AMERICAN INSTITUTE, 327 



Mr. Meigs stated, that Commodore Perry gave us, among other 

 things, from Japan, a bean pod, very like our locust honey bean, 

 in everything but magnitude. For this one, perfectly dry, mea- 

 sure twenty-three inc]?.es long and three and an half inches wide, 

 containing eight beans. When rii^e, this pod and its beans must 

 have weighed twenty-four ounces avoirdupois. He has planted 

 one of these beans, and Judge Livingstoii anotlier. 



Mr. Meigs — In reference to the great question of fertilizers, no 

 one has more fully explained the indispensable necessity of a per- 

 fect analysis of the soil, before any manure is applied, even barn- 

 yard manure, than Prof, Mapes, There may be too much or too 

 little of a constituent of soil. One of our most distinguished 

 members, from what was said in praise of a top dressing of lime, 

 ruined a farm for several years by doing it, and found, too late, 

 that his land contained an overdose of lime before. All knowing 

 gardeners manufacture the soil for plants according to their well 

 known wants, mixing even by means of sieves, as carefully as they 

 would tiour a batch of bread, kc. 



The following sulijects were ordered for next meeting : Proposed 

 by Prof. Mapes, " Winter treatnjent of barn-yard manures." 

 Proposed by Solon Robinson, '•• Proper winter feed and treatment 

 of milch cows." 



The Club then adjourned to first Tuesday of December, 1857, 

 viz, December first, at noon. H. MEIGS, Secretary. 



December LsY, 1857. 



Present — Messrs. Law^ton, of New Rochelle, Payne and Thomas 

 W. Field, of Brooklyn, H. H. Wheeler, of Higliland Terrace, 

 near South Butler, Wayne county, Benjamin Pike, Sen., of New 

 Jersey, Alanson Nash, Dr. Smith, Messrs. Porter, of Metuchin, 

 N. J., Da vol, of Brooklyn, Pardee, John A. Bunting, Dr. Wel- 

 lington, Mr. Solon Robinson, Dr. Water bury, and others; twenty- 

 six members in all. 



Secretary Meigs read the following articles, translated and 

 extracted from our last steamer's importation, &c. : 



Among the highly valuable papers sent free of all charge to 

 the American Institute, by England, France, Russia, Austria, 



