1895.] ESSAYS. 35 



onions came up pretty well, but for some reason they didn't grow, 

 and then I got some nitrate of soda. I had an idea that that would 

 hustle them. It generally does with crops ; and I put it on the onions 

 and took considerable pains to keep the weeds cut. I have found a 

 good deal of trouble in regard to help. They most all of them want 

 to let them alone until thej' can get a good strong hold. I find it 

 almost impossible to get anyone who will go through a row of onions 

 and leave it as it ought to be left. There will be weeds left. Well, 

 I took care of these onions myself ; but the onions didn't seem to 

 grow as I thought they ought to, so I put on some more uitrate of 

 soda and phosphate, and right beside them, the beets grew splendidly ; 

 but I never succeeded in getting the onions to any size. If anyone 

 knows how to raise onions, I wish he would tell me. 



Mr. F. J. Kinney. Mr. President, — This statement of Mr. Fiske 

 reminds me of the trouble one of my city customers had last year. 

 He had quite a little garden, so as to have something to do. I was 

 going there every three or four weeks, and wondered why he didn't 

 ask me to look at his garden ; but as he was a very deaf man, I 

 didn't think it worth my while to interfere. Well, it kept along until 

 everything grew smaller and smaller, and one day he asked me to go 

 into the garden. I went, and after looking around a little he asked 

 me what to do to make the vegetables grow. Well, he had gone 

 through about the same process as Mr. Fiske, only in addition, 

 he had taken out everything that looked like a stone. Well, I says, 

 " I should hate to tell you, my friend, but you have done everything 

 except to give them a little water, and that is what they need." For 

 the next three months he had streams of water running through 

 them, and they grew beautifully. 



Has Mr. Fiske anything to say about water? 



Mr. Fiske. I didn't have any. 



Mr. S. H. Record. I hope anybody here who intends to plant a 

 garden, won't rely for a moment on any seed which you get from 

 Washington. It may be good, and it may not. I often think of a 

 remark our Secretary made once of a lady who was exhibiting flowers ; 

 she came to him and told him she had got some flower seeds from 

 one of our Congressmen. She was very much elated to think that she 

 was complimented enough to have some sent to her, and he did not 

 understand, but after he had got it fully in his mind, he said, " Well, 

 I hope you are not going to risk your reputation by planting them." 

 It is the same about vegetables, if our President has ordered them to 

 be tested at our experimental station then it will be all right to use 



