proceedings of the farmers' club. 133 



Cure for Fil?h Over Cows' Eyes. 

 Mr. Jonathan Farniim, Uxbridge, Mass.; "Pulverized glass, 

 blown into the eye, is a sure remedy, and will cut off the film. 

 This we have known from boyhood and seen practiced, and affirm 

 whereof we know." 



Best Soil for Growing Strawberries. 

 Mr. S. Edwards Todd. — The experience of the best and most 

 extensive gardeners and growers of small fruit in the country, 

 will coincide with this conclusion. And yet, the conductors of a 

 certain illustrated periodical, specially devoted to pictures and 

 the relentless pursuit of "Humbugs," having nothing else to do, 

 take exceptions to our conclusion that a sandy soil is better than 

 a stiff heavy soil for raising strawberries; and they state, in a most 

 bigoted manner, that "no one who knows anything about strawber- 

 ries, would ever put a sandy soil down as an important requisite." 

 How then does it occur that on the heavy, stiff soils all over the 

 country, where large crops of wheat will grow annually, it is 

 utterly impracticable to raise more than two-thirds as many berries 

 per acre as will grow, with half the hard labor expended, on the 

 drifting sands of Vine Land and other parts of New Jersey and 

 Long Island? Why do gardeners in all parts of New York, 

 Canada, Ohio and other States, select the very lightest soil for 

 strawberries, instead of the stiff, heavy clays, while on certain 

 strawberry fields, last March, in New Jersey, the wind actually 

 drifted the sandy soil in many places several inches deep, and we 

 frequently saw it whirling about our feet ? On those very sandy 

 fields, in ordinary seasons, $1,000 worth of berries, clear profit, 

 can be picked from every acre. We saw half an acre of this 

 drifting sand covered with strawberry vines from which $600 

 worth of berries, clear profit, was picked last year. The same 

 man may cultivate strawberries on a heavy clay soil till he is :is 

 gray as "old Graybeard himself," and he would not be able to 

 produce such a bountiful crop. And the same is true of melons. 

 Farmers in the wheat growing districts of the Union, have tried 

 for years to grow melons. But they failed to do it profitably and 

 successfully. Yet on the sandy soil of Long Island and New 

 Jersey they have only to put in the seed and apply a small quan- 

 tity of fertilizing matter, and melons appear by the wagon load 

 with a little labor. On the sandy soil they are unable to raise a 

 heavy crop of wheat. But strawberries and melons, requiring 



