MINNESOTA STATE HOR Ro SOCIETY. 17 
right of this alley we found. first some soft maples just coming up, Phe 
eight kinds of fertilizer, including compost of stable manure, applied on 
adjoining rows of early rose potatoes. These were followed by six kinds 
mangolds and sugar beets, and these in turn by dent corn for crop. We 
could see no attempt at what may be called ‘‘ fancy” farming. Everything 
seemed to aim at utility. Not the greatest amount of money value, but 
the greatest amount of material for instruction and the greatest amount 
of information. 
Leaving the north side of the avenue and entering that part lying on the 
south side opposite the barn we found first on the right eight plats of white 
dent corn, each manured with a different fertilizer. So far as could be 
judged from present appearances that which had received compost for 
stable manure would yield better than several other plats. That manured 
with ashes did not come up well, which was attributed to the ashes injur- 
ing the germinating power, as the ashes were simply scattered in the hill 
and the corn dropped directly upon them. The plat manured with Peruvian 
guano showed better than all others, except perhaps that manured with 
compost. The animal fertilizer produced effects inferior only to theSe two, 
while superphosphate of lime showed a slight superiority over the bone 
flour. Passing these experiments with the fertilizers we came to the 
orchard, which was set the past spring, and which shows but very few 
trees that have failed to grow. It contains over 200 trees, many of which 
were donated for trial by nurserymen and fruit-growers of the State. Of 
crab-apples there are seventeen varieties; apples, thirty-four varieties; 
plums, seven varieties, and cherries, four varieties. 
Passing through the orchard we came to the small grain experiments. 
For these, poor soil was purposely chosen, in order that the effect of the 
soil should not overshadow and cover up the effects of the fertilizers and 
peculiarities of the different varieties. Great care was taken to select land 
of uniform character, and to secure the same conditions for the different 
plats compared with each other. First, were five plats sown with five 
different varieties of wheat; and the sixth with a mixture of these. One 
of these plats is fife wheat, and with it the others are to be compared. On 
the seventh plat is sown wheat received from Department of Agriculture. 
On the eighth a mixture of wheat, barley and oats. The ninth and tenth 
are sown with fife wheat, one at the rate of seventy-two pounds per acre, 
and the other at the rate of one hundred pounds peracre. Then follow 
five plats of fife wheat, dressed with different fertilizers, one being left 
without manure. This plat shows a perceptible inferiority. Next are six 
varieties of oats, and lastly some spring rye, without manure. 
Returning by another path we came upon fifty or sixty grape vines com- 
prising some thirteen varieties. Some corn, planted for crop purposes 
showed a good many vacant hills, the gophers having stolen the seed. 
Thirty-nine plats, each one rod square and sown with clovers, grasses and 
mixtures of grasses, next met our view, but their peculiarities were pretty 
effectually concealed by the dense growth of weeds which had come with 
them and which could not» be removed without destroying the grasses. 
Beyond this lay a plat of winter rye, sown the 10th of last November. The 
seed did not sprout and scarcely swelled until this spring, but now it stands 
about five feet high and well headed. Passing up the north side of this we 
