The Webster Farmers' Club

The Webster Farmers' Club held its regular monthly meeting at the residence of A. J. Sawyer, Saturday, Sept. 3d. Af ter having had a summer vacation of three nionths, the club carne together with renewed vigor and with fresh plans. The place of meeting was a very pleasant one, and the day was all that could be deBired. Long before noon the yard was thronged with carriages, the spacious barns and sheds were filled to overflowing with horses, and from every room of the house came the hum of many voices. Among the numerous visitors preeent were Hon. E. B. Winans, Hon. A. J. Sawyer, L. D. Ball and A. Valentine. After being called to order by the president the meeting was opened with prayer by Rev. J. E. Butler. The committee on topics reported that they had held one meeting and had decided that the club needed a complete revolution in the way of a LITERARY TROGRAMME. While the past meetings had been very profitable in every way and would have been a credit to any community, yet the club is capable of still greater things. And in order to plan to the very best advantage for the future, this committee asked that an addition be made to the eommittee, consisting of the following : Mr. and Mrs. OUaver, Mr. and Mrs. Alerrili, and also the wives of the present members oí the committee. This request was granted. After various other matters of business were disposed of, the club adjourned for dinner. Without stopping to describe the very delightful dinner that was then enjoyed, suffiee it to say that it was lully equal to any dinners served by this club in the past Any one who has ever attended the Farmers' Club will know that this is saying considerable. After the usual recess taken for social enjoyment, the club was again called to order by the president. A yery DELIGHTFUL VOCAL SOLO was given by Miss Rosa Mills, of Marian. This was tollowed by a humorous declamation from Dorr Queal - one of Will Carleton's poems, entitled, " Them 'ere is My Sentiments Tew." It was recited in a manner entirely in keeping with the poem, and "brought down the house." A general discussion was then had on the followiDg subject : " The best methods of preparing wheat grounds." The discussion was opened by WlLLIAiM HALL. In his experience, sowing wheat upon oats stubble had sometimes proved successful and gometimes not. In sowing oats ground the field should have been well plowed before sowing the oats, and also well manured. Then it should be plowed immediately after harvesting the oats. On sandy soil the ground should be rolled as iast as plowed. Use the cultivator freely, so as to destroy all the oats. By doing this the strength that would otherwise go into the young oats goes into the wheat. And then a man is cot disappointed when spring comes and the field presents a more barren appearance than it did in the fall when the oats weregrowing. The best time for sowing is from the 15th to the 23d of Sept. As to varieties, it is difficult to say which is the best in all cases. Different producers have different experiences with the game variety. Without any question the best way of sowing is with the drill. In this way wheat can be sown more evenly than in any other, and it is followed by seeding more suceessfully. Too little time is spent with the fanning mili. We sow too much cockle and small wheat. Last year he sowed four varieties. He sowed ten acres of Traverse. This looked baekward in the fall, Bnd still more baekward the next spring, and at harvest time it was decidedly baekward, He sowed Clawson, Valley Amber and Martin Amber. The Clawson was completely destroyed by the inEect. The others yielded 15 or 10 bushels per acre. The Amber is less subject to the ravages of the insect because the plant does not spread out as much as others. Large seed should be sown, besause it furnisb.es more nutnment tor tne young p;ant. Ut the Fulse and Clawson about two bushels per acre should be sown ; of the Amber about one and a half bushels per acre. As to fertilizers, he has had no experience with any except barn-yard manure. MR. XORDMAN. We are in the dark on the wheat question. The insect is upon us. You farmers in Webster have not been so mu;h troubled with the insect as in other parts of the county. It may be that the conditioü of the soil has much to do with keeping off the insect. Red wheat has not been injured as much this year as white wheat. Farmers should not launch out too much on new varieties of wheat. He referred to A. C. Glidden, as a very interesting writer for the Michigan Farmer. But in response to an advertisement in the Michigan Farmer, he sent to A. C. G. for a bushei of Australian white wheat. Un receipt of the geed he found it necessary to screen out a peck, a good share of which was chess and cockle. This was the first introduction. Some of the seed he sowed alongside of Clawson. That failed. while the Clawson was good. Some he sowed on barley ground. When that matured he found in it four varieties. From Mr. Glidden's reputation he had expected better things. If this rsport should happen to fall under the eye of A. C. G. an explanation wou!d be very appropriate. As to fertilizers, top dressing is not desirable. Would plow manure under. Top dressing produces too great a growth of June grass. If he could get piaster this fall he would sow piaster. Knows nothing of the effects of salt. Clawson has done better than any other kind on low ground. HON. E. B. W1NANS. Thinks he is the poorest farmer here. Strictly speaking the farm requires as much brain work as any other business. He had succeeded in farming because he had done as his neighbors had. Lat fall ho sowed Martin Amber and Traverse. The insect deetroyed one about as much as the other. The insect absorbs the juices of the young plant. If the soil is etrong the phnt will be strong, and so caa withstartd the work of the insect. Barnyard manure plowed under is the only practical kind ot fertilizer. He was gld to meet this club, and thought the club ought to press forward in their wellbegun work. ROBERT MCCOU,. Had been success-ful in raising the Lancister wheat. For low ground the Egyptian is good. L. D. BALL. Had found by experience that sowing 150 pounds of salt per acre would destroy the worst lot of eut-worms. In this way he had raised 40 bushels of wheat per acre, while in an adjoining field his neighbor had raised only ten bushels per acre under precisely the saire conditions except that he failed to sow the salt. E. LEI.ANP. Had destroyed cut-worms entirely on twenty acres of corn ground by the use of salt. MR. NORDMAN. Care should be taken to select seed wheat from the best part of the field, where the heads are the longest. MR. BROCKWAY. Sowed salt last fall on his wheat, and this season harvested from ] 6 to 25 bushels per acre. The club will hold its annual fair at W. E. Boyden's, the second Saturday in October. Cyrus Gr. Stark will read a paper at that time.