82 TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



working the ground twice as much as I would for corn, in the fall and 

 again in the spring, when I would set my plants, in rows three feet apart 

 and plants one foot apart ; never allow them to fill the ground, so as to 

 stand nearer than a foot apart, except some of the smallest varieties might 

 stand a little closer. The first crop ought to be 1 50 bushels an acre. If I 

 could get spent tan-bark I would put it around the plants as soon as set, 

 and this would prevent the weeds from growing near the plants, while the 

 plow and cultivator would keep them down between the rows. I would 

 not use a hoe, because the roots grow at the surface. The third year I 

 would let the runners fill in between the rows and plow the old plants 

 under. The English theory is to pack the ground hard all around the 

 plants, and that is the practice when grown in pots. 



Mr. A. S. Fuller. — I do not think I follow anj' person's practice, but I 

 have a way of my own. I set 4,000 Triomphe de Gand plants last year, 

 rather late in the spring, and, by manuring and careful cultivation, I have 

 been able to sell 100,000 plants this year. My theory is to manure well, 

 and to cultivate with the hoe all that I can. If I was working for fruit, 

 I would use less manure than working for plants. If for hand cultivation, 

 I would plant one foot by one and a half feet, and keep off the runners, 

 and mulch the ground, and after the first crop dig under the plants. 



Mr. Pardee. — Will Mr. Fuller inform us what kind of manure he uses ? 



Mr. Fuller. — The best kind of manure I have found for the strawberry 

 is a mixture of one load of cow droppings and two loads of sod, com- 

 posted. If you intend to use a plow, plant in rows three feet apart ; if a 

 scuffle hoe, eighteen inches. 



The subject was continued for the next meeting. 



Adjourned. 



JOHN W. CHAMBERS, Secretary. 



June 10, 1862. 

 Mr. Geo. H. Hite, of Morrisania, N. Y., in the chair. 



Preserving Apples and Pears. 



Mr. Wm. S. Carpenter presented some apples which he had received from 

 Dr. Wm. Hibbard, of this city. They had been kept in the barrel in a cool 

 cellar with the head of the barrel off. They are in size, shape and color 

 like the iron apple, but are not of so good a quality. 



Great attention is being paid to the preservation of fruits. I am trj'ing 

 some experiments, and shall next year be able to give the results. 



1 have found apples keep better in the upper tiers of barrels, when they 

 are packed one upon another, than they do in the lower tiers. This is 

 accounted for by the fact that the air near the ceiling of a cellar is in a 

 much drier condition. The lower the temperature of the fruit room, if it is 

 above the freezing point, the better. Last year I put up a number of bar- 

 rels of Bartlett and Flemish Beauty pears, and stored them in my house, 

 partially surrounded with ice, which kept the fruit perfectly sound until 

 late in October, when they were brought to rnarket and produced over $20 



