314 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



tern was the slioit stock luul to be bent over at right angles to lay do^Yn the 

 vines, and this could not be done without injury after a few years' orowth. As 

 a remedy for both defects the ascending one was cut away, the stock trained at 

 an angle of twenty or tliirty and the descending arm extended to fill the space. 

 Another mistake was allowing my Adirondack vines to overbear in 1875 and 

 18?G. On many of the vines that had previously ripened their fruit early in 

 August could be seen unripe grapes in November these years. 



Anotlier was, in sup})osing a miller could make any money by raising grape 

 vines for sale, but after tiiree days' labor last spring, digging, sorting, and tying 

 up in dozen bunches, about 5U0 two-year-old vines, paying five dolkirs for 

 advertising, sending a man to Grand liapids who occu})ied six days in selling 

 them, and returned with sixteen dollars as the gross receipts for these 500 

 vines, tlie miller discovered his mistake, and concluded taking toll was the bet- 

 ter business. But the most foolish mistake made by the writer in grape grow- 

 ing was when he supposed he could grow more Concord grapes on a given area 

 of ground or trellis than lie could of lonas. 



Mr. Stearns. — I desire to ask one (piestion in connection with this matter of 

 grape growing, and will premise it by saying that my most conspicuous failure 

 recently is in not being able to rid my vines of those little pestiferous fleas 

 known as thri])S. The question is, how shall I do it? 



Mr. llanford. — Have you tried sul[)hurj' 



Mr. Stearns. — Yes, but with very imperfect success. 



Mr. llanford. — I never have failed with sulphur, but have found that one 

 important point needs to be considered. The temperature of the air should be 

 above 70° in order to be successful, and if a good deal moist all the better. 



Mr. Lyon. — Mr. Bidwell at South llaven, who is a man of a good deal of 

 experience in this direction, says that by turning over the leaves in the vineyard 

 after they have fallen in the autumn, is a very effectual way of destroying large 

 numbers of these insects, as they need a little protection which is forbidden 

 them if the leaves under which they hibernate are turned over so as to give the 

 full benefit of exposure. 



The second topic for discussion was next announced : 



ROTATION OF CROPS IX HORTICULTURE. 



Mr. J. N. Stearns. — For years I have been more or less interested in the cul- 

 tivation of small fruits, and I learned from experience that if one crop of 

 strawberries followed anotlier ui)on the same field, there was numifcst deteriora- 

 tion in the crop. ]iy planting the second stand of strawberries upon the same 

 soil, I noticed the plants seemed to grow pretty well, but the fruit was mostly 

 inferior, and ranked almost entirely as what we denominate "seconds." In the 

 nursery business I am convinced that after taking off a crop of trees it is better 

 that the land be emploved for a time in general farming, and given a period of 

 recreation, and perhaps a crop of clover before employing it again for the 

 growing of trees. But where this change of crop is most needed, perhaps it is 

 the most diilicult to manage; that is among our small fruitgrowers, near cities 

 where they have but five, ten, or perhaps twenty acres of land, and every inch 

 of it is used. There is less opjiortunity for rotation here, but I am satisfied 

 that it will pay all these fruit growers to change off to some other crop from 

 strawberries, and give plenty of manure while the land is not into a strawberry 

 crop. 



