DOVER FARMERS' CLUB AND HORTICULTURAL

SOCIETY.

A. K. BUSH, DOVER.

We are not, strictly speaking, a horticultural society, but to make our membership and attendance larger, our field of usefulness broader and our papers, discussions, etc., do the greatest good to largest numbers, we consider subjects of general interest to farmers, stock feeders, grain growers, as well as matters horticultural.

This is about our manner of conducting meetings: A member who excels in his specialty is invited to prepare a paper or talk on a subject chosen for consideration, which shall furnish material for a general discussion, the president calling on each member for his offering, "class meeting style." These gatherings, which are well attended, are conducted in a very informal manner, questions asked, suggestions made, experiences given, results compared, as made from different methods tested. These " club" meetings are very interesting and profitable, and should be found in every neighborhood.

Our officers are a president and secretary. No dues or other expense is made, being a "free for all" institution, and it is doing good work in its small way.

Pardon me for taking this opportunity to refer to another society of which I am a member, and believe to be almost “ideal” in many respects. It is conducted on very much the plan suggested and recommended by our worthy secretary. His thought has become in part, our "Literary-Social Improvement Club," which meets every other Wednesday during the winter months at the home of some member, at 10 o'clock a. m. As this particular society is "at home" in the country, the male members make a tour of inspection about the farm and its buildings after the teams are put in, comparing what they see with what they have. Many valuable lessons are learned and taught while making these tours.

When invited into the house by the host, general greetings and hearty handshakings take place, followed by a social, all 'round, neighborly visit. "Gossip," politics, etc., are not allowed. At noon a lunch is served by the hostess from lap tables which accommodate four persons. The food supplied is largely the product of the farm, garden and orchard. These lunches, spiced and relished with jokes and hearty laughter without a care, will cure the "blues" and are suggestive of that fabled "fountain of perpetual youth."

The president calls "to order" at 1 o'clock, when the program for the day is rendered as prepared by the committee. At roll call each member responds with short items or quotations from literature, history, news or other information, as the program suggests. Vocal and instrumental music follow. Then papers are read on practical subjects written by practical people, and these are always discussed (with the "dis" never left off) and all are expected to take part in the discussions. Our papers include such subjects as: "What Should be the Ideal Farm Life?" "Hygienic Cooking;" "Well Balanced Food Rations for Children"-also "for Grown People;" "How to Best Prepare Foods for Use;" "The Garden;" "The Orchard;"

"The Farm," etc. Each strives to make his paper or speech as much of a literary production as time, ability and past advantages will permit. Two or three hours are used with such work, when the committee on program for the next meeting reports. Then we adjourn with the assurance that our club is a grand success and the day well spent.

An exchange of magazines and books is another good feature, one subscription giving each the reading of several different publications. We are also in proper harmony of thought and purpose to do much valuable and needed work in the community, such as beautifying and caring for our country cemetery, planting fruit and ornamental trees, flowers, etc., about our homes, along the roads, on the school and church grounds, especially the planting of of fruit trees by the public highways for the boys and the stranger who may come our way. Nothing less than ideal farms, farm life and living is our object, and to help each other to test its possibilities and so elevate our profession and position in life that as "tillers of the soil" we may look down from our exalted position on at least a part of the world, and not everlastingly feel that we are the worms of the dust.

We also hope to hasten the time when the growing of fruits and flowers shall not be done for the "money there is in it" and that only, but that all may better understand the thought of their Creator who placed them in this world that they might be used as expressions of love and sympathy; and we should study and learn to place them where most needed, in homes where sickness and bereavement are known, in hospitals and jails, schools and churches, &c., &c.; also, that willing hands, for the love of fruits and flowers, not money, may plant, cultivate and use these expressions of God's love, with the same thought they were given.

We hope to interest and help our schools in such work. Such a society as we have, should and can be formed in every neighborhood in Minnesota; they will be in demand by all up to date rural districts when their value is learned and possibilities tested; they will adapt themselves to the needs of each particular community and become self-supporting fixtures in society. Test these statements with a practical example in your home, inviting neighbors to join you.

HUBBARD COUNTY HORTICULTURAL CLUB

ANNUAL

REPORT.

A. W. LATHAM, SECY.:-I herewith hand you the report of the Hubbard County Horticultural Club for the first quarter of 1898. The club was organized January 22, 1898, by the election of the following officers: President, S. W. Usher; Vice-President, F. M. Shepard; Secretary, H. Hazlett; Treasurer, L. D. Frazier.

A constitution and by-laws were adopted as recommended by the state society. The membership of this club at this report is more than twenty-five, of whom twenty-five are members of the state society, and have received the state reports.

Meetings have been held every two weeks since the organization, but after May 1st will be held once a month.

Interest in the discussions has increased steadily from the first, and we have good prospects for a useful and prosperous society. ENOS M. RICKER, Sec'y Pro Tem.

Park Rapids, Minn., March 31, 1898.

PROF S. B. GREEN, ST. ANTHONY PARK.

The most important thing at this time of the year is to have well in mind the plan of the work for the coming season. Orders for seeds and nursery stock should have been placed some time ago. If this has not been done, it should be done at once. Do not give your orders for nursery stock to tree peddlers, but if possible go to the nursery yourself. If you cannot do this, write to some good nurseryman, get prices and so order intelligently. Ordering through the average tree agent has always seemed to me illustrated by the Irish proverb of “buying a pig in a bag." In ordering, if you have not already a supply, be sure and put in an order for peonies of the pretty modern kinds, some of the irises and spirea Van Houtii. There are many other desirable ornamental plants, but these are especially interesting to all, perfectly hardy and once planted require very little further care, but repay well any little extra attention. When nursery stock is received, it is very important to care for it well. Much nursery stock is lost by careless handling after it has been received by the purchaser in good order. It is important to heel in. Heel in singly, not in bunches, and to do it carefully. If the ground is dry, pack the soil solid around the roots, and there will be no trouble. If the wood on trees is shriveled when received, bury tops and all for a few days until swelled up.

One of the first operations in the spring is to uncover the plants that were protected in the fall. Raspberry plants should receive our first attention. It is desirable not to uncover until the buds begin to show signs of growth, but it should be done sufficiently early so that they do not start in the ground. As a rule, it is best to uncover strawberry plants rather late in the season. If uncovered early, there is some danger from late frost, but this can be preven ted if a good supply of straw is kept between the rows, and it is put on when severe frost threatens after the plants have flowered.

As soon as the raspberries are uncovered, it is time to apply preventatives for the anthracnose. If plants were seriously injured last year or the new canes are badly spotted, it should certainly be done. Probably the best treatment for this is to apply before the leaves start what is known as thick Bordeaux, which is made of five pounds sulphate of copper, five pounds lime and twenty-five gallons of water; then after the leaves are unfolded apply what is known as thin Bordeaux, which is made like the above except that fifty gallons of water are used.

It is very important to set out gooseberries, currants, blackberries and raspberries very early, for if left until late sprouts will probably have started and will get broken off in the process of transplanting. Better not plant out strawberries until they start a little. As a rule, early planting is better than late planting with all hardy plants, even with evergreens, about which an erroneous idea has gone abroad that June is the best time for planting them out. If there are vacancies in the orchard and you feel somewhat discouraged, try the Hibernal, if you have never done so before. It is

wonderfully hardy and a wonderfully good apple, too, for cooking purposes. I have never known the top of this tree to kill. I have known it to die sometimes from winter-killing when worked on tender roots, but have never known the tops to be injured.

In planting, this spring, be sure and put out a few Loudon raspberries, for they are by far the most promising variety under cultivation. They are new, and the price is rather high, perhaps three or four times that of common varieties, but they are well worth trying. This variety seems to be adapted to a wide range of soil and climate and is reported on favorably from almost every experiment station in the northern states.

It is desirable to have a good vegetable garden; perhaps no other piece of land pays so well. Don't try to have a finicky little one, with small beds that must be cultivated by hand, but plant in long rows, give plenty of room and cultivate with a horse. Many farmers have an idea that it does not pay to have a garden, and when the laborious methods which are used in cultivating the average garden are considered I do not know as it does pay, but when properly cultivated with modern garden horse implements it is by far the most profitable piece of land on the farm.

If the ground warms up the latter part of the month, try a little sweet corn; if it gets frozen, you have not lost much, and if it escapes the frosts you will have corn very early. It is customary with the most progressive market gardeners to take chances of this sort.

Do not fail to have an asparagus bed. If you have not one now, order 100 plants, or if you do not know where to get them, or fear to risk it, get an ounce of seed, worth ten cents, and plant it. It is as easy to grow as any seed and costs very little. An ounce of seeds should give several hundred plants, which would be enough for yourself and several neighbors.

Comparatively few persons living in the country have any hotbeds or cold frames. These are very desirable in prolonging the season, and the care and management of them should be more generally known. Two hotbeds, sash, 4 x 42 ft. in size, should add very much to the table dietary during the months of May and June, before the outdoor vegetables have begun to come in, and the plants that can be grown in them will be helpful in the garden during the whole season. The hotbeds and cold frames should be in constant use this month.

Plantations of asparagus and rhubarb may be made during this and the following month. Onion sets should be planted out as soon as the ground can be worked. They, like onion seed, cannot be got out too early. Sow hardy (smooth) peas, lettuce, celery, radishes, cabbage, cauliflower, turnips, onions and spinach, and plant early potatoes as soon as the land is fit to be worked. By the end of the month, wrinkled peas, salsify and parsnips may be sown. See that the tomatoes sown last month are transplanted into beds or boxes so as to have plenty of room. It does not pay to crowd them. Transplant cabbage plants for the early crop, putting them in deep enough to completely cover the stems.

In the latter part of the month, all the early planted crops may need cultivating and some of them thinning, though but little of this is generally necessary until May. Radishes, lettuce, spinach and onions from sets, sown in hotbeds in March, should be fit to eat or to market.

Haul out manure and plow the land for planting next month. Transplant onion plants of the foreign kinds from the hotbeds to open ground.

Secretary's Corner.

IS APPRECIATED. “I am well pleased with the Horticulturist and look it over before other publications." Worthington, Minn., March 15, 1898.

CHAS. SAXON.

DO YOU LACK READING MATTER?-For one-half cent an ounce the secretary will send to the address of any member, from the accumulations of the office. Enclose postage stamps for any amount wanted.

THE LATEST NEWS OF THE SAN JOSE SCALE.-Would you like the latest information on this subject? Illustrated circulars concerning this insect can be had upon application to Dr. L. O. Howard, Entomologist, Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.

RETURN THE February SUPPLEMENT.—If you have not yet filled out and returned the red detached leaf sent out as a supplement in the last number, please do so at once-and don't forget to affix your name and post office. The interests of the society will be much conserved by having this information in the office, and no member should be left out in the final "round up."

A HEALTHY ZEAL.-One of our members, E. G. Bovee, of Carlton, writes, that he is giving 100 strawberry plants to each of his acquaintances who joins our society. With such an interest in our work, he ought soon to have enough members in his locality to organize a local society and get the great advantage of frequent exchange of local experiences and the resultant increase of intelligent interest in horticulture. Mr. Bovee is setting a good example.

WILL IT KILL THE SAN JOSE SCALE.-A correspondent of the Orange Judd Farmer affirms that a little parasite, which he denominates Aphelinus fuscipennis, has "overtaken the intruder, and today we laugh at the San Josè scale and its threats." He advises the orchardist to "cultivate thoroughly and keep his trees in as vigorous a condition as possible. This will give them powers of resistance against the San Josè scale and all other troubles." His advice is good, at any rate.

SUPT. W. W. BARRETT CALLS.-We had the pleasure lately of seeing at our office this gentleman, a younger brother of the late Sec'y J. O. Barrett, and like him he is interested in forestry work, being superintendent of that work in North Dakota. Mr. Barrett is evidently a versatile man, as he combines in his person also the offices of Supt. of Irrigation and State Fish Commissioner. That he is a veritable enthusiast in his field is instantly apparent. He brings both zeal and method to his work. At present he is specially engaged in arousing an interest on the part of the children of that state in forest tree culture, and is distributing tree seeds to every school child therein. He is beginning right for ultimate results.