Proceedings of the F^4Rmees' Club. 617 



than the pomace of cotton seed. If they will make it into oil-cake, 

 and feed it to stock, and carefully save and apply the droppings of 

 the animals that eat it, they will keep their lands np. 



J. B. Lyman. — Cotton is not an exhausting crop when properly 

 raised. The stalk is not removed from where it grew. There is 

 very little but carbon in the fibre, and this nature draws from 

 the air. The seed contains the most important elements, and 

 the concentrated manures, as guano, phosphate, superphosphate 

 and annnoniated phosphate, have a remarkable effect in making 

 the plant boll heavy. Hence the temptation to use them on all the 

 cotton fields. But after the first year they will do less and less good, 

 except on rank soils, or where the fields are fertilized by farm yard 

 composts. While the cotton is thus stimulated the soil is exhausted, 

 and finally gets down where not even guano will spur it into pro- 

 ductiveness. The policy is bad. It is tight at the tap and leaks at 

 the bung. It bankrupts to-morrow to save to-day. On alluvial soil 

 it will do no harm to apply guano and Charleston phosphate. But 

 the swamp planters are not those who use it. It is the hill planters 

 who plow a fine, light, arable, but easily exhausted surface, 

 * Mr. James A. Whitney. — It is a principle in correct farming to 

 return to the farm what we take away from it ; it is the custom to 

 supply the cotton seed for the cotton plant. In our later days cotton 

 seed oil is coming into demand. When the cotton seed oil \d\\ be 

 made a staple article of trade, it will be necessary to use the cotton 

 seed for that. It is not right to export it to Europe. If they 

 express the oil they should return the pomace to the ground. 



Planting of Forest Trees. 



Mr. J. Hogeboom, Shea's Corners, Madison county, I^. Y. — At the 

 present rate of removal of our forests, the planting of forest trees must 

 yet become a general practice. The unsettled habits of our present farm- 

 ing population are a formidable barrier to even the planting of fruit 

 trees. The farmer has no settled determination to remain where he 

 is ; and if he has, he thinks it morally certain that his children will 

 turn their backs upon the old homestead. The sacred memory of 

 the old home was once a guarantee against its alienation for at least 

 several generations. But no longer is this the case to any extent. So 

 much for that moral degeneracy that comes of a mania for specula- 

 tion. 



In this region, w^here the sugar maple grows so thriftily, and is of 



