274 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



February 28, 1859. 



Present — Messrs. Pell, Solon Robinson, Wm. Lawton, Bruce, of Wil- 

 liamsburgh ; Fuller, Field, Adrian Bergen, Hon, John G. Bergen, Kavan- 

 ach, of Brooklyn; Coleman, of Canandaigua; Dougtty, of Jersey city; 

 Pike, do : Chilson, Stacey, Dr. Holton, Yeeder, R. G. Pardee, Prof. James 

 J. Mapes, 3IcCarty, Prof. Nash, Mr. Wright, Judge Livingston, Wilson, 

 Gore, Witt, J. M Bixby, Dr. Shelton, of Jamaica, Long Island ; Judge 

 French, of Massachusetts — fifty-five members in all. 



Mr. B. L. Pell in the chair. Henry Meigs, Secretary. 



The Secretary read the following extracts, from works received by the 

 Institute since the last meeting, viz : 



[London Farmers' Magazine, Feb. 1859.] 



STEEPING SEEDS. 



Cuthbert W. Johnson, on steeping seeds, tried eighteen distinct steeps, 

 and found — 



1. That turnip seed did best when moistened occasionally with nothing 

 but pure water. 



2. Very dilute sulphuric acid killed seeds ; Peruvian guano as bad as sul- 

 phate of ammonia. 



3. Superphosphate of lime retarded instead of hastening germination of 

 seeds. 



What conclusion. — Mix artificial manures, such as guano and superphos- 

 phate with as much ashes as is practicable, if sown dry, or with much 

 water for liquid mauuring. Superphosphate made plants when fairly up, 

 gi'ow much more vigorously and twice as big as the rest. 



The California Farmer, of January 21st, 1858, quotes the Southern 

 Planter, saying that peach trees into which a few ten penny nails have been 

 driven near the roots, are not subject to injury from the borer — the oxyda- 

 tion of the iron evolving ammonia, which penetrates every part of the tree, 

 leaves and all. 



He recommends planting peach trees for fire wood. 



The editor calls attention to the true Lawton blackberry, — very superior 

 plant, just imported by Messrs. Graves and Williams, Merchant st., San 

 Francisco. 



He says, don't kill the birds. The farmers are now sowing in San Jose, 

 waited on by myriads of black birds, crows and other pensioners of the 

 farm. Let them alone — there are far more destructive agents than the 

 birds, ever ready to devour our crops. 



The principal, if not indeed the only attraction, which the birds find in 

 our newly plowed fields, is, the plentiful supply of worms turned out by 

 the plow. A friend tells us he omitted slaughtering birds, and had excel- 

 lent crops of grain while his neighbors' crops were overrun and ruined 

 by worms ; and an examination of the craws of the birds slain in the act 

 of supposed depredation settles the question. 



