892 | MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
generally be obtained for 4 cents. However, no charge is made tu 
those who wish to stand. 
The elms are especially large and fine, and of fine form. The 
lawns are large, and kept in very nice condition, without the use ot 
a lawn mower; and this is accomplished by pasturing them with 
sheep che above photograph is one showing sheep on a lawn 
close to the famous Albert Memorial monument, in Hyde Park. I 
asked a policeman if I might go over the fence to photograph the 
sheep: a yiteasked onic al had a permit to make photographs. I 
told him I did not know that such a thing was required. He told me 
that there wasa fine of $5 imposed for making photographs without a 
license, but that I could obtain a license by applying to some public 
official. I told him that would take too much time and that I must 
have a photograph of the sheep to bring to America, and asked him 
if he would not go off and not see it, which he kindly consented to 
do, and I feel under some obligation to him for the interesting pho: 
tograph above shown. 
PLANTING AND CARE OF THE BLACKBERRY PLANTA- 
TION THE FIRST TWELVE MONTHS. 
W. P. ROGERS, EXCELSIOR. 
Did you ever realize the wonderful possibilities, in the marsh lands ‘of 
Minnesota? They seem to be waiting for man to develop and reveal their 
hidden treasures. If you have a marsh that can be subdued, by all means 
get it ready for your blackberry patch. It should be ditched and drained 
in the fall. Be sure and get your ditch deep enough, with a good slope 
to it. If there is danger of the tiling being filled with sand or mud, put a 
wire screen over the upper end of the tile, and have the tile fit into a box. 
Holes should be cut into three sides of the box, and covered with wire 
netting, as also the hole for the tile. The box should be sunk about one- 
third of its height below the tile. Fill in with stones around the tile to 
keep the dirt from washing away and bank up solid with dirt on that side 
of the box. 
If the marsh does not contain peat, after it is thoroughly drained the 
grass should be burnt off. It can then be plowed. Fall plowing is the best. 
Let me give my experience with a peat marsh. The marsh contains 
about one-half acre in all, and I own one-half of it. Two years ago this 
fall when I drained the marsh I found I had on an average about a foot 
and a half of peat, out of which I dug about a cord of wood in logs. The 
question was, how to get rid of that peat? The marsh was within 100 feet 
of the barn and 200 feet of the house. I was afraid to burn it. A year 
ago this fall I was burning off the grass and did just what { was afraid to 
do—burned the peat. The peat took fire and got started over night in 
several places. I put barrels of water on it, trying to put it out. Moral: 
Do not try to put out a peat marsh fire after it is well started. The peat 
burned for two weeks until a heavy rain put it out.. It burned off clean 
around the edges, while in the center about six inches in depth remained. 
I burned off most of that this fall. I would be digressing from the subject 
to tell of the tomatoes and cabbages I raised on a part of the marsh this 
