MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 415 



remarkable progress in horticulture. We have learned some lessons, 

 but not enough to counteract the effects of serious drouths. We are 

 too apt to leave our crops in the hands of Providence. This is not 

 reasonable nor just. The soil is a matter of much importance. I pre- 

 fer a dark loam with a clay subsoil. The first thing necessary is thor- 

 ough drainage. My garden has a slight slope, and is arranged in beds 

 with alleys between them that carry off the surplus water. There is a 

 tile water course ;below the alleys to carry off" the water that soaks 

 through the soil. This keeps the roots in good condition through the 

 season, and will give the plant a chance to grow deep in the soil. We 

 have just passed through a severe drouth in Wisconsin, with only two 

 light showers in June. My cabbages ran from eighteen inches to two 

 feet below the ground's surface. I have never before seen them go to 

 that depth, but it kept the plants in good condition. Manure is an- 

 other important adjunct. I believe wood ashes to be a good fertilizer. 

 I generally put on from thirty to forty wagon loads to the acre. In 

 dry weather I give extra cultivation. Loose, mellow soil acts as a 

 mulch to the soil beneath, and keeps the ground damp. I have been 

 surprised to see what little sprinklings will accomplish. What is the 

 result of following up this system ! I had two acres of strawberries 

 this year, which were planted in May, 1885. The land has been ma- 

 nured for the past six or seven years. This spring I put on wood ashes 

 and cultivated the ground two or three times. The land was watered 

 some, but when not watered at all the fruit thrived best. The picking 

 season was hotter than for years, yet with this hot season, the drouth, 

 and the remarkable selling prices of berries, I realized over $200 from 

 my strawberry patch. In my potato patch I placed ashes on part of 

 the beds and manure from the compost heap upon the other. To my 

 surprise I found that the best crops came from the beds on which I had 

 put tue wood ashes. My cabbages are the delight of the city. The 

 land had been heavily manured, and this year I put 100 bushels of 

 ashes to the acre upon it. So accustomed to success are we, that we 

 speak confidently of the extent of our crops. I will not say that we can 

 make ourselves independent of rain, but I hold that we may carry crops 

 through a moderately dry season. \Yhen one is so situated that he 

 can water artificially, it is a fine thing. 



I have erected water works on my place, and find it pays to irri- 

 gate. To merely sprinkle the ground is a drainage, rather than a ben- 

 efit. A light watering forms a solid, hard crust that sheds the water.. 

 I am not speaking theoretically, but from proven facts. If you water 

 at all, do it well. No artificial water is as good as rain from the 



