24 TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



The Secretary said tliat it was an axiom of Prof. Mapes that g'aa lime 

 should not be used until it had been s(!vcral years exposed to the atmoa- 

 pher(\ 



Mr. Martin K. Tlumipsoii. — That i.s because it contains some of the {j^aa 

 when first thrown out of the gas works, and that, we know, is poisonous 

 to all vegetation. 



Mr. John 0. Bergen. — Yet I understand that gas lime is much sought 

 after b}' man}' farmers, who consider it A-aluable. I have never used it. 



Mr. George Bartlett. — I have been told by the gas makers of this city 

 that they sell all of their lime for agricultural purposes. If that is the case 

 its value ought not to be a matter of doubt in this vicinity, and those who 

 have used it ought to give their experience. 



Liquid Grafting Wax. 



Mr. L'lloinme Lefort invented, not many years ago, a grafting composi- 

 tion, which is very cheap, very easily prepared, and keeps, corked up in a 

 bottle with a tolerably wide mouth, at least six months unaltered. It is 

 laid on as thin a coat as possible, by means of a flat piece of wood. Within 

 a few daj's it will be as hard as a stone. It is not aifected by severe cold; 

 it never softens or cracks when exposed to atmospheric action. Wiicn 

 applied to wounds in trees it acts as an artificial cuticle. After a few 

 days' exposure to the atmosphere-in a thin coat, it assumes a whitish color 

 nnd becomes as hard as stone, being impervious to water and air. As 

 long as the inventor kept the preparation secret it was sold at very higii 

 ])rices. 



It is made after the following formula: i\Ielt one pound of common rosin 

 over a gentle fire. Add to it an ounce of beef tallow and stir it wi'll. Take 

 it from the fire, let it cool down a little, and then mix with il a tablcspoon- 

 ful of spirits turpentine, and aficr tliat about seven ounces of very strong 

 alcohol (95 per cent.), to be had at any druggist's store. The alcohol cools 

 it df)wn so rapidly that it will be necessary to put it again on the fire, 

 stirring it constantly. Still the utmost care must be exercised to prevent 

 the alcohol from getting inflamed. To avoid it the best way is to reniovo 

 the vessel from the fire when the lump that may have been formed com- 

 mences melting again. Tiiis must be continued till the whole is a homoge- 

 neous mass, similar to honey. 



Mr. Geo. Bartlett — Tiiis is un<l()ul)tedly a valuable recipe. I have found 

 that gtuu shellac, dissolved in alcohol, was one of the most useful prepara- 

 tions that a gardener could have, and it should always Im; kept on iiand 

 and used like paint to coat over any wounds in trees. In budding, it is a 

 great saving of labor, when you wiisli to cut away branches, to give the 

 new one from the bud an opportunity to grow, as it excludes the air until 

 lh(; wound heuls. 



Jlors — How TO Save Expense of Poles. 



Mr. Solon Kobinson — The common n)ethod of poling hops with two 

 poles to each hill, is estimated at 8100 an acre. Various devices have l>een 

 made to save a portion of this expense. 



