356 



Farmers' Club. — Cultivation of the Strawberry. Vol. VII. 



P. S. I have just opened the Cabinet for 

 May, in which I see a communication from 

 A L. C. Farmer, in which he insinuates, I 

 have given the statement in relation to 

 spreading plaster with the shovel, without a 

 proper regard for truth; I therefore inform 

 him, that I received it from a brother-in-law 

 of one of Mr. Buckley's sons, who stated he 

 received it from a son of Mr. D. Buckley. 

 L. C. Farmer has, I have no doubt, been 

 within " long gun-shot" of a great many 

 things which he did not see or hear of. I 

 am pleased to see how completely he refutes 

 A Delawarian 's statement, that plaster is 

 only needed on the surface. But it is amus- 

 ing to hear, how he attempts to get out of 

 " the soils unfriendly to mineral agency." 

 Who would have thought he meant a sioamp, 

 which every one knows is unfriendly to every 

 thing but a ditching shovel. I do not won- 

 der three of them stuck fast in it. 



The only apology I can give for the length 

 of this article is, that being a sportsman, I 

 I have always been accustomed to using a 

 large charge of shot, when shooting at a 

 flock. J. W. V. 



West Nantmeal, May 17th, 1843. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 



Farmers' Club. 



"Little Delaware" has taken the lead 

 in the formation of a class of agricultural 

 meetings, which will, in all probability, 

 soon become general throughout the Union. 

 Twelve gentlemen of Wilmington and its 

 neighbourhood, have constituted themselves 

 a Farmers' Club, who meet on the first 

 Thursday in each month, at the house of the 

 members in rotation, at ten o'clock in the 

 morning, and proceed in the examination of 

 all that pertains to the farm of their host — 

 when his fields, his fences, implements, mode 

 of applying manure, rotation of crops, state 

 of live-stock, house, barn, piggery and poul- 

 try yard, are all matters for observation and 

 discussion. At an early hour, a plain, but 

 substantial farmer's dinner is served up, af- 

 ter which, agricultural subjects are dis- 

 cussed, experiments reported, agricultural 

 works and journals exchanged; seeds, plants, 

 new grains, &c., distributed, the entertain- 

 ing member for the next month, agreed 

 upon; — and the Club adjourns always early, 

 to attend to the business at home before 

 dark. The gentlemen who compose the 

 Club, which is restricted to twelve mem- 

 bers, are Messrs. Bryan Jackson, C. P. Hol- 

 combe, J. W. Andrews, Jesse Gregg, S. Can- 

 by, II. Dupont, J. Boies, J. W. Thomson, 

 F. Sawden, W. Boulden, G. Lodge, and 



Major J. Carr. From these meetings, poli- 

 tics and political matters are very properly 

 excluded, the business being strictly agri- 

 cultural. 



These Clubs will furnish the finest oppor- 

 tunities for the examination and trial of new 

 and improved implements ; in the hands of 

 twelve practical men, who have an interest 

 in the soil, their merits will be carefully 

 tested, and their pietensions — properly ap- 

 preciated — made known to the country, 

 through their unbiassed judgment. In 

 short, such institutions as these, will take 

 place of the often recommended plan of ex- 

 perimental farms, and the results must be 

 permanently advantageous to the commu- 

 nity. A favourable notice from such a body 

 of men, would be the highest recommenda- 

 tion that could be obtained. It is understood 

 that a ploughing match upon the grandest 

 scale, will be got up by the Club, at. one of 

 their autumnal meetings, a large and wide 

 field for operations being already secured, 

 with the necessary variety of soils, &c, for 

 a full experiment. May success attend their 

 exertions, and may they have cause to say, 

 at the conclusion of each of their meetings, 

 " It is good for us to be here ;" on the prin- 

 ciple of that good old proverb, " Iron sharp- 

 eneth iron — so doth the countenance of a 

 man, his friend." P. 



May 20th, 1843. 



Cultivation of the Strawberry. — On 

 the piece of ground intended for planting, I 

 spread a layer of long stable manure a toot 

 thick. I trench the ground three feet deep, 

 putting the manure at the bottom of the 

 trench. Long manure is then spread on the 

 surface of the trenched ground to the depth 

 of six inches, and afterwards dug in. Beds 

 four feet wide are marked out, with a foot- 

 alley between each — which is highly neces- 

 sary, to prevent those who gather the fruit, 

 from treading between the plants: and lastly, 

 the runners are planted two feet apart. A 

 bed thus made, will last three years without 

 requiring anything further, not even so much 

 as a top-dressing; but the runners should be 

 removed, and the beds kept free from weeds. 

 As I make my plantations from July to Oc- 

 tober, the plants come into bearing the fol- 

 lowing spring — strawberries planted upon 

 ground thus prepared, do not require to be 

 watered even in the hottest weather, be- 

 cause of the depth to which the roots will 

 penetrate. I find that stony growing kinds 

 such as the British Queen, require a more 

 loamy soil than others. If the planting is 

 deferred until spring, the crop will not be 

 half so large. — Gardener's Chronicle. 



