PROCEEDINGS OF THE FARMERS' CLUB. 205 



these reports. Perhaps, and probably he has not read the many testimo- 

 nials given in our discussions of the question, of the utter worthlessness of 

 a barometer to a farmer for the purpose of "foretelling the weather." 



The Chairman said that he had lately read of a case where a certain min- 

 ister caused the bell to be rung one day to alarm his parishioners, so that he 

 could tell them what he had learned about the future of the weather by coi> 

 stilting his barometer, and by that means he enabled them to save a great 

 quantity of hay. 



Mr. Solon Robinson. — This may be true in one single case, as it is cer- 

 tainly true of many cases where the indications have entirely failed. It is 

 true that the rapid fall of the indicator prognosticates wind, and, in haying 

 time, wind often brings along thunder clouds and rain. But as to any cer- 

 tain indication of rain, I have never been able to see it, and do not believe 

 that any farmer will ever grow rich upon a reliance upon such a fickle indi- 

 cator of the weather. 



To this we add that on Monday of this week the barometer rose to a 

 high point, and on Tuesday it went down below the starting point, ind^ 

 eating, if it is to be relied upon to "foretell the weather," that we should 

 have a stormy night. It was clear and pleasant in all respects. On Wed- 

 nesday morning it was cloudy, and the barometer-wise said, " It will snow 

 before night." But it did not; nor did it rain; it only blew a gale. So, if 

 tlie barometer indicated anything, it was v,nnd, and that is all it can be 

 relied upon to indicate, and that is not certain; nor is it certain whether it 

 will commence blowing an hour or a day after the fall. 



A Minnesota Wild Flower. 



Mr. J. C. Stratton of Woodland, Wabasha county, Minnesota, writes to 

 Mr. Solon Robinson as follows: "I inclose a dried specimen of a double 

 anemone thalictroides, which I found growing wild five or six years ago. 

 I should be glad to know if it is in any of the collections of flowers of Eas^ 

 tern florists. It begins to blossom almost as soon as the frost is out of the 

 ground, and continues until June. Its desirable qualities are, that it is 

 perfectly hardy as far north as 44°, and probably further; blossoms in 

 umbels of four or five, each blossom contains from one hundred to one hun- 

 dred and fifty petals of a delicate pink color ; blossoms early, and con- 

 tinues long in bloom ; it is propagated by tubers. It is small, growing 

 only two or three inches in height — in fact, a gem of a flower. So it is. 

 So said all who were present, and a vote of thanks was passed to Mr. 

 Stratton, with a request that he vould send a few of the tubers to the 

 Secretary of the Club, for the purpo3e of testing them, as, in the opinion 

 of Mr. Fuller, the flower is not in any collection here, and if it should suo- 

 ceed, would be quite an acquisition. 



The "Wine Plant — Linn^us Rhubarb. 



Mr. Wm. S. Carpenter called attention to the monstrous fraud practiced on 

 farmers in the western part of New York and further west, by peddlers 

 who are selling roots of "the genuine wine plant" at $3.15 per thousand, 

 assuring the purchasers that they can make untold quantities of wine that 

 will sell for $2 a gallon. These roots are simply the Linnseus rhubarb, and 



