192 TRANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



SOUTH PASS. 



The year 1S67 had been very productive in fruits, and this had had the effect to stimu- 

 late the breeding of the curculio and other insects depredators. So abundant was the 

 crop that these insects made no very perceptible inroads in it, simply aiding in thinning 

 the fruit to a reasonable limit ; but it was enabling them, M-ith increased numbers, to 

 crush out the light crop set in the spring of 1868. The crop injured by the frost of 

 April 4th, fell an easy prey to the insects, that now swarmed in such increased numbers. 



ARTIFICIAL HEAT FOR HOT-BEDS. 



For some years successful efforts had been made to sprout sweet potatoes by fire heat, 

 by the use of large air, or rather smoke and fire chambers under the hot-beds. The 

 past spring, an improvement was made on this mode of heating, by placing four inch 

 drain tile about two feet below the surface, and putting two of these tile to the bed of 

 six feet wide, placing them four feet apart in parallel lines, and preparing the soil above 

 these in the usual way for gardening purposes, for the reception of the sweet potatoes. 

 These tile served as flues for the fire-box at the lower end ; the beds being in the hill- 

 side — the heat and smoke passing off through them and warming up the soil of the bed. 

 By this plan the heat may be controlled at will, and danger from excess of moisture 

 averted. In this case no glass was used, the warmth of the soil keeping off frost. To- 

 matoes, lettuce and cabbage plants were also started in this way with satisfactory results ; 

 and parties are so well pleased with the plan that it will have an extended trial in the 

 spring of 1869, for early vegetables and strawberries. At my last visit I saw a large 

 number of strawberries planted over these drains for the purpose of early fruiting. 



Dr. Hull, of Alton, has grown tomato plants for ten acres, in a similar manner, using 

 a double flue made of flat stone, of which he had an abundant supply. He had fruited a 

 portion of the plants on the beds and ripened the fruit some weeks in advance of those 

 in the open ground. 



THE STRAWBERRY CROP. 



The strawberry crop proved light, apparently from defective fertilization ; how much 

 of this was due to strangulation, by the suspension of growth, caused by the long con- 

 tinued cold rain storms, is a question that ought to receive more attention, and if found 

 true, we shall need to seek the remedy by tile draining and more thorough culture. 



At Onarga, in the garden of W. P. Pierson, where the soil was well drained, the crop 

 was a fair one ; and at Champaign in the grounds of Mr. Rice, where the natural drain- 

 age was good, the crop was also very satisfactory. We can thus account in part for the 

 small crop of this fruit. Plants standing in water-sodden soil, for weeks, cannot remain 

 healthy ; and it is possible that a greater loss is due to this cause than we have generally 

 supposed. Trees and plants bloom profusely, and yet fail to set the fruit ; trees in cer- 

 tain locations do this year after year. It is more than probable that it is caused by stag- 

 nation of growth at the particular time that nature most needs help, but the forces of 

 nature being checked the fruit must perish, like seed arrested by drought. 



