PROCEEDINGS OF THE FARMERS' CLUB. 105 



in the earlier part of the summer may he used as a general refrigerator for 

 butter, meats, etc. ; but when used for fruits, all other matters should be 

 excluded; and, above all, it should be kept perfectly clean. Lettuce, rad- 

 ishes, etc., may be kept in such a room for many days in perfect condition. 



Subject for the next meeting: "Mode of Constructing Country Houses 

 and their Surroundings." 



Adjourned. JOHN W. CHAMBERS, Secretary. 



July 8, 1862. 



Mr. Edward Doughty, of Newark, N. J., in the chair. 



Mr. Prince called attention to a flower, the seeds of which he gathered 

 on the Cerro Gordo. On this plant he has found a worm which was simi- 

 lar to the worms found in the same class of plants there, which proves to 

 my mind that every tree and plant spontaneously produces the insects and 

 worms that feed naturally upon that particular plant. 



Mr. Robinson asked if the committee on Comstock's Digging Machine 

 were ready to report. 



Mr. Carpenter, the chairman of the committee, stated that in consequence 

 of the inclemency of the weather last Wednesday, the committee did not 

 examine the machine in operation until yesterday. The committee will 

 report at the next meeting. 



Prof. Mapes. — As the committee will not report to-day, I will make a few 

 remarks on the machine: I was invited to accompany the committee, and 

 was well satisfied at the result. The machine has seven tines on a rod, 

 which was deemed too many. I think two hundred men with forks could 

 not do the work of this machine. 



Dr. Trimble. — As one of the committee, I was present at the trial of the 

 machine yesterday. One difficulty in the introduction of the machine is 

 the power required to propel it. I have never seen plowing done by steam, 

 but I think this machine would be an appropriate one to be operated by 

 steam power. I think if the machine was made large enough, one hundred 

 acres might be spaded in a day. The work done yesterday was very good, 

 though the soil where it was tried was a stony, clay loam, and part of it 

 grassy rye stubble. 



Mr. Carpenter. — The power required to propel the machine did not seem 

 to me to be more than is required to plow, working the same depth. I 

 think the machine would do the work of five plows. 



Mr. Solon Robinson. — We should be careful in our commendation of any 

 new implement. My opinion is that Mr. Comstock will find the greatest 

 objection made by farmers will be, not in the amount of work it will per- 

 form, but in the team required. It certainly requires a very strong team, 

 much stronger than it would to plow the same soil eight inches deep, which 

 is the depth the machine works, and ten inches wide, which is about one- 

 third the width of the digger. The question then will be, which prepares 

 the soil the best for a crop, the plow or the digger, and which operation is 

 most expensive ? The proprietor of the land, Mr. Vandervere, thought it 

 would not do for the rye stubble, because it left the grass in a condition to 



