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The Brussels Post, 1886-6-4, Page 1VOL. XIII, Ea4'1' HURON FAithUERS' INSTITUTE. VI1RY 8U00Reelenr, GATHERING, Tho seoond meeting of the Farmers' Institute of the East Biding of Huron was held in the Wroxeter Town Hall, on Friday of het week, the President Urinh McFadden, of Grey township, in the chair. The Hall was tastily decorated with three evergreen mot- toes, "Welcome,"''Spend the plough," and "Union is strength," flowers, &c. There was a goodly attendance at the opening of the meeting. The President said he felt some- what reluctant et making an address, the more so because he had suooeed- ed such a man es John McMillan. However his motto was to do the best he could and his object was to further the interests of the institute. He was glad to see the interest mani- fested in these gatherings and by this free and friendly interchange of thought and experience good would certainly follow. He hoped the epealt- ers would be short, the discussions pointed and be entered heartily in. to by everyone. Don't be afraid to contradict what you don't agree with BS 0171110 38 the way to draw one an- other out. Our work, as farmers, was to make the soil as productive as possible end be believed there was no better farming land on the face of the earth than that found in Huron Oo. Mr. McFadden wound up his spicy address by relating' an anecdote illus., !rating what he had bleu saying. Wm. Bishop, Sooretury, read the minutes of the meetings held arrang- ing for ibis institute, which were adopted. The first topic introduced was Forestry and the following interesting paper was read by Thos. Gibson, M. P. P.—I do not profess to be a practical farmer but in my desire to aid the Instituto consented to pre- pare this paper. Forestry is not as essen- tial as grasses or grain growing. To -day dairying appears to be taking the lead. The subject upon which I intend shortly to treat is, as Iwo been nnouneed, Forestry, and any remarke I may make will be rather suggestive than dogmatic. It is only re- peating a truism to say that the civilised world is going through a severe crisis of de- pression and no interest more so than ag- riculture. Tho pride of wheat, the groat agricultural staple, has not been so low in London or Liverpool as at present for a hundred years, whatever it is owing to. memo economists say it is owing to the de- ficiency of gold with which to curry on in- ternetlonaltrade, for however a paper aur - Taney may do for domestic use, to affect a settlement between different countries re- quirea either produce of aorne sort or the precious metas ; others gay it is owing to labour saving machinery having overtaken and surpassed consumption ; others say it is owing to the appearance as a competitor of India. a country of cheap labour, with a hot mild climate, taking little to sustain life, that things are so depressed on thia continent and in lilurope. Whatever com- binatiou of circumetanoee is the cause a a period of low prices has evidently set in and that to stay. It behoves us, therefore, to look around us for new avenues of pro- duotion and one which, if it may not give a quiok return, will add to the value and consequently to the wealth of farmers is for them to turn their attention mors to tree planting, not only will it have this effeot but we cannot estimate the value to a oounbry generally for climatic reasons. It is well known that lands along the shore of to Mediterranean sea, which in ancient times wore fnmone for their fertility, with large populations, with cities having an ad. vanaed state of civilization, these same countries are almost depopulated, with hero and there a few squalid eavage0 exist- ing among the ruins. Palestine was, in ancient' times, a land flowing with milk and honey. The 1780110001110 of Lebanon and Carmel were covered with luxuriant trees in what would be but a corner of Ontario, in ancient times there must have been a population of 6 or 7 millions. Now, I don't oupposo, it contains a population of 200 or 800 and it Is mantatned by many that it only requires judicious planting to lee ii again olothed with fertility and sustaining a large population. In south western France there is a largo traot of country call. ed the Landes, which 111 the time of Julfus Omsar austained a large, hardy and valiant population, who gave him all he could do with the resources of home at his book to conquer them. At that time it w50 a well wooded country but it wag subsequently denuded of its trees and in our time it ham become almost a drifting sand, The tete Emperor Napoleon, a shrewd, far-seeing man, who, but for 1118 wife, might have boon, or his airs, 011 the throne of Franco, sot about planting portions of them and though there hoe hardly been sufii1ient time to show what the effects will ultimate- ly be, into travellers say that an alteration is already observed for the bettor, neutral - icing to n certain extent the aridity of the climate and what was commercially worth- less will in a abort time become a source of income to the state, But to nomo to genie - thing nearer homo, It le evident, without Muth cOnoideratiou, that in the older por- tion of Ontario and oven in the most of Huron that the period has arrived when the question of tree planting will have to be taken up, and in a country such as this, properties being e0 sub -divided, it is going to be a difficult question to solve. 1n Brit. tain the land is 111 few bands and there is that advantage that the owners can deal' With this queethon far easier than we can: BRUSSELS, ONTARIO, FRIDAY, JUNE 4, 1886, Some of the landlords carry on the busl- nose in a systematic manner, cutting down so much yearly and re -planting the ewe amount and making handsome rotnrno, far more than 10 derived from agriocitural landsland pi planted its oftrtora hsal obaraoto80 ri11 0 fit fhe or cultivation. Land being so sub -divided and each of us claim to do with our own as we plow, whether by argument and persuasion the difficulty will be solved, it is not oast' to say. In some things the law won't allow us with our own to do no we please. If a men abuses lois horse, or an. Irani of any description, he 004 be punished for it and the time may some when eaob in- dividual farmer may have to retain a certain per centage of his land in woods. That would not be such a violent stretch or in- terference with property in land en henry George advocatre, and his a10we aro being received with much favor in Britain, just because the land is in few hands. There le not much chance for George's doctrines in American sail. Forest's are needed with ns largely for fuel, as well as lumber. We sant outlast year for coal over 67,000,000, paying thereon over $1,000,000 in duty and the time is rapidly approaching when that amount will be doubled, which will be a tremendous drain upon our resources. The pries of lumber is rapidly going up, black walnut fetches now in Chicago $70 per M, and cherry, at the same time, $On. Timber, unlike any other product, ie of slow growth and will not, it may bo said, be meat of a benefit to those who may plant it and by throwing or keeping a certain amount of land out of cnttivation may be a present Iose but is a vory abort -sighted, unpatriotic view to take of the matter and that is the part of it that may require legislation to deal with, Even for present value the planting of fray 100 walnut trees and 100 pins trees and have them kept fenced oo that cattle cannot get to them would add largely to the selling value of any farm. In Minnesota a lively interest was being token in the cultivation of a tree Galled Oatalpia, for fence poste and railway ties, An acre of land planted with bleak walnut wonldfit of 82,000.. Th50 ere was nothing roduce a net take the plaoe of wood for railway ties ; iron, glass and stone had been tried but without gumless. There are alwayo portions on nearly every farm which are almost waste whioh could profitably be put into trees. I do not pretend to be able to say what are the proper methods and times to do so, but only to 0011 attention by these, perhaps rambling and disjointed, remarks to the importance of the oubjoot, and if they have in a small degree that effect I consider my- self well repaid for any little labor and thought I have given this subject. The President opened the di:tension by stating that if the pioneers had to live their lives over a different polioy would be follow- ed as far as oaring for trees. Township Councils were giving their aid 111 tree plant. ing but the trouble was cattle and pigs often did a great deal of damage to young traria by the roadside. Thos. Strnoban, Heave of Grey township, said his township bad passed a by-law re- straining cattle from running at large. Ile thought tree planting added greatly to the appearance of the farm. Advocated fencing half a rod along the road or line fences and filling it with trees, This climate and coun- try was most favorable to tree growing. We had been too 0ar01000 in the past in clearing. Thos, Gibson M. P. P., thought • beauty was gcod but utility and profit better. Mr, Miller, of Newmarket, had a plot of 8 or 10 rods filled with fir, larch and spruce trees, brought from Scotland. They were aboat a foot hign when brought out and cost $15 per thousand. After they were elimatized they were transplanted. In addition to ihoir beauty they proved a great shelter to the farm buildings. Thos. Hays, of MoKillop township :,2How close should walnut tress be planted r Ans. 50 trees to an acro to grow 4 standards in 50,ysare. There ie a differenoe in the time of maturing in trees and in some plass they were cut down every six years fn rota- tion after the first lot attained their growth. Trees will roaoh maturity in 60 years. Jno. McOras, of Morris township, did not believe in planting trees along femme but ad- vocated planting them it clomps so as to be a shelter for cattle fn the warm weather. 4'orestry had its difficulties too for over pro- duotion would result if everybody went in for blodk walnut. In Sootlaud a fir tree 42 years old was cut down for a mast that measured 70 feet. Trop rooto were often a uniaance iu the way of the mower anand the trd reaper. to did not know what eifeet troop had on the glfinete. Mr, Gibson said trews were the sauce of rain falling more moderately and it did not dry up so quickly. A popular writer said trees were bringing back tholiunlidity of the climate. g to 1.5 of a country like this should be under trees. The question was asked whether walnut would grow in this section as it was nota nat- nral wood? It was auswerod in the a0irm- ative,. W. II. Kerr, of Brueeslo, was pleased to 000 the interest taken in tree growing by the On- tario Legislature and thought much of the beauty and attraotiyenossof the growing vill- agee and towns was due to the provisions of the Tree Act. Arbor day in commotion with our school plots was doing a good work and tranoforming lots that were a runway for cat- tle and pigs into home.likepiots. Ile did not know what Out olimatehad on standing tim- boribut ho did know that after it was out down &load of wood that measured oorde in the Muth could notbe made cordo in a bakyardintownoo venafteralore low ing air holes, &a. He would like it explained. It was stated that the climate was not to blame for thie but that was the only way to get even with the townspeople for the shrink- age on pork. Ageneral conversation thou mined during which it was thought advisable to plant trees along thofenee line so that as poets dooayed the tress could be utilised. If the Land law were 01lforeed n0 iebeee would be needed. No lettere hold wae right without 8hodo treas. The quostiou of pruning fruit trees was die• Elliott, Alex. Johnston ands Bore joining the discussion. 1 g 1 The morning oeoaiotlwas then brought to a oleao and an adjournment den hour made for dinner. A8091107008 01100708. On re-aeoemblingat 1 O'olook there wee a much larger attetdannethan inthe forenoon. Tho subjectof Wheat Culture wait taken up by Thos. Straehan, Reeve of Grey township, who road the following paper which rroved the ground work of a very warm and fnter- e:Mug dloousoion:-- Wheat culture is a question of vast im- portnee to the farmera of this country and particularly of the Last Riding of Huron, a subject also with which we should be in- timately acquainted, especially since our settlement in this part of the country we depended upon this crop as yielding to best returns for our labor, and from whioh, probably up to the present time, we have derived the greatest portion of our wealth. It is very important for no, partioutarlyi at present, to become thoroughly conversant With the beet methods of securing a largo yield from a given quantity of land as the competition we have to .contend with is ex- cessively keen. Prices being so much. less slan in ave to bo bromerughtrtosour aid anand tamethods sought by which a greater yield eau be pro- cured from a smaller area and wheat col. tura be continued profitably. When the price of wheat wan high to make it pay it was net so necessary to produce such a large yield from the acre as now when wheat 10 perhaps one third less in value than the average in former years, If we can matte 10 acres of land now produce as much as 15 did when prices were $1.25 per bushel it would be as profitable to raise wheat as it was 10 or 15 years ago. In a country shah as ours it is simply impossible tmo ans.s The the pl minricg of f aduty y nponflheat the ere less is 0011- +product of in ed than any bo raised, vwiill not enhance the value of that product as we experience in our own country. We must compete with the markets of the world and with countries that can produce wheat at a trifling expense, The great advances that have boen made in opening up channels of communication and the means of transit by land or water at the disposal of the agri. coituralist, bring us face to fade with all the modern improvements of transhipment at the disposal of every civilized country in the world. The intelligent agriculturalist will naturally enquire what is beat to be done under these oirourestanaes? Although our energies may be directed to other than. uels by whioh we eau make up for the great ' loco we endured from low prices I am sat- isfied that vast quantitfea of wheat will be raised in this part of the country so well adapted to the culture of wheat, the chief element from whioh we derive our eusten- nce. But the area now devoted to raising wheat is less than in former years, mani- festing that we have already felt the pron. ing necessity of substituting other insane by whioh we oar maintain a subsistence. We are aware that in the profitable pro. duction of this valuable cereal, no crop is more sensitive to 0ariesehusbandry, When travelling through the various districts of the country we cannot phut our eyes to the fact that vast quantities of wheat is sown in fields which nature teaches should not be sown and was not intended to raise wheat, until properly treated and should have beau devoted to some other Drop. The land'may be excellent in itself, of first qual- ity, but intelligent skill has not been exer- cised in putting the field in a proper con- dition for the producing of wheat, conse- quently the field had been ds of used toollars aro lost prod cehsome other orop ir re- muneratio! nfor ouwouldr labor.ave Tates greatest drawback to the production of a good atop of wheat, from a field fairlysuitable for Qat purpose, is the Iat00000 of the eeason in which it le sown. Our own eormo1encee tell us we cannot expect a good arop of wheat from that field, but the wheat is sown nev- ertheless and we hope against hope that the wheat will bo good and which in nine oases out of ton is not, but hypocritically we blame everything and everybody but ourselves. My observation leads me to this feet that wheat although !afield Iain good condition must be tearly, ten ler eoavthe farmeris genelly in he habit of ing. We strive to sow about the first week of September, whichiwe generally consider in good time,but my opinion is in„this part of the country we should have our wheat in by the first week of August to,make it aimed certain that we would have a good crop. This or 10dat of ysslater than thediIn etrio0ion, tb week of country south clue nearer the lake. In this part of the country winter soba in rather earlier than in tho,southern portion of the county, and spring, or the 00aeonfe0 enuring, ie that much at least earlier, consegnontly wheat that ie sown in the last week of August here is no more advanced in the spring than w120540own;fn the south on the first week of September. You may observe that native graseee, Amore, fruits, thistles, and woods of all kinds, come sand mature very early, manifesting, in my opinion, the urgent no. °essity of putting in our orope as early as possible. Oar land, however, abould be put in the best condition possible, We know that high land if sown early and fairly rich invariably produeee a fair yield of fall whnature liae riot done this wo mu t and art Iltnow if one quarter of the fields nowoown to wheat were thoroughly drained and en- riohod by manure, or other oompoeits, we could produce as much 80 we now produoo fro1 mone lowly and almf toonhe fdent rea 5 aoroodof wher eat thoroughly prepared and sown in proper nation will produce as much as 10 careless- ly put in. By, this method the land could bo sown to coarse grain enabling us to do - vote that portion of our grain to raising stools by whioh we could apoumulato more menu?, ordovoto 1110 land topasturo, which would increase tiro fertility of our eel/. If you:want to know whoro drafts should bo OST. NO. 48. put in look et a field of fall wheat in the spring and you will have no difficulty in as. ed. Itt thg labor ere pat upoour n 20 &ores d of land in preparation for fall wheat 1300 generally pot upon 10, I know the remuneration and aAeld would be the ease what equal lose armies tote and former when that land might be profitably employ- ed to some other source of income, and, in which we can gain this ismore than wit least one llsthod eo pent' sato ns for the loss by the decline in the price of wheat, and in place of the fall in prices blit sing in disguan ise. Besides arable the lait nd ti . ingriohwe should have it clean from weeds and thistles, which, I believe, can be done eucoesefnlly by intelligent energy and care. A friend of mine told me that for fall wheat he plowed only once but oultiyateo and har- rows on the surface, never turning the sod as first plowed. He says this method kills thistles and all kinds of weeds. I know he is a good farmer and raises fine orope and eerbainlyit is a great saving of labor as gang -plowing and harrowing can be dorm quicker than plowing only and you can have your land ready almost any time you want to sow. I have a tivated like this last summer and fieldil nd Ifound il t worked admirably and the wheat looks excellent. There are many things I have not touched upon but I know there are many gentlemen present who are far more capable of giving information on this important matter as will be instructive and beneficial to the farmers present at this institute. The question was thoroughly die - cussed for over an hour, `hos. Hays Thos. Gibson, M, P. P.. Chas. Mc Lauclxlin,J. R. Miller, Jno. McOrae, Jno. Fortune, Andrew Dodds, Sam1. Black, Jno. McMillan, U. McFadden Thomas Strachan and others join. ing in the discussion, Space will not permit of us giving their speeches. However we summarize what was said. Wheat grows more evenly on cultivated summer fellows and weeds are eradioated. Thorough draining is very manned. If an early frost 00mes before snow there is little dan• ger of rotting. Sow early. Deep seeding not advisable. A broad east sower is preferable to a drill in most instances. Too much wheat raised and not enough of oats and other orope. The Hessian Sy may prove troublesome if wheat is sown too soon, Heavy snow is sure to kill fall wheat if over grown, unless holes are dug through the banks to admit the air. change of seed and succession of crops often produced good results, In oases where manure ran short plowing in green crops, oats, clover, buckwheat or other crops would en. rich the soil. Au open ditch around the field often added much to a wheat field. Bars follows were disapproved and fermata urged to put some crop in that could be plowed under. 1t wee thought that it was a blight not rust that destroyed the fall wheat last year, Farmers should fatten their own cattle and thus save the manure. The manure of a ton of bran in England sold for $14. Plas- ter, salt and phosphates were recom- mended as fertilizers. The next and last subject was Grasses and was introduced by John McMillan, Reeve of linnet, who is recognized as as authority on agri- culture. Mr. McMillan said he was glad to meet Lis brother farmers. Life was short and everybody was busy and therefore the Institute was a blessing as here we got the opinions of a score or more pereone who have. learned by practical tests. The Loo. al Govenment done all oould dor dto hely the farmer and they establishing of thee° institutions was a good move. He would like io see more young men interested in these gatherings as they would soon have to take the places of rosponsiblity and if they did not improve their op. porianities the doctors and lawyers would still continue to 60 in the leg- islative Italie, and manage the affairs of the country. Would tike to have been better prepared to deal with the subject of grasses but of one thing he was certain to grow grasses sucoe*s• fully the laud must be well drainej. The soil must be treated according to lie kind, The polioy pursued by many farmera regarding grasses was suicidal as their cattle were turn- ed out too early and kept on too late. A great deal of our grass fields aro winter killed. The trouble in seed- ing down is the seed is too thinly sowed. Many people thought low land was speofally adapted for graso but unless drained it is a mistake. A variety in seed 1s an important Seater to get good grass, Sowing timothy and eloper is not enough, as timothy in a dry season will give very little aftorgrowth. For permanent pasture he knew nothing better than meadow grase, rye grave, tinsothy and orchard groes, Heutaoltq blue grass and rod top, Lueeru and Alsike clover are also good grasses, After roots it would pay to sow grans and eat hay the first season. It pays to pay a good price for seed. Farming is resolving itself into either dairying or beefing. The latter is the better if properly managed. Let the pas- ture get a start before turning cattle out. Draining keeps a dry farm moist and a wet farm dry. Know nothing butter than clover to raise on a poor farm as it draws largely from the atmosphere and on account of the length of roots draws moisture to the eel!, Timothy if left for seed is as exhausting on laud as wheat. Out clover early, when oat in full blossom. You will get more weight if left longer but not bettor feed. Hungarian Lae the est feeding goal. itios and millet will also give a good crop and is excellent for soiling. No other feed will yield like Hungarian except green corn. Land used to be worked until it was run down and then let run to groes but that is now an exploded idea. Top dressing with limo, plaster, bone dust, or opal ashes is excellent for permanent pas. titre. 1.1 a solid close mat of grass is obtained the farmer is doing his work well. When grass is out off a mead- ow for the first time keep cattle off and you will get a better crop another year. In seeding down 6 pounds of clover and 7 or 6 pounds of timothy ie a good mixture. In the discussion that followed this paper it was bronght out that grass seed should be sown like a spendthrift and gathered like a miser. It . will pay a roan to sow a bushel of plover seed in a 10 acre field. The general belief was that permanent pastures will pay. A vote of thanks was moved by W. H. Kerr, Beoonded by Jno. McMillan, to the ladies of Wroxeter for trouble they took in decorating the Hall. This very interesting gathering was then brought to a close. Canadian late -s, The Knights of Labour of Mon- treal will put three candidates in the field at the approaching Provincial el- ections. Dr. Henry, of Orangeville, has been elected to fill the vacancy in the Ontario Medical Council caused by the death of Dr. Douglas, of Pori Elgiu. At Pincher Creek, N.W.T., recent. ly a cow was butchered and the bones of a calf found inside her. The cow had been perfectly healthy and was in firot.class condition when killed. On May 28th,forth•one years ago, the first great fire occurred in Quebec, reducing St. Rooh's to ashes. Two thousand three hundred and eighty houses were burned in five hours. A Gravenhurst constable arrested a man the other day, but instead of putting him in the lock-up took him to a Salvation Army meeting, and then home to his own house, where he lodged him for the night. There were eight entries at the Ridgetown Baby Show on the Queen's Birthday. On.lthe stage were fourteen young girls dressed in white arranged in three tiers, and supported en each side by the candidates and their mothers. Biel's mound in the Cathedral Cemetery at St. Boniface is rather low and is surrounded by a plain fence painted white. At the head of the grave is a owes, also painted white, with the simple ineoription up. on it, "Louis David Biel.'+ A cow belonging to the Geary Bros,, of Euphemia, has given birth to a calf with eight legs. The extra four wore attached to to region of the etomaoh, about four inches apart. They were perfect in shape and Iength, but a little smaller than the others. The calf died immediately after birth. A prominent business man of Essex Centre forgot his latch key a few nights ago, ' and arriving home late attemptedtogo in through a window. The fritntic efforts of his feet to find. a reeting plane inside arouse his wife, and mistaking him for a burglar she set up a howl that raised the neigh- bors, the window Dame down upon the small of the poor man's baok,'his wife and her visitors armed them. selves with pokers and clubs and pro- ceeded for the part within the room. in a moist barbarous manner. It was long before reeognitiou of the victim led to a suspension of hostilities, and the loeal gossips predict that it will bo much longer before pease is rester. ed to the household,