36 WORCESTER COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. [1895. 



them, but I should advise every one to have them tested first. Just 

 one word in regard to help, — Mr. Kinney said that the difficulty was, 

 that the help didn't know anything ; now I have found it just the oppo- 

 site ; they know it all. Nearly twenty years ago, I guess, my man was 

 hauling manure here in the city, when a man stopped him and asked 

 if he wanted to hire some help. He replied that he didn't, that he 

 was a hired man himself. " Does your boss want to hire anybody? " 

 " Why, yes, he wants to hire a man that can grow lettuce under glass." 

 " Well, what is that? " " Well it is growing a plant they call lettuce 

 under glass." " O yes," says he, " it is grown the same as anything 

 else, I know all about it." 



Mu. Wm. O'Connell. Mr. President., — I haven't got anything to say 

 of value. I was just listening to see if I could pick up something to 

 cure the diseases of those vegetables. I think it is about as interest- 

 ing a lesson as we could learn from a meeting like this, to give us a 

 remedy or some plan of action to do away with the diseases and the 

 ravages of the bugs and worms that attack the vegetables. I presume 

 all the market gardeners that know all about the secret like to keep 

 it to themselves. And I would like to know what to do with cab- 

 bages that are club-footed or how to do away with the green worms, 

 or how to do away with the maggot that attacks the onion. Now if 

 any one will answer either of these three questions — Mr. Kinney. 

 I will say right here, that a week from next Saturday, I am scheduled 

 to read a paper on fungi. Now I am not prepared to say anything. 



Mr. O'Connell. 1 would say that I raised onions for the last 

 five or six years, and had very good success. I generally put them 

 in as early as the ground is ready to work, and I put on stable 

 manure. I get it all around the neighborhood and get it for taking 

 it. I believe that stable manure is about as good as any that you 

 get. Fertilizers I have tried of course, they are good to start up the 

 crops early, but have a tendency on certain soil to make the soil 

 heavy and damp. I had an experience with onions two or three years 

 ago. The year before that, I had a little experience with parsnips. 

 They were immense ; in fact, they grew too long. 1 had some that 

 were almost three feet long. I thought I would leave some in there 

 until spring, and then dig them out fresh ; but this year we had a 

 o-ood deal of snow on the ground, and there was no frost before the 

 snow came. After a while the snow all went off, leaving the ground 

 open and filled with moisture, and the consequence was, in the spring- 

 time the parsnips were all rotten. I ploughed up the ground and 

 sowed onions where the parsnips were, and 1 had the finest onions I 



