tion when turned out, and 1 have no doubt 
 that good sheds are very necessary to the 
 successsful feeding of any class of cattle, 
 and I am also satisfied that the cost of con- 
 struction of such sheds is greater than the 
 cost ofstables. The advantage is the greater 
 ease and freedom enjoyed by the cattle, and 
 the less liability to sudden changes, as in the 
 case of cattle kept in warm stables and turn- 
 ed into the blast to get their drink or for ex- 
 ercise. Ih such cases protection is very 
 necessary, but when steers are fed in the 
 open air they do not seem to mind the cold. 
 I am speaking of steers and not of cows. 
 With them the same rules might not apply. 
 Steers have greater vitality. Cows usually 
 enter the winter in low condition, having 
 been milked down, while steers go in with 
 full vigor. I have seen them in full flesh, 
 and with full bellies go out from their feed 
 and, from choice, select an open place where 
 the wind would be a piercing gale and turn- 
 ing tails to it contentedly chew their cuds as 
 if nothing were Ibft to be desired. I have 
 no doubt that such stock can be carried 
 through the winter with less consumption of 
 fodder by the use of stables, but will there 
 be the same general thrift and robust vital- 
 ity ? It takes feed to resist the chilling and 
 weakening effect of the low temperature in 
 our winters. And it needs good full flesh 
 as well. Poor animaU should have 
 the protection of stables without doubt, so I 
 am not surprised to see dairymen provide 
 such accommodations for their cows, but I 
 am not yet fully convinced that it is better 
 for steers kept for growth and flesh to be 
 penned up in stables, although I freely ad- 
 mit the great success attained by Mr. Sayre. 
 
 Mr. Satre — Perhaps I can hint at the 
 reason why Mr. Oai-penter's steers refused to 
 eat hay in his sheds. If they are reasona- 
 bly intelligent they must feel indignant 
 that with his great sheltered space, he has 
 not provided them comfortable stables in 
 which they could have pure air and eat their 
 fodder without fear, having also protection 
 from the blasts which they are so well able 
 to resist, because at great expense of feed 
 he has put so much flesh upon them. 
 
 Mr. Levi Marshall — I consider myself 
 
152 
 
 young in tlie business of keeping cattle, al- 
 though I have heen twenty years engaged in 
 it. My father-in-law was an Englishman 
 andhewasamore stillful feeder of cows than 
 I am, although I keep my cows in good 
 stables and he did not. He managed tokeep 
 them fat in the open yard without any shel- 
 ter. All day long he would be engaged in 
 foddering, little lots of hay scattered here 
 and there, keeping them constantly tempted 
 uutil about four o'clock in the evening when 
 he would give enough to last|all night. They 
 would then eat full and lie down anywhere 
 contentedly. Even when he took poor cows 
 in the fall to begin feeding he would fetch 
 them out fat in the spring. When I feed in 
 the open yard, as I have to do sometimes 
 when I have a few cows too many, there is 
 great waste by the stronger robbing the 
 weaker animals. Yet I like the idea of the 
 freedom afforded by an open range. If I had 
 but four or five cows I think I should keep 
 them loose, but with a large herd the plan is 
 inadmissable. 
 
 Mr. James McCann — I have had consider- 
 able experience in keeping steers and I have 
 usually managed to give them freedom at 
 night, using the stables principally for feed- 
 ing. It has been my impression that they 
 would do better out than in, except of course 
 in very bad weather. I have noticed that 
 heavy steers turned out from the stanchions, 
 after they had been kept in too long, would 
 go into the yard and lie down, even before 
 going to drink, and this has seemed to indi- 
 cate that they wanted rest. The yard should 
 be in good order and welllittered with straw. 
 Steers well fed and in good flesh do not seem 
 to be affected by cold. 
 
 Mr. VanDuzeb— Can you give a reason 
 why Mr. Carpenter's steers will not eat in 
 
 the stable ? 
 
 Mr. McCann — I can not. I have had no 
 trouble in getting animals to eat. My pre- 
 ference for the yard is because of the greater 
 freedom afforded. In bad weather I have 
 often kept them in the stanchions feeding 
 well, but without that quiet rest which I 
 fancied they should have. 
 
 Mr. Mabshall — I suppose there is a bad 
 
 odor about Mr. Carpenter's stables which 
 causes his steers to refuse their feed. He has 
 told UB that the same feed when taken out 
 was eaten. The shaking up and airing has 
 made it palatable. 
 
 Mr. Satbe — My impression is that when 
 we put up cattle for the first they do not eat 
 enough for three or four days, or until they 
 become used to confinement. The stabling 
 must be pursued steadily and not one day in 
 and another day out. Get them accustomed 
 to the situation. 
 
 Mr. Tan Dtjzee — Did yon ever attempt to 
 winter your cattle on corn stalks? 
 
 Mr. Satee — Tes, and with very good suc- 
 cess for the first time in which they were 
 fed. But I would not feed the stalks alone. 
 My plan was to give one feed of the stalks, 
 as much as the cattle will eat, and make the 
 next feed of hay. 
 
 Mr. Geokgie S. McCann — Will it pay to 
 cut the stalks ? 
 
 Mr. Satee — Most certainly. I resorted_to 
 that because I found there was benefit in 
 giving so much of preparation. They need 
 also to be slightly moistened, because when 
 very dry the cattle do not seem to relish 
 them. 
 
 Mr. Van Duzee If you dampen them 
 
 will they not ferment ? 
 
 Mr. Satee — They would, no doubt, if left 
 long enough, but we never cut more than 
 three or four day's supply and have had no 
 trouble; neither from this cause nor from 
 freezing. 
 
 Kfr. Van Duzee — How much more grain 
 do you have to feed with corn stalks than 
 with hay ? 
 
 M. Satbe — As I have said I never feed 
 corn stalks exclusively. As I use them I do 
 not increase the grain feed. I find that the 
 only time to feed corn stalks profitably or 
 rather induce the cattle to eat them well is 
 when there is snow on the ground, perhaps 
 because this aids in supplying the requisite 
 moisture. 
 
 Mr. Van Duzeb — When cut, what propor- 
 
153 
 
 tion of the stalks is rejected as compared 
 with the uncut ? 
 
 Mr. Sayre. — About the same. 
 Mr. Cakpenter — I saw in Mr. Charles 
 Balcom's yard once a wagon with a, great 
 box on it, in which he drew the cut stalks, 
 and there was a pair of oxen licking off the 
 stalks while there was plenty of good hay 
 within ten feet. I asked if there was any 
 meal on them and was answered "no." Mr. 
 Balcom added, "give them all the cut 
 stalks they want and they will want no 
 hay." 
 
 The very best judge of cattle I ever knew 
 was Jvidge Balcom, and he was also an ex- 
 cellent feeder. He told me that when he 
 tried a part of his cattle in the stable and a 
 part out the latter did the better. 
 
 Mr. Satbe — That would depend very much 
 upon the provision made for stabling and 
 upon the condition of the yard. With good 
 sheds and plenty of straw, no doubt great 
 comfort can be secured in the yard. But 
 can we depend on the supply of straw ? 
 
 Mr. Carpentbb — Straw is a great deal 
 better to lie on than to eat. 
 
 President Hoffman — Suppose we do not 
 have it ? 
 
 Mr. Cabpentee. — I buy it for my cattle as 
 I have to-day for they must have it. 
 
 Mr. BEiDGMAN.^My experience in the 
 winter keeping of cattle has been mostly 
 with cows kept in the stable. Twenty years 
 ago my father kept cattle without much pro- 
 tection from the weather, usually in the 
 open yard with but a stack of straw to give 
 shelter and feed given all out of doors. My 
 observation then led me to begin prepara- 
 tion for stabling, and ever since my plans 
 were projectei and executed, my cows have 
 been stabled in winter without any ill effects 
 that I have noticed. 
 
 I hear of steers going out of the stan- 
 chions to lie down in the yard for rest. It 
 appears to me there is no argument in that, 
 for I have cows that will go into the stan- 
 chions apparently with the same motive. 
 There is one in particular that invariably 
 lies down very soon after she enters, so that 
 even in summer we have to hasten to milk 
 her after she is put up, or she wiU lie down. 
 
 and she gives every sign of enjoyment of 
 the situation. Often when I go out at night 
 1 find all lying down chewing their cuds as 
 contentedly as if they were loose, and with- 
 out doubt in the actual enjoyment of more 
 comfort than it would be possible to provide 
 in the yard, unless at great expense for 
 sheds, and for straw with which to litter 
 them. But there is necessity for bedding 
 in the stables as well as in the yard. 
 
 There is a common mistake in building 
 the stanchions, by which the cattle have to 
 lie with their heads elevated. The bottom 
 rail which holds the upright pieces in place 
 should be as narrow as possible, so that their 
 heads may go down to the level, with noth- 
 ing to choke or push against the neck. When 
 so made cows will lie in all positions, sprawl- 
 de on their sides or curled as naturally as 
 when having absolute freedom out of doors. 
 
 As to the feed, I am satisfied that it does 
 not require more than two-thirds the feed 
 in the stable that it does out, to keep cattle- 
 n either situation in good, vigorous 
 and thrifty condition. I agree with 
 others here that when they are turned out 
 there is no need of shed protection, for, with- 
 out doubt, there is greater sensitiveness in 
 the stabled cattle, and they are more easily 
 affected by cold. My practice is to shut the 
 cows up again after very brief exercise 
 when the weather is bed, but in good days 
 to give them a longer run, sometimes nearly 
 all day. 
 
 Mr. S. A. Chapman — Is not that cow 
 which is fond of going in the stanchions to 
 lie down, an underling in the herd ? 
 
 Mr. Bridgman— No, sir. She is one of 
 the strongest cows in the yard. 
 
 Mr. Marshall — I, too, have cows that 
 seem to seek the stanchions to lie down, par- 
 ticularly one that leaks her milk; we have 
 to attend to the milking as soon as she is in 
 or she will lie down. 
 
 President Hoffman — I suppose it is about 
 thirty years since the first stanchions were 
 built in this county by Col. Foster a pioneer 
 in many improvements. He used to buy 
 steers in the fall of the neighboring farmers 
 with the purpose of feeding for growth. — 
 When it became known that he intended to 
 confine them in stanchions, it was freely 
 
164 
 
 predicted that he would meet great loss. — 
 Neighbors said "they would get stiff and 
 die." But after a winter's keeping these 
 steers sold for double their cost in the fall. 
 In fact Col. Poster made money by such win- 
 tering. So others were encouraged to have 
 stanchions, and so far as I know, those who 
 began stabling in any way did not abandon 
 it. 
 
 But it must be borne in mind that stables 
 will not winter cattle. It requires feed and 
 care besides. 1 may say to Mr. Marshall 
 that if he will bestow upon his cows 
 the same care that his father-in-law did, they 
 will reward it as they did his care. We are 
 told that he fed all day, that is he spent the 
 whole day among his cattle looting after 
 their comfort and necessities. Let any man 
 of good intelligence do that and his cattle 
 will thrive with or without stables. 
 
 My experience has been had mostly within 
 the last fifteen years, and almost exolusively 
 with cows, and in that time I have had many 
 that have taken on flesh so that in the spring 
 they have been what Mr. Sayre or Mr. Car- 
 penter would term fine beef, almost first- 
 class, although they continued to give milk. 
 i have sold such right from the stable for 
 ninety, eighty, and down to fifty dollars, ac- 
 cording to weight and condition. 
 
 It is my theory that the substances which 
 go to make milk, make also fiesh. Now 
 these cows, liberally fed to mate milk, pro- 
 duced something more, because they could 
 not convert into milk all that their vigorous 
 appetites induced them to consume. But if 
 they were turned into the yard to run 
 through a few cold days, there would have 
 been a shrinking of the uiilk, even with the 
 feed kept up to the amount consumed in the 
 stable. Such has been my observation. I 
 think then there would not be as good 
 growth in fiesh. When a man cannot work 
 comfortably about the yard without having 
 his coat tightly buttoned, it is too cold for 
 the cows. The man needs the full pro- 
 tection of his clothing and the cow 
 needs such protection as the stable 
 affords. It is true that very fat 
 cattle can better resist cold, and it may pos- 
 sibly be true that such very fat animals are 
 made uncomfortable by the restraint of the 
 stable, they may get so fat that they need 
 
 more ventilation, but there is little reason to 
 fear any suffering from this cause with the 
 most of our stock. With clean and well ven- 
 tilated stables cows seem to have but the 
 other natural wants, care, feed and drink. 
 With such experience as I have had I can- 
 not doubt that there is decided advantage 
 in stabling. 
 
 The discussion was continued much be- 
 yond the usual hour, and even after the ad- 
 journment farmers gathered in groups about 
 the hall and continued the interchange of 
 ideas until nearly midnight. The next meet- 
 ing will consider "The propriety of feeding 
 different kinds and classes of stock together." 
 
 S.vTTjEDAY Evening, Dec. 26, 1874, 
 
 This meeting, the last of the year, fell 
 upon a beautiful moonlight night, with so 
 clear and crisp an air that riding or walking 
 was delightful exhileration. For this reason, 
 as well as for the interest in the discussion, 
 the attendance was full. There was Car- 
 penter of Big Flats, who delighted the Club 
 by his presence, which cost him, coming and 
 going, twenty miles of travel. Col. Hoffman 
 of Horseheads, A. D. Griswold of Southport, 
 W. K. Vaughn and several others of Big 
 Flats, and from the city Major Hotchkin, 
 who is almost a regular visitor, Robert Neil- 
 son of N. C. Railway, John S. and Joseph 
 Hoffman, Jesse Owen, and a score of others 
 who attend at irregular intervals, as well as 
 the old members, such as the McCanns, Chap- 
 mans, Carrs, Billings, Carpenters, and so on 
 through the list. 
 
 The happy anniversary meeting of Wednes- 
 day night, at which there were gathered over 
 four hundred members and guests, might 
 well have formed the theme for an hour's talk, 
 but no allusion was made to the happy meet- 
 ing. It left only pleasant, even delightful 
 impressions on all. There was no need of 
 talk — nothing to settle, nothing to arrange, 
 nor to compromise. 
 
 The first regular business was the reading 
 of letters, only one of which had public in- 
 terest. It is given in full except address and 
 signature. 
 
 "I read the reports of your meetings and 
 take a great deal of interest in them. I 
 should Uke to ask your Club a few questions : 
 
155 
 
 1st. What is the best mode of churning, 
 working and packing butter ? 
 
 2d. "What is the best management of 
 house help ? 
 
 3d. How can we make home more attrac- 
 tive so it would be a pleasure far husbands 
 to stay at home evenings ? 
 
 Mrs. E. B. S., Chemung." 
 
 President Hoffman said : "It will bo well 
 to consider these very proper questions in 
 their order, taking first that which relates 
 to butter making." Looking over the mem- 
 bers to find a capable respondent, he fixed 
 upon Ool. Hoffman, the largest maker of 
 butter in Southern New York and perhaps 
 in the State, of whom he requested answer. 
 With evident reluctance and sententious 
 brevity Col. Hoffman said : "I should hate 
 to stand here to instruct butter makers in 
 Chemung. I don't assume to be able. They 
 will get better instructions at home than in 
 Horseheads. I know no methods superior 
 to those used in the town of Chemung or I 
 may say throughout the county of Chemung, 
 whether all the milk be churned or only the 
 cream. And I know of no better way to get 
 the butter than by the old-fashioned churn." 
 
 Observing the necessity of drawing out 
 the witness, the President asked : "Do you 
 oommenf' the old dash churn as the best ?" 
 
 Col. Hoffman — I never tried any other. 
 There are many offered with great promise 
 but I prefer to let other butter makers prove 
 them. 
 
 President Hoffman — Can you recommend 
 any machine for working which is applicable 
 to small dairies ? 
 
 Col. Hoffman — I hardly know what would 
 be called small dairies, but if to say ten 
 cows, there are several kinds in use which 
 perform the work well, and effect a consider- 
 able saving in labor over the ladle and hand 
 working, although a skillful worker will do 
 as well with the ladle as by any machine so 
 far as excellence of work is concerned. But 
 it is very laborious and slow. The machines 
 which I like best are those which come the 
 nearest to hard working. Among these are 
 several whichhave inclined planesj on which 
 the churning is placed and the buttermilk 
 worked out by simple pressure or by fluted 
 rolls passing over the mass, the buttermilk 
 
 when released passes down the inclined 
 plane into a receptacle place on the floor to 
 receive it. These machines make the work 
 more easy and rapid and are better than un- 
 skilled hands. 
 
 President Hoffman — Tour reference to 
 unskilled hands would seem to leave the 
 inference that such might damage the but- 
 ter. 
 
 Col. Hoffman — Yes there^is a great deal 
 of butter hurting in the working. It is 
 done by a sliding motion of the ladle. Deal- 
 ers say it breaks the grain. It really makes 
 the butter sticky. It gives it a resemblance 
 to lard. There are only two purposes in 
 working butter — to free it from buttermilk 
 and to effect uniform salting. The least 
 work with which these objects can be ac- 
 complished is the best. 
 
 President Hoffman — Have you nothing to 
 say about the packing with reference to long 
 keeping ? 
 
 Col. Hoffman — I have only tried the or- 
 dinary oaken packages for the butter which 
 is designed for keeping. The most of mine 
 is sent to market in return pails which are 
 used again as often as necessary. 
 
 A. D. Geiswold — I noticed at the Eoch- 
 ester State Pair, firkins that were headed up 
 and provision made for filling in brine at 
 the bung. It seemed to me a handy way. 
 The usual plan is to have the heads out and 
 the keep covered with brine until the butter 
 is in market. 
 
 Col. Hoffman— I had the firkins at the 
 Fair which he describes. All there was of 
 it was the pouring in brine through an open- 
 ing provided for that purpose after the fir- 
 kins were headed, instead of the ordinary 
 open package with cloth and salt brine. 
 About five years ago I thought of this as an 
 easy way cf keeping, and submitted several 
 firkins to the test. I found that such heavy 
 dealers as J. S. Martin,and Hunter & Adams 
 of New York, approved of the plan, and 
 even regarded it as the best for packages 
 that were to be kept long, because they 
 could be placed in the cellar and the brine 
 filled in as often as it leaked away, keeping 
 as well there as in our cellars. In packing 
 for this way of keeping it is necessary to 
 take exact weight before the brine is poured 
 
156 
 
 in and to keep the record. Taking out the | consideration. It would be well for any 
 weight of empty package and tne usual j woman who asks it to propound to herself 
 
 soakage there is the net butter without re- 
 gard to the weight of brine. 
 
 Mr. G. S. McCann— What salt do you use ? 
 
 Col. Hoffman — Ashton. Not becouse it 
 is better than Syracuse salt, but because but- 
 ter salted with it sells better. I never could 
 see that it was any way superior, except, per- 
 haps, that it dissolves more readily. There 
 is fashion in these things and of course there 
 is more or less of prejudice. I have used 
 Syracuse salt and found it an excellent dairy 
 salt, so far as I could test it in comparison 
 with Asbton. 
 
 President Hoffman — The butter question 
 seems" to have been answered as fully as the 
 members present are now inclined to speak. 
 Let us take up the matter of "house help." 
 
 Some remarks more facetious than in- 
 structive were made in several parts of the 
 hall. A droll effort was made to refer the 
 question to a superannuated manager, but 
 the effervescence of fun being passed G. S. 
 McCann said : 
 
 "This is a question of real ioaportance 
 which has a direct bearing upon nearly all 
 farm homes. My idea is that good wages 
 should be given and the girls treated as 
 nearly like the other members of the family 
 as the circumstances will permit." 
 
 President Hoffman — And I will add that 
 for good wages and, for good treatment it is 
 well to exact good service. 
 
 Mr. G. S. McCann— Yes, that is right. 
 But it must be remembered that there are 
 hundreds who have no appreciation of good 
 treatment. There is oAwajs obligations on 
 both sides and there is failure often to 
 meet it. Good service deserves better con- 
 sideration than poor, and is very likely to find 
 it. 
 
 The question how to make home attrac- 
 tive so that husbands should not stay out 
 late at night coming up, the suggestion was 
 made that good husbands who rarely visit the 
 Club or any other evening entertainment, 
 conspicuous examples being named, should 
 furnish the solution. But all such chose to 
 preserve their secret, leaving directions to 
 those who are sometimes out o' nights. 
 
 S. M. Care— The query is worthy of full 
 
 first the question : "Am I always in the 
 proper frame of mind to receive my husband 
 with such a cheer as he needs ?" She who 
 meets the tired worker on his return from 
 labor or the cares of business, with fretting 
 and frowns, cannot expect to entice his stay, 
 if there is a place near where he can escape 
 into more genial society. He needs sympa- 
 thy and support. On the other hand he 
 may be too coarse and unfeeling to appre- 
 ciate the fact that something of the air of 
 home depends on his manners. The whole 
 matter is one which requires thought — care- 
 ful thought by which the causes of wrong 
 may be discovered ; and then the spirit of 
 determined good will by which the evil 
 shall be overcome. 
 
 Mr. S. HoTCHKiN — These observations, so 
 far as they extend, are all just and true. 
 The question seemed to excite mirth in the 
 minds of some gentlemen, but it is one 
 which should not be treated with levity nor 
 lightness. It is true ihat in all the acces- 
 sories of life, whether on the farm or in the 
 shop or in household dutie.s, there is a good 
 deal of a,brasion and harrassing care. But, 
 by accommodating condescension on botti 
 sides, the worst effects of these can be 
 avoided. There is, in all toe affairs of the 
 world, more or less of trouble to be met. 
 Cares are constantly present, whether with 
 the poor or the rich, but they need not rob 
 home of its attractions if there is the reso- 
 lute will to meet them. 
 
 Of course, to make home attractive, it 
 must have adornments and fittings that ex- 
 hibit taste and a dispositioa to please. A 
 slovenly home cau never be happy, at least 
 with the full measure of happiness. And it 
 is equally true that homes extravagantly 
 fitted beyond the means of the occupants 
 must have perplexities and unhappiuess. 
 Adornments may be simple, yet neat, and 
 pleasant. No matter how simple so they 
 add to the attractions of home. To state 
 the whole matter, the house must have its 
 rooms as sunny as bright and as pure as the 
 air out of doors, and all the persons who oc- 
 cupy them must have pure hearts, honest 
 desires, and a purpose to do duty in any sta- 
 tion in which they may be placed. 
 
157 
 
 At the last meeting, the discussion being 
 on the stabling of stouk, the President had 
 given considerable latitude to the speakers 
 so that feeding came up for remark, and 
 there was also something said of the keeping 
 of different kinds and grades of stock to- 
 gether. The interest manifested then led to 
 the selection of these matters for the present 
 meeting. W. S. Carpenter being the first 
 speaker called besause of his loQg and suc- 
 cessful experience in the management of 
 stock, responded by saying tersely : "You 
 don't want many kinds of stock together. 
 That is plam enough, but I can't tell you to 
 what limit you may go. I am not the prop- 
 er person to give you information on these 
 subjects. I was here at the last meeting 
 and talked more than my share, so I hoped 
 to be excused now ; but as you insist on my 
 experience being told, I say that I neve own- 
 ed but one sheep in my life, and I sold that 
 as quick as I could. I am very sure that 
 cattle dc not thrive well with sheep, but I 
 have not proved it in my experience. The 
 knowledge comes from observation of the 
 practice of other farmers who have had 
 sheep in the same pasture with their steers 
 or cows, and I have noticed always in the 
 cases which have come before me that when 
 so pastured the cattle were poor. I watch- 
 ed the effect on the cattle, because that came 
 within my business. On the other hand 
 some of the men who pasture their sheep 
 and cattle together say that it is not good 
 for their sheep. They see their profits in 
 sheep, while I try to find profits in cattle. I 
 would not keep horses and cattle together, 
 for although I don't know but they would 
 do well enough in good pasture, as far as 
 mere feeding is concerned, I am always 
 afraid that the horses will kill the cattle, 
 but it never troubles me about any danger 
 to the horses. I think different kinds and 
 grades of cattle should be kept in separate 
 pastures whenever it is practicable to do so. 
 I wouldn't have pigs run in with cattle, al- 
 though from a single experience with two 
 pigs, I am satisfied that as far as they are 
 concerned it was good enough to let them 
 run, but I object on account of the cattle. 
 Those pigs would thrive whether there was 
 enough for the cattle or not." 
 
 President Hoffman — In his barn-yard. 
 
 while he was feeding corn stalks, it is rea- 
 sonable to suppose that they would, for their 
 fare was something like that described by a 
 German farmer who kept his cattle well, and 
 when asked how he managed to secure so 
 much thrift, said "straw was the only feed, 
 and yet that was not half thrashed." Mr. 
 Carpenter's habit is to leave all soft corn and 
 small nubbins on the stalk. Of course what 
 the pigs get is so much taken from the cat- 
 tle. 
 
 I notice in the reports of agricultural dis- 
 cussions whenever any farmer speaks of 
 feeding cattle he recommends meal. All 
 seem to agree in that, but there all stop. I 
 want to go farther. I want to know how 
 much meal, and if some other than corn 
 meal may not be even preferable. lam sat- 
 isfied that com meal is very good feed for 
 cows,although it will not materially increase 
 the yield of milk. But, notwithstanding 
 the expressed opinion of the President of 
 the State Dairymen's Association, who says 
 that such feed does not make richer milk 
 than that produced from -good grasses, I 
 must say that in my judgment it does. Now 
 while I regard corn meal an excellent feed 
 for cows, I think it may be improved by 
 mixing with it something lighter — as brew- 
 er's grains or light brans, whether buck- 
 wheat or wheat. For sheep, oil meal and 
 these lighter feeds would certainly be better 
 than corn meal alone. On the whole, while 
 I should like to have considerable corn meal 
 for my cows, I should give preference to oil 
 meal as being the richer feed. It costs more, 
 it is true, but it is worth more. But, with 
 any of these rich feeds, there is need of ad- 
 mixture with the lighter products of grain, 
 or with oats or with all these. I am in fav- 
 or of diversity of feed for all kinds of stock, 
 whether cattle, horses, sheep or swine. The 
 argument is in favor of variety, as it is in 
 the food of the human family. We feel that 
 we can hardly live on any one kind of food, 
 no matter how good it is. Good health is 
 maintained and promoted by the use of va- 
 rious kinds of food, and the argument has 
 like application, in a lesser degree perhaps, 
 to all our farm stock. Even in pastures ev- 
 ery grazier desires as many kinds of good 
 grasses as he can get, because he believes 
 his cattle thrive better with a variety in 
 
158 
 
 tlieir food. Just so with grains, there is 
 great advantage in variety — the cattle do- 
 ing better, and with a diminished cost. 
 
 Mr. Caepbnteb.— Members seem to think 
 that I am a feeder, but it is a mistake. I 
 never feed grain in any considerable quanti- 
 ties. I am a grazier and not a feeder. Two 
 quarts of meal daily to a steer is as much as 
 I generally feed, my object being to make 
 growth rather than fat by it. And I agree 
 with the President that the meal is improv- 
 ed as feed when it is lightened by something 
 coarser, like bran or ground oats. 
 
 Mr. J. M. Baker — My first experience in 
 keeping horses and cattle together is recent. 
 Having small calves of the Alderny breed 
 they were able to crawl under the fencs and 
 get in with my horses, which they did, and 
 as a consequence I have one with a broken 
 shoulder. I conclude it is not well to keep 
 calves and horses together. 
 
 Having a crop of oats raised after buck- 
 wheat the previous season I have now mixed 
 feed by force of circumstances and would 
 like to ask Mr. Carpenter what is the best 
 way to use it. Shall I grind it and feed with 
 hay and such roots as I have ? I can use 
 some carrots and I have Sweedish turnips 
 which I ca.n chop up for feed. 
 
 Mr. Carpentee — When you come down to 
 the turnips I have to say I don't know much 
 about them, but the grain is good whether 
 the kinds are seperate or together. Take 
 the mixed oats and buckwheat and grind to- 
 gether; and if you want to improve it, put 
 corn meal with it. I should prefer one hun- 
 dred pounds of feed with one quarter ground 
 oats and three quarters ground corn meal, to 
 one hundred pounds of clean corn meal. I 
 think one-third oats, one-third buckwheat 
 and one-third corn would be preferable as 
 feed to pure corn meal. 
 
 As I have told you I have no experience in 
 heavy feeding. I have fed light for many 
 years and long ago I came to set high value 
 on potatoes as feed for cattle. I have chop- 
 ped up many hundreds of bushels and I con- 
 clude with such experience and observation 
 as I have had that a steer will do better on a 
 half bushel of potatots and four quarts of 
 corn meal daily than on twelve quarts of 
 meal without the potatoes. 
 
 President Hoitman — I am not afraid to 
 feed turnips to cows and I would take them 
 into the list of kinds of feed whenever I 
 can raise thom without too great cost. I 
 should be glad of some to feed this winter. 
 I have fed as many as three thousand bushels 
 in a season and the customers who took the 
 milk knew of it and made no complaint of 
 falling off in quality. Of course milk made 
 from turnips alone would be very poor. And 
 if made from turnips and dry hay 1 think if 
 drawn to a, depth not greater than ten or 
 eleven inches in the pail it would be easy to 
 see the bottom through it. Turnips are 
 good as an appetizer. They are wholesome 
 diet for the animals that eat them ; but if 
 given to cows in milk there should be a lib- 
 eral accompaniment of grain and where so 
 fed I fully believe they improve even the 
 quality of the milk. Potatoes are better — 
 so are carrots possibly and these may be fed 
 in such a way as to injure the milk, for 
 aught I know. It is certain turnips may 
 and as certain that when fed with a proper 
 allowance of grain they do not impart anj 
 perceptible flavor to the milk. I should be 
 very glad of twenty-five hv ndred bushels to 
 feed to fifty cows during the present win- 
 ter. 
 
 I made an experiment once to determine 
 the relative value of potatoes, turnips, car- 
 rots and beets as milk-producing feed. I 
 fed eight weeks on these roots w regular 
 allowance of hay and grain, carrying a, cer- 
 tain number of cows a given time on each 
 kind of roots. I found one peck of potacoes 
 produced as good results as one bushel of 
 any of the ott er kinds, and so far as my ex- 
 periment went there was no difference in the 
 results produced by the turnips, carrots and 
 beets. 
 
 Mr. G. S. McCann— Would they have 
 been better cooked ? 
 
 President Hoffman — I think they would. 
 
 Mr. Baker — Last fall, being short of pas- 
 ture because I was breaking up the field, I 
 fed my cows all the turnip tops they could 
 eat, leaving them in the pasture until it was 
 all plowed. Cows and calves all ran togeth- 
 er, making those turnip tops and roots al- 
 most the sole living, although I fed some 
 buckwheat bran. For the first three or four 
 
159 
 
 days the milk tasted badly but after that 
 there was nothing obiectionabie in it. We 
 made butter and sold it without any com- 
 plaints coming back. I have sometimes 
 thought that the failure to detect the tur- 
 nip flivor was due to the fact that we got 
 used to itj but then it should have been 
 found by th« purchasers of the butter and it 
 was not. 
 
 I have fed turnips to beef cattle, making 
 them very fat without grain, although I 
 have usually given carrots a week or two be- 
 fore slaughtering to impart color to the beef. 
 I put two eows in the stable one fall and fed 
 them all the turnips they could eat, fin- 
 ishing on carrots a week or two before T 
 sold them. They grew very fat. One sea- 
 son I put up about forty steers, nearly half 
 being three or four years old. Of these I 
 selected twelve and fed them so as to sell at 
 about the holidays. They made very fat, 
 nice beef. 
 
 A solemn gentleman said : "Thi? sur- 
 prises me because it differs so much from 
 my observation. I knew of a controversy 
 between two neighbors in Pennsylvania on 
 the merits of flat turnips, which they mu- 
 tually agreed to settle by a test and to make 
 it interesting they laid a wager of one hun- 
 dred dollars. They took a yoke of cattle as 
 nearly alike as possible ; one man tieing his 
 ox to the fence and feeding him all the tur 
 nips he could eat and nothing else. The 
 other man was to tie his ox up in the same 
 manner and throw snowballs at him and 
 nothing else. At the end of a week of these 
 respective ways of feeding each man was to 
 have his respective ox weighed, and the one 
 which exhibited the greatest gain was to 
 take down the money. The respected man 
 who threw the snow-balls raked down the 
 pile." 
 
 Mr. Baseb — I have made more money by 
 feeding dry hay and turnips than I could by 
 feeding grain. 
 
 Col. Hoffman — I would ask the President 
 if in the experiment he made in feeding the 
 different roots he ebserved a difference in 
 the richness of milk ? 
 
 President Hoffman •>— My observation did 
 
 not extend so far, quantity being the only 
 criterion of the relative values. 
 
 There is an argument in favor of diversity 
 of feed in the fact that it permits us to use 
 much that is regarded by many as objection- 
 able, cheapening the cost of keeping without 
 deteriorating the quality of the products. 
 Brewers' grains are regarded as light feed. I 
 first learned of their use for cows in Orange 
 county, where I was informed that care in 
 their uses was necessary, because the sole 
 tendency was to increase the milk, and if fed 
 in too large quantities the cows would milk 
 down poor — would even milk to death. For 
 several years I fed cautiously, but four or 
 five years ago, when I had fifty-four cows, I 
 found I could feed only one ton of hay to 
 each during the winter,so I looked about for 
 a substitute. That was partly o'btained by the 
 use of two hundred and sixty-six bushels 
 of brewers' grains every week. In addition 
 to this I fed during the winter, twenty tons 
 of oil meal, about forty tons of buckwheat 
 bran, and hilf as much of wheat bran. In 
 the fields my cows never did better than 
 during that winter. A part of the time I 
 had a, surplus of milk which was churned. 
 Fifty of the cows had dropped their calves 
 in October or later, so that they were com- 
 paratively fresh, and yet one of the churn- 
 ings gave a psund of butter to eight quarts 
 of milk, and none of them required more 
 than ten quarts. With the light feed that 
 I have named I fed fifteen hundred bushels 
 of turnips, and it.will be seen that by the 
 butter test the milt was of excellent quali- 
 ty, whUe in quantity it was much above the 
 average. 
 
 Mr. HoTOHKEN — Oil meal is a concentrated 
 food and so many tons would take away the 
 appearance of lightness of which the Presi- 
 dent speaks. 
 
 President Hoffman — I know oil meal is a 
 very rich food, but the amount I have 
 named was distributed over the whole win- 
 ter, with a large herd, while all the other 
 kinds of feed were what are commonly called 
 light. 
 
160 
 
 Mr. James McCann — I have fed turnips to 
 steers, and I regard them as advantageous 
 feed, but not in their fat producing proper- 
 ties. To illustrate, I may say that steers 
 put up in the fall fresh and Juicy from their 
 grass feed will not increase in weight by lib- 
 eral feeds of grain. Six quarts of meal fed 
 to such animals daily up to February will 
 hardly increase weight, although with good 
 hay it will add to growth. I know of a case 
 where a man bought a yoke of cattle which 
 weighed twenty-four hundred when put up 
 in the fall to feed. In February, after hav- 
 ing eaten all the time freely of grain, he 
 brought them to my scales, and they only 
 weighed twenty-four hundred. Now if he 
 had fed turnips, or potatoes, or any other 
 such juicy feed instead of all the grain — that 
 is to say giving off part of the grain and 
 substituting the value in roots, the cattle 
 would no doubt have shown an increase in 
 weight and been even better beef. It 
 is well known that cattle fed all winter on 
 grain wiU not increase more in weight m 
 that time than when turned from such feed 
 t o good grass they will gain in two weeks. 
 
 Now can any one say if cattle may be fed 
 on corn stalks alone all winter. 
 
 Mr. Owen. I remember hearing my grand- 
 father say that cattle fed long on corn stalks 
 alone would be injured, and even that such 
 feed continued long enough would kill them. 
 They are harsh, and the butts especially, are 
 woody and indigestible. 
 
 As to keeping drfferent kinds of cattle 
 herded together I have never had any trou- 
 ble. We usually have twelve or fifteen 
 calves, and sometimes sheep and colts, all 
 feeding together. No bad results have ever 
 appeared. We have also kept oxen with the 
 cows in winter without trouble. The plan of 
 giving variety in the food is good. Hay, 
 stalks and straw are good for the three feeds, 
 giving one feed of each. Some of our farmers 
 seem to prefer feeding but twice a day, but 
 my practice has been to feed three times a 
 day from November to spring. When we go 
 out to milk in the early morning the 
 
 cattle are aU fed and along before noon 
 they are turned out to drink, after which 
 they are fed again, and then at dark, when 
 all are put up for the night. Nearly all the 
 feeding is done in the stables, and the cows 
 are milked there m winter and summer. Even 
 the corn stalks are fed in the stables, the 
 only inconvenience being that they make 
 the manure a little unpleasant to handle ; 
 but everything is saved, and I regard it as 
 the best way to feed. For the grain feed 
 buckwheat bran and wheat bran are both 
 good, together or separate, and so is a mix- 
 ture of corn and oats ground together, or 
 corn meal mixed with brans. For hoVses I 
 think two bushels of oats and one of corn 
 mixed and ground are excellent, better than 
 corn alone. At present X am feeding my 
 horses corn in the ear, nine or ten ears a 
 day, with very little work, not be- 
 cause it is the best feed but because 
 by accident I happen to have the corn. 
 
 I did not attend the last meeting, but I 
 have heard that stables were freely discuss- 
 ed, especially stanchions. After many years 
 use of stanchions I am free to say that I 
 think it quite safe for cattle to stand in 
 them twenty out of the twenty-four hours 
 of every day in winter. I never had any 
 trouble from their use, nor any injury to the 
 cattle by being confined in them. They may 
 easily be constructed so as to be used with 
 comfort to the animals and profit to the own- 
 er. The bottom rail should be very narrow, 
 so that it will not impede respiration when 
 the cattle are lying with their necks across 
 it. And I have noticed that 
 when used for cows it is essential that the 
 upright piece on the right side (the side on 
 which milking is done) should be very nar- 
 row, so that the cow may see when the 
 milker approaches. It is just as well not to 
 be kicked, and this little precaution will save 
 much of the risk. The platform on which 
 the cow s stand should be j ust about five feet in 
 length and then a drop, no gutter. It is easy 
 to keep the stables clean by such an arrange- 
 m«nt and there is greater ease in placing the 
 cattle in the stanchions in the absence of a 
 deep gutter.