PROCEEDINGS OP THE FARMERS' CLUB. . 135 



Potatoes — How to Grow Them in a Drouth. 



Mr. William Tucker, Madison county, Illinois, says that from the 9th of 

 May to the last of S<>ptember, there were only two small showers, which 

 were not sufficient to wet the ground three inches deep. TLe result is no 

 potatoes have been raised except by one man, who laid his potatoes on the 

 ground in February, as though planting, and then covered them with six- 

 teen inches of straw. Ilis crop is a very fine one. 



Flowers and Flower Seeds. 



Miss Ada L. Morrison, Alton, New Hampshire, wishes that this club 

 would give more of their discussions to the subject of flowers. She says it 

 would greatly oblige those who live in the country who love flowers, yet 

 see but few of the finest cultivated sorts, and she would be greatly de- 

 lighted at being the recipient of some of the seeds which good folks some- 

 times distribute. She says : " Something seems to tell me that if I write 

 in season, before the frost destroys the flowers in the garden (and the frost 

 has not injured mine yet), I can get more of a variety than if I wait till 

 spring. These that I have -that I prize the most, are dahlias, petunias, 

 balsams, gillyflowers, and a few more of the same sort — very pretty for 

 the kind, but not enough, I should be very grateful for a few pansy 

 seeds. I take great delight in the garden, and spend many hours through 

 spring aiid summer there at work. For a number of years we have been 

 deprived of grapes, though the vines -always seemed to bloom well. Last 

 year I was told the cause after it was too late. This year I bt^gan in 

 earnest, and by great industry on my part, hundreds if not thousands of 

 rose-bugs lost their lives. The result is our vine hangs full with the 

 tempting, luscious fruit, and we feel that our labor is not in vain. Is this 

 the only safeguard to the vine, to kill the bug? There is another question 

 to be settled for me : Will squash seeds when planted ever turn to pump- 

 kins if not planted near each other ? I for one think they do, for this sea- 

 son we have met witli a complete failure." 



Mr. Solon Robinson, — In^answer I would say that squashes and pump, 

 kins do not hybridize so as to affect the fruit of the present year. The 

 difficult}- is with the seeds planted. If they were from fruit of either sort 

 grown in proximity to tlie other, the result will be entirely uncertain. In 

 regard to the grapes, nothing but " eternal vigilance" will secure a crop 

 where rose-bugs abound. " 



Mr. Wm. S. Carpenter. — I will relate a little anecdote, to show how 

 attractive flowers are. A few days ago, a carriage stopped in front of my 

 place, and a lady got out and asked the privilege of examining some 

 flowers that she saw from the road, which were new to her. She observed 

 that she had lived many years in the West, where her opportunity to 

 observe cultivated flowers was limited, and one of the greatest delights of 

 her visit at the East, was the study of these beautiful ornamentations of 

 home. To her a home without flowers was lacking in the main feature of 

 attractiveness. 



Mr. Jireh Bull suggested that the Horticultural Societ}' should take up the 

 subject of flowers, and give practical instructions about kinds and Culture. 



Adjourned. John W. Chambers, Secretary. 



