90 Mississippi Valley Horticulhiral Society. 



piece of ground that I knew had been clean for ten years. I plowed 

 it deeply. The next year what was my surprise to find it perfectly 

 stocked with clover. I went to the owner and asked a solution. 

 He said, " Thirteen years ago that land was in clover. I got the 

 clover plowed under so as to get rid of the seed, just as deep as a 

 team could plow it." You must know the history of your soil. 



Dr. McKay, of Mississippi — As I 'have started this discussion, it 

 will be well for me to make a statement. I have tried fertilizing 

 with almost everything within reach. When I commenced straw- 

 berry culture in this latitude, I commenced with the idea that high 

 fertilizing was the proper mode to be pursued, and would give 

 the best and most satisfactory results. I did it with this idea, it 

 having been impressed upon me in Kentucky. There, fertilizing 

 was a success. I therefore commenced in this State with high ma- 

 nuring. While I was pursuing this system, I had other plants 

 growing upon very thin lands. I did not look upon these as being 

 very profitable. When the time came foj the fruit, however, I found 

 that my best fruit was upon the thin land. It was better in color 

 and had more solidity than that grown on the richer lands. I had 

 three patches : one was very heavy, another was good sand land 

 with some fertilizing, the other was very poor — land that would not 

 produce, under good cultivation, over fifteen bushels of corn per 

 acre. When I came to gather fruit from the highly cultivated 

 patches I sometimes had to pay the shipping expenses from the 

 fruit grown on the thinner land. 



Mr. Smith — What was the condition of your manure when put 

 upon that land ? 



Dr. McKay — It was such as we get from our cows pens. It was 

 what we would call manure deprived of its fermenting properties. 

 Then we used bone dust. We could see no benefit to the plants or 

 increase of the fruit. Afterwards I used cotton seed, some sixty 

 bushels, plowing in with a deep subsoiler. This increased the 

 yield, but I could see no difference in the price obtained for the 

 berries. 1 afterwards tested cotton seed ashes, then cotton seed 

 meal. This increased the size of the plants but did not increase the 

 yield nor the quality of fruit, and, 1 think, to a certain extent, dam- 

 aged the keeping qualities. The fruit has not the solidity or perma- 



