Extension Work in Horticulture. 203 



becomes warmer than either of the other lakes, and this warm 

 water gives to this section a long, beautiful autumn with plenty of 

 time to ripen the grape to perfection." 



Why I Sow Rye in the Yineyard, hy G. Shoenfeld. 



In the months of July and August, when the vineyards should 

 be clean and exposed to the sunlight the organic matter in the soil 

 is broken up, and nitrification proceeds rapidly. Nitrogen being 

 the most valuable and costly as well as the most subtle element of 

 plant food, is then easily lost by leaching during our fall and spring 

 rains. To prevent this, in the latter part of August I sow rye in 

 the rows of the grapes. The rye will thoroughly penetrate the 

 ground with its roots during the wet season, take up and store 

 available plant food for the next season, when the vine will appro- 

 priate it, besides putting the land in just that mechanical condition, 

 when plowed under, to make the plants thrive. The plants want 

 organic matter to woi'k upon and plenty of heat, a moderate amount 

 of moisture, just the right conditions in which the vineyard should 

 be during June and July to the middle of August. 



By adding potash and phosphoric acid, if not in abundance 

 already in the soil, the plant food for the vines is complete. I con- 

 sider such a course better and safer than using stable manure 

 instead. The valuable parts of manure are precisely the same as in 

 fertilizers, viz., nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid. Its value 

 over commercial fertilizers lies in its fiber, or vegetable substance ; 

 but this fibre can be added by the rye. 



Following this paper Mr. Shoenfeld read a statement of a vine- 

 yard of one and one-half acres, which, before being improved by 

 plowing under rye for a term of years, produced a crop hardly 

 worth harvesting. In 1892 the yield was 1,184 nine pound baskets. 



3. Publication. 



The character of the publication which has been made under the 

 auspices of the Experiment Station Extension Bill has already been 

 discussed. After conferring with the Commissioner of Agriculture, 

 it was decided to number these extension bulletins consecutively 

 in our regular series, tlius avoiding the complications which would 

 arise from two independent series. Fifteen bulletins (comprised 



