266 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



write, we may have pomological societies of State, county, and town, but it 

 does not put the lime, the salt, the asiies, etc., to the soil. 



Brother fruit men, let us work the coming season in earnest, — give the soil 

 a liberal supply from the barnyard, from the lime kiln, from the refuse salt, 

 and all the ashes we can get. 



In the discussion which followed, the Secretary .said it was an utter 

 impossibility to get ashes sufficient for all the peach orchards, and asked if 

 Mr. Corner thought concentrated lye would answer the same purpose. Mr. 

 Corner said it was probably the next best thing that could be done, we should 

 get all the alkali but would lose one important ingredient the ash or wood 

 producing quality of the ashes, still where ashes could not be obtained, use the 

 concentrated lye, after greatly reducing it. 



The President, M. B. Williams (who had arrived by this time) said he had 

 had some experience in the use of salt, but not sufficient to form any opinion 

 as to its usefulness. He had sown some in his orchard, but all in one 

 contiguous body; in order to know whether it was particularly beneficial it 

 should have been in strips or alternate rows of trees then he could have told 

 something about it; it might not have been sown long enough to reap any 

 benefit. We sometimes use barnyard manure on our orchards without any 

 perceptible benefit for a year or two but in the end we know it is beneficial. 

 It might be so with salt. He felt sure that salt had a good effect in destroying 

 insects. The question was how much ought we to use. He thought plums 

 and quinces would stand very much more than grapes and cherries. 



Mr. Corner said we must keep salt away from the grapes, they did not 

 require it. 



J. S. Owen said his experience with salt on quinces had been very unfor- 

 tunate, he sowed salt on some of his quince trees and it killed every one 

 of them. 



Mr. Williams said he presumed the manner of sowing would have much to 

 do witli it. If sown broadcast two bushels to the acre micjht be verv beneficial, 

 wliile if the same amount was put around the bodies of a few trees it would bo 

 likely to prove disastrous. 



Mr. E. Hoare said his father was an English farmer, and had a large farm 

 situated near the sea shore, and it was his practice to use thousands of bushels 

 of muscles on his land as manure; they were from the salt Vv'ater and were 

 consequently impregnated largely with salt. Tiiey were considered tiio most 

 valuable manure to be had. All kinds of fish offal was of the greatest benefit 

 to fruit trees and there was large quantities of it at the mouth of the river to 

 be had every year for the hauling, and yet it was suffered to go to waste; he 

 would assure them that uo cut w^orms could survive an application of fish oil. 

 Sea weed was also largely used as a manure and was considered valuable on 

 account of the salt it contained. 



Mr. Peter Foley said his neighbor Mr. John VanVulpin used twenty pounds 

 of salt on nine quince trees about five years old, with good results. 



Mr. A. W . Drcssel had about three-fourtiis of an acre of land sown to onions 

 six years ago. The cut worms were so thick that there was scarcely a square 

 incli free from tliem. He sowed two pailfuls of salt on the piece, which killed 

 all the cut worms, and none had ever been seen there since. 



Mr. Doud iiad used ashes on his fruit trees, believed it produced a good 

 growth, and was destructive to insects injurious to fruit trees. 



