I have recently seen an editorial in some agricultural journal which took the broad ground that farmers could not afford to plant shade trees by the road-side, because the trees take so much nourishment from the grass and grain. But the article admitted their advantage to the traveling public. I fully appreciate the necessity of securing a supply of bread and butter, as well as something to wear, but it is well to bear in mind that "it is not all of life to live." I think something may be done toward growing good crops even under trees. I have a plot of ground adjoining a fine grove of oaks, which are 35 to 40 feet high, and for several years these bad been robbing this plot until very little would grow within two rods of the trees. In the autumn of '85 I had a trench two and a half feet deep dug along the border, and in the following spring the plot was planted to blackberry root cuttings. The cuttings which were planted under the shade of the trees grew even better than the others, and the plants this season exhibit the same improvement. Last summer I had a field of sweet potatoes, on one side of which was a row of trees - in part English beech, in a hedge-row, and the rest chestnut.

Several rows of potatoes next these trees were nearly ruined, and the past spring I had a trench cut along the line of beeches, and planted sweet potatoes again. The result is, that the plants are growing finely near the beeches, and several rows next the chestnuts are failing, as they did last year. I suppose that eventually there will be a new set of roots from the trees, and the trench will require opening. Perhaps I should have said that, after cutting the roots, the earth was at once thrown back. Possibly a deeper set of roots might ultimately throw up feeders to the surface, but I think in that case they might be severed by a tree digger, or a thorough sub-soiling might tear them up. - Wm. F. Bassett, Hammonton, N. J.