Proceedings of tee Farmers' Club. 675 



eighty barrels of Rnssetts with a loss of only two barrels. I would 

 state that old orchards should be highly manured, unless the soil is 

 naturally very rich, and cultivated every third year at least, the 

 ploM'ing being rather shallow. Mulch the trees in the fall with a 

 load of barn yard manure to every four trees ; summer fallow next 

 year, spread the manure from the trees, and you can grub around the 

 trees very easily, as the turf will be rotten. Throw some ashes and 

 a little salt around each tree, wash the bark with lye, and your orch- 

 ard will bear fruit unless something serious is the matter. Young, 

 healthy trees are not apt to bear as well by being manured very 

 highly, but will grow wood very fast. I have frequently noticed that 

 young trees that have been stunted or mutilated are apt to bear. I 

 think one reason why many j^oung orchards do not bear sooner is 

 because our nurserymen are not careful enough in selecting cions 

 from bearing trees. Slim, smooth cions from trees that do not bear 

 are not fit to be used. Cions cut from the whips or suckers that 

 grow out from the body or large limbs will never bear. 



Mr. F. D. Curtis.— I would like to ask the author of " The Small 

 Fruit Culturist," if grafts from suckers will succeed ? 



Mr. A. S. Fuller. — Yes, but nurserymen do not use them. It does 

 not make so much difference ; more depends on the after culture. 



Mr. Wm. S. Carpenter. — I am willing to take even stronger ground 

 than the last speaker. I know that grafts from suckers even will 

 grow as well as any others. 



Mr. P. T. Quinn. — I don't know as I could give any good reason 

 for it, but it has been my practice in the pear orchard to prefer cions 

 from young healthy trees over those from older stock. 



Prof. G. H. Cook. — A curious fact came under my observation, 

 which has bearing upon this subject. Forty years ago I hoed corn 

 in an orchard, the trees of which were grown from suckers which had 

 been planted perhaps a generation or two before, and they are still 

 thrifty and productive, and I have the privilege of picking apples 

 from them every autumn that I happen to visi? in that vicinity. This 

 proves that suckers will make bearing trees. 



Mr. A. S. Fuller. — For at least a hundred years all nurserymen in 

 this country used nothing but suckers for pear stocks, and if it had 

 been such a bad practice we would have fewer good orchards. 



Moles axd Mole Traps. 

 Rev. Joseph "Wilson, Little Falls, N. J., showed an ingenious device 

 for trapping these mischievous little animals, and read a paper on 



