52 STATE BOARD OP AGRICULTURE. 



which can be emptied weekly and the product utilized. There will be no offensive 

 odors if plenty of dry earth is used, and as no horse is needed the receptacles will 

 be emptied at the proper times. Coal ashes malie a good absorbent for this pur- 

 pose. 



Q. If buggies must continue to be equipped with narrow tires, why not tax 

 them and thus get funds to repair the damages they cause? 

 A. E. Palmer: I think the present road law covers the ground. 

 F. F. Rogers: The present law in some states allows a rebate on road taxes 

 in case of farmers using wide tires on their wagons. New .lersey allows a rebate 

 of $1 per wheel if tires are four inches or more wide. 



Geo. Houghton: Would any county commissioner take more interest in our 

 roads than the farmers themselves? 



A. E. Palmer: The best way to answer that question is to suggest that a farmer 

 be elected commissioner. (iCt a man with some public spirit, a man that will use 

 common sense, and a man in whose honesty and good judgment people have con- 

 fidence. 



Q. Would Mr. Hinds out or plow under his sui-plus clover? 



H. H. Hinds: I would do both— cut it and plow it under. It loses nothing of 

 fertilizing value by drying. 



Q. Do you consider gianl beggar weed better than clover in any way? 

 C. D. Smith: In no way. 



Q. Does not the average of the corn left shocked in the field lose from 20 to 50 

 per cent of its feeding value from mice, rats and weather? 



H. H. Hinds: No, sir! If you shook in large shocks the loss from weather is 

 insignificant. Leave it in big shocks and it will not spoil appreciably. I can't say 

 as to rats and mice. A harvesting machine is a good thing. I use a steel cutter 

 and a contrivance for liauliug the corn tiglit together in the top of the shock before 

 tying. 



Q. Would not subsoiliug benefit corn crops as much as sugar beets? 

 C. D. Smith: Our experiments do not show as much benefit from subsoiling as 

 we expected. 

 Q. What is meant by the term ''flax-meal?"' 



C. D. Smith: Feeders use the term flax-meal to designate ground flax, the oil 

 left in it. 



N. P. Hall, Ingham Co.: Will not red clover, with its long tap root, gather more 

 nitrogen from subsoil than the crimson variety? 



Geo. T. Powell: Yes, largely because it stands two years. It draws mineral mat- 

 ters from deep in the soil. The nitrogen comes froan the air and not from deep 

 in the ground, and hence the crimson clover with its fibrous roots may be equally 

 as efficient in storing it up. 

 W. Schlicter, Sanilac County: Do you feed clover dry to your hogs? 

 C. D. Smith: No. Clover for winter feed of brood sows should be run through 

 a cutting box, moistened and mixed with grain feed. 



J. W. Adams: How do yon sow crimson clover in corn, by drill or by hand? 

 Geo. T. Powell: By hand, taking three spaces at a time. You may sow from 

 the back of a horse with good success. 

 Q. Describe alsike clover. 



C. D. Smith: The blossom of alsike clover differs from that of any other variety 

 in being white and pink in color— white in the center of the blossom and pinker 

 near the margins. The clover is not as upright as the other varieties, i>erhaps, but 

 is easily distinguished when once recognized. 



Q. Whicli do you like bj-st, straight or slanting landslide, and why? 

 Geo. T. Powell: I like the mold board to be abrupt, not too straight, leaving 

 the furrows unliroken but simply turned over. 



A. B. Cook: I object to a slanting landslide, even if tlie plow does draw easier, 

 because it leaves part of the grotmd unturned. 



Q. How much should a good calf weigli at a year old, fed on skim milk, grain 

 and hay? 



H. H. Hinds: If of the""growthy" breeds he sliould weigh 750 to 1,000 pounds, 

 possibly 850 pounds as an average. 



J. H. McColter: Is it a universal rule that the hard plow to hold does better 

 work? 



Geo. T. Powell: We have not studied the matter as closely as we ought. Every- 

 thing depends on the way it leaves the furrow. If this is broken and ground up. 

 the plow is doing good work. If it lies down smooth and straight, the plow fails 

 of its full duty. Many modern plows have sacrificed eflaciency to ease of draft. 



