350 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



Mr. Pardee. — Mr. Underbill, of Yonkers, says that this is the sweetest 

 of all blackberries when ripe. The berries never should be pulled from 

 the bush, but suffered to hang until ripe enough to fall by a little shake. 



Solon Robinson. — These berries should rather be tickled from the bush, 

 and then they will tickle the palate. There is no blackberry grown in the 

 world that I ever saw equal to the Lawton or New Rochelle variety. They 

 are very rich and sweet, as well as great bearers. 



COBBET ON POTATOES. 



William Lawton. — In regard to what the Secretary has said about Cob- 

 bet on potatoes, his strong and truthful assertion was that no nation could 

 prosper where its people were confined to a single article of food. 



Solon Robinson. — Gobbet also prophesied that the famine would come 

 upon Ireland, as it did, whenever the potato crop happened to fail for a 

 single year. I have several letters from persons who read the proceedings 

 «f these meatings, some of which I will read. The first is from a seeker 

 after knowledge. 



THE HORSE HOE. 



A. J. Hope, of Sharon Springs, had read so much about the "horse 

 hoe," that he has been at last awakened sufficiently to inquire " whether it 

 will hoe corn ? and is it capable of hoeing corn as effectually as a man with 

 a hoe ?" He is evidently astonished at what is said here about its capa- 

 bility to do the work of twenty men, and " wants to know what is the price 

 of this new labor-saving tool in the improved art of farming, and where is 

 it to be had ?" 



For his benefit, and the benefit of ten thousand other benighted Ameri- 

 can farmers, I will answer these inquiries briefly. The implement was 

 contrived a few years ago by Mr. Knox, pattern maker for Nourse, Mason 

 & Co., the great implement manufacturers at Worcester, Mass., (the great- 

 est in this country — perhaps in the world), and is known as " Knox's horse 

 hoe." Our correspondent may rest assured that it will hoe corn and every 

 other crop, all that is needed, except picking the weeds from among the 

 plants, and it will do (if not the work of twenty men), as good work as the 

 hand hoe, just as fast as a horse can walk. And this invaluable imple- 

 ment, indispensable to a y man who plants an acre, costs only $7. 



Considerable discussion sprung up on this horse hoe question, but all 

 who have ever seen the implement at work, concurred in the above state- 

 ment of its value. 



GROUND NUTS. 



Solon Robinson. — Here is a letter of inquiry about a plant that I never 

 saw cultivated, but hope it can be, for I remember it well as one of the 

 pleasant reminiscences of boyhood life in Connecticut, where I was taught 

 to dig and roast and eat the " Indian ground nuts," by an old squaw. The 

 letter I hold in my hand is from Jackson, Michigan, which, after speaking 

 of the satisfaction which the reports of these meetings give the writer, in- 



