94 [Senate 



*' Weehawken, JV*. J., Dee. 22, 1844. 

 " To the Hon. Francis Price : 



Dear *S7v — Agreeable to promise, I enclose the account of an ex- 

 periment made by the gardener at your public place, known as the 

 Weehawken Pavilion. After preparing a place for the deposit of 

 two Lima squvish seeds, (about the 10th of June,) within three feet 

 of the vegetable garden, and directly in the grass or meadow, where 

 some weeds had been thrown the previous year, forming a small 

 heap ; he hoed them after they had sprouted, I think, two or three 

 times ; this was before the vines commenced to run ; in the mean- 

 time, the grass in the meadow was sufficiently grown for mowing, 

 and was mowed accordingly and removed ; at whicii time the gar- 

 dener commenced training the vines, there being two ; the one was 

 led to the south, and the other to the north. The one to the south 

 extended about seventeen yards, or fifty-one feet,while the other lead- 

 ing to the north, reached about twelve yards, or thirty-six feet ; 

 both running directly upon the meadow so as not to interfere with 

 the oround used for vegetables. By the time the meadow was want- 

 ed for fall pasture, the squashes were ripe, taken from the vines and 

 weighed. From the two seeds planted, between six and seven hun- 

 dred po -nds of squash were produced. The vine running to the 

 south had on it about two-thirds of the whole quantity. I mention 

 this circumstance, for the reason that vines of all descriptions, from 

 my own observation, are more productive when grown to the east 

 or south, than otherwise; this perhaps you have observed, and if 

 you can give from this short account information to any one else, 

 you will no doubt be the means of conferring something more useful 

 than I had dreamed of when the experiment was commenced. 

 " I am, dear sir, 



" Very respectfully, yours, &c. 

 ("Signed,) "B. JESSUP." 



The other is as follows: 



"Mr. Francis Price, — I take great pleasure in answering your in- 

 quiries in reg;.rd to the great, and I believe I may venture to say, 

 unparalleled yield from one pumpkin seed. A few years ago an 

 agricultural friend discovered a pumjdcin vine growing upon a heap 

 of manu-e which had been deposited in his field, and to which he 

 gave the necessary attention through the season, and from which 

 was gathered in the fall, between eighty and ninety large and 

 sounil cheese pumpkins. The manure heap had been taken from the 

 cow stables the previous fall, and deposited in an old worn out field. 



"Respectfully yours, 

 (Signed,) ^'JOHN STURGES. 



" Hudso7i Co. M J., Dec. 28, 1843." 



These communications are from gentlemen of known character for 

 truth and respectability. 



It would appear from the experiment related above, that any field, 

 no matter how unproductive, or impoverished, may be made to yield 



