194 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Mr. Geo. J. Kellogg (Wis.) : How long have you practiced 

 this ? 



Mr. Hoyt : About ten years. 



Mr. R. A. Schutz : You mulch the ground after it is frozen? 



Mr. Hoyt : We do not mulch before it is frozen, but as soon 

 after as we can. 



Mr. Schutz : Would they not be liable to mould if you mulch 

 them earlier? 



Mr. Hoyt : If you put on too much the chances are they might, 

 but we usually cover reasonably early, and we find the}^ go through 

 the winter in nice shape. It is the thawing that hurts them worse 

 than freezing. Last winter quite a number lost their plants in our 

 neighborhood. The ground thawed out about four inches deep at 

 one time in February, and those that were not covered killed out. 



Mr. C. S. Harrison (Neb.) : How^ were those that were cov- 

 ered? 



Mr. Hoyt : They were all right. W' e had a few that were not 

 covered. It happened I had some mulching ordered, but the man 

 did not come with it until the day before it froze up, and I put 

 it on in the mud and every plant died out. Those that were covered 

 before came through all right. 



Mr. S. D. Richardson : How much do you use, how deep do 

 )'0u cover and how much mulch does it take to the acre? 



Mr. Hoyt : We 'cover the rows deeper than we do between 

 the rows. We cover them over so we can hardly see the plants at 

 all. We aim to hide all the plants, and in that way I should think 

 it would take two or three tons to cover an acre properly. 



Mr. Richardson : Do you leave the straw on four inches deep 

 all winter ? 



Mr. Hoyt : I hardly think it remains four inches thick. 



Mr. Prosser : I had a good deal of difficulty with plants smoth- 

 ering when I left the straw on four inches thick. It is a heavy clay 

 soil, and they will not stand it. 



Mr. E. M. Sherman (Iowa) : AMiat kind of straw do you use? 



Mr. Prosser : Oat or wheat straw. 



Mr. Hoyt : Coarse or fine ? 



Mr. Prosser : Just as it comes from the machine. 



Mr. Hoyt : I have had some difficulty in covering where a 

 man was careless and threw on a pile at one place six inches deep 

 and covered too lightly at another. It ought to be put on evenly, 

 not over four inches, and they will not be injured by the winter. 



Mr. W. J. Moyle (Wis.) : Is it not a fact that it pays to keep 

 some varieties over two years, and you get stronger plants to sell 

 the second year? 



Mr. Hoyt : I never sell any plants from beds the second year. 

 I never use plants from a bed that has borne fruit. 



Mr. Moyle : If vou w^ere growing on a large scale I think 

 you would find that the Bubach would not establish itself firmlv the 

 first year. The crown is not perfect the first year, and they will give 



