Club Minutes: Enterprise Farmers Club, 1865-1872

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with Timothy & Clover in it, or sow it in wheat? All favor sowing the wheat. 10th. If you had a field which was very full of briers, which you wanted to put in corn next spring would you plow it now or leave it till fall? Plow at once.

The Sec then apprized the meeting that he had been informed by the Sec of the Sr Club, that they had apnointed a committee of three members, & requested us to appoint a similar committee to unite with theirs, in preparing a series of experiments as to the cultivation of the Potatoe; & that they had appointed one of their members to unite with one from the Horticulural & one from our club to make arrangements for the horticulural exhibition the coming fall both propositions received the hearty approval of this meeting & Chas H Brooke, A M Stabler & Thos J Lea were appointed as the 1st named committee, and Ed P Thomas was requested to act on behalf of the Club Jr, in preparing for the Exposition.

After doing full justice to the good things prepared by our hostess, we adjourned to meet at the house of Benjn H Miller on the 11th of next month.

8th mo llth 1866. The Club met at the house of Benjn H Miller. Present all the members except, Sam Hopkins. As guests we had H C Hallowell, Frank Miller, C A Iddings, Dr Thomas and F H Smith. Ed P Thomas was appointedforeman and T J Lea Sec pro Tem. After a pleasant chat & the reading of the minutes of last meeting, we started on our usual round of inspection, of course the first & most natural object for us to look after was the garden, which we found had been attended during the growing season; the only thing we could have wished different was the time of ripening of the Canteloupes as we could give a better opinion of them after tasting their flavor, than

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by counting them & noting their size. We next started toward the barn stopping on the way to look at some very fine colts in the adjoining field; the barn door latch was noticed to be very strong, & to be of the same patent as those used by some of our other members. The corn house contained some very nice wheat & oats & a small pile of what seemed to be corn cobs, just enough to keep from forgetting how corn looks. A lot of very good young sheep were observed which our host had recently purchased at a cost of $3.28 each.

As our host has has so recently come into possession of his present home, it will not do to be too hard upon him, for using his sleigh for a barn door, or putting two gates together to make one: in going across a fine pasture field we saw a lump of rock salt, lying ready for the stock at all times. The Timothy field sown last year did not look much more promising than those of our neighbors who tried the same plan; a small portion sown in the spring, had failed entirely. The Corn field gave promise of a good yield, also the sorghum.

In passing through the orchard we observed quite a fair show of peaches, much better than is to be found in most orchards. Four very pretty hogs were noticed, showing plainly that they had been well cared for by the master, which was more plainly to be seen when we looked at the neat pig pen. The Ice house was found to be in good order & well supplied with ice for the season. Our foreman now directed his steps toward the house, & after partaking of a most excellent supper prepared by our hostess, the following questions were asked & answered viz --. 1st. Could 100,000 brick be sold in one year? One half the members thought they could if the price was not too high. 2nd. Does any one want drain tile A few would use them. 3rd. What is the cheapest & best Ice house

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A majority favor a board lining & dirt roof. 4th. Will it pay to feed green corn to hogs, stalk & all? Yes. 5th. How much wheat will the Club sow? 250 acres. 6th. What is it worth to cut corn? Ten say $1.00 per acre. 7th. How much Timothy Seed per acre? 1/6 (6) 1/8 (4) 1/4(5) [?] 8th. How many would put ventilators on barns? Twelve would. 9th. How much less seed wheat with drill than broadcast? Nine say one peck less, & three or four say the same quantity. 10th. Would you sow all wheat or part in Timothy? All wheat llth. Would you sow white or red wheat & how much per acre? All white wheat, & 2 bush per Acre. 12th. Whas Shall I do with my meadow? Eight say sow it in Timothy & six favor planting corn next spring 13th. What shall I do with a timothy field when the sod is thin? Twelve say plant corn, & four sow wheat. 14th. Will it pay to cut weeds on stubble? No. 15th. What is the best way to seed a lawn? Plow this fall & sow grass seed very early in the spring with a little oats to protect it. 16th. How much should be sown to set a lawn? One thousand pounds per acre. 17th. How soon will it do to dig potatoes? When the vines are dry & not before. 18th. Would you sow clover with rye now? Yes. 19th. How can sedge be killed out & other grass set without plowing? Top dress heavily & sow grass seed. 20th. What is the price for pasturing a colt & a calf? $5.00 per month for colt & 50 cts for calf. Asa Stabler will engage to take ten colts next season at $2.50 per month.

Then adjourned to meet at the house of Wm W Moore 9th Mo 8th 1866.

Thos J Lea

Sec pro tem

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9th Mo 8th 1866

Wm W Moore being absent from the neighborhood, we met at Asa M Stabler's when all of our merbers were present except Wm W Moore & Wm S Bond. We had Wm Lea Jr. & W P Miller as guests. Granville Farquhar was appointed foreman, the minutes of last meeting were read, & we then started upon our customary round, & first went into the garden where things looked well especially some very "fine" (?) Cabbage which some suggested were expected to be ready for use some time next season; the indestructible clothes line was fixed at a convenient height to take off our hats as we entered the garden: several pear trees which had evidently been thrifty were noticed to have been killed entirely by blight. A lot of very pretty shoats were noticed in the pen, which evidently had to depend upon the growing corn crop for a living as the corn house was bare of corn, except two "bafe" hide as the Irishman would say. The barn door fastenings were of the same pattern as those noticed at the meeting last month.

The corn field it was thought would yield 8 bbls per acre, & about as many pumpkins, judging by the portion we walked through; the watermelon patch looked so well that we had to try the melons, & found they did not belie their looks. The wheat field had been plowed twice & was in elegant order; & the potatoes were about ready to dig, a few rows that had been gathered turned out about 180 bush per acre: the peach orchard was the least interesting portion of the farm, as we did not see a single peach in it; our hosts bone mill worked by horse power, attracted considerable attention, as did a new potatoe cellar in course of construction, which was thought by most of our members to be most too small. In passing through the pasture a pair of very fine young oxen were noticed; the Sorghum was next examined, & it was thoughtby many: that it stood a fair chance for the $20.00 premium. Just before returning to the house

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the timothy field set last fall was noticed & we found a first rate sod of clover & Timothy mixed.

We then seated our selves in the very neat & comfortable new porch, to attend to the questions when the 1st one announced was supper, & judging by the earnestness, we all displayed in dicussing it, it was decidedly the most interesting question of the evening. 2nd Question. A member wishes to know whether it will pay to shovel his wheat ground? All say Yes, but one 3rd. A member wants to know whether to sow his meadow in timothy or plant in corn in the spring? Three favor the Timothy & 8 the corn 4th. How much Boughton wheat per acre with drill? Two bushels. 5th. Shall I put a pump in my well at barn, which is fifty feet deep, or build a cistern. A large majority in favor of Cistern. 6th. Chas H Brooke intended to get ten tons of lime for his wheat but can only procure five, & asks what he shall buy in place of the other five tons? All say Peruvian Guano, except one. 7th. What is the latest that it will do to sow Boughton Wheat? Oct 10th, four, Oct fifteenth, eight. 8th. What is the best time to pull Lima beans for Winter use. When the pods are yellow. 9th. What will it be safe to pay for stock cattle this fall? 4 1/4 (1), 4 1/2 (1), 5 Cts per lb (6) & four don't know. 10th. Is it safe to put potatoes away now, if they are ripe? Seven say Yes, five No, & one don't know 11th. Does it pay to cross plow for wheat? Yes unanimously. 12th. Would you sell potatoes as you did them at present prices or put them away? Nine say sell, & two put them away. 13th. How much will potatoes shrink if kept till next spring? One says 1 1/2, six say 5, three 10, & two 15 per cent, & two don't know 14th. A members asks whether to plant posts to set his corn house upon or set them on top of ground? Put in temporary posts to one side of the place for the pillars, & then buy brick af Arthur Stabler, as soon as he burns. 15th. Should hogs be salted? Yes. 16th. Is it safe to buy sheep at 3 1/2 cents per lb. Yes.