FAKMERS' INSTITUTES. 81 



AFTERNOON SESSION. 



DISCUSSION. 



The following questions were taken from the table : 



Question. — Do ashes on sandy soils act as direct food for plants, or as an 

 agent in dissolving certain constituents present? 



Mr. Kedzie. — Probably they act in botli ways, but especially as a direct food 

 for plants. 



Question. — Does salt draw moisture from the soil (capillary action) or from 

 the atmosphere? 



Prof. Beal, — It takes moisture wherever it can get it, either from the soil 

 or air. 



Mr. Smith. — I have experimented some with salt. When applied to wheat 

 it makes the wheat brighter and stand up straighter for a time, but it did not 

 seem to produce any more grain. 



Question, — Is tlie frequent stirring of sandy soils to a great depth beneficial 

 for a crop of wheat? 



Mr. Kedzie. — Stirring the soil is to be recommended in general. If the soil 

 were very light it would probably not be advisable to stir it to a great depth. 



Question. — Is there a difference in the fertilizing qualities of plaster, or is it 

 owing to atmospheric influence? 



Mr. Kedzie. — Plaster from one locality is probably as good as that from 

 another. Plaster from one place may contain more foreign materials, sucli as 

 dirt, etc., than that from another. 



Mr. Escott. — When is the best time to sow plaster on clover? 



Mr. Vincent. — I do not think that the plaster we use here benefits clover. 

 I could see no difference where plaster was sown. 



Question. — What is the cause of such intense heat on the surface of sandy 

 soils, and the remedy? 



Prof. Beal. — Sandy soils do not conduct heat away readily and hold heat 

 got from the sun a long time. Something green growing on sandy soils will 

 keep them cool and moist. 



Then followed an essay by Hon. M. Brown on the subject of 



BRAIN ON THE FARM. 

 Mr, President, Ladies and Gentlemen : 



Having passed the greater portion of my life upon a farm as an actutil tiller 

 of the soil, I naturally feel a deep interest in the development of the agricul- 

 tural resources of this region. Until recently the lumber interest which has 

 hitherto been the principal industry of our people has almost entirely over- 

 shadowed everything else, and particnlarly farming has been kept in the back- 

 ground. But to-day I am happy to be able to congratulate the farmers present 

 that the avocation in which they are engaged has asserted its right to recogni- 

 tion, and I firmly believe that before many more years sweep into the great 

 past, the vast forests that to some extent cover all this region to-day will be 

 removed by the hand of industry, and fields of waving grain be substituted in 

 their stead. 



Why should this not come to pass? There is not one i)erson in this room 

 who has at all observed the products of this region who does not know to a 

 certainly that by intelligent culture no land upon earth will produce more 



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