218 TRANSACTIONS OF THfi 



Chinese coolies and State prisoners. The rock is of the new red 

 sand-stone variety. The opinion of the writer is that the guano 

 is not all composed of bird dung, but of a composition that was 

 lifted up with the rock from the bottom of the ocean. The bird- 

 dung guano is only the small part on the surface. The right to 

 remove guano is held by Gibbs & Bright of London. 



PLUM TREES. 



Mr. Judd read a letter upon the subject of black wart on plum 

 trees. It states that the warts are caused by a small ant. 



Mr. Field — I doubt this theory. The warts are not black at 

 first, but appear just like the bark. The ants are after the sugar 

 like excrement of aphis or other insects. There is alway a larva 

 found in the fresh warts. It is this probably that the ants are 

 after. 



POLL EVIL. 



Mr. Judd stated that a correspondent says hydrochloric acid is 

 a sure cure for poll evil. 



Solon Robinson said he had cured poll evil by simply inserting 

 lumps of saleratus in the pipe of the sore. 



PROFITS OF STRAWBERRY BEDS. 



Judge Meigs stated that Thomas Bell sold the fruit of five acres 

 of strawberries, or rather the use of the land, as the purchaser 

 did all the work, for |700. This is equal to an annual rent of 

 $120 per acre, without any expense after the plants are once 

 started. 



BALLOON FRAMES. 



Messrs. Olcott & Vail, from their farm, render the following 

 useful account of their new balloon building. The club will 

 remember that a full account of this new, strong, economical sort 

 of a building was given some time ago to this club, that being the 

 first we ever heard of such a method. 



Mr. Solon Robinson — I published a full set of instructions on 

 this novel architecture for hasty settlers of our boundless domain, 

 some months ago, and am much pleased that our young ambitious 

 citizens, such as Olcott & Vail, put the thing into full practice. 

 Such an architecture precisely suits the land and age we live in. 

 Time will make us go into the more sober, costly and age-enduring 

 buildings of a riper age, but some centuries are yet to elapse 

 before our vast fields will have been brought under the dominion 

 of our plows and harrows. 



