AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 233 



bought flour for bread and wheat for seed, at a high figure. A more per- 

 fect system ot raising wheat will have to be adopted, or the risk of failure 

 is so great that the business will have to be abandoned. The rje crop was 

 good. Though not extensively raised, it is coming into favor, as it stands 

 the winter well, and it can be sown in the fall and harvested early, not 

 interfering with other crops." 



Mr. Meigs exhibited a crab apple from our forests, resembling cherries 

 in size, very beautiful in color and admirable for pure health. He stated 

 from Lindley's Vegetable Kingdom, Downing, and others, the varieties. 

 That no efforts are reported to have been made, of any importance, iu 

 order to increase its size. Lindley says it is found in many places north 

 of the equator, but not a solitary one south of it, and as Lindley has 

 availed himself of the labor of fiive hundred botanists, he is not likely to 

 be in error. 



Mr. Fuller. — Gardeners cultivate a dozen sorts of them. 



Hon. John G. Bergen. — Some call me, although I am only a middle- 

 aged farmer, an Old Fogy, because I do not instantly adopt their new 

 rules — while older farmers say I am Young Airierica! Now, what I wish 

 to make plain is, that, according to my own experience, and that for years 

 on no small scale, I have found that there are so many exceptions to old as 

 well as new rules, that I find numerous cases of error in almost every les- 

 son, and that is is because the nature of the soil, the weather, the seed, the 

 tillage, the fertilizers, all show fallibility. I therefore say to brother 

 farmers, note the exceptions I 



The Secretary exhibited a pear from Long Island so perfectly like an 

 apple that no member doubted. It had not the least of that fire-biaze 

 jorm, the Pyrus, which gave it the name of Flame-shaped apple, i. e. 

 *^ Pyrus malus." 



THE MAPES FARM. 



The following gentlemen connected with the Farmer's Club visited Mr. 

 Mapes' farm, near Newark, N. J., on Wednesday, August 3, 1859: 

 Messrs. James Knight, William Hall, William B. Leonard, John Jay, 

 Peter Wyckoff, John P. Veeder, Thomas W. Field, Henry Meigs, D. R. 

 Jaques and L. P. Williams. A special committee, consisting of Messrs. 

 Meigs, Jay, Field and Jaques, were appointed to draft a report. The fol- 

 lowing is their report: 



This farm contains one hundred and twenty acres ; a very large portion, 

 however, is in grass, lowland meadow and wood, leaving but 38.^ acres 

 devoted to crops, and to this portion the attention of the committee was 

 particularly directed. The superintendent, Mr. P. T. Quin, who was edu- 

 cated as a farmer by Professor Mapes, and who is well posted, not only in 

 agriculture proper, but in all the sciences applicable to this pursuit, showed 

 the committee the mode of manipulating all the crops, and answered, with 

 the greatest readiness, all questions in relation to the produce of the farm. 

 He supposes that the results this year will exceed those of last year proba- 

 bly One thousand dollars in profit. 



