PROCEEDINGS OF THE FAKMERS' CLUB. 157 



therefore persons should be careful of their hasty conclusions 

 about this or that nostrum driving them off. 



Mr. Meid — The preparation I mentioned, dissolved in water and 

 used as a syringe upon plum trees, had the effect to drive off the 

 curculio, even upon one side of a tree, while the other was still 

 infested. 



THE STRAWBERRY QUESTION. 



This question was called up at one o'clock, and William S. 

 Carpenter was called upon to state some facts in regard to the 

 great show of the fruit of the Austin strawberry, exhibited by 

 him. 



Mr. Carpenter — I got this at Watervliet, where it originated 

 among the Shakers. I found it growing in the most common 

 way, in masses and not in hills, without any particular care, and 

 much injured from drouth. Yet, as will be seen, the size is 

 large and the fruit solid enough to bear transportation, and as 

 prolific as the Wilson, and the flavor will be generally preferred. 

 The color is a bright scarlet. The time of ripening is after most 

 other varieties are over. 



To our taste this variety called the Austin is much like the 

 Hooker. It is certainly a good flavor, but the berries are gene- 

 rally hollow, and we fear not hard enough for a market berry. 



George H. Hite, of Morrisania, made another exhibition of the 

 Wilson seedling, as grown by him, which are a little ahead of 

 any other. 



Prof. Mapes — The wild strawberries are a higher flavored fruit 

 generally than the cultivated sorts. This is owing to the tannic 

 acid in the vegetable matter. I once produced a gallon of tannic 

 liquor from a tanner's vat, and mixed it with one hundred gal- 

 lons of water, and used it upon my beds in the early part of the 

 season, with remarkable effect. 



Mr. Dykeman, of Hastings, exhibited some strawberries of a 

 French variety, which are very much inclined to grow in a curi- 

 ous form — flat, and somewhat resembling the top of a cockscomb 

 plant. It is a curiosity, and may be worth growing as such. 



SPENT HOPS AS A FERTILIZER. 



Wm. S. Carpenter stated that he had lately seen the effect of 

 spent hops used as a mulch upon land with highly beneficial 

 effects. 



Prof. Mapes — This substance has been largely used in England, 



