76 TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



"When you get through picking come on with your heavy plow; tear 

 through the ridges and make new ridges across the field; the old plants 

 will send runners over to the fresh earth,^and the next spring sees you 

 with another crop. So, indefinitely, shall you raise strawberries, and as 

 easily as you can corn. 



"Now, how much? as everybody says who expect-s to pay or to receive 

 money. Two hundred bushels are said to grow on an acre. Fifty bushels 

 should content you. Still men come forward with, " so many feel this way, 

 so many that, then so many quarts, consequently so many bushels, hun- 

 dred bushels to the acre." Farmers cannot always draw prizes. The 

 great trouble with everybody is, they have drawn some blanks when they 

 expected always to draw prizes. Failures run through the fruits of 

 industry as much as streaks of lean do through pork. For instance, we 

 here^ who have from one acre to five acres of strawberries, each thought 

 ourselves moderate in expecting a hundred bushels to the acre. It has not 

 rained for four weeks. We may have fifty bushels ; I think not so much. 

 There is always something the matter — frosts, low prices, or something 

 else. Nations and individuals are prosperous, not because they always 

 are successful, but because they a,re not discouraged by reverses." 



Mr. John Gr. Bergen. — I believe that with us flat culture is preferable to 

 ridging, our land being sandy. The best practice is to take a piece of 

 land free from weeds, after thoroughly plowing and making the land 

 mellow, mark it off as for corn, four feet each way, and set two plants in 

 a hill, keep the ground in good tilth by the plow, then use the cultivator 

 until the vines have run so as to prevent further work. It is better to tear 

 up some of the runners than to neglect the summer cultivation. This we 

 consider a cheap mode of culture, and will be found to pay. 



" Field and Garden Culture of Strawberries " was made the subject of dis- 

 cussion for the next meeting. 



Adjourned. JOHN W. CHAMBERS, Secretary. 



June 3, 1862. 

 Prof. Renwick, Corresponding Secretary of the American Institute, in 

 the chair 



California Wine. 



A letter was read from Mr. Peter B. Mead, one of the editors of the Hor- 

 ticulturist, introducing Mi*. Graef, of Brooklyn, who is the agent of Messrs. 

 Sainsevain Bros., of California, proprietors of extensive vineyards in Los 

 Angelos and Santa Clara counties, California. Mr. Graef wishes to bring 

 these wines to the notice of the Club. 



On motion, the subject of wine was made the special subject for the next 

 meeting. 



Barren Grape-vines. 

 Solon Robinson read the following letter from C. L. Foster, of Topsham, 

 Vt., which was written in answer to a statement made at a previous meet- 



