84 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



THURSDAY MORNING. 



NEWBEEKY HALL. 



Hon. L. D. Watkius in the Chair. 



TOPIC— LIVE STOCK. 



Owing to the severe snow storm Wednesday afternoon and evenings 

 and continuing through this afternoon, the street car ride to Ypsilanti 

 had to be temporarily abandoned. For this reason the program for 

 Friday was begun, taking up the papers the authors of which were 

 present. 



QUESTION BOX. 



Q. Will crimson clover do well sown in the early spring? 



J . D. Towar : Yes, but we look for best results sown in July or even in August, with 

 the expectation that the clover will winter and be plowed under or otherwise used the 

 following spring. 



J. N. Stearns: Yes; I have had good success sown in the spring and plowed under 

 in August. 



Q. Will the legumes as catch crops preserve tlie nitrates as well as the non-legumin- 

 ous plants ? 



J. D. Towar: Experiments show that the cereals have perhaps a greater power than 

 the legumes to prevent the loss of nitrate during the late fall and winter. Any com- 

 parative defect in this direction is more than counterbalanced by the power possessed 

 by the legume and not by the cereals to utilize the free nitrogen of the air. 



Q. What is the best fertilizer for a marsh under cultivation, and how much should 

 be used per acre? 



J. D. Towar: Barnyard manure is incomparably the best fertilizer for undigested 

 muck. Ashes come next, applied at the rate of a ton to the acre, if possible. 



Q. How deep do you work your wheat ground with cultivator or harrow before sow- 

 ing? 



A. M. Brown: I plow six inches, and run the spring tooth harrow fully four inches 

 deep, using plenty of power. This is on land that bore heavy timber. 



Q. How did clover succeed when sown with peas in 1898-9? 



E. A. Croman: Fairly well in 1898, but owing to the drouth in 1899 it did not do so 

 well. 



Q. Has the effort of tlie State, by vaccination, prevented anthrax or black quarter? 



C. D. Smith : I know of no experiments in this State on that point, nor do I know 

 of cases of these diseases inside its borders. 



Q. Has there been any investigation at the College for the prevention of worms 

 which destroy the clover roots? 



C. D. Smith : There has not. I know of no way to prevent except to stop growing 

 clover for a couple of seasons. 



Q. Wovild oats sown in August or early part of September be of any benefit as a 

 cover crop ? 



C. D. Smith: Yes, while the winter would kill the oats it would still act as a mulch 

 on the soil and be of no inconsiderable benefit to the fertility of the orchard or other 

 ground upon which the method was tried. 



Q. How would it do to sow peas or oats and peas after corn, and follow with 

 clover only, sown in August? 



J. D. Towar: I have never seen it tried. Where the winters almost universally 

 provide an abundance of snow the method might work. Otherwise, I should hesitate 

 about recommending it. 



Q. Will any variety of Soy Bean mature seed in this climate? 



