300 Notes and Gleanings. 



The March meeting of the Potomac Fruit-Growers' Association was held at 

 the Friends' meeting-house, Alexandria, Va., President Bramliall in the chair. 

 The discussion of fertilizers led to the opinion, that farmers had better buy their 

 own guano and simple phosphates, and mix themselves, if a mixture is wanted, in 

 order to avoid the humbugs which are now flooding the market. Marl can be 

 delivered anywhere on the Potomac for a dollar per ton : this is an excellent 

 fertilizer, cheap, and much needed by our soils. Col. Close considered marl and 

 stable-manure good, but thought it would hardly pay to haul either when con- 

 centrated manures, such as Peruvian guano, bone-dust, and poudrette, could be 

 bought at present prices. Be sure, however, to purchase a good article, and 

 then compost to suit your soil. We must not be too much afraid of being hum- 

 bugged ; a little, once in a while, makes one sharp. Dr. Lloyd believed, from 

 experiments which he had made, that new manure is better in every respect than 

 that thoroughly rotted. 



Chalkly Gillingham read a very instructive paper on fruit-destroying insects 

 and their insect enemies. 



Orchard culture. — Judge Gray: The idea entertained by many, that the 

 land is too valuable to be entirely devoted to the orchard, is a mistaken one. If 

 we want good fruit and abundance of it, we must give it the land and the culture 

 it needs, and it will amply repay all attention received. An orchard at Niagara, 

 N.Y., was sown to buckwheat for sixteen years, and not a bushel taken off. It 

 was only ploughed in the spring to sow again. The grain afforded ample feed 

 for the poultry that ranged through the orchard. By this system, the soil was 

 changed from a light sand to a rich loam : the trees were thrifty, and bore well. 

 It is cheaper, in my opinion, to sow buckwheat than fertilizers, and does much 

 more good. Apply nothing more than a light dressing of plaster ; plough, and 

 sow again. On heavy land, the system is probably equally beneficial, tending 

 not only to enrich the land, but to make it more friable. 



Judge Bramhall remarked, that heavy lands at the North were immensely im- 

 proved by ploughing in green crops, and cited several instances. 



C. Gillingham : I think the system followed at Niagara the best that could 

 be devised for the purpose. The ground not being ploughed until spring, there 

 was no inconvenience in gathering the fruit ; and. moreover, I believe a ripe 

 crop mucli better to plough in than a green crop. The idea that we can, in an 

 orchard, sow and reap, and take off all kinds of crops, without returning an 

 equivalent, and still gather a harvest of fruit, is wholly wrong. 



S. B. Walton : I believe the secret lies in having the ground covered. I 

 think if it was simply covered over, with no crop or fertilizer whatever, the land 

 would improve. 



The association adjourned to meet at the Columbia schoolhouse, Closeville, 

 Alexandria County, Va., Saturday, April 3, at 10, a.m., and a punctual attendance 

 was requested. The president invited the presence and co-operation of the ladies, 

 and asked their assistance in the good work of fruit-raising. 



Correspondence is solicited on all matters of interest and importance pertain- 

 ing to fruit-culture, and all inquiries will be duly answered. All correspondence 

 should be addressed to Col. James T. Close, Cor. Sec. P. F. G. A., Arlington, \'a. 



