AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 99 



IMPROVING EXCESSIVELY RICH GARDEN SOIL. 



T. W. Field. — I wish to call attention to the subject of excessive rich 

 garden soil, becoming barren. I believe a continuance of any one kind of 

 manure to excess will render a soil unfit for crops in general. 



R. G. Pardee. — I have experienced the same difiiculty of over rich soils, 

 and have found the best remedy an application of lime and salt mixture. 

 I found some soils so rich that strawberries could not be produced until 

 the lime and salt had been used. The true proportion is one bushel of 

 salt dissolved and used to slack three bushels of lime. 



ABOUT STRAWBERRIES. 



I can say that English strawberries and English apples are not grown 

 here, but we have strawberries in this country superior to any of the 

 English in flavor, though not generally so in size. 



The Chairman. — I fully agree with Dr. Peck, that cucumbers, properly 

 treated, are not unhealthy. The fault is generally a want of sufficient 

 mastication. As to the quality of English strawberries, I am satisfied, 

 from experience, that our strawberries, although generally smaller than 

 the English, are superior in flavor. 



Dr. Peck. — I have never seen any cultivated strawberries equal to the 

 wild ones that I used to gather in youth in Dutchess county. 



Mr. White bore testimony to the value of the salt and lime mixture for 

 strawberry ground ; also that the soil must not be made too rich, and that 

 his best prospect of a crop at this time is from vines set on the poorest 

 ground he has. 



THE RASPBERRY QUESTION. 



Solon Robinson read a letter from a resident of Brooklyn, who states 

 his good success in growing all the raspberries that he wishes for family 

 use from a small bed of the Fastolf variety, manured with rotten chips, 

 and layered in winter. He thinks the statement made that good sorts 

 will hybridize and run to barren stalks that must be pulled up and burned, 

 all humbug. In fact, he commences his letter by saying : 



" I have yet to learn of one valuable idea suggested by your so-called 

 ' Farmers' Club.' It seems to me the few who are not unmitigated old 

 fogies, are unmitigated humbugs." 



Mr. Meigs remarked, that almost every man who came to this club for 

 the first time, imagined he knew almost as much about farming and gar- 

 dening — and commonly more — as he kiiew less. Now here are members 

 from 91 years old down to 27, half of them farmers. Let the writer 

 attend next time, and he shall go to the head, as school boys say, as the 

 greatest fogy and humbug of the whole. Yes, Mr. Chairman, we often 

 come here to teach as masters, and sneak away as had scholars. 



Here we have the old endless war of opinion about the wholesomeness 

 of cucumbers. I have a great mind to reiterate the good old story of the 

 celebrated Prince Metternich — prince in diplomatics and prince in gastro- 



