12 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



depending on the time of year. The fermentation destroys most of the weed 

 seeds. For the cabbage family of plants, the use of fermented manure is con- 

 sidered essential. One of the worst plans is to draw directly to the field and 

 place in small conical piles. Coal ashes and plaster are sometimes used as an 

 absorbent of the escaping ammonia when the manure cannot be turned in time. 

 It is important to turn the piles as soon as evenly warmed through to prevent 

 burning. In summer the second turning may need to be done within three or 

 four days of the first. 



J. W. Hill : Strawberry growers at the East think they cannot grow straw- 

 berries without ashes. They pay as high as 25 cents a bushel for leached ashes. 

 Uses salt for pear and plum trees, and says that one cannot apply too much, but 

 the grape, peach and cherry may be killed by a small quantity. 



A. B. Mason uses lien manure extensively, mixing it with road dust as it is 

 made, and adding ashes at the time it is .applied. 



C. W. Garfield uses coal ashes as an absorbent, scattering it beneath the hen 

 roosts and letting the manure remain until wanted. 



GREEN MANURING. 



C. J. Monroe : At South Haven we have practiced green manuring for ten 

 years, especially with rye. It is sown during August and plowed under the next 

 spring about the time it begins to head. Some peach orchards receive no other 

 manure. Some sow clover instead of rye on alternate years, sowing it at the 

 same time. Whichever is used, oats are sown with it for winter protection. 

 One peach orchard of 1,500 trees has received, during the last nine or ten years, 

 an annual application of a bushel to a bushel and a half of muck to each tree, 

 applied in the fall, close to the stem. In the spring it is hauled away and 

 plowed under. The owner thinks this treatment prevents the yellows. Eleven 

 years ago the yellows appeared in the orchard in seventy trees, but it has since 

 gradually diminished and a good crop has been produced every year. We have 

 a good deal of faith in muck and green manuring. When we are to sow rye we 

 can continue cultivation a little later. We treat the clover the same as the rye, 

 except to plow it under a little later. We never leave a crop on the ground 

 through the summer. During June, July and August the trees must have 

 thorough cultivation. 



ENRICHING THE LAWN. 



In opening the brief discussion on this topic, Mr. Garfield asked if it were 

 necessary to use on lawns the unsightly stable manure, as is so frequently done. 



Mr. Hough thought the use of stable manure needless. He uses wood ashes, 

 applied in early spring with a sieve. 



Mr. Sigler stated that he had maintained a good lawn for twenty-five years by 

 the use of wood ashes only. 



B. W. Steere said that it was important to have a deep, rich soil when the 

 lawn was first made. 



President Lyon announced the following Committee on Resolutions : C. J. 

 Monroe, South Haven; L. D. Watkins, Manchester; S. R. Fuller, Eaton 

 Rapids. 



