Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1896-01-28
,ut there had always been about his

ity began to gnaw the trees as early as
July.
Mr.. Gilbert protects his trees by using
only common wrapping paper, such as
can be obtained in any grocery or dry
goods store. He tears these papers into
strips eight inches wide. These he
wraps around the tree on the bias, be-
ginning near the ground and stopping
twenty inches above it, where he ties
the paper.
A discussion arose on the value OF
the yellow transparent for commercial
orchards. Some believed it a mistake
to plant largely of this variety on ac-
count of its poor keeping qualities.
However, when in good shape, it sells
readily, and men from Southern Illi-
nois expressed great faith in its COM
mercial value.
Much time was devoted to the discus
sion of the efficiency of spraying, and
successes and failures were reported.
The prevailing opinion was that the
failures were due to ignorance in do
ing the work.
mented with spraying mixtures?
Twenty-seven replied affirmatively.
Question.-How many recommend
spraying?
Thirty-five votes were cast for it, and
none against it.
The growing of small fruits was dis
cussed, and the growing of strawberries
in hills came up. While hill culture
gives large, fine berries, yet growers
on a large scale do not follow it, as
it does not pay for the extra trouble.
The question of fertilizers was dis
cussed at length. The most impor-
tant point developed was that the ey-
tensive use of barnyard manure made
it possible for the soil to use greater
mass of chemical fertilizers than if
it were not used at all. Thus in the
neighborhood of large cities the market
gardeners are enabled to use immense
quantities of commercial fertilizers be-
cause they also use immense quantities
of barnyard manure.
Mr.. Morrill,, Of Michigan, spoke on.the
marketing Of fruit. The first requisite
is to have something desirable to mar,
ket. He could not tell man how to
market undesirable fruit. The great
necessity with farmers is to learn how
to cooperate in the sale of goods. The
cooperative organizations have largely
failed for the reason that there seemed
jealousy against any man being paid
to look after the work. He believed
the time to be approaching when farm
ers would use more business-like
methods.
The superintendent of the insane asy.
lum at Kankakee spoke on the great
success of irrigation at that place. The
water for the irrigation works Is
pumped by steam engines that can sup
ply from 100000 to 100000 gallons per
day. The cost for this pumping is only
three-tenths of cent per thousand
gallons. During the last season they
had raised vegetables worth over sc, 900,
BY a vote of the society the life mem>
bership fee was reduced from $40 to
S..
The election of officers resulted in the
following choice: President, Mr.. Good
rich; vice-president, Lem Small; Sec
rotary. H. M. Dunlap; treasurer, Ar
thur Bryant.
The next annual meeting will be held
at Springfield.
William Gould spoke on the cult
walton Of grapes. He plants SxS or
7x9, which gives about 700 vines to the
acre.
Sulphur for Sheep.-The American
Sheep Breeder says: While sulphur is
indispensable for sheep, as furnishing
one of the important elements of the
fleece, it must be given in such a way
as to be available for this purpose. 1t
must be in the food. 1t cannot be given
in the crude form, in which it is not a
food, but an active medicine, producing
laxative action on the bowels and an
excessive eXcretion through the skin.
1t is this which makes it useful as an
antidote to all kinds of parasites. the
sulphur thus passing through the skin
being extremely offensive to all in
sects. But it's action on the skin is to
open the pores and thus make the ami
NAL more subject to changes of the
weather, and especially to injury by
rains. 1t is thus not desirable to give
sulphur as food or nutriment except
in the food, such as white mustard or
any other plant Of the turnip and cab
bage tribe.
TransplantingL Large Trees.-Garden-
ing gives this method, and we can GER
tify to its being good one: We prefer
doing this in the spring, and would pre-
pare for it now. If you want to move
moderately large tree, say four, five
or even six inches in diameter of trunk,
next spring, head in its top now all
you think ought to be done at planting
time, then mark ring on the ground
around and four, five, six or more feet
away from the stem, the distance away
depending on the size Of the tree. Now,
along, but outside of this ring mark,
dig narrow trench say three
feet deep, the object being to cut away
all roots projecting beyond it, and fill
| up the trench at once with the same soil
that came out Of it. By spring the tree
will have fairly recovered from the
shock caused by cutting in root and top
and may be dug up and transplanted
with fair chances Of SueeesS