1868. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



183 



For the New England Farmer. 

 CAIiEDONia. COUNTY, VT., AQ'L SO- 

 CIETY. 



At the Annual Meeting of this Society held at 

 St. Johnsbiiry, Jan. 21st, the following officers were 

 elected for the year ensuing : President, Harley 

 M. Hall, Burke ; Vice Presidents, Chas. A. Syl- 

 vester, Barnet, John Bacon, 2d, St. Johnsbury ; 

 Secretaries, I. W. Sanborn, Lyndon, T. M. How 

 ard, Elisha May, St. Johnsbury, Chas. E. Parks, 

 VVaterford ; Treasurer, A. M. Cook, St. Johnsbury, 



A committee was appointed to institute a series 

 of meetings within the county for the considera- 

 tion and discussion of agricultural subjects, at 

 such times and places deemed best by the com- 

 mittee. The idea is to organize a sort of Farmers' 

 Institute within the county for the consideration 

 of all subjects pertaining to the interests of the 

 farmer; and such an one properly conducted can- 

 not but result in good to the agriculturists of the 

 county. 



The question of patent manures was discussed to 

 some extent during the afternoon of the session, 

 which resulted in the appointment of a committee 

 to test by chemical araly^is the leading commer- 

 cial fertilizers offered for sale in the county, and 

 report through the press as early as the first of 

 April, next. It was further provided for the ap- 

 pointment of one in each town in the County whose 

 duty it shall be to experiment with the said ferti- 

 lizers the coming season, with as many crops and 

 on as many kinds of soil as may be practicable, 

 and report the results at the next Annual Meeting 

 of the Society. 



The object'is, to determine as far as possible, 

 "What is the best comiaercial manure in the mar- 

 ket for Caledonia County ? and whether they can 

 be made prolitable, that is, whether they can be 

 made to pay, at present prices. 



This agricultural theorem is an important one ; 

 and one which the farmers of the country will be 

 glad to see so practically applied as to read in 

 truth— "Q. E. D." I. W. Sanborn. 



Lyndon, Feb. 1, Vt., 1868. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 IMPORTANCE OP MANURES. 



The importance of manure to the • practical 

 farmer can hardly be over estimated. With 

 its use, good farming begins, and in the neg- 

 lect to use it, good farming ends. By culti- 

 vating a farm without manuring it, the crops 

 are soon diminished in quantity, and the land 

 in value. If this process is long continued the 

 crops will be hardly worth gathering, and the 

 land becomes a barren waste. There is no 

 such thing as successful farming for any great 

 length of time, without the use of manure. 



Now, it would seem that an article of such 

 prime necessity would be carefully saved by 

 every farmer ; but this is far from being the 

 case. Vast quantities of manure are annually 

 wasted, and what is much woise, a great amount 

 of capital is expended yearly for imported 

 fertilizers. It is easier to save whaA we have, 

 than to pay for what we buy. It should be a 

 question with every farmer, if manure cannot 

 be manufactured at home cheaper than foreign 

 manures can be imported here. Every farmer 

 is supposed to have cattle, horses, hogs, &c. 

 These, if furnished with the proper materials 

 will make large quantities of manure. Al- 



though any way to save and manufacture ma- 

 nure is better than no way at all, yet it is al- 

 ways desirable to adopt the best way. 



I once knew a farmer who had plenty of 

 muck on his farm, but he would not draw the 

 muck, for he said it was a great deal easier to 

 buy guano or some other imported manure, 

 than to draw his muck and make it into ma- 

 nure. This was some years ago, and an ex- 

 hausted farm bears evidence, to this day, that 

 ease obtained in this manner was far from be- 

 ing profitable. The farmer who has muck on 

 his farm ought to use it ; it will cost some la- 

 bor, but it will pay well in the end. 



Which is the best method of applying ma- 

 nure is still a contested point. Some farmers 

 bury it in the soil with the plow or harrow, 

 while others prefer spreading it on the surface 

 of the ground. The best results, I think, de- 

 pend largely on the kind of manure used and 

 the nature of the soil to which it is applied. 

 It is a point of interest to every farmer and 

 each ought to experiment for himself. 



I believe that those who use guano and other 

 commercial manures would do a kindness to 

 farmers in general, if they would give, through 

 the columns of the agricultural papers, the re- 

 sult of their use. If it is profitable to use 

 them, every farmer ought to know it ; while 

 if not profitable, the experience of those who 

 have used them may save trouble and loss to 

 those who have not. I presume the editors 

 would gladly give the result of any well-con- 

 ducted experiment in this department of farm- 

 ing; and certainly farmers ought to "do good 

 and communicate.'''' o. T. 



Lakeville, Mass., Jan. 20, 1868. 



HORSE RACING AT ILL. STATE PAIR. 



We published last week the vote of the 

 Board of Directors of the Illinois State Agri- 

 cultural Society abolishing racing at the com- 

 ing Fair. The following comments on this 

 decision are copied from the Prairie Farmer, 

 published at Chicago : — 



From time immemorial there have existed 

 two parties upon the question of trials of speed 

 at our agricultural fairs. On the one side 

 have been arrayed those who look upon racing 

 as a legitimate pastime, resulting in the 

 amusement of the people and improvement of 

 the equine stock of the country, the jockeys, 

 the gamblers, who wish to gain by the sport, 

 and the large crowd of spectators who love the 

 excitement of the race. 



On the other side we have had that large 

 class of the community, who have had all 

 their moral feelings outraged by association 

 with the gamblers, pick-pockets, and bruisers 

 that the race course in this country is almost 

 sure to attract to its exhibitions, and by the 

 open practices of gambling, betting, &c., that 

 form the chief business of such characters upon 

 these occasions. 



