Increasing The Fertility Of The Soii

This was the title of the main paper read by J. Ganzhorn at the January meeting of the Washtenaw Pomological Society, and it excited an animated discussion, there being a full attendance of members of the society. Mr. Ganzhorn thought the stable manure drawn from the city was of small valué as a fertilizer often filling the land with noxious weeds. He thought rotten stable manure, when drawn into the grapcry, caused grape rot. His experiments with clover in altérnate rows in the orchard and the vineyard proved very successful. He kept tirring the rows not seeded down with the cultivator. The result was large and well developed peaches, perfect foliage which did not suffer from the drouth and the largest erop of grapes he had ever raiscd. W. F. Bird wished to know how he could subdue haid pan clay sil. He had used ashes but had not yet overeóme the soil. J. Allmand said he sovved buckwheat to get his ground mellow and clean, whicli is plowed under when large enough. J. H. Clough said he had 100 loads of manure hauled from town last winter which did not cust him hardly anything. He was doing the same thing this winter. It is all in one heap yet. J. Ganzhorn and Mr. Allmand considered it nearly worthless as the ammonia had escaped. If it had been composted with altérnate layers of muck or sod the ammonia would have been retained Mr. Clough was in favor of rotting manure to destroy the noxious seeds. The majority believed in drawing fresh manure to the land at once. Charles Treadvvell met with good success in raising corn by drawing coarse manure in the spring and plowing it under, and, after the coni was up, by top dressing with finer manure from the bottom of the manure heap. J. Austin Scott thought manure should be housed like grain. L. Baur believes in heavy mulch around tfees. During the dry season oflastsummer he drew muck around his trees and aftcr that for three weeks hedrew water with two horses. His pears had commenced dropping prematurely and the Ie turned from the heat of the sun. Muck and water howev.er, niade such a change in foliage and fruit that the erop was saved.