Proceedings of the Farmers' Club. (J51 



giire, tlie winter is not the best time, but it is better than no time, 

 und the most convenient, if the weather is not extreme. 



Mr. F. D. Curtis. — I paint the wounds with any common paint, 

 Mdiich prevents rotting at the heart and assists nature in liealing. 1 

 have felt like crying to see trees haggled and in other ways reck- 

 lessly treated by neglectful farmers. 



Mr. A. S. Fuller, — Don't call them neglectful, or they will be 

 taking you to task as they did me Avhen I made so bold as to say 

 that they were " lazy enough.'' But to return to tlie subject, graft- 

 ing-wax, applied hot, answers very well. 



Dr. E. W. Sylvester. — Gum shellac dissolved in alcohol is better. 



Mr. W. S. Carpenter. — I question the necessity of any application 

 of this sort. Cow-dung is my plaster. 



Mr. D. B. Bruen. — A salve made of one part shoemakers' wax, 

 one part beeswax, and one part tallow is excellent. 



Mr. W. S. Carpenter. — If one wants to kill trees let him a])ply tar 

 in the form of wax, or in any other shape. 



Mr. F. D. Curtis. — The best thing is paint. It does no injury, 

 dries quickly, and does not daub like wax. 



MuLc;iiiNG Stkawbekkieb. 



Mr. P. T. Quinn. — In our severe and changeable northern climate, 

 where one week the mercury goes doAvn below zero and the next 

 rises to fifty degrees, the largest crops of strawberries that vines are 

 capable of producing cannot be grown Avithout protecting the plants 

 by mulching in winter. If the weather '* sets in '' cold early in the 

 fall, and snow falls which covers the ground until spring fairly opens, 

 then this snow forms an excellent mulch, and plants need no other 

 protection. 



Half hardy plants and vines will '" winter better " when the cold 

 is steady and uniform, than if the weather is mild with frequent 

 changes. Raspberry and blackberry vines are frequently winter- 

 killed on the south side of a board fence, while on the north side the 

 vines are unharmed. Practical gardeners, when protecting half-hard}' 

 ornamental plants, will cover the sides of such plants facing south, 

 leaving the half facing north exposed. 



The alternate freezing and thawing, and consequent expanding and 

 contracting of the surface soil, that injures the strawberry vines. 

 Under these conditions the delicate surface-roots are brpken otl', and 

 frequently, on heavy clay soils, from one-third to one-half of the 



