328 Transactions of the American Institute. 



its clieinical and mechanical action upon tlie soil. In soils rich in 

 organic matter are found various acids which have a strong affinity 

 for ammonia, and generally exist in combination therewith ; by adding 

 lime, a stronger alkali, the ammonia is expelled and is thus made 

 available to plants. In other cases, as for instance in land recently 

 drained, the acids may exert a positively injurious action upon plants, 

 and in these cases the lime, b}^ simply neutralizing the acids, benefits 

 the soil. 



No general rule can be laid down for the use of lime ; for in one 

 soil it may act in one way, while in another, even on the same farm, 

 it may act in a very different manner. The reactions of lime on the 

 various constituents of the ground are very many and very different, 

 and one reason why chemistry has not been more effectually brought 

 to bear in farming is that people lose sight of the fact that even slight 

 changes in circumstances may wholly change the results of any given 

 mode of treating the soil. 



Dr. Isaac P. Trimble. — As an instance of the effect of lime on 

 some lands, a friend of mine in Salem county, N. J., put 1,000 

 bushels on a bog meadow. It produced magnificently for many 

 years. The same amount on a common upland would have ruined it. 



Mr. J. B. Lyman. — Mulching means covering the soil around the 

 roots of plants with straw, sawdust, weeds, or salt hay, so as to pro- 

 tect the earth from excessive heat or cold. It operates beneficially 

 by hastening the decomposition of minerals, and the preparation of 

 plant food in the soil and by keeping down weeds. For strawberry 

 plants it is peculiarly beneficial. Straw, &c., may be applied any 

 time when the drought is considerable. Strawberries should be 

 mulched all the spring, till they have done bearing, esiDecially if late 

 fruit is desired. 



How TO Peel Peaches. 



Mr. J. V. Yanzandt, of Louisville, Ky., informs the club that if 

 peaches are dipped for one second in hot potash and water, the skin 

 will come off at once, without injuring the taste of the peach at all. 

 He uses Babbitt's preparation of concentrated lye, and dips the 

 peaches into the preparation in a wire basket. 



The regular paper of the day was then read by Serfeno E. Todd, on 



FLORICULTUKE. 



What are flowers good for? What could they have been created 

 for ? is a question that we hear repeated from youth to hoary age. 



