AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 211 



discovery that manure does not lose by a winter's exposure spread on land. 

 I have tried weight for weight, green manure and clean salt hay, and found 

 them equal as to surface manuring ; but when plowed in I find them 

 thirty per cent better in three years after, than the surface application. 

 Carpenters' shavings are as good a mulch as hay and straw. It is said, 

 too, that under-drained ground gives potatoes and no rot ! That is not so ; 

 for on my well under-drained land, I boasted of sound potatoes for several 

 years, until they testified against that notion by getting the rot. These 

 new fangled notions are illustrated by one of mine. Feeling confident 

 that I could excel everybody in preserving fruit fresh a longer time than 

 has been done by anybody. I have tried it, as I told the club I would, 

 and I now tell the members that my finest pears, the Duchesse D'Angou- 

 leme and others, did keep all their external freshness, and plumpness, and 

 beauty, but lost all their flavor ! Good for nothing, and immediately com- 

 menced rotting ! 



A member asked as to the benefit of electricity applied to plants. 



Prof. Mapes described the experiments which have been tried, and could 

 not discover the slightest benefit from it, except in one or two instances. 

 One was a gardener, who dug trenches close together over his garden, and 

 laid wires in them, with copper and zinc plates, &c. His garden was improved 

 precisely as much by like trenching, without any ivires at all ! One man 

 insisted on a marvellous electric growth of a vine entwined about a light- 

 ening rod. I found on examination, that the iron rod which absorbed 

 much more heat than any wooden trellis, had helped the vine to grow ! 



A Member. — That is the milk of the cocoa nut ! 



Prof. Mapes. — Which is said to be put in them by young monkies ! 



Mr. Hardenbrook. — I own a small patch of thirty-eight acres at Green- 

 wich, Connecticut, and want to make the most of it ; and I ask the club at 

 next meeting, to tell me how to do it. 



Prof. Nash. — Grow oats and carrots — the latter as good and better for 

 horses — sleek hair, good digestion, with more strength for work. 



Prof. Mapes talked up carrot many years ago. The pectic acid in them 

 is excellent for digestion ; they will make your cow give as good butter as 

 she can from grass. The Dutch grate carrot fine to put in the churn to 

 help the butter. 



I get 1,500 bushels of carrots per acre. I can't aflord to raise corn near 

 New York for S2.00; wheat for S4.00; rye for $2.00; nor oats for $2.50 

 per bushel. Root crops will pay. Celery is good — I stow it in my mush- 

 room caves, where it keeps well, handy for market. 



I ask you to taste wine from rhubarb plant, and wine from currants. 

 (They were tasted first without their names,) and pleased palates. The 

 rhubarb wine, color of champagne ; currant of carmine color, very beauti- 

 ful. 



Messrs. Fowler & Wells presented copies of their paper Life Illustrated, 

 having good lessons on diseased eating, &e. 



