80 TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



a sassafras stuini> wliidi liad boon burii'd an iiiilciiown nuiiibor of years was 

 found wlion dug uj) to have the sassafras odor as strong' as tliough it was 

 from a tree cut but yesterday. 



Flowers and Fruit from Nebr.vska. 



Mr. \l. Tlionipsoi), Syracuse, Otoe county, Nebraska, sent the foHow- 

 iu'^ letter with the article mentioned, which came in good order, and were 

 much admired by the Club: " I enclose to you to-day a few specimens of 

 Rocky Mountain plants, pressed; two pentstemons and a verbena. I have 

 a large variety of western plants, and will send specimens as they llower; 

 also seed. I inclose five gooseberries, small, but of f^ood quality. In a 

 few days I will send you some fruit of the Nebraska Prolific gooseberry, 

 which is hardy, larger than the Houghton, never mildews, and as to quality 

 you can judge when eaten. The verbena enclosed to j-ou is from the Yel- 

 low Stone River country, and the plants from which these flowers were 

 taken remained out unprotected when the cold went to thirty-two deg^rces 

 below zero. I send them for you to present to or before the Farmers' Club, 

 as I wish to disseminate these things among those who leel an interest 

 floral and pomological. 



How TO Grow Good Radishes. 



Mr. M. D. Williams, Waterloo city, Ind , wants to know " how we can 

 raise radishes that are not worn)y or pithy; we try it every year and fail 

 every time." Some persons declare that it all depends upon the time in 

 the moon that the seed is planted. We believe those are most successful 

 who plant the seed in very rich fine soil, and water the plants very freely. 



Mr. Jolm G. Bergen. — I do not grow for market but for family use, and 

 sometimes fail. Changing ground is one of the best remedies 1 have used. 

 I sow at all ages of the moon, and it makes no difl'erencc. 



Mr. Adrian Hergen. — I have been very succ<'ssful in raising this vegeta- 

 ble. My family put a quantity of house slops on the beds, and my radishes 

 arc never affected with worms. In dry weather the radisii will grow hard 

 and worthless unless often watered. 



Mr. Reuben Ball. — I have always been successful in raising radishes. 

 My soil is sandy, but I dig it well and ajiply composted manure. 



The Present Season — Is it Early or Late. 



Mr. .Tolin O. Bergen. — In a late conversation with a farmer, he coni- 

 plaine<l of the backwardness of the; jMcsent season. I told him I thought 

 he was mis:aken. In my opinion it was a week earlier than the aveiage. 

 Another farmer thought it perhaj)s about the average. Jlr. Robinson now 

 gives it as his opinion that, in the grape crop particularly, it is ten days 

 earlier. As opinions are so various, let us look to statistics for facts. 

 After the conversation alluded to, 1 immediaLely reftjrred to my farm books. 

 I find the first picking of various market garden crops since IS.'iO entered 

 under the following dates. They were grown under similar conditions 

 each year: 



