PROCEEDINGS OF THE FARMERS' CLUB. 215 



BLACKBERRIES. 



Mr.' Will. Lawton, of New Roclielle, said he does not believe in 

 manuring strawberries too highly. Blackberries, he said, require 

 a good, deep, rich soil. They will not succeed well if neglected. 

 The soil must be regularly attended to. The soil must be pre- 

 pared, as for a crop of Indian corn. The ground must be manured 

 highly. You cannot put on too much manure. The bushes should 

 be mulched well, in order to produce a heavy crop of fruit. The 

 same attention is necessary for raspberries. With suitable care 

 any one may raise an abundance of fruit. He would caution 

 those who would raise good berries to cultivate with great care. 

 The best fruit is always found on the lower shoots. Therefore, 

 prune closely, and train the bushes low. 



Seeds from Japan. 

 Prof. Tillman presented several varieties of seed sent by Mrs. 

 W. B. Mangum, from Japan. Mr. James Hogg said the seeds 

 were of a kind of persimmon, very different and much more 

 valuable than the American variety. 



Spiders — Are they Injurious to Farmers ? 

 Dr. J. V. C. Smith, who stated that he started upon this inquiry 

 under the supposition that they ranked with the class of injurious 

 insects. Investigation has proved that he was mistaken in that 

 opinion. They are not only not injurious, but arc highly benefi- 

 cial to the cultivators of the soil, indeed to all phases of civilized 

 life. They do no damage to vegetation, but subsist entirely upon 

 insects, destroying many which, if permitted to live, would be 

 injurious to farmers, and this seems their specific function. The 

 natural habits of the spider are remarkable. Each one seems to 

 live a solitary life. Even the sexes war with each other ; the 

 female spider often attacks the father of her family, kills and eats 

 him, probably to save her progeny from being eaten. The whole 

 family seem to be extremely pugnacious; individuals fight when- 

 ever they meet, and one tribe attacks another, killing and eating 

 their victims. Their anatomical structure is very curious; they 

 have neither lungs nor brains. The air which oxygenizes the 

 blood is drawn through a set of tubes, curiously arranged through 

 the body, and furnished Avith valves by which the air is confined 

 at the will of the insect. Instead of brains there is a set of gang- 

 lions, running through the body which ansAver the purpose. 



