188 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



rections in aa agricultural paper, the other day, 

 for watering strawberry plants with an ounce of 

 sulphate of ammonia, which it was said could be 

 obtained cheaply at the drug stores ! To those 

 who have been in the habit of using it by the tun, 

 ounce dressings seem small aftairs. It is the best 

 of all manures for the garden in connection with 

 superphosphate, and no one who has had experi- 

 ence in its use will wish to dispense with it. The 

 only objection to it is its cost. This spring it is 

 worth eight cents a pound in New York. Two 

 pounds to the square rod is' a fair dressing, but 

 three pounds on strawberries and other gross-feed- 

 ing plants will do no harm. I scatter it broadcast 

 on the land, being careful that it does not touch 

 Ihe leaves, or is brought in immediate contact with 

 the roots." 



" If I could afford the time, I would give the 

 strawberries a thorough soaking with water as 

 often as the ground became dry, till the fruit 

 begins to ripen. The watering must not be con- 

 tinued after that, or the fruit will be insipid. Plant 

 in hills, hoe the surface at this season and destroy 

 every weed; then give a good mnlcliing with the 

 grass clippings from tlie lawn, and the more water 

 in dry weather afterwards the better. A slight 

 watering is of no use. The roots descend deep 

 into the soil, and unless these are readied the 

 water does more harm than good. Deep, rich, 

 thoroughly underdrained land, so situated that it 

 could be irrigated at pleasure, would be the place 

 to raise big crops of strawberries." 



"I have been of the opinion that stirring the 

 soil in the spring increased its temperature by let- 

 ting in the rays of the sun; but I have been 

 making some experiments which do not sustain this 

 opinion. On the 31st of April I took four ther- 

 mometers and placed them upright in holes in the 

 soil about a foot deep. No. 1 was placed in a hole 

 on the lawn; No. 2 in a hole the same dejjth on 

 bare land that has not been dug this spring, and 

 No. 3 on land that has been dug; No. 4 I placed in 

 a similar hole in the cold-frame— in other words, 

 on land covered with glass. All the thermometers 

 were carefully covered to exclude the air. After 

 they had been in the ground a few hours I examin- 

 ed them, with the following result : No. 1 (in the 

 grass) marked 52''; No. 2 (land notdng) SI''; No. 

 8 (land ^^?) ^2° ; No. 4 (under glass) 59°. Tlte 

 temperature of tlie air at the time (5 o'clock p. m.) 

 was 65°; in the cold-frame it was 130". The next 

 morning, between 5 and 6 o'clock, I examined them 

 again, the temperature of the air being 46^. No. 



1 marked 51°; No. 2, 52°; No. 3, 50°; and No. 4 

 56°. (The temperature of the air in the cold- 

 frame was also 56°.) A few days later, after we 

 had had a good deal of rain, I examined them 

 again. They tlien stood : No. 1, 54 ° ; No. 2, 

 53 ° ; No. 3, 52 ° . I examined them again to- 

 day (May 19) and they stood : No. 1, 53 « ; No. 2, 

 52 ° ; No. 3, 52 =• . The temperature of the air at 

 the time was 64 "^ ." „ 



" These results do not show any decided difference 

 in the temperature of the soil. Its uniformity 

 rather surprised me. I thought the grass. would 

 exclude the sun, and also evaporate more water, 

 and thus produce cold ; but such does not seem to 

 be the case." 



" I was talking to Prof. Dkwet about these ex- 

 periments, and he asked me to test the tempera- 

 ture of the soil nearer the surface. 1 did so this 

 morning in the same soil, but only two inches 

 deep. I covered the thermometer completely with 

 soil. No. 1 (in grass) marked 59 ° ; No. 2, 59 « ; 

 No. 3, 59 ® — all the same! It will be seen, how- 

 ever, that the soil nearer the surface is about 7 ° 

 warmer than that a foot deep." 



"The Lima beans are just breaking the soil. 

 They are surrounded with boxes covered with 

 glass. When it rains I take off the boxes. In two 

 or three of the boxes I had neglected to put in the 

 glass, and this morntng I was examining them, and 

 was surprised to find that the soil in these boxes 

 was quite dry on the surface and inclined to bake, 

 while that under those covered with glass wasi 

 quite moist and loose. The glass checks evapora- 

 tion. If the sun comes out too hot, the glasS' 

 should be shaded a little. This I do by throwing; 

 a handful of soil on the top of it." 



"Cabbages and cauliflowers raised in the hot-| 

 bed should always be "pricked out" before thai 

 final planting in "the open air. I prick them out I 

 into the cold-frame, but they will do about as well 

 in a warm border protected from the cold winds. 

 I find the quickest way to do it is to make a shal« 

 low trench with a spade, and stand tlie plants in it,, 

 pusliing up the soil to them witli the liand. This* 

 is much quicker than the old-fashioned way of 

 making holes." 



"C:ibbages, cauliflowers, celery, tomatoes, &c.. 

 are greatly improved by pricking out in this way. 

 Tlie plants become strong and stocky, whereas, if 

 they are left in the original seed-bed, where thej 

 are crowded, they are drawn up and spindling." 



" Let us step into the cold grapery for a moment 



