Winter Meetin^^. lol 



H. S. Wayman, INIercer County. — Jonathan, Grimes, Ben Davis, 

 Gano and Missouri Pippin.- 



Mr. May, Alacon County. — Grimes, Ben Davis, York, Missouri 

 Pippin and Jonathan. 



Mr. Cook, Potosi. — Winesap, Nixonite,. Rome Beauty, Gano and 

 Red Astrachan. 



K. B. Wilkerson. — Gano, Jonathan, York, Grimes and Ben Davis. 



T. G. Henley, [Miller County. — Wealthy, Jonathan, Gano, York 

 and Ben Davis. 



VALUE OF COVER CROPS. 

 (Paul Evans, Director Experiment Station, ^Mountain Grove, Mo.) 



As far back as historical writinc^s lead us, scientific men have 

 been studying the soil. Lives have been spent studying the -chemical 

 composition, physical conditions, etc., and reporting the results of 

 their investigations to all the world; yet the tiller of the soil is just 

 now beginning to think. 



In this country particularly, where vast acres of fertile lands 

 were laying all cleared and ready for the plow, where all that was 

 necessary to be done to produce abundant crops was to turn the sod 

 and plant the seed, they have not stopped to think. Why should 

 they? 



Crop after crop was grown with apparently very little deteriora- 

 tion of the soil, and if it should give out there was an abundance of 

 fertile virgin soil left. Why should they buy commercial fertilizer 

 and sow cowpeas between the corn rows? 



Although comparatively a new country, time is beginning to tell. 

 Good land is all taken up, and some of it is growing thin. We have 

 cleared some of the timbered land, and are now settling up the rocky 

 hill sides. The grand-children of the pioneer settler, instead of turn- 

 ing the sod and planting the corn with an ax, giving it no cultivation 

 Vv^hatever, but reaping abundant harvest, are now preparing their 

 soil with improved machinery and planting their crops with drills and 

 planters, which have commercial fertilizer attachments, and eagerly 

 watching each mail for a bulletin from their experiment station re- 

 porting the results of experiments on varieties of cow peas, to de- 

 cide which they Mall use as a cover crop. 



If there has been such a vast change in these few years of the 

 past, what is there ahead of us? 



