Proceedixgs oi< the Fafmers' Club. 



seed wheat. I raised twenty and one-lialf bnshels on one acr^ . Th^ 

 object of mv writing to you is to suggest that there are so iTSi^i^in 

 our country with small means that could get a living and a gofl4 

 liome with a small capital here. I can purchase 500 acres of this 

 land for five dollars per acre. A good team will tear the scrubs 

 out by the roots. Fires have destroyed the timber, so one has 

 to encounter no timber stumps, and needs no patent stump-pullers. 

 It can be cleared for twenty-five dollars per acre, and then you 

 will have about as good land as there is east of the lakes for corn, 

 wheat or grass. Why will men buy old worn out farms for twenty 

 dollars an acre when for five dollars they can get land just as well 

 situated, fresli and good, that will give (what no old land will) thirty 

 bushels of wheat to the acre?" 



EusT ON Melon Vines. 



Mr. "Wells C. Norton, of ISTew Market, X. H., asks, by letter, what 

 will prevent rust on his melon vines, and what manure to use on 

 them. 



Mr. S. E. Todd. — Let him stir wood-ashes into the earth around 

 each hill, and mix a little salt with the ashes. The manure for 

 melons should be fine and well rolled, also thoroughly mixed with 

 the earth in the hill. Squashes and cucumbers will thrive on gross 

 and cruel substances, but melons are more delicate feeders. 



Spear's Pkepakation for Preserving Fruit. 



The committee to whom was referred Mr. L. H. Spear's prepara- 

 tion for preserving fruits, respectfully reports : 



That since the action of the Club last year, in relation to the same 

 subject, Mr. Spear has modified his preparation by adding another 

 ingredient wliicli he claims has' obviated an objection to the compound 

 as first used, arising from its partial decomposition after a considerable 

 lapse of time. Several members of your committee have examined 

 specimens of fruit preserved by the improved process. Some of tliese 

 retained considerable of the original flavor of the fruit, while others 

 had entirely lost it, yet without undergoing fermentation. This last 

 preparation, sold under the name of " The American Fruit Preser\"ing 

 Powders," has not been tested for 'a sufiicient length of time to 

 enable yom* committee to decide definitely upon its value. 



The new ingredient used contains an element which, although inert, 

 does not enter into the composition of the human body. "While your 



[Inst.] 17 



