190 TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



insects to visit it in their search for food." We are not quite sure, how- 

 ever, but that some other person may not have observed the same fact 

 befoi'e. Mr. Flanders says that he has a new system of propagating 

 Italian queen-bees, and " at some future time I will, if desired, explain my 

 system in full." 



Flax Culture. 



Mr. S. W. Cone, of Bowdoinham, Maine, says: "The best land for flax is 

 a dry, deep loam, with clay subsoil. An undrained clay soil should be' 

 avoided, also heavily manured land following other crops, there being a 

 tendency to weeds, thus choking the young plant. 



Newly broken ground or new land is best. In preparing the ground it 

 should be left clean and light, plowing iu autumn and spring, removing all 

 stones and sods. Sow clean and very evenly, with about two bushels to 

 the acre. Sow early in the spring, and roll the ground. Let it be weeded 

 when two or three inches high, if needed. Flax should be cut just previous 

 to the ripening of the se«-d; the fiber is best at that period, though for seed 

 it must be cut later. For the new process of fibrilizing, it may be cut and 

 cured like hay; and previous to braking threshed by the ordinary threshing 

 machine. Two tuns of unrotted straw and twenty bushels of seed per acre 

 form a good yield, and the crop does not impoverish the soil if those parts 

 not used for textile fabrics are consumed on the farm. Beside making oil- 

 cake from seed, the woody part after breaking, when unrotted, makes ex- 

 cellent feed for stock." 



Mr. A. S. Fuller. — Is there any difference in the fibre raised from the 

 light and dark colored seed. 



Mr. Solon Robinson, — It has always been said that the flax grown from 

 light colored seed has a softer fibre. 



Experiments in the Culture of Potatoes. 



Mr. L. R. Anthony, Hammondtown, N.J. — Some five or six years ago I 

 read in a paper, I believe published by Professor Mapes, of a valuable com- 

 post for potatoes, as follows : lime, ashes, salt, plaster — three bushels of 

 each, or twelve bushels to the acre, a large spoonful to each hill, scattered 

 around, but not on the seed. I tried this, as directed, in Broome county, 

 N.Y., on a light gravelly soil, with good results. I have been here three 

 seasons. The first I tried this as follows: In two rows, I put the compost 

 around the seed and left two without any; in two other rows I dropped the 

 compost and covered it a little, on this I placed the s6ed and covered; in 

 two other rows I dropped, covered it a little, then threw on the compost 

 and covered it. On digging and measuring a slight advantage was found 

 in favor of the two first modes, none in the second. This season I wanted 

 a " brag crop," and procured the compost, dropped it in the hill and slightly 

 covering it, and then dropped and covered the seed, which was Peach 

 Blows. Digging showed the following results: one row, composted, meas- 

 ured 65 quarts, weighed 104| lb., counted 755, all told; one I'ow not com- 

 posted measured 14 quarts, weighed 130| lb., and counted 900. 



COST OF CULTIVATION. 



Difierence in favor of no compost, 26 lb., or near a half bushel. There 



