PROCEEDINGS OF THE FARMERS* CLUB. 81 



Peas. cjtring beans. SquaiihcB. 



IR50 Tuno 29 July 3 



1851 .: Jimo 2(1 Juno SO 



1862 June 2ii Juno 23 



186.1 Tunc 20 Juno 23 



1854 Juno 22 Juno 25 



1855 Juno 2;) July 2 



fSSI Juno IG Juno 27 July 1 



1857 None July 6 July 7 



185g June 14 Tunc :?0 July 



1859 Juno 9 June 27 Tuno 2'.l 



1860 Juno n Juno 27 July 2 



ISfll luno 10 June 2r, Juno 27 



1802 Juno 12 Inno 25 Juno ;!0 



18«3 Juno 1! Juno 20 June .50 



1864 Juno 6 Juno 22 Juno 22 



I find from my own books and from conversation with my iioiglihors tli;it 

 the avt>raj?e time ttf inakinjj^ the first pickinj^ of field cucumbers is the 3d 

 and 4th of July. This year on liay Kidg;e, where cucumbers are extensively 

 ffrown as a market crop, one farmer who has twenty acres, picked and 

 ncnt to market yesterday, June 27, six thousand cucumbers, and some 

 others, from one to two thousand. These statistics fihow pretty clearly 

 tliat the season is a week earlier than the average upon Long Island. 



A New Fertilizing Plant. 



Mr. John Lowrey writes from Saratoga Springs as follows : "Inclosed 

 is a sample of a plant that grows wild in the fields, on light sandy soil, in 

 this section. I think it might be cultivated and used as green manure, if 

 plowed under when in bloom. Will the Farmers' Club give their opinion 

 of its value, and give it a name? Is it 'Blue Lupine,' or what is it? It 



•mcs up early in Spring, and flowers in May, in time to plow under for 

 corn. It ripetjs early in harvest, and the pods burst open, and the seeds 

 scatter upon the ground. The seed is somewhat like a small bean." 



Mr. Solon Robinson — This is evidently one of tiie lupin family. The two 

 most common in this country arc known as white and blue lupin. This 

 might undoubtedly be cultivated for the purpose of turning under as a green 

 crop manure. Hut what would be the advantage over clover for the same 

 purpose ? That should be the (juesticMi in all propositions to grow a sub- 

 stitute for ch)ver. Has the substitute any advantages ? In the Eastern- 

 Shore counties of Virginia the soil is naturally sandy, being much of the 

 same character as that around Saratoga. Under a very bad system of farm- 

 ing, it liaH maintained its fertility for u great length of time, owing almost 

 entirely to the natural growth of one of the lupin family, similar to the 

 sample seat with the above letter. It completely coats the ground of every 

 corii-fifid as well as every other spot not occupied by crops. It is easier 

 t.» alltiw this to grow than it \3 to cultivate clover. Whether farmers at 

 -iraloga would derive any advantage from growing lupin as a manure 

 ' rop, can be determined only by actual experiments. In sonie parts of 

 Kuropp, Portugal in particular, white lu|)in has been extensively used as a 

 fertilizing crop, and will grow on sandy land where no other plant can bo 

 ►iuccesHfully grown. It is of very rapid growth, produces a large amount 

 •f vegetable matter, much of which is drawn from the atmosphere, and a 

 [Am. Ijust.] F 



