132 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



years ago, a few strawberry-plants on the banks of one of 

 those creeks which is in the main body of the marsh. The 

 first year an invading army of grasshoppers swept this green 

 carpet of vegetable growth; but the strawberry-plants with- 

 stood the plague, and grew considerably the next year ; but 

 the grasshoppers destroyed the fruit. The last season, the 

 insects left for parts unknown, and the strawberry-plants 

 commenced to show berries late in June. INIany of you may 

 know — most of you, perhaps — that a local drought, reaching 

 from our shore south-westerly, more persistent than any 

 known, has prevailed for the last two years, which, of course, 

 scorched our strawberries on the uplands before the first of 

 July ; but the berries on the marsh kept right along, and 

 grew luxuriantly the present year until the 10th of July 

 (one berry measured four inches and a half), and all with- 

 out any culture, with the exception of pulling a few weeds, 

 which grow rank, as all plants do, on that soil. 



Our discussion yesterday convinced me that the main 

 problem to be solved is. How shall we feed our crops? 

 We all know that fertilizers are costly things, unless man- 

 aged with intelligence and judgment. It seems to me that 

 there, and on lands like those, if anywhere, can be solved 

 the problem of labor for the farmer, at least it will in those 

 localities ease his way along until we have more light on 

 that subject. 



Mr. Slade. — Will the gentleman tell us what the process 

 is for preparing the land for cultivation, and for shutting out 

 the salt water ? 



Mr. Peterson. I think I may say that it has been found 

 that the surface of that land is more available at present for 

 plant-growth than the soil lying below ; and, where the seed 

 has simply been put on and harrowed in, there have been 

 heavy crops, perhaps as heavy as any obtained by ploughing 

 and pulverizing. But that soil varies from eight to ten feet 

 in depth, and at some time will be available all the way 

 through for plant-growth. 



Mr. Slade. How do you get potatoes on it ? 



Mr. Petersok. By simply putting them in and letting 

 them grow. Not letting them ; but they do grow. 



Mr. Huiuphrey. Do you plough the land at all ? 



Mr. Peterson. There has been considerable experiment- ' 



