PROCEEDINGS OF THE FARMERS' CLUB. 187 



December 20, 1864. 

 Mr. Nathan C. El}^ in the chair. 



Japanese Wheat. 



Mr. J. Q. A. Troy writes from White Chjud, Kansas, and sends a speci- 

 men of seed from a plant which lie has grown three years, the seed of which 

 was bought at a "big price," under the name of Japanese wheat. He wanta 

 to know what it is, as he lias beeir told that it is millet, and from his 

 description of the plant, we are sure that he has been told cornjctly. It is 

 the kind that grows the seed heads in long spikes. He saya it yields two 

 or three tuns of hay per acre and stock are fond of it. 



Potatoes — Best Early Sorts. 



Mr. Preston Eyre, Dolington, Bucks county, Pa., replies to the inquiry 

 which are the best sorts of early potatoes, that he considcs the Michigan 

 White Sprouts far superior to any other both for table use and for produc- 

 tiveness. They arc extensively cultivated in the neighborhood of Camden, 

 N. J., for the Philadelphia market. As I never see them quoted in The 

 Tribune I presume they are not known in your market. If such is the case 

 you are certainly losing very much by not having them. They are a long 

 smooth potato, resembling in shape the blue Mercers, perfectly white, dry 

 and mealy, and are fit for use sooner than any other variety, I think. They 

 have oidy been known in this section for four cr five years. 



Mr. Henry A. Catlin, Gerry, Chautauqua county, N. Y., thinks the Carter 

 potato the best grown in tliat region, but he does not say whether it is 

 early or not. 



Lima Beans — How to raise them and how far North. 



Mr. J. Stebbins, Highland, Clayton county, Iowa, says that a Mr. Whit- 

 ney of that county, raised Lima beans abundantly every year, and from 

 him he has learned how to do it, with no extra culture except soon after the 

 first blossoms appear cut off the vines and not allow them to run more than 

 four or five feet long. Seva beans are next to the Lima and similar in 

 shape and color, but smaller; these have answered very well, coming ear- 

 lier and bearing profusely, which, with the stringless bean for late use, 

 with pud or without, have been my reliance for years for summer and fall 

 eating. The large, long, round white bean I have found the best for winter. 

 But I think of dispensing with all but the Lima, now that I know how to 

 raise it so readily and so early. 



A Brooklyn suburban resident recommends trellises instead of poles for 

 all climbing beans. He thinks it absurd to grow pole beans in hills, as 

 the roots are crowded and the vines twisted up together in their attempts 

 to twine around the pole. If planted by a trellis with a wire for each vine 

 they arc spread out to the sunshine and will produce twice as much as in 

 hills. The best plan is to have a permanent fiaine for Lima or other runn- 

 ing beans. Set strong posts twelve feet apart, with a slat or Avire on top. 

 The posts according to the Iowa recommendation should not be over five 

 feet high. A slat or wire is als(j fastened upon the posts about a foot above 

 the ground. The beans are planted in a drill under this wire, and when 



