Webster Farmer's Club

Has apple ponaace a feeding valué or plrTnnt of fertility in its application to iLc soil? was the question John W. f illiams acswered in the affirmative before the Webster farmer' club at the resiíencé of President Backu?, on Jan. 12. Mr. WilliamB was just home from a conlultation of eider makers held at Cleveland, O., and was full of enthusiasm as to the merits of the hitherto despised refuse f the milis. Under the oíd process, where the juices were imperfectly extrcted, there wa9 too much acid in the jtomace, and it was worthless for any use; but under the new, where the last partióle of moisture was expelled, it became a different thing. Experienced feeders who had made thorough tests of the valué of it as a ration for stock of all kinds, valued it ahead of the products of the silo, and it could be cribbed up like cora acd kept for an indefinite period. Some surprising results of its milk-producing qualities were stated, bult;r made from its feeding possessing that genuine aroma always present when cattle have access to the fresh meadows oL summer. One very intelligent gentleman from the east told him that he would take it and finish off for market a bunch of sheep better and faster than he could with corn, for which dairy men and feeders in his section were paying $2 per ton at the milis, bearing the additional expense of Ireights to the nearest stationand carting it from two to five miles to their farms. The large 6trawberry plantations in his vicinity found it one of the beststimulants obtainable, and market gardeners were beginning to use it largely in their operations. Now, if tho8e men at the east can afford to incur eo much cost for this material and make it pay, and they are not workii g by the guess rule, are we here in Wahtenw awake to our own interest, to suffer thi first cla-s provender and fertil zer to fio ut down the river as it, does w Dexter and iill np sink holes at Ann Arbor, and wasted in a drzen different localities in ourcouoly? The climate and soil in our section was favorable to fruit, and apple-raisiug might be rescued from its present unfavorable aspects t we uring to bear upon its oultivUion earnest attention to all the possibilities of its cul ture. H was in hopes the pomological society would bring up this matter at their monthly meeting, and throw a little light on the subject; it had among its members brainy men and thougnt if once they focused thir ideas on the subject t would not long remain an unsolved problem ia Michigan. Rev. G-. E. Lincoln said at Hyland, O ik land county, some experiments had been made with pomace as a fértil zor, and it had proved disastrous; but thoughl in reply to the question, that the vinegar works adhered to the olii style of pressing- Mr. Williams said this was hia experi ence with the poniaoe as l'ormerly made; but it had one good feature in it, and that was it was a squelcher on Canada thistles and noxious weed?. Wm. Tubbs opened the discus-ion ltft over from last year of the care of stock. In his opinión this might mean a great deal according to the temperament and notions of individuals, but with meo that made stock-raising aspecialty, and he was in his way one of them, there were certain inexorable rules that must be observed in order to secure success, such as housing system in feeding, watering and personal supervisión. He was not an advocate of the cramming system which tended to produce fat at the expense of bone and muscle ; the growing period had requirementj not necessary at a later period. Corn, while an animal was developing, was an ingrediënt that he should leave out and substitute milk rüiddlings, brn or those combinations that built up the tiesues. It was not a grave fault if in the raming of stock abnormal bunches of fat did not put in an appearance ; in fact, if growth was continuoua he thought that at the period of maturity he should possess a good healthy animal thatcould be easily ripened for the block or could trausmit healthy charaoteiisties to its progeny, and thouh he might shock some of hia friends present viho could only see in a short-horn and its croases the representative bovine, he would say that while the club and these men were trying to Ëgure out of Mr. Wiliam's 22 montliB1 oíd grades some two or three years ago, phenomenal gain with the element of cost left out, he had carefuliy taken the figures and fatted Bteers of the same age, being a cross of ecrub Jersey and doody, and m selling at the same price, 4 cents, live weight, come out so far as dollars and cents profits were concerned far ahead of the pampered breed. This was a little too mu h for our friend, Gr. W. Phelps, whose love of the red and roans goes almost hand in hand with his love of wife and Children. He took the floor and proceeded to criticise Mr. Tubb's position ; the idea of a starved mother or race-horse slimnesg could be the ideal breeder or stocker ot a man seemed to him mysterious. In his whole experience of nearly a life-time, his observation had matured the conclusión that the nimal was best for all pnrposes which could show up the best filled out form. He wanted to s-ee a calf, colt or pig, just humping itself from birth to matunty; was not afraid of a little flesh. Why, did not (he gentleman know it was easy to winter them, and they were always ready for market when prices were up and not having them go through the forcing proce.'S to hasten their sale while the boom lasted. W. E. Boyden thought the gospel according to G. W. Phelps' rendeiing was the true mission. His best breeders were the fattest. As to this crusade against corn he was unqualifiedly opposed. They teil U8 not to feed brood sows corn or you will have either poor pigs or none at all Ihst will thrive. Well, last summer two f his best breeders during the period of gestation, through some oversight, beeame too thin to suit him, and he went to feeding corn, and they at farrowing time were fat; y et he bad a nice litter of 18 pigs that were a credit to the strain. Every thing on his larm that eats corn got it, and he would show up percentage oL loss as low as any one. Amos Phelps fed according to his fodder. Of that which I have most I ara the most liberal. If my hay erop is short I make larger drafts on the straw-stack, and have learned that straw, though set not very high in the analysis of chemists as a food, somehow in practice werks very well. He had geen a good many things suffer for want of corn, but never any from too much of it. K. McColl would like to have the gentleman teil us when a pig becomes a hog. They will keep growing and gaining weight for years if moderately fed. Draw the line ifyou can, and teil us at what age to shift from the lighter to the heavier diet.