JACOB E. HOLMAN, Hammonton Shippers' Union, Hammonton. JESSE R. ABBOTT, Hammonton Fruit Growers' Union, Pleasant Mills. HENRY PFEIFFER, Germania Fruit Growers' Union, Cologne. WILLIAM KRIEG, Director-at-Large, Pomerania. REPORT. BY V. P. HOFMANN. There was but one meeting of the Board held during the year 1899, at Union Hall, Hammonton, N. J., on November 22d, and had good attendance throughout the different sessions. After the regular routine business of the Board had been attended to the Farmers' Institute was opened by Secretary Franklin Dye, of the State Board, on the subject of "Economy in Farm Management." He grouped his subject into three parts: First-Lay out faims in such a way that all land will be doing something; Second-Plant for crops in rotation, in order to increase fertility, and such diversity of crops as will give continuous work for men and horses; Third-Grow all you can for family and farm support. Mr. J. E. Holman spoke on "Strawberry Culture." First-he would cultivate less acres, and give higher fertilization; Second-do away with growing in quantity, but endeavor to increase the quality; Third-abandon old way to sell to commission merchants, and strive to come in direct touch with consumer, as the consumer pays two to three times as much as the producer receives. The strawberry is a natural plant, easy to grow, will thrive on all soils, but prefers a rich, loamy one with water near the surface. He would prefer a grass-sod turned under in the fall, the turf well pressed down with a roller and pulverized with the harrow. If no sod, take old ground, turn under a liberal quantity of stable manure, or else bone, then apply 600 pounds of fertilizer. In the spring apply from 600 to 800 pounds of fertilizer per acre, and work it occasionally until planting time. The great secret lies in the selection of plants. Plant propagating beds as fast as the plants grow out, clip the plants to grow roots; the roots in ground should never be over four inches long. Mark out the ground and make holes with a spade; a good man will plant from 6,000 to 7,000 plants a day. Stir ground as soon as possible after the plants are set, and weed thoroughly every week or ten days until July. As soon as weeds start use a hoe, a good man will hoe over an acre in a day; continue cultivation up to September or October. Next spring apply from 600 to 800 pounds of phosphoric acid—needs not much nitrogen. To insure a good strong growth of vines during the first year, apply 400 pounds raw bone, 200 pounds potash and 200 pounds nitrogen on the ground as early as February. After this cultivate lightly between the rows, not over one to two inches deep. It depends much on picking and packing; every berry should have a short stem attached to it, and berries should be graded and packed in new crates. Mr. William Colwell read a paper upon the subject of "Raspberry Culture." His acquaintance with varities of raspberries has been with the Turner, Brandywine, Cuthbert, London and Miller, and his opinion is that the Miller is the best shipper, holds its color longer and is the finest all-around market berry he has grown. If he had his choice of soils, he would take a clay upland or a well-drained bottom land; he would coat it heavily with stable manure and plant it to some cultivated crop, as corn, potatoes, &c., and the next year, in a soil well filled with humus, would plant the vines, and would be able to grow raspberries successfully for several years with an application of fertilizers. He sets the plants in drills six or seven feet between rows and from two to three feet apart in the rows, depending on the number of plants he has on hand; larger berries can be grown in the hill system, but not so many per acre. The first year he grows sweet potatoes or some other crop between the rows. He has been using as a fertilizer a mixture consisting of 600 pounds fish guano, 200 kainit and 200 rock phosphate, containing about five per cent. nitrogen, twelve per cent. phosphoric acid and three per cent. potash. He plows a light furrow from the plants, spreads the fertilizer and plows back covering the same. He believes in clean culture, but did not do it in practice. He trims in August, and instead of burning the trimmings he plows a dead furrow between the rows, places the trimmings therein and covers them with the plow, and then sows rye or crimson clover as a green crop to turn under in the spring. The raspberry has many enemies the knot in the roots, which retards the flow of the sap; the anthracnose, causing it to prematurely drop its foliage; the slug, that makes its appearance with the first foliage and cleans the vine to a barren cane; the rose-bug, that comes with the blossom and devours the bloom. All these pests tend to make the raspberry-grower anxious. This year has been a good year for raspberries, owing to the shortage of the peach crop, and they have brought fairly good prices. His crop was about 2,000 quarts per acre, realizing about $157.00 per acre, deducting $111.30 for expenses, leaving a net profit of $45.70. The next subject was, "Cow-Peas as a Fertilizer," by Peter H. Brown, of Hammonton. He had been experimenting for a number of years how to restore our fields naturally destitute of humus and nitrogen. He had sown cow-peas as a test to enrich a number of crops, and had been very successful in restoring some of the elements naturally deficient in our soils. He had harvested by its means State of Maine potatoes at the rate of 150 bushels per acre. He also showed samples of different crops which had been materially benefited by it. "Intelligent Buying of Fertilizers," by Alva Agee, of Ohio, was the next subject exhaustively treated upon. He was followed by James E. Rice, of New York State, upon "Raising Chickens-Incubating, Brooding and Feeding." In the evening Mr. Rice spoke upon the subject of "The Food we Eat-Showing Variation in Composition and Cost." Prof. J. B. Smith, being prevented from appearing, Mr. Agee, of Ohio, made a highly entertaining talk upon "The Rights of the Boy." GENERAL REMARKS. Compared with previous years, in general the farmers can be contented with the results of the harvest of products and the prices realized therefor. Although there was a reduced yield in small berries, the returns of the same more than compensated for this deficiency. There was a decreased yield of hay, owing to the dry weather prevailing in the spring. After having chronicled for many years in succession the failure of the grape crop, caused by the black rot, the past year's crop proved highly encouraging, there being an excellent yield of sound and rich berries, but few traces of its arch-enemy being present. The planting of pear orchards with the Keiffer variety has been greatly extended, many parties planting several acres of the same. Several fatal cases of cerebro-spinal meningitis occurred among the horses in this county. During the year, under the stimulus of the Road law, the road leading from the county seat, Mays Landing, to Egg Harbor City, was completed, and one from Atlantic City to Longport started. Different sections of the county are clamoring for an extension of the same. The season of 1899 was happily more exempt from the devastating forest fires, those occurring being of slight extent. |