AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



351 



Dr. Waterbury — The experience of the Sixth Avenue Railroad 

 Company is in favor of mules. They eat only half as much meal 

 as horses— the same quantity of hay. The company's mules cost, 

 on an average, ^300 a pair. They do the same amount of work 

 as the horses, but are slower gaited. Their average speed seems 

 to be about three miles an hour. 



Prof. Mapes says he has two teams, one of four mules and one 

 of four horses, that do the same amount of w^ork. The load of 

 each team is 60 cwt. — They are easy to train to work and very 

 enduring. I find them more than one-third cheaper than horses, 

 and it is said they never die. 



PREPARING GROUND FOR FALL WHEAT. 



Mr. Bergen — We plow and manure well land that has been in 

 potatoes, and sow after the second plowing, in the last of Septem- 

 ber or first of October, and always sow grass seed with the wheat. 

 Some sow clover also in the spring. I think timothy alone is 

 best. I don't think either injures the wheat crop, unless sown 

 very thick. I sow my wheat without washing. I have never 

 done anything to prevent the ravages of the wheat fly. A few 

 years ago I lost my entire crop. We try to sow early wheat early 

 in the season. I now sow Mediterranean wheat. I do not feed 

 ofl' the crop in the fall. I did not know that feeding off w^heat 

 in the tall would destroy the eggs of the fly. The chairman 

 thought it would. 



PLUMS— CURCULIO. 



Prof. Mapes says that he practised this year jarring off the 

 plums in the early part of the season that were bitten, all of 

 which were burned, and thus he so far destroyed the curculio 

 that he now has bushels of the very finest plums. 



Geo. E. Waring — The best manner to jar plum trees is when 

 the tree is small to cut off a limb, and heal it up so as to leave a 

 shoulder to strike upon. This is better than the plan mentioned 

 by Prof. Mapes, of having a board cushioned to strike upon with 

 the mall. 



CATERPILLARS. 



Dr. Underbill — My plan to get rid of the trouble of caterpillars 

 is to cut down every wild cherry tree about my place. Some 

 preserve these trees for the worms to breed upon. It is an error. 

 They are the great breeding places of all caterpillars that are de- 

 structive to fruit. My opinion is, that every wild cherry tree 

 should be exterminated. 



