FARMERS' INSTITUTES. Ill 



and one thing that I ask you to remember, and that is that you cannot 

 grow sugar beets on the same land continually. You must have a rota- 

 tion of crops. Don't exhaust the fertilizing property of your soil by 

 the steady growth of beets. 



Q. What are those elements that the beet takes from the soil? 



A. Potash, nitrogen and phosphoric acid. 



A few years ago the island of Cyprus was one of the richest spots of 

 land in the world. Now it is a barren tract of soil, because the inhab- 

 itants raised wheat and nothing else, thereby selling the wealth of 

 their soil to the peoples bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Ireland was 

 once a fertile and great oats producing country, but its soil was ruined 

 in the same way. 



Q. What is the difference between beet and sugar cane? 



A. There is no difference in its component parts, except that the 

 beet sugar requires more trouble and care in eliminating impurities. 



Q. Will you suggest a good rotation of crops for sugar beet rais- 

 ing? 



A. I hardl3^ know, only there should be some cereal grown in be- 

 tween. Clover is also good. Potatoes and beets are so near alike that 

 I do not advise their use together. Indian corn and clover and one or 

 two crops of clover harvested and the next plowed under would be a 

 very good rotation. 



The doctor concluded his remarks with a reference to the pure food 

 laws and the part the farmer may take to secure their passage. 



THURSDAY EVENING. 



UNIVERSITY HALL. 



President James B. Angell in the Chair. 

 Music by the University Mandolin Club. 



FARMERS' ORGANIZATIONS— FARMERS' CLUBS. 



HON. A. N. KIMMIS, MIDLAND, MICH. 



In the preparation of what I shall present to you at this time, it was 

 impossible for me not to be influenced by the knowledge that our meet- 

 ing was to be held in this hall. I have no apology to make, indeed it is 

 my hope that an appreciation of our environment shall be reflected in 

 what I shall say to you. While this great University belongs to Michi- 

 gan, and thus, in a sense, to us, I still like to feel that we are the 

 guests of this great educational institution. No true son of Michigan 

 but insists, and with justice insists, that this University is without an 

 equal, certainly without a superior in all our land. Since our coming 



