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THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN
BRONX NEW YORK 10458
AHI
— Se
MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER.
| See Biographical Sketch on page 565. |
SLATE ER To ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
SECREYTARY
OF THE
STATE HORTICULTURAL SOUTETY
OF
MICHIGAN.
16.5105
BY AUTHORITY.
LANSING:
THORP & GODFREY, STATE PRINTERS AND BINDERS.
1887.
ny
n
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY
OF THE
MICHIGAN STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
GRAND RaPIDs, MICHIGAN,|
December 31, 1886. \
To Cyrus G. Luce, Governor of the State of Michigan:
I have the honor to submit herewith, in compliance with legal requisition,
the accompanying report of 1886, with supplementary papers.
Respectfully yours,
CHARLES W. GARFIELD,
Secretary of the Michigan State Horticultural Society.
TA BEET On OON TEN TES.
PAGE
‘M\fricers of the state Horticultural SocietYy---—2--<-==- === 5 === == a = awe eee an ena vii
Branchesior the State eorticulturall Socletya-2- sees ere te eae ee ee ee oe eee eee ee ix
Constitution and By-Laws of the State Horticultural Society -----..---.--------------------------- xi
Proceedings of the Winter Meeting_---.-------------. ------ ------ <= -e n no 1
wroceedinges of the Summer Meeting. 22 = 2- << 22-225 = oan ea mene a en 31
Proceedings of the Various National Societies-_---.-.-.------.--------------------------------------- 107
SRE PATINA EH aie OL SSO see see saa e re eee ate nee aie eee ne eee eee tee eee ae 163
Proceedings of the Annual Meeting-------------.---------------------------------- ------------------ 183
Notes Concerning Sister State Societies--........-.------------------------ ------ ------ -------------- 267
Reports of Auxiliary Societies ----------2. ---.22 22-02-35 sow oo ene ann on nn 5 ww nnn nn n= = == 291
ISecretaryss) POntLO WO see eases a ae ae ee eee oe nen ee le ne aoe eee eee 389
iistioL Ammnuall Memberss 22> 2-2-2 .o secre oases acer as nee le tena ae aaa a 551
WistoLiaite Wem bersicsesse esses ae aa ale eee ee a ea ee ea ol 559
IN fruysT ae TE aha Ve) ea venye NAVA espe se eee pace pene nee Se Cece mis ene bassariasEaaa== 565
OFFICERS
OF THE
STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY FOR 1887.
PRESIDENT—T. T. LYON, South Haven.
SECRETARY—CHAS. W. GARFIELD, Grand Rapids.
TREASURER—‘S. M. PEARSALL, Grand Rapids.
LIBRARIAN—THOMAS H. FORSTER, Lansing.
EXECUTIVE BOARD.
‘W. K. GIBSON, Jackson, 3 years. L. H. BAILEY, Jr., Agricultural College,
H. W. DAVIS, Lapeer, 3 years. 2 years.
ALFRED G. GULLEY, South Haven.2 E. H. SCOTT, Ann Arbor, 1 year.
years C. A. SESSIONS, Mears, 1 year.
STANDING COMMITTEES.
On FRUIT CaTALOGUE—T. T. LYON, South Haven, Chairman; GEORGE C.
McCLATCHIE, Ludington, for Northern Lake Shore ; W. A. BROWN, Benton Harbor,
for Southern Lake Shore ; EVART H. SCOTT, Ann Arbor, for Central Michigan ; H.
W. DAVIS, Lapeer, for Eastern Michigan ; D. G. EDMISTON, Adrian, for Southern
Michigan.
On New Fruits—T. T. LYON, Chairman; G. H. LAFLEUR, Mill Grove ; GEO. C.
McCLATCHIE, Ludington : C. ENGLE, Paw Paw.
On FInANCE—E. H. SCOTT, A. G. GULLEY, H. W. DAVIS.
On ENTOMOLOGY—ALBERT J. COOK, Chairman.
On VEGETABLE PHysIOLOGY—L. H. BAILEY, JR., Chairman.
On LANDSCAPE GARDENING—J AMES SATTERLEE, Chairman.
ON VEGETABLE GARDEN—W. W. TRACY, Chairman.
EA
hy a
ye
BRANCHES OF THE STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
Name of Society.
|
|
| Secretary.
{
|
Address.
Allegan County Pomological Society_._..._--_----
Grand River Vailey Horticultural Society-___--- --
Saugatuck and Ganges Pomological Society------
Hawton -omolopical! Society: =.=. 222-------e22_5
Berrien County Horticultural Society_....----..--
Oceana County Pomological Society ---.----------
Benzie County Horticultural Society__.-..---.----
Lapeer County Horticultural Society___-----------
Bay County Horticultural Society_--......-.------
Lenawee County Horticultural Society__----------
Eaton County Horticultural Society ---.---...__--
Holland Colony Pomological Society-_--.-.-.---_--
Jackson County Horticultural Society___.---.-.--
Ingham:County Horticultural Society __-_---...--
Mason County Horticultural Society _--..---..-.--
Muskegon County Horticultural Society_----_--_--
Washtenaw County Pomological Society__-_-.---
Barry County Horticultural Society__-..---...___-
Genesee County Horticultural Society____-__--
Lenawee and Hillsdale Horticultural Society
Spring Lake Horticultural Society __.._...---.----
South Haven and Casco Pomological Society
Ionia County Horticultural Society..........-.__--
Manistee County Horticultural Society----..-----
Oakland County Horticultural Society__....-_.__-
Grand Haven Horticultural Society-__.-.---------
Wayne County Horticultural Society..._.._...__--
Wayland Horticultural Society__.........-.-..----
Osceola County Horticultural Society__...._..__--
Wexford County Horticultural Society---....__--
Hillsdale County Horticultural Society_--_--.__--
Lake County Horticultural Society_...._..-._..---
|
|
|
|
| Gj He Lalleur «S22 222 ss- —— |
IWOND Cook: 2206 Sete. 2-8
| J.F. ey ee eee te
Chas. ha wton 22 2s.4----
Ee Marsilje:<2 ss |
| R. T. McNaughton --_-----_--
C2 Bo Stebbins:-o--=-4=-=—
Tn Win EUOS@S2 22 Soo 2e aes
Ae ta 2) 3 1 eee een ESL
| Jacob Ganzhorn -.-----------
| James C. Woodruff.....-._.- |
[id El J Rock woods sa-e-2 == |
| Jae 2s Mukaute2 a
| James 8. Bradford______- sad
| |
Gin Davisone- > = a
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| Ernest Nichoson-.------- ----]
Millgrove.
Grand Rapids.
Douglas.
Lawton.
| Benton Harbor.
| Shelby.
| Benzonia.
Lapeer.
Bay City-
Adrian.
Eaton Rapids.
Holland City.
Jackson.
Lansing.
Ludington.
Muskegon.
Ann Arbor.
Hastings.
Flint.
Hudson.
Spring Lake.
South Haven.
| Tonia.
Manistee.
Pontiac.
| Grand Haven.
Northville.
Wayland.
Evart.
Cadillac.
Litchfield.
Luther.
nia! bi i
CONSTITUTION
OF THE
MICHIGAN STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
ARTICLE I.—NAME, TERRITORY, AND OBJECTS.
The name of the society shall be the Michigan State Horticultural Society;
and its territory shall be the State of Michigan. Its objects shall be the
development of an adequate appreciation of the peculiar adaptation of the
soils and climate of the State to the pursuit of horticulture in all its branches;
and the collection and dissemination of information bearing upon the theory
and practice of the same, as well as upon the arts and sciences directly or indi-
rectly associated therewith, or calculated to elevate or improve the practice
thereof. ¢
ARTICLE II.—OFFICERS AND MODE OF ELECTION.
The officers of the society shall be a president, a secretary, and a treasurer,
together with an executive board of six members, aside from the president,
secretary, and treasurer, who shall be ez-officio members of the said board.
Said board shall designate one of its members as vice-president. The officers
shall be elected by ballot.
ARTICLE III.—A QUORUM.
Four members of the executive board shall constitute a quorum for the
transaction of business at any meeting of said board: Provided, That each
of the members thereof shall have been notified, in the usual manner, of the
time, place, and object of such meeting.
ARTICLE IVY.—ANNUAL MEETING AND ELECTION OF OFFICERS.
The annual meeting of the society, for the election of the officers specified
in Article IJ., shall occur on the first Wednesday of December in each year,
and the officers then elected shall enter upon the discharge of their duties as
il
xii STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
such, on the first day of January next ensuing; but in case of a failure to
elect at that time, such election may be held at a subsequent time at an
adjourned meeting, or at a meeting of the society called for that purpose, in
the usual manner.
ARTICLE V.—TERMS OF OFFICE.
The officers specified in Article IJ. shall hold their offices till the thirty-
first day of December of the yeir for which they were elected, and thereafter
until their successors shall have been elected, and shall have signified to the
secretary their acceptance: Provided, That the terms of office of the six
members of the executive board shall be so arranged that but two regular
vacancies shall occur in each year.
ARTICLE VI.—ANNUAL AND LIFE MEMBERS.
Any person may become a member of the society for one year by paying to
the treasurer the sum of one dollar; but all annual memberships shall expire
on the thirty-first day of December of the year for which they were taken,
except as may be provided by the by-laws. Any person may become a life-
member by the payment at any one time of the sum of ten dollars into the
treasury of the society.
ARTICLE VII.—AMOUNT OR LIMIT OF PROPERTY.
The society may hold real and personal estate to an amount not exceeding
twenty thousand dollars.
ARTICLE VIII.—BY-LAWS.
By-laws for the government of the society shall be framed, and when need-
ful, amended by the executive board; but changes thereof may be at any time
proposed by the society in general meeting.
ARTICLE IX.—AMENDMENTS.
The constitution may be amended at any regular meeting of the society by
a vote, by ballot, of two-thirds of all the members present and voting: Pro-
vided, That notice of such proposed amendment, specifying its purport, shall
have been given at the last previous regular meeting.
BY-LAWS. xl
BY-LAWS OF THE MICHIGAN STATE HORTICULTURAL
SOC Var x:
I.—THE PRESIDENT.
1st. The President shall be the executive officer of the society, and of the
Executive Board; and it shall be his duty to see that the rules and regula-
tions of the society, and of the Executive Board, are duly enforced and
obeyed.
2d. He may, in his discretion, and in the lack of needful rules, during the
recesses of the society and of the board, prescribe rules for the management
of the interests or business of the society, such rules to continue in force till
the next session of the Executive Board, and until by its action they shall
have become no longer necessary.
3d. He shall act in conjunction with the Secretary in the preparation of
programmes, or orders of business for the sessions of the society ; and in the
devising of plans and processes for the maintenance of its interests.
4th. He shall have the best interests of the society at heart, and shall lead
in forwarding any and all enterprises calculated to add to its permanency, or
to increase its usefulness, and establish it more firmly in the public confi-
dence.
II.— VICE PRESIDENT.
The Vice President shall perform the duties of the President in case of the
absence or inability of that officer; and may be called upon by the President
to assume the duties of the chair at any meeting of the society or Executive
Board.
IIlI.—THE SECRETARY.
1st. The Secretary shall be the recording, corresponding, and accounting
officer of the society, and he shall also be, jointly with the business commit-
tee, its financial and auditing officer.
2d. He shall incur no expenditure of a large or doubtful character, except
with the sanction of the Executive Board, or of the business committee.
3d. He shall submit all bills or claims against the society to the business
committee for approval, and endorsement to that effect, before drawing his
order upon the Treasurer for the payment of the same.
4th. He shall attend all meetings of the society, and of the Executive
Board, and shall keep a faithful record of their proceedings.
5th. He shall sign all certificates of membership, and all diplomas and
certificates of merit awarded by the society.
6th. He shall have charge of the society’s books and papers, excepting
only such as by the advice or direction of the Executive Board shall be placed
in charge of the Librarian, and he shall be responsible to the board for the
safe keeping of the property placed in his charge.
XIV STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY,
7th. He shall be the custodian of the seal of the society, and shall have
authority to affix the same to documents when needful.
8th..He shall seek, by all suitable means, to secure the fullest announce-
ment of the meetings of the society in this State, as well as in adjacent
States, when such shall be found desirable.
9th. He shall, as far as practicable, cause the transactions of the society,
together with such valuable or interesting papers as shall be read at its ses-
sions, to be properly published, and thus placed within reach of the State.
10th. It shall also be his duty, yearly, to prepare for publication the
annual report of the society, together with such other matter as he shall deem
proper—he being aided in the selection of such matter by an advisory com-
mittee of the Executive Board.
IV.—THE TREASURER.
Ist. All the funds of the society shall be paid into the hands of the
‘Treasurer.
2d. He shall disburse the moneys of the society that shall come into his
hands only upon the order of the Secretary, countersigned by the President.
3d. He shall keep the moneys received by the society for life memberships
as a distinct fund, and shall invest the same under the advice and direction
of the Executive Board, applying only the interest accruing thereon to the
purposes of the general fund.
4th. Immediately upon assuming his office, and before entering upon its
duties, he shall execute to the society an official bond with sufficient sureties,
conditioned for the safe keeping and disbursement of the moneys of the
society, and for the proper discharge of the further duties of his office, in
such sum as shall be specified by the Executive Board. Such bond shall
receive the approval of the President, and shall be deposited with the Secre-
tary.
5th. He shall, at the close of each year, report to the Executive Board the
amount of money that shall have come into his hands during the year, the
sources from which it has been derived, and the disposition made of the
same.
V.—THE LIBRARIAN.
1st. The librarian shall have the custody of the library of the society. He
shall be appointed by the Executive Board, and may be displaced at its
pleasure.
2d. He shall act jointly with the Secretary in the care and arrangement of
the same, and in the reception, custody and disposal of the volumes of trans-
actions annually supplied to the society by the State.
3d. He shall have the custody of the rooms assigned to the society at the
State capitol, together with such books and other property as the society or
the board shall direct to be deposited therein.
4th. He shall report annually, at the close of the year, to the Executive
Board the amount and condition of the property in his hands.
BY-LAWS. KV
VI.—THE EXECUTIVE BOARD.
1st: The Executive Board shall enact all rules and regulations for the
management of the affairs of the society, determine the salaries of its officers,
and assume the control and management of its exhibitions.
2d. It shall have power to displace any officer of the society for neglect of
duty or abuse of position, and to fill all vacancies by appointment, to con-
tinue till the next annual election.
3d. The board shall hold four regular sessions during the year, to occur at
the times and places for the regular meetings of the society.
4th. Other meetings may be called by the Secretary, under the advice or
direction of the President, or of a majority of its members, at such times and
places as may be deemed most convenient; but in all such cases each member
must be notified of the time, place, and object of such meeting.
5th. It shall be the duty of the board to carefully guard the general interests
of the society, to watch over its finances, and to provide for its necessities as
they shall arise.
6th. All important measures shall be submitted to this board, but ee may
by the board be re-submitted to the society with recommendations.
7th. The board shall at the annual meeting submit through the secretary,
in connection with the reports of officers, such farther report upon the condi-
tion, interests, and prospects of the society as it shall judge necessary or ex-
pedient.
8th. Two members of the Executive Board are to be elected each year, to
hold the office for three years, but if any such member shall absent himself
from two or more consecutive meetings of the society, and of the board, with-
out reason satisfactory to the board, the said board may, in its discretion, con-
sider the office vacant, and proceed to fill such vacancy by appointment, to
continue to the next annual election.
VII.—THE BUSINESS COMMITTEE.
1st. It shall be the duty of the Executive Board, annually, upon entering
upon the duties of the new year, to appoint, from their own number, three
members, who shall constitute a Business Committee for the year.
2d. All accounts or claims against the society, when presented to the Secre-
tary for payment, shall, before payment, receive the sanction and endorsement
of the Business Committee.
3d. Such claims shall be submitted to this committee and approved in
duplicate ; one copy to remain with the Secretary as his warrant for the pay-
ment of the same, and the other to be transmitted by him to the President,
along with his order upon the Treasurer, as his warrant for countersigning the
same.
4th. It shall be the duty of the Business Committee, upon application of the
Secretary, during the recess of the Executive Board, to advise with him as to
the expediency of making any contemplated but questionable expenditure for
which occasion may arise during such recess.
Xxvl STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY,
VIII.—STANDING COMMITTEES.
Ist. There shall be a Standing Committee on Revision of the Catalogue, to
be composed of one member from each of the five districts into which the State
is, for this purpose, divided, with one member chosen from the State at large,
who shall be the chairman of the committee.
2d. Hach member of said committee (except the chairman) is empowered and
expected to choose a sub-committee for his district, of which he shall be chair-
man.
3d. It shall be the duty of each sub-committee to collect and report, each
year, to the general chairman, such facts respecting fruit culture in the dis-
trict as shall promise to be of value in the revision of the catalogue.
4th. There shall be a Standing Committee on New Fruits, to consist of a
chairman, with as many associates as such chairman shall find it desirable to
appoint.
5th. Such other standing committees may, from time to time, be appointed
by the Executive Board as, in its discretion, it shall deem desirable or neces-
sary.
6th. All standing committees are expected to report at the annual meeting
in Dezember any information of value to the society or its members that may
haye come to their knowledge during the year, as well as any scientific theories,
deductions or facts that, in their opinion, may be useful in advancing the ob-
jects for which the society is laboring.
IX.—LIFE MEMBERSHIP FUND.
Ist. All moneys coming into the treasury of the society in payment for life
memberships shall constitute a perpetual fund, to be known as the life mem-
bership fund.
2d. The principal of this fund shall be invested by the Treasurer under the
advice and direction of the Executive Board.
3d. All interest accruing upon any portion of said fund shall constitute and
become part of the fund of the society devoted to the payment of its ordinary
expenses.
X.—MEETINGS OF THE SOCIETY.
1st. The society shall hold its first regular meeting for the year during the
month of January or February for the inauguration of the officers chosen at
the annual meeting held the previous December, as provided in article IV. of
the Constitution, and also to arrange its plans of operations for the year.
2d. Its second regular meeting shall be held in the month of June at such
date as shall best accommodate an exhibit of the early summer fruits.
3d. Its third regular meeting shall be at its annual exhibit of autumn and
winter fruits, in the month of September or October.
4th. Its fourth regular meeting shall occur in connection with its annual
election of officers, on the first Wednesday of December, as provided in article
IV. of the Constitution.
BY-LAWS. XVll
5th. The times and places for the occurrence of these regular meetings
(excepting only the ¢ime of the annual meeting) shall be determined by the
Executive Board.
6th. Other meetings may be called by the Secretary, under the advice or
direction of the members of the Executive Board, at times and places by them
deemed expedient.
%th. In case of the calling of a special committee for the election of officers
of the society, in consequence of any failure to elect at the annual meeting, as
provided in section IV. of the Constitution, all persons entitled as members to
yote at such annual meeting shall be considered as retaining such membership
for such purpose until such election and until such officers so elected shall
haye been inducted into office.
XI.—RULES FOR DISCUSSIONS, ETC.
1st. The deliberations and discussions of the society shall be conducted in
accordance with ordinary parliamentary usages.
XII.—AUXILIARY SOCIETIES.
1st. The society sha!l in all reasonable and proper ways encourage the
formation of local horticultural or pomological societies auxiliary to this
society in all such counties or other municipalities of this State as shall
afford a reasonable prospect that they will be able, effectively, to maintain
the same.
2d. It shall be the policy of this society in supervising the organization of
such local auxiliaries to secure an identity of constitutional provisions
throughout, and in so doing to insure harmony among them; but at the |
same time it will not discourage the including by them of special or local
objects in cases in which such shall be found desirable, so long as the intro-
duction of the requisite provisions therefor into the constitution and by-laws
of the auxiliary society shall not be deemed likely to interfere with the har-
monious working of the whole.
3d. Any person may become a full member of an auxiliary society, for one
year, by paying into its treasury the sum of one dollar; and a compliance
with the provisions of clause fifth of these by-laws shall constitute him also
a member of this society, for the same term.
4th. The wife, and the resident single or unmarried daughters of any full
member, may also become members of such auxiliary society upon the pay-
ment of fifty cents each: Provided, that in such case such entire family shall
become entitled to a single copy, only, of the current volume of the transac-
tions of this society.
5th. On receipt of the names of such members, with the required fees, the
Secretary shall immediately transmit their names and postoffice addresses,
together with half the membership fee of each, to the Secretary of this
society, who shall record the same and pay the money into the treasury for
the benefit of the general fund.
6th. It shall be the duty of the Secretary, on receipt of such remittance,
with list of members, to supply such auxiliary society with a certificate of
xviii STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
membership in this society for one year, together with a copy of the current
volume of transactions for each full member so remitted for.
7th. The proceedings of such auxiliary societies shall, at the close of the
year, be forwarded, in succinct form, to the Secretary of this society, to be
by him incorporated into the annual volume of transactions, accompanied by
a list of its members for the year.
8th. The auxiliary societies shall, as far as practicable, be made the
medium for the distribution of the annual volumes of the transactions of the
society; the nuclei for its meetings, and the means of creating interest
therein, as well as the means of collecting such facts or other information or
material as shall, from time to time, become needful or desirable in the con-
ducting of its various operations.
XIII.—AMENDMENTS, ADDITIONS, SUSPENSIONS.
1st. Amendments or additions to these by laws may be made bya majority
vote of the Executive Board, at any meeting; but if objection shall be made
the same shall ‘‘lie upon the table”? till the next regular meeting of the
board.
2d. These by-laws, or any one or more of them, may be suspended for the
time, by order of a majority of all the members of the society present and
voting.
3d. A proposition, in the general meeting of the society, for an amend-
ment or addition to these by-laws shall be referred to the Executive Board
for consideration and decision; but the society may submit therewith its
advice or request.
4th. All amendments of the constitution and by-laws of auxiliary societies
shall, before they shall take effect, be submitted to the Executive Board of
this society, by whom their approval or rejection shall be considered upon
the principle provided in section XII., clause 2d, and the determination of
said Executive Board shall be final and binding upon the auxiliary society.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE WINTER MEETING.
PAPERS AND DISCUSSIONS AT THE CONVENTION HELD IN THE CITY OF
ADRIAN, FEBRUARY 9, 10, 11, 1886.
The city of Adrian has the honor of sustaining the oldest local horticult-
ural society in the State. Until recently it was known as the Adrian Horti-
cultural Society, but it is now reOrganized under the title of Lenawee County
Horticultural Society. The work that the association has accomplished threads
into the homes of a large proportion of the residents of this vicinity, and
many are enjoying the fruits of its usefulness who have never attended its
meetings, or given a dollar in its support. A few names may be found upon its
list of members who helped to establish it, and many haye been added who
have brought a wealth of experience and a generosity of spirit which still
render it a power for good in the county.
It was in acceptance of a cordial invitation from this society that the Mich-
igan State Horticultural Society convened in the city of Adrian for its fifteenth
annual winter meeting, on the evening of February 9, 1886.
The following scheme of topics had been given wide publicity, and how well
the society followed the programme may be seen by the report here given:
SCHEME OF TOPICS.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9.
7 Pp. M.—Address of Welcome and Response, Management of Local Horticultural
Societies. Methods of Purchasing and Selling Plants and Trees. Comparative Value.
The Best Way.
Announcement of Committees.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10.
9:30 A. M.—Fertilizers—for the Orchard, the Garden, the Small Fruit Plantation.
Green Manuring. Commercial Fertilizers. Special Manures for Special Crops. Enrich-
ing Lawns. Methods of Applying Fertilizers.
11:30 A. M.—The Relation of Bees to Horticulture—benefits and injuries.
Afternoon.
1:30 Pp. Msk—Lawns and Lawn Bedding, Shrubs and their uses. Making Walks and
Drives. Trees in and out of Place.
2 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
Selection and Management of House Plants. Sizes of pots to use; Soil: Drainage.
Overcoming Difficulties in Living Rooms. Managing the Insects. House Plants in and
out of Place.
4:15 p. M.—Orchard Drainage. Is it Practicable? How to Overcome Difficulties.
Evening.
7 Pp. M.—Rotation in Fruit Plantations—in Garden Crops.
8 p. M.—Horticulture in the Department of Agriculture at Washington. A Retro-
spective View. Needs. Promises. What we ought to have, and its power for good.
THURSDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 11.
9 a. M.—Reports of Committees. The nomenclature of Fruits. Miscellaneous Busi-
ness. Adjournment.
President Lyon called the meeting to order promptly at the appointed hour.
After prayer and appropriate music, Mr. L. H. Salsbury was introduced and
delivered an eloquent and exceedingly appropriate speech. He traced the inti-
mate relations between the moral character of a home and its floral surround-
ings. No matter how humble the vines which cling to the sides of the cottage,
or spread themselves about the window, they gave character to the home, and
told of some one within whose soul was ulive and warm. And these, he said,
were the homes where the character of the young was best formed. He held
that the man who causes the beauties of nature to adorn his home is a public
benefactor, for such a home spoke with a potent eloquence of the author of his
being. In such a home children will be reared, in whose hands the country
will be safe. When he saw and realized the work the society was engaged in,
he felt like extending the heartiest personal welcome, and in the same connec-
tion he bid the society thrice welcome in behalf of the city.
President Lyon responded suitably, recalling how he had come to the State
over fifty years ago, and how horticulture had since then grown.
The first topic on the programme was then taken up
MANAGEMENT OF LOCAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETIES.
BY S. B. MANN, OF ADRIAN.
The management of local horticultural societies, to be successfully done,
must be about the same as other societies are managed.
It is one of the easiest of tasks to organize anew a local society, and while
it is a new thing it will flourish like a green bay tree. But the secret is to
manage it so as to hold the interest in any society after the first burst of
enthusiasm has passed off.
The officers of any local society, where all the labor has to be gratuitous, must
possess a good degree of tact, wisdom, and indomitable perseverance.
When the society is of sufficient strength and importance to pay even a
small sum for the labor necessary, it will be easy to find some one to do it. In
a local horticultural society, to be successful for any length of time, there
must be a few men, at least, who are so in love with their calling, and able in
pocket, as to be willing, month after month, year after year, to lay aside
their work and spend a day, merely to instruct their less energetic neigh-
bors; for I claim that the men most faithful and energetic at the meetings of
a local society are the men who read most about the theme they most love,
and, as a consequence, are best able to make a success of their calling, inde-
pendently of what they learn at society meetings.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE WINTER MEETING. 3
To make such a society successful for a term of years, requires men to
engage in it who possess the rare qualities of self-sacrifice, patience, persever-
ance, and a good amount of common sense.
The world is full of good men who are always ready to work for pay; but
they are few who can take upon their shoulders the burden of the manage-
ment of a benevolent work, and carry it on for years, and not weary of it.
For, in most of the localities where horticultural societies and farmers’ clubs
are run, the work must be done for the love of doing it. Hence, I believe I
may venture the assertion that to tell how to manage successfully, for a long
time, a local horticultural society, is a knotty problem.
If it chance to be in a purely fruit-growing region, where that is the leading
business, and where there is money at stake in the knowledge of how best to
fight some destructive insect or disease that seriously interferes with the
income; or where organization is a necessity to develop or protect the market,
and a sort of mutual protection societv can live because of the money value in
the business, then the task is easy. But when there is no stimulus of that
sort, after the society has run till the novelty has gone, it will weaken, and
eventually die.
It is evident to all of us that a local horticultural society is a benefit to that
locality. In a general way and for a short time, as I have just stated, men and
women will labor very zealously for the general good. But you take away per-
sonal benefit, financially, and very soon personal effort will cease.
This is not that the human family is personally selfish, but it becomes a ne-
cessity that the best of every man’s life and talent must be used for the welfare
of his own family, and it is not a selfish wrong that prompts it, either. The
Bible teaches us that “a man who neglects to provide for his own household is
worse than an infidel.”’
The local horticultural society here, whose guests you are, is a case in point.
I find from its records that it is more than a quarter of a century old. I find
among the early officers such names as Thomas M. Cooley, B. W. Steere, Wood-
land Owen, F. R. Stebbins and many more honored citizens of Adrian’s youth-
ful days.
As eqidence of the unselfish zeal of these men is seen on every street of this
beautiful city, in the tasty lawns and luxuriant shade trees that line every street
and avenue of the town.
But though this society has lived in name till to-day, there have been times
when its name was all there was of it. Why? Because these men, when young
and active, bent their energies to this work just so long as prudence would allow.
Judge Cooley could not stay here to give his life to the local horticultural so-
ciety, but his great talent demanded a larger field, and he went away. Dr.
Owen found that however much he loyed fruits and flowers, his profession must
be held first in importance to maintain a livelihood. The same is true of Helme,
of Sigler, of Steere and many others, and until some new theme or subject
appeared that aroused the eld zeal again, the society would languish for a time.
The only pay these men have ever received has been the satisfaction of knowing
they have benefited their community.
In the busy whirl of the daily life of Adrian’s good people, few have stopped
to ask as they admired the beautifully arranged lawns and shady streets, who
was the designer of all this? but simply admired and passed on. There was no
rush to the quiet little gathering of those few who came together semi-occasion-
ally to hold and keep alive the Adrian Horticultural Society. No resolutions of
4 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
thanks, no public recognition of the grand result, hence little or no stimulus to
newcomers and new members. For the last year or two there has been a little
revival, as it were, but yet, as ever, the work rests on the shoulders of a few un-
tiring souls, with no thanks from the masses or concern about the matter. Why
is this true of Adrian more than other towns? do you ask. I answer it is not.
The same is true of all communities where there is no dollar at the goal. Show
to us, by any means, that there is money in it, and local horticultural societies.
will flourish.
DISCUSSION.
C. J. Monroe—It seems to me that there is money in these horticultural socie-
ties, and that they should be sustained on that account. I believe that the
wonderful increase in fruit production in parts of our State is due largely to
these societies. But there is much more that they may do. We need to meet.
together to devise ways to increase the quality of our fruits and to preserve them
so as to prolong the supply through the season. I believe the latter one of the
important questions of apple growing especially. This becomes of more impor-
tance in view of the recent cold waves in the South, cutting off much of the
fruit supply from that direction, an evil which is likely to increase with the re-
moval of our forests.
S. M. Pearsall—If, when I came to Michigan, I had known one-half that I
now know about fruit growing, it would have saved me many mistakes. He
urged the importance of societies taking strong ground against dishonest
packing.
C. W. Garfield—Our Grand River Valley Society has its waves of prosperity
and depression. ‘The people who carry it on occasionally get tired. I am satis-
fied that success lies in interesting the younger people. We are now about
making an effort to interest professional people and ladies. We believe we can
show that horticulture touches nearly every one.
Mr. Cole—The boys are going where they will be interested. You have got
to get down where the boys are. There are some things that they do know, and
we must draw them out on those. Mix in something in the meetings that the
boys and girls are interested in, then they will take hold.
E. Baur—We make the Washtenaw Society a success by publishing the topics
in advance.
W. W. Farnsworth—Our society has been in operation fifteen years. We
found it difficult to get the ladies to take part. We now have three sections,
one for the men, one for the ladies and another for the young folks. We meet
from place to place and our exercises are largely of a general and social nature.
D. Woodward—I have found in the Lenawee Society that, to keep up the
interest, 1t is important to begin on time.
METHODS OF BUYING AND SELLING TREES AND PLANTS.
B. W. STEERE, ADRIAN, MICHIGAN.
It seems difficult to touch this subject without plunging at once into the old
hackneyed theme of tree agents. It will hardly do to call them all rascals, as
~
PROCEEDINGS OF THE WINTER MEETING. a)
we know there are many honorable exceptions; but, that at least nine-tenths
of them are utterly ignorant of much they ought to know before undertaking
so important a work, is patent to all who understand the subject. And why is
this so? May we not admit that their employers are the really guilty parties ?
Nurserymen are supposed to understand their calling, and if they do they also
know what should be the qualifications of a good agent, and in sending out one
lacking such qualifications, are they not more deserving of censure than the
honest but ignorant man, who, like all tyros, is very apt to think he knows all
about it? If we admit ignorance as a common and principal defect in agents,
a partial remedy should be found, in nurserymen requiring of them at least one
year’s service in the various departments of an establishment, where it should
be easy for one who knows, to judge their fitness for the work. Such fitness, I
believe, should depend not alone on thorough-going business qualifications, but
also upon being thoroughly honest and too manly to stoop to the little tricks of
trade. He should know all about the various fruits and plants he offers, not
only their growth and quality, but their adaptation to soils, climates, etc., and
should be quick to detect differences in kinds and signs of disease or damage in
root or top, with various other requirements unnecessary to mention here. It
might have been added, however, that he ought not to have a lazy bone in his
body, but should be able and w illing also to deftly handle a spade, in showing
how much time and labor are saved and how much better a tree or plant is set
with the little mound at the bottom of the hole, or how quickly the hole may
be enlarged by digging under and leaving the sod intact, etc. Of course the
agent should be a fair talker, but judging from some we meet, it is natural to
conclude that this talent has had undue weight with the employer and caused
him to overlook the want of many other essential qualities. To show that a
man may be too good a talker, I will relate a case or two of the many that have
come under my own observation.
I met a neighbor one day on the highway who, possibly, began to suspect he
had been sold. At any rate, he seemed anxious to tell me of a little trade he
had just made with a tree agent. It appeared the fellow professed to have
trees of an altogether new apple, superior to all others in perfect hardiness,
and in being a very young and an annual bearer of enormous crops of very
large and beautiful fruit; and, best of all, the quality was more delicious than
any other, and being very tender and juicy, was especially suited to aged people
like my friend and his wife.
My friend said he appeared like a very nice man, and offered him one of the
trees for fifty cents; but, as a special favor, would let him have three for one
dollar, adding that ¢hat was all he could possibly spare him, the stock being
limited, and a fruit of such wonderful value should be in the hands of as many
good people as possible. That hook was well baited, as the dollar changed
hands, and the oily tongued agent continued to entertain mine host till after
reluctantly (?) partaking of a bountiful dinner, when he finally bade him
adieu, charging him as he left to take the bert of care of his three pets;
hoping, he said, to revisit these parts when the trees were in bearing, and
when the pleasant acquaintance could be renewed, and they could enjoy the
luscious fruit together.
Was my neighbor a fool? Not by any means. He was a hard-working,
honest man, who had acquired a competence; was fairly intelligent, with a
fund of common sense and unbounded trust in and charity for the weaknesses
of others.
(=P)
STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
A little different, but much harder case, was that of a colored woman who.
desired me to look at some trees, etc., they had just set out, and which must
be paid for with money earned by wood-sawing and house-cleaning. Among
the rest were two scrubby little cherry trees, labeled simply ‘‘ white cherry.”
The name of course, excited suspicion, and stepping back and taking a good
look, I mentally exclaimed, “ Nothing but Morello suckers!’”’ I was sure of
it; but to leave no doubt, examined carefully for any signs of budding or
grafting, clear down to the roots, removing earth enough for the purpose.
These two trees, I suppose on account of color, were one dollar each, and a
couple more, for some equally good reason, cost the same, and two miserable
little grapevines, Concord or something, at fifty cents each, made the five
dollars her husband had agreed to pay. ‘I'wo dollars and a half had been paid,
and the man was soon to be around for the rest. You may be sure I hated to
tell that poor woman what those trees were, and that very fine cherry trees,.
true to name, could be bought for thirty or forty cents each, and excellent
grapes for half, or less, than they had paid.
Would five years in the penitentiary, at hard labor, be too much for a thief
like that? Is it not likely that the first mentioned smooth-tongued villain was
the same who sold in that and adjoining neighborhoods, at marvelous prices,
a number of that wonderful Canadian peach, which, on account of its north-
ern birth, was never known to flinch at the most intense cold, but would bear
without fail, every year, large crops of peaches of great size, and of the very
best quality. I learned that one tree did bear a few little worthless specimens
before the late hard winters cleaned them out.
Not so very long ago, in driving to our lower lot, I overtook and picked up.
a nice, slick-looking fellow, who, when he got out, said he was an agent for an
eastern nursery—most of them say that—and opening his large book, kindly
invited me to look at the pictures. From a child I have loved picture books,
and of course’ gazed with open-mouthed wonder at the beautiful peaches,
grapes, etc., painted in a style that nature has utterly failed to reach.
I did not say much, but I suppose my looks betrayed me as a fit subject for
operation, as he turned the leaves rapidly till he found a showy plate of the
Allen raspberry. Ah! that was what I ought to have. Why, an acre or so of
it would make any man rich; the money there was in it was astonishing; you
could almost see the dollars rolling in, as his oily words rolled out. But I
hadn’t time to listen to their, or his jingle, but as a parting word, told him I
had been in the nursery business, in a small way, for forty years, and twenty
or thirty years ago was induced to buy two dozen of the Allen, and had grown
erayer day by day in my efforts to get rid of their progeny.
What more I said need not be repeated, but, as Phoenix once said, “he
seemed to hear something break,” and he broke down the road at a pace that
I trust carried him to some bourne from which he will never return.
The aboye are given, not as isolated cases, but as fairly representative of
thousands occurring in various portions of the west. Of course, there are
reliable men scattered here and there all over the country, who do their best
to supply stock as represented, and who should be encouraged, especially those
who push into remote and difficult places of access, inducing people to set val-
uable fruit and plants, who, but for them, might never have the opportunity.
If asked the best method of purchasing, I can but repeat what has been so
often said already.
Buy at the nearest reliable nursery, going, if possible, yourself, though it
PROCEEDINGS OF THE WINTER MEBRTING. : 7
may be many miles, and require being out a night or so. Take time to talk
over kinds and other matters with the proprietor. Be on hand when plants
are dug, or if heeled in, when they are taken out, ready to reject anything you
don’t like, as men have to be trusted sometimes who care little whether the
roots are on the tree or left in the ground. It would be unjust to laborers,
however to pass this remark without adding that some proprietors will stand
by, looking as honest as “old Grimes” while trees are being handled for a
customer, that they know are black-hearted or otherwise diseased, or who will
coolly label some kind of which there is a surplus with names of sorts called
for but which they cannot supply.
The second best method, and often just as good, is to order direct of the
nuiseryman, and if he is honest and wide awake to his own interest, you
will have cause to rejoice when you unpack your stock; no little stunted
stuff or substitutes there; for if he could not properly fill your order, he
wrote you at once and said so. In closing I wish to refer briefly to what
has seemed to me a great and growing evil, and a most prolific cause of
mistakes in purchasing. I allude to the overpraise bestowed in some cata-
logues and other horticultural advertising, especially upon new varieties.
Is not the praiseworthy desire to guard customers against mistaking and to
supply them with the very best of everything, in danger of being supplanted
by this talent for overwrought description ?
And is not this method too nearly allied in its results to some of the
first mentioned cases for honorable men to adopt?
The Secretary read the following paper from J. N. Stearns, of Kalamazoo,
on the same subject :
HOW TO BUY NURSERY STOCK.
This is really an important subject to be discussed at this time, as many of
us are now making plans of what we will plant in the spring. I made the re-
mark at our December meeting that I had no sympathy for those that were
being ‘‘taken in” by the unprincipled tree peddler at this time, with all the
means we have for information through our horticultural reports, and still only
a few years since I, myself, was “sold’’ by not heeding one of the points I
shall mention under the head of caution. Those contemplating planting should
know first what they want. If they have not had sufficient experience with
varieties, they should read carefully the reports of this society, that they may
have the benefit of the experience of practical growers in the State. Then, a
little time spent conversing with a neighbor, who is making a success in fruit
growing, will be found of value to the planter. After deciding what you will
plant, club with your neighbors and send your order directly to a reliable nur.
seryman. If you have not this information, write 1o some person whom you
have confidence in that would be likely to know of such nurseryman, for all
nurserymen are not to be trusted, more than all tree dealers. But, as a class,
my experience leads me to the belief that they are fully up to the average of
other business men in reliability.
CAUTION.
Do not buy of an agent who has some extraordinary new fruit, “curculio
proof,’’ “ironclad,” and of wonderful size and extra quality, for which, on ac-
count of these superior qualities, he is obliged to charge five or six prices.
8 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
You will be very likely to get some common variety of which some nurseryman
had a surplus and offered very cheap to close out. This, I am sorry to say, is
the way more money is being paid for nursery stock at the present time than in
any other way.
On the other hand, do not buy of the nurseryman that is offering to sell a
little under the price of most others. This is the way I was “sold.” It was at
the time the Gregg raspberry and Sharpless strawberry were first being sent
out. I wished to procure plants of these and some other fruits. Of course they
were high, and I desired to get them as cheap as possible, and of all the numer-
ous price-lists I had, one offered nearly everything a little under the average,
and the “thee and thou’’ of this price-list ‘‘took me.” I said, I guess he is a
good, honest Quaker, so I sent him my order. The main part of the stock
proved true to name (although the Sharpless proved to be Mt. Vernon), but they
were so badly packed and selected that much of it was entirely worthless, so I
would better have paid double price to a reliable grower and one that knew his
business. A nurseryman makes his money by hard work, the same as any other
tiller of the soil, and when a man offers to furnish stock for much less than the
average grower, you may suspect something is wrong. If you must give your
order to an agent representing a reliable nursery, do not say to him, “ Now, if
these trees are not all just so large and straight I will not take them.” Buyers
often compel the agent to substitute by such orders, as many varieties will not
grow shapely. In regard to the many new, high-priced fruits, I would advise
buying sparingly. Of course it is always interesting to test new fruits, but it is
risky to invest large amounts in them, no matter how well recommended they
come, for my experience of more than twenty years teaches me that not one in
fifty will stand the test.
Of the small fruits, I would advise buying as near home as possible, as they
are yery liable to heat and destroy the vitality unless much care and experience
is exercised in packing. Of the large fruits, I should have no choice if equal
care in growing, handling, etc., had been observed.
DISCUSSION.
A. G. Gulley: Lam not afraid of distance in getting trees, if necessary. If
well packed they may be sent any distance with safety. Young trees may
readily be sent by mail.
J. W. Helme: Members of a society can buy to much better advantage by
clubbing their orders and getting their trees at one place.
Mr. West and others described how they had been swindled by the agents.
B. W. Steere: No man should sell trees who has not had experince in rais-
ing them. The nurserymen should employ only properly experienced and edu-
cated agents.
Mr. Reynolds: The nurseryman cannot afford to educate his agents. Horti-
cultural societies are to educate the people at large so they will not be deceived
by ignorant or unprincipled agents.
T. T. Lyon: Buy direct and skip the middlemen if possible. Still, it is well
to remember that many are now enjoying the fruit of trees who never would
have bought them had it not been for agents.
H. E. Van Deman: There is a class of people who cannot be reached by hort-
icultural papers and societies, and can only be reached by agents. The main
objection to dealing with agents is that it costs more.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE WINTER MEETING. 9
E. Baur made a humorous reference to the adaptability of the English
language to persuasive speech. It would be impossible, he said, for agents to
obtain such results as they do in the harsh German tongue.
J. W. Helme: The reliability of agents depends largely on how they are
paid. Ido not hire agents by the percent. Buyers should find out the reli-
ability of those from whom they buy. Many dare not trust an order with a
distant unknown firm. Local agents are necessary.
C. W. Garfield: If people will not be educated by horticultural societies
and publications let them be educated in their own way, even at the expense of
being swindled.
A. G. Gulley: Do not deal with those who are pushing a new thing at a high
price. These people are chiefly responsible for the too highly colored plates
and oyer-wrought descriptions. Still, the growth of varieties differs in differ-
ent locations, and the originators may be mistaken as to their general merits.
President Lyon announced the following committee on fruits exhibited :
H. E. Van Deman, Kansas; Mr. Moore, Ohio; W. W. Farnsworth, Ohio.
Wednesday—Morning Session.
The exercises were opened with music, following which the Secretary read
this letter, addressed by S. 8. Bailey, of Grand Rapids, to the Commissioner of
Agriculture, which had been endorsed by the Grand River Valley Horticultural
Society and by the Executive Board of the State Horticultural Society :
MR. BAILEY’S LETTER,
GRAND Rapips, MICHIGAN, }
February 1, 1886. \
_ Mr. NorMaN J. COLEMAN,
Commissioner of Agriculture :
Dear Sir :—The destruction of the peach orchards of the country, more es-
pecially those of the Northern States, by a disease called the “ yellows,” and
no remedy having as yet been found to check the spread of the disease except
the destruction of all the trees affected, and that check only temporary, there
seems to be a demand that those in high authority in the nation who can com-
mand the proper talent for a thorough scientific investigation should at once
make an effort to solve the mystery of the vellows and determine the cause and
the remedy.
Science alone can do this, and may require a long and patient investigation
and much means to extend the research which is not likely to be furnished by
horticultural societies or aid from the States.
No one but yourself has at present the power or the means to make such a
thorough and exhaustive investigation of the subject as will meet the wants
of those interested in peach growing and satisfy the country.
It is unnecessary for me to call your attention to the loss to the country
during the last fifty years, more especially during the last twenty years, by this
disease, as you are more familiar with the facts than myself.
2
10 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
I am assured by your horticultural friends that you will do something for
horticulture during your administration, and this assurance has encouraged
me to write this letter.
Permit me to suggest that in your investigation you determine, if possible,
whether the yellows in the more Hastern States, said by some to be curable, is
the same as the yellows in the Western States. Also that you find out through
our representatives in other countries whether, in peach growing localities of
other countries, the yellows, or a similar disease, is known among peaches, and
if they have found a remedy.
I see by the papers that you have recently made an addition to the botanical
division of your department, of a section which is designed to furnish informa-
tion respecting the diseases of al] field and garden crops caused by the attacks
of parasitic fungi, and that Prof. F. 8. Scribner has been placed in charge of
the work, and that “his attention has already been called to the following
plant diseases: grape rot, pear blight,” etc. Could he not include the yellows
in peaches ?
But I have said enough. You, perhaps, have already anticipated appeals of
this kind, have seen the wants of the country and commenced the work. Per-
mit me to say in closing that the agriculturists and pomologists of this country
have great confidence in your administration ; everybody seems to be looking
for grand results, and we all know it will not be your fault if their anticipa-
tions are not fully realized. Respecfully yours,
S. 8. Barney.
On motion of 8. B. Mann, the letter was unanimously endorsed by the
society.
The following discussion took place on the question:
Mr. Mann stated that he did not believe that the yellows which had been
cured in the Eastern States was the same as the yellows known in Michigan.
A. G. Gulley: We at South Haven heartily endorse this letter. From the
experiments of Dr. Miles we are fully satisfied that if some man can investigate
it at different places as fully as he did there, we will find whether the disease is
the same or not.
T. T. Lyon: Some years ago I received from Mr. Berckmans, of Georgia,
some peach trees for experiment, and one of them developed a well defined
case of yellows before it blossomed, showing that if the disease is conveyed in
the pollen, that is not the only way.
T. T. Lyon presented the following preamble and resolution regarding a
bureau of pomology in the Department of Agriculture, which, on motion of
B. W. Steere, was unanimously adopted:
WHEREAS, With the rapid recent increase and development of the fruit-growing
interests of our country, in their various forms; and with the corresponding increase
of the consumption of fruits, the pomological interests of our country have assumed a
magnitude and importance not heretofore anticipated or provided for;
AND WHEREAS, The success of varieties of fruits usually varies greatly, and to some
extent, even unaccountably, with change of locality;
AND WHEREAS, Long periods are usually required for the satisfactory local testing of
varieties; and for this reason, extensive interchange of experiments, as well as a wider
inter-acquaintance with the fruits of different localities, becomes important; therefore,
Resolved, That this Society deems this department of agriculture of such importance
as to warrant and even demand the fostering aid of a special branch of the National
Department of Agriculture, under the supervision of an expert and capable pomologist,
with the facilities and appropriations requisite to the efficient discharge of the duties of
such position,
PROCEEDINGS OF THE WINTER MEETING. Bid
The secretary read a letter from Erwin F. Smith, of Ann Arbor, asking
that the botanical department of the University be furnished with data
regarding the spread of grape rot in the State.
The following discussion then took place upon the next topic:
FERTILIZERS.
Mr. Moore, Toledo: In our nursery, near Toledo, Ohio, we find com-
mercial fertilizers cheaper and better than stable manure. We like bone
meal the best. That which we use costs thirty-five dollars a ton, and is made
by the Cincinnati Dessicating Manufactory. We apply it in spring, mixed
with muck or barn-yard manure by means of Kemp and Burpee’s No. 2
spreader, at the rate of 600 to 800 pounds of the meal per acre. After it is
spread, it is cultivated in, and the effect lasts two or three years. The soil is
a sandy clay, with clay subsoil.
C. W. Garfield: In orchards, how near the trees should manure be placed?
Mr. Niles, Blissfield: The best effect is when it is placed under the ends of
the limbs. ‘
T. T. Lyon: After ten or fifteen years the roots fill all the soil, and the
manure should be applied broadcast. Whether it should be applied only
to the surface, or plowed in, depends on the soil. In clay soil the roots run
near the surface, and the orchard, when old, should be plowed very shallow,
if at all.
B. W. Steere: I have obtained the best results in old orchards by applying
stable manure liberally over the whole surface, and plowing it in. The best
time to apply it is fall or winter, and the plowing should be done early, as any
injury to the roots does much less harm to the tree then than later.
K. Baur recommended cow manure as mulch for grapes. He keeps chickens
among his grapes until the fruit begins to ripen.
Mr. Griffin inquired the cause of the bursting of the bark in young trees,
whether it was caused by too rapid growth.
T. T. Lyon replied that trees could not grow too fast early in the season.
Bursting of the bark was common with trees which grew late, but in them, not
until after growth ceased ; grows beans in his orchard, stopping cultivation just
before wheat harvest.
D. G. Edmiston: I have a large quantity of hard wood ashes. How shall I
use them ?
W. W. Farnsworth: I have applied them to wheat and grass without results,
but have doubled a crop of raspberries by their use. What shall I apply to a
field of newly set strawberries this spring ?
A. B. Mason: Ihave had good success, near Toledo, by the application of
two parts ashes and one of hen manure to poor, sandy spots.
Mr. Niles: I have found L. L. Crofer’s fertilizer, Buffalo, N. Y., costing $40:
a ton, to be good for newly set strawberries.
A. B. Mason gave an example of the value of old leached ashes. Had known
raspberry roots to run nine feet to a pile of them. They are useful to soften
clay soil.
C. W. Garfield: The best market gardeners near Grands Rapids haul manure
from the city stables at a maximum price of a shilling a horse a month, and
store it in large flat piles not over three feet deep. Care is taken to have no
part of the heap higher than the rest to act as a chimney and cause it to burn.
It is turned about twice; each time as soon as it begins to heat, the frequency
12 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
depending on the time of year. The fermentation destroys most of the weed
seeds. For the cabbage family of plants, the use of fermented manure is con-
sidered essential. One of the worst plans is to draw directly to the field and
place in small conical piles. Coal ashes and plaster are sometimes used as an
absorbent of the escaping ammonia when the manure cannot be turned in time.
It is important to turn the piles as soon as evenly warmed through to prevent
burning. In summer the second turning may need to be done within three or
four days of the first.
J. W. Hill: Strawberry growers at the East think they cannot grow straw-
berries without ashes. They pay as highas 25 cents a bushel for leached ashes.
Uses salt for pear and plum trees, and says that one cannot apply too much, but
the grape, peach and cherry may be killed by a small quantity.
A. B. Mason uses hen manure extensively, mixing it with road dust as it is
made, and adding ashes at the time it is applied.
CO. W. Garfield uses coal ashes as an absorbent, scattering it beneath the hen
roosts and letting the manure remain until wanted.
GREEN MANURING.
C. J. Monroe: At South Haven we have practiced green manuring for ten
years, especially with rye. It is sown during August and plowed under the next
spring about the time it begins to head. Some peach orchards receive no other
manure. Some sow clover instead of rye on alternate years, sowing it at the
same time. Whichever is used, oats are sown with it for winter protection.
One peach orchard of 1,500 trees has r-ceived, during the last nine or ten years,
an annual application of a bushel to a bushel and a half of muck to each tree,
applied in the fall, close to the stem. In the spring it is hauled away and
plowed under. The owner thinks this treatment prevents the yellows. Eleven
years ago the yellows appeared in the orchard in seventy trees, but it has since
gradually diminished and a good crop has been produced every year. We have
a good deal of faith in muck and green manuring. When we are to sow rye we
can continue cultivation a little later. We treat the clover the same as the rye,
except to plow it under a little later. We never leave a crop on the ground
through the summer. During June, July and August the trees must have
thorough cultivation.
ENRICHING THE LAWN.
In opening the brief discussion on this topic, Mr. Garfield asked if it were
necessary to use on lawns the unsightly stable manure, as is so frequently done.
Mr. Hough thought the use of stable manure needless. He uses wood ashes,
apphed in early spring with a sieve.
Mr. Sigler stated that he had maintained a good lawn for twenty-five years by
the use of wood ashes only.
B. W. Steere said that it was important to haye a deep, rich soil when the
lawn was first made.
President Lyon announced the following Committee on Resolutions: C. J.
Monroe, South Haven; L. D. Watkins, Manchester; S. R. Fuller, Eaton
Rapids.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE WINTER MEETING, 13
THE RELATION OF BEES TO HORTICULTURE—BENEFITS AND INJURIES.
W. Z HUTCHINSON, ROGERSVILLE, MICHIGAN.
That bees are an important factor in the economy of nature has been proved
beyond a doubt. Only a few days ago I came across the following in the Ameri-
can Bee Journal: “ Most of the readers of the Journal are aware that in
England melons, cucumbers, pumpkins, and squashes cannot be raised in the
open air; they are all raised in green-houses and hot-bed frames, and many
hours have I worked in the garden at home in England with a fine, long cam-
el’s hair brush, conveying the pollen from blossom to blossom where the bees
could not get to do the work; and even now, in this climate, if we do not
have good weather for the bees to work on the fruit bloom, and especially on
red clover saved for seed, we get but a poor crop. Last year I had a good
crop of mammoth clover seed, while afew miles from here there was none,
and I think I owe it to my colonies of Italian bees, for they worked on it first-
rate.
“W. ADDENBROOKE.”’
A few weeks ago I heard two old farmers discussing bees and buckwheat.
“*T tell you,” said one, “ buckwheat is a good thing for bees.” “‘ Yes,” replied
the other, ‘“ but the bees are not a very good thing for the buckwheat.” ‘‘No,
I suppose not,” said farmer number one. And thus the conversat*on ran on,.
until I ventured to ask Mr. Farmer how he knew that buckwheat was injured
by the bees. ‘“ Why, they take something from it, don’t they? If they do
this, it injures it. How can it be other wise 2” replied my farmer friend. I
then explained that I was a bee-keeper, and also a raiser of buckwheat; that
my buckwheat, which was at times fairly ‘‘swarming ” with bees, yielded fully
as well, if not better, than buckwheat that was far removed from the busy
workers. I explained now necessary were the bees for the fertilization of blos-
soms; that if the blossoms were covered with muslin, so that the bees had no
access to them, they produced no fruit.
My opponent contended that it might not be lack of visits from the bees that
made the covered blossoms unfertile, but lack of heat from the sun’s rays, as
- the result of being covered. I then cited to him the experiments of Prof.
Lazenby, of Ohio, in covering strawberries with boxes, and fertilizing one
variety with the pollen from another. Specimens that were left unfertilized
produced no fruit; those that were fertilized did. I also told that oft-re-
peated story of how the fruit growers of a certain town in Massachusetts,
years ago, compelled the bee-keepers i in that vicinity to move their bees out of
town. ‘The bees injured the fruit, so said the fruit growers. Ina few years
they were persuading the bee-keepers to bring back their bees, as the crops of
fruit had been exceptionally light since the removal of the bees. The bees
were brought back, and with them came abundant crops. I told him that crops
of red clover seed could not be raised in Australia until bumble bees were
imported to fertilize the blossoms. I then waxed eloquent, and declared that
the beautiful colors were not given flowers simply to please the human eye,
the grateful fragrance to regale the human olfactories, nor did the nectar flow
simply that it might be gathered up and used to tickle human palates; these
things were the blossom’s advertisement which attracts to it the honey-
loving bee, which came, bringing with it the fertilizing pollen from distant
14 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
flowers. When I had finished, my opponent said: “ Well, I don’t know any-
thing about it; maybe you are right, my friend.”
Now, those of you who know that bees are largely instrumental in the fer-
tilization of blossoms, and that the removal of the nectar in no wise injures
the fruit or grain, may be inclined to smile at the old farmer’s views, but, my
friends, he is not alone in his ignorance; even editors—yes, and agricultural
editors at that—have exhibited lamentable ignorance upon this subject. The
agricultural editor of a very prominent New York weekly very gravely in-
formed an inquiring correspondent that bees were an injury to buckwheat,
taking the same grounds as did my farmer opponent. It was this same editor
who said he had watched with interest the progress of the Italian bees ever
since the first pair (?) was brought over from Italy.
It is nearly always ignorance that leads to trouble about bees. In Wisconsin
the past season, the owner of an apiary was sued for damages alleged to have
been done to sheep while grazing in a pasture of white clover. It was claimed
that the bees came in swarms and drove the sheep from the pastures!
It is well known to those who are conversant with the habits of bees, that,
when foraging, a bee is timid, and will flee upon the approach of any object.
The plaintiff in the suit was not only ignorant of the habits of bees, but
seemed to forget that were it not for the services of the bees in fertilizing the
white clover blossoms there would have been no white clover pasture for his
sheep. The judge in this suit decided that there was no law applicable to the
case, and dismissed the suit. The plaintiff probably mistook the attacks of
the troublesome gad-fly for the attacks of bees, which he saw working upon
the clover.
In California, recently, a bee-keeper has been sued by a fruit grower for
alleged damages done to grapes. The suit was in a justice’s court; the apiarist
was beaten, but has, I believe, appealed to the higher court.
As to whether bees really do injure fruit is a question that has been fre-
quently asked. I presume many fruit growers will unhesitatingly say ‘that
they do, and they Anow they do, while bee-keepers are equally certain that it is
impossible for bees to pierce the skin of fruit. At the convention of bee-
keepers, held last December, in Detroit, Prof. A. J. Cook said: ‘“ People
have several times told me that their grapes had been destroyed by bees, and
I have offered to come and witness the destruction, if they would let me know
when it was going on, but I cautioned them to first be swe that they had a
case. I have never been called. Bees do sometimes attack grapes, however,
but it is when the weather has first caused them to crack, or something else
has attacked and opened the skins.”
At Aurora, Ill., there is an experimental station of the United States, in
charge of Prof. Nelson W. M. Lairs. The Professor was at the December
meeting of bee-keepers in Detroit, and read from the advance sheets of his
report. He had placed colonies of bees in a building, deprived them of food,
except fruit of different kinds, which was placed upon shelves around the sides
of the room. All specimens having cracked skins, or that were intentionally
preforated, were entirely consumed, except the skins, dwt, although these bees
were starved to death, not a sound grape, apple, peach, or fruit of any kind
was injured. It is a physical impossibility for a bee to cut open the skin of a .
grape; its mandibles are not capable of cutting.
Now, then, although I deny that a bee can attack and destroy a sound grape,
I do not deny that bees are sometimes a source of great annoyance, and per
PROCEEDINGS OF THE WINTER MEETING. 15
haps some loss to the grape grower. ven if the skins of his grapes are
cracked, or have been pierced by wasps or birds, the grape grower may not
wish them sucked dry; or if he does not care for the loss of the cracked grapes,
the presence of the bees is a great annoyance in gathering the fruit. Bee-
keepers should nos ignore this, neither should the grape growers forget that the
bees are their best friends, inasmuch as they fertilize the blossoms, and thereby
produce the fruit. In the spring, when there are but few insects to fertilize the
blossoms, the bees are very valuable. Both bee-keepers and fruit growers
should learn to bear and forbear. If I understand the matter, the injury and
annoyance that grape growers suffer from bees is often of short duration, only
lasting afew days, and, if all parties would exhibit a neighborly spirit, it is
probable that the bees might be shut in their hives fora few days, with no
great loss to the bee-keeper, as bees never frequent cider mills, nor suck the
juices from fruit, unless there is a dearth of honey, and the loss of honey
would not be great. If the weather is warm, the hives would probably
require a great amount of ventilation.
But let us suppose that bees do injure grapes, or other fruits, and that the bee-
keeper cannot, or will not keep his bees at home, can the fruit grower, in jus-
tice, ask the bee-keeper to pay damages, or to move his bees away? It may
help us to turn the telescope, and look through it from the other end. Let
us suppose that the juices of fruits were injurious to bees, that when stored and
used for winter food, it led to disease among bees. Could not bee-keepers then,
as consistently, complain if a vineyard was started near them, as fruit grow-
ers Can now complain when an apiary is brought into their neighborhood?
Bees have existed as long as have fruits, and the keeping of one is as legiti-
mate and recognized a business as the raising of the other; andif there are
times when the two industries clash, it is doubtful if the difficulties can be set-
tled by legal proceedings. In my own opinion, however, there is a moral law
that is applicable to the case. Ihave reference to priority of location. If
bees are the cause of loss and annoyance to a grape grower, and this loss or
annoyance is not counterbalanced by the benefits derived from the bees, then
the man who knows this, and plants a vineyard in the vicinity of anapiary is
morally bound not to complain of the depredation of the bees, while the bee-
keeper who brings an apiary into a grape-growing district should feel himself
morally bound to keep ‘his bees from annoying his grape-growing neighbors.
Afternoon Session.
The first paper of the afternoon was upon
MAKING WALKS AND DRIVES.
BY DR. WOODLAND OWEN, ADRIAN, MICHIGAN.
Oue of the leading and attractive features about a home, whether it be of
costly and magnificent proportions, or whether it be smaller or unpretentious
in its appearance, is its well-kept lawn, with its walks and drives, sharply de-
fined by the green carpet in which both are cut. These walks and drives
16 . STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
should be made for a double purpose—use and ornament. Their length,
breadth and shape must be in just proportion with the size and aspect of the
grounds and the landscape of which they form a part; their borders should be
accurately cut and all rubbish carefully raked off and thrown in the compost
heap. Thus kept, their graceful curves and bends are objects of attraction,
which give pleasure to the observer and satisfaction to the proprietor. But I
am not called upon to express the satisfaction one has in looking at or walking
over a beautiful lawn with its well-kept walks and drives, and the pleasure one
has while looking at a beautiful landscape where nature and art are judiciously
blended ; but we must come down to the practical methods of making these
walks and drives which are so directly connected with the utility and adorn-
ment of the surrounding landscape. In making walks and drives, a practical
man will not lay out a plan for them until he has made himself acquainted
with every feature of the surroundings, haying viewed them from every point,
that he may choose the choicest and most picturesque spots through which he
can lay the easiest and most graceful lines.
Straight walks and drives should always be avoided where there are any pre-
tentions to size and adornment, though the ground forming the lawn should
be even and level. But you must always have an object to turn you aside
from a straight line; you must butt against something to make a curve, even
if you have to plant a tree or a group of shrubbery, which will soon appear as
if you made the curve to prevent digging up the tree, or rooting out the shrub-:
bery—a cause for the curve must be made to appear.
After we have carefully selected our route and decided upon the line which
we think will add most to the picturesqueness of the place, we proceed to stake
it, usually doing this by staking out the general outline of the walk from the
two given points the width desired, then with stakes throw out your curves
and graceful flowing lines as seem the most appropriate and satisfactory.
These stakes may have to be changed frequently before you are quite satisfied
as to the effect, as most has to be done by the eye, and must be considered
from every point.
When all the outlines are established, we proceed to make our walks and
drives according to the following general rule, varying, however, to some ex-
tent on different soils. In the first place we must make provision for the easy
escape of water, either bv drainage if the soil is heavy and holds water ; or if
light and porous, the water being readily absorbed by the soil, we have no dif-
ficulty, except where the grade is great, and in heavy rains would wash and
gutter out; then we must make frequent outlets, that the surplus water may
run off without washing, or it could be run into a tile drain under cover, but
in a light sand or grayelly soil the surplus water soon disappears, and the dam-
age, if any, can be easily repaired. The water being provided for, we proceed
to throw out the soil to the depth of six inches for a walk, and ten inches
for a drive, more or less according to the nature of the soil, making the bot-
tom level, on which we place about three inches of coarse gravel or stones,
well tamped or rolled down; broken brick or stone, which are usually to be
had when the house is built, or any coarse material of the kind well tamped
down, will make a good bottom ; on this put sufficient gravel sifted through a
coarse sieve to bring the center of the walk on a level with the lawn, rounding
to the edges with a depression sufficient to carry the water, when it rains, from
the center to the sides of the walk, where it is soon absorbed into the lawn;
roll well with a heayy roller, and your walk will be smooth and solid. The
PROCEEDINGS OF THE WINTER MEETING. Ee
width of the walk depends something on the size of the grounds, but in no
case would I have less than five feet, and if the grounds are large, you may add
something to that, remembering always that two and often more link arms to
enjoy the beauties which nature has so lavishly spread before them.
A walk thus made will last an indefinite length of time. But a much less
expensive walk can be made on most soils by taking out two or three inches of
soil, and replacing with good clean sifted gravel, raising the center as high as
the lawn, with sufficient depression towards the grass to take off the water ;
roll with a heavy roller, and your walk will soon be hard and solid, but it
would be improved if rolled again soon after a rain, which has a great tend-
ency to assist in its solidification. The same principles carried out make an
excellent carriage drive, but we must bear in mind always that a much heavier
weight is brought to bear on it, consequently the coarse stones in the bottom
want to be thicker and well tamped down with coarse gravel, making a bed at
least four inches thick, then two or three inches of coarse gravel well rolled
down ; upon this put about three inches of gravel sifted through a coarse
sieve, or sufficient to raise the center of the drive even with the lawn, slightly
falling towards the outside to carry off the water.
But if I was called upon to make a drive, where money was no object, where
it made no difference whether the expense was one hundred or one thousand
dollars, 1 would dig out my driveway twelve or fourteen inches deep and place
in the bottom flat square stones, five or six inches thick, one or two inches apart
with the flattest side down, then fill the spaces with coarse stones or gravel well
tamped in between the stones. Then put on about four inches of coarse gravel,
roll well and leave it till a heavy rain came, which would assist very much in
settling it. After the rain I would roll again, then put on gravel sifted through
a coarse sieve until the drive was as high in the center as the level of the sod,
slightly falling towards the outside to carry off the water.
The width of the drive must, like the walk, depend somewhat upon the sur-
roundings and be in keeping with the extent and style of the buildings, but in
no case be less than ten feet.
In finishing off both walks and drives, give no prominent roundness of
appearance, but just enough to take the water from the center to edge of the
walk or drive.
In speaking of gravel, I use bank gravel, us being far preferable to lake or
river gravel; packs harder, quicker, and in all cases makes a better walk or
drive.
Walks thus made and well kept add largely to the beauty and convenience of
the home, and are not expensive to make or keep in order when proper tools
are used. But they have one drawback which it will be proper to notice here,
and for which I know of no remedy; when the frost is coming out in the spring
the gravel will be like a sponge filled with water until it is thawed deep enough
to let the water through, when it will be hard enough to walk on in a very
short time, but till then they are useless as walks.
In my own walks I provide wide boards to lay down the center during the
thawing period on those walks most in use. On the others we sometimes en-
croach upon the sod, which usually holds the frost till the gravel has thawed
out and let the water through.
DISCUSSION.
C. W. Garfield inquired the value of coal ashes for walks.
3
18 F STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
Dr. Owen said the ashes were liable to track into the house.
N. B. Covert said coal ashes made a good foundation for walks of tar and
gravel concrete. .
Mr. Hough said that coal ashes were good for drives but too dirty for walks.
C. W. Garfield said that it was often best to combine the walk and drive in
one, as it saved half the labor in keeping them in order. He described an im-
proved implement for cutting borders, consisting of a wheel cultivator with a
sharp cutter like a plow-share. With it he could cut as much border in an
hour as with a border iron in two days, and do it more uniform.
The next topic was:
TREES IN AND OUT OF PLACE.
Upon which an excellent paper was read by Mr. Porter Beal, of Geneva, Mich.,
the manuscript of which we have been unable to obtain.
T. T. Lyon: Trees may be in place when small which need removing when
they become large.
E. Baur: I would have along the north and south roads in our State native
evergreens, and along the east and west roads winter apple trees.
A. A. Crozier preferred groups of trees along the roadside rather than rows
which were imperfect.
L. D. Watkins asked what to do with trees in the yard which became so large
as to hide the house. It might have been remedied when they were set by leav-
ing clear openings to the street. He thought the oaks and the white pine bet-
ter for parks than for the door-yard. He liked fruit trees on the outskirts of
the grounds.
S. M. Pearsall: I set the trees of my first apple orchard twenty feet apart.
They are too thick, and I cannot thin them and have them in good shape.
B. W. Steere: My idea of the distance apart for trees has been growing
wider and wider. At an early day so many soft maples were set here in Adrian
as to have given it its name, “soft maple city.” They were set in uniform
close rows, and when you have seen a few rods you have seen all. Some of our
common council have no idea what a tree will develop into when it has a
chance, and as a result there are more misshapen trees in this city than in any
other place inthe State. The council ordered all trees to be trimmed up ten
feet from the ground, and subsequently raised the requirement to twelve feet.
C. W. Garfield called attention to the use of trees for producing desired
effects in the landscape, describing a case in Illinois, where the appearance of
a hill was produced with trees alone.
A piece of music was then given by Mrs. Dr. and Miss Mattie Sager.
IN-DOOR HORTICULTURE.
MARY N. ALLEN, HUDSON, MICHIGAN.
The love of the beautiful is one of the strongest incentives to a pure and
noble life. The jasper walls, the pearly gates, the golden streets of the Heavenly
City, with the evergreen foliage of that wonderful tree that is to yield its fruits
by the side of the river whose waters are clear as crystal, the beauties of which
no earthly city could ever compare, form some of the attractions that are held
out at the end of a Christian life, and the more beautiful and attractive we can
PROCEEDINGS OF THE WINTER MEBRTING. 19
make our earthly homes, the nearer shall we come to solving the problem,
“‘ How to guard the rising generation against the evils of the day.”
House plants form one of the cheapest and most attractive of the long list
of home decorations, and as this talk is to be for home adornment and pleasure,
not for any money that there may be in it, we take the ground that no house-
keeper should try to keep any more plants than her time and strength will
allow, and not interfere with the more essential home cares.
It is wonderful how much pleasure and inspiration can be derived from the
cultivation of a few varieties ; how they brighten and enliven the home, and
the real company those objects of life are in the season when all nature is in-
animate.
I entered the clean and cheerful kitchen of a friend some time since, where
she was doing the week’s ironing, and noticing the look of real pleasure and
satisfaction on her countenance, and seeing that she was quite alone, I said:
“Why, Mrs, B., I thought you had company?” “And so I have,’”’ was her
reply, introducing me at once to a thrifty calla lily with a blossom of creamy
white luxuriance standing on the table in front of her work.
“T cannot stay in the sitting room all the time to feast my eyes on my lily,
and so I have brought it out and placed it where I may enjoy it while I work.”
And so after first assuring ourselves that we are equal to the task of not allow-
ing them to be nipped by Jack Frost, we should decide as to the amount of room
we can allot to this purpose; and the next very important step is the selection
of plants, and those that will give you the most satisfaction for the care you
can give them, are the ones to decide upon. In this taste they may as widely
differ as the nature and disposition of individuals. I have found the most enjoy-
ment in the geranium, coleus and begonia, because I have so little room to give
to plants, and these varieties are always attractive from their bright and varie-
gated foliage, which in some instances is as handsome as blossoms can well be.
I would not exclude from ever so small a collection a few of the trailing
vines in hanging baskets, as they add much of grace and beauty to window
gardening, and some varieties can be placed where they do not have the direct
influence of the window light, and do well.
I was much pleased recently with a pot of smilax, placed behind the cornice
of a friend’s secretary with its dark, glossy green, foliage drooping gracefully
from the corner. The madeira vine, tradescantia, English ivy and oxalis are
among the most common and easiest of cultivation and beautiful for window
decoration. The farfugium is very ornamental, and if you have room for its
broad leaves, no collection is complete without it. I would not neglect the
modest little primrose, whose blossoms will turn a smiling face to you, as an
ample reward for the little care that it demands in your north window, while
the old-fashioned oleander with its wide spreading boughs, will remind you of
the tropical clime in the home, although without may lie deep the Arctic
snows. I have sometimes thought that if I could not keep another plant, I
would still want the rose geranium and sweet fern for the aromatic fragrance
they will bestow.
I have found that plants give the best satisfaction in the common earthern
crocks from five to eight inches in diameter, and from five to seven inches in
depth, resting in saucers of the same material to receive the drainage, in case
they should be given too much water at any time—the crocks to be filled with
sandy soil mixed with leaf mould.
The greatest difficulty I have found in keeping plants in the living room is
the dust that will arise from sweeping, and this may be obviated, in a measure,
20 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
by placing a light cloth over the collection during the process of sweeping and
dusting the room. If plants are kept in a bay window, drapery can be taste-
fully arranged so as to protect them at such atime. If dust collects on the
begonia it should be wiped off with a dry sponge. I have brightened up ge-
raniums by submerging the tops in tepid water.
I have never been troubled very much with insects, excepting a small para-
site, which adheres very closely to the under side of the leaf of the oleander.
They killed the first one I tried to grow. Ido not know the name of this little
pest, but it looks quite formidable under the lens of the magnifying glass. I
have succeeded in preventing them from harming my present oleander by
wiping the leaf with a soft wet cloth.
The earth worm can be easily managed by carefully examining the earth
before repotting the plants. I have never seen house plants out of place when
they did not take the care that should be given to more essential home com-
forts, and little children were not neglected thereby, and there was not more
of the blessed soil on the floor than there was around the plants; but even
then, while we admired the plants, we should feel like saying with Burns, “To
spare thee now is past my pow’r, thou bonnie gem,” and they would all find a
place out of doors, no matter where the mercury stood.
A writer has said that where he finds house plants in the home he is sure of
a kindly welcome. Be that as it may, we always feel a deeper interest in those —
who speak admiringly and approvingly of our plants. The love of approba-
tion is another of the strong motives that influence mankind. The Greeks
recognized this in giving as their highest award for military achievements, for
literary merit, for civic renown, a laurel wreath. For this, Demosthenes
wrought in his immortal oration, For the Crown: “The laurel faded, but the
honor was imperishable;”’ and although we may have no laurel wreaths or am-
aranthine flowers among our house plants, yet there is a broadening and refin-
ing influence connected with them that will lead the thoughts through these
green pets of nature up to nature’s God.
A lady in the audience said: I have a calla fourteen years old which blos-
somed regularly for seven or eight years, since which it has not blossomed,
though repotted every year. Whatcan I do for it? Also can callas be grown
successfully in a north window?
Mrs. : My best success has been in tin, though I do not get many
blossoms. They are a pale green in color. They are in a north window;
perhaps they need the sun.
Mrs. Hough: It does no harm to let them multiply in the pot. We have
no difficulty in getting them to bloom. We turn them down under a tree after
blooming, and repot the next winter, and water with very warm water.
C. W. Garfield spoke of the maiden hair fern as a house plant. It is not sen-
sitive to a change of air, and is one of the most handsome for the decoration
of rooms. It needs but a short period of rest, beg beautiful nearly the
whole year.
L. D. Watkins: It can be obtained from the woods in winter, at any time
when the ground is bare, and will start into growth in afew days. It will do
well where there is but little light.
B. W. Steere recommended lily of the valley and dicentra spectabilis as
house plants.
C. W. Garfield spoke of the value of Impatieus sultana as a house plant.
HK. W. Allis opened a short discussion on the next topic,
PROCEEDINGS OF THE WINTER MEETING. 21
MANAGING THE INSECTS.
Bisulphide of carbon is coming into use for the destruction of insects, and it
will kill all kinds, but it is not yet known how much can be used with safety
to the plants. ‘To fumigate with sulphur for the green fly, place the pot con-
taining the plant in a close box. Lady beetle placed in a conservatory will
destroy large numbers of insects. The larva of one species of this beetle did
more than any other insect to rid the State of the maple cotton scale louse.
Pyrethrum is not successful in the open air. For its use on house flies, give
afew puffs from the bellows into the room, when the flies will all seek the
windows, where a few more puffs will cause them to drop to the floor, where
they may be swept up and burned before they recover.
C. W. Garfield: We use pyrethrum for the green fly. In our little con-
servatory it easily kills over half of them at one application, and a second
application kills many of the remainder. The next best remedy is tobacco
water. It is not so offensive in the house as the smoke.
W. W. Farnsworth, in reply to a question, said that in growing cabbage on
a large scale he was not troubled with the worm.
EK. W. Allis said that in a small garden the worms could be kept in check by
introducing its parasites.
ORCHARD DRAINAGE,
This subject was opened with the following note, read by the Secretary, from
J.J. Harrison, of Painesville, Ohio:
“T have had no experience in orchard draining, but from the 200 or 300
acres that we have underdrained and planted to nursery trees, frequently let-
ting elm, maples, poplars, etc., get four inches through and twenty to twenty-
five feet tall, and never having been troubled with the roots checking the tile, I
think tile can be profitably used in orchard drainage. I would place the tile at
good depth, say four feet, and have the drains between the rows of trees and tile of
good size, say four inches; should plant the trees on the ridge and place drains
in the dead-furrow, planting the rows, if apple, about 40 feet apart and 32 feet
in rows; and if the trees were planted on the ridge that one plowing would
make, there would be but little danger of water remaining on the surface long
enough to do any injury to soil or trees, and the rootlets of the trees would be
a long time making the 20 feet to the drain and filling a four inch tile.
“As to the cost of our tiling and the success achieved by it in our operations,
the former is more easily answered than the latter. We commenced under-
draining 16 years ago when labor was $2 a day and file very dear, and had to
go a long way to get sutticient fall for outlets, making it very expensive, with
drains two rods apart. The first 100 acres we estimated the cost at $75 per
acre. We are now doing it for $40 per acre, using 24 and 3 inch tile for the
laterals. Of course if the mains are tiled, using large sizes, it adds greatly to
the aggregate expense. We have one of Rennie’s elevator ditchers, which
opens up the ditches nicely where the Jand is of even texture, but is not as sat-
isfactory where there are hard, stony ridges or spots.
“* Now as to the value underdraining has been to us, I would estimate it as the
difference between success and failure; and think had we planted the same
amount of nursery stock on the same land without underdraining we should
22 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. ;
be $100,000 worse off than we now are. I have known four inch tile to choke
up two years after being laid so they had to be taken up, and not a root in the
tile either, but all caused by failure to get a true grade. If the bottom of the
ditch is uneyen and the tile settles the depth of its bore, the probability is that
the tile will be choked as soon as silt enough gets in to fill it up. The most
important thing in tiling is to have suitable fall and a true grade.”
In continuing the discussion of the subject, this note from Dr. M. Miles, of
Amherst, Massachusetts, was presented:
DRAINAGE OF ORCHARDS.
PROF. M. MILES, AMHERST, MASS.
It seems to be a popular notion that tile drains have some mysterious
attraction for the roots of trees, and that a growth of fine fibrous roots in the
tiles is a very common cause of obstruction.
The inference is therefore made that the thorough drainage of orchards is
impracticable; or at least, that the results of such drainage are attended with
so much uncertainty as to make the liberal expenditure of capital in such
improvements undesirable. :
This inference cannot, however, be accepted as a legitimate one, as the
assumption which gives rise to it is based on insufficient evidence.
The reported cases in which tiles have been stopped by the roots of trees,
seem to show that this cause of obstruction may be looked upon as an excep-
tional one that is liable to occur only under certain well defined conditions.
From the facts I have been able to collect, relating to this subject, water-
loving trees and shrubs, like the elm, willow, swamp ash, and elder, are almost
exclusively the offenders, but I have yet to learn that they have been trouble-
some when there was not a perennial stream of water running in the tiles.
There is, moreover, no evidence that the roots of fruit trees are more likely
to cause a stoppage in drains, than the roots of some of our ordinary farm
crops, which have been known to fill the tiles in seasons of drought, where the
water was constantly running.
When perennial springs are discharged through the drains there is always
more or less danger of obstruction from the roots of low land trees in the
vicinity of the line of the tiles; but it must be noted, that those which are
close to the drains very often, or perhaps in a large proportion of cases, do no
harm, while other individuals of the same species, at a considerable distance
from the drains, are quite as likely to prove the invaders, so that other condi-
tions than mere proximity to the drains must be taken into consideration to
account for the facts observed.
The character of the subsoil, and especially its capillarity, or porosity, which
largely determines the facility with which a supply of water is obtained from
other sources than the drains in time of drought, will undoubtedly have an in-
fluence on the habit of root growth; and it is only when the available supply of
water from the subsoil is not sufficient for the purposes of the plant that the
abnormal method of invading the tiles for water is resorted to. It is not from
choice, but from compulsion that the erratic habit is developed. And here the
mistake must not be made of assuming that the thorough and deep drainage of
the subsoil will increase the erratic habits of the roots in time of drought.
Thorough drainage is one of the most efficient methods for increasing the capil-
PROCEEDINGS OF THE WINTER MEETING. 23
larity of soils and enabling plants to resist Lhe unfavorable influence of droughts ;
and just in proportion to the provision made to facilitate the normal perform-
ance of the functions of growth, will the abnormal or erratic tendencies of the
roots be kept within proper limits.
It will be found, as a general rule, that when orchards are thoroughly drained
to the depth of three or four feet, where there are no perennial springs to keep
up the flow of water through the summer, the tiles will discharge no water
during the summer months, with the exception of a few days after heayy rains,
and under such conditions there can be no danger of a stoppage of the tiles by
the roots of trees.
Where springs occur that are likely to keep running throughout the year, it
will undoubtedly be a wise precaution to provide for them a separate drain and
outlet, so that their supply of water will not be discharged it the general
system of drains.
It is an established principle of agricultural practice that the full benefits of
thorough tillage and manures cannot be secured without the ameliorating influ-
ence of thorough drainage on the soil, and there are no good reasons for the
belief that orchards and the land devoted to small fruits cannot be benefited
to the same extent by such improvements as the land under cultivation for the
field crops of the farm.
DISCUSSION.
A. G. Gulley: Ihave taken up one year old peach trees with roots seven
feet long reaching to a tile drain. Crabs, peaches and cherries are very likely
to stop tile drains with a mass of fibrous roots. J.S. Woodward states that
he has been pretty successful in cementing the joints of tiles to exclude roots.
C. W. Garfield: Three years ago, in Grand Rapids, a two foot sewer, with
continuous running water, was completely stopped by roots from a neighboring
plantation of trees.
Peter Coller: I have seen a tile drain stopped by the roots of growing corn.
T. T. Lyon: I have drained an apple orchard with four inch tile without
trouble from the roots. At another place, however, some three year old peach
trees filled the tile with roots and cut off the flow. Norway spruce trees of older
age standing near did not send roots to the tiles.
S. B. Mann:
+ Se TS ey epeemenrnn ay Pept or tar eg SETS
like most other cells of parenchyma in & ES CE reyes
the leaf, contain granules of chlorophyll. Fia. 8.
Figure 8 shows vertical sections and cross sections of palisade cells with dots
= igure 9 shows two sorts of cells of a
| leaf of Selaginella,in which the granules
of chlorophyll are few in number but are
unusually large.
Dr. Beal: Starch is formed in the
granules of chlorophyll, usually in the
leaves, and is often carried to roots, root-
CHLOROPAYIL stocks, seeds, tubers, etc., where it is
OP THE | deposited as a store of nourishment for
SELACINELLA. the future use of the plant. One mem-
ASCooDWIN. ber of our class has been comparing the
= ee § starch of our common potato with that _
FIG. 9. ‘of a wild potato from Arizona. We
shall next hear from G. L. Teller.
SUMMER MEETING. 41
G. L. Teller: The starch grains
found in the tubers of the common
potato, when fully formed, are flat-
tened, irregular bodies, about one and
one-third times as long as broad, per-
haps .003 of an inch long, and usually
broader at one end than the other. é,
They are made up of alternate strata His) dis ae
of different densities, 7. ¢., haying differ- , ;
ent amounts of water. The strata are
eccentric to a tiny globular portion
known as the nucleus and give the
grain-the appearance of being marked Fic. 10.
with alternately dark and white irreg-
ular lines eccentric to a point near the
narrower end.
The granules found in the tubers of
a wild potato from Arizona (Solanum
Jamesti) are smaller than those
ae above described, proportionally much
JAMESII, Toss. | ATTOWer, more regular in outline and
thickness of strata, and nearly always
have the nucleus near the broader
end.
[For illustrations you will consult
Fie. 11. figures 10 and 11. |
Dr. Beal: We have now seen and heard something of the structure of a
leaf; its epidermis, stomata, the young hairs and the old hairs on the surface,
the poisonous and moving protoplasm in the sting of a nettle; the palisade
cells, the chlorophyll granules, the starch formed in the leaf. The account of
the structure of the leaf will conclude with some illustrations and explanations
of the frame-work of, or skeleton of the leaf. I introduce to you
H. R. Case: I have bere in my hands some very large leaves of the rhu-
barb, or pie plant. Here maybe seen prominent branches known as the fre me-
work of the leaves. Small branches are very numerous, making a fine net-
work. In each vein or rib is one or more fibro-vascular bundles.
The frame-work of leaves and stems is made up of different kinds of tis-
sues, among the most important of which are the sieve and tracheary tissues.
In the sieve tissues the end walls of the cells are perforated, in order that
the protoplasm and watery substances may pass from one end of the plant to
another with perfect ease.
In the ¢racheary tissues, or, as more commonly called, vesse/s, the end walls
haye entirely disappeared, leaving long tubes with tips often coming to a point.
These vessels vary much in shape and in their markings. Probably the most
common form is the spiral vessel, in which the cell walls have thickened in a
spiral manner, giving the appearance of a narrow band of cellulose material
around the outside of the ceil. These spirals usually turn from right to left,
or in the direction of the hands of a watch, but are found turning in the
opposite direction, as in the young twigs of the Scotch pine. ‘These vessels
terminate by turning to one side and coming to a point, as seen in the thick
limbs to some cacti.
We often have interrupted or double spirals, in which the bands pass in both
directions in the same vessel.
COMMON
POTATQ,
GaLtWlur, Seton cuss
eee
42 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
In many of our water plants, as the white water lily, and Nelwmbiwm or pink
lily of the Nile, we find many parallel fibres, bound together as one band. The
number varies in the Nelumbium from fifteen to twenty-four as they contin-
tinually branch.
One can see the vessels of either of the above plants by breaking the leaf
stem and pulling it apart. They appear like fine spider webs somewhat
crumpled.
We often find vessels in which the bands are in mere rings, a short distance
apart. One often finds both spiral and annular vessels, as the latter are called,
in the same vessel.
The reticulated vessels have a greater development of cellulose and the
markings are very irregular, being all the way from elongated proportions extend-
ing half way around the vessel, to mere dots, with no order whatever .as to
their distribution. These are due to an over-development, while the ringed
and spiral vessels are due to under-development of the cell walls.
The dotted vessels are similar in appearance to some parts of reticulated,
except that the cells are very much shorter and thicker.
The scalariform, meaning ladder form, vessels are prismatic tubes of three
to six sides, and taper to a point at both ends. ach side is marked with very
regular lines of perforations, much resembling the rounds of a ladder. ‘These
are found in the fern stems, of many shapes and markings.
The vessels are found in leaves and stems of all flowering plants, and make
a very interesting study for the compound microscope.
They may be separated from the surrounding mass by boiling thin slices for
a few.moments in nitric acid and potas- |
sium chlorate. Let them stand a day or
so, in cold water, and they may be easily |
separated with needle and forceps. If],
colored with red aniline, they may be§
studied to much better advantage.
In figure 12 may be seen various forms
of ducts, or vessels. J, a spiral vessel
of ten parallel threads. 2, a spiral ves-f
sel of one thread. 3, a spiral vessel with |
two threads running in opposite direc-
tions. 4, annular vessels. 5, a pitted
vessel. 6, one end of a scalariform, or
ladder vessel.
Dr. Beal: The next speaker will have something to say about cotton, two
sorts of flax, and something about silk and wool. The one to address you is
Miss C. L. Harrison: Cotton, during the growing state, consists of hollow
tubes, and sometimes becomes about two inches long. As it ripens the tubes
collapse and twist like a ribbon or band.
Linen is made from the fibers of the inside bark of flax stems. To get these
fibers free from the rest of the bark the whole stem is allowed to rot, and as
these fibers are very tough they are not affected as soon as the chlorophyll-bear-
ing cells, which are easily shaken out. The fibers are then prepared for use
by bleaching with some chemicals. These fibers are about an eighth of an
inch long, tapering at both ends, which overlap each other in the bark. These
also have a small hole through the center and have very feeble marks.
Silk is drawn out like a wire from a mass of wax or jelly-like matter. The
thread is solid and varies in size.
SUMMER MEETING, 43
Wool, also, is solid, but has very distinct markings, like bowls piled within
each other, only the lines are very irregular and project out around the
fiber in a sort of saw tooth manner. These little teeth crawling upon each
other when washed is the cause of shrinkage in woollen goods.
b, WOOL
Gs Hartson aon,
Fig. 14
Consult Fig. 13, a, for cross and vertical views of cotton; 4, the same, for
common flax; c, for New Zealand flax.
Fig. 14, a, shows two smooth, solid threads of silk ; 2, two fibers of wool.
Dr. Beal: All parts of plants are made up of small cells, some with thin
walls like those of elder pith, some with thick walls. To learn something in.
regard to why nuts are hard we shall call on one who has examined small
frag ments under a compound microscope. . The next speaker is
: W. W. Diehl: Ifa piece of hickory
nut is boiled in potash and nitric acid
it will become softened, and the cells
may be separated. When examined
under a high magnifying power the
cells are seen to be nearly filled—only
a small branching cayity remaining.
In vegetable ivory the small branches
THICK CELL WALLS f of the cell cavity often correspond or
ByVEGETABLE IVORY, meet those of contiguous cells. The
CU APPRSIMMONS, | walls are very thick and firm.
—uxemessiaeid ‘The seeds of Japancse persimmons
Fia. 15. are very hard when dry. ‘The cell walls
are very thick, the hole within is nearly spherical. Fig. 15 will illustrate the
whole thing very well.
Dr. Beal: The next one on the programme will speak of tough and brittle
wood of white ash compared under the microscope.
Least come” Yost cous
Gass Galan f Gad ite Se
dee Sie
Crs Sedans . “ Wate haa.
eames x ¢
Fie. 17
44 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
H. E. Bulson, Jr.: White ash, like all other woods, is formed of concentric
layers of cells and vessels, and the strength of the wood depends largely
upon their compactness.
The plates here exhibited, showing cross sections of two pieees of white ash
as seen under a compound microscope, furnish illustrations of the general dif-
ferences between good and bad wood of the same species. This plate (Fig. 16,
tough ash) represents cross sections of wood used by wagon and carriage man-
ufactories; the wood being used where great strength is needed. This plate
(Fig. 17, brash ash) represents cross sections of wood which they would gen-
erally declare worthless, except for very light purposes. It is evident from a
glance at these drawings that the good wood differs from the bad in: 1st. The
much smaller area occupied by the ducts or vessels. 2d. The smaller bore and
consequently thicker walls of the ducts and woody fibres. 3d. The much
greater annual growth. These are the elements which it is but reasonable to
suppose would give strength to the wood.
Each plate represents a cross section from one piece of wood, showing the
growth in the spring and also in the fall. In the spring the wood grows rapidly
and the cells are larger, but in the fall they thicken up and become more com-
pact. The darkened portion of the plates is intended to represent the wood
cells, but their form and structure is not shown in detail. They are large
in the spring and thick and compact in the fall, like the vessels. The dark
lines running across the plates represent the broken portions of the medullary
rays, which are smooth and glossy and help, to some extent, to give strength to
the wood. These run from the bark of the tree to the center, or part way to
the center. The ducts and vessels are used to convey sap and other nutriment
for the support of the tree.
Dr. Beal: So simple a thing as a grain of wheat may at first seem to be,
is a grain or fruit in which the single seed completely fills the ovary to which
it firmly adheres. off
o : $ » ° o=
3 BE 28 Se ’ 8 z& s
S Ss > =o = eor
5 $3 of | Bas 3 ae
< =) = < S <
ING Wid CLSOV: = 4s s> oe oe anes ae ee ece 175,000 | 236,831 174,125 24,000 | 198,125 38,706-
New ins land ssn eee ee er ene 225,000 | 404,857 | 212,879 68,000 | 280,879 123,978
WVISCONSINMNCECE += =-hine oe ese. See OPP ee 160,000 | 322,179 198,324 66,108 264,432 57,747
NO LAIS* Seen Bae te Se ua Sree cee ; 560,000 | 963,867 | 585,828 | 158,108 | 743,436 220,431 —
As thus shown the shortages from October calculations are for New Jersey
16 per cent., New England 30 and Wisconsin 18 per cent., and upon the whole
23 per cent. Some part of this may, of course, be considered shrinkage and
waste, but it confirms the statistician’s apprehension, expressed at the time,
that the October calculation overstated the crop.
Some have thought that the growers’ reports, upon which the October calcu-
lations are based, naturally tend to overestimates, on the ground that those
having good crops will more generally report them than those having poor
ones. But as two years from each are required, this would seem to make but
little differeuce. Besides the October calculations have sometimes understated
the crop.
In 1884 the August estimate of the New Jersey crop was 130,000 bushels.
The October calculation made it 114,598, and the movement in the end made
it 124,648.
At the annual meeting in January, 1885, the movement to January 1, taken
from the October calculation of the New Jersey crop, indicated only 9,006.
bushels then remaining in the hands of growers. But the members present
figured up and located 12,500 bushels, and the subsequent movement showed
that the unmoved stock must, at that time, have been over 19,000 bushels.
On the contrary, at the last annual meeting, the movement to January 1,
1886, taken from the October calenlation of the New Jersey crop, showed
109,810 bushels unmoved, which the report set down as nearly incredible. The
members present figured up and located 45,125 bushels, but the subsequent
actual movement showed that there must have been over 71,000 bushels un-
moved at that time.
126 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
IRREGULAR PACKAGES.
Touching irregularity in the size of packages, there is nothing particularly
new in the situation, so far as the country practice is concerned, and I have at
this time no further suggestions to offer. I may remark, however, that the
retail growers of the country now have a large and rapidly spreading organiza-
tion, one of the leading objects of which is to detect and resist adulteration and
short weights and measures. This has helped my firm, and benefited our pat-
rons in the selling of cranberries in full-sized packages, and I hope it has
equally hindered those that practice or abet short measure.
THE CROPS ON THE VINES.
After detailing the correspondence with reference to this year’s crop the sta-
tistician summarized as follows: The ratio between these crop statements and
crop estimates, when applied to the crops of last year, as hereinbefore deter-
mined, will show the following results in bushels:
Crop 1885. Increase Decrease Crop 1886.
Per Cent. Per Cent.
ING Wit GLBOY ca ee nee ae esa oe ee ce a eee 198,125 15h Gl Eee 227,843
Nevwaline an ds. ce eet aan oe eee See ae eee 280,879 Sie alist a seieys meee 289,305
AVVAISGCONSIM GOLG he ee ee ny tee een ae eines 2 ERE EE Le 264452) Ninccace ee ecee 71 76,686
Pobalsher sees keeles Bee Aloe Piper RE YE 743,436 18 71 593,834
We may, therefore, in round numbers, call the last crop of the country
750,000, and the crop now on the vines as estimated at 600,000 bushels.
The apple crop last year proved larger than was expected, and prices were
low, but not so low as cranberries.
The statistician of the department of agriculture, in his August reports of
last year and this year, rated the condition of the apple crops in the principal
apple States as follows:
1885. 1886. 1885. 1886.
MAINO PGs Secs ee eee esas Ae 83 Ohio? 2228 ke Se ee ee 54 95
MSSSaAChUSCLIS es sees eee eee 82 82 Michipantss2er2 ee eee 65 83
fwhodescland tes. eae en see eee 94 90 Indiana... -52-2-ec2o eee 45 90
INGWitMOl eet oe es Soe ee eee 71 63 MMM inOis2s 22 2 es) eee 55 77
ING Wiad CISC VE = fate es eee 60 91 MASSOURIE 22 co scene aa eee ener ee 68 85
Thus indicating a larger crop this year than the last.
The encouraging features about cranberries are, that while the crop of the
country is, by the showing of this report, about 20 per cent. smaller than last
year, many must have last season used this fruit freely for the first time, and
will desire it again. If the present crop estimates are realized, prices must be
VARIOUS NATIONAL SOCIETIES. 127
again very low, but there is good reason to expect they will average, for the
season, much better than last.
TABLES.
The early estimates of the cranberry crop of the country, for thirteen years,
are shown in the following table in bushels:
1872. 1873. 1874, 1875. 1876. 1877. | 1878.
New England! - 22 --222-=:-222---- 40,000 | 105,000 | 105,000 75,000 65,000 | 164,229 125,000
ING Wid CESO Yes a see eae nea 100,000 | 110,000 90,000 | 110,000 90,000 | 152,100 60,000
Western States-_..---.-.-_--------- 135,000 60,000 50,000 40,000 40,000 79,500 107,769
INGEN NOE eae ase e ee ts BNE Ce co ee eseeece 5,000 5,000 8,000 5,000 3,000
Motalstss. Sat te 2 ote ee ee 275,000 | 275,000 | 250,000 | 230,000 | 198,000 | 400,828 295,760
1879. 1880. 1881. 1882. 1883. 1884, 1885.
BNewalingland acts Asano soe 195,000 | 247,500 | 155,825 | 191,664 | 141,964 | 130,583 225,000
ENGW: J OTSOYicsee See aos onsen ce acece 90,000 | 128,700 | 157,014 78,507 118,524 | 124,648 175,000
iWiestern: States=---~~-e2 22.2 ----5 75,000 113,430 143,186 50,000 135,507 24,783 160,000
INO WreViOE Rie ees s scons ese eee 3,000 3,000 5,000 2000), 2 as Sse |e ee
Mtealisps estan eset se ee oo 233,000 | 492,630 | 461,025 | 322,171 | 442,207 | 330,000 | 560,000
A table showing the opening and closing prices of New Jersey cranberries, in
bushel crates, at New York, for thirteen consecutive seasons, commencing
with 1870:
1870S I eplenwbers ase ne sane eee eee $3 50 @ # 00 | 1879. September _--..-...------------- $1 75 @ $2 00
Ma yi etl aoe sons eee 1 00 1 25 Miya SU sees hectasee pees. 5 00 6 00
STS Septem DeLee a seeete eet e eee ees 3 25 4 00 | 1880. September _____---- sieet aos ee SS, 1 50 2 00
Maye Cee) 5 age e tee erste seues 4 50 5 50 Va yp 1a i ee es 50 1 00
18325 (September ---- = aoe ee renee 3 25 4:00) 188l) (September =------ eee eee eae 1 50 2 00
IMS solos se eee eee 1 50 00 JADUATY es Oe ee sees ener em aeaneeenes 3 50 4 00
Isis (September ss-- 5 ose a aneee = aes 2 50 3 00 Via yrie Se ee tee = eee Serene 2 00 3 00
Aprils eee e eee 3 75 LOO) 1882) October sea ee ne eee a eee 275 3 00
A8{4.) September 22 ss22--5-2-222ee=—-— 2 75 BLOOWPLSSS ne STU Ur yeaa ee ee ee 4 00 4 50
Maye bstorer stveneee SeeeseeS 1% 2 00 Apriliees se. a2 eae Jae genes 2 00 3 50
a Syos SOPLOM Der sae oe ee eae aaa eee 2 00 275 October aera se ee eee ee 275 3 00
Wiaiyiseih Gas pee ke ee eee 475 LOO! SSeeVantiaryul essa eee nee 3 50 3 75
asiGs ‘September)2.---2 2 5-- 4-52 —0css= 3 25 8 50 aN 0) ei U Meee PR IEE eS eee 5 25 5 50
Mia Wiican ct ata see en re pies 2 00 nom. October st reset or te eee eee 275 3 00
3 ESA) bs ie) OLN) 001] 0\2) Dey eye eye era 2 00 Po Wali i diehopiihay ile Sse Sen ee 4 50 475
Vai Oba see eee oes 4 00 Var ys eee eee ane ee 2 50 2 75
g878) > September’ 2-5 .- 2. 22 2425-6 2502.5 2 00 2 25 October sete ee eee ee 1 50 1 70
Be yy LS clei Nea ef st ae 2 25 250) | SSGc AU aye tee nee eee 1 20 1 40
TUTE rig USS ae dl eee ee 50 75
In closing his report Mr. French offered his resignation as statistician of the
society.
128 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
Afternoon Session.
On motion, a committee of three, consisting of Messrs. A. J. Rider, Dr. Geo.
Goodell and C. L. Holman, was appointed to give suitable expression to the
feelings of the members concerning the work done by Mr. French, as statisti-
cian of the association.
This committee reported as follows:
Mr. PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF THE A. C.G. A.: Your committee, ap-
pointed to give suitable expression to the feelings of the association concerning
the work done by Mr. N. R. French, respectfully report;ithe following reso-
lutions:
Resolved, That the most hearty thanks of the members of this association are due, and
are hereby tendered to Mr. N. R. French, for the voluntary labor, expense and untiring
zeal with which he has for so many years served the association in its statistical work,
as well as his very successful efforts to secure an honest and uniform standard of meas-
ures for marketing our fruit, and which has contributed so largely to the success of the
association.
Resolved, That we are not unmindful as an association, nor as individuals, of our
obligation to him for the personal sacrifice he has made and the good done thereby;
and, while we cannot consistently press him to continue the work, if it involves a
greater personal sacrifice than his years and health will permit, we shall feel highly
grateful if he can see his way clear to do so, and in such case we pledge that all attendant
expense shall be borne by the association. We also advise that he be reimbursed for-
any past expenses he may have incurred in collecting statistics.
A. J. RIDER,
GEO. GOODELL,
C. L. HoLman,
Commnvittee.
The report of the committee was accepted and the resolutions unanimously
adopted.
On motion the portion of the report outside of the resignation of the statisti-
cian, was adopted.
A motion that the resignation of Mr. French, as statistician and member
of the executive committee be not acepted, was unanimously carried.
TREASURER’S REPORT.
The report of the Treasurer was then read, as follows:
Receipts for dues and membership fees, for six months, ending September 1st-_ $72 00
Hor Bulletim fang! 25s Bee ee ee ha a cae at he ee Re Re 24 00
Balance from’ last reports so eee cee oe eee mo ae ee ce Fo aera fee an 107 29
MO gall esx Ses ahs Shonen A elt AP PE a el Sok oe SS $203 29
Hapenditures.
NPR Eirench) for prim tine yb ualle tims ses eee ee ee ee ere $131 26
Mac@rollishr dé Quito leyect orp raat oye s se ee ace eee ee vee oe 27 00
Stamps, wrappers, envelopes, copyright fees, etc____--..__...__.___-- 30 40
MR tale isn ie Se ee ay ee SL Rae ae Ie a Oe $186 66
Balance‘onhandes 2h vee elas TE a Ee ie eee $16 63
Wnpaidsbillyrrenchidéci Cor. Bulle tira ese ee ee ee oes $63 25
To meet this liability, there were sixty members who had not, as yet, paid
dues for 1886.
The report was accepted and adopted.
VARIOUS NATIONAL SOCIETIES. 129
On motion, the secretary was instructed to send a postal to each member
who had not paid dues, requesting remittance, and giving notice that he is only
allowed to send reports to those who haye complied with this rule.
It was resolved that the statistician continue the work of gathering crop re-
ports and statistics, and that the entire expense be borne by the association.
A motion was also made that the secretary be paid for his work, which motion
was withdrawn by the request of the secretary.
It was, on motion, resolved that the expense incurred in the publication of
the Bulletin, up to this time, be paid by the association, and that it be absolved
from any obligation in connection with its publication in the future.
The following resolution was then offered and approved:
Resolved, That the Statistician be permitted, should he desire to do so, to use the sta-
tistical information gathered for the association in the Bulletin, and also the association
name in connection with the publication.
The market question was again taken up and the executive committee of the
association was directed to prepare a compact, to be entered into between grow-
ers and some competent organization (possibly the Fruit Growers’ Trade Com-
pany), according to suggestions of Secretary and Dr. Goodell, and submit the
same for action at the special meeting of the association, to be held on the
third Tuesday of October, 1886.
igh
AMERICAN | HOREICULTU RAT +sO@ REI:
CONVENED IN BIENNIAL SESSION AT CLEVELAND, OHIO, SEPTEMBER
7, 8, 9, 1886.*
OFFICERS.
President—Parker Earl, Cobden, Illinois.
Vice President—T. V. Munson, Denison, Texas.
Secretary—W. H. Ragan, Greencastle, Indiana.
Treasurer—J. C. Evans, Harlem, Missouri.
The Mississippi Valley Horticultural Society was organized in 1879, and has
held annual meetings until the change in its name was made to American
Horticultural Society, when it became generally understood that its sessions
should alternate with those of the American Pomological Society, meeting in
the even years.
The convention in 1886 met in Cleveland, Ohio, Tuesday p. M., September
7. ‘The meeting was called to order by President Karle in the Board of Trade
building, kindly donated by the city for the purpose. But this was soon found
to be too noisy for comfort, and the remaining sessions convened in the taber-
nacle, in which was spread the exhibits of fruits.
The attendance was not large but representative, and the meeting through-
out interesting and instructive. The condensed statements of Secretary Ragan
and Treasurer Evans were received, following which the general topic of
GRAPES
was taken up and led by an article from Mr. George Hussman, of Napa, Cal-
ifornia, on “The Past, Present, and Future of Grape Growing in California.”
Mr Hussman spoke enthusiastically of fruit culture in California, where all
the fruits of the temperate zone flourish, the apple growing in perfection by
the side of the orange and lemon, and the grape grows in perfection and pro-
fusion. The wine crop of California is estimated at 20,000,000 of gallons this
year. It was formerly supposed that the grape could be grown only by irriga-
tion, but now our vineyards look down upon us from the highest tops of the
mountains, and there produce their choicest fruits without irrigation. He be-
*This account of the Cleveland meeting I have compiled from reports in the Country Gentleman,
American Rural Home, and Ohio Farmer.—SEcy. :
VARIOUS NATIONAL SOCIETIES. 131
lieves that grape growing will continue to extend in California, and that it will
be profitable at one cent per pound for the grapes, or twenty dollars a ton;
which, with a yield of five tons per acre, will give gross receipts of $100 per
acre. He says grapes can be cultivated at $20 per acre.
When gold was discovered in California, no one thought that, in a region so
free from rain in summer, grapes would ever add more to its glory than did the
glittering gold. The Jesuit Fathers tried to raise one variety; now 400
varieties are grown, and the products amount to hundreds of thousands of tons
yearly. Irrigation has worked wonders. France, Germany, Spain and Italy
have furnished the vines, and with the vines came trained laborers, and last,
but not least, comes the patient Chinese Jaborer, who has helped the “ Melican
man ’’ more than he has been given credit for.
Secretary Ragan said the grape crop had been so abundant this year that
perhaps the members were so tired of them as not to care to discuss them. In
his State (Indiana) grapes had been sold at retail for two cents per pound.
President Earle remarked that grapes were profitably grown in California for
one cent a pound.
Mr. Charles A. Green, of New York, thought the paper solved the problem
of how California grape growers can compete with eastern growers. It was by
employing cheap Chinese labor and against this even high freights could not
protect eastern growers.
Mr. F. C. Miller, of Ohio, said that he was of the opinion that the Worden,
a seedling of the Concord, was much superior to that old favorite. He had
fruited the Worden for the first time, this year, and was much pleased with
results. He asked if it is true that Wordens did not hold well to the stems.
Mr. Cushman said, so far as taste goes, he preferred the Worden, but he
had heard that, when well ripened, it drops from the vine quite badly.
Mr. T. 8. Hubbard, of New York, had been traveling for some weeks among
eastern vineyards, and his examinations had been very favorable to the Worden.
All the reports he had received had been to the effect that Worden holds to its
stem. He had visited Mr. Worden’s vineyard in Oswe7o, N. Y., and had seen
the original vine that Mr. Worden said had yielded 110) pounds of grapes dur-
ing each of the past three years. The crops of Worden this year were the
finest he had seen, and there was no rot. ‘The Concord was not as productive
as last year, but Deleware and other varieties are doing well. The Worden, he
said, is a larger, handsomer and more attractive berry than Concord, and
ripens from a week to ten days earlier.
Mr. E. T. Hollister, Missouri, said that grapes had rotted badly this year in
his State, and thus were a short crop. He thought growers were in too great
a hurry to get their grapes into market. They picked them too green;
started in with the Ives or sour Hartford and, when really good grapes were
brought forward, they came upon a broken-down market. He wished the
Ives and Hartford were thrown out entirely. Mr. Green said that would
not remedy the difficulty, as growers would then ship green Concords.
Mr. F. C. Miller, Ohio, mentioned that his grapes rotted so badly one
season, that he used copperas (sulphate of iron) as a disinfectant, fearing
that the odor was unhealthful. This was in July. To his suprise, it
checked the rot. He had used it since successfully to prevent rot. He ap-
plied it dry, simply strewing it broadcast among and upon the vines, putting
132 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY,
as high as three pounds to one vine, but he thought one or two pounds
sufficient. His neighbors, who had tried it, were equally successful. Vines of
his own, and of his neighbors, to which no application had been made, showed
no fruit free from rot. He had also tried sulphate of copper with similar
result but it was much more expensive and no better. The copperas also
prevented the growth of weeds and grass.
Mr. N. H. Albaugh, of Ohio, said that a gentleman in Montgomery coun-
ty, Ohio, had sown oats between the rows of vines, and in that way had
preserved the grapes from rotting.
Dr. H. E. McKay, of Miss., said grapes had not done well in his State
this year. The Concord had done the best, was safer, and more had been
realized from it than from any other variety. Some growers like the Ives,
but it was the general opinion that between the 30th and 35th degrees of
latitude the Concord thrives the best. The Scuppernong is a grape that never
fails, but is not a good fruit for market. ‘Thought the rot this year was
caused by excessive rain; thirty days of frequent showers had ruined a prom-
ising crop.
Prof. A. B. McKay, of the Mississippi Agricultural College, also thought
rain had been the cause of rot in his State, although in some parts the Dela-
ware succeeded well. He thought trimming helped the fruit very much, the
berry growing larger and coloring better.
Mr. I. Van Lindley, of North Carolina, said that grape culture is decidedly
increasing in his State. The State is divided, naturally, into three sections.
The eastern section is the home of the Scuppernong; in the middle section
they grow about seventy-five varieties of grapes, and among the finest in the
country. Ives and Champion are the best paying; they call Worden the best
black grape.
Mr. H. E. Van Deman, of Kansas, had lately been through Texas and In-
dian Territory. Near Fort Worth he saw several acres of Niagaras. The vines
were three years old, and although the drouth had dried up nearly everything
else, these looked well. A gentleman of Denison, Texas, had shipped large ~
quantities of the Ives as soon as they had turned. They were sent North and
brought good prices. Mr. Van D. had traveled about a good deal with Mr. T.
V. Munson, of Texas, examining the wild grapes of that State. Some of the
bunches of the black varieties are a foot in length. Mr. M. is raising seedlings
from these wild varieties, selecting the best of these and crossing them with the
cultivated kinds, and hopes by selection to secure better varieties than we now
have ; especially does he wish to establish varieties that will bear the drouth.
This is the first attempt to infuse the blood of these wildlings into our domestic
grapes, and the process is only in its infancy.
Mr. Geo. W. Campbell, of Delaware, O., said this year had been the best in
Central Ohio since 1840. Grapes of early and late varieties are ripening near
together. He condemned Tallman, but some people like it because it colors
early and can be sold for high prices. Worden is better than Concord, but has
the faults of that sort, the skin being tender, making it a poor shipper.
Mr. Chas. Carpenter, of Kelley’s Island, O., had noticed that when weeds
and grass were allowed to grow among grapes, the rot seldom troubled them.
Mr. Kizo Tamari, who was the Japanese Commissioner at the New Orleans
Exposition, and is now a student at the Michigan Agricultural College, spoke
of grape culture in Japan. They have only two varieties. One is a white
VARIOUS NATIONAL SOCIETIES. 133
grape, but it does not seem to be of the same species as our American grapes.
The skin is very thin and smooth, the flavor fine. The other variety is darker.
He did not think the Concord would suit his people. They are beginning to
import new varieties, and pay more attention to grape-growing. Three years
ago a vineyard of 1,200 acres was planted. ‘The Chinese have raised grapes
and made wine for centuries, but the Japanese are only commencing. One
reason why the Japanese are so slow in raising fruits is that they use more
vegetables than we do.
The afternoon session closed with a paper by EK. H. Hart on the beauty of
the Florida climate and the promises of the cut flower trade for northern con-
sumers.
Hvening Session.
In the evening Mayor Gardner welcomed the society to Cleveland, in a brief
and appropriate address, which was responded to by President Earle in a grace-
ful manner. He then followed with his annual address, which was an able
and comprehensive review of the rise and progress of horticulture in this coun-
try, and its present condition. He traced the marvelous growth of horticul-
ture in Ohio from the days of Johnny Appleseed down to the present, and paid
a high tribute to that romantic pioneer of fruit culture. The nurserymen of
Ohio should erect amonument to his memory
“Tt was not many years ago,” he said, “ when all the peaches used in that:
wonderful fruit market, Chicago, were grown in one orchard. Now the orch-
ards of many States are required to furnish the hundreds of car loads that
daily pour into Chicago.”
President Earle suggested the need of a pomologieal bureau under government
charge, and of experimental stations. Central Russia has been building up a
race of fruit almost under the arctic circle that has for hundreds of years
withstood the hard winters and arid summers. An investigation of these
fruits with a view to their introduction in the interior of the United States
should be made. ‘The complaint of over-production in fruit growing is not so
much due to over-production as imperfect distribution. Apples in New York
and Michigan last fall seemed too plentiful, but many a family out of the range
of the apple district went unsupplied.
He spoke at some length on the rapid destruction of our forests, and the bad
results that have followed in producing extremes of climate, of drouth and
flood, frost and heat. Ohio, in 1853, had 45 per cent of her surface covered
with timber; in 1884, but 17 per cent. No wonder the Ohio valley was visited
annually by destructive floods, and that the climate had changed for the worse.
It seemed that the State was making rapid strides towards the agricultural con-
dition of Arabia, and Ohio stands for America. “I quail before the inexorable
penalties which nature has in store for all States and peoples who will ruthless-
ly destroy so glorious a heritage of forest as the American people once pos-
sessed. Without forests no successful agriculture is possible, and no high
civilization can be maintained.”
With regard to agencies to assist in the progressive movement of horticul-
ture, he mentioned societies as among the most important:
“Societies bring people together for the comparison and enlargement of
views. ‘There is scarcely a State in the Union that does not show the fruits of
134 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
horticultural societies. If you could take away horticulture from the world,
you would have bare walls and scanty food. We are constantly dealing with
new things in horticulture. We have new ideas, new fruits new flowers, new
diseases. All require our attention. There is no agency which so quickens
investigation as organized societies. Horticulture has outgrown the old accept-
ance of the term, and the word now relates to all that embellishes the home,
the farm, the garden, and the park.
“ Horticulture has its esthetic side, and its economic side, and which has de-
veloped most in the last twenty-five years would be hard to say. If you travel
over the country and view the elegant villas, and shady roads, and the pretty
school-houses, you will be convinced that the xsthetic side has developed.
Horticulture codperates with education, religion, and moral culture. On its
economic side we look at the large business done in flowers. A history of nur-
sery enterprises in this country would be of interest. A half century since
how few and small were the nurseries of the country. All honor to the men
who built up this business, and made our country the most fruitful, and the
most flowerful under the sun. ‘Thirty years ago the fruit of the Chicago
market could have been carried in a wagon, and now it takes whole railway
trains to supply the same market. ‘The Wilson strawberry marks the era when
the first efforts were made toward modern horticulture.’’
Mr. C. A. Green read a report on “ Animal and Vegetable Life.” Mr. Green
argued that vines and trees are live beings, have sensibility. The tendrils of
vines will reach out and cling to other vines and trees for support, but will
never twine around branches of the same vine. The roots run in the direction
of water and of fertilizers.
Secretary Ragan suggested the reading of letters from absent members, and
letters were read from Commissioner Colman, Charles Gibb, of Quebec, Isadore
Bush, of Mo., and Prof E. W. Hilgard, of California.
Voted that committees of three upon each class of fruits on exhibition
be appointed by the President.
Voted that three sessions, daily, of the meeting be held, commencing at nine,
two, and eight, local time, which was about thirty-four minutes faster than
railroad time at ninety meridian.
Mr. L. B. Pierce, of Tallmadge, O., explained that the exhibition of fruits
and flowers is made by the Ohio Horticultural Society, assisted by citizens of
Cleveland, but it was expected that this society will take charge of this exhi-
bition, and award premiums. Messrs. Campbell and Pierce were appointed a
committee to take charge of the exhibition.
Wednesday Morning Session.
The society met in the tabernacle at 10:30 a. m., President Earle in the
chair.
“ How shall we protect our crops in time of drouth?’ was the title of an
excellent paper by Mr. John M. Smith, president of the Wisconsin State Hort-
icultural Society. Clay is the most difficult soil to manage; a dark, sandy
loam the easiest. The first step is thorough drainage. A soil that is not
drained bakes down hard and will not so readily absorb moisture. Next coms
the abundant use of manure, and especially of wood ashes. They may be
VARIOUS NATIONAL SOCIETIES. 135
applied at the rate of 100 to 150 bushels per acre. To show their value for
this purpose, he mentioned that a large part of his potato field was one year
heavily manured with barn-yard manure; to the rest of the field ashes were
applied. During the severe drouths that followed, the vines upon the manured
part of the field laid down and died, while upon the part having ashes he
secured a fair crop. The next step is thorough cultivation, the loosened and
pulverized soil acting as a mulch.
The drouth this season has been unprecedented in Wisconsin, yet by follow-
ing these plans, Mr. Smith had marketed 1,000 bushels of strawberries from
three and a half acres of ground, the sales reaching $2,216. He also has
80,000 cabbages that are in fine condition, as the result of heavy manuring and
almost constant cultivation; while his neighbors, who have neglected these
things, have almost nothing. If compelled to say which he would give up—
under-draining, heavy manuring, or thorough cultivation—he would be at a
loss which to drop. Were the soil light and sandy, he probably would drop
under-draining.
He had tried irrigation; had water-works that cost him $1,000. It was costly.
A large amount of water must be applied, or there is more harm than good as
the result. The application of a little water forms a crust upon the surface;
then, when it does rain, the water runs away, or is evaporated. If the soil is
light and porous and recently cult*vated, it is surprising to see how much good
even a sprinkle of rain will do; it soaks down to the right spot. It requires
an enormous amount of water to saturate the soil to a depth of six inches,
while the application of water in the shape of rain is much more beneficial
than when applied artificially.
Mr. N. Ohmer, Ohio, emphasized the importance of cultivating in drouth.
Several years ago they had it very dry, two months without rain. Had four
acres of Kittatinny blackberries ripening and continued to cultivate them while
picking. Had 562 bushels on the four acres, which sold for $3,000.
The valuable paper of Mr. Smith called out many questions which he
answered about as follows: He commenced underdraining twenty-five years
ago. If he was to omit any one of his remedies for drouth, did not know
which it would be. His father laid the first underdrain in the United States.
He uses for lateral drains two and one-half inch tiles; puts them three feet
deep, a dozen emptying into a six inch main. In draining orchards should lay
the drains half way between rows of trees and they would not become clogged ;
he expended about $15 per acre on his land, $10 for the tile, and $5 for laying
them. Whereupon Mr. Harrison of Ohio arose in great surprise and observed
that his tiling cost him never less than $45 per acre. A few words of explana-
tion showed that the latter gentleman paid more for his tile, laid them closer
together and deeper in the ground and used larger tile.
Mr. Matthew Crawford, Ohio, referred to the fact that it cost about as much
to dig the last foot of a three and a half foot ditch as all above, as an explana-
tion of the difference in cost of draining by Mr. Smith and Mr. Harrison.
Mr. Albaugh, Ohio, and Mr: Harrison both declared that in the future they
would lay nothing less than three inch tile. Frank Ford, Ohio, said small tile
will not fill up with silt as soon as large; the water is concentrated and flushes
out the silt. Would lay tile not less than three feet deep, and four feet would
be better. Has had experience showing favorable effects of ashes in drouth.
Mr. Harrison thought the flushing all theory, and would warn against trusting
136 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY,
to it. W.N. Cook, Michigan, said it depends on amount of water; in city sewers
it had been demonstrated that with small amount of water, small sewers will not
fill up as soon as larger. Mr. Caywood, New York, endorsed the theory. Mr.
Wheeler, Ohio, on clay loam, with heavy subsoil, has drains from one and a
half to six feet in depth, and uses tile from one and a half to six inches; the
former are too small, but has opened two inch tile, after they had been laid
many years, and found them all clear; has such drains thirty rods long. His
orehard is tiled between rows, thirty feet apart, and no trouble from clogging.
Prof. McKay, Mississippi, spoke of the benefit of tiles both in wet and dry
seasons. During the past wet summer, ensilage corn, tiled, grew luxuriantly,
while that not tiled turned yellow and stopped growing.
A gentleman said that many years ago he was in South Carolina, where the
Sea Island cotton was grown, and he advised draining the land. One man con-
tended it would ruin his loose soil to drain it; after. some years, however, he
concluded to try it, and the yield of cotton was increased from 150 pounds to
300 pounds per acre.
Prof. N. 8. Townsend of the Ohio University, greatly preferred small tile,
unless the drain was in a soil strongly impregnated with iron, when small tile
were likely to become clogged with the accumulation of the iron. He had an
apple orchard in which the trees stood two rods apart. There was a tile drain
three feet deep between the rows. The apple roots gaye no trouble. os nek = Soe ae 236 21
EF .72)p tt Tem ae cane lo tea me Pees Sie tea aa Sa 456 96
prntine, blanks and stationery. 2-2) eee es ko 29 95
Erp Iai Clee a Se Serta se Sse ee eae 80 00
Bret ETE Gis AO eee ee est oe hn A ees 2 Erk a 25 71
- SAR Sotelo) Melee ed SER Oe eet eee toh ee eee eae 101 07
192 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
lor vexcluamce geo! si34 0 dd Ee obs 8 Oats eS ee ee $7 00
local societien six iia or spk eas SOR! Soa ate es ie een dgeeg0)
incidentals, quarterly meetings. 222.2 i252 Sees Bee 52 €0
postage, secrotary’s: office lt £2222 ool Sse gee eee B5 94
empenses. of delerafes.2.25. 0) 262 Dy Aare ecg oo eee ee 32 80
PDO GA tre eet Screen Eke oS SUE OCT eel he had 2 ae eee $2,015 O04
Without regard to the money in the treasury at the opening of the year,.
which amount will appear in the report of the treasurer, it will be seen by the
above statements that our expenses have been larger by three hundred dollars.
than our income; and a significant fact appears in the above figures, that our
entire income from membership in State and local societies, is but $250.
Our society is looked upon to-day as the leading one, in many respects, im
our country, and not one, that I remember, has so small an income from its:
memberships. I do not wish to complain, but it does seem as if the work
done by our society is worthy of better support.
The main income which enables us to publish our report, and carry on the:
work of the society, comes from the efforts of a few individuals in making an
effective exhibit at the State fair, for which the pote receives pay from the
State Agricultural Society.
It may be thought that there may have been some ipa on the part of the
society, in importuning people to pay their dues, but if the postage account.
of the secretary’s office were carefully analyzed, there would be no question but
that people had been invited to do their duty.
The society has a serious problem to solve with reference to its support.
Hither it must curtail its work and hold one meeting in the year, with light.
expense, cease to assist in the maintenance of local societies, and simply pub-
lish a pamphlet with the vroccedings of its annual meeting, or else some
method of securing an income must be planned and carried out for the support.
of the broad work the society is doing.
Our society cannot be maintained at the front of all organizations of its
kind without the earnest, hearty, moral and financial support of our Michigan
people. There is not a month passes but I hear some one extol the success of
our society work, who has never paid one cent for its support. I trust this
annuai meeting will not disperse until some definite action is taken for the
solution of this problem.
Respectfully submitted,
Cuas. W. GARFIELD, Secretary.
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TREASURER.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the State Horticultural Society:
I have the honor to present to you my annual report:
(Mhere wasn the treasury Weel A, WSsastss seas Sls See eee eee $1,528 34
Received from State Agricultural Socieby=--- 2. =22_ = 52522522225: 1,200 00
Receivediitom! branch “Societies state = meee wee ee De eee i eee eee 206 75
Received from interest on notes, bonds and mortgages--------.---- 104 O01
Received from*annual: memberships=20 2422 °2" ses See ee eee 44 00
hecerved irom’ all: othersources 22255 22h cae ee eee oe 168 00
Mga ret 0 cuit 38 TX eed i ee ge 3,251 10
SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 193
Palate Checks sa eropabiie is = yess stern eee Pe ee SS cog ee $2,015 04
Balance im treasury Nov. 30, 1886....-------2---2---.- Poe tere he 77s (SK 15)
We have 202 life members and the fund is invested as follows:
PSV HEOUETMIOnLT Aa Stee Se a OL Sk TU sy Be - 1,000 00
vibe Mer MMOLU MARC etm. Aa sae Sire Ties Mae eee 300 00
MigseMlary: Jos Stearns mortgage Poo) ei oLo Laan ie SL ee 250 00
Jacopnsmellmorigage™ a) in. Veet se OG ORUL ue in 300 00
PLO csoree ncn Linen oes apes ES PE? Te eRe OE 150 00
PACHERO UUENEM ENT COPEL come et. eee RUBY: SORE Ee Ue OA Ale SUD aed $2,000 00
This leaves twenty dollars of the life fund in the treasury uninvested.
All of which is sub-nitted.
S. M. PEARSALL, Treasurer.
Grand Rapids, November 30, A. D. 1886.
On motion the above reports were accepted and in-so-far as they related to
the finances of the society, were referred to a committee consisting of OC. J.
Monroe of South Haven, J. N. Stearns, Kalamazoo, W. N. Cook, Grand
Rapids.
REPORT UPON EXHIBIT AT STATE FAIR,
The following report was read by the Secretary:
To the Executive Board of Michigan State Horticultural Society:
GENTLEMEN—Having received a very cordial invitation from you through
Pres. Lyon to serve you as judge on fruits at your State fair, and having
accepted it and performed the duties to the best of my ability, I deem it
proper to add a few words of comment supplemental to the report on awards.
Owing to the fact of your exhibition coming so near the time of our State
fair I hesitated in accepting it, but esteeming it quite an honor to receive such
an invitation, coming as it did from some of the best pomologists of the
country, and affording an opportunity of seeing and testing under favorable
conditions the famous fruits of Michigan, and of meeting Pres. Lyon, Sec-
retary Garfield and other noted fruit growers of your State, I could not refrain
from accepting the invitation and accordingly on the morning of the 14th of
September I reported for duty on the fair grounds at Jackson, having pre-
viously been furnished with a complimentary ticket through the kindness and
courtesy of Pres. Chamberlain of the Agricultural Society. While perform-
ing the work assigned to me it was my intention to have placed on record to
be printed with the list of awards, the reasons that led to the decisions in
awarding the several premiums, but owing to the pressure on me to serve on as
many of the various committees as possible, I was unable to doso and had to
leave it to others to attend to, which I trust was properly done.
In reference to the general exhibit of fruit I can truly say that no better
display has come under my observation at any of the State Fairs that I have
attended, and well may the citizens of Michigan feel proud of the work that
the State Horticultural Society is doing for the interests of horticulture and
the Agricultural Society are indeed fortunate in placing this department of
their fair under the management of such an efficient organization. From
20
194 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
my observation I know of no Agricultural Society that has succeeded in mak-
ing a creditable exhibit of fruit that has not called to its aid the Horti-
culturists of the State.
The systematic arrangement and classification of the fruits in such a
manner as to afford instruction to the public and lessen the labor of the
judges was very good, but one of the most important works of the society
under the leadership of Pres. Lyon, the correcting the nomenclature of the
fruits, was very plain to be seen. As far as I was able to judge I do not re-
member of ever seeing so large a collection of fruit where there were so few
mistakes in naming.
The display of grapes and plums was very fine, showing the adaptation of
soil and climate to the growing of these luscious fruits. The cultivation of
seedling grapes grown by Mr. Chidester contained some promising varieties,
one of which the committee deemed worthy of special notice and with the ad-
vice and consent of the originator it was honored with the name of your worthy
President Lyon. We hope it will be given a trial in other States and prove an
acquisition to our list of grapes.
The exhibition from the Agricultural College by Prof. Bailey was interest-
ing, especially the 70 varieties of tomatoes raised from seed obtained from
the different seedsmen of the country for the purpose of comparison and de-
tecting fraud. We notice some old varieties with new names.
I was sorry that for the lack of time I could not make a more careful
examination of the exhibit, and give a more detailed report.
I cannot close these brief remarks without expressing my appreciation of the
hearty reception given me and of the hospitable entertainment and the court-
eous, gentlemanly treatment and the warm fraternal feeling extended to me by
all with whom I had the pleasure of becoming acquainted.
Very Respectfully,
G. B. BRACKETT.
Denmark, Iowa, November, 1886.
THE EDUCATIONAL EXHIBIT.
Mr. A. G. Gulley, who was in charge of the educational exhibit at the late
State fair, submitted the following report:
To the Annual Meeting of the State Horticultural Society:
Division A, in my charge, was acollettion of varieties for educational pur-
poses. It was intended to have all parts of the State represented as far as
possible, but owing to lack of time, the superintendent of the division was
unable to visit other sections and arrange for exhibits to add to the collec-
tion, so but very few localities were represented very fully.
About 150 circulars were mailed to horticulturists and others in all parts
of the State, interested in the matter, stating the objects of the collection,
and asking contributions of anything that would add to the value of the
exhibit, calling especially for new or valuable varieties in the locality repre-
sented.
Replies were received from several, and nearly all promised assistance,
which in every case was rendered. Still, had the matter been laid person-
ally before the societies of the State, no doubt many additional valuable varie-
ties could have been placed on exhibition.
The collection, as placed on the table at the fair, consisted of about 200
>
SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 195
plates of fruit, and of nearly as many distinct varieties, embracing nearly all
the classes of fruit grown in the State.
The exhibit was used by many visitors to identify varieties, and by others
to make themselves familiar with new fruits.
About one-half of the collection was from the vicinity of South Haven,
and was collected by the superintendent of the exhibit. The next largest lot
was sent by the Lenawee horticultural society in charge of D. G. Edmiston.
These were both general collections, and the only ones. The collections em-
braced nearly all the standard varieties of apples and pears, and of peaches
and grapes in season; also a great many of the rarer sorts, as Mother, Dyer,
Shiawassee Beauty, Haas and other apples; Souvenir du Congress, Mt. Ver-
non, Keiffer, Le Conte pears; Brighton, Worden, Niagara, Lindley, Duchess,
Prentiss, Vergennes, White Ann Arbor grapes; Golden Drop and Switzer-
land peaches; and also several plates of odd fruits, berries, etc.
The rest of the exhibit was made up of individual contributions as fol-
lows: A fine collection of plums from W. R. Wadsworth of Lapeer. This
collection was a great surprise, as no such exhibit was looked for from that
part of the State. It embraced many of the standard and several of the
rarer varieties. The success that Mr. Wadsworth had in competing with the
exhibitors from the plum-growing part of the State seemed to have been a
surprise to them as well.
H. D. Cutting of Clinton sent six varieties of grapes, standard varieties,
but all showing how they should be grown.
Emil Baur of Ann Arbor furnished four varieties of white grapes, all
seedlings of Missouri raising, all fair sized bunches of fair quality, but small
berries.
E. H. Scott placed in the collection a plate of Woodruff grape, giving the
visitors a good chance to examine and test this, which seems to be a coming
market grape.
J. N. Stearns of Kalamazoo showed a plate of seedling peach, called Kal-
amazoo. It resembled the Late Crawford in form and color, but is a sprout
from Yellow Alberge, and its fruit buds have the hardiness of the Hill’s
Chili. Should this prove true in other localities, it will be very valuable.
David Woodward of Clinton furnished a fine basket of Duchesse pear.
Said he had bushels like it.
C. P. Chidester of Bellvue exhibited two plates of black grapes, seedlings
of Concord, much like the parent in appearance, but earlier, and perhaps of
better quality.
E. H. Reynolds of Monroe presented a seedling apple, in appearance and
season much like the Maiden’s Blush, of pleasant flavor, with him very hardy
and promises to be valuable.
Prof. L. H. Bailey of the Agr’] College added a collection of crab apples,
which embraced Gen. Grant, Blushing Maid, Haskell’s Blush and several
other odd, and some seemingly valuable varieties, for those sections that need
to grow crab apples.
For the first effort to make a collection of the kind, the society has reason
to be grateful with its success, and could the society spare the means neces-
sary to have the several parts of the State canvassed before the fair, a very
complete and valuable collection might be placed on exhibition. This is
the more necessary now as competing collections are limited to a few varie-
ties of particular value for the purpose exhibited; and there is no other
196 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
means to become familiar with odd, rare or new varieties, which exhibitors:
could not place in competition. -
AG. GUE,
Superintendent of Division A.
The above reports with reference to the annual exhibit were referred to
the secretary for publication. The reports having been disposed of, the
meeting proceeded to the first discussion upon the programme, upon the
general topic ‘‘ Intensive Horticulture;’’ the discussion being opened with a.
paper upon
FEWER ACRES OF SMALL FRUIT—MORE FRUIT TO THE ACRE.
BY P. C. REYNOLDS, ROCHESTER, N. Y.
Very general complaint has come from nearly all sections of the country
where small fruits are produced for market, that prices the past season were
unremunerative. Such being the case, one of two alternatives seems to be
indicated, namely: The reduction of volume of products or the diminution
of its cost. It is a very difficult matter for fruit growers, scattered as they
are over a wide area, to combine to reduce production. The orderly opera-
tion of the laws of trade and production have a tendency to diminish pro-
duction when exercised, but combination rarely does. The prices of small:
fruits are destined, I believe, to rule low in the future, and growers will be
wise to adapt their business to that condition of things. With unlimited
land and labor for production, the amount produced will be likely to increase:
quite as fast as population. The other alternative is cheaper production.
The proper way to cheapen production, in my opinion, is by producing more
per acre. Every grower can do this for himself without the necessity of
combination or co-operation.
Small-fruit growing used to be considered a branch of horticulture. Re-
cently many have conducted it as if it belonged to agriculture. The result
is not surprising. The horticulturist aims to grow large quantities of pro-
duce on small areas of land by means of heavy manuring and high culture:
The agriculturist spreads his operations over broad areas of soil which he cul-
tivates enough to enable the roots of crops to spread through the soil, with-
out serious obstruction, in search of adequate supplies of suitable food, and
to prevent weeds froin obtaining such growth as to overcome the plants he is
seeking togrow. ‘The horticulturist seeks a small tract of garden soil, near
a town or city, where he can have an abundance of fertilizers, laborers of
the right kind, and where proximity to market enables him to deliver his
products, from day to day, fresh to consumers.
Now, it seems to me that too many small-fruit growers have, within a few
years, come to adopting the methods of the agriculturist rather than those
of the horticulturist. They have planted their fruits in fields instead of
gardens; they have manured as if for farm rather than garden crops, and
they have cultivated after the manner of farmers rather than as gardeners
cultivate. Moreover, many have located remote from town, subjecting them-
selves to quite a tax in transporting their fruits to market and in transport-
ing their laborers to and from their labor. Let the farmer stick to farm
crops, and they who are fitted by nature, tastes, and training for horticul-
turists grow small fruits. This, I think, is the natural order of things, and
to this, I believe, we shall be obliged to come.
SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 19%
Can it be proved that growing the same quantities of fruits on smaller
areas of land will reduce their cost? I think it can. Let us first take
strawberries, the fruit in which the grower now sinks the most money. We
will say that 200 bushels per acre is a possible crop of strawberries. I have
known much larger crops grown, but we will take 200 bushels for our dem-
onstration. I do not believe that the average yield, in the way they are gen-
erally grown, is over fifty bushels per acre. Suppose that a grower of straw-
berries cultivates so as to grow on one acre what he now grows on four, does
any ivtelligent horticulturist believe that the berries would cost so much per
uart?
i To start with, the rent of three acres would be saved. At alow estimate
this would amount to $24 inthe cost of 200 bushels. It would neither re-
‘quire the same amount of maure or iabor to grow 200 bushels on one acre
that it would on four acres—one-half of each would be aliberal allowance. If
20 two-horse loads of barnyard manure to the acre is generally applied under
the present system, I think forty loads would answer under the approved
system, thus saving forty loads, worth $40, in the 200 bushels.
The cultivator of one acre would probably plow deeper, and pulverize
much finer, expending about as much labor in preparing the one acre for
planting as the farmer does in preparing four acres. Only one-fourth the
number of plants, however, would be required. If we plant three feet by
eighteen inches it would take 9,680 plants to set one acre—three times the
number, or 29,040 would be saved. At $2.50 per thousand, these would
amount to $72.60. In planting the strawberries I suppose that about one-
half the time would be expended on the one acre that is ordinarily devoted
on large plantations, to four acres, and about half the labor in cultivating,
hoeing, weeding, and clipping runners. It is not practicable to make a very
close estimate of the value of the labor saved, as different tracts of land dif-
fer so much in the amount of labor required to keep them clean and mellow,
and the same grounds require so much more labor in a wet than in a dry
season. ‘Taking an average of seasons, we will say that it would take four
days’ work to clean an acre of the larger plantation, and that it would need
cleaning four times before the first crop is grown. That would be sixty-four
days for four acres, which at $1.50 per day would amount to $96. It would
be fair to estimate that half of the $48 would be saved in labor, by our plan
of intensive culture.
When we come to the picking I think all will agree that it would cost not
more than half as much to pick 200 bushels from one acre as from four. If
it costs two cents per quart for picking, on the larger plot, it could be done
for one cent on the smaller, and this saving of one cent per quart, or $64 on
200 bushels, would afford a moderate profit on an acre. We have figured
out savings as follows:
ABET ON GEO Tel arid ery: ores ee ween? 22 eae sede) TS ES he eeu or eRe Re | $ 24 00
SOT) CERES TATE gs ale ae ae SN ee ee id ae, sp SOW a Rank eae eee Pal Ra ie AB ik 8 hes | on 40 00
AES Ee GSS eer eas se eae en Oe eee RE, See Le See e me ee eae, Sees 3D! 72 60
Ingen lire 5. ee ee ee ee eek tee Se Serene ae PSTD ay hat Be NS. Beet! soe Se eRe eS 48 00
AIC Kin a ee a age ete ee ee ee, - Sedat See 2009 15° Ey st NO Oa ee he SE Phy ge 2 64 00
UGH: Sap SA Me is hah Seen ess ha BORAT Ah ee een tO eek Se Pee PRN Ae oo Ne ee es $248 60
This in 200 bushels, or nearly four cents per quart. If the agricultural
strawberry grower comes out about even by growing strawberries by farmers’
198 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
methods, the horticultural grower might make a few cents per quart at the
reduced cost.
Very likely considerably more can be done in cheapening production by
intensive culture in strawberries than in other small fruits, but the same
principle holds goodinall. It is quite doubtful whether plantations of black |
raspberries, covering from 40 to 80 acres, yield upon an average more than
50 bushels per acre. Yet 150 bushels are a possible yield. By cultivating so:
as to produce the latter amount you save the rent of two acres, the value of
nearly 5,000 plants, and quite a sum in manure and labor. Raspberries
planted six feet by three require 2,420 plants to the acre. To grow 150
bushels, 4,800 quarts, on those plants, every hill must yield about two
quarts. There must be no vacancies and every hill must contain quite a
number of strong, vigorous canes, and every cane must be productive. Such
results can only be achieved by thorough intensive culture.
The same methods would undoubtedly result in cheapening production of
blackberries, currants, and grapes. I have visited a great many small-fruit
farms during the last fifteen years, and the difference in yields where slack,
partial culture and high, thorough culture were followed, was too apparent
to permit a doubt as to which resulted in most profit.
In continuance of the discussion the following letter was read by the
secretary:
Mr. Chas. W. Garfield :
Dear Srr—If the subject “Intensive Methods in Horticulture,’’ is to be
treated by the accomplished editor of American Rural Home it cannot be
doubted that it will receive full justice at his hands; but as you invite short
remarks on any of the topics entered for discussion at your meeting I beg to:
be allowed to state my conviction that the successful horticulture of the
future must have an extensive side as well as an intensive one.
The successful production of fruits and vegetables alone does not neces-
sarily make horticulture, as a profession, a success. The conversion of the
already produced article into money is often the more important and gener-
ally the more difficult part of horticulture.
The creative branch of horticulture, in order to be made profitable, should
be carried on entirely on the intensive plan. In the present era of low
prices the cost of production has to be cut down correspondingly. It will
not do any more to spread a one-acre effort over a twenty-acre lot, as the
result is not in keeping with the amount and expense of land. Hence the
horticulturist, to be successful, must resort to high feeding and thorough
cultivation, using a full one acre ration of manure and a plump one acre
ration of labor on each one acre of land, thus enabling him to grow at the
smallest possible expense, crops which are somewhat in proper relation to.
the capabilities of the soil.
In conducting the mercantile branch of horticulture we should also have
an eye to cutting down expenses wherever practicable; this, however, can
be done in the fullest measure only by adopting the extensive method.
Heretofore we have been buying tools, fertilizers and other supplies at the
highest retail rates, and selling our produce at lowest wholesale rates less two
or three middlemen’s commission. This thing must stop, or the horticul-
turist’s honest labor will not receive its just reward. If we are compelled to
sell at wholesale rates we must also buy at wholesale. How can this be done?
A “Fruit Growers’ Union”’ is needed in every locality. A few are in.
SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 199
existence even now and seem to work to the satisfaction of all concerned.
An appointed agent, chosen from among their own number, attends to the
buying of supplies—tools, fertilizers, groceries, etc.—as well as to the selling
of the members’ products, makes arrangements with the railroads and express
companies for lowest rates, selling directly to the retailer, etc., hence
marketing cheaper and obtaining better prices.
Iam well aware that there are difficulties which often prevent the estab-
lishment and working of such unions; but these difficulties are not unsur-
mountable. The subject is one of the utmost importance to every fruit
grower. I can only express the hope that it will be thoroughly discussed at
your meeting and that this discussion will bring us many valuable and prac-
tical suggestions. With best wishes for the success of the meeting, I remain
Yours respectfully,
TiIwsco GREINER,
Editor Orchard and Garden.
Thomas L. Brown, a successful market gardener of Grand Rapids, said:
If anyone should oppose the intensive system of horticulture, he would be:
an enemy of the soil, of his own pocket and of the welfare of the community
at large. A high system of gardening or farming is better in a thousand
ways than the cultivation of many acres at the expense of proper tillage.
I will not pretend to show the thousand superior ways to-night, but will sat-
isfy you better with the brevity of a few remarks in favor of a little farm
well tilled.
In the first place it is our greatest safeguard against the attacks and.
increase of insect life, and for this one reason should commend itself to all;
it is preferred because it enables us to take more from half the space, and few
men there are who oppose working five acres well when assured of the same:
returns they would receive from ten done in the ordinary way. We will
take one acre of a sandy-loam nature, manured and plowed for potatoes ;:
there should be a good crop, but as the land is required for gardening pur--
poses it must be prepared rapidly. If early potatoes were planted they
would come off in time to manure the lot again and sowrye. This should
be done early so that the rye can make a large growth before winter. Dur-
ing the winter months we will manure it heavily again. In the spring it
will be no easy task to bury rye and manure; two men besides the plowman
are required to do the work. After it is plowed ashes or superphosphate
can be sown broadcast; then harrow, and the lot is ready for cabbage, cauli-
flower, early corn, squashes, asparagus, and many other crops. This fair
condition of the soil has been brought about in one year; the acre has
received five dressings in thirteen months, besides growing acrop. What-
ever occupies the soil, the second year, should there be time, prepare again
the same as the previous year, plowing a little deeper each time. Three
years of such treatment, with good cultivation and disintegration of the
manure going on, aided by the rye roots, and we find the land rich enough
for onions. From now on lighter dressings will answer; expenses are less
and receipts are larger, showing plainly the necessity of capital and energy
during the first few years to handle the land properly and proving that
establishment for tillers of the soil is the only way to get the equivalent of
their labor. No man can afford to prepare land in the way I have mentioned
and allow weeds to grow; so the more he does to the soil to enrich it the:
harder he will contend with the weeds that are so anxious to show what they
200 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
can do. No one could afford to buy broadcloth to wear in a slaughter-house,
but even that would be economy compared with letting weeds grow and go
to seed on our best prepared soils. My grandfather used to say, ‘One
year’s seeding makes seven years’ weeding.” I don’t know whether it was an
original saying, but I have proved its truth and concluded that strictly clean
culture must be practiced before we can claim we are living up to an inten-
sive system of horticulture.
As regards earliness in the maturity of crops our rich soil is always first,
thus bringing the produce to a better market. Looking at the loss side
which is inevitable, resulting from the elements, I should put frost first.
As I have already stated, the frequent and thorough working of the land is
death to insect life; and Iam going to show you how to provide against
drought. It is simply the rye I have been talking about; plowed under in
the spring, it decays, gradually furnishing moisture to the crops and aiding
the manure plowed under with it. Cabbages require a great deal of moist-
ure. I have in mind a half-acre of that crop where every one headed,
through the most protracted drought I remember. It was the early part of
last summer. ‘The sole reason of success lay in the moisture of the decaying
rye; the land was sandy. Such a sure and cheap mode of sub-irrigation
should be practiced to a much greater extent than it is. In the compara-
tively arid parts of these United States a more thorough test of the intensive
system of horticulture can be given and its possibilities made more clear in
consequence of the necessity of a proper system of irrigation. With an
unlimited supply of water at our command to turn upon a crop when needed
there is little risk about reaping abundantly. It is not likely that we in this
region will irrigate except in a small way, although there is not a season
that passes but that the plan commends itself to us with the accompanying
knowledge of a rapid growth of crops; so, to get the utmost from mother
earth, we must add to our labors a surety of moisture for the crops. Then,
and not until then, will we know the producing capacity of one acre.
S. D. Willard, a prominent nurseryman and fruit grower of Geneva, N. Y.,
told how he got valuable ideas about fertilization from a lecture he once
heard from Prof. Kedzie at one of thissociety’s meetings. It led him to buy
two car loads of wood ashes at a cost of $400. He gave his quince dressings
of this manure two years in succession, and produced thereby fruit that
brought $3.75 per keg in the Philadelphia market when the ordinary price
was $1.75 to $2. Similar results followed from plum and pear trees. In
1885 his Keiffer pears brought him $7.50 per barrel in Detroit, and this year
$1.50 more than that. He had paid what to some would seem fabulous sums
for manures, but they have all returned to him ten-fold. It does not pay to
employ labor upon poor or unfertilized soil. Later, replying to a question,
Mr. Willard said the quality of late pears depends very much upon the
method of ripening and care. He sometimes had ripened the Clairgeau
and had it really excellent, and again about like a turnip. Again, much is
due to seasons and localities. The Keiffer pear is said to be much better in
New York than in New Jersey. Tastes for pears differ very widely, hence
he would not decry any of the established kinds.
President Lyon thus constituted the regular committees:
On Exhibit of Apples and Pears.—J. N. Stearns of Kalamazoo, W. A.
Brown of Benton Harbor, Thomas Wilde of Coopersville.
Sub-tropical and Other Fruits.—S. D. Willard of Geneva, N. Y.; D. L.
Garver of Oceana county; E. H. Scott of Ann Arbor.
SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 201
Plants and Flowers.—Prof. L. H. Bailey of Lansing, Mrs. L. D. Putnam
and Mrs. W. N. Cook of Grand Rapids.
Resolitions.—Prof. W. J. Beal of Lansing, C. A. Sessions of Oceana
county, A. G. Gulley of South Haven.
Paintings.—N. L. Avery of Grand Rapids, Prof. M. Miles of Lansing, C.
J. Monroe, South Haven.
After the announcements for Wednesday’s sessions the convention
adjourned.
Wednesday Morning Session.
By Wednesday morning the exhibit which occupied the banquet hall just
adjoining the parlors was all in place and attracted a large measure of
attention.
One table held a brilliant display of chysanthemums, sixty or more
specimens and nearly as many varieties. These were accompanied by several
rare ferns and some begonias, cacti, etc., the whole being from Henry Smith
of Grand Rapids.
In the fruit show were twelve plates of apples from EK. Chase Phillips of
Walker; thirteen from Wm. K. Emmons of Wyoming; seven from Henry
Smith of Walker; eight from T. W. Crosby of Cadillac, and four from the
orchard of Dr. 8. B. Smith of Ohio, grown near Grand Rapids, by Mr.
Plume.
A. J. Brown, 18 North Division Street, Grand Rapids, occupied a long
table with a large and attractive show of popcorn, onions, honey, cran-
berries, grapes and tropical fruits tastefully arranged.
Herrick & Randall’s exhibit of commercial canned fruits in glass, Niagara
(home grown) and Catawaba grapes, with other tropical and preserved fruits,
was extremely meritorious in arrangement and quality.
As curiosities, J. Albert Hovey, a local florist, showed a branch (with
leaves and fruit) of black pepper and a sprig of Chilian pine, both grown in
Los Angeles, Cal. The pine sprig in appearance resembled closely the
foliage of ferns.
S. D. Willard of Geneva, N. Y., was the only exhibitor of pears. He had
four sorts, Lawrence, Winter Nelis, Josephine D. Malines and Keiffer.
W. K. Emmons of Byron Center, showed three sorts of onions, good in
size and condition. \
The apples showed a much greater degree of ripeness than they should at
this season. The cause of this was the warm weather of last fall, which
ripened them prematurely.
The room was bedecked with a large number of oi] paintings of fruits and
flowers. Most of these are by Mys. P. Clements Taber, but Mrs. Ellen
Wilson had two pieces, hollyhocks and marguerites, and E. Morris Ball had
a loan exhibit of seven pieces.
The first business of the morning was the election of officers. A com-
mittee on nominations, Messrs. J. N. Stearns, C. J. Monroe, W. A. Brown,
Benton Gebhardt, T. W. Crosby, and John Sailor, made a report, which
was adopted, each nominee being balloted for and receiving almost every
vote. The choice was:
26
202 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
President, T. T. Lyon, of South Haven; secretary, Charles W. Garfield,
of Grand. Rapids; treasurer, 8. M. Pearsall, of Grand Rapids; members of
executive committee, W. K. Gibson, of Jackson, H. W. Davis, of Lapeer.
Pending the report of the nominating committee, discussion was begun
upon the question,
ARE MICHIGAN APPLES DETERIORATING.
President Lyon—They are deteriorating. Probably there is not more than
one in twenty growers but are impoverishing their land.
Prof. Bailey—The increasing age of the orchards may acccount for ‘it.
H. H. Scott—The apples certainly are deteriorating. We can no longer
grow Hsopus spitzenberg, fall pippen, Newtown pippin, or bellflower.
President Lyon said many reasons conduced to this. Growth from year
to year in untoward conditions, the increasing age of trees, tend to deterior-
ation. Yet in some particulars there is improvement, as increase in age of
trees gives better flavor and keeping qualities, and it is a question where
the balance of gain or loss would fall.
The following note was read from B. W. Steere of Adrian:
I had wished and intended to write something on the question touching
the deterioration of some old varieties of apples, but can only say here that
I cannot agree with those who lay it mainly to insects, but believe that
exhaustion of the soil—may we not say the almost complete destruction of
some of the prime elements of successful fruit culture—has had more to do
with it than any other cause. Deep, black strong clays are the exception in
our State, and our light sands and gravels cannot stand for forty or fifty
years the constant draft of exhausting grain, grass, and root crops. Suc-
cess with farm crops on such soils may be secured with the help of stable
manure, clover and plaster. Not altogether so, however, with fruit. Those:
of us who can look back fifty or sixty years know that most of our unculti-
vated lands were burnt over nearly every year, so that ashes made from
leaves, grass, bushes, decayed wood, bark, etc., were abundant. It is also
true that in many places particles of limestone were freely mixed with our
sands and gravels. Assuming that these, and probably other important ele-
ments in fruit culture, have been worked out of our land a partial remedy
at least should be plain to all.
With us the Newtown pippin was one of the first to suffer, and experiments
with that variety suggested that more lime might be the great need. Under
medium sized trees that were bearing imperfect fruit, Dr. Bailey spread (to
each) a bushel of stone lime, and within a year or so exhibited fine apples
from them. He even claimed that trees hmed only on one side bore much
better apples on that side. I am aware that it isclaimed that the Newtown
needs more lime than others, but can you prove it, or may it not with the
help of other defectssuccumb the quicker for want of it? Some of our horti-
culturists want to drop these good old kinds from our premium lists. Rather
might it not assist in finding what is the matter to double the premium, and
thus possibly help in restoring the old favorites? Think, for instance, of
losing the EK. spitzenberg, where should we go to find its equal for cooking?
W. K. Gibson: If the first apples were good, and the climate is not differ-
ent, we should seek the adyerse influences in the soils, and there we may find
why apples deteriorate, if they do.
S. M. Pearsall would set spitzenbergs, were he to plant an orchard to-day..
SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 203
Insects are more numerous and we cannot expect as good results from old trees,
but when proper care is given we can do as well as ever.
8. D. Willard: It is well known that quicklime isin no sense a manure,
but like salt it sets us free and makes available certain elements. With destruc-
tion of the forests and other causes, fungus diseases haye wonderfully increas-
ed. The thin-skinned sorts were first to suffer. The wheat, sheep and cattle
that Michigan has sent to market have carried off the phosphoric acid which
the fruit so much needs. The needed elements have been taken from the soil.
Restore these and you will again be able to grow fine apples, even of the thin-
skinned kind.
Mr. Lyon controverted the claim that the climate remains the same. Sixty
years ago he began to grow apples and peaches in Michigan, and winter-killing
was unknown. ‘This began in the fifties and has continued. We cannot
expect trees to maintain vigor under such circunstances, even though the soil
be all right.
Prof. W. H. Ragan of DePaau university, Indiana, said similar conditions
of deterioration of the apple exist in that State. The Winesap, however, had
once lost condition and recovered it.
Mr. Lyon said the same had occurred to the White Doyenne pear, and
maintained that varieties are not of themselves losing quality.
Prof. Bailey: We have two methods of propagation—by seeds and by scions.
The latter will reproduce absolutely and always, but the product of seeds often
deteriorates, and there is a constant tendency in that direction. This is over-
come by cross-fertilization, which is always going on. ‘There are many varieties
of greenings, because seeds of the original and some of its product have been
used, instead of scions, for propagation, while the Baldwin, for opposite rea-
sons, remains singular and pure. Then, there is tendency toward deterioration
in each plant.
There is a difference in character between apples upon the upper side and those
beneath upon the same tree. Scions taken from underneath make variations
of variety but this is notdeterioration. Sorts have not gone backward, but have
been superseded by better kinds. Replying to a question, Prof. Bailey said it
was undecided as to the effect of stocks upon the fruit of scions. There is
often a mechanical influence, dwarfing or magnifying the growth of the scion;
but there are only a few cases, and they not well authenticated, of change in
character of fruit.
W. H. Parmelee, of Allegan county, said he found that apples that did
well in Ohio 30 years ago, were not successful here; but those he found good
at first he was able still to grow in perfection.
Capt. W. L. Coffinberry showed a very small apple of a kind which is
found growing in the forests about Burt lake, Cheboygan county. They are
palatable and are good cookers. Some presume them to haye sprung from
seeds scattered by earily French voyagers. He said he saw in 1856, in James-
town, Ottawa county, after a winter when the mercury went to 34 degrees
below, a peach orchard bending under a load of fruit.
Discussion shifted to methods of combating the codling moth. W. A.
Brown, of Benton Harbor, said growers in that vicinity had for three years
practiced spraying the apple trees with Paris green with great success.
Sprayed on just after the blossoms fall, the poison seems to kill off the brood
of moths that survives the winter. This brood is small, comparatively,
the main damage being done by the later hatchings. The effect has certainly
204 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY,
been marvelous in making apples perfect, even when the adjoining orchards
were not treated—showing that the moths migrate but little.
W. H. Parmelee used London purple this year and had more perfect apples
than for years, nor so free from codling moth, some being almost wholly
sound. ‘There is danger of injury to trees by use of too strong solution. He
uses one pound to 50 gallons of water, but half the quantity is sufficient. The
mixture was benificial also upon cherry trees.
W. N. Cook spoke of the danger to the operator. Do not allow the spray
to be blown back against you. Kerosene emulsion is said to be much better.
Prof. Ragan: Prof. Riley’s position is that the emulsion is preferable. It is
made of 75 per cent of oil, 25 of soft soap, to one gallon of water.
S. D. Willard: It requires more skill to use the emulsion without injury to
the trees than to use Paris green. ‘Three ounces to 40 gallons of wuter is a
sufficient quantity, but the powder is often adulterated and so is of variable
strength. I have used it upon pears also, while the blossom ends were upward,
with good effect. Keep to windward of the spray and wear gloves lest the
poison enter wounds upon the hands.
Mr. Cook: If the emulsion is perfect it remains uniform when diluted, but
if the union of the ingredients is not perfect injury is likely to result.
The question ‘‘What amount of Paris green is necessary?” elicited replies of
“a level tablespoonful to a tobacco pail of water,” and “a rounding teaspoon-
ful to two gallons of water.”
In continuance of the discussion the author read the following paper:
UPON WHAT DOES THE FUTURE SUCCESS OF APPLE GROWING DEPEND
BY J. N. STEARNS, OF KALAMAZOO.
To my mind the success and profit in apple growing in the future will
depend upon the same points that the successful growing of all other fruits
will, and I think they may be summed up under the following heads: judi-
cious selection of varieties; proper planting of the same on soils adapted to
the varieties; thorough cultivation (including fertilization) ; protection from
insects; and putting on the market only first-class perfect fruit. Under the
first head I may say that I doubt if one orchard in a hundred is now planted
with varieties adapted to the location and soil. I know of many orchards
of from two to five hundred trees that not one-fourth of them are of varieties
that have proved profitable. The owners of such orchards at once pronounce
apple growing a failure, when if the three-fourths had been planted to varie-
ties adapted to his soil, and the other points mentioned carried out, that five
acre orchard would prove more profitable, in one year with another, than
five times the same ground devoted to any other farm crop.
Under the subject of cultivation I will pass with but very few remarks, as
I believe that it is pretty generally understood at this time, that to have a
good orchard, it is necessary to give good cultivation, for a few years at least.
It may be well, when an orchard is old enough to commence bearing, to seed
down for a year or two, but I am satisfied that cultivation is as necessary in
a bearing apple as a peach orchard, to get good smooth fruit, and especially,
in a dry season. Much of our knotty, scabby fruit is due to the want of
cultivation.
Protection from insects, I believe, is the one important thing to be
attended to, to make the future of apple growing profitable. The masses
SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 205
never will attend properly to this, thus the orchardist that attends faithfully
to this branch of culture, so as to be able to put perfectly sound fruit on the
market, can command good remunerative prices. To illustrate, in our
market at the present time, the bulk of fruit brought in has to be sold for
about forty cents per bushel, while the same varieties properly cared for,
and well selected in putting up, bring two dollars per barrel at wholesale,
and retail at two dollars fifty cents. At these prices, and the present prices
for other farm crops, it would seem that the outlook was good for the proper
care of the apple.
In regard to marketing, the time has come, with all fruits in this State,
when it is necessary to give special thought and care to the way fruit is put
on the market, to make it profitable, and in the future, this feature will re-
quire closer study. Our large markets, like Chicago and other large distrib-
uting points, have been glutted most of the time the past season with poor
fruits. The consequence was that prices ruled low, and many claim the
prices received did not pay. This was tha case with other fruits as well as
with apples; but on inquiry you will learn that those who have a reputation
established for shipping only first-class fruit were able to realize very fair
prices for their fruit. I heard one man say, who is a large apple grower,
that he had all the orders he could fill at two dollars per barrel, while many
found it difficult to get one dollar. A reputation to command the extra.
prices is not established in one year, but in the persistent sticking to this
idea of placing on the market only strictly choice fruit.
I have been engaged in the fruit business, more or less, for twenty years,
and I have as much faith in it to-day as I ever had. I believe the apple
grower of the future, who adheres closely to these suggestions, will be well
repaid, both for what is put on the market and for private use.
W. A. Brown: We are advancing in our ability to cope with the disadvan-
tages in apple growing, and I believe it is in the future to be one of the
most reliable and profitable branches of horticulture. As to marketing, the
great point is in selecting and honest packing. Mr. Brown told of the
formation of a fruit exchange at Benton Harbor, the members of which use
a stamp bearing their names and addresses, guaranteeing honest packing
and good quality. It has proved advantageous in profits.
At this juncture a note was read from J. W. Van Deman, of Benzonia, urg-
ing that where orchards are planted the land be given up to the business of
growing the trees and not be expected to grow a crop of grain each year and
do well by the trees, too. He gave several striking illustrations in his own
neighborhood, showing the bad effects of grain crops upon the growth of
trees. The closing paper of the forenoon was upon
THE PLEASANT ART OF GRAFTING.
BY CHARLES S. CRANDALL, AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE.
There is a large class of plants, including all our fruits, many flowering
plants, roses, and double-flowering plants, that, propagated from seed, lose
their valuable qualities; they tend to revert back to some wild and worthless
ancestor. This tendency to reversion was understood long ago. Virgil
says: ‘* The tree again that is raised from fallen seed grows up slowly, so
as to form a shade for late posterity, and its fruits degenerate, forgetting
their former juices.”’
206) io? STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
Plants that have this tendency must be multiplied in some other way, and
the one other way is by means of buds—by grafting or budding. Grafting
as a means of propagation can be applied to most trees, and its chief use is
in the perpetuation of valuable varieties of fruit, peculiar beauties in orna-
mental shrubs, and the many wonderful productions of the gardener in the
way of the double or otherwise abnormally developed flower.
The art is regarded by many as being enveloped in mystery, as being hard
to learn, and difficult to execute. This is not the case as far as the practice
of the art as adapted to the ordinary necessities of the farmer or fruit
grower is concerned. True, a certain degree of mechanical skill is required
to properly cut a cion and so adjust it to the stock as to insure success; but
this requisite skill can be acquired by anyone who has the desire to learn
and is willing to take the knife in his own hand and devote a little time to
practice. There are certain principles which must be understood, and some
knowledge of the relationship of plants to each other is necessary to success-
ful practice. The principles are easily learned, and intelligent observation
will supply the rest of all that is requisite for the ordinary use of the art.
The limits within which plants can be grafted is still a problem, and one
well worthy of experiment and study. The laws of the affinity of species
are not well known, and the anomalous results of many grafting experi-
ments only serve to show how wide and interesting this field for research is.
It can be stated as a law that no plants can be made to unite as a stock and
cion, that do not belong to the same natural order. Plants of different
genera of the same order will in some cases unite, and as we come to the
nearer relationship of plants of different species of the same genus we find
greater affinities, and greater willingness to take the one with the other.
There must be similarity in the structure of tissues, and in the workings of
the vital organs of the plants. In many cases when one plant will not suc-
ceed upon another the cause can be directly traced to some physiological dif-
ference, as in the case of the platanus-leaved maple, which, it is said, will
not receive cions of maples of other species; here there is an observable dif-
ference in the sap. In many other cases no cause of failure can be assigned.
Why certain varieties of pears do better on quince stocks than on seedlings,
and other varieties do better on seedlings than on the quince, is not easily
accounted for. The pear will take on the apple, but does not thrive, and
the union is short-lived. De Candolle mentions the grafting of the lilac on
the ash and the fringe tree on the lilac, all plants of the same order, but of
different genera. We find the necessary affinity existing between the apple
and the crab, and the peach and the plum, hence they unite readily; but
it does not exist between the apple and the plum, nor the rose and the thorn,
and they can not be made to take.
The ancient writers, Varro, Virgil, Columella and Pliny, while giving
minute and generally correct rules for all the mechanical operations of
grafting would have no limitation.
Columella says: ‘‘ Every kind of cion may be ingrafted into every kind of
tree if it is not unlike in its bark to that into which it is ingrafted, but if it
brings forth fruit also at the same time it may be ingrafted very safely,
without any scruple.’’ After describing three kinds of grafting, which he
says ‘‘the ancients have taught us’ (viz., cleft grafting, crown grafting and
budding), he describes a fourth method (inarching), which he claims to
have invented, and by which ‘‘ everybody may graft any kind of cion they
SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 207
‘please upon all sorts of trees.’? Evelyn in his ‘‘ Pomona,’’ in commenting
on Columella’s claim to the invention of this method of inarching says, ‘it
was no news to Varro who wrote two hundred years before Columella.’’
From the fact that Varro was born in the year 116 B. C. this tends to show
how very ancient the art of grafting is.
Virgil and Pliny wrote of apples on the plane tree, chestnuts on beeches,
and oaks on elms, and these erroneous notions have been repeated by other
writers down to a comparatively recent period. The earliest objection to
the theory of grafting ‘‘ any kind of cion on all sorts of trees,’’ I am able to
find is in Sir Hugh Platt’s work ‘‘ The Garden of Eden,’’ published in 1659,
-and his objection is only in reference to the apple, plum and pear. Evelyn
in his ‘‘ Pomona,’’ published in 1706, follows Sir Hugh. I quote from the
<“Pomona’’: ‘‘ And here we note from Palladius, that the ancients had the
success which we all, and particularly Sir H. Platt does so frequently deny,
as in the particular of grafting the apple on the pear, and contra. Let us
hear him, de Pomo.’’
“The graffed crab its bushy head does rear,
Much meliorating the inserted pear;
Its self to leave its wilderness does invite,
And in a nobler issue to delight.”
Prof. Thouin, of Paris, has been long engaged in making experiments in
grafting. He says that plants, widely apart in character, may sometimes
appear to take, but they all perish more or less promptly. This subject of
limitation is one of the important parts of practical horticultural science: it
is not subject to general laws, and stands an open question awaiting study
and experiment. The influence of cion on stock and stock on cion is a topic
for me to pass lightly over. I know nothing of it, and, after studying the
literature of the subject, | am in confusion over opposite results and antago-
nistic theories. I think it will be safe to say (as of the subject of limitation)
little is known concerning it. Examples of a reciprocal influence between
stock and cion are not wanting, but the reasons deduced leave the impression
that here too is an open field for investigation. Lord Bacon says: ‘‘ The
compounding or mixture of kinds in plants is not found out, * * * wherefore,
it were one of the most noble experiments touching plants to find it out; for
so you may have great variety of new fruits, and flowers yet unknown, graft-
ing doth it not. That mindeth the fruit or doubleth the flowers, but it hath
not the power to make a new kind, for the cion ever over-ruleth the stock.”’
Phillip Miller, author of the ‘‘Gardener’s Dictionary,’’ is decided in his
statement that the fruit is influenced by the nature of the stock. He says:
<< Crab stocks cause apples to be firmer, to keep longer, and to have a sharper
flavor.”? He is also authority for the statement that gritty and stony fruit
results from grafting the breaking pear on quince stocks, while the melt-
ing pears are improved on the same stocks. We graft the apple on the para-
dise stock to dwarf it, and for the same purpose the pear is grafted on the
quince. The mountain ash grows more rapidly when grafted on thorn than
on its own roots. In these cases the stock is the smaller tree, but in the case
of the mountain ash the result is reversed, and instead of dwarfing an in-
crease in size occurs.
The examples of change in size, color, and flavor of fruit by grafting are
numerous. Mr. Knight cites an instance of taking two cions from the same
apricot tree, grafting one upon an apricot, and the other upon a plum.
208 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
Both fruited, and the first varied so as to appear two distinct varieties, and
from his remark that the apricot does best on its own roots we infer that the
plum stock exercised a degenerating influence. Mr. Knight also conducted
experiments from which he concludes that the condition of the parent tree
has much to do with the success of the cion: thus, a cion taken from a very
young tree will grow vigorously, but will not blossom, while a cion from a.
very old tree fruits at once, but will not make a healthy tree.
The first consideration in the every-day practice of the art is to give atten-
tion to the relationship of the plants, that their natures may be sufficiently
alike to insure their union. If different stocks are available for the cions.
you wish to propagate, estimate their probable advantages and choose the
one that gives the best promise of serving the particular purpose. Observe
all points of resemblance and difference as to size attained, style of growth
and time of starting into growth; note the healthiness and vigor of the
stock and the plumpness and ripeness of the cion. Attention to all these
points will add to the successes and lessen the failures.
In performing the operation the prime principle is the accurate adjust-
ment of the cambium of the cion to that of the stock; without it no union
can take place. It is through the cambium layer, interposed between the
wood and the bark, that the living connection between the roots and the
leaves is maintained; it is formed by the deposit of new matter from the
descending assimilated sap, and it is by means of this newly formed matter
that union takes place between the stock and cion; hence the necessity of
the accurate adjustment of this natural and only channel by which commu-
nication can be maintained.
Several cases have come under my own observation, where young men
who had given the subject some study had read the rules laid down and
were able to repeat them, yet when they came to handle the knife made
most serious blunders on this very point, showing a lack of understanding
or misinterpretation of the principles they could repeat so readily. In this.
connection I wish to quote from a paper read before the Royal Horticultu-
ral Society of London by the Chairman, Mr. James Bateman. He says:
«©The theory and practice of grafting is little understood by the young gar-
deners who come to Chiswick to complete their education. It is rare that
any of them are able to graft successfully until after the erroneous notions.
with which they have come imbued are eradicated and corrected. Itseems that
the drawings and wood-cuts given by the most eminent writers on the sub-
ject almost always convey an erroneous impression on the very point on
which success entirely depends. The wood-cuts of the slips and grafts pre-
pared for adhesion turn the attention more to an equality of dimension and
to a correct fitting of the outside of the bark of the one to the outside of
the bark of the other than to an exact apposition of the cambium of the one
to that of the other, on which, in point of fact, adhesion and grafting abso-
lutely and solely depend.’’ Mr. Bateman’s remarks are to the point, and
may well serve as an illustration of the utility and necessity of laboratory
practice for the student in horticulture, as well as for the student in any of
the other sciences.
The purposes for which grafting is used are various, the main one being,
as before remarked, the perpetuation of varieties of plants valuable for
fruit, flower, or beauty of foliage.
A thousand orchards contain Baldwin, Northern Spy, or Canada Red
trees. Each variety had its origin in a single tree; generation after genera-
SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING, 209
tion they have been perpetuated by grafting. A skillful gardener pro-
duces an abnormal flower of peculiar beauty ; by grafting he multiplies the
parent plant, guards carefully his prize, and, at his pleasure, sells at his
price. In a short time, still multiplied by the same process, it becomes a
common thing, none the less beautiful but no longer a rarity, and hence no
longer a source of profit. Very many of our plant beauties have come to
us in this way, all of each variety originating in a single plant that had by
some accident developed a strange quality.
Certain plants have tender roots, readily yielding to the influence of cold;
such plants are grafted upon stocks of known hardiness, on which they live
and thrive. The delicate plant is made hardy by grafting. To change the
variety of fruit on an established tree, and to render a barren tree fruitful,
are two of the most useful purposes to which the art can be applied. Many
old orchards that produced little fruit and none of good quality have been
so renewed by judicious grafting as to become sources of profit; and there
are many more that under a careful hand might be made to yield rich
returns. Just how far the renovation of old orchards by grafting can be
carried with profit will depend, however, on many circumstances. Some
trees may be too old and have too little vitality, some may be diseased, some
may be of such ill shape from long neglect as to be beyond the reach of any-
one’s skill. ‘There is but one course to pursue with such trees—take them
out, root and branch. They occupy good ground and mar the landscape to
no purpose. But there are vigorous and well-shaped trees that for some
reason are not fruitful or produce worthless fruit; such may be renewed
with good results.
The operation should be performed by degrees; a portion each year for
two or three years, that the tree may not receive too great ashock. Care is
required to preserve the symmetry of the tree; this cannot always be done,
but in skillful hands the shape in most cases need not be greatly altered.
After grafting an orchard, do not leave it to take care of itself; pruning
must be promptly attended to, and judicious cultivation and manuring will
go a great ways toward bringing about the desired result.
If the principles and practices of grafting were more generally understood
among our farmers, we would certainly see better kept orchards. Every
farmer would find it both interesting and to his advantage to acquire
enough of the art to enable him to do the work of his own orchard.
Of all horticultural operations grafting is one of the most pleasant and of
the greatest use. We hope that coming generations may witness a more
widespread knowledge of this most practical and useful art.
27
210 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
Wednesday Afternoon Session.
The Secretary presented the following paper upon
WHAT ILLINOIS HAS DONE FOR ENTOMOLOGY.
BY CLARENCE M. WEED, OF CHAMPAIGN, ILL.
The great importance of a study of the life histories and habits of the hordes of
injurious insects which are so constantly lessening the productions of American
agriculture, and of discovering and applying practical and comprehensive
remedial measures by which this great annual loss may in part, at least, be
saved, is becoming more and more impressed upon the minds of intelli-
gent soil tillers everywhere. And though as in the days of Say, Fitch and
Harris, one too often meets with farmers who are ready to sneer and scoff at
the entomologist and his results, they are almost invariably men whose opinion
is not worth the asking, who know nothing of that which they are talking
about and have no more right to condemn off hand the actions of a student of
insect life than a jury would haye to render a verdict in a murder trial before
hearing any evidence pro or con.
No other of these United States has done so much for the progress of eco-
nomic entomology as Illinois, and haying been so fortunate within the past year
as to see and learn something of the results and of the methods by which they
have been reached I take pleasure in acceding to Secretary Garfield’s request
to write something about what Illinois has done for entomology.
In that portion of this paper treating of the history of the office of State
entomologist I shall quote freely, from the only summary of the facts with
which I have met, that of Prof. 8S. A. Forbes, in the introduction to the
appendix to the fourteenth report of the State entomologist of Illinois. Of the
establishment of the office Prof. F. there writes:
“The office of State entomologist of Illinois was established by an act of the
legislature, approved and in force March 9, 1867, by which the Governor was
authorized to appoint ‘by and with the consent of the Senate some competent
scientific person as State entomologist, who shall hold the appointment for
two years and until his successor shall be appointed.’ This officer was
required to investigate the entomology of Illinois, and particularly to study
‘the history of the insects injurious to the products of the horticulturists and
argriculturists of the State ;’ and was directed to ‘collect and preserve a cabinet
of insects to be deposited at the Illinois Industrial University.’ He was re-
quired to ‘prepare a report of his researches and discoveries in entomology for
publication by the State annually; and his salary was fixed at the sum of
$2,000 per annum.’
The first appointee under this law was Benjamin Dane Walsh, of Rock Island,
a man with whom many who listen to this paper have been acquainted, either
personally or through his numerous articles in the agricultural press, and
whose untimely death on the 12th of November, 1869, from the effects of in-
juries received in a railway accident, was much lamented. Mr. Walsh issued
but one report which was made to the State Horticultural Society and published
as an appendix to the transactions of that society for 1867.
SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 211
On April 2, 1870, Dr. Wm. Le Baron, of Geneva, was appointed as Walsh’s
‘successor and he continued to hold the position until April 9, 1875, when Dr.
‘Cyrus Thomas, of Carbondale, was appointed. Dr. Le Baron made four re-
ports which were published either separately with the reports of State officers
made to the general assembly, or appendices to the transactions of the State
Horticultural Society. Dr. Thomas continued in office until June 30, 1882,
making six reports which were published in connection with the transactions of
the State department of agriculture. After the resignation of Dr. Thomas, at
‘the date just given, Prof. 8. A. Forbes was appointed to the position, which
he still holds. Prof. F. has made three reports and a fourth will be published
within a few months.
I again quote from the introduction above mentioned :
“'The scope and variety of the fourteen reports of this office are sufficiently
indicated by the voluminous lists and indexes necessary to give convenient
access to their contents. In volume they far exceed the literature of the econ-
-omic entomology of any other State, amounting in all to 2,358 pages, of which
104 have been contributed by Walsh, 419 by Le Baron, 1,187 by Thomas, and
648 by Forbes. They may broadly be said to contain four classes of matter,—
(1) original contributions to entomology, chiefly prepared with reference to
economic applications, characteristic especially of the first four and the last
three reports; (2) treatises on the classification of single orders of insects, as
in the fifth and sixth reports (Coleoptera), the seventh and tenth (Lepidoptera),
the eighth (Homoptera especially Aphides), and the ninth (Orthoptera) ; (3)
full summaries of existing knowledge respecting the most important injurious
insects, as the Hessian fly and the army worm; and (4) monographs of all the
insect enemies of a single crop, as of the insects affecting the strawberry, in the
thirteenth report.”
The salary of the State entomologist was at the time of the creation of the
-office fixed at $2,000 per annum, a sum which has not since been changed.
With one or two exceptions no appropriations were made for any other ex-
penses of the office until 1883-4, when $500 per annum was appropriated, as an
item in the appropriation bill of the Illinois State laboratory of natural history,
for the office and incidental expenses of the State entomologist.
At the time of his appointment to the office just mentioned, Prof. Forbes
held the position of director of the Illinois State laboratory of natural history,
a unique institution which has had and is having a marked effect upon the
progress of scientific knowledge and culture in the west. It has grown within
a very few years from a small beginning when it was supported by a mere pit-
tance and all the work connected with it was done by asingle person, into an insti-
tution which receives the hearty and liberal support of the State, giving
employment to a half dozen trained assistants, possessing a large and valuable
library as well as much of the latest and most approved apparatus necessary for
biological investigation, and being recognized and honored by the highest
scientific organizations of Europe and America. After his appointment as
State entomologist Prof. Forbes continued to hold the position of director, and
was thus enabled to utilize the many advantages of the laboratory, including
such time of assistants as was thought desirable for the work of the office. As
a consequence remarkable progress has been made, and I only repeat the pub-
lished verdict of the scientific world in stating that in few places elsewhere have
the difficult and complicated problems of economic entomology been grappled
with so much earnestness, originality and distinguished success.
212 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
I may be permitted to mention one or two of the practical results of investiga-
tions concerning economic entomology in Illinois. The farmers of the State
had been for some years troubled by a worm that ate the roots of young corn,
annually destroying great quantities and entailing a serious loss of time and
labor. No successful remedy was known. The life history of the pest was
studied by several of the leading entomologists of the State and it was discovered
that the insect was the young or larve of a common green beetle (Diabratica
longicarnis, Say). It was also found that these beetles deposited their eggs
in the soil of cornfields in autumn, so that the following spring when the young
larve hatch they are ready to attack the growing corn. From this it was an
easy step to the suggestion that by an intelligent system of crop rotation, such
as that of following corn with oats, the young worms would not have suitable
food at hand, aud being unable to escape from the environments of their birth
must of necessity perish. Thus there was provided a simple, practical and
inexpensive means of escaping from the ravages of a pest that had threatened
to put a stop to the production of the chief cereal grown here; and to-day this
idea has entered into the scheme of agricultural practice in the most successful
farming communities of the State.
Another instance is also in point here. As doubtless all who listen to this
paper are aware, the production of strawberries is one of the chief pursuits
of the horticulturists of Southern Illinois. The business had been so long
continued, that a few years ago insects of various kinds had increased to such
an extent as to seriously interfere with the successful production of fruit. The
State entomologist was appealed to, and the whole subject was exhaustively
studied a few years ago by Prof. Forbes and his assistants, the result
being an elaborate paper upon the insects affecting the strawberry which was
read at the meeting of the Mississippi Valley Horticultural Society in 1883,
being published in the transactions of the society for that year and also appear-
ing in the thirteenth report of the State entomologist of Illinois. It was there
recommended that to prevent the undue increase of injurious insects the old
strawberry plantations be plowed up at such times as would kill the young of
the worst of the pests by starvation, and that the plantations be frequently
renewed, rotating with other crops as much as possible. This, too, is now the
ordinary horticultural practice in Southern Illinois.
In conclusion I cannot better give an idea of the importance and scope of
the work now being carried on by the office than to ask your attention to the
following reswiné of the present season’s work, as it appeared in a recent issue
of one of the local papers:
“The State entomologist of Illinois, Professor 8. A. Forbes, reports that the
work of his office has been this year extremely successful, and its results more
important than for any previous year within his knowledge. The interesting
discovery was made last spring that the corm plant lowse hibernates in the
ground, and invariably takes its first start in fields which have been in corn
the year before—a fact which brings this destructive insect under the control
of an intelligent rotation of crops.
“Elaborate studies of the chinch bug outbreak in Southern Illinois have
brought to light new facts in its life history, and have suggested new and sim-
ple methods of attack upon it.
*‘Concerning the Hessian fly—the arch enemy of wheat culture in both
new and old worlds—an insect which has been before the entomological world
for more than one hundred years—the professor reports that he has succeeded
SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 213
this season in determining, for the first time, the midsummer history of the
species. For this purpose plots of wheat were sown at two points in southern
Illinois, at regular intervals from the middle of July to the 1st of October.
By watching these wheat plots from week to week he has clearly established
the occurrence of a third generation of the fly breeding in volunteer wheat and
completing its development in the fall. This observation seems to make it
entirely possible to keep this pest in check by such a management of the
wheat fields in midsummer as will bring this third brood into existence in the
volunteer wheat and then destroy it before sowing for the new crop.
“Another less-known wheat insect, the wheat bulb worm, was shown, as an
incident of these experiments, to be sometimes as destructive as the Hessian
fly and to be commonly confounded with it by wheat growers. A third brood
of this species also was discovered in midsummer wheat, so that the same
measures which will destroy the fly will apply to this as well.
“An elaborate trial has been made of Paris green and other chemical poi-
sons applied to apple trees in spring, to test precisely the value of this measure
as a protection against the codling moth and curculios. More than 22,000
apples from these trees were examined, one by one, in the course of this experi-
ment, and nearly as many more last year.
‘Various apple-leaf insects have lately made it almost impossible, in some
localities, to raise young nursery stock, the young leaves being destroyed as
fast as they put forth. Experiments made in the field have shown that by a
combination of hand picking and poisoning, used with due reference to the
life histories of the species, these insects may be rendered harmless at a rela-
tively small expense.
“Very numerous and careful studies and experiments have been made by
Professors Forbes and Garman on the contagious diseases of insects,—a sub-
ject which has become a leading specialty of the office, systematically studied
nowhere else in the country, and nowhere else in the world on nearly so large a
scale as here. It has been demonstrated this summer that one of the most
destructive of these diseases may be conyeyed at will to healthy insects by arti-
ficial means, and that it may also be thus carried from one insect species to
another.
“Besides the above, a great number of minor items of information of both
scientific and practical value have been gathered from the field and from
the breeding cages of the office, altogether making up a very unusual record
of progress. In addition to a full detail of the subjects mentioned, the next
report from the office will contain an elaborate illustrated monograph on all
the insects known to affect Indian corn in America.”’
Several questions concerning insects were presented and answered, follow-
ing which the general topic for the afternoon was taken up.
SCHOOL HORTICULTURE.
A note was read from Geo. R. Knapp, Associate Editor of the American
Garden, to open the discussion:
HOW TO TEACH HORTICULTURE.
The ennobling profession of horticulture has gained so many devotees, and
taken so high a standing among preferred and valued industries, that the
question of the best methods for its thorough promulgation has become a
214 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
leading topic of discussion, not only before such assemblages as this, but in
the home and theschools. It is amatter of congratulation that the youth of
our country are yearly becoming more interested in horticultural pursuits ;
nor is this interest confined to any chosen or favored portion of our land.
It extends from Maine to California, and from.ocean to ocean. I confi-
dently believe that the time is not far distant when the rudimentary branches
of horticulture will be taught in all schools where circumstances and surround-
ings will admit of theories being reduced to practice; for that theories, as
drawn from text-books and charts, must have practical illustration in the
field and garden, is incontrovertible.
It has been a matter of much regret to me that our teachers of horticul-
ture in many of the schools have had charges made against the methods they
employed. That many of these charges are base canards, we all know, but
surely the instructors must have been seriously at fault in their duties to
have given cause for even the slightest complaint.
That less time must, in the future, be spent in the class-room, and more
in the field is a foregone conclusion, and, indeed, I am constrained to take
the final step forward and advocate the entire abandonment of books, charts.
and class-room. In brief, teach grafting, budding, hybridizing and the vari-
ous parts of the work, where they should be taught, in the field among the
trees and plants.
I grant that instructors may be learned, and their method of book-teach-
ing pleasing. Text-books may be accurate, but the average student cannot
be expected to become greatly interested in a subject of which he can under-
stand but little while denied the privilege of seeing and examining for him-
self. Iam fully satisfied, gentlemen, that the use of text-books and charts
must be eventually abandoned before that measure of success for which we
hope and labor can be secured. Iam led to this conclusion by the experi-
ences of myself and others with whom I have been associated from time
to time. As an illustration, in my earlier studies of horticulture I became
deeply interested in the art of budding, and eagerly read everything on the
subject which came into my hands. Innumerable peach-pits were planted
in the back yard, on which to practice what I had read; but alas! there were
as many feiluresas there were stocks. The following budding season I visited
a large nursery in the vicinity, where the work of budding was going on. A
few words of instruction, practically illustrated, from the man in charge,
and three hours’ close observation of the work going on before me accom-
plished more than years of text-book reading, and before the season was over
I had put in about 3,000 peach buds, with a loss of only about ten per cent.,
as I afterward learned. I may have been a trifle thick-headed in my book-
studies, but in the field I proved as bright as the majority of mortals.
A young friend of mine was greatly interested in the study of strawberry
blossoms. He had had the difference in construction shown him by engrav-
ings, and had read up the subject thoroughly; yet when the opportunity
came for him to test his knowledge in the field, it was weeks before he could
accurately distinguish the pistillate blossom from the bi-sexual. Indeed, he
was forced to lay aside his book-knowledge and learn anew from the plants
before him. He had read that the variety Manchester was pistillate in blos-
som, but had not learned (because he could learn it nowhere but in the field),
that the blossoms of the variety named contain some stamens, nearly, if not
quite enough to supply the necessary pollen for its own fructification. As a
natural result, he termed the variety at sight bi-sexual in blossom.
SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 215
I need cite but one more illustration in support of my position. Since en-
gaging in the work of horticultural journalism, I have never neglected to
have a garden of my own, or else pay frequent visits to plantations of others
near me. ‘True, I have a good library, read all the new horticultural books
that are issued, attend horticultural meetings and have the benefit of ex-
change with nearly every agricultural and horticultural journal published in
America, and some from Europe. For all this, without my work in the
garden among fruits and vegetables, testing new varieties, experimenting,
ete., I should grow.rusty. Now, am I alone in this opinion? Dr. Hexamer
of the American Agriculturist, Mr. Carman of Rural New Yorker, Judge
Miller of Rural World, Secretary Reynolds of Rural Home and many other
prominent and authoritative writers on horticultural subjects have access to:
fields and gardens where they may see the practical work going on. And
need I say that they take advantage of their opportunities?
I would not be understood as uttering a general condemnation of books,
etc., relating to the subjects in which we are interested, for I am a faithful
believer in their efficacy; but in the study of horticulture and kindred work,
actual work in the field must occupy the primary position.
In the shop, we: learn the mysteries of mechanism; in the mills, the
methods of manufacturing, and so, to the field where the work is being done,
theories demonstrated and facts practiced, must we turn for solid, useful
and practical instruction in horticulture.
Prof. Bailey spoke against this idéa. To do away with books is impossible.
If but two or three students are to be instructed the work may be success-
fully done by experiment and demonstration, but a large class cannot be so
managed. Yet all important points in the books may be illustrated in the
field, and this actual practice is chief in importance. It is not practicable to
instruct all students in all field operations, but sometimes it is best to give
the out-door work first and give the science of it afterward. In common
schools pupils should be encouraged to carry on simple experiments by them-
selves, giving formative instruction later.
W. K. Gibson—Boys should know some of these things before they go to
the Agricultural College, and thereby much time saved. The morals and
esthetics of the matter should be considered and instruction begin in the
common schools. We should gain more knowledge of the objects about us
and spend less time with abstract principles. The moral effect of these
studies is very great and desirable. Land should have been set apart for a
garden in connection with each school.
To these sentiments Prof. Bailey assented warmly. At the college there
is great waste of time in teaching boys the elements, and most of them are
farm boys, too. In aclass of sixty there were two who had seen budding
done, but none had himself performed the operation. Mr. Bailey illustrated
the difficulties in the way of large classes through practical work in all
branches by instancing cross-fertilization, in which only two or three can be
instructed at a time.
Prof. Ragan commended Prof. Bailey and his ideas, and thought Michigan
very fortunate in having him in her Agricultural College.
Secretary Garfield said the society had tried to get the State Superintend-
ent of Public Instruction to have some requirement of horticultural know-
ledge to be made of teachers, but with no effect. We should exert ourselves
to make the teachers understand that interesting pupils in horticulture
216 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
would be a great help to them in maintaining order. Their self interest
would incline them to it. Simple experiments, like the germination of seeds,
can be carried on indoors in any weather. He advocated the school garden
and the oral teaching of botany. As school inspector of his township, he
found not one of the thirteen teachers who knew the names of the plants the
children put into the vases. It is the province of our society to insist upon
this instruction, and persevere to success.
Prof. Bailey—Germination is the beginning of horticultural study, and is
very interesting, and full of possibilities of good.
Dr. Manly Miles, of Lansing, reminded that they must first get the teacher.
They had advocated bringing in horticulture for oral instruction only, and
that is the hardest kind of teaching. He spoke of the bad mental equipment
of some students he had known who had graduated from teachers who knew
nothing of physiology, for instance, but what was within text book covers.
Prof. Daniels, ex-superintendent of Grand Rapids public schools, read a
paper upon
HORTICULTURAL INSTRUCTION IN KINDERGARTENS,
PREPARED BY MISS LILLY JONES, OF GRAND RAPIDS.
Frederick Froebel called his institution an infant garden (kindergarten)
because he thought it necessary that a garden should be connected with it;
and because he wished symbolically to indicate by this name, that chiidren
resemble the plants of a garden, and should be treated with similar care. He
considered no such institution perfect unless it had a patch of ground
sufficiently lerge so each child could have a small garden for himself. This
is especially wanting at the present time, when kindergartens have multi-
plied and spread over all the globe.
Wherever this new education has been introduced it has to contend with
very defective arrangements. Private dwelling-houses, workshops, stores,
even abandoned breweries—as has often been the case in England—have
been utilized for this purpose. The garden or cultivated open space is what
is especially lacking.
In Froebel’s kindergarten the children could be seen digging in the soil,
throwing up mounds, and little by little making themselves small gardens
of their own. At first the little spade that accompanied the child out of
doors was only used for heaping up sand and stones as an exercise of strength
without aim. As soon, however, as any power of observation had begun to
supplement the merely instinctive movements, there was awakened an
impulse to till the ground and to make use of the productive force of
nature; thus the child in its play and man in the earliest stages of civiliza-
tion seeks to obtain better and more plentiful nourishment. Even though
the instinct which moves the child to enclose its little garden with sticks be
an undefined one, it is, nevertheless, that out of which the science of agri-
culture has arisen—the instinct or need of possession. Practical doing
awakens love and thought, and sympathy with nature is intensified.
Dependence is realized through waiting for the result of work.
The following incident is told by the Baroness Marenholz-Bulow, the
most devout of Fréebel’s co-workers: Two little girls, four and five years
old, had in the kindergarten a garden, where, like the other children, they
had planted a few peas and beans. Every day they dug them up to see why
SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 217
they didn’t sprout. The beds of some of their companions showed already
green shoots and tender leaves and this increased their disappointment and
impatience. They were told they must stop digging up their seeds and
must wait patiently if they wanted to have any plants. After this they kept
their hands out of the dirt but watched closely. At last, one morning they
were seen on their knees gazing with wondering, delighted eyes on a number
of small green shoots which had pushed up into the lhght. Often before
had seeds sprouted before their eyes, but they had not noticed it. They
were indifferent because they had not been active, incurious because they
themselves had not dug and planted and waited. These little children were
in the presence of a miracle. Yesterday their garden was brown and bare,
to-day it was green with little shoots. When asked if it was their waiting
that made the seeds grow they at once said ‘‘ No,’’ and then told how the
warm sunshine, rain and dew were all necessary. The child who receives
one of these beds in the spring will dig, rake, sow and water it, under the
direction of the teacher, and what he reaps from it will be his own property.
In the United States the kindergartens that have gardens for the children
are the exceptions. This is partly due to the fact that very few institutions
of this kind have any summer session, mostly due to the lack of room.
Most kindergartners, however, have at least a flower pot for each child to
plant his seeds in, and water, and care for.
Superintendent Kendall, of the Grand Rapids schools, spoke of the value of
internal and external embellishment of school premises, advocating earnestly
that great attention be given to the matter, citing instances among his own
schools and from those of La Porte, Indiana, where this work had been suc-
cessfully carried out by teachers and pupils, in conjunction. He said the
influence of such work could not be measured by any standard; it threaded
into the homes of the children, leaving lasting impressions.
Prof. Daniels followed, citing instances from his own experience of the
wholesome influence of the adornment of school buildings and grounds.
Prof. W. H. Ragan, secretary of the American Horticultural Society, being
present, was invited to address the convention on
THE PROGRESS OF COLD WAVES.
He illustrated, by means of a series of charts, the line of progress of the cold
waye of January that reached to Florida and froze the oranges upon the trees,
then returned north by way of the Atlantic coast, and passed off through the valley
of the St. Lawrence. He showed clearly the wonderful influence of the great
lakes upon the climate of Michigan, by the lines of low temperature which
curved above our peninsula, and saved us from serious damage. He said that
the waves that were most liable to do Michigan harm occurredjin February
and March, when the lakes were most nearly covered with ice, thus putting
our protection at minimum.
The address was wonderfully interesting, and the audience appreciated every
word of it.
wo
9 2)
218 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY,
EXPERIMENTAL STATIONS.
The following letter was read by the secretary:
SPRINGFIELD, Mass., November 9, 1886.
Charles W. Garfield:
DEAR S1r,—Accepting your invitation to forward short notes of opinion
for the meeting of the Michigan Horticaltural Society, permit me to call
the attention of the progressive members of this enterprising body to the
merits of the Hatch Agricultural Experiment Station bill, now before Con-
gress. Copies of this bill, and circulars relative to the same, I send herewith,
for the information of such members as may desire to post themselves fully
upon this important measure The immense value of the proposed experi-
ment stations to American horticulture, must be apparent to every thinking
man. Through them the pomological and forestry interests of the various
States and territories will be aided by practical experiments carried on with
scientific accuracy. ‘There are a multitude of questions relative to these two.
industries alone, which the proposed experiment stations can solve to the direct
practical benefit of every farmer in Michigan, and throughout the country.
In the testing of new trees, plants, etc., the stations can do much important
work; protecting farmers against buying worthless stock, and encouraging to
to plant such varieties as experience has shown to be the most profitable. The
various questions in your scheme of topics should receive much assistance from
these stations.
The Agricultural College of Michigan, already recognized as perhaps the
most successful institution of its kind in the country, is doing a good work for
the farmers’ interests, in the way of experiments, in addition to its educational
work; but the latter requires so much of the institution’s funds, that the col-
lege proper cannot be expected to carry on the legitimate work of an agri-
cultural experiment station. Now, the Hatch bill provides an income of
$15,000 annually, for the establishment of an agricultural experiment station
in connection with your Agricultural College, under simple provisions that will
not in the least interfere, but will rather promote its effectiveness. It is not
impossible, therefore, for a society to do aught but earnestly support this meas-
ure.
I suggest that besides passing resolutions urging the enactment of the Hatch
bill, that members of the Michigan Horticultural Society individually write to
their senators and representatives in Congress to spare no effort to pass the
Hatch bill at the approaching session of Congress. Then, if they will induce
all the local agricultural and horticultural associations throughout Mich-
igan to follow their example, and to circulate petitions, etc., in behalf of
the measure, there will be no doubt of the unanimous support of the Michigan
delegation in Congress.
This is not a matter that will take care of itself, but something every pro-
gressive farmer must take hold of, feeling that its success rests upon him per-
sonally. Then, if we will pull together, not only in Michigan but throughout
the United States, there is no doubt that we shall secure the enactment of the
bill before the meeting of the 49th Congress.
Trusting that your society will take active, aggressive, and determined steps.
in this matter, I am
Yours very sincerely, HERBERT MyRICcK,
/ Editor Farm and Home.
SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. “219
Professor Miles said none of the agricultural colleges have half as much
money as they need. Ours is better off than others, but all its revenues might
be profitably expended in one of its departments. The central idea of the
college is to teach students by their own investigation and not by the know-
ledge of others. This requires more means and the college is constantly
hampered in its work. He spoke of Strasburg university and its generous
endowment by the German government, and said Michigan should follow this
example as to her agricultural college, that it may take the lead and keep it.
Mr. Willard: This is a matter of greatest importance and each member
should interest himself in the success of the Hatch bill. He further spoke of
the value of experimental stations.
Senator Monroe stated that just before the close of the legislative session of
1885 he prepared a joint resolution asking Michigan senators and congressmen
to support the Hatch bill, but learning that that measure was to go oyer the
term, he reserved his resolution and would at the approaching session introduce
it. He urged horticulturists to write their representatives to support the
Hatch bill because its passage would make our college of great value to our
State and the whole country.
Wednesday Evening Session.
At the evening session the first hour was devoted to reports upon the merits
of the newer fruits. Condensing the remarks, they appear as follows:
Champion Gooseberry—LHither a seedling or an English berry disseminated
some time before its alleged origin in Pennsylvania. A berry of the same
name was said to have come from Oregon.
Hudson Gooseberry—Prof. Bailey sent for some, but all came labeled Indus-
try. Mr. Willard said he got the worth of his money, then, for it is an
excellent kind—an English berry.
Fay Currant—A superior sort and large but may become smaller as bushes
grow older. No variety of currant tested here is exempt from the borer except
Victoria.
Yellow Transparent Apple—A most valuable early sort; precedes by some
weeks the Early Harvest; of extra good quality, pleasant flavor, beautiful
color, waxen yellow; hardy wood. A Russian sort sent out 17 years ago, same
as White Astrachan and very likely same as Transparent Moscow. Planted ex-
tensively in Virginia and the Carolinas for early New York market.
New Crabapples—Biushing Maid is excellent but General Grant worthless.
Whitney’s No. 20 is one of the best crabs Pres. Lyon ever met; doubts if it
should be called a crab, appearing to be more a Russian sort.
Minnewaski Blackberry—Fruit resembles Lawton and is highly spoken of;
the special favorite of A. J. Caywood; fruits fully, keeps a week or so with-
out changing color; said to be not hardy.
Western Triumph Black Cap—Good as the average of 30 or 40 kinds, but
not equal to the Kittatinny, Lawton or Taylor.
Wilson jr. Blackberry—Not materially different from the Wilson.
Marlboro Raspberry—Opinions were various ; does not show promised vigor;
about like Cuthbert in growth, but not as good quality; if it does not do bet-
ter Mr. Scott will take out his three acres; half the size of the Cuthbert and
220 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
of poor color, though it at first did well; at Benton Harbor canes quite
strong, ripens with Turner, firmer and better color than either Turner or
Cuthbert and brought much better prices; grows slowly and om no consequence;
there are s>veral strains of Marlboro.
Lucretia Dewberry—Mr. Lyon has had good crops for Bice or four years;
best dewberry he knows; is not derived from wild dewberry, but is a trailing
variety of the high blackberry, may be a hybridization of the two; fruits well
at Ionia, but turns red and sour; two weeks earlier than any blackberry.
Niagara Grape—Rots when the Concord does; white grapes are not more
subject to rot than others.
Belmont Strawberry—One member only had fruited it and found it very
promising; others were pleased with quality of the plants.
Golden Queen Raspberry—Fine color, a yellow Cuthbert; not so good as
Brinckle’s orange.
Hilbourn Blackcap—Less seedy than others and of fine quality, but not yet
well tested.
The secretary read the following:
NOTES ON SOME NEW APPLES.
BY T. H. HOSKINS, M. D., OF VERMONT.
Fameuse Sucree.*
This apple was first brought to notice by the report of a committee on seed-
ling apples (consisting of the Rey. Robert Hamilton and Charles Gibb, Esq.),
to the Montreal Horticultural Society, in 1875. In the fall of 1877 1, having
seen and tasted the apple at the Montreal society’s fair, procured cions from
(as I supposed) the original tree in the orchard of the Hon. KE. Prud’homme,
near Montreal. Unfortunately, through a mistake in cutting, much the larger
part ‘and, as I supposed for some time, all) of these cions were cut from neigh-
boring trees of the common Fameuse. Later I find that I have five or six trees of
the true Fameuse Sucree, several of which bore the present season. The tree is to
all appearance a seedling of Fameuse, and is quite as hardy, perhaps a little more
so. It bears as early and as well as its parent. The fruit as grown here is in
season from the middle of October, lasting about a month. It has the fault
of spotting quite as much as its parent, but when perfect is a most elegant as
well as most delicious fruit. It is full medium in size, roundish oblate, very
dark red, resembling polished rosewood. The flesh is white, deeply stained
with red. It is very tender in flesh, at once mildly sub-acid and sugary, and
must stand among the very first of dessert apples. Its flavor resembles that of
a rich strawberry ice-cream. In places where it spots but little it would proye a
most profitable fancy apple to grow, as it conjoins the highest beauty with the
greatest excellence of dessert quality. Its skin is firm, and the apple bears
transportation very well.
McIntosh Red.
This is, I think, without doubt, another seedling of the Fameuse. It origi-
nated on the north bank of the upper St. Lawrence in Dundas county, Ont.
The original tree is said to be about 50 years old, but the variety has not been
*Specimens were shown of this apple sent by Dr. Hoskins and admirably preserved.
SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 221
disseminated until within the last 15 years. It has a tendency to spot, yet
often grows perfectly fair. The tree is very nearly iron-clad—distinctly hardier
than its parent. It bears young, and the fruit will rank as large—often very
large. It is nearly round, dark red in color, with a heavy blue bloom—in its
perfection a most magnificent apple. It has the white flesh of the Fameuse,
but a fuller and richer flavor, being a dessert apple of the first class. It isa
better keeper than the Fameuse, in this respect standing equal to, if not above,
the Wealthy.
Gideon’s Martha Crab.
After testing not less than 150 varieties of improved Siberian apples of this
class, I have fixed upon this one as, all things considered, the most desirable
variety. The tree is very vigorous, and bears young and profusely. The fruit
is large of its class (14 to 2 inches in diameter), in color a brilliant rosy red,
with darker and lighter shades, on a yellowish ground. It is nearly round, a
little flattened, with a long stem strongly inserted. For canning, or for jelly,
it is a most superb fruit, the flavor being high and rich, and the jelly of a dark
ruby red, haying almost the firmness of the West Indian Guava jelly.
McMahon's White Apple.
This is one of the new Western iron-clad seedlings, which seems to be gain-
ing considerable favor in that section. I find it a vigorous grower, very hardy,
and an early bearer. The fruit is medium to large, greenish white, with a dull
red cheek, roundish conical, slightly angular, short stem, closed calyx, shallow
cavityand basin. It is apparently productive, season late fall and early winter.
It has a white and tender flesh, with a pleasant sub-acid flavor. A useful apple
of its season, and might be profitable in some localities as a market fruit.
Origin, Sauk county, Wisconsin. It has received the approval of many of the
leading fruit growers of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa.
The Golden White Apple.
This is one the Russian apples of the government importation of 1869-70,—
No. 978. The tree is a most vigorous grower, and as hardy as Oldenburgh, but
a rather tardy bearer, yet when it reaches about the 12th year in orchard it
becomes a very productive tree, biennially, with some fruit on the odd year.
The apple is large and round, somewhat ribbed in many specimens, with a
firm, smooth greenish white skin, becoming golden, with a liberal striping of
light red on the sunny side In quality it is very good for dessert or cooking.
Its season is October in Northern Vermont and Quebec.
The Woif River Apple.
This seems unquestionably an Alexander seedling, and very close to the par-
ent as regards the fruit, which is very large, roundish-conical, nearly covered
with dark red on a greenish ground. Downing could not see any difference in
the fruit of the two, but the trees are distinct. The Russian apples are a very
thoroughbred race, and often reproduce themselves closely from seed. The
tree of neither the Wolf River nor the Alexander is entirely iron-clad. It is
claimed for the Wolf River that it keeps considerably better than Alexander.
Quality about the same, very good for cooking, and very salable.
222 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
The Enormous Apple.
This apple (No. 398 of the government list of 1870) is a strong rival of the
Alexander in size, and is probably the largest known apple of its early season—
August in Northern Vermont, and probably July in Southern New England
and westward to the lakes. It is of the Alexander type, oval in form, striped
and almost covered with red. It is a good sub-acid apple of fair quality,
excellent for cooking. Specimens 14 inches in circumference have been
exhibited. The tree is a very strong and rapid grower, forming an open head
and needing very little pruning. It is also productive. It is much hardier
than the Alexander being apparently quite iron-clad. The Alexander (or as if
is called in Russia the Apost family) contains apples of all seasons, and the
long keepers (Winter Apost, etc.,) are said to be the best in quality, yet all are
good.
The following letter addressed to the secretary, by J. S. Stickney, vice-
president of the Wisconsin Horticultural Society, was next presented:
RUSSIAN APPLES.
SECRETARY GARFIELD:—Extra hardy apples are less important to your peo-
ple than to us of Wisconsin, yet I think almost any one who produces or uses
apples would have enjoyed a recent day with me in the trial Russian orchard of
Mr. A. G. Tuttle, Baraboo, Wisconsin.
If the visitor should bring the very common impression that the Russians
are all coarse grained and sour, and only give us summer and autumn kinds,
he will very soon be driven to a change of mind, if not of “heart.” If he is
so far interested as to understand and appreciate the needs of the northwest, I
think his heart will so far soften as to make him an earnest friend and advo-
cate of the better Russians. He will see through them a more direct road to
abundant and good fruitage, to take the place of our dead favorites, than by the
production and long trial of new seedlings, though in no way checking the
interest in and efforts for new varieties from seed.
Some of the Russians can discount all that was ever claimed for them in
way of ugliness, and would do you good service in the road-side rows of orch-
ards as fruit thief reformers. The pity is, that these worthless kinds have
been sent out from so many points before their quality was known, instead of
first testing thoroughly, as Mr. T. is doing. The further pity is that the enter-
prising “tree missionary” is so actively selling ‘‘ Russians,” and delivering
any worthless kind that he can buy cheapest. But over against this evil stands
the good of twenty-five to forty varieties, comparing well with any equal num-
ber that Michigan or Wisconsin has ever produced, in season, quality, and
quantity. For a brief list, White Transparent, Repka, Beautiful Arcade, Long
Arcade, Hybernal, Longfield, Golden White, Arabaskce will give a succession
round the year, as good as anybody has, and handsome enough to be proud of.
I have called this a trial orchard, and so it is in the most severe and impar-
tial sense. In 1877-8, two trees each of some eighty kinds were planted on
soil of average fertility, which had borne one or two crops of nursery trees
—part were planted in among nursery trees—no manure or fertilizers have
been used, and only ordinary cultivation given. With this treatment, growth
has been very moderate. A few kinds show slight twig blight; aside from this
all carry broad, heavy, dark green foliage, the most conclusive evidence of vig-
\
SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING, 223
orous health, while in the same field Fameuse, Haas, Peweukee, Golden Russet
and many others are dying or dead from the winter injury of 1884.
In the nursery these trees will make glad the heart of him who has been
accustomed to see his young stock frozen back more or less every winter.
Nearly all are very upright in habit, and rarely fail to start from the terminal
bud. All carry an abundance of luxuriant foliage, and a planting of grafts,
with good treatment, will turn out a very large per cent of salable trees.
J. S. STICKNEY.
2
Several remarked as to the way the
JEWELL STRAWBERRY
had behaved in Michigan, which brought out the following from P. M.
Augur, the disseminator of that variety:
New fruits are quite likely to be over praised by interested disseminators.
Mr. Hills of Plaiston, N. H., says, ‘‘ we are paying $2 per dozen continuously
for new varieties highly lauded which are of no value.’’ He is “glad to
hear the Jewell represented in the discussion as so promising.’? The public
in Michigan would undoubtedly like another year’s experience with the
Jewell.
Its peculiarities. First, the plant is exceptionally large and strong,
‘specially adapted to single rows or the hill system of culture; it makes
plants fairly but not profusely; indeed the plants differ in this respect, some
will make fifty to seventy new plants, while others make very few indeed.
The Jewell needs more attention to secure a good stock of plants than most
varieties. Our practice, however, secures success in all cases; it is this, we
‘select ideal plants for our stock, choosing the best; we plant on good, well
fertilized land, cultivate well; begin pressing in summer as soon as the
rootlets show, laying a small stone on each joint and repeat frequently. So
we get our ground well stocked with plants by October 1. Second, under
the best circumstances new plants set as soon as August 1, and given best
‘culture with runners all cut off, will average the next June a quart to a
plant (2 feet by 14 feet). Single plants under such treatment have on our
grounds touched both ways and given two quarts of large berries to a single
plant as a maximum.
The Jewell, as an enormous bearer of large berries, on our grounds has no
peer; neither the Wilson nor Crescent can equal it or even approach it; but
to attain perfection in ripening it should be in hills or narrow rows. The
‘Crescent is called the lazy man’s berry. The Jewell is not so; we do not
recommend it to a careless man; just as the short-horn steer wants the best
feed and care to gain 2 lbs. per day from birth to maturity, so does Jewell
strawberry. But you say the same feed and care will reach the same results
with any steer. No, sir, by no means; we must first have the capacity, then
the requirement to fill it. With the Jewell under high culture we have the
capacity met. In June of this year (1886), rows fourteen rods long of
Wilson, Prince, Dan’! Boone, James Vick, Downing, Gypsey, Sharpless,
Manchester, Mrs. Garfield, and several others, and the Jewell, the last,
aggregated 50 per cent more than any and four times more than most of
them. On June 30 Jewells same length, etc., gave thirty-eight to fifty
quarts to the row in matted rows; Sharpless, same date, twelve to thirteen
quarts. July 7, Jewell, twenty-seven quarts to the row; Sharpless, one to
224 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
three quarts; while most varieties were altogether through bearing; while
in the first picking of the season we got more Jewells than any kind except.
Wilson, and second picking more than Wilson. Under favoring circum-
stances it will on our soil outyield any and all other varieties.
On a high hill in a peach orchard our neighbor, who raised Jewell plants
for us with best snecess, gives us the following. ‘(We took all plants except.
a strip in each row 14 inches wide.)
Having this season fruited the Jewell upon quite a large scale, it gives us
pleasure to endorse all that has been said in its favor, with still more to add.
We unhesitatingly pronounce the Jewell in all respects the peer of any
other variety. We began picking June 9, and close to-day, July 16.
We have given the Jewell only ordinary field culture, the same as the
other varieties.
The Jewell was fully double on the average side by side with the Sharp-
less, which was its closest competitor.
The last two pickings, while the Jewell was giving 12 to 18 quarts to the
row, the Sharpless gave on rows the same length 1 to 3 quarts.
The size of berries on the average through the season exceeds the Sharp-
less.
The plants are very vigorous and healthy. Asa variety it is all a reason-:
able man can ask.
It runs large early, large late, large all the time; with that bright, rich
color so attractive that dealers and their customers prefer it every time.
There is a point not to be overlooked, viz.: That it is pistillate. Plant
every third row with Wilson, Capt. Jack and Warren alternately. With
this combination and high culture an enormous crop of high-colored large
firm shipping berries is attainable. Ten years hence the Jewell will be
more widely and favorably known than at present. We feel that in dissem-
inating the Jewell we have done the world good service.
Lithographs of Itasca strawberries were shown by the originator, J. H.
Haynes, of Delphi, Ind., and in response to an inquiry the secretary said:
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REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES.
It is a very serious business to’ maintain a thrifty, active local Horticult-
ural Society, and our State Society is using every possible method to aid
the Societies of Michigan to keep up their membership and hold regular
meetings. These Societies seem to have ebbs and flows of interest.
It is utterly impracticable for these Societies to constantly bring out new
thoughts and addresses; and the discussions must necessarily go over
ground well covered previously; hence there may be, in most instances, but
little for local Societies to report; still it is important that some brief
record be made in each year’s volume of the work of all these Societies,
and it would be a great satisfaction to the compiler if these reports could
be sent in promptly about the time of the annual meeting of the State
Society. I count it a real misfortune not to be able to place a record of
each Society of our thirty Auxiliaries in these pages.
SECRETARY.
294 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
WASHTENAW COUNTY POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
REPORTED BY SECRETARY GANZHORN.
OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR 1887.
President—J. Austin Scott.
Vice-Presidents—J. D. Baldwin, J. J. Parshall and Wm. McCreery.
Secretary—Jacob Ganzhorn.
Corresponding Secretarg—XK. Baur.
Treasurer—John Almand.
Executive Committee—K. H. Scott, J. H. Clough, C. E. Wiard, W. F. Bird.
Botanist—Prof. Volney N. Spalding.
Climatologist—Prof. Mark W. Harrington.
Hygienist—Prof. A. B. Prescott.
Entomologist and Ornothologist—Prof. J. B. Steere.
The society keeps up monthly meetings, some of which are largely attended.
The topics for discussion are timely for the needs of the progressive fruit-
growers, and a large portion of the time is devoted to business meetings relative
to transportation, fruit packages, etc., etc. Standing committees on these
branches are maintained.
The meetings for the season were opened in February, when an address on
the potato and grape rot was given by the society’s botanist, Prof. Spalding, of
Michigan University. Both subjects were illustrated by charts. The professor
believed that preventive was better than cure and thinks that the future attack
of the grape rot can largely be prevented by the burning of the leaves in
autumn as they fall from the vines.
Prof. Spalding had designed to furnish a paper on the above subject for
this report, but has not as yet found the necessary time from his University
duties; but he expects to write a paper in the near future and when new deyel-
opments now under his investigation will enable him to give more light on
this dreaded disease. He also informs me that Prof. Scribner has prepared a
paper on the grape rot which contains all there is known about the disease up
to the present time.
The meetings during the entire season were largely devoted to the grape and
the grape rot.
Considerable time was given to the depredations of insects. A committee ~
was appointed to assist our entomologist, Prof. Steere, to present to these
meetings from time to time the best means for fighting the obnoxious insects.
The professor kindly furnished me with a paper on this important subject,
read before the society at a spring meeting, which supplements this report.
REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 295
At the June meeting the society had a very fine exhibit of strawberries, cher-
ries and flowers. This time the Manchester made the best impression. The
exhibits of this variety were extraordinarily fine. The Woodruff strawberry
continued to make and hold friends. It is now considered our best canning
berry, especially where the Wilson fails.
All the small fruits received a good deal of attention in their season. The
Gregg is still the leading black cap, and the Cuthbert the best red raspberry.
The Marlborough is favorably mentioned for size, color and productiveness.
It has not yet fruited enough here to determine its earliness.
Growing small fruits as a business was voted as no longer profitable.
The county and State fairs have been discussed considerably both before and
after the fairs, as relating to the fruit exhibits. The society always takes a
lively interest in the fairs and encourages the promotion of fruit exhibits.
In our monthly meetings we aim to keep up the showing of fruits and flowers:
in season, and this part of the doings often forms a prominent feature of the
meetings. The proceedings of our meetings are promptly furnished to the
county press by our live corresponding secretary, Prof. Baur, and are often
published in the German papers also. The city and county residents alike
take an interest in reading these reports, and they are eagerly sought as soon
as published. It is pleasing to observe that horticultural literature is largely
read by both the city and county people and that the work of our society,
which is largely of a missionary character, is appreciated.
The list of our members is not as large as we desire, though we keep adding.
Many content themselves by reading the reports. ‘
The society is fortunate in having a free room furnished by the board of
supervisors in the court house. The room is heated by steam, without expense
to the society.
The yarious fruit crops, ripening from June to October, were all good. It
was remarkable to note that the unprecedented drought in the history of the
State did so little damage to our fruits. The quality, on that account, was
superior. Although the berry crop was somewhat cut short by the drought,
the daily shipments made from Ann Arbor were very large. As high as 250
bushels of raspberries were shipped from here by express in one day in the
height of the season. Besides these a large amount was daily consumed here
in the city. Of strawberries, several thousand dollars’ worth were shipped in to
Ann Arbor from outside places. ‘These were inferior to those raised about
here. Our own were largely shipped to Detroit. Home prices ruled alike for
strawberries and raspberries, from 8 to 10 cents per quart was paid. Returns
from shipments often proved to be no more than to cover cost for picking and
selling, including freight.
Karly in the spring we were hopeful of a full crop of peaches, though
as the blossoms faded. away it was discovered that the Crawfords did not
set well; the blossoms proved false. ‘The winter was a little too severe for
these sorts. This reduced our peach crop considerably, as the Crawfords
are the most extensively planted. The oldest trees which had gone through
the three consecutive cold winters, died outright. The younger trees pulled
through and bore light crops. This applies to the Crawfords mainly. Hill’s
Chili, Barnard, and most of the prominent white fleshed peaches, bore full
crops. The home price for peaches ranged from $1.50 to $2.50 per bushel.
Some extra fine Early Crawfords sold as high as $3.00 per bushel. Among the
newer sorts, Snow’s Orange deserves special mention. It fruited here for the
296 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
first time this season. ‘The trees were loaded to their utmost. Fruit of large
size; beautiful yellow flesh; form round, and outside color dark red; quality
good.
The apple crop was full, though the codling moth rendered the major part
of the yield unprofitable. The good Northern Spy is falling in line with
other good old sorts in failing. The apples of this variety are largely ill
shaped and otherwise very imperfect. The Baldwin is about the only good
market apple left us. We must either learn to revive our good old sorts, or
we must get new varieties to take their places. This is certainly an import-
ant matter for us fruit men to work at. There is a great deal of experimental
work to be done. The man who grows fruit for market hesitates to under-
take it. His earnings do not allow of much experimental work. Experi-
mental stations are becoming public necessities and ought to be established
numerously without delay.
Marketable apples sold for $1.00 per barrel to shippers.
The grape crop was excellent. The steady dry weather was favorable to
develop its best qualities. Even the Catawba put in its smiles which seldom
ripens here. How good were the Jefferson, Martha and many others of the
newer sorts !
The Concord was unusually good. The bees worked industriously upon the
berries that were cracked. I don’t believe they puncture grapes without a
‘broken skin. Home prices ranged from 2 to 3 cents per pound, in quantity;
from 4 to 5 cents at retail in the stores. ‘There was very little grape rot this
season. I had all affected berries picked off from my clusters and destroyed
as fast as they were detected, being careful not to lose any on the ground.
Pears and quinces bore generally well and sold for $1.00 to $2.00 per bushel
at home. Cherries were also abundant and cheap. Common sour cherries
were sold for $1.00 and $1.50 per bushel. Home grown plums are rarely seen
in our market. ‘The finest are shipped in here from the northern counties.
Mr. George April, a large and enterprising farmer seven miles from Ann
Arbor, has placed on his farm an improved cider press for the manufacture
of apple jelly. The works are run by steam, with a capacity of 20 horse
power. The cost of complete machinery is $1,800.00.
Our society sent a committee to inspect the works, which reported very
favorably of the jelly made by this process and of the dispatch with which it
is made. Six gallons of jelly is the yield from 15 bushels of apples. Farm-
ers go there to have apples worked into jelly on shares. Some of our mem-
bers have had jelly made from pears and quinces at this establishment, and
they report satisfactory results. It is believed that by this process of manu-
facturing jelly, the red raspberry may be turned to good use in case af a glut
in the market. Also the soft red raspberries which often accumulate in wet
seasons.
The following abstract of a paper was appended to Mr. Ganzhorn’s report,
entitled
INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES.
BY PROF. J. B. STEERE.
The subject of insects and insecticides which you have given me to speak
upon is a broad one, altogether too broad to be carefully and fully treated of in
the time allowed at our meetings.
REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES, 297
Among insecticides, using the word in its ordinary and literal meaning, we
must include everything which destroys insects at any and every stage of their
multiform existence.
The horticulturist himself who has no scruples against using a muscular thumb
and forefinger, makes an insecticide of no mean value. ‘The insectivorous
birds and mammals, such as the skunk and badger, must also find their place
in the list. To these are to be added the insects themselves which prey on
others, or their eggs or larve. Then, there are the fungi, plants of low orga-
nization, which attack and destroy enormous numbers of insects in their imma-
ture stages. And we must also mention extremes of weather, heat and cold,
drought and moisture, which no doubt aid in keeping our insect pests under
control, and probably have much to do with the almost entire absence of some
species during certain years.
In addition to this varied list of insecticides, drawn from such different
sources, we have those substances which are applied by man himself to the
plants infested by injurious insects. The list of these is a long one, but it can
be readily divided into two classes, mineral and vegetable poisons.
MINERAL INSECTICIDES.
Among the mineral or inorganic insecticides the arsenical compounds take
the first rank, from their cheapness and general utility. The objections to
their use are, first, they are dangerous to man and the domestic animals; sec-
ond, they also injure plant life when used in too great quantity; third, they
affect the stomachs only of insects that bite off the outer parts of leaves and
buds. Insects which bore deep into leaves or stems to suck the juices are not
much affected by these poisons. Three forms of arsenic are used, Paris green,
London purple, and white arsenic. The most commonly used is Paris green.
It costs forty cents per pound in Ann Arbor at the present time. The propor-
tions used are one tablespoonful to four gallons of water; or one pound of
Paris green to twenty pounds of flour. The insects for which it is usually
applied, are potato beetles, currant worms, cabbage worms, canker worms
and codling moths.
London purple is claimed by C. V. Riley and other experts to be in general
as effective as Paris green. The proportions used are half a pound to fifty gal-
lons of water; or half a pound to eighteen pounds of flour or other dry sub-
stance. It is used for the same insects as Paris green. London purple costs in
Ann Arbor twenty cents per pound.
The third form of arsenic is white arsenic. his is worth experimenting
with. C. V. Riley gives this formula: Boil one pound of white arsenic and
one pound sal soda in a gallon of water until the arsenic is dissolved; then use
one quart of this to forty gallons of water; use for the same insects and in the
same way as Paris green. White arsenic can be bought in Ann Arbor by the
quantity at eight cents per pound, and sal soda at five cents. White arsenic is
more dangerous than either of the other forms of arsenic because it is color-
less in solution and may easily be taken for something harmless. It should be
colored by soluble Prussian blue.
Paris green, from its high price, is more apt to be adulterated than the others,
which are so cheap that they are hardly worth the trouble of adulteration.
The fear that such a common use of forms of arsenic would poison the ground
finally, seems to be considered without foundation by scientific men.
38
298 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
EATON COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
OFFICERS FOR 1886.
President—H. D. Griffith, Eaton Rapids.
Vice President—Dayid B. Hale, Eaton Rapids.
Secretary aud Treasurer—S. R. Fuller, Eaton Rapids.
The society for some months was at low ebb, but just previous to the State
fair a picnic was held on the Methodist camp grounds, quite interesting and
instructive, at which time it was decided to hold meetings at the houses of the
members. The October meeting convened at the farm of Wm. P. Green and
the special feature of the occasion was an address by Prof. Bailey of the Agri-
cultural college. This was followed by a grand meeting atthe home of Judge
Shaw in November. Both of these meetings were largely attended and replete
with interesting discussions. The society is again on its feet and with good
promises of future usefulness.
REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 299
INGHAM COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
OFFICERS FOR 1886.
President—uL. H. Bailey, Jr. F
Secretary—C. B. Stebbins.
The society has held some excellent meetings, but in the absence of any re-
ports, the following extracts from addresses given before the society are here
appended :
HORTICULTURE A SCIENCE—AN EXTRACT.
PROF. BAILEY, BEFORE INGHAM COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
2 - = * We must correct ourselves if we entertain the notion
that horticulture has to do simply with securing the best and largest products.
It inquires about the means as well as after the ends. It seeks for the why as
well as the how. The why isscience; the how is practice. Ever since Thomas
Andrew Knight began to demand why grafts live and vary and why insects
fertilize flowers, horticulture has been a science; and although that science is
nearly a century old, it is still mainly known as an art. Why are trees smaller
and rounder, fruits better and colors intenser as we go northward? Why do
plants germinate quicker and at lower temperatures in cold countries? Why is
the apple hardy and the fig tender? Why do latent characters sometimes ap-
pear in offspring? Why are small plants most fertile? Whydo plants become
variegated and why is variegation contagious? Why does the Kittatinny black-
berry rust when many others do not? Why does the apple succeed as a root-
graft when the pear does not? Why are some flowers white and others yellow
on the same plant? Why do potatoes run out? Why do American straw-
berries vary, while European ones do not? Why do cuttings taken in the fall
become calloused on the wound? Whydo plants lose their poisonous properties
when taken northward? Why do cuttings of the yew require two years in
which to root? Why does the sassafras lose much of its characteristic aroma
when grown in England? Why do some plants take from hard wood cuttings
and others only from soft wood cuttings? Why do some seeds require two
years in which to germinate? Why does not the rye plant vary? Why do
leaves of the purple egg plum escape the leaf-killmg fungus more than those of
most other varieties? Why does not the horse-radish produce seeds? Why do
peach trees sometimes bear nectarines? Why does the Canada egg plum fail
to grow on the peach while most other yarieties succeed on it? In short, why
do plants grow? LEvyery plant in your garden is an interrogation point. Try
the experiment for one half day this spring of asking yourself all that you do
not know about the plants you meet, and I will guarantee that you will have
laid out work enough for a lifetime if you should attempt to answer your ques-
300 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
tions. The amount which we do not know is astonishing. If a “ little learn-
ing is a dangerous thing,” then surely are we all in danger! But there is an
universal invitation to know more. The materials for study are everywhere.
No science has more of them than has horticulture. This science is new, fresh,
bracing. It invites us all out of doors, and challenges us to ask questions.
Most people would find more contentment in life for some attention given to
trees and flowers. But you will never believe it until you try it. My fingers
might itch with adyice and my pen burn the paper with enthusiasm, but I
could not convince you. I cannot describe the charm of an acquaintance with
a growing plant. You must live in the charm or die without it. You will not
experience it if you set out a tree and let it die, neither if you set it out and
some day gather its fruit. You must ask it questions; if you do not it will
always be but a simple tree. Watch it closely. Raise it from theseed. Every
week you will catch it in some new trick.
THE PROPAGATION OF WOODY PLANTS,
LOUIS KNAPPER BEFORE INGHAM COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
Woody plants are propagated either by natural means or artificial methods.
We call natural propagation that obtained by means of seeds. This produces
plants which are like the mother plant in its general characteristics. Should
seeds of varieties, however, be used for cultivation, it often happens that the
young plant suffers more or less material change. ‘Thus the seeds of our best
pear trees and cultivated roses reproduce pear trees and roses, but the latter
have neither exactly the same wood nor foliage, nor the same blossoms and
fruit as the mother plant which produced the seed.
Artificial propagation takes place by slips, shoots and cions. Its end is to
faithfully propagate a certain variety in all its parts. An occasional deviation
would only be caused by chance or change of cultivation. Such contingencies
and deviations (freaks of nature) form a partial source of new products, which
each year appear in the province of gardening.
Propagation from Seed.
Propagation by means of seed is the operation by which the seed is entrusted
to the soil in order to bring forth plants. The process is not the same for dif-
ferent kinds of plants; it changes in accordance with the choice of season and
method. .
Nature advises us by her example to sow the seed directly after its complete
maturity, but the conditions imposed upon the gardener do not allow him to
follow this advice under all circumstances. Our sowing in the open air takes
place at two different seasons of the ene First, from April to June; second,
from August to October.
Among the first are the grains of those species which sprout quickly and
whose young shoots become woody fast enough to resist the cold of winter, e. g.,
the elm. ‘This tree blossoms and ripens its seed in the spring, so that a sow-
ing of elms, if it takes place in June, can furnish little stems for the nursery
by the time the leaves fall. We sow directly after harvest the seeds of stone
fruit, with a hard shell which opens with difficulty, in order to soften the hard
seed-shell, and by this means allow a freer development of the embryo ; as, for
example, the stones of the plum, cherry, apricot, peach and almond.
REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 301
Lastly, we also sow directly after their maturity somewhat less hardshelled
seeds with a fleshy kernel, which soon loses its germinating power upon contact
with air, as the seeds of the oak, chestnut, and the berries of the laurel tree.
Thus our imitation of nature in germination seems more assured, the plants
grow quicker and earlier, and the tree itself grows more hardy.
We must not forget, however, to mention the unfavorable side of this
method, which is that in sowing before winter one has to fear decay and damage
by animals. ‘To avoid this double evil, an intermediate sowing has been intro-
duced, by which the seed is preserved from the time of harvest to its germina-
tion. We call this method the stratification of seeds, of which we will speak
later.
For sowing in spring we await the month of April. Then our planting is
finished, the climate having attained the proper temperature and the earth
being somewhat warmed. If, however, great heat or constant rains are to be
feared, it will be better to postpone the work and wait for more favorable
weather. The fall seeds are not so delicate as those of spring. As germina-
tion begins only after winter it suffices that the soil prepared for the reception
of the seed should be in the condition which is required for the cultivation of
the species in general.
Preparation of the Seed for Sowing.
We delay gathering the seeds of the woody plants until the fruit which con-
tains them is quite ripe. Some of the fruits fall off or change color where
they are grown to the tree ; with others the envelope dries up or decays. In.
short, the conditions which mark the maturity of different seeds cannot be
expressed in general terms. ‘T’o recognize maturity is the task of the faithful
observer and the professional men, who are seldom deceived. After a violent
wind, and when the time of early frost approaches, the fruit which lies scattered
on the ground must be gathered. Most of the seeds, however, require to be
picked by hand or knocked off with poles. The kernels of eatable fruits are
put aside for early sowing as soon as the fruit has been eaten or otherwise dis-
posed of. The kernel is left in the envelope if the latter is not inclined to
mould or ferment and is not in the way when handled, as is the case with pulpy
fruit, the pulp of which soon spoils. If decomposition would be hurtful, how-
ever, the seeds are taken out soon after the harvest or during the winter, which
can be done mostly without washing by mere rubbing, etc. The seeds must be
kept in boxes of sound wood or in labeled linen bags in a place which is neither
too damp nor too dry, or, if that is not possible, in a rather dry place; and
they must be kept from the light and from the influence of frost. It is nec-
essary to keep the seed in good condition until the time of sowing, and in
order to preserve it from shrinking and moulding and sprouting the germ, it
must be treated carefully from the harvest day. We begin by exposing the seed
to the air, which dries it gradually without hurting it by the removal of its
innate moisttire which it needs for germination, and proceed in the following
manner:
As soon as the seeds are gathered they are freed from their useless parts and
spread on a sheet or on the dry floor of abarn in the shade. They are aired
sometimes either by shaking them or by turning them several times until the
shell has attained the natural color of maturity. Should they be spread on
the floor this period is recognized by the entire disappearance of the dampness
which the seed had communicated to the wood. It is useless to treat in this
way fine seeds or such as are enclosed in a capsule or those which must be
sowed and stratified immediately. There are certain seeds surrounded by a
302 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
pulpy or oily covering, like those of the Texas ilex, crataegus, magnolia, and
some eatable fruits, which germinate more regularly if they are rubbed with
fresh sand. The sowing, be it preparatory or lasting, must directly follow this
rubbing.
The seed of fir and pine trees can be obtained from the cones only by expos-
ing the latter to strong, dry heat. The cedar of Lebanon must be excepted.
Before getting the seeds from the cones they have to be put in damp moss.
As to the fine seeds, like those of the alder, the fruit is gathered before its
maturity, and exposed to the sun on a sheet. If the seeds are easily scattered
by the air like those of the willow, the branches on which the catkins hang are
cut off at the time, then pushed into the seed-bed prepared for them. Should
this treatment be impossible we ought to rub the catkins -+: our hands to free
them from the down.
There are winged seeds whose wings are so firmly attached to the seed, as
those of the white beech, that it is best to put the fruit together in a heap in
the shade, to moderately moisten it, to beat and then sift it. The pulp of apples
and pears used for cider is spread in the open air and cleaned by breaking the
lumps and placing them on frames. The stones of plums, cherries, peaches
and apricots ought to keep their pulp in order to keep the seed in good condi-
tion. The seeds, which are closely connected with a fleshy receptacle like the
strawberry, are first dried in the sun, then rubbed between the hands, then
mixed with fine earth and sown immediately. Raspberries and currants are
treated in the same manner. If the flesh is hard as with the fruit of the rose-
bush, they are put in a heap and dampened to hasten their decomposition.
When the seed is old, but has not quite lost the power of germinating, it is
necessary to revive it by soaking it in water warmed by the sun, or in brine.
I have to repeat that the sowing must take place immediately after, as the
moistening of the seed is allowable only just before being put in the soil. We
can assure ourselves of the good conditions of the seed by examining the in-
terior which must be entirely sound and whole, of course, but as we cannot use
this method generally, we often put the seeds into a vessel filled with water
and leave them there for from two to twenty-four hours according to their
nature. Those swimming on the surface are doubtful; still, rather than to
throw them away, we sow them closer together then those the soundness of
which is certain. According to logical principles, however, they ought to be
thrown away.
Stratification of Seeds.
The interstratifying of seeds is a transitory way of sowing between the epoch
of their harvest and the definite time of sowing. It can be used with seeds
which germinate slowly and with difficulty, also with those which soon lose
their germinating powers, and, finally, with those which are sought for by
crows, black-birds, rats, or mice. It is we!l to stratify the seeds at the foot of
a wall, in a cellar, a box, basket, or barrel. The sowing of the seeds directly
after their harvest would save this work, but they would then easily be
destroyed by their enemies, as decay and washing away, and the soil would be
unproductive to the time of the sprouting of the little plant. I mention the
hawthorn which remains in the ground twenty months before beginning ger-
mination.
Stratifying is a necessary operation with the chestnut, oak, stone-fruit and
apple-fruit. Also with all hard-shelled seeds, like the hawthorn; and,
finally, with all those which germinate slowly and dry up rapidly. For strati-
fication we take either a barrel, a box, flower-pot, or pan, the bottom of which
REPORTS OF AUXALIARY SOCIETIES. 305
must be perforated and then covered with little stones or broken pieces of pot-
tery. In this way the drainage of the water and the admission of air is
assured. This coarse drainage is then covered with a thick layer of sandy
soil, on this is spread a layer of seed, this is followed by a layer of earth, on
which i is again spread a layer of seed, then another layer of earth, and so on,
until the vessel is quite filled. Too great a number of layers, however, would
rot the fleshy fruits and make the others mouldy. Five layers are accepted as
the average for any kind of seed. ‘The soil which is used must be dry, loose
and fine. We recommend loamy river sand which has been exposed to atmos-
pheric influences for a year and has been often stirred. Sometimes the several
layers of earth are pressed down so that the sprouting rootlets of an upper
layer cannot reach the lower ones. The earth layers are made from one to
uwo inches, according to the size of the seeds. The seeds are put side by side,
without encroaching, in order that germination may take place freely ; and
the gardener who knows the development of the embryo can obtain the better
development of the plantlets by the position of the seeds. The box or vessel
fixed for the reception of the seed must be brought to a cellar or a dark out-
house, ,and so it is needful to take all the material needed there and proceed
to stratification. If rats and mice are feared, one can prevent their doing any
harm by covering the last layer with boards, bricks or pieces of slate. It is
best to water sparingly, only two wettings are sufficient ; the layers are mostly
watered but once, about midwinter. The state of germination is examined
from February 15 to March 15; should it be backward, the wetting is
renewed, and this would be the first watering if the stratification had been
made inJanuary. ‘The time of the stratification must be calculated according
to the facility of germination of the seeds. Wishing to hurry an early germi-
nation by too early sowing would have a bad influence on the plant and expose
it to the caprices of early spring.
We must begin with the kinds which germinate with difficulty and slowly,
and after having softened the leathery envelope by soaking it in water during
twenty-four hours, the seed is well prepared. Almonds, for example, which
were put in layers in January or February, after such preparation and after
haying been watered a month later, can be set out in April, and that is early
enough. ‘The temperature of the place in which the stratified seeds are kept
_ has to be taken into account. Moderate warmth has a furthering influence
on vegetation.» Unless the cellar be an ice cellar, growth will commence always
later out of doors than in such a protected place.
For stratification in the open air we choose a sheltered, dry and easily drained
corner in the garden; for example, the foot of the wall of a building. A hole
must be dug broader at the bottom than at the opening and the seed sur-
rounded by some loose soil. To counteract dampness and frost also, the
uppermost layer must incline to the front and be covered with straw or dry
leaves. The hole might be lined with brush, boards or bricks. Should there
be too much dampness stratification in heaps would be preferable to that in
holes. The hill is then again covered with a thick layer of earth and straw or
dry leayes, and over this some brush. On the top of the heap is placed a pot
bottom side up, and at its base is opened a small ditch for drainage. Damp-
ness can further be prevented by cov ering the soil with gravel or by. raising the
heap. Stratification in the open air is used with hardy kinds of seeds of which
one has a considerable quantity. So the seeds of the maple and ash-tree are
put in layers before they dry up, as their germination takes place only after
eighteen months.
~
304 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
MUSKEGON COUNTY HORTICULTURAL -SOCIETY.
REPORTED BY SECRETARY HOLT.
The annual meeting of the society was held on the fourth day of January
when the following officers were elected for the ensuing year.
President—J. H. Whitney.
Vice President—W. M. Collier.
Secretary and Treasurer—H. H. Holt.
EHzecutive Committee—F. F. Bowles, A. R. Williams, E. B. Crandall,
Frank Dorn, W. M. Collier.
The re-election of Mr. Whitney as President was a deserved compliment to
that gentleman at the hands of the members. He has labored hard and
earnestly in behalf of the society and has succeeded in making the meetings
of a very interesting nature, so much so that its membership has largely
increased. The past year has been a successful one with the society, and it
now has more members than during any of the five years of its existence, and
the interest seems to be increasing, particularly among the fruit growers.
Mr. Holt, who was re-elected secretary and treasurer, says the only reason
why he takes such an interest in the society is that he is anxious to see the
raising of small fruits more extensively engaged in in Muskegon county.
The executive committee were directed to prepare a program for the
monthly meetings of the society for the year, when the meeting adjourned.
February Meeting.
The executive committee presented the following program which was
adopted.
PROGRAM FOR 1886.
Feb. 6—‘‘The effect of unripe fruits on the market,” by F. F. Bowles. Discussion led
by Joseph Randall.
March 6—‘‘Pruning and grafting,” by George Ashton. ‘‘Fertilizers and their appli-
cation,” by Elias E. Campany.
April 10—‘‘Ornamental shrubs and their cultivation,” by C. L. Whitney. Discussion
led by George Kinsman.
May 1—‘‘The establishment of a city market,” by W. M. Collier. Discussion led by
F. F. Bowles.
June 6—‘‘Can sandy soils be cultivated successfully?” by H. H. Holt. Discussion led
by Capt. E. P. Giles.
duly 3—‘‘Raspberries and currants,” by Frank Dorn. Discussion led by W. M.
Collier,
August 7—‘‘The establishment of a cannery,” by L. N. Keating. Discussion led by
He Holt:
REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 305
Sept. 4—‘‘Market gardening,” by Chas. E. Whitney. Discussion led by Orman
Baxter.
Oct. 2—‘‘The grape,” by Myron Flanders. Discussion led by Mark Rousell.
Nov. 13—‘‘Fertilizers and their application,” by F, F. Bowles. Discussion led by
Elias EK. Campany.
Dec. 4—*‘The cultivation of celery,” by A. R. Williams. Discussion led by C. C.
Flint.
STANDING COMMITTEES.
On Fruits— Messrs. F. F. Bowles, Geo. Ashton, A. R. Williams, Miss M. M. Peck
and Mrs. C. L. Whitney.
On Flowers—Messrs. C. L. Whitney, C. C. Flint, Geo. Kinsman, Mrs. H. D. Baker,
and Mrs, H. H. Holt.
On Vegetables—Elias E. Campany, Chas. E. Whitney, H. H. Holt, Orman Baxter
and Robert Pett.
After the adoption of this report a discussion was had on ‘The effect of
unripe fruit on the market.’? Joseph Randall led the discussion, and was
followed by Messrs. Campany, Collier, Holt and others.
The Society then adjourned to meet March 6, at which time George Ashton
will read a paper on “Pruning and grafting.’? Mr. Elias Campany will also
read a paper at this meeting on “Fertilizers and their application.”’
March Meeting.
The meeting held on the first Saturday in March was unusually well attended
and great degree of interest exhibited by those present in the proceedings.
Geo. Ashton read the following paper on the subject of
Pruning and Grafting.
He said: “It is essential to the beauty and safety of the tree to have the
top as evenly balanced as possible, and, if it can be avoided, not to have any
forked trees. Much has been said about low heading apple trees—so much
that I think that farmers are led to extremes, thereby making an unsightly
tree and one that will not bring the best results. Some varieties, where the
branches naturally grow upwards may be headed lower those varieties where
the branchés grow horizontally.
~ Care should be taken to have the branches high enough to allow cultivation
and not to have the fruit near the ground. My observation has been that
apples growing on branches near the ground are always inferior in size, color
and flavor. The best time to prune, in my judgment, is when the sap is
flowing freely, as the wounds heal at once, thereby lessening the danger of
doing the tree a permanent injury.
“ Pear trees require so little pruning and suffer less from neglect than severe
pruning, so that we might say it is immaterial whether or not they are pruned
at all.
“The remarks concerning apple trees will likewise apply to cherry trees.
Both cherry and plum trees require as much pruning with the grub hoe as the
knife. They are liable to sprout from the roots, and those sprouts must be
removed if you would keep your trees in a fruitful, thrifty and healthy con-
dition.
“Currants and Gooseberries—These are neglected as much as any fruit.
They are allowed to grow up almost a mass of fruitless branches, and their
fruit is inferior. It is said they should be trimmed up as a tree.
39
306 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
“ Raspberries should be cut back closer than most farmers cut them—say two
feet. The weaker canes should be removed and not more than six of the
strongest allowed to stand.
“ Black caps should be cut off during the summer season, but the reds should
be allowed to grow and be cut in the spring.
‘“Why not prune strawberries? It would be difficult to prune them after
the manner of pruning other fruit—by removing a part of the plant—but with
a pair of sharp scissors a man can cut a portion of the fruit spurs in a day
from a good-sized patch of strawberries.
<< Grapes—In pruning one year old vines they should be cut back to three
buds. The second year they shouldn’t be cut so close— say to six buds. The
third year they may be allowed to bear lightly. Our object in pruning should
be to prevent the main vine from running too far from the root, and as it is »
impossible to keep them of uniform height, we will say that they may vary
from 18 to 36 inches. But some say it is natural for the grape vine to grow a
long vine, and if we interfere with nature’s laws we injure the vine and cur-
tail the crop. I answer that it is the nature of the apple tree to grow from 50 to
60 or 70 feet high, and so thick with branches that a small bird would find it
difficult to fly through them, yet no one is so foolish as to say that an apple
tree should be allowed to grow as it pleased, in order to bring the best results.
“T never was a believer in summer pruning but have ever held that it was
wrong both in theory and practice. In an article read before this society in
1882 the writer gave as his remedy for disease of the grape, early summer
pruning, thereby turning the flow of sap from the vine, making a channel into
the grape, giving it vigor and hardiness to resist attack. I assert that the sap
that produces wood will not produce grapes. There is as great a difference in
their composition as in flesh and bone.
‘‘ Scientists tell us that flesh-producing food will not make bone and vice versa.
I understand there is an upward and downward flow of sap. As it flows
upward and through the branches the wood-producing food is taken up and is
used in making and ripening the wood. When it reaches the leaves the wood-
producing food is all taken up, and what is left returns to the root or as much
of it as is not taken up by the grape, and in its way it builds up the grape.
Later in the season the action of the sun on the leaves converts part of it into
sugar, thereby sweetening our grapes. Hence I assert that summer pruning
will not benefit the grape a particle. I have known grapes to be ruined by
summer pruning. If we want to stimulate the fruit to more rapid growth or
strengthen it to resist disease, what is the rational course to pursue? I
answer to remove a portion of the fruit. But I have been asked the question
whether I ever summer prune. In certain cases Ido. I take away all shoots
that come up from the root, cutting them off, under the surface, and sometimes
take off a part of the useless branches from the stock. In case of a vine put-
ting out a multitude of branches, and none of them growing well, I remove all
but two or three of the strongest, but I never take a leaf off a vine bearing
grapes. In all your pruning be careful to cut close to the trunk and not have
your vines or trees ornamented with unsightly snags.”’
Mr. Randall, of Norton, then led in a discussion, taking up the points in the
paper read, carefully, one by one, and also gave illustrations as to his manner
of pruning. He thought different climates and soils required different
methods of pruning. He did not agree with Mr. Ashton in regard to pruning
apple-trees. Thought the best time was when the trees were in blossom; did
REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES, 307
not believe in cultivating among cherry-trees at all. In regard to the pruning
of strawberry plants, had never thought of it, but did not see why it would
not be a good plan. Believed that in pruning grapes we should be governed
by the strength of the vine, the soil in which it was planted, and the amount
of exposure it had to the sun ; thought the sun should shine on the root as
well as on the leaves of the vine. Thought twenty or twenty-five pounds of
grapes was too much for a vine to bear.
Mr. Ashton then gave an exhibition of spur pruning. He thought the
reason the grapes did not ripen was that the vine was too long, not cut back
enough.
Mr. Randall gaye an explanation of mildew, the cause and the remedy there-
for; also his plan of grafting grape vines, showing some of his grafts.
The chair then introduced Mr. Saang, a German, who has lately become a
member of the society. Mr. Saang gave a brief but comprehensive descrip-
tion of the manner of pruning in the old country. He is a man of a great
deal of experience in grape culture and is a valuable addition to the society.
Mr. Collier had tried summer pruning of grape vines, and had grapes in
blossom, green and ripe on the vine all at once—in September. Did not like
the tree plan of pruning currants and gooseberries. Preferred the bush plan
in order to cope with the borers.
Prof. Whitney favored the long arm system of pruning. Thought the
grapes were thrown more in the sun. Cited the Whittlesey vineyard in St.
Joseph, which is on the same kind of soil as ours, is pruned on that plan and
their fruit is famous the world over. Thought we did not prune enough.
Better take two years longer to grow the vine and wait for grapes.
Mr. Ashton said that the grapes growing nearest the root were the sweetest.
Thought we should prune to put more sugar in our grapes.
Mr. Collier: If Mr. Ashton wants sugar in his grapes, he will have to have a
warmer August than we had last year or put it in himself.
Mr. Williams asked: ‘‘If you do not believe in summer pruning what are
we to do with the shoots that run out 15 or 20 feet during the summer; often
across the rows, interfering with cultivation?”
Mr. Saang: They should be cut off as soon as they start with a pair of shears.
I put manure around my vines during the cool weather last August, and my
grapes all ripened early and evenly.
Mr. Campaney thought apple trees should be trimmed low enough that the
sun could not shine on the body of the tree. Thought the best cultivator to
use in an orchard was a drove of hogs. Thought cultivation broke the roots
and damaged the body of the tree more than all the good it did. The hogs
would keep the ground worked up, keep it mellow and eat all the wormy fruit
as fast as it fell off, thus destroying all the insects and worms. Thought more
orchards were injured by heat and cultivation than by cold weather. He then
read a very well written article on “Fertilizers and their application,” showing
the different kinds to be used, and the manner of applying.
EK. E. Campaney, of Norton, then read a paper upon
FERTILIZERS AND THEIR APPLICATION.
Opinions in this haye been formed by experimenting and observation of what,
when and how fertilizers are to be applied. In my opinion, the clay soil needs
308 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
different applications of materials from sand or loam, the clay being a solid,
compact substance, needing an application of something to open, loosen and
make more porous, for if the season is wet it holds water on the surface and
injures the crop; if an extremely dry season it packs so hard that it is almost
impossible to cultivate or work. From my experience the application of coarse
straw manure from stables, barn yard or pig pens, or something to plow under,
as peas, corn or buckwheat, is good; but clover is best, loosening sufficient to
let surface water go down.
If manure is used, or anything containing ammonia, plow under as soon as
convenient, to retain the ammonia. Anything that contains alkali never
should be used on clay, for it forms a stronger compact. Wood ashes, leached
or unleached, would be injurious. I at one time saw leached ashes applied on
clay by one of my neighbors, in Niagara county, York State. He bought all
the ashes from an ashery for several years, and applied to a field of ten acres,
plowing them under. He cultivated through the summer, and sowed to wheat
in September, after taking the crop off the nextsummer. The following spring
was dry in April, and he plowed for corn, but received little benefit for three
or four years after; and to bring it back to its former condition he used the
large kind of clover, and plowed it under. Sandy or loamy soils require differ-
ent applications—almost the reverse from clay. Loamy and sandy soils at
some seasons are too loose, and need compacting. Anything containing alka-
lies, phosphates, or wood ashes would form a surface and make it compact.
In this sandy country we see farmers drawing manure from the city, com-
posed of sawdust used for bedding in stables; and, in my opinion, that kind of
rmaanure needs a great deal of labor to give small benefit. It has to be applied
almost every year, keeps the land continually in use, and exhausts all the prop-
erties required for certain crops. Applying clover has a tendency to bring
back what is required, or exhausted by the continuation of one crop. In sow-
ing clover, to get quick returns, use the large kind, as in clay, and when plowed
under use a roller to press the soil more firmly together and form a solid surface.
It is better, however, to leave the land in clover for two or three years, applying
plaster and giving the land time to receive all the benefit. The proper applica-
tion of plaster is of great benefit to clover. Some use tco much, and apply
too early in spring before the surface is warm; for p'aster is of a cold nature,
and its great benefit is that it attracts from the atmosphere. Use from thirty
to fifty pounds per acre. Have seen more benefit from thirty pounds than two
hundred. A compost can be made of plaster, ashes, lime, salt and guano from
the hen roost and applied to any crop, grain, vegetables, or fruit with good
effect and in small quantities. It has the same power of drawing from the
atmosphere that plaster alone has, and strong tendency to form a compact sur-
face. It will retain its effects longer than any manure containing ammonia,
for one evaporates and the other attracts.
When we sow clover we should be liberal with seed; sow a peck per acre, and
if a good stand is obtained, give the soil the largest portion of the growth.
You will raise the condition of the soil quicker than to take all that grows for
hay, and leave nothing but the roots to benefit the soil. Now, Ido not main-
tain that manure drawn from town or barn-yard will do no good, for any kind
will do a certain amount; but, from my experience and observation, we can
obtain more benefit from clover than from any other application, if assisted by
thirty or forty pounds of plaster each spring, as soon as it is warm enough to
start the clover
REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 309
C. L. Whitney led in the discussion of the paper by showing that there
were thirteen essential elements entering into the combination of plants and
necessary to their growth, viz.: potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, iron,
carbon, silicon, sulphur, phosphorus, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen and chlorine.
Ten of these were abundantly provided by nature in the soil maintain and
aid and none need have any care about their supply, but the other three, potas-
ium, phosphorus and nitrogen, were usually needed and should be supplied in
our system of manuring. ach ton of green clover plowed under had manur-
ial value in it of $12.62. As five tons of green clover can be grown to the acre,
a crop turned under was worth $63.13; with the same cured and sold for hay,
it would not bring $40 if it did that.
A ton of the best barn yard or cow stable manure is worth $5 while the
ordinary manure is only worth $1 98 per ton and some is not worth that.
A ton of dry muck has a value of $7.81 mostly in nitrogen. Dry bones pul-
verized finely are worth $32.89, for manure they lack in potassium.
Wood ashes have a manurial value of $11.60 per ton and if leached still are
worth $6.80, but neither have nitrogen in them, hence muck and ashes are
good used together.
Plaster is valuable. First, to aid in the decomposition of the silicates of
alumina and silicon: second, to arrest the escape of the volatile carbonate of
ammonia, hence its value upon the compost heap and stables, etc. All animal
remains, bones, flesh, hair, etc., should be saved and carefully covered with:
earth. All waste from the house and barn, cleanings of the hen roost and
privy, all weeds, etc., should be carefully compacted and saved for the soil.
They are more valuable than barn yard manure. Salt, lime and ashes, min-
erals, are valuable, as also coal ashes, in making light soils more compact and
capable of holding moisture. They are more or less valuable as insecticides.
April Meeting.
C. L. Whitney read a paper entitled
ORNAMENTAL SHRUBS AND THEIR CULTIVATION,
of which the following is a synopsis:
Gardening is a fine art, one of the six fine arts of the day, and bears a similar
relation to architecture that painting does to sculpture—that music does to
poetry. The effect or use of these arts is to create pleasure by producing
beauty. Gardening may be useful as well as beautifying, adding to the wealth
as well as to the gratification of the artist, but we shall treat of the subject
only in the ornamental sense.
Why do we plant trees, shrubs, etc.? First, because of an intense desire to
see something growing, to shelter and to add to the natural surroundings of
our homes. Second, to ornament by hiding the defects and deformities in our
surroundings. Third, to add to the natural beauty of the landscape and to
supplement the efforts of the architect in the buildings.
310 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
\ :
To secure the highest objects in planting we should have some plan lest we
destroy rather than enhance beauty and make more apparent existing defects.
What to plant to secure the desired end is very essential. The size of the
grounds is an important consiceration. A city or village lot has little room
for ornamental shrubbery and large trees should not be used in groups or as
single plants; some varieties bear grouping while others will not.
For lines of trees or shrubs those of uniform size should be used on our
streets. To plant in the proper place and the best for each place requires skill,
and not to crowd the grounds is equally important.
In large grounds, such as the farmer can have, larger growing varieties and
more kinds can be used. The same is true of our public grounds or parks.
The time to plant any tree or shrub is just as the buds begin to open, just
showing the green tip. The same is true of the evergreen. ‘This will give a
long season for planting. The willow and poplar begin to leave early, and
should be planted early; while the maple comes later, and the catalpa still
later, and the evergreens still later. What shall we plant? If we have large
grounds that will permit the use of tall trees that grow from thirty feet
upward, take theelm. Of maples, the hard maple is slow growing, and though
the soft maple grows quickly it branches in such shape as to be liable to split
down unless it is trimmed properly.
The tulip tree or whitewood, which grows only in the United States, is a
‘clean, handsome tree and should be more planted. ‘The beech and linden
are both good. ‘The silver-leaved poplar grows rapidly but sprouts badly. The
balm-of-Gilead has handsome bronze, green and gold foliage and is fragrant.
The black walnut is good for shade and for fruit. Some tall pyramidal trees,
like the Lombardy poplar and the larch, may be used.
For smaller grounds and to use among larger trees take shorter trees, grad-
ing from fifteen to twenty feet, such as the catalpa, fine in both bloom and
leaf. The birch, horse chestnut, buckeye, sweet chestnut, butternut (the two
latter being useful for their fruits), hawthorn, sweet bough and such other
varieties of the apple, mulberry, and such evergreens as the Norway spruce
pine and fir may be added. For still smaller grounds take the shrubs, growing
from seven to fifteen feet in height, as the lilac, brown and white fringe, shad-
berry tree, and matchless Judas tree ; also the mountain ash, wild crab, hyslop,
and the Siberian and other crab apples. To use for bed grouping and border
planting, take smaller shrubs, growing from three to seven feet high, among
which are the many spireas snowball, althea, sweet scented shrub, hydrangea
paniculata, and shrub honeysuckle.
Another useful class are called bushes and are less than three feet high.
The spirea callosa, tub peony, deutzias, daphne, forsythia, rhododendron (if
protected in winter), wiegela, and others in this class are very useful—more
useful than anything else of this size, and the roses in borders and beds. ‘The
June roses—many kinds of hybrids, moss roses and the fragrant tea roses are
excellent.
Climbing shrubs have an important place in ornamentation. The clematis,
wisteria, akebia, ampelepsis, trumpet creeper, and honeysuckle are of high
importance, yet nearly all need a little protection in winter, as laying down
upon the ground and covering slightly with leaves. The Limburg rose, like
the seven sisters, queen of the prairie, Baltimore bell, Dundee rambler and
some newer varieties, is very fine but needs some protection. These lists
could be extended, but those given have been tried and found useful.
REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 311
Another class of shrubs for hedges and screens might be added. Mr. Whit-
ney had these arranged on a large sheet of paper in their several classes.
Mr. Holt spoke in favor of and encouraged the planting of nut-bearing
trees. He thought that either the butternut or chestnut were more profitable
than the peach and the trees were not so liable to get winter-killed.
The meeting then adjourned until the next monthly meeting, to be held on
Saturday, May 1.
May Meeting.
Wm. M. Collier read the following paper at this meeting.
A CITY MARKET.
In bringing this subject of the establishment of a city market before this
society, if is not with any expectation that any action will be taken to bring
about « much needed reform in our methods of disposing of the products of
the soil; but rather with the hope of drawing out considerable discussion.
The more we agitate this subject, the better. The protection of home indus-
tries is one of the fundamental principles of our national government. But
why confine it to the jurisdiction of the nation? Why should not our city
government protect and foster the agricultural and horticultural interests of
the surrounding country?
Under existing conditions, our products—both fruit and vegetable—are sold
from door to door, by a large number of small growers, and by another class
living in the city who procure their stock from’ Grand Haven, Grand Rapids
and other places, and usually consists of the refuse and stale stock left over
_ from day to day. The stock they offer for sale naturally accumulates at com-
mission houses and should go to the refuse pile instead of being offered for
consumption. Where no city market exists and where peddlers are not
licensed, fresh wholesome products must be brought in competition, and sold
for nearly the same price as an inferior article. Consequently producers have
nothing to encourage them in trying to grow anything of superior quality or
attractiveness. We do grow fruits here, as you all know, that we need not be
ashamed to offer for sale in the most exacting market, or place before the most
critical epicure. But you rarely see them offered for sale in our home market.
It is very seldom that our retailers place our finer fruits before their custom-
ers. Why? Because our streets are full of peddlers following each other
from house to house like a funeral procession with their cry of “Strawberries,
sweet corn, green peas,” etc., from morning till night. Morning did I say?
Why I have been told that there is no rest for the weary citizen after four
o’clock in the morning. They are kept awake by the monotonous cry of the
peddler. Now what is the result? The growers who raise fine fruits and
vegetables do not peddle. To produce that class of goods, the time that
would be consumed in peddling must be devoted at home.
We offer a superior article of fruit to our retailers here at home, but they
do not offer us any better price than for an inferior grade, for the reason
that the market is so uncertain, owing to consumers being supplied by
312 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
peddlers’ wagons, that they do not like to take any risks of its spoiling on
their hands. Consequently our finer fruits seek a foreign market to the detri-
ment of our consumers. With a city market our retailers would know how
much of it they could handle to advantage, because they would better under-
stand the needs of the consumer and the amount of their daily trade, as it
would be more uniform. As it is now they can tell nothing about it.
But some will say, if we buy at a store we will have to pay more for it than
if we buy of peddlers. Perhaps there is occasionally a case where the retail-
er’s price is higher than the price on the street, but I can assure you it is not
the rule. ‘To the consumer a city market would give the advantage of a bet-
ter assortment, and a greater variety to choose from, than could be found in a
peddler’s wagon. It would have the advantage of being fresh and clean, as
anything not wholesome would be ruled off the market, as it all comes under
inspection. Then there would be a stated price each day according to the
supply and demand for each product on the market. Now there is no market
price for anything, every man has a price of his own without regard to quality
or grade. ‘To the producers it would be of great benefit also. It would be the
means of bringing them together to their mutual advantage. It would have
the tendency to create a pleasant spirit of rivalry between them as to who
should offer the finest products to be placed on the market in the most attract-
ive shape.
It would in fact be one of the best means of educating him to the needs of
our home market in regard to better fruits and vegetables, and the best meth-
ods of placing them before all classes of the trade, both wholesale and retail.
Under the present system of go-as-you-please, he knows nothing of the supply
and demand for any product, and consequently does not plant either with
intelligence or profit. As a sanitary measure it would be of considerable
importance, as everything offered for sale would be open to the inspection of a
health officer, or market master. Perishable fruits are carted all over the city
from morning till noon—oyer cross-walks, etc., through the dust and dirt
which they cannot escape, and surely are not in very good condition for the
table.
Muskegon, as every one has reason to believe, is bound to make a city of
considerable importance. With the advent of greater transportation facilities,
both by rail and water (for one will certainly bring the other), come increased
manufacturing interests, and a largely increased population. This will call
for an extension of the street railway all over the city; the paving or grayel-
ing of streets, and other internal improvements; and with these improvements
do not forget ‘‘ the establishment of a city market.”
Mr. Collier’s paper was discussed by Messrs. Campeney, Tyler, C. L. Whit-
ney, Chas. Whitney, and Wm. Collier.
June Meeting.
At this meeting Henry H. Holt read the following article:
CAN SANDY SOIL BE MADE PROFITABLE.
The question proposed as the subject of this article will perhaps suggest
REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 313
several inquiries, among which may be this: ‘“ What has this question to do with
horticulture, and why should the writer of the article presume to teach practical
fruit growers?’ Candor compels me to say that no answer can be given to
the last of these inquiries. In reply, and in explanation of the query as to the
relation of successful cultivation of sandy soils to fruit growing, will say this,
that while it is admitted that no portion of our country is better adapted than
Western Michigan for the cultivation of all kinds of fruits and vegetables
grown at the north, still, experience has shown that we cannot depend upon
one kind of fruit alone; or, in fact, upon various kinds of fruit. We have
learned, as was the case last year with strawberries, that the crop may be so
abundant, and the weather be such, in the various portions of what is known
as the strawberry belt, that the entire crop of the country may be thrown upon
the market, as it were, at once, thus causing almost a total loss of profit on
the crop.
Sometimés a late frost or a hard winter may ruin a particular crop, while
others escape. The proper course, it would seem, for fruit-growers to pursue,
is to devote a portion of their energies to the cultivation of vegetables. Not
only this, but most fruit growers own land sufficient to allow them to raise more
or less of the cereals used by their families, and upon their farms. If this
couse were followed, fruit growers would not be so dependent upon the results
of any particular crop. If this is true, and I think it cannot be successfully ,
contradicted, the fruit grower, as well as the farmer, is directly interested in the
question under discussion. This is not all, because, while it must be admitted
that most fruits may be successfully cultivated upon lighter soils than are
required for the various cereals, it is also true that fruits are greatly benefited
by good soils, provided other surroundings are favorable.
The various works devoted to the description of the soils covering the sur-
face of the earth, divide them into three classes according to the amount of
alumnia or clay poaed in each, to wit: The sandy soil in which sand and
silica are largely in excess, with small per cent of clay; the clay soil which con-
tains a larger amount of alumnia, or clay; and the loam which contains a
medium amount of clay. It is, therefore, true that all sandy soils contain
more or less alumnia, and that all clay soils contain more less sand and silica.
There is another fact which may be mentioned that is none the less remarka-
ble, and that is, that the analyses of plants and general vegetation show that
none of them contain any alumina, and but very little silica, and that this
silica is rather accidental than as forming a necessary ingredient of the plant.
This would rather lead to the belicf that nature furnished both the sand and
the clay, not directly for the formation of vegetation, but rather for the pur-
pose of regulating the heat and moisture of the ground while other agencies
are carrying forward their growth.
When we recall the fact that such an immense proportion of the bulk of
the earth is composed of sand, silica, and alumina in their various forms,
and that their office is only to keep trees and plants in position, and convey
moisture to their roots, the thought seems almost incredible.
Whether this be true or not, experience has demonstated the fact that a soil
in which clay is largely deficient is not regarded as being a good one for any
kind of vegetation, and that a very stiff clay is almost, if not quite, as poor
as a barren sand.
It is also a fact that both soils are affected about alike by the extreme heat
of summer, while the clay soil has the further disadvantage that it is not so
readily susceptible to the rays of the sun in spring.
314 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
Undoubtedly the soil to be preferred particularly for fruit and vegetable rais-
ing, is that in which there is a reasonable amount of clay, but not enough so
that the soil would be termed a clay soil. But we cannot all select such a
soil as we might desire were it in our power to make the choice. Those of us,
then, who have farms the soil of which does not contain the requisite proportions
of alumina and silica to regulate the moisture of dry weather in summer, must
seek to remedy the defect.
Not only this, but a further analysis shows that the soil of our sandy farms
is also wanting in a proper supply of lime, soda, potash, magnesia, and certain
other ingredients of a first-class soil, which nature would have furnished had
the requisite amount of clay been present to retain whatever amounts of these
substances came from the vegetation that grew thereon.
This latter deficiency is not so great, however, as it is generally supposed, as
shown by a series of experiments made some years since by Professor Kedzie,
of the Agricultural College, consisting of an analysis of specimens of soil from
about thirty different localities, including some of the poorest as well as the
best soils of the State.
Among these were specimens from the sand plains near Baldwin, and from
those near Kalkaska, all of which contained magnesia, lime, soda, potash in
sufficient quantities for a successful cultivation of the soil, were it not for the
great deficiency of moisture, or rather the lack of ability in the soil to retain
moisture. Dr. Kedzie also experimented with these specimens of soils for the
purpose of ascertaining their capacity for retaining moisture. He did this by
first removing all sticks, stones, and other foreign substances from the soil, and
drying it as thoroughly as possible. He then filled a funnel-shaped vessel hay-
ing an opening at the bottom large enough to allow water to escape without
the loss of soil, and, after weighing it, he poured water upon the soil until it
would retain no more. It was then again weighed, and the difference in weight
of each, showed its ability to retain moisture. The result demonstrated that
soils containing most vegetable matter retain most moisture; those containing
the largest amount of sand and silica retain the least. Experience has also
taught that no tree or plant retains life without obtaining moisture, while many
plants grow luxuriantly placed in bottles of water, without nutriment more
than they obtain from the air and water. A man can live long without food
if he is supplied with water, as in the case of Dr. Tanner, and there is a
greater similarity between human and vegetable life than is generally supposed.
Both require light, pure air, are poisoned by noxious gases, and require
water to retain life. :
If all thus far advanced is true, and I think it will not be disputed, the
query comes up, can we treat sandy soils in such manner as to retain moisture
sufficient for satisfactory vegetation?
Irrigation is out of the question, and we must rely upon fertilizers and proper
cultivation. In selecting fertilizers, it is not plant food proper that we most
need, it is plant drink. We should select fertilizers which will assist nature in
retaining moisture.
Barn-yard manure when applied alone to sandy soils, does not meet our expec-
tations, because at the time when most needed, much of it is in a dry state, or
drifted about by the wind. Manure without moisture is as worthless as tea
leaves without water.
The substances deficient in’sandy soils are lime, soda, potash, and magnesia,
an1 these may be supplied in the form of ashes, salt, lime, and plaster, the sub-
REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 315
stances which experience has shown to be best in fitting it for retention of
moisture.
We would not discard barn-yard manure, but advise that it never be used
alone, applying in connection with lime, ashes, plaster, and salt, so that its
strength be not wasted.
The other improvement in the cultivation of sandy soils is in the amount of
labor bestowed upon the land. Many suppose that if the soil is hoed or cul-
tivated to keep down the weeds, that all is accomplished. ‘This is a great mis-
take. Experience shows that if the surface of a sandy soil is changed very
ofter, the labor is not lost on the crop.
There are minerals in every soil that remain in a natural state unless exposed
to the air and oxidized, when they act as fertilizers.
Frequent hoeing and cultivating changes these with the beneficial result
shown in summer fallowing.
The nurseryman understands that budding can only be done when the bark
of the tree will peel; that many times he can work in the morning, but when
the sun is hot the bark becomes set and he can work no longer. He then
starts his horse ‘and cultivator, between the rows, and before he has passed
many times he can again commence work, as the bark is found to be all right.
A tree can only grow when its bark will peel, consequently it may grow in the
forenoon and remain dormant in the afternoon, which fact is also true in regard
to plants and vegetables.
In conclusion, the cultivation of sandy soils can be made profitable if suf-
ficient attention is paid to the manure used, and the amount of labor bestowed
upon them.
In the discussion which followed Mr. Campeney said: “ All soils, if not
covered with water, can be made profitable. The main feature in sandy soil is
to produce moisture. When this can be done crops can be grown; but if it
have no substance to retain moisture it makes a serious deficiency. In the
atmosphere which sometimes appears dryest may be found the most moisture.
We find in harvest time that drops collect on the outside of water pitchers,
and it does not come from within. If we can, in some similar manner, attract
moisture to the soil, we accomplish our purpose. Plaster is the best for this
purpose, and ashes are good. Barn-yard manure contains ammonia and the
atmosphere tends to draw it away. Ashes and plaster gives to him who
applies them on fields near manure, two-thirds of its benefits. Clover is a
great fertilizer because it attracts moisture from the atmosphere. It also
responds quickly to plaster, as do potatoes also. We should help the natural
elements. In my opinion this is all we can do.”
July Meeting.
There was no paper read at this meeting, fand the same was true of the
meeting of the society held in August.
316 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
September Meeting.
Market gardening was treated by Chas. E. Whitney, of Norton township.
Prof. Bailey, of the Agricultural College, describes market gardening as
intensive agriculture, and the raising of wheat, corn, oats, cattle, horses, and
sheep as extensive agriculture, and says extensive agriculture is easily illus-
trated, but intensive agriculture or market gardening we can only approach.
Have any of you ever thought that market gardening was anything but a
one horse business, engaged in by only those too poor to engage in any other ?
The market gardeners of the east or those near large cities in our own State
claim that it is necessary for a gardener to have at least $300 capital per acre,
and that more profit is realized from one acre with $300 capital than from two
acres with the same capital. It takes a man with brains and muscle as well
as capital to make this business a success.
We must acknowledge that market gardening is a business beyond compre-
hension, when we take into consideration the amount of its products that are
displayed so tastefully and abundantly in front of every store and in front of
counters, in every city, village and four corners in this State and in every State
in the Union. The sale of these products is foremost in every man’s trade.
Why ? Because there is a great demand for them and there is money in the
handling. The dealer places on the outside and in the most conspicuous places
that which will attract the most attention and for which there is the most
demand. Look at the amount of money that must necessarily be paid to rail-
road companies, express companies, transportation companies and transfer
companies to distribute these products from one State to another, from one
city to another or from the smaller cities, towns and villages for consumption.
Look at the vast number of men it must necessarily give employment to.
ee do you wonder that in illustrating this subject we can only approach
it
The demand for fresh and seasonable fruit and vegetables has increased
wonderfully in the last few years. It is but a short time since we have seen
these products displayed for sale in only larger cities and villages. Now you
will see them everywhere. People have learned that plenty of fruit and vegeta-
bles make stronger boys and girls than dainties from confectioner’s and baker
shops. That they create fewer doctor’s bills and that they make more muscle
for the laborer with which to perform his work.
Market gardening in this locality is but in its infancy. Some of our garden-
ers have practiced what is termed high culture, not cropping more than twice
in a single season. Perhaps this is due to our cheap lands and spacious gar-
dens. But why can not this famous business be conducted in this locality ona
larger scale. Why can not we furnish vegetables for the world as well as small
fruits? We certainly can raise a quality that is unsurpassed, all have the soil
which is a far better soil than that of the famous gardens of Arlington, near
Boston. Their soil in its original state was sandy plains, destitute of vegeta-
tion and was known as “Poverty Plains.” Now the gardens on these same
desert plains are noted for being the most famous, prolific, and profitable gar-
dens in the United States.
With our present railroad facilities and those which we soon will have we
REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 317
could place vegetables in a merchantable condition on almost any market in
this part of the country at any season of the year. We are favored in one
respect in raising vegetables over some localities, and that is the washing of
them. Our vegetables present a better appearance right from the ground
than those that have been washed. They look cleaner and more natural.
The work of market gardening commences with the new year. The gardener
should study his catalogue carefully during the long winter evenings.
Look up all the new varieties of vegetables, vines, shrubs and trees and scru-
tinize them very closely, for generally there is but one in a thousand that
amounts to anything. He then should make out complete lists of all seeds
and other articles which will be needed for the entire season. A liberal amount
of seeds is quite essential in case re-sowing is necessary where insects destroy
or in case of dry weather or seed lacking vitality enough to grow a sufficient
number of plants to insure a good crop. Many gardeners waste time enough
cultivating waste ground occasioned by the above failures, where something
might be growing with the crop when ready for market to pay their running
expenses. ‘This is an important matter in market gardening—not a foot of land
should lay idle. A surplus amount of seed is also necessary for second crop,
such as turnips, beets, after early peas and lettuce, turnips, after early pota-
toes, late rose, early sweet corn. It is quite often the case that the second
crop is much better than the first. The locality where seed is grown is an
important matter to the gardeners of this locality. Seed should be thoroughly
acclimated to our climate. The first work in the spring is the preparing of a
hot bed with a sufficient capacity for growing such plants as are necessary for
early planting. I shall not undertake to say anything about raising early
vegetables under glass, although it is an important matter in market gardening.
Then comes the work of fertilizing, where it is applied before plowing, also
pruning in the orchard and among the grapes and currants. This kind of work
and much more can be done, and should be done, before the time comes to plow
and sow, for at this time a gardener is very busy. He should plan and lay out
his garden so as to have it convenient for cultivation, handy to get at early
vegatables and convenient for second cropping if desirable. He should be sup-
plied with good tools and adapted to the business. A seed drill is indispensable.
TI would recommend either the Planet Jr. or Mathews. His tools should be
always well cared for, kept perfectly clean and bright, and housed during the
winter season After plowing and harrowing comes the planting and setting of
plants. In planting corn to obviate.the cut worms I have planied a hill of
beans between the hills of corn with good success; the worm will eat the beans
in preference to the corn and by the time the beans are gone the corn will be
out of the way of the worm. Cull beans may be used for this. In planting
melons, cucumbers or squashes I consider it better to mulch or top-dress the
hill with manure than to manure the hill, as it answers two purposes: First to
keep the ground moist; and second as a fertilizer. This method will show for
itself in such a season as this. Thorough cultivation is the great secret of
success; with the gardener close and careful attention is very necessary. Plants
should be hoed and thinned at the proper time so as not to impede the growth.
Marketing produce is no small matter. ‘T’o be a successful gardener, he should
be a good salesman, always courteous, polite, honorable and good natured. He
should take into consideration that it always takes two to make a bargain.
The purchaser trying to buy as cheaply as possible, while on the other hand the
gardener wants the full market price and a little more if he can get it. He
318 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
should be supplied with a suitable wagon that will carry produce without injury.
He should arrange his produce on his wagon so as to be attractive and pleasing
to the eye of the purchaser. Much time is saved sometimes by having a variety,
as often one man will buy your entire load, when, by haying a big load of one
kind of vegetable or fruit, you are often obliged to drive all over the city.
Much more could be said upon this great subject of market gardening; but I
trust that the experience which we have obtained from our past success and
failures will aid us more in prospering in the future than anything that I could
write. Market gardeners let us get to the front in this buisness, we should not
be satisfied in simply supplying the market of this city. Let us advance by
raising more produce to the acre, and more acres, a larger variety and a better
quality. Let us also improve our land, enrich the soil and build up our homes,
and I believe success will attend us.
Orman Baxter led the discussion, referring particularly to the advantages of
a sandy soil to needs of market gardening.
C. L. Whitney followed, speaking of the lack of information throughout the
State of the fact that a sandy soil in the vicinity of a large lake had advan-
tages over a heavy soil in the interior. He mentioned the fact that the market
garden localities of New York, Boston and Albany and most of the great cities
of the country were started on what were originally worthless sandy plains. He
said, too, that we should see to it that when the next census was taken fuller
statistics be obtained in regard to market gardening.
Mr. Holt spoke of the advantages enjoyed by those engaged in market
gardening over the ordinary farmer, in the fact that the variety of crops of the
latter is so small that if one or more of them failed in product or price, he
finds himself in a bad condition, while the gardener has an endless number to
rely upon. Speaking of men in the vicinity of Muskegon who are annually
realizing a greater net profit from ten and twenty acres than is realized from
many of the large farms of the interior of the State, he stated that the time
is not far distant when this locality will become the garden of Michigan, and
that the prosperous day for Muskegon is when less attention is paid to sawing
and shipping green lumber and more to the cultivation of the soil.
Mr. Collier spoke of the advantages of thorough cultivation of whatever
ground is planted.
Mr. Cobb also made a few remarks upon the subject.
The society adjourned until September 18, when the annual fall exhibition
of fruits and flowers will take place.
The society made a yery fine exhibition on the 18th of September, particu-
larly of grapes; and it will be remembered that a collection of grapes shown at
this fair were taken to the Western fair at Grand Rapids a few days afterwards,
and there received the first premium.
October Meeting.
No paper was read at this meeting, and the time was occupied in a general
discussion of various subjects pertaining to horticulture.
REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 319
November.
The meeting which should have been held on the sixth of this month was
omitted for the reason that the funeral services of Mrs. D. 8. Peck, widow of
S. B Peck, formerly president of the society, were held on that day, and
which many of the members of the society attended.
On the whole, the year has been a very flattering one to the society, as shown
by a larger attendance of members, more interest taken in the discussion of
subjects, and better exhibitions of fruits, flowers, and vegetables.
320 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
WAYNE COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
REPORTED BY SECRETARY GRISWOLD.
OFFICERS FOR 1886.
President—N. T. Bradner.
Vice President—H. O. Hanford.
Secretary—Dean F. Griswold.
Treasurer—Lafayette Dean.
Several meetings have been held during the year and much interest man-
ifested. Although the membership has been small, each member has shown a
disposition to work, and the meetings have been well attended. The following
are some of the papers read before the society:
THE CULTIVATION OF STRAWBERRIES FOR HOME USE.
BY MRS. KATIE SMITH, NORTHVILLE.
In treating this topic, although an enthusiast upon the subject, I must beg
you to remember that I am merely an amateur, and cannot bring you much of
interest compared with those who have had years of experience, and therefore
an abundant source to draw from. In offering a few brief notes, however, I am
at liberty to refer to a neighbor, Mr. Cady, whose strawberry bed recommends
itself to every passer-by.
So much has been written on the choice and preparation of the land, the
merits and demerits of certain soils, the selection of the best varieties, the
methods of cultivation, the frosts that kill, the sects that destroy, and the
birds that appropriate, that a novice might well be deterred from attempting
its cultivation, and only for the enterprise that says J will, and that discards
much that is deemed essential to success, the strawberry would be to many
families an unknown quantity. So I consider the first requisite to be a firm
determination to grow strawberries. The next and very important factor, is a
bank to draw from—the agricnltura] bank, the foundation of a farmer’s pros-
perity, and the source of supply to all vegetation, and especially to the straw-
berry, for it is a gross feeder, no other fruit exhausting the fertility of a soil
so soon as this.
In selecting varieties, my first choice would be the Crescent, as being
of good size, good color and quality, very firm, and carrying well through
the season; the Crescent last year being the first and last that I picked. It is
a pistillate variety, and near it I have the Sharpless, a variety that has been
REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 321
before the public for the past ten years, and has probably received more praise
than any other. The plant is remarkably vigorous, the blossoms large and
conspicuous, and on long foot-stalks, the fruit enormously large, rather irreg-
ular, clear, bright red, firm and sweet, and always of good quality. For can-
ning purposes it is superior, as it retains its size and shape remarkably.
At the exhibition of the Massachusetts horticultural society, in 1881, a
special prize of a silver cup, valued at $25, for the best four quarts of straw-
berries, of any kind, was awarded to the Sharpless; and in 1882 a similar prize
was again taken by the Sharpless, for the same quantity of berries over all
others offered. It undoubtedly heads the list of all big and commendable
berries at the present time.
The Warren came to me highly recommended, and for which I can vouch
as being a strong grower; fruit large, firm, and exceedingly sweet and rich,
its only seeming fault being short fruit-stalks. In addition to these, Mr. Cady
commends the Bidwell and Manchester as being especially fine and desirable
in every way; the former being a strong grower, very productive, and succeeding
well on all soils. The latter is claimed as a good market berry, and is said to
be one of the most desirable sorts yrown. The setting of the plants and their
mode of culture, are of course largely determined by the location and area to
be planted. Town people who have only theirsmall plots of ground must grow
them in beds, and for such, hill culture seems most desirable; and where the
finest and largest fruit is most sought for, the plants should be set one foot by
eighteen inches apart, all runners kept clipped off, and a liberal feed of well-
rotted compost given them once a year, the most desirable time being immedi-
ately after bearing. Jam assured that a strawberry bed with such attention
will need no replenishing for five years. I notice, however, that such beds
require some protection from our feathered marauders, and the owners of such
beds frequently “rise to explain” their views on the bird question. Our
experience has been that of matted rows, and, in some respects, it seems far
preferable. Setting the plants in rows, each row three feet apart, and the
plants twelve to fifteen inches apart, the cultivating may be mostly done with
a horse; the vines will soon cover the ground, the leayes protecting the fruit,
and the ravages of the grub will not be so destructively apparent, as the princi-
ple damage done to the strawberry is done the first year while the plants are
small.
Although the strawberry grub isa serious evil, I would choose it in prefer-
ence to a robin—a gormandizing little brute. Protected by law he commits the
most atrocious depredations, and insolently challenges admiration for his
ungallant behavior. The grub may be destroyed by prompt measures. When
a strawberry plant is seen to have wilted, by pulling it up the grub will be
easily found very near the root; or if notthere, with the use of asmall trowel,
or old knife, digging down near the roots of other plants will be sure to dis-
cover it.
In propagating plants from runners, it is worthy of notice that the offshoot
nearest the parent plant is apt to produce a stronger set than the ones more
remote, and of late I have noticed the liberal use of unleached ashes adyo-
cated as a dressing for beds of more than one year’s planting.
But whatever the mode of planting, whatever the varieties you select to plant,
whatever your convictions may be about the robin nuisance, I am sure that
after you have once cultivated strawberries, you will not be content to relin-
quish the privilege. After you have tasted the fruit that no “dealer’s’’ touch
4]
322 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. .
has profaned, have tasted a Sharpless or a Bidwell, with the dew of heaven still
cooling its sides, after you have carefully tested the “true inwardness”’ of a
strawberry short-cake, you will, if the slices have been ample, benignantly
contemplate the expansion of your waistcoat, and exclaim with Tiny Tim,
“God bless us, every one.” 5
The following are the closing paragraphs of a delightful paper read by Mrs.
S. J. Blount, on the
EMBELLISHMENT OF HOMES.
There are many ways of beautifying home, as we all know, but it seems to
me the least expensive way and that which has the best and most lasting effect
for good, on the character, as impressing the senses through the medium of
vision is beautifying the exterior of the home, the yard and garden. The
prettiness of the interior istoo often marred, in this, that it is too fine for every-
day enjoyment, especially by those on whom its effect would be the strongest for
good or evil, namely, the children.
To have a pretty yard requires but a little outlay of time or money, the
plow and harrow and scraper, a few loads of earth perhaps, and a small
amount of lawn grass seed, and the yard will be a joy and a pride to the
family the season through and a pleasure and inspiration to every passer by.
Trees grow rapidly and afford a grateful shade and if the children are
allowed to assist in their planting and taught to do it carefully and skillfully,
they have learned a useful lesson and will love home better for feeling they
have an interest in the things that pertain to and beautify it. Flowers, ever
beautiful, appeal to our better natures with mute but strong power. What
pleasure in tending them and watching their gradual development from the
tiny seed to the delicate, fragrant blossom. In the care of flowers the little
ones will learn many lessons, receive many good impressions. Industry, per-
severance, patience, cheerfulness, good management, all these practical lessons
come, imperceptibly, and will leave a lasting impress upon the character, taste,
neatness, order, a love for the beautifui will be developed, gentleness too, and
generosity. One can hardly imagine a lover of flowers as a selfish person. To
bestow flowers upon those who have none, yet appreciate these treasures, is a
pleasure without alloy, a rare thing in this world. It is strange how few, com-
paratively, make use of this most inexpensive yet effective means of beautify-
ing their homes. The only sign of flowers in very many yards is a tangled,
neglected patch of roses struggling for existence with weeds and grass, yet
what is more beautiful than a few well tended clumps of roses of various hues
scattered about a well kept lawn. What is so charming as a pansy bed with
its almost human faces upturned toward you? Where is more delightful fra-
grance than in the blossom of the sweet pea, or the modest lily of the valley ?
In annuals there is an almost endless array of bloom from early spring until
frost comes, and an endless source of pleasure to the true flower lover. In
climbers there is none more beautiful, or easily grown, or more willing to shut
the hot sun rays from your window, or cover some unsightly spot than the
morning glory, rightly named, for it is indeed the glory of the morning. Ican
imagine no fairer sight than a vine covered trellis, every leaf covered with dew,
sparkling in the rismg sun and the whole gemmed over with the silken bells,
“blue and purple, pink and white.’? In perennials, which require even less
care than annuals, are besides the queenly rose, the lilac, purple and white,
REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 323
snowball, the scarlet flower and japonica, regal lilies, brilliant peonies and
tulips; even the old fashioned, homely, dear old hollyhock will brighten some
dull corner.
In setting out to make ourselves attractive homes, homes that shall be beauti-
ful in the memories of our children reared amid their influences, do not forget
the fruit, especially the small fruits so quickly and easily grown, and that add
so much to the health and the pleasure of life. With trees, fruit and flowers
almost for the asking who may not have a truly beautiful home ?
MAPLE TREES ALONG THE WAY-SIDE.
BY D. F. GRISWOLD, NORTHVILLE.
I am confident that my subject will be appreciated by all, for you have often
seen and doubtless admired, the rows of maples by the way-side.
I do not expect to develop any new thoughts in its connection, but I wish to
call attention to the beauty and utility of maple trees along the road or vil-
lage street. What can be more beautiful than the hard maple in early spring;
before we can hardly realize that winter has left us, she comes out in a daz-
zling wealth of flowers with graceful golden blossoms swinging in the April
wind, intoxicating the busy bee, with her wealth of honey, each tree is
thronged with a humming multitude.
In May the blossoms drop and the bright green leaves appear. Then indeed
we see a picture that is never seen in the sunny South.
Florida, the land of flowers, has nothing equal to the bright green of our
maples; nor is there ever such a transformation as we experience in May—
from the somber, apparently dead, and naked tree, to the perfect life and rapid
growth of the new leayes. It is not surprising that we are a restless, bustling,
energetic, always-in-a-hurry people, for we can not escape the infection of
rapid growth experienced in the North.
Where nature seems to be in such a tremendous hurry, man cannot afford
to sleep, or seed time and harvest will pass him by.
As summer comes with its fuming heat, we find our friend the maple,
with its long spreading branches, inyiting us to her shelter and we discover a
most grateful shade, without expecting a worm such as infest the apple or elm
to drop in our faces or down our backs. All nature seems to love the maple
and give her room. She has no enemies. The coldest winter only makes her
life more rich and sweet; the hottest sun but deepens the green of her foliage.
Her tender leaves are not liable to be destroyed by nauseous crawling things.
Her full glory appears in autumn, when the leaves approaching maturity put
on the most wonderful colors, delighting the children and grown people alike
with their wonderful beauty. The hard maple is a slow growing tree, and
thus opposed to our natural desire of rapid development, but when we see it in
full maturity we are content to wait, and say it is worth the while.
The maple is as useful as ornamental, not only as a honey producer, gratefully
accepted by the bees in early spring, but its sap yields the most delicious sweet
only equaled by the sugar cane of the South, easily obtained and made ready
for family use by simple evaporation, and all this without injury to the tree.
I have reason to know that the labor of making sugar from long rows?of
shade trees is hardly one-half of what it is in the woods and the yield from
each tree is one-third more. From a row of one hundred trees set along the
324 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
road thirty-four years ago, I have made for the last four years three pounds
to the tree each year. Some of the trees have been tapped a number of years,
but the flow of sap remains undiminished.
I have often been told that the trees would be ruined by constant tapping,
but that is not our experience. One tree, a relict-of the primeval forest, stands
by the roadside a living witness of the endurance of the maple. It bears the
scars of fifty years’ continuous tapping. The mark of the ax and gouge, the
primitive mode of tapping, remains, but the tree thrives and is one of the best
to make sugar, often producing ten to twelve pounds in a season. It stands
near the house, and I tap it on the first warm day in winter. This season I
tapped it December 22, and we have had many a bowlfull of fresh syrup from
it during the mild weather of this winter.
And this ts the tree, blessed alike by nature and man, that we should plant
with unsparing hand, by our waysides, in waste places, and along the village
streets. And so will future generations bless the wisdom and forethought of
their fathers, in securing to them such a valuable heritage.
THE BEAUTIFUL LESSONS OF FLOWERS TO CHILDREN.
BY MISS MATTIE BRADNER.
“‘ Blowers are the alphabets of angels whereby they write on fields and forests
mysterious truths,” but the language is so simple that even the infant under-
stands much of it, as, listening to the mother’s voice, it comprehends in the
tones the love though the words uttered convey no idea of their meaning.
Many qualities are inherent in the child, and one of the most prominent of
these, and most readily developed, is its love of the beautiful. Without the
proper means of development, all natural qualities may lie dormant, and
neither the child nor the full-grown man dreams of their existence. For
instance, how could the world have guessed of the executive abilities of those
men who became great generals, both north and south, had it not been for the
opportunities offered by the late war of the rebellion for their development?
There are few of us but that accept that the great aim of mankind should
be happiness, and anything which will tend to this end should be eagerly
sought.
‘“A thing of beauty is a joy forever,” and this love of the beautiful should
be developed, consistently, to its highest degree. Nature herself is a wonder-
ful promoter of the unfolding of this quality. In every instance she endeay-
ors to cover all that is unseemly, but nowhere does she appeal so fully to the
childish eye as in her floral display.
You who haye flowers know with what instinctive magic the tiny feet are led
to the choicest beds. You have found the baby girl seated among your tender-
est plants, happier than any queen on her throne, and lovelier than all the
flowers around her.
The child early learns to appreciate in them a higher beauty than the mere
physical. They serve as little expressions of love, and he comes to you with
his chubby hands crushed full of the flowers he has gathered in garden, field,
or by the roadside; without leaves or stems, perhaps, but his eyes beaming with
joy, and love in every motion. And if these little acts are encouraged, they
lead in time to beautiful expressions of gratitude and sympathy more eloquent
and tender than any words.
REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 325
He embodies the flowers with human virtues, and because of this, it is a
pleasure to him if among the many endearing names occur one of familiar
flowers, and unconsciously he models his little acts accordingly. Sometimes
these little remembrances influence the lives of children long after babyhood.
A little child, in a happy mood, was chatting with an auntie, who, in a fanci-
ful way, told her something like this: “‘ Once there was a little white rosebud,
and it grew in the bright, warm light, and opened its beautiful petals one by
one to the glorious sunshine, and lo, as it grew we beheld this dear little baby
girl of ours.”
The child listened in wide-eyed pleasure. She understood the figure, but
the fact that her own little life should be likened to the delicate, pure,
white rosebud, gave her a higher appreciation of what it might be like,
and many times guided to happier thoughts and action. The lesson must have
sunk deep into her young heart, for she only told of it years after, when nearly
grown, and then as one of the pleasant incidents of her babyhood.
Similar and as beautiful incidents occur to the minds of many of you, as I
read this, of your own little children, or those with whom you have come in
contact. Youdo not treat them as nothing. They have been beautiful les-
sons in your own lives, as well as in those of the little ones.
I have in my mind a picture. I was at one time waiting for a train in a
depot, where hundreds of people passed constantly. A little child, almost a
baby, was in my care, who wandered around with the freedom of childhood,
enjoying all things new and strange. Once, on looking up, I beheld her little
face radiant wita pleasure, while two gentlemen, with faces eager as her own,
leaned forward, one intently listening to hear through the din of the depot,
the conversation curried on by the other with her. The confusion of the
incoming train and what followed, drove from my mind all thought of the
event till hours after, when I asked what the gentleman said to her. She
replied :
He wanted to know if I were a pansy, a daisy or a violet. “And what did
you say ?”? “Oh! I told him I was a violet.” Her own delicate perception
led her to choose instantly as emblematic of her young life, the sweet, blue
eyed violet rather than the brighter, larger eyed pansy, or the modest, white-
tipped daisy.
Speaking of the daisy what child who has ever heard the story of the
beautiful queen Alcesta can look upon this little flower without appreciating
the spirit of sacrifice which inspired the noble queen, when she gave her own
life for that of her beloved husband. Asa reward of her devotion the gods
caused her to be changed into a pure, white, golden-hearted daisy, and her
spirit frequents the abodes of men as a constant reminder of the reward offered
by the gods for the self-sacrifice of their earth children.
Do you teach these lessons to your children ? Perhaps they were not taught
to you. Perhaps you have not learned them yourselves. Your other duties
have been so numerous that there has been no time for such lessons. Do you
forget that happiness for the little ones is the great aim? When your body
is weary and your brain burdened, as is the case of so many, can the time
spent with ruffling and tucking and embroidering a garment that might be made
pretty and comfortable in one-third the time or less, add to the present and after
happiness of the child, that the same time spent in helping to prepare and keep a
bed of flowersin such a way that it will be to him aconstant source of pleasure
and occupation, keeping the growing mind and body vigorous and healthful and
326 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
your own young and strong for the duties that constantly fall to you? Are
you fulfilling your mission by caring for the body only? You keep the boy
well clothed and fed, his body in a perfect physical condition, the very best
possible state for mental activity, and then give him no means for working it
off. He is thrown upon his resources such as they happen to be, and upon
those of others whose home life is not so fortunate, and you in your thought-
lessness or ignorance wonder why you, who have used every care to furnish
your child with comforts, should find him so ungrateful, leaving his home for
the company of those, if not low and vicious, at least wild and undesirable.
His mind and body must be filled with employment, and if that which is good
and wholesome is not furnished he will find that which is otherwise. Perhaps
you have laughed at or discouraged his love of the beautiful in music, flowers
and art as effeminate, unmanly. Don’t do it. It can only lead to higher
thoughts and show out in his life, for ‘‘thought is father of the deed’’ and if
his thoughts are pure and ennobling his deeds will be good and true.
I say teach children the lessons of childhood. You know what I mean; the
baby stories.
They can not be learned in a single lesson. They must be repeated over and
over and over again, and your own hearts will grow young in teaching them.
REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 327
LAWTON HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
REPORTED BY SECRETARY LAWTON.
President—Hon. Henry Ford.
Secretary—C. D. Lawton.
The society meets occasionally for the purpose of concert of action regarding
the purchase of packages, manner of shipping, freight charges and such other
matters as immediately concern all fruit growers. At such time an inyitation
to attend is usually extended to all persons who are engaged in this vocation,
and the meetings are well attended and some valuable result is accomplished.
Thus the society is a nucleus—a head center—of the important fruit producing
industry of this locality. Through its action the Michigan Central Railroad
Co. was induced the past season to put on a fruit train or fruit cars to go daily
from this place to Chicago, fixing the charges on the fruit at 34c per 100 lbs.
We have found this to be a great advance on all previous methods. Shipping
by express is very unsatisfactory. Not only are the charges too great but the
fruit is badly handled, frequently destroyed or stolen, and it is very difficult to
obtain any recompense from the company, while by freight there has been com-
paratively little loss of fruit sent and the cost is greatly reduced.
The kinds of fruit produced here are chiefly raspberries, peaches, grapes and
apples, though there is quite an amount of strawberries, blackberries and pears
raised also. The black-caps were an abundant crop the past year, and were
fairly remunerative. Peaches were a moderate crop. Some varieties bore
fully. Such were the’ Hill’s Chili, Early Beatrice, Early Alexander, Early
Rivers. Other kinds, as Barnards, Crawfords, Smock, Oldmixon, etc., occa-
sionally bore some.
Prices were good, and the profit realized by the growers naturally awakened
a regret that they could not have a larger quantity to sell. This shortage in
the crop was due to the severity of the previous winter. The thermometer
marked so low a degree of temperature several times during the winter that
all expectation of having any crop of peaches was abandoned before the spring
came. So that the fact of the trees blossoming at all was a surprise, a very
agreeable one.
Grapes were a good crop and as our fruit goes to market earlier than the
Ohio, New York, or Lake Shore grapes, we realized an average of reasonably
good prices. There were shipped from this station about 100,000 packages of
grapes—o00 tons—which realized to the grower from $40 to $50 per ton, aver-
age net sales. The variety raised is mainly the Concord. There are four
Niagara vineyards, which haye been set four years, and this year the first crop
328 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY,
was produced, 7. ¢., the first season when a sufficient amount of fruit has been
produced to ccunt any in the market. ‘The result has been such as to establish
for this variety a favorable impression. The vine is a strong grower and a pro-
lific bearer, and with us both vine and fruit are free from disease. It may be
tender, 7. é., more liable to injury from extremely low temperature than the
Concord, but the fruit is of better quality than the Concord, hangs to the vine
and stem better and retains its perfection up to the end of the season. This
last season the fruit came in competition with the California grape in the Chi-
cago market and caused it to sell much lower in price than was anticipated.
A few years’ further experience with this grape will enable us to judge with
more certainty regarding it.
Pears were a much better crop here than usual, but they sold low. Apples
were a heavy crop. Thousands of barrels were shipped from here, chiefly to
Chicago and the Northwest. Many thousands of bushels were worked up in
the evaporators here. In the Lawton fruit evaporating establishment 40 tons
of evaporated apples have been made. These two Williams’ evaporators have
sufficed for 300 Lushels of apples daily. Besides these Mr. D. W. Powell has a
small Williams evaporator, Mr. John Mayhoult a large steam evaporator, and a
similar one owned by the Knights of Labor has been in constant operation.
Altogether these concerns have sufficed to work up a large quantity of apples.
In addition there are two cider mills which have shipped considerable of this
detestable fluid. Mr. Powell has made a good deal of boiled cider-apple jelly,
etc., which articles he makes very expeditiously and of excellent quality at his
steam works.
Fruit growing for market, which began here about twenty years ago in a
small way, has gradually grown into a business of considerable magnitude. It
has brought happiness and moderate wealth to a goodly number of families
and added greatly to the prosperity of this community. The experiences of the
past have left nothing of discouragement. On the contrary, profiting by the
mistakes and failures, the really thoughtful and skillful growers have only
gained an assurance of making their business still more successful in the
future.
REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 329
WEXFORD COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
REPORTED BY SECRETARY SAWYER.
OFFICERS FOR 1886.
President—T. W. Crosby.
Secretary—E. F. Sawyer.
Treasurer—N. L. Gerrish.
Our society was organized last winter by C. W. Garfield, State secretary, who
gave us some excellent advice, and we started with high hopes of doing our-
selves and our county much good in propagating fruit. Our experience, and
that of our farmers generally, has been so exasperating in regard to fruit rais-
ing, as well as horticulture generally, that we all determined something must
be done to enable us to determine whether it was possible or not for us to raise
trees which would withstand the frosts of winter, and still bear fruit sufficiently
good to be worth the expense of cultivating.
The proverbial ‘‘ fruit tree agent” came to this region “early and often,”
and convinced many of our farmers that the tropical fruits would do well here
if properly planted, and accordingly our farmers gazed with watering mouths
and longing eyes at the fine pictures of peach and other tender fruit shown by
the agent, ordered a good supply, planted the stock—usually stunted—watched
it lovingly and tenderly, saw it all die, and then threw the stumps away with
the assertion that this country was no good for fruit.
Again, when any of our people had a little better luck, and their trees did
live, and reached a bearing age, it was invariably found that none of them
were the kinds purchased and paid for.
Experience, though, in this as in every other case, proving expensive, was,
nevertheless, valuable; and now we have learned that only a few varieties will
thrive in this part of the State, but that when any kind really does well here,
it can be depended on as eutirely as in any latitude.
During the year we have held four meetings, and the discussions taken part in
by our farmers have proved of great benefit to all those who attended, though,
as is usual, those who should take the most interest in such proceedings, are
most liable to be absent.
Our June meeting was in the nature of a strawberry festival, and a fine time
was had by all, and we have a better prospect for next year. During each
meeting the information elicited in regard to the most profitable varieties to be
raised here was very valuable to those whe intend to make northern Michigan
their home.
42
330 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
November Meetiny.
The society held its November meeting in the court room. This meeting
was the most profitable and interesting of any yet held.
James Whaley described a number of varieties of apples which he had on
exhibition, the length of time the trees had been set, the rapidity of growth
and the hardihood of the stock. He did not know the names of any of them
as none of the trees he bought were true to name as labeled.
John Nichols said he had found no trouble with the Oldenburgh and Tal-
man Sweet. The trees were hardy and stood the winter well, but he found a
great many varieties that would winter-kill on the west and south side of the
tree and were always ‘‘black hearted.”
Mr. Whaley said the Maiden’s Blush was hardy, but that the Wagener was
no good at all here. This seemed the unanimous virdict in regard to this
variety.
The president, Mr. Crosby, said he bought a lot of trees from a man who
said he raised them, but none of them were the kind he said they were. One
labeled a crab was the Western Beauty, a fine summer apple, very early and
the tree extremely hardy. The Oldenburgh and Red Astrachan are good apples,
all the trees hardy, but the Ben Davis winter killed. He said that in straw-
berries he considered the Monarch of the West a very fine berry, Colonel
Cheney a good family and table berry, but the Wilson beats the world for can-
ning.
Elmer Lewis said the Manchester fertilized by the James Vick were in his judg-
ment the best bearers in the market. The Sharpless was an excellent berry
but not adapted to this climate as they were almost invariably in bloom when
we have our June frosts and so could not be depended on. Crosby said barn-
yard manure was not adapted to strawberries, but that ashes were, and that
bone dust was best of all. Lewis said some varieties would stand barnyard
manure and some would not. The Vick and Manchester would, but the Wil-
son would not. He also said he was much interested in raspberries, had had
excellent success with nearly all his. The Mammoth Cluster is very hardy
and a good bearer. Shaffer is a large purple berry, very excellent for canning.
He said he had no trouble with either frost or blight with any of his plants.
The early Richmond cherry did well, as did also the General Grant ; none of
these trees showing any winter injury. Mr. Crosby said the Lombards did well,
but one had better go slow on the Weaver as it is a small almost wild variety
and very subject to leaf blight.
Nichols said the Red and Yellow Egg plums were not hardy; all his three-
year-old trees died. Whaley said his plum trees were doing well but none of
them had borne any yet. He recommended washing all fruit trees with weak
lye or strong soap suds every spring and see to it that no moss is left on them.
The Tetofsky apple tree was by all pronounced hardy but the fruit so poor
as to be hardly worth cultivating.
It was decided to send Mr. Crosby as a delegate to the annual meeting of the
State Society next week and that he take the varieties of apples shown by Mr.
Whaley and have them named and classified by some expert at that time, and
also that he report at the next meeting. It was recommended that all mem-
bers who wish to order trees, do so at the next or January meeting.
REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 331
We have thirty-one members and expect to increase this to at least fifty
before our annual meeting.
On the whole we have no reason to be discouraged, for by fair management
and a reasonable exertion on the part of our officers and active members, we
shall eventually take high rank as a beneficial organization in this county.
332 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
OAKLAND COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
REPORTED BY SECRETARY BRADFORD.
OFFICERS FOR 1887.
President—J. Van Hoosen.
Vice-President—A. J. Crosby.
Secretary—James 8S. Bradford.
Treasurerv—Isaac B. Merritt.
Suverintendant of Fruit—A. E. Green.
Supérintendant of Vegetables—EK. W. Jewell.
Superintendant of Flowers—l. B. Merritt.
Superintendant of Grain—W. 1. Coonley.
Committee to revise premium list—I. B. Merritt, E. W. Jewell, and A. E
Green. f
Committee on meetings and programmes—H. A. Wyckoff, A. E. Green and
A. J. Crosby.
A meeting of the above society was held at the town hall, Farmington, Friday,
Feb. 19. The weather being stormy and cold, the meeting was not called to order
until 20’clock p. mM. ‘The vice-president, A. J. Crosby, in a few well chosen
words extended a welcome to al], when the programme was taken up by the
reading of a paper by H. A. Green, on ‘“The value of small fruits for family
use.” The following were the practical injunctions of the paper: ‘‘Judg-
ment in the selection of plants; care in cultivation; discrimination in pick-
ing; well filled packages; honesty in measure.” ‘These rules followed, will
secure a ready sale and profit to the producer. The paper was supplemented
by remarks from N. T. Bradner and W. L. Coonley, the latter giving his
experience the past year in the cultivation of strawberries.
A. J. Crosby read a paper on ‘*What apples to grow for market.”’ He said
it required the gift of experience to makea selection of varieties best adapted to
our diversified soil. Fruit growers are pretty well agreed as to best varieties to
raise for market. For summer, Sweet boughs and Astrachans; early winter,
Fameuse, King and Rhode Island Greening, dividing evenly; for late winter,
Jonathan, Northern Spy and Golden Russet. ‘The paper was followed by an
animated discussion, the ladies taking an active part. Mrs. N. T. Bradner
read an essay on ‘‘Bulbs for winter culture.”
The query box was opened and was found filled with questions on the best
varieties of fruit for preserving and canning. The Mammoth quince was the
favorite for preserving. The Lombard plum was considered the best for can-
ning.
REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 333
“Shall we grow hedge for fence?” was considered by a series of questions
being asked of the agent, who was present.
Mr. Simerson discussed and explained his methods of growing and making
sorghum.
..The question on “ How to make orchards bear’’ was discussed by several
present. The general conclusion was that orchards must be cared for and
nourished as the cultivated fields are. ‘The experience of practical persons was
that this, as a rule, would secure to the farmer bearing orchards.
N. T. Bradner read a paper on “How to fight our insect enemies.” This
opened a wide field for discussion, which brought out many eaves sugges-
tions.
It was unfortunate that the weather was so unpropitious, as the farmers in
the vicinity had expected and prepared for a large gathering. A good time
was had and much information derived by those in attendance.
A meeting of the Oakland Horticultural Society, was held at the Christian
church, Oxford, on Wednesday, Feb. 10. The gathering was quite large, and
was called to order at 11 o’clock by the president, Joshua Van Hoosen, when
the choir furnished a selection which was rendered with spirit and melody. A
prayer was offered by the Rev. U. I. Deyo. A short address of welcome was
made by Rev. J. Alworth, with some practical words and illustrations, showing
the value of horticulture in the curriculum of farming.
The query box was opened and the first question drawn was, “How shall we
improve our old orchards?” Which was answered by Hon. J. M. Nor ton, fol-
lowed by John Thomas and others. The afternoon session was opened by sing-
ing and prayer, when the Rev. H. W. .Hicks, on “The ornamentation of
grounds around our homes,” delivered ashort address. He said God placed us
here to till the soil for profit and pleasure, giving us homes of comfort which
should be surrounded and made pleasant by nicely arranged grounds, with
shrubbery and trees for shade, with judgment in selection. We should strive
to make the interior of the home one of happiness to correspond with the sur-
roundings.
Mrs. C. Bettys read an essay on ‘‘Farmers’ gardens and farmers’ tables.”
The subject was well handled and the essayist endorsed by all.
Henry Degroff read a paper on ‘‘Strawberry culture.” It was a paper of
personal experience in the cultivation of strawberries, and their value in profit
and health of the family.
Mrs. F. E. O’Dell read a cultured essay on “ Fruits and flowers.” It was a
treat to all. The thought used and enforced was, that there was a moral and
social elevating influence as well as a commercial value in the cultivation of
fruits and flowers.
At the evening session the church was filled, the young people doing a good
thing in furnishing music, which was not only appropriate but added much to
the interest of the meeting.
Mrs. C. H. Stevens read an essay on “Varieties of crops and wheat.” The
paper was followed by an animated discussion, showing the fertility and general
productiveness of the soil of Michigan.
Hon. J. M. Norton discussed the question, ‘“ What shall we raise on the
farm?” It was a practical review of his own custom and practice in the man-
agement of his farm.
Rey. C. I. Deyo read a paper on the “Importance of organized effort.” It
was a subject broad enough to cover all farm affairs, and, in his application,
he touched upon all matters in which farmers are interested.
334 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
There was exhibited at the meeting several specimens of choice fruit.
Farmers have come to realize that the dull, drowsy hours of winter can be
made valuable in the study and discussion of the interests of their calling.
This is the way to make agriculture popular and profitable.
Horticulture is the domestic branch of farming, and under the stimulant
of organization, with its disseminating light, is being pruned of the weeds of
indifference, and is blossoming into an attraction necessary to the farm home.
The display in this department in the Oakland county agricultural society
shows a growing interest in garden products, which is manifested by increasing
entries and more numerous varieties of products, notwithstanding the unusually
dry season. ‘The exhibits in number and quality were equal to any in the his-
tory of the society, a result, which, in view of untoward conditions, could not have
been attained but by the workings of the mind and hoe, the implements of
success in horticulture.
Pomology and horticulture naturally blend together, and in the exhibition
now under the same management, and spread to public view in the same hall,
made a very fine and attractive show with some of the largest and finest dis-
plays ofgfruit we have ever seen at the county fair.
REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 335
SAUGUTUCK AND GANGES POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
We have no list of officers of this society, but the president, Rev. J. F. Tay-
lor, sends in the following paper read at the April meeting, by N. W. Lewis,
of Ganges, on
THE CUT WORM.
There are several species of these cut worms, but all of them are much alike.
Professor Cook, of the Agricultural College, says: ‘‘The parentsof these cut
worms are pale grayish or grayish brown moths, with a central spot on the
primary wings. The secondary wings are of a dirty white, and when at rest
are concealed by the primaries being folded over them. These cut worms are
old in mischief, haying been dreaded pests in the European countries, and also
since the early history of this country. The eggs are laid in the ground, under
or near plants which are to form the food of the young larva, which hatches
soon and comes to the surface on cloudy days, or during the night time, to eat.
Some are of a cream color, others are a dull black. The climbers are usually
black, with black heads, and are very supple in their movements, sometimes
traveling many rods until a supply of food is found, when they satisfy their
greedy appetites and seek shelter, usually just under the surface of the soil,
near a sod, bush, or at the foot of a tree upon which they have been feeding.
They are not very particular about their diet, but eat with avidity various sub-
stances, such as corn, grass, cabbages, tomatoes, etc., but especially are they
fond of the tender buds of peach trees, grape vines, and other fruit trees and
bushes.
The remedies for their destruction, or to prevent or check them in their dep-
redations, are varied and numerous. The surest is to dig them out by hand
from their places of concealment and destroy them. This process, however,
is slow and expensive. Some recommend sowing turnips in the fall which will
grow early and become succulent food for early spring, that may be sprayed
with Paris green or London purple, and kill large numbers by poisoning them.
Quite a number of my neighbors used the past season (they claim successfully),
cotton batting tied like a collar around the body of their trees and vines.
Others (myself included), have used tins clasped around the bodies of the young
peach trees, which is usually a successful preventative, but I have had the entire
bark of the tree just below the tin collar eaten away by the pests, therefore do
not concede it a perfect success, especially as we cannot use the the tins on
large trees which are sure to be infested (especially on sandy soils), by them in
seasons when they are plenty, and to which they do great damage by eating out
the fruit buds, climbing to the very topmost branches, and to the extremities
where are the most buds, and where their mischievous work is not so soon
observed.
Many times our young peach trees, and sometimes old ones, and grape vines
are entirely denuded of fruit and foliage buds before we are aware of any
336 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
trouble, they come in such numbers. One of my neighbors last season was
asked last season if the cut worms were working in his peach orchard? He
replied, “No; have seen no signs.” But, upon examination, he found that
much damage had been done, all within a day or two, in the way of eating out
the buds. Upon searching, he found under many single trees, over one hun-
dred of the various little pests concealed just beneath the surface of the soil,
from near the tree to three feet away. Some recommend fall plowing, sowing
salt and lime, or ashes, all of which seems beneficial in some instancés; in
others a total failure.
Prof. Cook says he has submitted them to a temperature of thirty degrees
below zero, and by bringing them into a warm atmosphere, would soon find
them alive and active. I always plow my peach orchards late in the fall, and
many years have plenty of cut worms inthem. Have putthem ina dish of salt,
and found them twenty-four hours after snugly burrowed in it, and all in seem-
ingly good health. Could not say what the result would have been if mois-
ture had been added to the salt.
Some recommend paper smeared with coal-tar wrapped around the body of
the tree. I tried that and caught many worms that tried to pass over the tarred
surface, but found they had put their foot in it, and had to stay there; but
within a few hours the tar dried, and they passed over it without difficulty.
I have discovered in fields where I had the previous year raised buckwheat,
that there seemed to be no cut worms, but have not tried it so thoroughly as I
intend to. Mr. Phillips, of Grand Haven, president of the W. M. F. society,
states positively that it is a remedy against damage by cut worms, if sown in
the orchard or vineyard, and plowed under while in full bloom. Said he had
heard that some property of the blossom was a deadly poison to insect life.
Mr. Lagorde, a prominent English agriculturist, says much experience has
convinced him that by plowing under buckwheat when in full bloom, as a
green manure, effectually frees the soil from all subterranean parasites, such ag
cut worms, white grubs, ants, etc.; that it ‘abstracts but little nitrogen from the
soil; that it takes its principal nutriments from the air; that, owing to the
spongy nature of the leaves, it decomposes very quickly, and that by such sud-
den decomposition, the large amount of gas liberated as asphixiates the larve
of the various insects in the ground. My plan has been to sow buckwheat
about the first of August, in orchards not bearing, so it would not ripen fully
before being killed by frosts—not to save for a crop—and whether plowed
under in the late fall or early spring, it formed a mulch, and if not plowed till
spring holds the snow; in either case, the few ripened seeds grow early enough
for an early green manure for the soil. Have sowed in bearing orchards, pur-
posing it to take the surplus moisture in warm or wet seasons, or to be dragged
down for mulch if the season turned dry and more moisture was needed to
mature a heavy crop of fruit. Intend sowing in all fields of fruit trees, bushes,
or vines early in the spring (as an experiment), to guard against damage by
cut worms.
Several years ago the N. HE. Farmer gave the experience of some cultivator
there who used forest leaves, green clover, or other forage in his garden,
when by using poison he destroyed many cut worms; also, by using bun-
dles of the leaves or grass without the poison, many would collect to feed, and
remain under the same, so they could be easily collected and destroyed. I do
not expect to teach the members of this society in this matter, but if 1 may
aid in bringing out the experience of many others, some light may be gained
whereby we can destroy or “ regulate” this troublesome pest.
REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 337
BENZIE COUNTY HORTICULTRAL SOCIETY.
OFFICERS FOR 1886.
President—J. J. Hubbell, Benzonia.
Secretary—J. W. Van Deman, Benzonia.
Treasurer—A. G. Butler, Frankfort.
The following newspaper account was sent in by the secretary:
The Benzie County Horticultural Society met in Case’s hall in Benzonia, on
Saturday evening, Sept. 18, 1886. Geo. W. Jones was called to the chair.
The secretary made a report of his trip to the State fair the previous week
where he took two prizes for fruit from Benzie county orchards. The chair-
man then introduced Mr. Henry E. Vandeman, of Washington, D. C., pomol-
ogist to the U. 8. department of agriculture, who gave an outline of his work
in advancing the interests of pomology in the United States. He has seen in
this State during the month of September, principally from the Grand Traverse
region and the fruit belt on the east shore of Lake Michigan, a finer showing
of plums at fairs and on the trees, than anywhere else he has been in the country.
The plums of California do not excel those of Benzie county in quality.
The society met at Averill’s hall in Frankfort, on Monday evening, Sept.
27, 1886. On account of rain there was not a large attendance, nor a large
show of fruit. A. G. Butler was elected chairman. The secretary’s account
of the success of Benzie county fruit at the State fair was enthusiastically re-
ceived by the audience.
Fruit growing is only beginning here. When we again go abroad with fruit,
with more time and help to get ready, we know we can do still better at show-
ing our fellow citizens of the State of Michigan, that Benzie county produces
good fruit. Some fine decorations and specimens of fruit were exhibited, but
not in sufficient quantity for competition for premiums.
The society listened with interest to the account of the work of the pomol-
ogist of the United States, who wishes all the information he can obtain in
addition to his own careful observations of trees and fruit locations and soil.
A successful meeting was held in the school-house in district No. 1, in Joy-
field, on Tuesday evening, Sept. 28, 1886, Vice President D. R. Van Amburg,
presiding. The discussion was interesting and instructive. ‘There was a good
showing of fruit and while the awarding committee—Mrs. Thos. Smeltzer, Miss
Mary E. Smeltzer, and the secretary—were at their work, the United States
pomologist, H. EK. Vandeman, gave, in addition to his address, some description
of the oranges, lemons and other citrus fruits of Florida and California. The
committee made awards as follows:
For best display of fruit, lst premium, D. R. Van Amburg; 2d, Abel M.
Smeltzer; 3d, James Rice.
On motion it was resolved to hold the annual meeting at Benzonia in De-
cember.
43
338 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
LENAWEE COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
REPORTED BY SECRETARY EDMISTON.
OFFICERS OF THE-SOCIETY FOR 1886.
President—¥. J. Hough.
Vice President—S. B. Mann.
Secretary—D. G. Edmiston.
Treasurer—EH. W. Allis. *
Librarian—Dr. W. Owen.
The society has held a meeting regularly each month during the year. The
attendance has varied from fifteen or twenty up to one hundred or more. The
largest meetings were held in August and September, when the children and
young people were out of school and when an abundance of fruit and pleasant
weather combined to draw out a good attendance.
Our meetings have been all day meetings throughout the year, commencing
at ten o’clock A. M. and closing at four or five in the afternoon, with about two
hours out for dinner and looking over the grounds, examining fruits, etc.
Commencing with the May meeting our meetings have been held at private
residences, some of them in the city and its suburbs, and some of them several
miles out in the country.
To these meetings the members of the society and visiting friends have
come with their lunch baskets, and at noon with the addition of tea and
coffee made on the ground, the ladies of the society would spread a sumptuous
dinner for the society and guests.
The noon hours also gaye an opportunity for a committee and any others who
desired to do so, to look over the grounds of the host, see the various kinds of
fruits etc., in their different stages of growth, and make comparisons of varieties
etc., etc.
I mention this matter of the dinner because the two hours usually given to
the dinner and social visiting have enabled the members of the society from
different parts of the county to form acquaintances that they might not other-
wise have had a chance to do, and to exchange views in a social way that is
often worth more than the public discussions. And it has enabled us to secure
the attendance and participation of the ladies at these meetings; an item of no
small importance towards the success of the society.
It had been supposed by many of us that as winter approached we would
have to return to a public hall for our monthly meetings until spring; but as
the time approached such a strong feeling prevailed in favor of continuing the
REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES, 339
meetings in the same way, that it was ‘determined to do so and places were
offered for most of the winter meetings.
We have usually had two subjects for discussion at each of these meetings:
one for the forenoon and one for the afternoon session; each subject opened
with a short paper by some member of the society, and then a general dis-
cussion to follow.
There is a growing interest in horticulture amongst our people, notwith-
standing we have had to contend with low prices and the ravages of destruct-
ive insects. Yet the feeling is strengthening that the man who raises the best
fruit and puts it in the market in the most attractive form, can have control
of the market; while the poorer grades are not wanted in years of abundance
as the present has been. Yet it is to be lamented that many of our citizens
who are more or less engaged in horticultural pursuits do not find time or inclina-
tion to give a day even occasionally to attend these meetings.
Others who are too busy to give the time have very generously given the
annual membership fee, and often express special interest in the reports of the
monthly meetings as published in our county papers. But the burden of keep-
ing up these society meetings rests on the sholders of the few; and the State
and local societies have a great work to perform before the masses of the people
will awake to the proper appreciation of the profits and pleasures to be derived
from a study of horticulture and its kindred pursuits.
Especial mention is due to the managers of the Adrian Times who have
uniformly given space both in the daily and weekly issues, for the publication
of these papers read at our monthly meetings, as well as the report of the
regular discussions which follow the reading of these papers.
We have fifty-seven members enrolled for the year 1886; five of whom are
life members of the State society.
Accompanying the above report was a printed account of each meeting during
the year, of which we have selected two as samples of the interesting sessions,
as a supplement to the secretary’s report.
July Meeting.
The county horticultural society met at President Hough’s farm, one mile
south of Adrian. After the usnal preliminaries Mr. Hough read the following
paper on
RASPBERRIES—THE BEST VARIETIES, ETC.
Of the many kinds of small fruits, all things considered, none give so sure
and profitable a return to the cultivator as the raspberry. To the inexperi-
enced it will be a difficult task to make a suitable selection of varieties, for all
do not succeed alike, owing to soil and climate. The advantage of horticult-
ural reading, the papers and discussions of our county and State meetings, by
practical fruit growers giving their opinions of the old, and their trial tests of
the many new varieties, will be a guide what to choose, and save them from
many a failure. In selecting kinds, four things should be kept in mind—
hardiness, quality, productiveness, and keeping or shipping qualities. Any
variety possessing these points can, without further questioning, be planted.
340 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
The time of ripening should also be considered, choosing early and late varie-
ties, both of red and black, that the season may be prolonged. Some may not
agree with me as to the raspberry being the most profitable of our small fruits,
but what other is equally good in its fresh state, canned, made into jam, or
dried? It is also of late being put to another use—the making of shrub or
raspberry vinegar.
To any asking what kinds shall we plant, my answer is, Turner or Cuthbert
for red, Souhegan or Tyler and Gregg for black. For canning, grow Shaffer;
its acidity renders it most excellent for that purpose. It is a late variety, and
claimed to be the largest berry grown. Ihave placed the Turner at the head
of my list, not because it is the best, but for its being an early berry, and_also
of the finest quality. I have never known a person, who has grown it, dissatis-
fied. The period of ripening extends from three to four weeks. The Cuthbert
is a latter berry, and too much can not be said in its praise. No berry grown
is so universally popular over the whole United States as the Cuthbert. It
succeeds in the hot climate of the South, and also in Canada and Nova Scotia.
It has been rightly named by some as the queen of the market. The Souhegan
or Tyler are among the earliest of the black caps; the two, though originated
in different localities, are identical. Iam fruiting both, and cannot see the
least shade of difference. They ripen with the Turner, but their season does
not last as long. The Gregg ripens with the Cuthbert, and ranks among the
very best; is of the largest size, and a general favorite as a market berry.
Some have complained of it as not being perfectly hardy, but it has done well
in our county.
The editors of the Rural New Yorker asked this question of their subscrib-
ers: ‘‘ What two raspberries, each of red and black, are best for home use
and market?”’
In April of the present year they published a special number of their paper,
giving answers from forty-eight persons, many of them being among the first
fruit growers of the country, and living in Canada and Nova Scotia and twen-
ty-six different States of the Union. Of this number forty-two named the
Cuthbert and twenty-seven the Turner for red, thirty-six the Gregg, and twen-
ty-eight the Souhegan. The Doolittle, Mammoth Cluster, Marlboro, Hansell,
Philadelphia, and other varieties were also named. The Philadelphia is hardy
and productive, but too soft. I am disappointed with the Hansell and Marl-
boro; think they are praised beyond their merits, and again say touch the new
varieties lightly, taking the older and well tried kinds for general cultivation.
Remarks from members of the society being next in order, I leave the snb-
ject with you.
DISCUSSION.
Mr. Strong said he differed with the president as to the quality of the Gregg.
Its size sells it, but if well ripened it was very good.
Mr. Steere thought the Gregg not quite hardy, and badly deficient in quality.
He had found the Ohio somewhat irregular in size and shape, while the Souhe-
gan and Tyler were uniform and fair. He agreed with the president as to the
value of the Turner.
D. G. Edmiston said he had been testing several of the newer varieties along
with many of the older ones, and while he was firmly of the opinion that we
have nothing amongst the new red varieties that will surpass the Turner and
Cuthbert, he thought that the Marlboro gaye promise of being of value. It
REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 341
‘was a remarkably strong grower, and did not sucker badly as most other varie-
ties. It did not prove to be early, as recorded, and the color was against it;
size large. The Hansell was quite early, of fair quality, but rather small, and
a very feeble grower. The Tyler gave the first ripe fruit amongst fifteen varie-
ties, Hansell and Souhegan following closely, while Doolittle was not much
behind.
Mr. Hough said our tastes differed so much that it was hard for all to agree
as to the quality of the various kinds. He thought the Hansella feeble grower,
and not profitable.
Mr. Helme had fruited the Turner this year for the first, and thought it the
same as the old Kirtland.
Mr. Edmiston said if his were identical with Kirtland he had not obtained
the genuine Turner, as they were very distinct, both in growth and fruit.
Mr. Woodward did not like the quality of the Turner—thought the Cuth-
bert much better. He liked the Gregg, because of its size and productiveness.
He liked the Cuthbert, but recommended cutting back short, as they loaded -
heavily, and if left with tall canes, they would not stand up well. He would
top the new canes at two feet, and then let the laterals grow. The next spring
cut them back to one foot in length.
B. I Laing said for garden culture he would let them grow taller and tie to
stakes.
Mr. Hough said the suckers came up early in the season, and should be
cultivated up, leaving only three to five in each hill, if a good crop of fruit
was expected. They were as easy to kill as pig weeds, if taken in time.
On motion of Mr. Woodward, a committee of five was appointed on grounds,
fruit, etc., to report at the afternoon session.
Adjourned an hour and a half for dinner, which was promptly served by the
ladies of the society, Mr. Hough having prepared a long table for the purpose
in the shade of the tulip trees.
FRUITS AND EXHIBITORS.
The following is a list of fruits on the exhibition table:
B. W. Steere—Clark, Turner, Cuthbert, Crimson Beauty, Hansell, Shaffer,
Souhegan, Ohio, Doolittle, Gregg, and one yellow and three black seedling
raspberries, one plate of Karly Richmond cherry, four varieties of last year’s
apples, and two varieties of this year’s growth.
N. J. Strong—Nemaha, Mammoth Cluster, and Gregg raspberries, and sam-
ple of apples specked by the hail.
J. W. Helme—Fay and Cherry currants, Madeleine pears, red and white
onions, bunch carrots, and Jersey Wakefield cabbage.
Mr. Woodward—Cuthbert raspberries and box peaches.
D. G. Edmiston—Turner, Cuthbert, Relianc>, Lost Rubies, Hansell, Marl-
boro, Shaffer, Grege, Tyler, Souhegan, Ohio, Mammoth Cluster, Doolittle,
Miami, and Davyison’s thornless raspberries.
Mr. Hough—Karly Harvest blackberry, half ripe.
Afternoon Session.
The committee on grounds, fruits, etc., made the following report:
342 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
After dinner the committee of observation first visited the field of Turner
red raspberries, which it took some time to pass. The dry weather affects them,
and those grown in the shade claimed the most attention for the dessert. The
Snyder blackberries adjoining were thrifty. The Concord grapes were thrifty
and set well. The apple orchard is being summer followed for rye. One hun-
dred and twenty Orange quince are in the second year in the orchard. In the
pear orchard, among others, are forty Seckels. Passing on, are 650 Ohio rasp-
berries, 400 Souhegans, and 300 Tylers, all in the second year, and 1,200 young
Cuthberts. There are also Marlboro and others on trial. Mr. Hough takes
pride in his garden, and Mrs. Hough in her turkeys, and they seem to be doing
well together. The cultivation is clean. Of a large number of peas growing,
Mr. Hough prefers the Stratagem. Cabbages cracked open on July 7 are a
novelty. A fine sample of the Early Harvest blackberries, fully ripe, was
denominated by ex-president Woodward, the finest blackberries of the season-
Mrs. J. W. HELME,
Mrs. B. I. Larne,
Mr. N. J. STRONG,
Mr. D. Woopwarp,
Mr. KE. W. ALLIs,
Committee.
PAPER BY MRS. LAING.
Mrs. B. I. Laing then read a very interesting paper on canning fruits and
making jelly. But she declined to allow it to go to the press, hence we can only
give a few leading points.
The first requisite, she said, was to have the fruit fresh and ripe. Berries.
and cherries she would prepare over night, sprinkling sugar over them, and in
the morning drain off the juice, put in a kettle, adding fruit enough to filla
can, cook gently a few minutes, then fill into the can and seal quickly. She
usually puts a piece of white paper over the fruit before putting the cover on,
which tends to prevent moulding. Other fruits, such as pears, quinces, etc.,
require longer cooking till a fork will penetrate them readily; then having a
syrup prepared in another dish, fill the can with the fruit, pour on the boiling
syrup, and seal quickly. ;
She referred to a new process of sealing fruit known as the cotton batting
process, which consists of preparing the fruit as before, and putting into a can
or jar, then tie two thicknesses of cotton batting over, with one thickness of
paper on the outside—this batting and paper to take the place of the usual
cover and rubber.
She gave the following recipe, clipped from the Michigan Farmer, for can-
ning vegetables, which has been used by many successfully:
CANNING VEGETABLES.
Prepare the vegetables as for cooking; pack them in the cans as solid as
possible; then fill the can two-thirds full of water; screw down the cover as
tight as you can; then put the cans in a boiler of cold water, boiling the cans
three hours. If the water boils off, pour on more hot water. Then take the
boiler off the stove, let the cans get cold in the water; when taken out try to
screw the covers down again, which have been loosened by boiling.
In the winter, when you want a mess of string beans or green peas, open @
REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 343
can, pour the vegetables into a pan, season and boil up as you would when
fresh from the garden.
For making jeliies, she presses the juice out after having crushed the fruit,
strain through a jelly bag, cook the juice a little, and skim before adding the
sugar (a pound of sugar for a pint of juice), then boil gently twenty minutes;
had never failed to get a clear, firm jelly in this way. For strawberry jelly,
heat the fruit in a kettle, and when soft strain, and allow a pound of sugar for
a pint of juice; boil the juice ten minutes, then add the sugar, which should
be heated previously, then boil ten minutes longer, when it should be ready to
jelly.
Mr. Woodward said they succeeded in keeping corn as follows: Cut from
the cob, and pack in the can and then cook three hours.
J. G. Mason said that for canning fruit, his folks filled the cans, then
poured on a syrup made by using all the sugar that water would dissolve, seal,
set in a vat, and pour boiling water around it, cover with a blanket, and let it
cool.
Mrs. Tryne asked how to can peas, beans, etc.
Mr. Mason said same as stated for fruits, except that perhaps more cooking
was necessary.
Mr. Hough said use none but granulated sugar.
Mrs. Tryne had canned sweet cider, using cotton batting covers, and then
spreading plaster paris mixed to a paste over the top.
B. I. Laing said that the claim was made that two thicknesses of cotton
batting would arrest the properties in the atmosphere that caused fermentation
to take place.
Mrs. Tryne asked how much sugar should be used for a can of fruit.
D. G. Edmiston said that the sugar was not necessary to the preservation of
the fruit in the can, because our commercial canning houses use no sugar at
all. Notonly so, but by cooking the sugar with the fruit a considerable per
cent. of the sugar is converted into grape sugar, thus reducing its sweetening
properties.
Mrs. Tryne had canned currants without sugar, using them the next spring
for making jelly.
Mrs. Helme said she used a teacup full of sugar for a quart can of fruit,
when puting up. She thought the fruit was never so good if not sweetened
when canned, and that it would soften with age and become tasteless.
Mrs. Steere said that the juice for jelly should not be cooked after the sugar
is added, simply heat the sugar in an oven and put it in the fruit juice while
hot, and let it cool.
B. W. Steere presented a can of apple sauce cooked yesterday from Willow
Twig apples, showing that we can have apple sauce twelve months each year.
September Meeting.
The society met at the residence of D. G. Edmiston, under the shade of the
basswood trees, an awning having been added on one side, which gave ample
shade for members and visitors, nearly one hundred being present. The
minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. The subject of
‘“‘orapes” was then opened for discussion, with a paper by D. G. Edmiston, as
follows:
344 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
GRAPES.
The subject assigned for the paper this morning, although consisting of a
single word, is capable of several divisions, upon any one of which a volume
might be written. But it is neither my purpose to make such divisions nor to
write such volumes. The history of the grape is almost as old as that of man
—running as it does well back into the patriarchal ages—long before other
fruits commonly cultivated in this country were even mentioned. There is a
story told of the origin of the grape something like the following: A certain
prince while traveling in a foreign land, discovered a small vine, and desiring
to take it with him, dug the vine and placed it in the skeleton of a bird. As
he continued his journey it grew so rapidly that he placed it in the the skull
of a lion, and, finally, as it continued to grow, it was placed in the bones of an
ass. Finally, on reaching home, it was planted, when its growth was wonder-
ful, and soon produced large clusters of most luscious fruit, which was found
good to eat, and the juice was expressed, and when man drank it, at first he
sang like a bird, but later he fought like a lion, and lastly he became stupid as
the ass. The moral of this story is plain: If you do not wish your mane or
ears to grow long, better use the juice. pure and fresh from the grape. I do
not vouch for the correctness of this story, yet I can give the following in its
support: Ist. It was told bya horticulturalist at a horticultural meeting.
2d. It was published in a newspaper. 3d. Although fifteen years have passed
since it was related, I have never seen it contradicted. Although the history
of the grape is so ancient, yet the varieties that we cultivate mostly, as well as
our methods of culture, have all had their origin within the recollection of
many who are present here to-day. Thirty or forty years ago grape culture in
the United States was confined to a few localities only, mostly among German
settlers. Twenty years ago there was probably but one vineyard, worthy the
name in Lenawee county, and that consisted mostly of the Isabella variety.
At the present time there are probably more grapes produced and consumed in
this county during the grape season, than any one other kind of fruit. It
uniformly yields large crops of the most healthful and luscious of all fruits.
Its cultivation is easy and simple, requiring no more care, if as much, as the
same area of land planted in corn and potatoes. Any good strong land
which is well drained, either naturally or artificially, will answer for the pro-
duction of the grape, a strong clay or limestone soil generally having the pref-
erence. The land should be thoroughly prepared before planting by plowing
as deep as possible, working in an ample supply of fertilizers, if not already
well enriched. There are those who will tell you that any land is rich enough
for grapes, but don’t you believe a word of it. The very best garden soil is
none too rich for best results. Ido not mean to say that poorer land will not
produce fair grapes, but not the best. Grapes, as a rule, should have thorough
tillage, a few inches of surface soil kept well stirred and pulverized. Yet some
growers succeed well by mulching the ground so as to keep the grass and weeds
down. This latter method is often the only one available where the trellis is
so situated that cultivation cannot be had.
Of all the fruits that we can cultivate in this climate, the grape is, without
question, the very best. It is needless to talk of its market value these times,
when the bottom is knocked out of all our markets, but it is just as luscious
and pleasant to the taste as though it was worth ever so much; and as the
grape season is now upon us, we would recommend everybody, sick or well, young
REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 345
or old, in city or country, a free use of this noble fruit. Good ripe grapes are
the great cure-all, the foe of disease, the dread of physicians. I once heard a
celebrated physician say that in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, where a
dose of pills was administered, a pound of grapes would answer better, and be
pleasanter to take. And especially at this heated season of the year is the rich
juice of the grape most refreshing and invigorating. Our list of varieties is
now so great that every palate can be suited, and the season prolonged for
three or four months. One nursery firm on the Atlantic coast reported recently
that they had on their trial grounds about four hundred yarieties, and the list
of varieties is rapidly increasing. A less number of varieties will answer our
purpose. Among the most desirable varieties for our purpose may be named
Concord, Worden, Cottage, and Clinton for black grapes, and Delaware,
Brighton, Agawam and Lindley for red, and Lady, Martha, Pocklington,
Niagara and Empire State for white, with scores of new varieties still pushing
for a place in the front ranks, most of which, however, will eventually find
their place in oblivion, as their predecessors of like value have alreadydone. I
would not recommend too many varieties for the ordinary growers; half a
dozen varieties would be ample, as a rule, either for family use or for market,
and let new and high-priced varieties alone until the nurseryman, whose busi-
ness it is, and the novice who has money to squander, have tested them in your
locality ; by that time nine out of ten of the new varieties will have been for-
gotten, and the tenth one will be offered at a reasonable price.
Mr. Steere asked for the comparative time of ripening of the Worden and
Concord.
Mr. Edmiston replied that it seemed to him that the several varieties had
ripened nearer together this year than usual. He thought the Worden about
a week ahead of the Concord, possibly less than that.
Mr. Steere thought the difference about a week. He also spoke of the Early
Victor as giving promise of good variety, as well as early ripening.
Rey. A. L. Reynolds asked if the society encouraged summer pruning of the
vines.
Mr. Steere said he thought many did too much summer pruning. He
thought the fruit matured better in the shade.
D. G. Edmiston did not approve of summer pruning, except in the way of
pinching out buds to throw the growth in any desired direction. He referred
to Dr. J. A. Warder and G. W. Campbell as authority, showing that indiscrim-
inate summer prunning not only damaged the growing fruit crop but damaged
the root growth of the vines, consequently damaging the growth both
of vine and fruit. His own experiments had convinced him of the cor-
rectness of this view. He was preparing to trim his vines on a horizontal
trellis five and a half or six feet high, which would admit of free passage under
the trellis, or cross cultivation if desired, and would give better air and ventila-
tion to the growing vines and fruit.
H. C. Bradish was called for and said he would not cut back after the wood
had become somewhat hardened; that it was necessary that the sap should flow
along the vine for the ripening of the fruit. He also recommended a high
trellis, which he thought tended to prevent mildew and other diseases of the
grape. He would rub off all surplus buds in spring at time of starting into
growth.
DV. Woodward had tried the horizontal trellis, and liked it.
Mr. Hough asked for the experience of those present in bagging the grape.
44
346 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
Messrs. Woodward, Steere, Holmes, and others had bagged grapes with
good results. Mr. Edmiston removed the bags from some bushes in the vine-
yard for the benefit of the committee, and others present, showing a very
decided benefit.
Miss Osborn then sang a solo—‘‘Sweet days gone by.”
On motion of Mr. Coller, the president appointed the following committee
on grounds, fruits, etc.: Mrs. J. M. Blanchard, Mrs. C. W. Sheffield, S. B.
Mann, A. 8. Mills and P. Coller.
Adjourned for dinner.
The Afternoon Session :
opened with a solo by Miss Osborn—“‘The shipwreck.’? 'The committee on
grounds etc., reported as follows:
Your committee on grounds, after a careful inspection, beg leave to report
as follows: Mr. Edmiston is in the nursery business, and an enthusiast in his
line. His grounds are covered with a large variety of grapes, pears, apples and
berries in bearing in their season. ‘The first visit was to the vineyard, where we
found about thirty varieties in bearing, besides some twenty-five seedlings, some
of which show fine qualities. The pear orchard of 150 trees, and some forty
varieties in bearing, some of which were very fine indeed, and we may safely
say that Mr. Edmiston makes a specialty of pears by way of testing varieties.
He has one rare variety, called the Desmonnis, said to be very fine by the best
judges. About half an acre of strawberries, set in May last, look very fine.
There were ten varieties. His raspberries, of about sixteen varieties, have
borne well and are looking well. His soil is clay loam mostly, and has suf-
fered somewhat from the late drought. Mr. Edmiston is also interested in bee
culture to a considerable extent, and with good success. He has now about
fifty colonies.
The secretary then read a letter from A. G. Gulley, superintendent of the
educational exhibit to be made at the State fair, relative to the collection of
new or rare varieties of fruit, and arrangements were made for the secretary to
receive and pack such samples for shipment, and he gave notice that he would
receive samples of fruits either at his home, or they might be left at Rowley &
Reeder’s meat market, opposite the postoffice, where he would receive them.
Such samples should be perfect as possible. Leave stem and calyx on; don’t
polish or handle the surface of the fruit; of apples, pears, etc , five specimens
would be desirable, but even one will do, if you can’t furnish more. ‘'wo or
three bunches of each variety of grapes is desired. Get all specimens in by
Thursday, the 9th inst. Packing will be done on Friday.
On motion of E. W. Allis, the society voted a copy of the State society’s
works to Mr. Morden, he haying written a valuable paper for the society last
year.
Mr. Coller referred to the report of the committee of the last meeting, rela-
tive to his dwarf pears, as showing that they were not hardy, while it was his
intention to state to the committee that one variety, the Angouleme, had
frozen down twice, while other varieties had stood better.
M. T. Cole then read the following paper on
REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. B47
HORTICULTURE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.
How well I remember the days long ago when mother sent me out to pull
weeds in the garden, or to trim out the berry patch. Sent me out; yes, that’s
the right word. Did ever any of you, in your youthful days, go out
whistling or singing to the weed—I mean to the garden or berry patch—and
not wish that Adam and Eve had not transgressed, and received that terrible
sentence “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.”’
Horticulture was the first and highest callmg of man. No weeds nor
thorns were there. Fruit was good and plenty. All that was required of man
was to keep and dress the vineyard. Nothing but pleasnre. No pain or sor-
row. Oh, Mother Eye! if you could only have pulled weeds a few hours on a
hot, sunshiny day, when the ground was hard, the shady woods near by, when
birds were singing songs we might have sung but for you, and the sparkling
brook just beyond, abounding with imaginary trout lying lazily with mouth
half open, ready for the worm—lI say, Mother Eye, would you have done it?
Ain’t you sorry?
Well, the weeds, thorns, and thistles are here. The question is, how are we
going to get the young people interested in the fight? There is no such thing
as interesting young people pulling weeds or trimming trees. There is no pleas-
ure init. You have got to point them to the result of their labor. That
won't do either. You have got to let them feel the result, right in their pock-
ets. ‘‘ Boy’s calf and dad’s steer won’t do.”’ Give them ground for a row or
two of berries. Show them how to plant and tend. Encourage them all the
way through. If they do well the first year give them a little more ground the
next; not too much; this tends to discourage. Give them a few trees. Let
them do their own setting and pruning. Teach them (if you can) to labor and
to wait. If they bring in their first fruit rejoicing, there is hope; if not, you
will have to adopt other methods. Don’t use the children’s fruit without pay-
ing them for it. If it is to be sold, assist them in making the sales, and give
the total proceeds. How to interest the young in horticulture or agriculture
is a difficult problem. The boy will make kites, carts, drive nails, tear
machinery to pieces, or drive team all day long, and call it sport. Point him
to the rows of beets or strawberries that need his attention. and all his joy is
turned to sorrow. If it’s an all day’s job, without any consideration, it’s just
so long imprisonment, and unless he is afraid of punishment, the work will
not be welldone. So many hours’ work, with an after-pluy consideration, some-
times meets with success. Orso much a row, if the work is well done, may
awaken an interest. Teach them to do their work well. Give them plenty of
praise and encouragement. Is there a person here who was interested in hor-
ticulture at the age of twelve or fifteen years? If so, please give us your
experience. Is there one here who loves horticulture now? If so, how long
have you been thus interested; how did youlearn? Is there aman here whose loy-
ing wife coaxes in April, scolds in May, and drives in June, to get even a vegeta-
ble garden? If so, Jet us hear from him. If there is any way to get young,
or old people either, downright interested in horticulture, let us find it out.
Mr. Hough remarked the necessity for encouraging the children by allowing
the use of a piece of ground and encourage them to give it good care.
The secretary stated that there was a large amount of fruit on the table that
it was desirable to have eaten. After the fruit was passed, Miss Sheffield was
introduced, and sang a solo entitled the ‘‘ Mowers’ song.”
348 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
Miss Lottie Blanchard was then introduced, and recited ‘‘ Looking to the
other shore,” which was highly applauded by an appreciative audience. Mr.
and Mrs. M. B. Rice were called upon for a song, but Mrs. Rice declined, saying
shia she could make butter, but couldn’t sing. ‘Mr. Rice sang what he called
‘«Old-fashioned song.’
VG motion of Mr. Strong a vote of thanks was extended to the host and
hostess, to the musicians, and to the elocutionist of the day.
Mr. M. T. Cole gave an invitation for the society to meet at his house next
month, October 6. Subject, “Storing and keeping of fruits,” paper by Mr.
Cole. . No doubt something will be provided for the afternoon that will be of
interest to the young, and we will be glad to see them well represented at the
next meeting.
The following list of fruits were on the exhibition tables:
B. W. Steere—Flemish Beauty pears, picked middle of June, Bailey Sweet,
Munson’s Sweet, Gravenstein and Dyer apples.
C. W. Sheffield—Chenango.
J. W. Helme—Coleridge and Old Mixon pear, Urbaniste, Buffum, Gansels
Bouquet and Sheldon pears; Lombard plums; Niagara, Talman, Wyoming,
Telegraph, Black Eagle, Rogers 39 and Janesville grapes.
S. B. Mann—Concord grapes, seedling apple and pear.
J. M. Blanchard—Kittatinny blackberry.
D. Woodward—Early Crawford peaches.
H. CO. Bradish—Hartford, Martha and Delaware grapes.
J. W. Davis—Lombard, Imperial Gage, German Prune plums; Vergennes,
Rogers 4, 15 and 19 grapes; Bartlett, Anjou, Sheldon, and two other varieties
of pears.
D. G. Edmiston—Twelve varieties of pears, five varieties of apples, and two
of plums.
REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 34
SOUTH HAVEN AND CASCO POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
.
REPORTED BY SECRETARY GULLEY.
OFFICERS FOR 1887.
President—C. J. Monroe.
Vice President—Frank R. Linderman.
Secretary—A. G. Gulley.
Treasurer—Rush W. Linderman.
Executive Committee—T. A. Bixby, J. G. Ramsdell, A. E. Briggs.
This society has progressed with at least its usual vigor the past year. Dur-
ing the early part of the season its weekly meetings were kept up at its rooms.
with great regularity, and the attendance was generally good. During July and
August it held six out-door meetings at the residences of members. The places:
were selected from among a number of invitations and arranged so the different
sections of the locality should be visited. At each of these meetings the attend-
ance was very large. The programme usually carried out was first to visit the-
orchards and plantations of the grower, and perhaps those of the near neigh-
bors, when all would return to a convenient place and a committee, previously
appointed, would report all good and bad points noted in the planting, cultiva-
tion, pruning, thinning, or other matters worthy of notice The grower would
thus have a chance to reply to any criticisms made and answer any questions
asked. Refreshments, contributed by all present, would then be served. This
order of business occupied the greater part of the afternoon.
These meetings were very valuable to the growers, as it gaye each a chance
to see how others did their work, and showed too if they tried to practice what
they preached. They brought the families together and made them better
acquainted, and in many other ways resulted in much benefit.
During the early meetings of the year, various topics of interest were taken
up and pains were taken to draw out those best informed upon the subject un-
der discussion.
Just before planting season, at a series of meetings, each class of fruit was
called up and the members required to express on paper the proportion they
would plant of each variety of the class, using both their experience and obser-
vation to aid them in deciding. The result was about as follows: Of peaches
Hill’s Chili, Jacques Rareripe, Barnard, Smock, Golden Drop, Mt. Rose, Hale’s
Early, Switzerland and Lewis Seedling were those mentioned by the most mem-
bers and to be used in quantity about in the order mentioned.
Of pears, Bartlett, Boussock, Sheldon, Bosc, Anjou, Howell and Clapp’s
Favorite were generally named, with Angouleme and Louise Bonne if dwarf trees
are used.
350 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY,
Of plums, the general success of the growers had not been very satisfactory,
but Lombard, Bradshaw and Yellow Egg had done the best.
Grapes had plenty of supporters and they named Concord, Worden, Niagara
and Brighton as by far in the lead; and Lady, Moore’s Karly and several others
had some support.
In small fruits: Of strawberries, Wilson and Crescent were the most often
named and in the largest quantity. But Miner, Cumberland, Sharpless and
Bidwell are used by many of the prominent growers.
Gregg and Cuthbert raspberries were the only ones that had many friends.
They seem to do well generally. *
The blackberry growers generally named Snyder, but Kittatinny is still a
favorite and Early Wilson has more friends than formerly. The practice is
also growing of protecting both the last named more than has been done
formerly.
The Victoria currant and Downing gooseberry were named by all that grew
those fruits.
The reports given were largely from those who had grown the varieties
named, and are the kinds that are proving the most profitable for this section.
The society has tried as far as possible to take up subjects for discussion
about in the season when the most useful, thus drawing the attention of the
members to the matter when it would be of special use. It has also held, each
winter, one special festival meeting, when papers would be prepared by mem-
bers appointed, and some special effort made to get out a large number, at
which time memberships are solicited and usually a large number obtained.
Often some special attraction is provided, as a speaker from abroad.
In this way the interest in the society is kept up. That the society has done
much good is proved by the many fine orchards in the vicinity, and especially
in the success of the locality in combating with that dreaded disease, the yel-
lows in the peach.
REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 351
GRAND RIVER VALLEY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
PREPARED BY SECRETARY BENNETT.
OFFICERS FOR 1886.
President—C. W. Garfield.
Vice President—J. Albert Hovey.
Secretary—Geo. G. Bennett.
Treasurer—W. N. Cook.
Hzecutive Board—R. D. Graham, E. M. Ball, Geo. Linderman, L. C.
Woodman.
At the first meeting of the year, Jan. 6, the society discussed plans of work
for the new year and concluded that we must get the public, and especially the
ladies, interested, and make the meetings attractive as well as beneficial. To
this end the executive board was instructed to take appropriate measures at
once. The place of meeting was soon changed to the finely furnished rooms
of the Royal Arcanum, and three committees appointed to work up interest in
the different branches of the society works, one on fruit growing, one on
gardening and one on flowering plants.
Pres. Garfield read the following paper, setting forth the purposes of the
society, under the title
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY WORK FOR CITIES.
If we ask a friend, who knows little of our purposes, to meet with our horti-
cultural society some afternoon, he very naturally inquires, “What for?’ We
should be ready in whatever form, or from whatever source this inquiry
may come, to give a reasonable answer.
This is an era of societies, everybody belongs to one or another of them.
It is natural for people having similar business or social interests to unite
together in an association.
The friend we invite to meet with us may at once say, “I am not a horti-
culturist and don’t belong there.” The reason we should be prompt in giv-
ing him a response, involves the objects of our society aud the work we are
aiming to accomplish. We do not meet as tradesmen to further our business
enterprises or protect our rights; we do not gather as producers to establish a
demand for our products; nor are our conventions held simply for the fun of
it. It is perhaps safe to say that all these objects are involved in our under-
takings, but they are auxiliary to greater purposes and more praiseworthy
3d2 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
ends. We aim to develop among our people a keener taste for fruits, flowers
«and vegetables, and a more intimate knowledge of their variations and peculi-
arities and adaptability to a wide range of purposes, knowing that a lively
satisfaction will accompany the acquirement of this knowledge.
We claim as a part of our work the dissemination of information concerning
the outward embellishment of homes; the adaptation of nature’s choicest pro-
ductions to the adornment of home premises as a work of art. And so we, so
far as we succeed in interesting people in the development of an artistic home
so that they shall love this spot of soil more than any other, so that removal
never so small a distance either way would be considered a calamity; we have
a right to claim for our work a moral and political significance. The spirit of
unrest so characteristic of our western life, is combatted by associations like
ours. We seek by creating an interest in the products of horticulture that
subserve the physical and esthetic yearnings of man, to awaken in him so
earnest a desire for ownership in those that appeal most strongly to his nature
that he will gather them about him, make them a part or his life, and add
measurably to the satisfaction of living in this world. I need not tell you
that this love of the garden and the lawn, respect for the beautiful and noble
in trees, enthusiasm over the newer deyelopements of flowers and shrubs, has
a stronger hold in the older parts of our country than with us. And that it is
where organizations have been established in these interests that we find the
most delightful attractions that horticulture can bring to give character to
home life.
I know you will not be satisficd unless I go more into the details of what
our society can do for our city and vicinity. So let me epitomize as follows:
First, a knowledge of varieties of fruits, their qualities and uses for various
purposes, aside from the satisfaction it brings to the consumer, is a safeguard
against imposition. Many people who purchase quantities of fruits every year
have no conception of quality as distinguishing varieties and are in entire
ignorance of the very best, when they would gladly pay for it if they knew a
demand for it would secure it. Hundreds of people are eating Baldwin and
Ben Davis apples, laboring under the false impression that they are pretty
good, when the connoisseur knows as compared with the best apples they are
scarcely fit for the palate, and this applies as truthfully to all other fruits as
the apple. Ladies order the best fruits from their grocers receiving varieties
that are beautiful, delicious dessert fruits, and wonder why, when they get the
best, the cooking fails; totally oblivious of the fact that the very best dessert
fruits are usually unfitted for cooking purposes.
Second, the most delicate and delicious products of horticulture are rarely
grown by the marketmen, because they are unprofitable. A knowledge of what
they are and how to grow them is information of great importance to those
who desire to have about them the very best things that horticulture can
afford.
Third, ahorticultural society if rightly supported will teach people what to buy,
when to buy it, and how to treat it. A majority of our people who have homes
about which they desire to gather the choicest fruits, flowers, trees, and shrubs,
put themselves totally in the hands of strangers, who know as little about it
as they themselves. It is a case of the ‘‘ blind leading the blind,” only one of
the parties has enough of an eye for business to get away with the money of
his doubly blind neighbor.
Fourth, people acquire a knowledge of art after long study and favorable
REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 353
opportunities, so that a delightful landscape is readily detected from an inferior
one. Still, these same people placed in the role of painters of landscapes,
would produce the veriest daubs. Still, these same persons are very liable,
because they are accredited with good taste, to have the assurance to think
that they can be their own landscape gardener and succeed. Again, others
who desire to have the most delicate taste exhibited in the adornment of thcir
premises will employ a laborer, who may know mechanically how to lay turf
and plant trees, but nothing more, to arrange the grounds, and expect.a fin-
ished landscape. As well expect a house painter to render an exquisite study
in oil. Our city is full of these mistakes. Our society has the power to edu-
cate correctively in this matter.
Fifth, the earth with us for a number of months in the year, is locked with
frost. We are debarred from the enjoyment of the live beauties of nature
grown out of doors, and we try to create a bit of summer of our own in-doors,
but how little is accurate information disseminated regarding the best manage-
ment of plants and flowers as grown under these artificial conditions. What a
field of active usefulness is here for a horticultural society.
Sixth, but I think really one of the greatest benefits that our society may
accomplish is to develop among the ladies a greater love for the attractions of
the garden produced under their own supervision and care. I cannot express
my own thoughts and wishes so well as Downing has for me when he says: “ We
have not the least desire that our American wives and daughters should have
anything to do with the rough toil of farm and garden beyond their own house-
hold province. We delight in the chivalry which pervades this whole country
in regard to the female character, and which even foreigners have remarked as
one of our strongest national characteristics. But we would have them seize
on that happy medium between the English passion for everything out of doors,
and the French taste for nothing outside the drawing room. Everything that
relates to the garden, the lawn, the pleasure ground, should claim their imme-
diate interest. And this not merely to walk out occasionally and enjoy it, but
to know it by heart; to do it, or see it all done; to know the history of any
plant, shrub, or tree from the time it was so small as to be invisible to all but
their eyes, to the time when every passer-by stops to admire and enjoy it.
Every lady may not be born to “ love pigs and chickens ” (though that is a good
thing to be born to), but depend upon it, she has been cut off by her mother
nature with less than a shilling’s patrimony if she does not love trees,
flowers, gardens, and nature as if they were all a part of herself.”
The keenest satisfaction and greatest charm comes from touching the grow-
ing things, and haying a personal intimacy with their development. If our
society can awaken an enthusiasm among our lady friends in this matter, we
shall do a noble work.
Seventh, our city has done very little, as yet, in the way of furnishing
delightful walks, beautiful flowers, and welcome shade for those who are unable to
own these pleasant home attributes, having no homes of their own. The exhi-
bition of taste in the adornment of parks, public grounds, and cemeteries, has
given character and individuality to some cities in our country. And it must
not be forgotten that the first rural cemetery in our country, Mt. Auburn,
originated with the Massachusetts horticultural society; and the loveliest rural
cemetery in the world, Spring Grove, at Cincinnati, owes its inception to
a horticultural society. In short, we believe our horticultural society, if prop-
erly understood, appreciated, and used, may help largely every member in our
45
354 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
community to secure a larger measure of benefit to be derived from an interest
in the art which gives us a name; and not one whom we can induce to touch
with his own hand, and assist in unfolding the treasures hidden in mother earth,
which a knowledge of horticulture can point out, will ever lay up against us
any grudge for showing him the way.
I never was very much taken with the story of Jacob wrestling with the angel
of God, possibly because my education in athletic sports was sadly neglected
in my youth; but J often recall with the keenest pleasure that part of the narrative
in which a ladder reaching to high heaven was a leading factor, and I have
wondered that more people in their visions could not catch a glimpse of the
lower rounds, at least, and climb towards that goal of happiness. It they could
but appreciate that the ladder still stands with its base in their own homes to-
day, and that each added attraction that binds hearts together there, is one
round climbed, would they ask, ‘‘ What is there in a horticultural society to
interest me?” Shall we let our work flag? Aren’t the results we may accom-
plish worth the effort for maintenance and growth?
The call for a discussion of the paper resulted in a series of remarks to the
effect that the paper comprehensively covered the ground, and nothing could
be added.
The following paper, by A. A. Crozier, formed a part of the proceedings of
the meeting this month:
TREES FOR CITY RESIDENCES.
In these brief notes I shall only attempt a few hints on the use of our native
forest trees along the streets and about the residences of our city. To give
a list of desirable kinds would be of little use, except in particular cases where
all the conditions were known, for all kinds are beautiful and equally interest-
ing in their proper place. When a boy I used to set trees in Grand Rapids
brought from my father’s farm, and now I can hardly pass a residence without
noting the condition of the trees around the house and along the street and
thinking what additional ones would be desirable and the chances for making
a sale. I found, however, that usually the more trees there were on the prem-
ises the better the chances for selling more, even if there were far too many
trees there already.
A house on a city lot is not exactly my ideal of a home, and I judge it is not
of a large nttmber of those living in cities from their desire to surround them-
selves with trees, shrubs, vines and flowers beyond what their space permits.
Many otherwise fine grounds are spoiled by the passion of the owner for bring-
ing to them everything beautiful which he may see elsewhere. If possible, I
suppose such an one would try to make room for a small-sized rainbow in one
corner of the ground and perhaps an unusually fine specimen of aurora borealis
in another, instead of being content to enjoy them in common with all other
people, where nature has placed them. City dwellings are usually more beau-
tiful in themselves than those in the country and should not be as much hidden
by trees or covered with vines.
The usual practice of haying a row of trees along the street in front of the
house, though to be commended, adds more to the appearance of the street
than of the place. Large trees should seldom be placed in front of the house,
but rather at the sides and a little to the rear. The space in front should be
reserved for a lawn, with perhaps a few low, flowering shrubs or evergreens and
REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 35d
a bed or two of flowers. If large trees are allowed here, they should be well
trimmed up so as to break the continuity of the lawn as little as possible. At
the sides of the lot the limbs of the trees may reach the ground to give an ap-
pearance of partial seclusion to the place. As a rule, avoid excessive pruning.
An evergreen or two in front may be trimmed low and compact, but rather
as a necessity from the restricted space, than as improving its appearance.
The use of the dwarf varieties or replacing by a younger tree when too large
would often be better.
An occasional evergreen hedge is admired by many and looks well if the soil
be strong to keep it thrifty and it be kept trimmed very low and be not shaded
by trees to cause an uneven growth. The beauty of a hedge is in its perfect
uniformity. The trees in the yard on the other hand should have as little uni-
formity as possibly. They should never be in rows, nor all of the same size or
kind. No one likes to have his house just like that of his neighbor. Equal
originality may be shown in the planting of the grounds, however small. A
single tree different from any other on the street or in the city will afford a good
deal of satisfaction. With roadside planting it is different; here uniformity
of appearance is desirable—straight rows; trees of uniform size and of the same
kind. A whole street lined on both sides with large, well-grown trees of the
same kind is something to be enjoyed and remembered. The irregularity in
size, kind and vigor of the trees on some of our streets is very unsightly. In
the country I think it would often be best not to attempt to have trees in rows
but leave them in groups at the corners of the field and singly at long distances.
But in the city this is not practical. A few of our native forest trees seem best
adapted of any for planting along the street. The two most popular kinds,
sugar maple and American elm, are as good as any. ‘The red maple often used
grows rapidly and looks well when young, but often becomes feeble, diseased
and unsightly when older. It makes a beautiful appearance when in flower in
early spring and in autumn when the leaves turn in color, but during summer
its foliage is dull and less pleasing than that of the sugar maple, making it less
desirable for the roadside. One or two trees should however, if possible, find a
place at one side of the grounds for its beauty in spring and autumn. The
cities of Adrian and Ann Arbor afford opportunity for comparing these two
species of maples. Both cities are well supplied with trees. In Adrian the red
maple is so extensively planted that it has been called the soft maple city. In
Ann Arbor the trees are mostly hard maple and they are certainly more uni-
formly healthy and satisfactory in appearance.
By the fine exhibitions at the monthly meetings it is evident that the society
has developed much interest in flowering plants.
At the April meeting Rey. Chas. Fluhrer read a paper on the destruction of
birds for decorative purposes, which has caused some attention in that direc-
tion. Following is higs*paper:
RUTHLESS DESTRUCTION OF BIRDS.
To the close observer it has been obvious that within the past few years
there has been a marked decrease in the number of our native birds. Conceded
to be a fact, the presence of the English sparrow has been cited as an explana-
tion. But, although this puznacious intruder may be in part responsible, yet
a careful gathering of evidence leads to the irresistible conclusion that man’s
share in this state of things is vastly greater. The American Ornithologists’
Union published in Science for February, and has since re-issued in pamphlet
356 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY,
form, a series of articles from competent observers upon the alarming de-
struction of bird-life in the United States. It is such an array of startling
facts as to amount to a revelation, and I have thought that I could hardly
render a better service to those within the the influence of my words than to
give a condensed account of the suggestive publication.
Birds, as we well know, are slain for food, for pastime, for scientific or
artistic purposes, and for personal decoration Those killed for food are
commonly called the “game birds,” such as pigeons, various kinds of grouse,
ducks, geese “and the great horde of smaller waders, known as ‘peeps,’ snipes,
plovers, rails, etc.” The injudicious slaughter of these has been so great that,
to prevent their actual extermination, game laws have been enacted and numer-
ous protective associations organized in the several States. The other birds,
almost legion by name, are more or less protected according to public senti-
ment in different localities. Of these, the number slain for strictly scientific
purposes is indeed large. The aggregate public and private collections in this
country are estimated to be about 500,000. These figures, however, do not
mean that so many are annually killed for scientific uses. They represent the
accumulation of many years. Still, there is grave reason for believing that
“science” like ‘“‘charity” is often made to cover a multitude of sins, and that
ostensibly in its interest but really to satisfy impulse or caprice large numbers
of birds are needlessly and cruelly sacrificed. It is a matter that calls for the
enactment of more stringent laws by our Legislatures.
We come upon a very serious evil when we touch the matter of killing birds
for mere “sport.” It isa remnant of that ancient cruelty still uneliminated
from human nature, and which appears in every amateur sportsman who
learns to handle the deadly shot-gun and to whom anything in the shape of
animal life is ‘‘game” or “fun.”’ The number of birds thus annually slain—
recklessly slain—for no other reason than that of pastime, must be very large
indeed. Boys, too, thoughtlessly destroy much bird-life by nest-hunting and
by means of ‘‘pea-shooters’’—the latter implements proving so fatal that in
some States their use has been prohibited by law.
But after we have gathered these items together they are inconsiderable in
view of the appalling fact that at least five millions of birds are annually killed
in this country for the sole purpose of personal decoration. Whoever looks
into the milliners’ windows, or observes the hats of ladies upon the street or in
the public assembly, will readily divine the main cause of the depletion of
American bird life. These enormous figures are sufficiently startling, but when
we come to analyze the items which go to make up the footing, we may well
wonder that any birds are left in our land. The eastern portion of the Atlantic
coast has been almost depleted of gulls and terns, or sea swallows, to satisfy the
demands ‘‘ of the trade.” At cape Cod alone 40,000 of these birds have been
killed in one season. A sportsman in Texas has been*known to contract for
the delivery of the plumes of 10,000 egerts, or white herons; while the skins of
grebes, much in fayor for hat decoration on account of their fur-like plumage,
are transported from the Pacific coast in bales like the pelts of the furrier.
An enterprising New York milliner has in one season contracted for the skins
of 40,000 birds, to be delivered in Paris. As many as 70,000 have been known
to be supplied to New York dealers during a season from one Long Island vyil-
lage. Such has been the wholesale destruction in New Jersey on account of the
Philadelphia and New York markets that the legislature of the State has been
obliged to pass the most stringent laws to prevent the extermination of its birds.
REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 357
Nor are particular sections alone affected. On account of their migratory hab-
its, birds spread over vast sections of the country; and those fortunate enough
to escape in the north the terrific fusilade of men whom it is an insult to the
true fraternity to call “sporfsmen,”’ are pursued by these miserable “pot hunt-
ers” into their winters quarters in the south and there mercilessly slain. One
of these murderers of the innocents prepared in 1884, during a three months’
trip along the South Carolina coasts, no less than 11,000 skins. Whole colo-
nies of songsters have been swept away in Florida and Texas, while Cobb’s
Island, Virginia, once a noted breeding place for gulls and terns, has been
wholly depopulated of its beautiful denizens. One New York taxidermist has
been known to have in his shop the skins of 50,000 of one species of birds,
prepared expressly for millinery purposes.
Thus the commercial item is by far the largest in the category and its start-
ling figures indicate what rapid progress we are making toward the extermina-
tion of our American birds—approximating results already reached in the case
of the bison, and nearly reached in the case of the deer. Indeed, no one will
question the facts when we observe that in every village and on nearly every
lady’s hat, one or more of theslain beauties of theair are tobe seen. Itis mod-
erate to assume that if in this city there are ten thousand homes, there are at
least twenty thousand dead bird ornaments, to say nothing of those on sale;
and if many of these are.of foreign importation, it is fair to assume that an
equal number of domestic birds has been exchanged for them.
This wholesale slaughter of bird life for scientific and pseudo scientific
purposes, for recreation and adornment, not only promises to rob coast and
forest, orchard and meadow of their graceful melodious denizens, but it works
another and a greaterevil. You remember Longfellow’s beautiful poem,
“ Bo oe ee Res ee See ea eT 21,000
Petcare a em oge + wel Bee bt ae Solus asap st eri Sy 2 Sieh See 22,000
SI Rien age Nene SEAT irs Uae cite ee ee ae ae cigs cee ete as due 40,000
E22 eli a ESS, Se A ee a ee eee 487,000
To produce this ocean of cider it required the crushing of 170,666 bushels of
apples. The product is quoted at six cents per gallon, which makes a total
value of $29,220.
Bringing these values together, they are as follows:
Mankerau le apples 52 4038. kes oe op cee LS Aa $43,035
ierepOratei wee sie ees. et a Pe ee eke ne 8,310
Pepieqelly cs 52.202 2 bale enet sees t decree eeet 4. Saas 3.700
{SOUT ESLA 9 02) sete lei ape ae EOE a Be een ees eye Te ne eee ee 250
Sibi Reine OE 2 te Se pee es re eee eee ee 600
Ret tee he 2 By) Per fee ee Ao aS ty hte ees Ro cia ee ea oe 29,220
A heen ih be gS a Since Aah 5 Bee ee ke ay seal yet SIS eae $85,115
The value of the apple crop and apple products in 1885 was $73,675; in 1884
it was $50,208; in 188% it was $104,995. But that year shipping apples brought
75 cents per bushel. There are reported from various points the production of
2,000 gallons of sorghum syrup the present season, which has a market value
of 50 cents to the gallon or $1,000 all told.
PLUMS.
Of this fruit the product was unusually large and shipments were made as
follows:
Bushels.
Slinved heheh pM FEA eect eB eae ee haa ely Ml ap hl WB 2S beat Res tag’ aad pce 1,450
IT) Dsatle igh Re Tel Reena ings, AP Ney Coe BIRO RE” i ABN AoE — aint Rea ed SAY aS ty gays Cale 400
Sirigimerote 1): Grrl aces tes. Fosse oo ee pe eee ee ree or ae 500
Bor leechers se Alen Ee Las Sree me Sag I SP ey 2,350
The average price per bushel was 65 cents, making a total value of $1,527.50.
GRAPES.
There is one large vineyard just outside the northern limits of the city of
about ten acres. ‘There is another just at the southern limits of the city of
about five acres, or more properly speaking two of two and a half acres each.
In Fenton township there is the celebrated Pine Lake vineyard of about ten
acres. In this city Mr. Leonard Wesson, treasurer of the Genesee county hor-
ticultural society, has a small but very thoroughly cultivated and productive
vineyard. There are numerous smaller cultivators of grapes, while a great many
382 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
thrifty farmers and residents in this city and the various villages of the county
produce grapes enough for their own use.
The amount of grapes produced in the county and actually marketed was
about 63 tons. At $60 per ton the amount realized on the crop marketed was
$3,780. The value of the crop actually produced was not less than $4,000.
STRAWBERRIES.
Of this crop a large percentage is produced near and marketed in this city.
Nevertheless, there is a great interest shown in the production of this and other
small fruits in other localities. This is notably true at Flushing, at Davison, at
Clio, in Mundy and Gaines townships and in Fenton.
The production is as follows:
Bushels,
BUG Sh ease eset soe eu Sees: cose ener ens ie hes ee ee 1,375
Chie tek x oe Sek ee te eels es re ee een eee ene a omnes per 700
URGING. Sieh da ee ee riek Dae eau ae lat ae tee ae ee echoes 578
HenjonsJcindenand Games. 24s s2h255) as 3 Seek She eee eee 450
Ma VigOn ee ce ete SR ott es a 9 tl el ee Riana ayer age 430
Migbalet si oid unin 5 ae eke we Leal haan a 3,533
The average price reported by the largest producers is $1.75 per bushel which
would make the product worth in the aggregate $6,182.75.
It is probable that the value of the berries produced in the county for home
consumption would be not less than $800, bribgine the total value up to about
$7,000.
RASPBERRIES.
Under this heading are included both the red and the black variety of this
fruit.
From Clio were shipped 200 bushels; marketed at Flint, 140 bushels; produced
at Flushing, 100 bushels; at other points, including Fenton, 50 bushels, making
a total of 490 bushels. The average price received by the producer was $2.50
per bushel or a total of $1,225.
CHERRIES.
The cherry crop was fair but statistics are meagre. The shipments at Clio
are reported at 200 bushels. Marketed in Flint 450 bushels. I assume that
these amounts represent half the product of the county, which undoubtedly is
within the actual amount, as most people who produce cherries, use, can and
preserve a good portion of them. ‘This would make a total product of 1,300
bushels. The market value of the crop was not less than $1,500.
There were five hundred bushels of blackberries shipped from Clio that grew
in the county. The total production of this fruit in this county probably does
not exceed 1,000 bushels, which at $1.50 per bushel would be worth $1,500.
This item does not properly belong in the list of total values of horticultural
products, as it is not a cultivated fruit.
REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 383
Bringing these amounts together we have the following values:
Maples aia apple prowueis- 2-2 Soe aS DeLee Se $85,115 00
“eo LTGE ITU Ale. ad ete gd ta lg $a iG TE 5 Ee ee 1,000 00
ed (eT yeni OS RUE RS Mek MP en CR SAE pete See cre Ses Se whe A eer 1,520 50
SETI ca I te, a Be Sa ae tans 4,000 00
SAE LOE (Ys Sie Ss A ai, ine Ne Bad a ad eo lS 7,000 00
era PO REICH ee ren Pe ey ene Oh Sa ee 1,225 00
LIES STDS a aE eda ge CO SA es IE per ee 1,500 00
RD a on eee ee AN Pee ee 2k ee eh en 500 00
LUE TESS Wie ey 1 tay soe Ce ee ne $101,860 50
There is a constantly increasing area every year devoted to the industry of
market gardening, from which fact I infer that the business is profitable. It is
noticeable that our markets each succeeding year are better supplied with a good
variety of wholesome vegetables, and that our people are beginning to regard
them more in the light of a table necessity than a table luxury. There is still
room for the profitable employment of more land in this department of horti-
culture.
It is gratifying also to observe that the busizess of propagating and culti-
vating flowers is growing in importance yearly. It is only a few years ago that
a well informed florist undertook to conduct a green-house in the city of Flint,
and failed from lack of patronage, Now there are two flourishing green-houses
in the same city and another is in process of construction at the present time.
This is gratifying evidence that both the taste for flowers and the ability to
gratify it are increasing from year to year among our people.
The buisness of farming the past year, while yielding as good returns prob-
ably as any ordinary line of industry or trade, has not been as profitable as could
be desired. Rut the cultivation of fruit has yielded relatively as large an in-
come as any department of farming, and is perhaps really the most profitable
branch of that industry. According to the best information I can get, the
average amount realized by the farmers of this county on an acre of wheat for
the year 1886, has been $14.40. The average value of the product of an acre
of apple orcharding has been $17.00. This is taking the entire acreage of or-
charding inthe county. But that includes those wild wastes of apple tree forests
thaf are a disgrace to the county and worse than a burlesque on horticulture—
orchards that are allowed to run wild and not pruned or cultivated from decade
to decade. In those collections of apple trees that are fairly entitled to the
name of orchard, the average value of the year’s product is nearer $40.00 than
$17.00.
The present conditon of farming industry ought to be one of the strongest
arguments in favor of making much of the apple orchard. There is scarcely
any other crop more certain to give a profitable return, one year with another,
than the apple crop, and there is no farm labor that is better paid than that
devoted to the intelligent cultivation of apples. This is a fact that ought to be
forcibly impressed upon the minds of the farmers of the county, and one of the
objects of the Genesee County Horticultural Society ought to be to educate
farmers to an intelligent understanding of this truth.
384 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
HILLSDALE COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
REPORTED BY R. J. CORYELL.
President—Alexander Hewitt.
Vice President—Chas. R. Coryell.
Secretary—L. B. Agard.
Treasurer—John KF. Fitzsimmons.
This society was organized in May and has since held one meeting. The
present intentions are to haye four meetings per year. The society, although
hardly yet in working order, has a membership of over fifty and receives the
hearty support of the general public and the local press, thus giving much
encouragement to its future existence.
PROGRAMME.
May 5.
Music.
Paper—The ruthless distruction of birds—Rev. Wm. Denman. ,,
Address—The benefits of a Horticultural Society to a community—Chas. W. Gar-
field of Grand Rapids.
Organization and election of officers.
Music.
August 21.
Music.
Address—Origination of new varieties of fruits—Prof. L. H. Bailey of the Agricult-
ural College.
Discussion.
Paper—Home adornment—Rev. W. W. Wetmore.
Discussion,
Paper--Strawberry culture—A. S. Knowles.
Discussion.
Music.
Paper—Injurious insects and insecticides—R. J. Coryell.
Discussion,
Music.
The paper by Rev. Wm. Denman was a most excellent and exhaustive one
and was printed in the county papers, the Michigan Horticulturist, and
copious extracts were made by many agricultural papers in the country.
The paper on home adornment by the Rev. Wetmore treated of many
matters connected with the rural home which are often ranked as non-essential,
and dwelt upon the fact that enough to eat, drink and wear, and a shelter for
lodging does not constitute the sum of home attractions. He pictured, in
REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 385
contrast, the true home surrounded and pervaded by all that tends to develop
a full rounded manhood and womanhood, and one simply provided with the
attributes that contribute to animal existence, and said it was not fair to call
those concomitants of a delightful home life which develop the best in man non-
essentials.
He ranked as of the highest importance in this connection the beauty of
trees, and green grass and flowers, appropriate literature and faithful, loy-
ing devotion to the weil being and happiness of each member of the house-
hold.
The paper by R. J. Coryell at the August meeting dealt with the simple
facts connected with insect life as applicable to the interests of farmer and
horticulturist, explaining the dependence of the successful men in rural occu-
pations upon parasitic and predaceous insects in warfare upon the enemies so
destructive to their crops. He named a number of the most destructive
insects, giving their life history and most approved methods of successfully
combatting them. He gave an account of the most practicable insecticides
and methods of using them.
Prof. Bailey’s address was a delightful one and was listened to with the most
thoughtful attention.
49
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ane h oh i ee
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Hepa st a
THE SECRETARY'S PORTFOLIO.
CE, SECRETARY OS, PORTE OLIC.
There are a number of considerations that lead me to continue the Secre-
tary’s Portfolio as a regular department of the Michigan volumes of horti-
culture. During the course of the year I receive a great many inquiries
concerning matters which reach into every section of horticulture and
forestry. Through the courtesy of the leading agricultural and horticultural
publications in our country I receive regularly a large number of the best
authorities, and in them I find answers to a majority of these queries. I
save these articles and reason that a question that one person may ask may
be agitating the mind of a good many who do not take many periodicals but
who do get the Michigan horticultural report. And I undertake to reach
these people with the cream of horticultural literature for the year by placing
it here in the most convenient form for ready reference. In my own case,
engaged as I am in practical horticulture, I find these collections of incal-
culable advantage.
Again, we are very apt all of us to become absorbed in one branch of
horticulture to the exclusion of all others; and I desire very much that our
fruit growers shall become better acquainted with the progressive work
accomplishing in all the other divisions, which are just as important as
pomology. ‘The same is true with reference to gardeners and florists.
It is true that each season valuable suggestions are made in each depart-
ment of horticulture that are nearly lost unless made public property;
suggestions that possibly we may wonder why we had not thought out our-
selves, but none the less useful because so simple.
I have had in mind also in the preparation of this collection the importance
of popularizing the delicate and interesting operations in horticulture that
they may become attractive to students, and especially to women and children
and those in delicate health; for I earnestly believe there is no occupation
in the world that may be made so delightful and captivating as horticul-
ture.
Once more I have not forgotten in culling and abstracting these selections
that a large proportion of our population are wage-workers, and I desire
390 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY,
very much to reach these people with such facts concerning horticulture as
will lead these people to employ their spare hours in bringing about their
homes the attractions and luxuries which a knowledge of horticulture will
enable them to do. I heartily concur in the advice of Mr. S. H. Comings
to every man who works for wages:
“« Just as soon as possible have a piece of ground for a garden; one acre if
possible, and put in your spare time there. If practicable work for wages
but five days in the week and put the other day in the garden. I believe if
all wage-workers who are employed by the day would accept eight hours’ pay
for eight hours’ work, and with fair industry, put their spare time in work
in their own garden, the day of the ‘conflict of labor with capital’ would
soon be over, and wage-workers would soon be the independent parties
sought for by capital.
*“Tt is wonderful, too, how soon such work becomes very interesting to
every one who goes at it. Asa meansof rest and recreation, its attractions
for the shop-worker are far ahead of the saloon or the streets.
*‘ And children brought up to study the growth of plants and flowers are
educated in a way that will he most likely to make them good citizens.
“‘ At present there are too many who depend for their whole living on
their daily wages. There are more workers than work, and the profits on
garden stuff purchased instead of raised, takes the whole income.
*«' The garden was man’s first place of happiness and it may be where he
can yet gain the most happiness for his last work in life.”’
And because I believe so earnestly that the pursuit of the more attractive
branches of horticulture, especially those connected with the embellishment
of homes, which embrace a knowledge of art and a necessity for physical
exertion in pure air and bright sunshine, is the most positive cure for a large
proportion of human ailments, I have gathered facts, observations and
experiences that illustrate my convictions, and that I hope will have a tend-
ency to convince others of the soundness of my faith.
Once more let me give an additional reason for putting so much time and
thought into the gathering of facts with reference to the horticulture which
does not put money into the pocket book, which is often considered more
beautiful than useful. Mr. W. K. Gibson expressed better than I can the
potent influence that emanates from the employment of horticultural art as
an accessory to the building of character when he said:
‘©The foundations of character are laid in the home, and earlier education
and culture commence there. It is reasonable, therefore, to expect, that
when the home represents what is true, harmonious and beautiful, character
will be formed there under the most favorable conditions. It must follow
then that that which makes the home beautiful and attractive, which fur-
nishes the best models of taste, which appeals to the better nature always,
which brings the child continually close to nature in her perfect forms of
tree and plant and flower, is playing no mean part in moulding character
and shaping the future life. Yet this is the very work horticulture is doing.
It spreads about the home a beautiful lawn. It plants graceful shrubs and
SECRETARY'S PORTFOLIO. 391
vines and trees, and spreads before the eye flowers whose colors no painter’s
brush can reproduce. It thus surrounds the child with models of grace and
beauty, teaching nature’s own lesson through the eye deep down into a
human soul. The power of the home and the home-life is intensified and
strengthened, and the young life thus touched and softened by gentle and re-
fining influences yields more readily to the truth and to proper home train-
ing. By furnishing perfect models, horticulture establishes correct taste ;
more than that—every flower teaches its lesson of reverence and humility,
for nature in every form is reverent, humble and obedient. From such a
home, with such beautiful surroundings and refining influences, the child
goes forth to take his place in the world and assume the duties of citizenship.
Have we not aright to expect that his manhood will show a higher moral
culture, a purer taste and a more symmetrical character as the results of
such home influences? The need of the world is not for more doctors, law-
yers, politicians or even for more mere workmen. There will always be
enough of these to meet the demand. But it needs men, honest, intelligent
and strong in all right-doing and thinking. Give to the child such a home-
life as I have described, where horticulture shall teach nature’s lessons of
reverence, obedience and beauty, and we have a right to expect the best
results.”’
Thus the reader will find, if he looks through this portfolio with care, that
it is more than a scrap-book; more than a mass of newspaper clippings. It
is an aggregation of facts gathered from eyery possible source, fresh from
the experiences of those who think while they work, into which is breathed
a goodly portion of the life of the editor. t
I desire here to acknowledge with gratitude the kindness of the editors
and publishers of the following periodicals, which have been furnished me
in exchange for the Michigan horticultural report, and upon which I have
drawn at will in this compilation:
New York Tribune, Rural Canadian, Rural New Yorker, Ohio Farmer,
Country Gentleman, Practical Farmer, American Garden, American Grange
Bulletin, Indiana Farmer, Gardener’s Monthly, Michigan Farmer, Green’s
Fruit Grower, New York Sun, Philadelphia Press, Home Farm, Farmer and
Fruit Grower, American Rural Home, Grange Visitor, South Haven Messen-
ger, Industrialist, Prairie Farmer, Western Rural, Farm Journal, Our
Country Home, New England Homestead, College Speculum, Allegan Ga-
zette, Fruit Growers’ Journal, Farm and Garden, Farm and Fireside, Cana-
dian Horticulturist, Orchard and Garden, Popular Gardening, Farm and
Home, Horticultural Art Journal.
In the preparation of this portfolio, for 1886, I have drawn from the related
experience of the following experts:
Prof. L. H. Bailey, Agricultural College, Michigan; A. S. Fuller, of the
American Agriculturist; W. W. Tracy, Detroit, Michigan; Prof. Wm. Tre-
lease, St. Louis, Missouri; John J. Thomas, of the Country Gentleman;
392 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
Josiah Hoopes, Westchester, Penn.; James Vick, Rochester, N. Y.; E. H.
Libby, Greenfield, Mass. ; Quartus A. Brother, in New York Tribune; Prof.
A. J. Cook, Agricultural College, Michigan ; Prof. T. J. Burriil, Champaign,
Illinois; Dr. Byron D. Halsted, Ames, Iowa; Rey. L. J. Templin, Colorada;
Eugene Davenport, Barry county, Michigan; W. A. Styles, of the Philadel-
phia Press; Henry Ives, Batavia, New York; Francis Parkman, in Atlantic
Monthly; Prof. James Satterlee, Lansing; L. B. Pierce, Tallmadge, Ohio;
W. D. Boynton, Wisconsin; Samuel L. Boardman, Augusta, Maine; P. C.
Reynolds, Rochester, N. Y.; C. M. Hovey, Boston, Mass.; William Falconer,
Long Island ; W. F. Massey, in Philadelphia Press ; Abner Wilson, Lenawee
county, Mich.; Peter Henderson, Jersey City, N. J.; Thos. D. Baird, Green-
ville, Ky.; Edgar Saunders, Chicago, Ill.; W. D. Philbrick, Massachusetts ;
A G. Chase, Leavenworth, Kansas; Henry Stewart, in N. Y. Times; J. B.
Rogers, Milburn, N. J.; E. E. Rexford, Wisconsin ; Wm. Toole, Wisconsin;
EK. L. Beard, Massachusetts; Annie L. Jack, Quebec; O. B. Hadwin, in
Massachusetts Farmer; C. P. Hazen, Vermont; C. G. Atkins, Kenebec county,
Maine; W. W. Meach, Vineland, N. J.; HE. W. Bull, Concord, Mass. ; D. 8S.
Marvin, Watertown, N. Y.; Dr. G. C. Caldwell, Ithica, N. Y.; Chas. A.
Green, Rochester, N. Y.; T.S. Gold, West Cornwell, Ct.; W. J. Fowler,
Monroe county, N. Y.; Wm. Parry, New Jersey; Saml. Miller, Missouri;
P. M. Augur, Middletown, Conn.; N. Ohmer, Dayton, O.; Parker Earle,
Cobden, Ills.; Matthew Crawford, Ohio; Dr. F. M. Hexamer, New York ;
Thomas L. Brown, Grand Rapids, Mich.; Mrs. D. L. Arnold, Grand Rapids,
Mich.; S. L. Fuller, Grand Rapids, Mich.; A. A. Crozier, Washington, D.
C.; Mrs. Nellie 8. Kedzie, Manhattan, Kansas; Geo. W. Campbell, Dela-
ware, Ohio; E. W. Barber, Jackson, Mich.; O. C. Simonds, Chicago, Ills.;
N. A. Fletcher, Grand Rapids, Mich.; E. H. Scott, Ann.Arbor, Mich.; 1.
H. Hoskins, Newport, Vt.; W. A. Brown, Benton Harbor, Mich.; Waldo F.
Brown, Oxford, Ohio; Donald G. Mitchell, Connecticut; C. F. Burroughs,
Benzonia, Mich; J. M. Smith, Green Bay, Wis. ; Prof. T. V. Munson Denni-
son, Texas; HE. S. Goff, Geneva, N. Y.; W. J. Green, Columbus, Ohio; T. T.
Lyon, South Haven, Michigan; Wm. Parry, New Jersey; E. S. Carman,
River Edge, N. J.; HE. P. Powell, New York; James Dougall, New York
City; Benj. G. Smith, Cambridge, Mass.; Prof. W. R. Lazenby, Columbus,
Ohio; P. Barry, Rochester, N. Y.; Hugh T. Brooks, Pearl Creek, N. Y.;
Robert Douglass, Waukegon, Ills.; Prof. Sargeant, Massachusetts; Prof. J.
S. Budd, Iowa; John Davis, Kansas; Supt. Graham, Kansas Agricultural
College; Robert Gibbons, Detroit, Mich.; Eli Minch, New Jersey; Dr. O.
HK. Bessey, Lincoln, Nebraska; John Gardner, in Connecticut Farmer ; J.
C. Houghton, Liverpool, England; Chas. T. Curtis, Massachusetts; A. S.
SECRETARY’S PORTFOLIO.
393
Fuller, Ridgewood, N. J.; E. W. Hilgard, Oakland, California; C. E. Par-
nell, in Rural New Yorker; J. H. Bourn, Providence, R. I.; William E.
Gladstone, England; R. Brodie, Ontario; J. J. H. Gregory, Marblehead,
Mass.; Jos. Harris, Rochester, N. Y.; Prof. C. H. Dann, New York; James
Taplin and Miss E. L. Taplin, Maywood, New Jersey.
Portfolio:
1
FRUITS.
a. Fruits and Health.
6. Strawberries.
c. Raspberries.
d. Blackberries.
e. Cherries.
fs Plame.
g. Grapes.
h. Pears.
2. Peaches.
j. Quinces.
k. Gooseberries.
1. Currants.
m. Apples.
mn. Other Fruits.
o. Preserving Fruits.
FLORICULTURE
a. Commercial Plant Culture.
6. Window and Conservatory.
c. Bedding and Bedding Plants. |
d. Cut-flowers, Designs, and
Decorative Work.
50
Or
10. NOMENCLATURE.
Se eas
For convenience of reference I have made the following analysis of the
VEGETABLES.
a. The Fruit Farm.
6. The Kitchen Garden.
ce. Culinary hints.
LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
a. The Farm Home.
The Lawn.
Trees, their care and uses.
. Buildings.
Parks and Cemeteries.
Walks and Drives.
. Shrubbery.
h. Climbers.
FORESTRY.
a. Native Woodlands.
b. Artificial Plantations.
c. Climatic Considerations.
INSECTS AND DISEASES.
NuRSERY NOTES.
CHILDREN’S HORTICULTURE.
Botany.
AMS ASS
6
11. WoMEN IN THE GARDEN.
SECRETARY.
394 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
FRUITS.
FRUITS AND HEALTH.
STRAWBERRIES vs. Drues.—John Burroughs is responsible for the following :
Was it old Dr. Parr who said or sighed in his last illness, “O, if I can only
live till strawberries come!” ? The old scholar imagined that if he could
weather till then the berries would carry him through. No doubt he had turned
from the drugs and the nostrums, or from the hateful food, to the memory of
the pungent, penetrating and unspeakably fresh quality of the strawberry,
with the deepest longing. The very thought of these crimson lobes, embody-
ing, as it were, the first glow and ardor of the young summer, and with their
power to unsheath the taste and spur the flagging appetite, made life seem
possible and desirable with him. The strawberry is always the hope of the in-
valid, and sometimes, no doubt, his salvation. It is the first and finest relish
among fruits, and well merits Dr. Boteler’s memorable saying, that “doubtless
God might have made a better berry than the strawberry, but doubtless God
never did.”
Fruit EAters NEED No Docrors.—The Rural New Yorker says:
We were struck recently by the remarks of a doctor friend of ours, who
said no one thing will do so much to make people independent of the medical
profession as the daily free use of fruit. He had noticed that those farmers in
whose families fruit was regularly and largely consumed, seldom needed his
services. We thought what a pity that every farmer in the land could not be
convinced of these truths. It is a deplorable fact that farmers’ families do
not enjoy that robust health that country air and outdoor life, with plenty of
exercise, should give. It is also a fact that living on farms whose rich acres
are aching to produce abundant crops of the varied fruits, but very few have
plenty, and many never have any fruit, except it may be an occasional apple.
The standard food in a majority of farmers’ houses consists largely of bread,
butter, and meat, (mostly pork) fried in grease, and where pastry or cake is
used, it has lard in large proportions in its composition; and this food is eaten
at least twice, and in many families, three times a day, year in and year out.
Is it any wonder that they are not more healthy, and that their prevailing dis-
eases are such as indicate an over consumption of greasy food? If fruits were
expensive or difficult to raise, there would be some excuse; but there is no part
of the country without plenty of varieties adapted to its soil and climate, and
just such as are fitted by nature to both nourish and cleanse the body, and no
more skill is required to grow them than to grow corn or wheat.
Why is it that so fewfarmers make any attempt to provide an adequate
supply of what would add much to their pleasure, and save many times its cost
in doctor’s bills, to say nothing of the sufferings and loss of their dear ones.
We entreat you, decide just now not to let another spring pass without plant-
ing a fruit yard. Surely it is better to grow fruit than to be continually dosing
with medicine.
SECRETARY’S PORTFOLIO. ~ 395
MEDICINAL QUALITIES OF FRuITS—The Journal of Health is authority for the
following :
Of all the fruits with which we are blessed, the peach is the most delicious
and digestible. There is nothing more palatable, wholesome and medicinal
than good ripe peaches. It is a mistaken idea that no fruit should be eaten at
breakfast. It would be far better if our people would eat less bacon and
grease and more fruit. In the morning there is an acrid state of the secre-
tions, and nothing is so well calculated to correct this as cooling sub-acid fruits,
such as peaches, apples, etc. ‘The apple is one of the best of fruits. Baked
or stewed apples will generally agree with the most delicate stomach, and are
an excellent medicine in many cases. Green or half-ripe apples stewed and
sweetened are pleasant to the taste, cooling, nourishing, laxative, far superior,
in many cases, to the abominable doses of salts and oil usually given in fever
and other diseases. Raw apples stewed are better for constipation than some
pills. Oranges are very acceptable to most stomachs, having all the advantages
of the acid alluded to; but the orange juice alone should be taken, rejecting
the pulp. The same may be said of lemons, pomegranates and all that class.
Lemonade is the best drink in fevers, and when thickened with sugar it is
better than syrup of-squills and other nauseants in many cases of cough.
Tomatoes act on the liver and bowels, and are much more pleasant and safe
than blue mass. The juice should be used alone, rejecting the skins. The
smallest seeded fruits, such as blackberries, figs, currants and strawberries, may
be classed among the best fruits and medicines. The sugar in them is nutri-
tious, the acid is cooling and purifying, the seeds are laxative. We would be
much the gainer if we would look more to our orchards and gardens for our
medicines and less to drug stores. To cure fever or act on the kidneys, no feb-
rifuge or diuretic is superior to watermelon, which may, with very few exéep-
tions, be taken in sickness and in health in almost unlimited quantities, with
positive benefit. But in using them, juice should be taken, excluding the pulp ;
and then the melon should be fresh and ripe.
Fruit Diret.—tThe Lancet, an excellent authority, says:
One of the most salutary tendencies of domestic management in our day is
that which aims at assigning to fruit a favored place in our ordinary cliet.
The nutrient value of such food, in virtue of its component starches and saccha-
rine materials, is generally admitted; and while these substances cannot be
said to equal in accumulated force the more solid ingredients of meat and ani-
mal fat, they are similarly useful in their own degree, and, have, moreover,
the advantage of greater digestibility. Their conversion within the tissues is
also attended with less friction and pressure on the constructive machinery.
The locally stimulant action of many sub-acid fruits on the mucous mem-
branes deserves mention. Its contro! of a too active peptic secretion, and its
influence of attraction exercised upon the alkaline and aperient intestinal
juice, are points of more than superficial importance. ‘To this action further
effects, which aid the maintenance of a pure and vigorous circulation, are
indirectly due.
Dyspeptic stomachs, on the other hand, are usualy benefited by a moderate
allowance of this light and stimulating fare. It must be remembered, more-
over, that every fruit is not equally wholesome, let the digestion be as powerful
as it may. Nuts, for example—consisting as they do, for the most part of
condensed albuminoid and fatty matters—cannot compare in acceptance, either
396 ‘STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
by the palate or the stomach, with other succulent kinds, even though they
contain in the same bulk, a far greater amount of nutriment. A little of such
fruit is enough for digestion, and that little is best cooked. Nevertheless, if
we take fruit as a whole, ripe and sound, of course, and consider the variety,
its lightness and nourishing properties, whether eaten alone or with other food,
and its cheap abundance, we cannot hesitate to add our voice in support of its
just claim on public attention.
STRAWBERRIES.
PrLantTING.—Parker Earle says, in preparing to plant strawberries, take good
land if you can get it; if not, take poor, and enrich itif youcan. If you are plant-
ing for home use, be sure to plant on some kind of land; if you can’t get good,
take poor. For commercial purposes, the conditions must be decidedly favora-
ble. Plow well in the fall; plow well in the spring. Don’t fool away money
in trenching. Plant in the spring; not in the fall, not in the summer. Mark
the ground; trim the plants; dip them in water and place in a pail; thrust the
spade in before you at 45 degrees; a boy puts a plant in, while you withdraw
the spade and press the earth with your foot. A man and a boy will thus put
in four thousand plants in a day.
Mr. L. B. Pierce of Ohio gives his method of planting:
A rich sod is plowed up, planted with corn, and the year after Beate to
potatoes or tomatoes. The following spring it is plowed early, harrowed
twice with a fine harrow, and leveled with a heavyfloat. It is then allowed to
lie until after a rain, when the ground is firm, level and moist. As soon as
possible after the rain has soaked away the planting is done. A piece of wool
twine twenty rods long is prepared by stitching red yarn through it at inter-
vals of sixteen and a half inches (twelve to the rod) and this is used to guide
the planting.
A measuring stick three and a half feet long is provided, also an armful of
sticks half an inch big and a foot long, cut from a willow thicket. These
sticks are stuck three and a half feet apart across either end of the field and
also in the middle if the land is rolling. The line is set by these stakes and
the planting begins. For this two active, intelligent young men are preferred,
and the tools are common bricklayers’ trowels. One man takes a basket of
plants and a trowel and drops a plant at every red mark; the other takes his
trowel and proceeds to plant by inserting the trowel at an angle toward him,
opening the ground while the plant is placed with left hand and the dirt pressed
upon the roots with the left knuckles. In gravelly soil it is often necessary to
use the right hand also, dropping the trowel for an instant. When the man
that drops gets to the end of the row he plants back until the two meet.
Yesterday, with rather an indifferent helper, I put in 720 plants per hour.
The wind was blowing a gale, and the rows run across a hollow eight feet deep
that made it troublesome to set the line and hindered the dropping of the
plants, so that the dropper only planted 40 in a row of 180. I put in the 140
in seven minutes by the watch. Last year with an active, intelligent young
man to help, we easily averaged 1,000 per hour and less than one per cent.
failed to grow. The plants grown by myself were very heavy-rooted; had they
SECRETARY’S PORTFOLIO. 397
been the little ones sent out by some New Jersey growers we could have mate-
rially increased the number planted. Careful trimming of plants expediates
the business. I remove all dead leaves, those that have passed their period of
greatest usefulness, and any that bend down toward the roots; also runners.
While trimming, the plants are held in the left hand until ten or fifteen are
grasped, when they are transferred to a market basket, placing in an upright
position. When the basket is full they are dipped into water up to the leaves,
and then set in the shade to await planting.
Fatt PLrantine.—William Falconer of Long Island says :
-I have a decided preference for fall planting. I plantas soonas I can get
well-rooted runners to set out, and which is generally during the first fortnight
of August. Notwithstanding the terrors of drouth I get fine crowns before
winter sets in, which give me cupital fruiting plants the next summer. No
half measure of piling berries, but a full crop of A 1 s‘zed fruit. But when I
plant a crop I cannot afford to trust it to take care of itself; oh, no! I take
care of it, and that, too, the very best care I know, with vigilance of experience,
the sweat of my brow. and the fat of the farm yard pile do I care for my
strawberry plants ; with gratification gather a full crop of big berries off ten-
months’-old plants, and with pleasure have my friends come and see and taste
them then, and carry home a basketful as well.
PackInG Piants.—S. Miller, in the Rural World, gives directions for pack-
ing strawberry plants to send by mail: ‘Take the plants up carefully ; clip off
the roots about five inches below the crown; cut off all the old dry stems ; then
spread a thin layer of moss on the table so as to lay the plants on, so that it
reaches from the tip of the roots up to the crown. Rollthe plants so that the
moss comes between the plants and have it outside of the roots. Next wrap
oiled paper around, to come up near the tops of the leaves, doubling the oiled
paper over at the bottom and tie. This keeps the roots moist and the air out.
Next wrap carefully with paper, upon which to write the address ; tie again,
and it is ready for the stamps and the mail bag. In tying do not cover the
tops of the leaves, as the postmaster may want to know what is in the package.
FACING STRAWBERRY Boxes.—Dr. T. H. Hoskins was informed by the com-
mission merchant that his practice of leveling strawberries in the baskets adds
fifty cents per crate to their market value, and in a note to the Rural New
Yorker he kindly gave other growers the benefit of the plan:
My pickers fill the baskets as full as they will stayon, heaped. When they
are brought in, an experienced hand—a woman hired for the purpose—throws
out upon the table before her half a pint from the top of each basket and re-
places them with the hulls down so as to make a flat, level top, about three-
eighths of an inch higher than the edge of the basket. This is what the buyer
alluded to says increases the value to him 50 cents per crate. It does not cost
10 cents, and has always been done here because it prevents the mashing which
is sure to attend the practice of leaving the berries in a conical form, or highest
in the middle.
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF THE WILSON.—J. M. Smith of Wisconsin is a most
successful market strawberry grower, and still clings to the Wilson as his stand-
ard. His experience upon which his action is based is well worth preserving,
398 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
and we give space here to quote a full account of it by himself: I do not write
to sell Wilson plants, that is not my business ; but I do wish to sell fruit. Ido
not consider the Wilson a perfect strawberry ; still, in pursuit of a better, I have
spent at least $1,000 of time and money, and all my efforts in that direction
have failed. There are in my garden to-day newer yarieties that would cum-
ber the ground even if it were worth only ten shillings an acre, and yet the
parent plants cost from $3 to $5 per dozen Weighed and found wanting, they
will like a host of predecessors soon take their appropriate place, in the com-
post-heap, though I must confess they make very expensive manure. Mean-
while, for near a quarter of a century Wilson has been, and is, my reliance.
But some other people write it down, and it appears to me that one of them,
perhaps unconsciously, suggests the reason why it no longer holds its own when
he says that ‘‘ for many years it was only necessary to put out a bed of Wilsons
to be certain of getting a large crop ;it mattered little what the soil, or how
previously treated, or how the plants were treated, or how badly neglected ;
when the harvest came the berries were there.” If such maltreatment is gen-
eral the only wonder is that the variety has not become extinct.
In the summer of *61 I obtained a few of the plants, which in 762 had in-
creased so much that I set quite a bed. The crop of ’63 was enormous—so far
beyond anything I had ever seen or heard of that wife and I were in high glee
and believed we had indeed a bonanza. Before winter the plants looked badly,
and the following season the bed that had given us such an immense yield of
beautiful fruit was almost dead. The crop was of course very light. Mean-
while we had set out other beds, and they repeated the large crop of the parent
bed, and then died, or nearly so. Whenever the first crop of fruit had for any
reason been only moderate we have as a rule had no difficulty in getting a fair
second one. But if the first yield is such as we expect, and try to get, the beds
are turned over at the close of the picking season, and some other crop is put
upon the ground. No strawberries are set upon that ground again for a num-
ber of years. Such in a few words was my success with my first Wilson beds in
°63, and such it is in the years that are now passing. A new bed has never yet
failed to give me at least a fair crop, and in most cases an immense one.
I have never seen what I call a fairly good bed of Wilsons except upon rich
land, and do not believe it is possible to get a good crop from poor soil. They
are not as rapid growers as most other varieties, and throw out fewer runners
than almost any I have ever known. They have short leaves and fruit-stems,
hence it is very easy for some of the strong growers, like Crescent, Sharpless,
Kentucky and others to run over and destroy a bed of them in a yery short
time. I have repeatedly been called upon to examine beds of supposed Wilsons
and tell the owners why they did not bear fruit ; when the only difficulty was a
few stray plants allowed in the bed had overrun the modest little Wilsons and
killed them, or so nearly so that they could not yield their fruit. Mine are
guarded with jealous care. We should no more think of allowing any other
variety to remain among and grow with them than we shou'd allow Canada
thistles. So careful are we in this respect that the beds are examined very
carefully and repeatedly every season, and if a stray plant of any other variety
is found it is destroyed.
It may be asked, Why will they not yield mere than a single crop? The
simple fact is, if they are cared for as they should be, they will bear them-
selves to death the first season; not all dying immediately, but so weakened by
their immense yield that they have not sufficient vitality left to resist the
SECRETARY’S PORTFOLIO. 399
attacks of rust, or any other disease to which they may be liable. For instance:
One year ago cattle got upon one end of one of my beds and injured the plants
so much that the crop there was nearly a failure, although the roots were in
no way injured. Upon the rest of the bed the crop was very large; the sur-
face of the earth seemed almost turned into berries. At the close of the
berry season the damaged portion of the bed gave every indication of health
and of its ability to yield a good crop for ’85. Rather than destroy this por-
tion of it, I concluded to keep over the entire bed and do my best to nurse the
bearing portion so well that,it would give another fair crop, although the
plants gave every indication of being very much exhausted. The result is:
Of the bearing portion of the bed not one-fourth of the plants are alive to-day,
and if I gather one-fourth of a fair crop from them it will be more than I
expect. The portion of it that bore very little, by reason of its being injured,
gives every indication of a very large yield.
Now the question naturally arises, Can one afford to cultivate a berry that
gives but a single crop? If the single crop is only thirty or forty bushels per
acre, which is perhaps a fair average taking the country through, Isay No. If
the yield is from 150 to 300 bushels per acre, I say Yes. Now, readers of this
record, do not be frightened by the latter figures. With proper care such
crops are not difficult to raise. In *75 I picked, by exact measurment of
ground and crop, 3,071 quart boxes of merchantable berries from one-fourth
oi an acre—at the rate of 446 bushels per acre. The year following I picked
96 bushels from one-fourth of an acre. I believe I have raised larger crops
than either of these, still as they were not carefully measured I will not assert
it positively. If my last spring setting of plants do not average over 200
bushels per acre this season, they will fail to do what they now promise. We
are now setting plants for next year’s crop. The land has been heavily ma-
nured each year for the last six or seyen, yet we are putting on from thirty to
forty loads, mostly of very rich compost, per acre. The soil is a rich light
loam, with rather a sandy subsoil. Of course we shall expect a very large yield
of fruit from it in ’86.
To sum up the whole matter in few words: The Wilson came into existence
at a time when it was far in advance of any other variety. For years it was
set almost universally. Plants were neglected, other plants allowed to overrun
and destroy them, they were set on poor land, and given very poor cultivation,
or perhaps none. Repeated settings were made upon the same land, with but
little interuption, and still less manure. The effort was made to obtain two
or three crops from the same setting. Meanwhile insects of all kinds injuri-
ous to them had abundant time to breed among them and add their influence,
which has not been insignificant, in causing what is called the failure of this
remarkable berry. That it now fails in some portions of the country to do as
well as it once did is perhaps an admitted fact. But whose fault is it? Since
I became acquainted with its peculiarities and its necessities, and know how it
has been treated in very many places, the only surprise to me has been that it
did not wholly ‘‘run out.” I take no stock in the idea that the Wilson is dead,
or dying of old age. My own plants are as strong and healthy as ever, and
yield as fine crops. By letting them remain upon the ground only a single
year, insects haye no time to breed among them, hence we are rarely troubled
by injurious insects of any kind. With pure Wilson plants, in rich land well
fed, | expect continued, bountiful crops, and shall not give them up until
certain of something better.
400 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
POLLEN INFLUENCE.—Among all the conflicting testimony concerning the
influence of pollen upon the pulp and fruit of the strawberry, we have gleaned
the following item from a talk by Prof. T. V. Munson of Texas. He said:
It was the placenta that was influenced by contact with the male fertilizing
properties, whether plants or animals were considered. It was a well estab-
lished physiological fact, with which poultry breeders were familiar, that the
first mate of a pullet so influenced the reproductive organs, and that all future
progeny resembled him, although another cock was used of an entirely distinct
breed. In strawberries, the placenta was the -pulpy portion, and might be
greatly influenced by the pollen. In melons, the edible portion was closely
connected with the placenta, or that portion to which the seeds were attached,
and might also reasonably be thought susceptible to change. The fruit or pulp
of apples and pears was an enlargement of the calyx—a part of the flower three
removes from the seed—and in this case quite unlikely to be influenced by the
pollen or male property.
EATING STRAWBERRIES.—Chas. A. Green makes a good case for the straw-
berry in the following:
When I was a boy my people used to buy strawberries. I hear much about
buying instead of raising them. My people leaned towards that opinion and
thought it was cheaper to buy. Their purchase for the family of seven persons
for the entire season consisted of 20 quarts. Were these eaten fresh with all
the choice flavor tickling the palate? No. None were to be eaten at that sea-
son of the year. ‘They were all poured into a kettle, and simmered over a slow
fire, and corked up in tight cans, where us poor children could not even get a
smell at them. In the dead of the winter when no one thought of strawberries,
the cans, after long intervals, were opened in the presence of assembled guests,
but alas they were no longer strawberries, but a base counterfeit, shrunken and
misshappen, flavorless and insipid monstrosities floating about in a pink sea.
I hope that none of our readers give their children grief by making such use of
strawberries. When fresh picked and quickly eaten, the strawberry is a straw-
berry. Its destiny is to furnish the system with the needed medicine at that
particular season of the year when it ripens. It is an outrage to deprive your
families then, with a view to bottling them for winter guests. I have no sym-
pathy with people who talk about buying strawberries in place of raising them.
It is a foolish pretext indulged in by hypocrites, who never intend to buy berries
in sufficient quantities for the entire family to indulge in with freedom. Why,
a family of seven persons could consume in one strawberry season, ten or twenty
bushels of berries. Haye those who think of buying berries instead of growing
them any idea of buying from ten to twenty bushels of strawberries for their
families? No; hardly asmanyquarts. I am not writing this to createademand
for more strawberries in the market. Nature has provided this fruit with
charms that require no outside encouragement to entice people to eat them.
You will see that I am a friend of the strawberry. It is, indeed, the queen of
the fruits. Long may she reign, a welcome sovereign.
STRAWBERRY ButTrons.—A correspondent of the N. Y. Tribune argues that
buttons are the result of a lack of protection in winter rather than a lack of
fertilization of flowers. This is the case he puts:
Almost every year we find on some strawberry plants fruit that looks flat and
SECRETARY’S PORTFOLIO. 401
buttony, only the rim or base being developed, and the cone of the berry fail-
ing to become more than a mere green lumbo. I used to attribute this failure
to a lack of complete fertilization, without reflecting much on the matter. But
I have met full proof that I was quite in error there. Part of my beds are
bounded by a hedge fence on the west, and are crossed by a screen of arbor
vites eight or ten feet high. The winter was very severe, and in the extreme
cold of February 10-12 (—12°), there was no snow, excepting in the lee of such
shelter. The strawberry plants look equally luxuriant now, in June, through-
out the beds, but the berries are fine and perfect only where snow lay during
the extreme cold. A brush covering had been laid over all.
We have ample evidence that the formation and full completion of the blos-
som-buds of fruit bearing plants goes on during winter whenever the tempera-
ture admits of it. If a storm of very severe cold occurs quite early in the
winter, its effects are seen in imperfections of the exterior parts of the blos-
soms, and complete injury to the ovary, excepting, perhaps, the first formed
central one of a cyme. If the cold occurs later, part of the fruit develop-
ment may be advanced enough to escape, as in these buttony bits of berries.
Cases corroborative of this theory can be remembered by all observing fruit-
growers of long experience, in the case of cherries, plums, and other fruits that
occasionally suffer from severe cold. No effort of culture, or use of manure
or water, can remedy this sort of injury, which is stamped upon the berry, so
to speak, in its foetal formation. Places where snow lies well enjoy one eminent
advantage for the growing of this most delicious fruit, of which one great
merit is that, however much the plants may be assailed and harmed by insects,
the fruit itself is always entirely free from any such pollution.
A Sort Mutcu.—Chas. A. Green believes the soil itself, in a finely pulverized
state, to be the best mulch. He says:
We do not hear as much said about mulching of late years as we did for-
merly. This is owing to the fact that the most economical mulching has been
discovered to be the soil itself, when kept frequently cultivated to the depth of
two or three inches about the plants. There is no better mulching than this,
and, in some respects, it is superior to any artificial covering, as it does not pre-
vent the warmth of the sun from penetrating the earth, and it is more econom-
ical. Many who stir the soil frequently with the cultivator and the hoe are
unable to tell why it induces growth in their plants. While subduing the
weeds is a great benefit, it is a very small part of the service rendered by the
hoe. The man who cultivates frequently is, in fact, mulching on a large scale,
and the more frequently he cultivates the more successful will his mulching
prove. ‘The objection to this is that the cultivator destroys many feeding roots
of small plants, such as strawberries, raspberries, grapes, and even those of
young orchard trees. Jam confident that the average cultivator is not aware
how many feeding roots he destroys in one day’s cultivation among young
growing plants. He should be taught the necessity of shallow cultivation
close to the plants. This breaks up the continuity of the capillary passages
between the soil beneath and the air above. It covers the former with a soft
blanket that checks the rising of the vapor and holds the water where it will do
the most good.
AN Amareur’s Metuop.—“‘Hortulanus” gives a model method of plant-
ing strawberries in the N. Y. Tribune: After three years’ trial I find that
OL
402 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
the best way to grow handsome and superior strawberries is to plant a new
bed every year or two. And decidedly the best and easiest way to do this
planting is to do it as soon as picking is over. Have the ground prepared and
marked off with a line, sticking in a bit of twig or weed-stem about as long as
a lead pencil to mark the place for the hills (this for neat and exact garden
culture). Then on the first cloudy day, in July—don’t wait for August—take
a basin or shallow kettle and a pair of scissors to the bearing bed and runners
enough will be found that have escaped nipping. Scissor off these and retain
the joint bearing an incipient leaf and incipient roots. Leave attached an
inch or so of the runner and cut off its extension beyond the joint. Throw
these into the water as prepared, and when a number are collected take them
to the new bed, where if the ground is light and mellow, they can be
planted as fast as they can be picked up, by merely pushing the stump of run-
ner horizontally into the soil and closing this compactly against the young
issuing roots. Such cuttings grow more readily than plants with roots of some
length, because the roots are not in the least harmed, and because there
is so little leaf surface yet exposed. Still it is best to plant in damp, cloudy
weather, and during the first week, or until the young roots have gone down to
constant moisture, water must be applied at the least sign of flagging. If
they begin to wilt under the beams of the summer sun, pour water around
them no matter what time of day it is. The gain in economy of work and in
strength of plants for good next June’s produce, by this mode, is very great.
RASPBERRIES.
How, AND WHEN 10 PLant.—Concerning when and how to plant rasp-
berries Chas. A. Green says in Rural New Yorker: The best time is after
the young germ, which is tough and not liable to break, has pushed above
the soil. While young plants are full of vitality they are easily destroyed by
the hot sun or dry wind, and should not be exposed a moment in planting.
Exposure is frequently the cause of failures. People often drop them in the
row in advance of the planters, where their vitality is sapped before they are
covered in the ground. Another cause of failure is planting too deep. I
have known them to lie buried three or four inches deep in compact soil for
several months without growing a particle, and to die ultimately. In heavy
soil they should be planted not over two inches deep. In sandy soil they
can be planted deeper without so much danger of smothering. In subse-
quent cultivation, especially for first few months, care should be taken to
cultivate very shallow about them, for if the earth is.loosened about the
roots the wind will reach them and destroy the plants.
Deep PLantrna.—Mr. Ohmer of Dayton, Ohio, who is authority on rasp-
berry culture, says that to make his black raspberries self-supporting, or not
needing stakes, he plants them at least four inches deep, instead of only an
inch or two, and then they never blow over. The first year they are pinched
back to eight or ten inches; the second, and subsequently, the tips of the
growing shoots are pinched back when twenty inches to two feet high. The
next spring the numerous laterals are sheared back from one to two feet
long. A horse does the cultivating. He has tried both methods with red
SECRETARY’S PORTFOLIO. 403
raspberries, leaving old canes till spring and cutting them immediately after
bearing, and he finds the latter mode the best, the old canes being of no use
any longer, many insects being destroyed as they are cut and burned, and
the new cane occupying all the room and growing better.
Out1o Brack Cap.—The American Garden says:
With the increasing consumption of evaporated fruit of all kinds there is
springing up a large demand for varieties especially adapted for this
purpose.
The drying of black raspberries forms already an industry of considerable
dimensions, and of all the many varieties in cultivation none seem to com-
bine so many desirable qualities for drying as the Ohio. It is of good size,
firm and enormously productive. ‘
John H. Teats of Wayne county, N. Y., whose extensive experience in
growing and exporting fruit gives special value to his conclusions, says:
‘*The Ohio with me surpasses in every respect any black raspberry I have
grown. It has proved itself hardy, productive, and a strong and upright
grower. ‘The fruit is of good size and very firm; consequently ships well.
It is of most excellent flavor. Of it I can raise at least one-fourth more
quarts per acre than of any other variety. I had last year one acre on
rather poor soil that yielded over 4,000 quarts.’’ t. 2B ko hl Be Allegan.
Whamiberlain MO a= = eee eee eee WViavdan des se eye tole Allegan.
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562 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
|
Name. P. O. Address. | County.
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CASI CT ey CHEM Oe he es 3a a tet oe aed Daiwa OlGy ae eee Saginaw.
Tn Pemory
Marshall L. Wilder,
®DE Dorchester, Wass.
Gorn September 220, 1798.
President of the Almerican Pomological
Society.
Diced December 16, 1ee6.
Set |i at;
iy Pate a |
MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER.
[See Frontispiece. }
On the morning of Thursday, December 16, 1886, the man of all others
whom the pomologists of America respected, admired and loved, passed
quietly away at his home in Dorchester, Massachusetts. He worked up to
the hour of his death, and was earnestly engaged in planning the next meet-
ing of his favorite organization, the American Pomological Society, during
the last few weeks of his life.
Mr. Wilder was born at Rindge, New Hampshire, September 22, 1798.
His father, Samuel Locke Wilder, named for his uncle, the Rev. Samuel
Locke, D. D., president of Harvard College, was a merchant, and Marshall
was his eldest son. He attended the town schools, and then went to the
academy at New Ipswich for a brief period. When he became 16 years of
age Samuel Wilder, the father, called his son to him and told him to choose
between a college education, mercantile pursuits and a farmer’s life. Young
Wilder at once chose to be a farmer, but at the age of 21 years, his father’s
business having greatly increased in the meantime, he was admitted to the
firm. In 1825 he went to Boston, and, in company with Henry Payson,
commenced business as a retail dealer in West India goods and groceries, and
continued in successful business under various firm names until within a
few years of his death.
Colonel Wilder at an early age took an interest in military affairs. At 16
he was enrolled in the New Hampshire militia, and at 21 he was commis-
sioned adjutant. He organized and equipped the Rindge Light Infantry,
and was chosen its captain. At 25 he was elected lieutenant-colonel, and at
_26 was commissioned as colonel of the Twelfth Regiment. Soon after his
rémoval to Boston he joined the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company.
In 1856 he was chosen commander of the corps, being the 155th in com-
mand. He had four times previously declined nominations. He entered
into correspondence with Prince Albert, commander of the Royal Artillery —
066 MEMORIAL OF
Company of London, founded in 1537, of which this corps, chartered in
1638, is the only offspring. This correspondence established a friendly inter-
course between the two companies. In June, 1857, Prince Albert was chosen
a special honorary member of the Boston company, and 21 years later, in
1878, Colonel Wilder, who then celebrated the fiftieth or golden anniversary
of his own membership, nominated the Prince of Wales, the present com-
mander of the London company, as an honorary member. Both were com-
manders of the Honorable Artillery Company of London when chosen.
Mr. Wilder, although he had little desire for public life, held high offices
in the gift of the people. In 1839 he served a single term in the Massachu-
setts Legislature as a representative for the town of Dorchester. In 1849 he
was elected a member of Governor Briggs’s council, and the year following
a member of the Senate and its president, and he was the oldest ex-president
of the Senate. In 1860 he was the member for New England of the national
committee of the ‘‘ Constitutional Union Party,”
and attended, as chair-
man of the Massachusetts delegation, the national convention in Baltinrore,
where John Bell and Edward Everett were nominated for President and
Vice-President of the United States.
He was prominent, too, in the Masonic order, and was initiated into
Charity Lodge No. 18, in Troy, N. H., at the age of 25, exalted to the Royal
Arch Chapter, Cheshire No. 4, and knighted in the Boston Encampment.
He was deputy grand master of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, and was
one of the 6,000 Masons who signed, December 31, 1831, the celebrated
‘“* Declaration of the Free Masons of Boston and Vicinity; ”’ and at the fiftieth
anniversay of that event, which was celebrated in Boston two years ago, Mr.
Wilder responded for the survivors, six of the signers being present. He
has received all the Masonic degrees, including the thirty-third, or highest
and last honor of the fraternity. At the world’s Masonic convention in
1867, at Paris, he was the only delegate from the United States who spoke
at the banquet.
On very many public occasions he was called upon to preside or to make
addresses, and his orations were always masterly and bore evidence of deep
thought. On November 7, 1849, a festival of the Sons of New Hampshire
was celebrated in Boston. ‘The Hon. Daniel Webster presided and Mr.
Wilder was first vice-president. The Sons celebrated their second festival
November 2, 1853, at which Mr. Wilder occupied the chair as president and
delivered an address. They assembled again on June 20, 1861, to receive
and welcome a New Hampshire regiment of volunteers and escort them to
Music Hall, where Mr. Wilder addressed them. The 225th anniversary of
MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 567
the settlement of Dorchester was celebrated on the Fourth of July, 1855.
The oration was by Edward Everett; Mr. Wilder presided and delivered an
address.
Since 1868 Mr. Wilder has been president of the New England Historic-
Genealogical Society, succeeding the late Governor John A. Andrew, and
each year he has delivered appropriate addresses. In the first one of these
he urged the necessity of the society having a building, and in 1870 devoted
three months to the soliciting of funds for that purpose, and with the money
(over $40,000) thus secured, the society’s building, No. 18 Somerset street,
Boston, was procured.
In 1859 he presided at the first public meeting called in Boston in regard
to the collocation of institutions on the Back Bay lands, where the edifices
of the Boston Society of Natural History and the Institute of Technology
now stand. Of the latter institution he has been vice-president, and chair-
man of the Society of Arts, and a director from the beginning. He was one
of the twelve representative men appointed to receive the Prince of Wales
in 1860, at the banquet given him in Boston; also one of the commissioners
in behalf of the Paris Universal Exposition in 1867. In 1887 Dartmouth
College conferred upon him the degree of doctor of philosophy.
But Mr. Wilder’s great work was in the field of horticulture and pomol-
ogy, and in those pursuits he has gained the fame which is so justly due
him. Mr. Wilder has himself said of his work in these fields: ‘‘ Endowed
from my youth with a love for rural life and rural taste, I have only obeyed
the instincts of my nature in devoting such time, ability and means as I could
command to the cultivation of the earth.’’ But it was in pomology that he
was most successful and most widely known. His eminence in those depart-
ments led to an extensive correspondence at home and abroad. ‘The pear, in
his orchard of 2500 trees and 800 varieties, became as noted as the camellias
in his conservatory. Fruit trees and fruit culture, floriculture, hybridizing
and a proper nomenclature in pomology received his careful and assiduous
attention, and these labors have been followed by the most satisfactory
results. Floriculture was one of Mr. Wilder’s early and favorite pursuits.
His camellia house is supposed to have contained the best collection in the
country, embracing at one time more than three hundred varieties, and it
will now compare favorably with those at home or abroad. His later years
have been given almost entirely to his favorite field of work. One of the
most eminent agriculturists of England has spoken of him as ‘‘ one who by
his zeal, industry and determination has not only conferred lasting benefits
on his country, but has, by careful researches in hybridization and fruit cul-
568 MEMORIAL OF
ture, laid the horticulturists of all nations under heavy obligations.”’ He
has shown a notable zeal in advancing the interests of agricultural study.
among others as well as in his own researches and labors in its pursuits, one
of his most important, undertakings in this direction being his part in the
founding of the United States Agricultural Society in 1852, of which he was
president for six years. He imported fruit trees from England, France,
Belgium and Germany, and more than three hundred varieties of the pear
have been brought from his grounds to a single exhibition, and for several
years he took the first premium of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society
for the best collection. He exhibited at the Bay State cattle show one hun-
dred varieties of pears and twenty of grapes.
Mr. Wilder was one of the founders of the Massachusetts Horticultural
Society, and was its president from 1840 to 1848. He also initiated the
organization of the State board of agriculture, and assisted in the establish-
ment of the State Agricultural College and of the United States Agricul-
tural Society. His long services in connection with the Massachusetts Horti-
cultural Society were duly recognized by that body, which, upon his retire-
ment from the presidency, presented him with an elegant silver pitcher and
caused his portrait to be placed in its hall. As president of this association,
he headed the circular for a convention of fruit growers, held in New York,
Oct. 10, 1848, when the American Pomological Society was formed. He
was chosen its first president, which office he held until his death. In Feb-
ruary, 1849, the Norfolk Agricultural Society was formed, Mr. Wilder being
chosen its first president, and it was before this society that his first address
on agricultural education was delivered. He retained the presidency of this
society for twenty years, and on his retirement was made honorary presi-
dent. After the establishment of the Massachusetts central board of agri-
culture he was elected president, and held that office until it became a
department of the State. In 1853 the Massachusetts School of Agriculture
was incorporated, and he was chosen president; but before the school was
opened Congress granted land to the several States for agricultural colleges,
and in 1865 the legislature incorporated the Massachusetts Agricultural Col-
lege. He was named the first trustee In 1871 the first class was gradu-
ated, and in 1878 he had the honor of conferring the degree of bachelor of
science on twenty young gentlemen graduates. He delivered addresses on
both occasions. In 1852 he issued a circular in behalf of several States for a
national meeting at Washington, which was fully attended, and where the
United States Agricultural Society was organized. Daniel Webster and a
host of distinguished men assisted in its formation. This society, of which
he was the president for the first six years, exercised a beneficial influence
MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER. 569
till the breaking out of the late civil war. On Mr. Wilder’s retirement he
received the gold medal of honor and a service of silver plate. In 1867 he
visited Europe as a commissioner to the universal exposition in Paris. He
was made chairman of the committee on horticulture, and on the products
and cultivation of the vine. Ever since he removed to Dorchester, in 1832,
he has experimented largely in the growth and cultivation of the pear and
apple, and from his extensive nurseries the Boston and New York markets
were for many years supplied. The improvements that he made in produc-
ing choice varieties of apples and pears attracted world-wide attention. His
opinions and methods of culture of these fruits were eagerly sought for and
followed by the leading fruit growers of this country and Europe. He had
two libraries containing very valuable and rare works, and had been busy
for half a century collecting the literature of his favorite employments, as
well as carrying on the practigal work in those fields.
At the time of his death Mr. Wilder was president of the New England
Historic-Genealogical Society, the American Pomological Society and the
' Massachusetts Agricultural Club. He was senior trustee of the Massachu-
setts Agricultural College and senior member of the State Board of Agricul-
ture and of the executive committee of the Massachusetts Horticultural
Society; also, senior director in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
the Hamilton National Bank, the New England Mutual Life Insurance
Company and the Home Savings Bank. He was an honorary member of the
Royal Historical Society of Great Britain, a corresponding member of the
Royal Horticultural Society of London, and the Société Centrale d’Horti-
culture of France, and a fellow of the Reale Accademia Araldica Italiana of
Pisa.
The above brief :ecord has been taken from the columns of the Boston
Post. At the memorial exercises held by the Massachusetts Horticultural
Society Mr. W. C. Strong, chairman of the committee charged with prepar-
ing a fit expression of the society’s regard for the late Hon. Marshall P. Wil-
der, reported the following memorial:
‘‘ For fifty-six years, lacking but a single year of the entire lifetime of the
society, Marshall Pinckney Wilder has been a constant and an active mem-
ber. Indeed, we have been so accustomed to expect his benign presence at
all our meetings that his loss seems for the present to change the very char-
acter of our society.
“ Hy
Ne hee
At dressibva crest enti VON aa > @ shoe a el oe eens Ae an ap ae Sei ee re
: NVA tS yo ot a eens ee ee Pe ee ee Oe Re AT etek
GS TEWVE COTILG tire eer ea tn ocr ee ae ra a ae eh es ee ee
erin eum e vaCCOUN i OL 6 oe a ee re ee eee A eee
NST BGG) ie IY hee eh Se OS Ee ee ee Se ee ee on ne eee, Serre oe eee ae
APTICULLUETe |) eparbment, Of=- ee) saaneas ac eis aoe eae ee pees ee ese eee eR Lee ee ee
APIculfuralncolleretand: HOrtieul tures. 2a eee ee ee ee
PACES IST GUE Oi hey eee sek te fel teres oe ah 5 eh Nee Mie et ET Oe Te oe ye bea en ne
JAG bated Seavey) Veg 1a) OVEN Lah eco ae a Ses SOA A Se ee ee eee ee een es
PANIIT SIVA VA Ne AOI Dyn sao ee rk ee a ea te Ren Se ee ee ee Oa ee
PILE CANE ACIIUG PO WAN DNs ety pre Moe 2 Fe Oe Se nk Ce Sa ee Ny onl ae Sd a pe he he
POTMIOTOSI Call SOCIO DYE ee rae eae ee ec eee I en SE SA Ree ere eee
ANUPETA INTEL UMD 2 eee eee Wiel ne etedel gael tn Ss ee hg we eds Ae See see Sa
PARINOTIG ANCA SSOCIA CLO MUO fp NW ESC Ts YNIN OTM a eee pe a a ae a
Cranberry, Growersy cA SSOClBilOM sea —ee e e ae eoe aeea
WlOvIists WASSOCIA bl O Meee se oe see See er te ete ne ee ee aay ee
HH OREStD Ys GON ETOSS snes ee ae ae ee ee Ree ne a eee See Ra eee eae eee
Horticultural’ Soci hyes- o-oo aoe a ee ee ae etree eae ee eee ease cee ene
PAR) IL STEKO PR HEDUN TLS Ore eee oe oe ae are ee a ae ered SE et Ng ge eR
POE ULOLIO soe Se a eae see es ot eS SRE eee Sone ne ae oy ee ne Se eae a
FATIHISEDLICS ANG YH EUG Ee TesOLVaAtlOM:.2 a coe see eee ee se ee eee oe ae eee ee
ANETTA LT AST Ona ca Ga eo ee Ne ae ae een tee eeett ae eee
Meeting ati Grand (Rapids) 2222-3222 Se ee aes ee se ep oea eee eenine ents conser See anes aeleeees
Growinew Phew apure Ol. 8 ea see ce oa ee eet SE ee Se See
OPrCHATGsSites rere so a soa eee ate ae eet ee oe ee ene Sat a es ee
PRU GR@OMIINOLCIA a te eee eee prea eek ee ad te Se ie re tee aps one
Pres Le DAIMIN Ge =e wes are aa oa Se ae Sa ee eee ee SE ee er ee ae ae
FApplEseSlone DivisionyHeGNnCes.- 222. — = == Sac. 6 sos aes eee eee see ee oe et Denes eens
ASHES HONS ees ee nan sb as ooo cee conch cease eneseeeesd daar e See ee ees ae mee eens teases
PASC PACUNN TI WE EO ORIN ea ci Sees et Se ee Se he ee eee
WORCLeSS Hees aa a Bon oe oe ee oe no as eer on ns Berean Meee sae Newnan es = aiee gee eine meena ere
IN xportings-------- EPP NS OIA PORNO ESS sels 6 weet Nh 2 a eles eae RN ee he Cmca rp ee
for MiileCh COWSe-so- eo. ~ a sce cere bec con secon cared= sees eaeee os eee esns cena cee seen eee
Goa bey bin eee ee at en tee ee ie oa = Sa een eee ee een ews Samene Seman ne aa ee
TOES UI es = eee see Se SE a Sees cena eee sinner esas ca Soe ae Gs see eemee
PS eh od Se ee ee ee a oe en eee ae eee Sela een are eens ee eee
Genesee COUNE YR poe tees oe Same mnt ae eee ee een cee aun nie ete Oa an einen een
576 INDEX.
PAGE
BASIE O DAC ICLTA oe Stree re ee ee ate eS ae ee te oe ee oem 433, 435, 438
RUSS TAT eee ee a ee ee a See ae eee ae ee ee a eee ee are ee 222
BOMG NO Wes oon ee ees cee ont sees acne eee ere aoe ee saiicewce 2 ee Se wb ee ee ae eee 220
(NG) 10S SY ee ep eS a te Pe aS ee Mga OR See Che SremE aeer baer atm teen sae cass 432
HHeMeEWOLs 2a ceet osecce eee teen eee eee eens een mee a ee ae ene rere Sree Sart eae ae 244
FACTO We DD Be ee oe a ee ee ee ae ae ee tee es eee ee eee 150
Arnold. Wirsss 1... NOLO DYaoss-- == sa oe Ee 1) oe ey ee a OE 456
Avhishic oxi bitjab Walps 222.20. 5. Se cee seen cee dees See eneme on cacnne cae ae nee eee n epee 169
ARH eS TOR ADDIOS =e sees nae ee oe ne aes ae See ee eee Senne a eas Beene cae een ee eee eee 429
THESTELG) es eres gt a a ee SR ey a eno aeons = Socno mses erekeoss ll
ASHTON |GEOTZO se ADEE DYn oa - ao ae oe ee et ee ee ole Selene eee eee ee See eae 305
Asparacus in shallowsibegs 2.2 4= 2222522222 62252 26-5 see sb teas nance sess snes sesseseseres apcseeeseesse 76
[BXOV ET OUT EEE L, AN ot Reyes Bee cy hk Sie kN ee Se Se een a a Ce 541
Rotuy and Horticulture: 2s-5-22--<22 -2-- 22 osecn eas s Seen eae sees aces cots eestec soo ens-eeseuneess 36
Batanyrat State ants s— + soe eee Saree ae oe ees Saree ee eee ee SS eee eee 178
AcricnituraliCollegerceis<-2sssna 2245. Suse 52222 eet Sas as Sate Sac nwo saace- 35
ORG TAPES: Aan oes oS Et Cite es ase A oasis oe sent eee Soe aca then sssces 0 se ceadas sacese 66
RASPDOLEVsa DOU IAC KCL Yates = eee ae ea ee eee bees eee Nee ee eee 100
ISG YNCONAD Vey EON OLO ETON ere 6 ce aoe ee ten 2 eee Oke Se oe ene Sen eee te ee eee ee eee a es caen eee 487, 502
IBOVS nO es Bir GS an eee ee eee ek LEE AN Es cee ee a See see eel ene oe a 396
POLO WEDSte cas eens eat eee on eat cam ono toons a sac ee een en wean enna Senos se soeseeceee 541
HOUT Ebs. ENOL ID Yen 2o ee ee ee ae Le Sb Sek eee ee conc aee ea toc ete ete eee secs 457
IBTaCKCUUNGe Di EKODOLU DY i cecsces aoe e ee oe ence ccc met ecn ease oe cba we cee oat ne Soke sa oo ee te oeee eee 194
INGLE D ys SOCLC DAT Yee ose oe ace See eae ee meee ee ease eee aera See eee te teen ae 276
Bradner, Miss! Mattie, Paper Dya:-2-c22s-s+- 2-2 226 -=s2cs ea seeneaee snore res ceeere ne Be eee ee 324
IBranNCHES OF State SOCLOLY = cae nee eee ee a wae a Se ee Se rte sete oe oat prec oe ere ceeds ix
Branchi societies, epOLrts 1lOMits co elses wate 3 oe sans sa tone Seen eae ae ese were ae ce So nean cee aeeesee 291
Bra nerOrscceping yA PDIOS sseces ase een ow a oe eee se cee ee en een oe meee oe re a oe ceceweeces 436
reads MOWl diss - 2 ck soos eotass SSeS esas ose t cee cece cas ca sae Bonen eens seee aces Secceenaae sacsseweces= 48
iBreeGine MrUits: ose se ao ah eon oe oat eee was Boe econ ie Wace ewes tee weete tocs coc secs eeceeecces 234
Breceer nun Ac NOlEIDy sea ee Sate oe me asta Sees Se ecin sana a tire ence sees peace ce seee seeene cee one epee 39
IS TOGIO Hoe NOLES Ya ae seer eee ee eae ee no Gut Stes RE Rha UNE I oes secs se sees Senne see se 465
Brook eu ehehe NOE) Das se eee esas oe eae soars a cea eee nee oee ea canteen senna season ene leeemee 497
HSLOLHNET NG WATGUSHAL MNOLOIDY= ] 2 ace seas ee ee eee he teen eee a see en sence eee epee ees 534
TB SRa hy NE Bred Fe Oe) 0s ee ne rR i ga Pl pe 199
DOD) DN ONY Se SO a a Se a RS eR a EY 470
BUY (20 OEE. GOD yee ee eee ee eee eet noe eee eee 427
IV VET IN RA CAIN OUGID Vesee ae te Se eae ere ee See oie a see cena meme oe ee wene eee eee eae eee 408
PPO TE See ee ae eal ee ee eee eee eee eke Je SU eee Ra eee 406
VV AU IPR DOTy DY naoe aaa oes cae 2 era te eed cn a cosas ocean sone soe e ee ede pene eo aunasee ee eee 55
Buds ereservinpe lh lOWOns=s2-* ofosos 220 s- = 2s so ese sees ean] essa eee nase eens eans sso nee eee 458
BM GIneShOCAnLON Ofer oe eo cere tee esten no eesee esses eee cee eco ese cemcn eee nse nesta ee ees 497
libseAt borg HOLClin oes se eee. 6 mae k ee ee eee oe ate te ore eee eee e econ eee eae eee 454
eI aul nO hee ee ce on aa ein oe ein See ean et meer es ine eaas em case pease ste oe ee 453
LEswU Woy IS FON S| ee se ee eB OE eae ee aE ee el 454
alee eV re NOUC LET OIN es eee. eee oe ees See eee een oe nemenaeasee oeaee mat sas ee 413
Wied 8 leg INS) E) ON at Se Oe ee ae ee SSE aa nee ee aes aaa Seance 478
IB SOn RENE ard Te INOLE Dp see eae aoe ae a5 one os ee ea oa ne sn Soo een een coe cree nas sea serene 44
BUEN SOVEE MELA WDELLY, DOGS. aos) = a= at oa see sae eee eee ne aoe ean n oew ea aoe ces eee rane 24
13
578 INDEX. OG
PAGE,
Burrill; Prof: Note Dye: ~-2 <= <-522--ceest cco netecnetncs ce tecse esses seesen oes eee = = eee eee 524
Birrroughs, Jon; NOt DY oc 2- soos hoses Benen oe esac eee ee ee ye een tasee ee ee ae eee ee 484
POMS 1) Heese an eee ewe See re eee eae oe a oe ae A 394
GoW NotO by i222 22-22-22 eS ewok ee eae een ee onsemne cose sweet ae nea are Eee 527
IBy-LawsrOl the NoCiebyse4 222255 -o825.6 Sosa eee She eS ee oe see xiii
Ca bvAreNRegpINng: == coe co nae oe eool aceon se = one ee Uae See ee cen in = Sees tae eae See ee eae : eee 473
Cap bares Savoy. eof Coser ee oh ee Se eS A IN TS aS re a I oi ad 476
Caldwells Drs sNoteiby ce -2 Seo a2 oe 2 as be Sees en oe ee a Se i ee ee 415
California ruit Growers 2: 224.5. os. wsisecno ance Seon nee owas ce eh ome eee ee eeee eee Rome eee ene 279
GAMPANS Ys Cine He MDOL DY cas eeesctas ees Ot eee es re ee ee ee ee ee 307
Ca mpuellaiGeo nw s, INOLOMROMEs 2 2s eee oe ee Ie eae le ne So te ad ce 418
IN OLOYDY Se foro oars Soe see ae Ne a Le ae ee res ea, Na RI a ae 73
PRD OTD Ye cee ae co seas Se ae wee a ras a aes a I at pS Oy ee 224
INOLOIDY: SCC bar y a o ase hs a a a eee aaa He eae 281
(Canes Seman Ol ee eae ere oe Ne a eee te ee ec 65
CORES Cn a Ea ec Nts NER Sh AN UR De 7 UN Dim ES appr SN ek UNS Bees A i oo 451
Gan MaN 22 OLN at aes a oes at era ne eS ics wee ee ea ee tn a a nas ea ee 479
1b eto re ee I ala a eS ee oer he eee Renee ace couse Sosedasese 342
TICS sae ee ee eae ae a ee Se ee en Se ee EN ee ee ne 443
NOMALOCSE west e = ae ea ee a Se i One aed eee Sm sores Beant ate Meet acer a 481
WIEZE CAD LEB S oe eects Sat oe SR ARES BE LG cl A Ce nS ee ee 842
Cannon MELB NOCOIDY nae can eae er ae nn Ses Eee EL oe a ae 47
Warn at TON EGLO Wa Siew ar ae a eC ee 120
Carpenter Miss) Ml. NOt DY 2-222 -- sin tos nee oar ae eee enone ae noes eee nea eee 39
Wary NE eaiEle IN GUC UID yin Ses es eI ped Nes als a CM ae le ant 40
Case vHeiit Note by eo 22 oe no ean ee ne Ce Se oo See a ere Se Sek fae 41
Catalpa ihe hardy 2o-20- se ee ose ee eR ee Me ee a Le ey ae 512
CeleryalorsEome wl) Ses ee ss eee os PS BD Aad RE oS ee ee Re ee te ea ATT
YOO) BXE{0 foto see ea a pe OT Ua ae eater SEE URES AE A ye DS SA em i neeal ces 472.
Qurality dimes atts oases sae ees yeep ed ee les Cp et bee he eee eee ee 480
Welerai ce NOte OMe tae Ree ye ee RE SS Bee Se ye a rel ee eee 475
CellsvAittected" by Heatand 'Coldsis: 2. fa sen eek ee Sec eee ee ae on es ee 48
C@emeteries: Suggestions Concerning s-sse eos eo es ae eee eee eee nee ee a oe 499
Cemeterye Mom eri tae a oe ae SE eran ie ee ee 500
Chase, A. G., Note by-----. pd eet REE Sree eS ONE eRe ne LE ees Se ee eee ke 468
ChemicaliChangesiin Hrwits 5.2 sh ee et ne eet eye 360
@hHerries ang Bind ese soe eae a a en EE nr pe a
MDAT KEGIT oi o AAs SS scape olen shale aR eN Us GAOL Ns LE eh Ai Rad IEE se Ny 411
IPTODA PATTON fama ele a re ee ey Re Le et RUS Glen LOPS 2S cap ee ek 96
RHITGy=LOUT ICES) Vt es ish eons See ee os ot ee er tate Aes os a ee ee ee a 411
Cherry ireesiiby thevROadsido.2-8 = sees Sascce cere ee ctes lo cares oe cee ee ee ee eee 410
bid renvam GisHG ye reste eee ee A a ik A Ded ae pay As ee a 324
Growane Rrees sates ey eS ee ea eh lr ee SR cae ey a 535
Children?s lower Gardenias -- 2 sae sees een eee = RE tite mee DY eRe ee Le AU ES Poe ec oaese 536
ET OWGI CMG TO es ese as yl Ss gt Oh ce ec Ny 186-534
Chrysanthemums Display ofsss=4 ve o= so sos a Ne gee te I kd $62
City PET Or uiC mle mare ee ea a re EME = LSE PE Tae Scie ta Oe Ree eee EN Ya eS 351
O11 2) l=] = a oe EL SPEER ty ag ERAS OURO MMU PTR hy. SIRNA AAU EY 8 oS ee 311
Mlemmatis sine oat to UE hee Me ea aa SU ge OR ae Olas Se CL RA Be AUR eR ao Oe le 507
Climate :Atiecting Products=2/. 2s ee a ee ee 532
ang Wonrests c= 25) eens CNS FRI se cao ate a a 519
Tree Planting: f42. sheker ten Rie Asc Nek Bes Se ee Vere CRN ee SR eR se 522
Climbing Plants_______- tags Set ned Saad UNS ret eat aL SEA Ig WC oe te ai et ey epee en Ce 50Y
Cloth forsHotaBedse:h9 26) oo ish ed a Pr Ge eres ee 469
CoalbAishes for Wrallkset a 1 2 oete 82 cies ra a SI RC 2a Sg 18
Colburnyas © sa wT Sa ye a ee aan 2 WI al RL ee ee ay 48
@old'Storages ews se veel 2 oy ROO sea Naess al Scie ety Rae oe pe RRO pede sath elae 239-286
INDEX. 579
Pace,
ROSS TCV VISE OR ei eee a te tn mena wa ees Sa eee n ae ee ke SS aeu ea sees SEL AO ae aceee 217
College Exhibit at State Fair-_.._......---.----.- a ah RE I mL EE ae ae fe ee 178
Rallicn pVViis Mes ADOR Dy sets on Sol secre an eh oan aes De a ee wea ane Ree ee a eee 311
WOUNTATI ELON Gerd ons MOO RCSS DY 2 35-5 so cca e ae = eae ete oe eRe ioa caine enn ee a2 Ancameseee a 109
Wehbe LLG COMLMNTTISAIONG Bask ae ae a eee ee ee ee ee ee 9
GiGIGTAC OPEV OEIC HT CUTIES OCIOR Ya coe seis ae ee ee ee ee RS oe ee eee 283
IO RCS UR Vee sen aot ee ed eee ees on in a Set eee ama asnia potest eee Se once eset eee 151
@ OlOT In GTANGS! 5 a4 Serena Se aaa Sosa anon asa age me etctes San cud Se sbce oasis ssc Seema aeeees 75-92
COMM LLCO OTs WCW tees. s22 Sa Secs oS neces se iden wa Se ee eee = peas Meee Seeat en foe cose ene 9
Reports at Annual Meeting ----____-_- ee th oe S92 BP oe Sage ee RE ee 245-252
OIULEL Gt VEC RIN Dien fon he se le ee ee a eee eae eee eae oe eee 105
CommitteenatcAnWE AlN CO tin Ss s- = sae ne | an ts sete ee ee a eee ae oe se 200
TERI Op IWLCO LEE Spee = hearers eS fa N SN Oke Se Se ee es Me ee an eo ee 66
Sy GAIL UN SUITS 5 os Soe ee Se Ne een a ge ea Be ee Ee nae ane 166
DRA Ets ea CEE TN em to ye ed ee eee ea Se vii
Companions SOU LNeInees cas. asst ae tne ee ere Be ee ee ee ee aloe te 464
MONSCHVALOLY) NOLER =a. sone ce on na setae nea Soo es ae eee nas Beso eee ae we oe eee 446
WORSHIUHEOMOL THe SOCICUY Ho -6 = 22 ao So ae se re ae ee ee a Xe
MontOntSOMEONGLOMO S25 oe ane a Soe oan ok eee oe es eee a ee te Se 393
GONETIDHLOLS LO! POYELOMO = o-2s snc 55 be oe oe ee es ee sO en en se a Ae RSE 391
@onkine: Cory. 5-228 oo a= sa ase os 2 Sa sects asee sence s ocacseab ees aon scce socesss-so esses 2h 52 se nsesseeeee 480)
LES a eg ee ee a ee ee ee 480
IPOERUOOS stan 22 eon as see = oe ace es Se sab et eee bee eee eo eae he oases oe ee seu ee 480
Pook ETOL A 10s.p EXCL CISC! Dyes oe aw a ee Pe eee ety ee ee ee 2 NS ea 16
PING DG) Yaa ee Sa as al a Sree es ee ee Oe ee ee eee 432, 527
OHO TG WORMS 6 nes Se ee ar eritoare oo ae See eR ee a ees ae ey eee 524
MOOT CO SETV END TD eee ee as i aa ee ee ee ors oe epee ore 479
OLIN ee et A LU a gee ee Ray as en a ae 480
Bawil ei Swiee bts. s ese st ee ee eae tee en ee Ee be ae BLO ee ee See 480
SH COU ae oe oe sk ee eg ae se ee eee sapien ee ee ee 47
Graig Obert apel Dyess ek se ota Ne Oe ee Ss A Ah ee eee Sa ee 116
CranbeELry GlOWels-/AIN CLIGA ect ase Se oe ae ee eg nee et ah ae poeta Sike Se 122
DGALISHICS S23 ae ea See ee ea ee ee Oo Ee eR = FS ef amen pee 124
Nhosiip b= bush 2ossu 2+ soa ot Se ee ee ere eh ee 2 ah See Oe 502
@randalli@hase| Ss) PrOpOLty 24-6 2 soo ee ee ee oe 205
ere ash OE aw NOLS DD Ye aS ae re ee ae ae SE eee eT eee 416, 417, 547
Matinee WaINGO ber ye. oe nei pes ote see Ee eee ee ee ee eee 65
OrOTICT SACU AS NOLO saa etek ae Sar EA ee eee eee ely a! ee PI fie ee Pe 245, 455
IPA OLN yeas 8 eS is et aed a 9 ee ee eee ee ee te os Sas 354
CCRT EEG (Ofna ee ee Ee Oe See Oe ae eee nee ae ee eS SS a ee eee ae 357
Qi GTC TY ES Se a a ce ne teed Oe ee ee ae ee 9&
RORRPIG RCS oe 2c nn ae a a a ote ee ae PA en ee oe Ee 47
GOVT eek ee ne Se Se te ee eR ee ye res coe ee a eee ee 466
(Cumin s Giants Ss og ee aS eee es eo ee Soy eee SS SU SE ee 479
Cultura and sHorhieulbureze: a= so ese es ee oes Ale oe ee bE eee eee 227
SurewmioWatcHin yess sa a ee es ae Poe ee ee ee 412
ST ANTE DES OTC Pee es ee Ss seh ee Uk Si ge ee ee ee A ee 7
AU 02 CH ce oa a ee ee ee 378
Eee 8 a9) BF Vd ae ee eS RD ae pe eee ee ee ee eo ee eee 429
IMniGenesee COunt y= =. - 25s. fede soe ake es oes ee eee eee asee eee 382
Pulwlowors nd ECOTALONS-_ 2242-220 2c5 2s oat Pewee cee SL ee ees Ae ee eee 459
(ATTA DIN Chee oem Phe CO A ane Dt aes am oa eae nn errs ae ae eS oe ees 457
CroiGuincd eh an ACOMONL Cis tere eye ele, ee ee ee A? aes eee ene Sees 5381
OSC e tts aon ee en onan oe sake Bowne a notes Smee sap oese eases sece seen = tp eaten eens 449
COND yy OLIN Ges ee ee tr a eee ob tS Se es Sen eee AS eee Ree oes Soran Ae ape eee 524
Wapwormn Mhetss sp ererere te Nell NSS tee ae ea Ne oh ees Se oh BU eso eae 335
580 INDEX.
D.
PAGE.
Dahlia SHuIStony Olstee: ooa= 5 Sho soe emer ieee wae ae cre ae eol -ee SE Rear eee ee ern 452
Davenport, HUeene; NOLO DY iz- 22-2222 - enc neo nen ee onan gene ae awes Saeco eee ae eee eee eee eee 511
Davis) Prof, |G: HH. eNObo ys. a .-b 2-2 sb ates cee ee cone noe aee a eee eee tee See ee ee eee 477
Day. Benjamin, Note: by! = 22-5 = 2-222-- so2-6 2 Sacco oe sans es eeena a sew anee eee ee ene ae eee eee ee eee 65
Wecorationsim,. Cut Wlowers:-.. =. 2 = .s220 ob sso B ne noe ona a penne se esas eeeeen ad tee See eee eee 459
Department of - Apriculture: 25 ee 2 oe et ae ae wee a ee ee ee ere arene eee 9, 25, 144
DYES Sere MN ES SOS ee ae eS ee Se Spe a ee Se Ss 5d 408
DOWOVayliatels NOLO {DV eae seem oan we a ee me ee ee a eee 37
IDIEHIEAW. AW NOLO, Ds: 2=-- 22 Skee re st one ee ee ees oe ae nee ee ee 43
ITO OL RIETIUG Soe aaa a So te ee a oi en a a er es eS 395
Discussionion- Apple GrowiNa. 5-5 -3-s- 5-65 h see Shee ae ae canoe noeee eee aaeee Soars ee eee 202, 378
Breeding SH ruits 22 9-2ssceseerae nas eset eat rae cette occ re wear ee ee eee eee 236
Buying Nursery Stock. — 2272-2 sae cen ae cae eee en ee ee eee ees 8
Canning-and Jelly-Making. -- 2:50. <2 20 Se see ee eee ene ee eee at eee ae eee eee 343
Departmentiof Agriculture. 2-2 en ee eee sae che eee ne ee es eee eee 25
Hating, Strawberries: <-2c cs oscs-—e5 asso oe eee aoe so ase ea ane eee 59
Mertili zers)= — 2 ois oss = ee sca o-oo geen eee oes ee nen eee eee 2 eee eee 11
Gard ening = 2222-222 kee ast tee Gee a wc aoe oe Ree en a eee ee ee 318
Grapes et 22. sen sco nasser a Ss eee eee a see nen e ee ene e Oe Seen nee 130, 345
Bulisiand. Matted MROWws S2c2. ch ceon cece ee te ee See ee ee 33
HouserBlamtses- teense. essere ssa eee ee ese ee ees ae ee en ae 20
NSOCiS*s 5:2. 52h aes oat soon pee See Been eee waa een eee ees eee ee ee 89
IMaNUNES s=.)2= 2 sectee asec ote we aae ree ues en cease eae enet ce cease one eeu nee eens ee 309
Marketi Raspberries 222-2 os2- on ase ae ore ne eee sae ee aaa eee ee eee 62
The NE wer ruite: 3-252 secon cee e eee seen Ser naan tee See eee en eee ere 219
Orchard Drainage 2-2) 25-2 =o soo ae a aes See swe ae aa aaa 2 Oe are ee ee 23
Ornamental: Trees... > 2-5 202 225 ok ese e enne oon cee eae eee ene ee eee 18
Parks): <2 csosc-con essen s consen cae cone ceo e ee oe eenins = bemebes ooo ee ae eee eee 244
Piantine (Stra wDerrvies sae. case soe nee oe ee ee oe ee ee 33
IPROning = 20 2s eae re 2 2 See ees Seen oo eee tees ee eea a see see eee eee 306
IRASDDCEVICS a a2 se- 2s Soon as ones ace n eae Sea ene cae oe eee ee ne eS 340
SOCICtIES 2. 552 2 ea oa nes sateen a ee ae ee Stee ee ee 4
Small) Rruite: 4.2: 5-25 2b 6 sec ob a csesa ssn Se caa eee oes ee oe eee eee eee 141
Strawberry Packacese---0--—---- eee eee Se ee 53
Tea chine HortiCwltury:-<- 2-2. 22265 stecw et eae ae eee eee ee ee 215
Tree Planting 2252. Se. ce toast we Se pore wens ee eee ee eee eee 155
WiaTrleties® 222.2 icdon a2 eae eee ee eee ecto Sees ee ee eee ee eee 330
Varietiesor Stra wbernies=--.-32=-- 522-6 s-.2 eee sone eens ee ee eee 34, 50
Wialkeyand Drives. ----2 2 -sssea renee awe ot ee oe ee ee a eee ee eee 17
Diseases, Fungus- ------ ee Se ae Re eee a rer en Oa a ne 526
Districtiof Columbia Horpicul tural SOCiChye. s-o oee o e eee 275
Doctorsiand Mruit-Users:--2- = 22: --5 0228 ses seas sae aes wee eee on ee eee eee eee 394
Douglas. Robert, INOte Dy. == 2) o=s= ceases oo ee sank = ea ee eee ne eae cae cee ee eee eee 512
Downinis\BGSb ears ts senn s = eee aoe eats anne Saree eee ae ee een 419
[Dh breevey ysl Ordelaoioe se ee SS Sea a se SS Son ee ceases esestasscess 21
OF Orchards... ss ae eo reas See a oe See Se eee ek Sec ee eS See 136
Mrivesiang Walks. 2 255-66 = Shes ee ae ee a a ie se el oe eS eee 15, 510
Mocatings ios 6! 230205 2c detensses ne see na soe eer ea see ee eee ee oe Se eee 102
Duihy hs Ca NOLEDY= =~ == 222 sane 2 sana ee ee ee ne ee 102
E.
MarlowParkeryad QTess DYyas— 2 sees = soe ee eee ee ee ees 133
note from. = 2. - 22. lS. ee oo ecb oat Sos esc bn sean cee seer esse seen ae eee eee 396
Onistraw Derriess. 2: 2-5 saee oe ccs beeen sae Se eee ee ee eee 34
ARTY 23 G30 4 7485 TSA Y POSES oss 59
Maton County, Horiicul pura) SOCie tay aaa ee ee ee ee 298
INDEX. 581
PAGE,
Edmiston, D. G., Essay by----.-----.------------------- ------------- cw qumesans cons see Sees eee 344
isha teenetareye ood PU eRe tapetey ee LP ee Se eee ere eae ee 169
lomajesiibeinine tai Manet ee See Se ee ee ote Sess se 322
HM pire State! CAPs .ss2 eee nee oe = ees Se ee ore cian a sesame an ee ean nag ale aero ase aeeeae 418
IDeA ta(Gh Teale lip eee ae ee ee Re Ce =e Ree ee eee eee ne 234
Lose ted ENG Cy eyas eas nets ye) Pee es ee en ee eo oe a Shee eee 438
TDinravena oyecy, Crs ites Seis op ee 2 Ee ee eee eee eee eee cs one 16
RS UGIRETE Ties pe eee eee Sete Sere ne eee Sy pee Se eee reee Se eet esee eee 178
rie Urry ee ce = ee ae Se es a ee ee ee ere eee ener , else 210
TM spe aves occa ein (me ey gO EN Te ee SRS eS ee eee aaa 251
TON epg (eho ae he ee ee ee ee ee ee ee ee One enemies Eeemnese ee eee 488
MIMD. ee cee seed se oe See eee eee Seca Scores Se eae Seren See Sec ee acenseet 491
Gis SB Gaiieee Sk eee ee ee ee ep eee ee See Sere Se REE Dearne coe 366
HEhi ih at eAan erica) ELOErMCUlGHral SOCICG Y= se =a = aa oe en ee re oon ee 143
J Sha es Cia aaa eee NCOP AG) oe ee See 112
J SPaeH EE TPES Hee ease See Sees eee Sees de Hee e ose r ao Ses cee Soe ae cose ae ee ee 201
OfeirulisiatwA Gian e328 oe eee ee cen oe eee aera ate a ee ee en ee eae eeeee 27
TES) TP UaV ee AWE TADUSTIO IR ep Ae Be ee oe eres re eeeeee Cr eee ene ee ee anes 163
EE ICOT Gist inbltiGeied bie snes anna Sunes a ee Se een ee ee ema niet ee ee eee 167
TOs gesris@ lin fay, aus eetsroa NL Teen Se Se a ee ee ee 139
PREY SES eT STAG Ef A ne a ee ee ae * 218
OSU TRIM AS TEN Ee A ee eee Bo SS oo eee ee 8 ee a eee ee $9
LOSI D DM NING? Ty Oe) eS sa cate Sea ae ee Se i ee oe ee ee Seca 437
TU SP epee Drapray che eae aE SOY ee ee Se Be Se nn EE a Ene 234
F.
Mal CONT MVE TEN OLE) CEORD 2022258 = sete eee ak oe eee eee See er aoe eae ae eee 397
leh eee ne oe ee ee ee See ee Se rer aeeerr ee 451
ain Gronungs tonbars Purposes. o- 2+ 26-20 a ose see Sceee es acento cee, wacaseeie = rene een eee eae 2S
ABheystatel rs o-=<. - St ee oe a Be Hees Site i ASAE SS ae eet oe eercte ea eee 163
SAP arya aS ek EU Reds a Ta a a re ae a ee a or ee MEN EB SS wy be. 482
eyriga (ire Bee eee sae a eee es re en Se Rl eee eee ear ee ene 474
Te ReyreieA UN iys oe ees a oe eee ete Re SSS ee ee eee ee ene reese eee= 481
STE ey ees es te 8 Se oe a waarmee SSE ee ee ee 462
WATTS WOLEHUAWia WV. RRGDORG DY -22- 2-0-2250 h ko gesn ce sa anae eaten Ce eee eer batt ee ed 27
TEAR, Loe Wes RUS OIE eee ee eee ee See ee ee See eee ne SE |S ee en See Sa 154
TOPS rae Tet Br Hip Ce Dyer ees 0 a Le SS ns a ee oe eee a aoe Sean 455
HerhilizenrsianesGHelmAt ili GatiOnes: = - cine ees ae ee er ee eee aw ae oe ee BOT
DIRCHSSIOHU ONS eet Se ete oe ene eee ete Se eas eee eee ee te ee 11, 376
Bes reba La zit 1 cof BN ey each Wy Dn a a es a le 485
TOR TES AVE yates e (Oa A rope Was LID) Fe Gee SRE Se eee en Se ee eee er pee oncacos 42
FET a) CLAD Get GE TTA Mae ee er a ee a ee ee ees oe ee oe a ra 190
BRAS T¥s Cot ha CT ba eed em ea a re a a ee = aN er 1cz
FD I ge OT CS bie ae a ee a Se mein = pane eee ae aera ee 151
REO TS Frey Ge hee Px INO Le ba Vee re 480
TOL Oni] avy eee oe ee ee ee ee a ae ne Ee ee eee Ee eacee 42
BEND e400 9 CPN AN Gh Vs a a 516
BUREN) VCO ES eR a a a rae a rw 542
TEM arabe Baa fee eee ge end Re se eee Bane eee ena ee Oe ee sess 450, 455
for Children®:s5.< 2 2 ee oneness ea ce ae ean cases anls ooo ee dena eee 534
Gepige ere Wave Contd ane Se ae Se a ee ae Seas aes 536
Npessong tor Chil Grea se a ee B24
Soils) nabs Se ete a ret Bee oe eee eer mee Se eB ae Ha Serene SaaS Se eens 453
Sear Gi Cr ee gs See we ee Sa ee ae ee rec eae ae 460
Tiler ® Sinn ies | a oe eee Seance toceee See tos ee eee ee ere em See eee eater ae eee Saas See ae 504
ROO ey ORAS Gy MIP ONC Tn erie eee ea ee oe ee ee eo ene ee eee 461
School @inidrents2-- 2. Se oe eee eens oes oe Seeman 584
582 INDEX.
PaGr.
Mlowers:and the BOys*=-2<.s- sconce sees c mee ente sa eee wag nae See ne See eee Bee ee eee 541
pATTanN ging Outs $s jection en scl she owe eee meee eee ple ease Sa ee ee ee ee ee 457
atiState: Mains. ls... 222205 nse ekse nae setae ie cae ee onthe se oe oe ae ane See np see 176
DBF Gino Spr eee eee eee ee ee ae eee ee ay ee er CIC a a ee ee ae 5387
iIProgcressn 40NhViearsic- 3-222 cual as enees | set aee eet e eee eS SRS ee ne es ne ee 115
HWilnhrer Revere Nass. IAaDOLre Dye see ashen cee we ee Ee eee ne ee ee 355
MOLES HHRUReS) ewes sae meee ta Somu asin aaa: Seana os deem emn ern see so Se Se ee st eae 151
IRENE Waleese sacs ea ees ath Se ee She ee ie OR 2h ae a eee eee ee ee 186
DreesiGrowmiby; Child renes4220 28 So eee le Se res ee oe ee ee ee 535
Korestry ConsresssMeetin giles = 2 a. ee eae ae ee anne toe ee ee ee eee een es 148
DGD Wi ced eats ES ate Nee a he ee ee ata nes etn epee sO a oi re a 158
Resolution sesh 22s 2h 2 scccwcce saw cee Soe eee cet See ee ee eeee pe sean eee ee 160
Horestsan ds Clim ates s222se2 22 he2 ee ees Seder ciao beeen eee ore ee eee eae eee 519
Rapin sees See ce Se 2 Sea ie Nie i eet Se Ee ge ne ee oe ee 521
PRAVOIS sae stb heat este babe oo sade sn tet Soak se eee ee ee ees 519
Naxation. .22- 2c se. setae ete Sc ak ep seep aes Se ose Se aera ae eee eee 516
MOTSCOL ANOS. gel sukee DOLO IDY Le = sees = cones ooo ye aoe ee see eae ee eee eee ee ae ae 189
HOWIET SW iciel-g INOUCIDY ie 22 soee ne web teak stcec alane ns toot cel se seecne Aen sae Ae ee ee ee 411
iHramework of thembeafs.2 222.6 o 2 oe i ee a ae See ea acme a 41
HM TOZONVAPDPOS! =. ~ sts os case ateh sessk sew e ns se ehadsssasethsne cote eee = Sees eee eee ee eee OEE 435
Mraitybleachin gs... Pe ke iiss bn jee ah eos one ce Cote ee ae ee Re De ee eee 441
Gamnmniney-ss- oe are as ee es ee re ee ere oe ee ee 342, 443
Crops AboutyAmn Arbors) 0-8 se oa ee ee ee ee ee et ee ae 295
DTG hee US a coe oe Set A fe te Le A SES 2 Sek RR EN NOs Lec Oe ee eres 395
MUS OR AN SCS Ae dS Bee ee ee ee ree a re eo ee ee ee a err te ae eee pe 376
Growin ovat Wa wt nesses oe oe ee ee ee ee eee 627
ineWiexford(Oounty{as-= osn2 + sense ER ee ae a eas Nees ee Re 329
Retarding Houses. 2245-502. Jl el Soe a Sone ses eee eee eee ee 289
StatisticsiotvGenesee' County. ---.-2-2cr ae see es aoe Soe ene Oe ee ee Nee Re Ue eee 379
Sica 07S ogg eae LM 2 i PM ey ae eR esse De LRA hess Mey de UR Ps SUM Leena ene 238
MrditscAttectedibyi@lmates 8 -o222 oe a2 sea eae saeco eae ee ee ee One Sen oe en 532
and HV GION Cs s-se set ek os ee eae ke ee cece een eee cee ce ere eee oe ne ee ee eee ee a 359
ealthies ce. co ceac 22 se sede asec ine ce ee Soe seine Aen ee oe ee RE ee ne ee en ee 394
ASHREME GLOSS 2 soswsso. soe code wee eee ee ee Ree eee ee een ee Oe a ee ae ee ee 361
POT DITO baa awe ae es eRe te Siegen ee a een ee pete ee ie SN Noite eee 359
low tovbats 2.212252" eee ee cae ek Se Se a ea ee ee Re ors tenes 361
Tmprovement:or Wild 2222 -- 22. ccen nae paces Sace ee eee ee ieee ee eee eee eee 439
MPPOS OT VAN ere ee ns ee mn a ee ee 441
When: to 7M t= s2 ea see ee eee es eee nee ee Se ee Se eee a eee eee ee re renee 362
BollercAelS:<"Noteibyjessesenee ane e eeeee DUE A SIME Se 20 RCA 8 a2 ee ae 439, 499, 545
Soils MNODOID Vee wees eae en a ce ee ce ra a te ae Oa ee ree eee eee 435
T Oe eYeqs Fs Ppal 22 312 9 aye Mee ne oe Oa ee ge Ee pee nee Mee RM ee aoe pay ate cpe ee ga NL Se 46
DiSCABEBEEE Joss Sb se eae eee ee cope) eee eee re ae Rene eee Seater aee eae 526
Ganghorn,, Jacob; Wetter from i225. 2. cse2 see nn os sein asec eee ee seers eee eee eee eee 93
EVODOTG DY oe ee ee a ee nN ees Se et es ee ee ae re 294
Garden: Commercial jake OF2 592 oe oe ee ee re ee ee ee eee 366
MUPrnitUnes<=2 2.225282 r eA 2 eae seen oe Ee Se ee ee ee ee ee 365
EFOrbICMItU re Ebi he oo ne oe as eS ee Oe ee ee eee ae eae 199
Plants; Namesi0f--- =) ocsscene= oo eee tae wee ee ee Rene ee eee ee ae 545
Ca Thais CVE Wea 1 ae AR Te Re he ey Ree ee eS ek ee i en ee thon 474
id We P98) <) .2225!- 22 2sss obo sac anecee soles nee ane ee ee 358
awe CONCELMIN GH OLESEB a= =e soa aa re a ee ee nt oe ae se 158
Weiwny AUN Wiens cne sass eo cece estado eee eae eRe eee Soebroto esa ee ee Ueno ote ee ome eee ene 486
BACK STOUN Gs 20-2 23s oe SS a ea i ee Se En En See ee es 487
Enriching the_-....----=--- Sa a ee ee 12
Werpiizing Phe=> Sos. 26 2. stas Seose ssa ee sa ce as ose deee ew se ee tekline de ase sat eee aeee eee 485
bawnsiby imoculation=-- 2. .-=- 52-2... ccs res Sosa escaee ca on cess ene cee eee nas eas Sees eo ae aaceeeee 486
HallSeedingiof..- -2s22.2t222 = Se sel a sc cS Se esas sca dees sone jee ee ee oe a aee eee 485
Wie whOns heres: te 2652. 622 Soe en oe Be soe at ese en ese So oe cet oe Soba uee eee Cease 408
Horticultural Soci etycee 2-6 2522 es sos a coe ee eee Se ee eee ee ee 327
CAD Note iby s24 22-2 s ee ar a ee a ee oe ee ee aes 70
hazenby.-Erot., Paper by. <2222 2-2-5 soos sane ote sae se ns ee ee 145
Prot.) Note by? 2222. esb sn 2sso25sc052 See eeis Sates Sees e Sees e eee See seco ee eeec eee eae eee 431
Wheat EATS WSC) Olea. ates cope eae awe cae see le ee ee See eee ee ee a SS See ee ae eee 544
StruchureiOh- =. a5 eae eee ce eee ae re ee oe res See Se a ee soe ae ae 37
Thea ves. Valve of 222. 2+ eRe se ss aa re Ss ca nee ssn ese seen os eee eee epee 543
IserislationyConcerming Insects. = --202- 52.2 oe seis. Socata ee we eee eee ee eee eee eee 186
itenaweel County Horticultural’ Societys: -- seas =e ee ne ee eee 115.83
Horticultural Society 2225 so-so ae no Sree ee es ae es ee ee eee 338
Gent yos Qs nNOte) Dye aseeen see seca ale ae eae ta ee Oe cena ae aeyae comet eeee 459, 474, 484, 486, 493, 495, 537
messons from: the Waits 22 2 scoot oe ee ese cea son see eee eee eee 180
OG WAS PNG Vics DEA DOD: Dyan 2 ees oe Se ee ee ee Se on ee ee ee ee 335
Hibrarianis Annuals tatemen ts) 22-- ees. aa sae oe ae se eee ee eee eee eee 189
THIiCe Elan tes eee oe oe ie Ss A ee ee ee ee eae eee 79
Hiteioncthe harm =~. oes se oe soe ae oe Sa a oe eee Bip es See Re 256
ite wWMembers. Uist-of 2222s se Se eee Se eee ee eee 559
Pima, Beans in Core 2 ee ees sess ee Se Ba Sea ye saa ee esse eee 468
Thinderman, Geos. Note Dy... sss aa ae ree co nt ena = sea eee eee see eee 33
Mistiof-A wardsiat State War -2 22 coh a he a se en eee 169
‘Annnal Members: !220 22 22 520 Sa et ees el ee ee Eee Ue ee ee ee eee ee 551
Wife Members! 222222 2228 Se ee es oie eee ee Oe a ae Seen oe ee eee 559
Wsocation‘or buildings sss sco ese a ee se ee eee eee eee eee 497
MOMmpaAraywPOplan. 2-2 one S kei es aa ee eae See eee es hoe ee ee ee eee 493
Eovett; Jnos Ts (Paper by isc 2228 oo sacs ae case ae = sar ee ee ee re es ae ee 138
yon, TT. (Paper by sc. cccc cece ete eee i eee es ee ee ee eee 28
Note by. .22 sss 2 8 a a se en NS ee ee Se ee eee 61, 96
INDEX. 587
PAGE.
Lion, T. T., Concerning Portrait of_.__---.--.-- -------=-- = ----- -------= - + 22< === =----<2- =~ ----=--- 227
IMPRECISE) [SPL ootes cease ce Sse sebee s He cen eet eet ee ctos be caesar aoe ses se eee ore ee 185
IN AKE 1hy ae ee oh oe ees elas Sat ee seen er er ae Pee Saree ees ee 409
Pees ey ISO eno Be ee aa a ae CT ee re eee ee easaaeoe pee Sess 509
M.
Minne leering @eienll SGCIRIN xe eee sae eS one et sec see a oe eee see ee See ee te Sees sce anee sees 270
VES ore OGG; seve OS ee ar ee ne wee a es 523 -
Tiny. {S13 TER Sir Nees 22a ne 22 oe so ect ec Se SS SoS Se ee ee Ses 2
i ipiis nr) TET ee ek ee te oe ee ee 2 re Soe eae 463
Hae GUST abe ese ee eee ee ees Seen ee cee eee ee cee eee oa Se 415
racks WanmMees2- 2k ack 5 oe ee ee enone eo nekeeesces son ceenet as naa seensetoessateese aoe 462
IW ESTE SEND Fone ee ee eee Se SE Be EE Se ee Se eee ae eee 308
“Innes, (GING fas d = eet nee eS ae ee oe ei ee Sessa eas See ee ot OnE Enea HasS ceca 12
VETS, ISD ite SOO A po ase een Seen Res Sees se eco ce er EE er ee nse See Sones Sense See 272
LEeseeriyesy, IOV EES MIN Oe 8 ae ee aan os Stee aa See ee sas Se = SS EE a ea OER On CE ee eens Sass 11
UNI re Gog ee epee ee ees ese en See ee oO oe See ee ee emer riaeaa SE SaSase 376
Aibppliy Vanes Om 18 FE NE Soe cee ee Saeko 2 eee se ee See Beer See ae See SE BREESE 323
ATIC Ch AN CIGD Y= 39ers eee a a a ee all
(Cerin ayaa ees Ss eee ee eee ee eae S ee Seep e ESE ea ROT eS neon ene Siem ae Se ase seaere 316
[EGY es se ee nee ease oe oe I ae ee re Se eR toe om a nee eee eee ses a eae 422
Siraw DERRICGS es rt eee ee et ce eR oe eee ne Sane ena ans ie ee eee 82, 55
“Niriaiagy mmr (Olin SS. = Se oe ec 5 Ss eae ee See ae eee = oe seas See eoe Ses 411
CSTE a 416
AUT KG GCr EOWA eC OS CBee ne eee a a ee 116
amsia lest Ol N Obey =) nee eee eee eens aaa eee eee eee ne eta Ae eae 58
AGP mie Ly 1 D)s 10s INU Ogee so ee eee eee a at le es ene especies oe ete ne Sea aS ESE 413
Massachusetts Hort. Society---...---.-.------------------ ---------- ------ -----+ ---- -----+---------- 271
AVIcL Se remo Her Oo Le ype a et ei a 404, 464, 503
Mattedcrows | Stra wherriessin)ca-22 2 aso ose oe ba Se ae ee ee ee Bae ee ae toes e 33
ies ISO SE TOG G) ONe 5 aoe oo pe EE eee Hn nate a ene eet eae tee Ser eae Bee aa aeons 38
WAN EN rents Jet FIR TRE ere ie ee eee Seer Beate Cenee ee Seer ee cea ceca See ieee eee 364
WikSobrerine MB yrer Wine) (Oe JM ON ee ee oe ett ones epee een Se Se oHer Eee Een eae 395
MVIGEGHSEVVESV Vee ViO WS: Obese Soe gece cee see Oe BS ee ee een chee ae a ee 426
Meehan eh omas: NOLO DY - 22. cose = ae a ane a ae ee ee ee ae See ae ae ee eens 287
VEG OT Sas NU LEN Cs ee ee ee ee ee ee a eee ee a ee i ee 465
SOU EEM ESET TC ae a a eee eae eae 47
PUN gs eva SESW ES EAN Bs ANT UD A sa a ai eee 551
LEAS ee Seer ae eee A ea Se eee A os es Sale) do 2 ee eee tee > 559
1 BVO OySfe/0) TYCO AD Bs oe ed a eee A a ie a ee ee ee Se eae see Renee ener eacea 256
Maes ETO Vien ON Daan see ee ee oe ee ea oe 22
Niles aos. WMicmniliyas eCLULe) DYn == oe cease ee one aoa ee ee ee ee en rinee eee eae een 256
Miller sarmnel. NOLenr OM aooes see eee eee ae ee ee ae ee ee ae oe ee ene = eee ne nee ener 397
TE eee ee a ee oe ee ane eee eee ee 405
MinGhephlinonLVellows soot enon so eee ne aan es arse tee eee eee eras a ook ocean ye ean e a nena 529
MRS OUEST ORb SO CIE byes es ee Soe ae eae rae ae a ae conan ee meee eee 289
Witchell Press Je Pee NOL iD yee seo = tees eee cea aa sete nO bas one enon eae 287
IDE py ea aa eh ae a re tL NO a fe ee Sn A ee ee eee en 84
MMonmment phe estate eee nan saa eee Neen ee eT ee eats se ane ea eee eee eea ae 500
VER OTC VACO DE ADOT Dye ee a ee i ae nas oes eee ae 67
ore DLs TREES Copa ds Feng 2 DT aa i ee Sy ee ee ee eer BYW
STU TAU A BY ERE V Dees i a ieee ae he ge a Se eer Ae a 48
MIGVGINe TG NOE] ra tee LT Se ee ee a i eee anne enna a aay soma eeene a 39
Val ohieea FO lle sere eens Bes ee ee ok MER Oe 2S OS SU See oes eee na sae eee 401
Minchin ow ASDDerRICa ees amen aan neers | Oe Sone Se ee ee ean eine 66
Mulching Strawberries 34
588
MushroomiC@ultuiesss-os- sce acs eae ane
INDEX.
Muskeron" Hort: SOCiGby:-cea2-----1acseen oe see oe seca Sao eee soe esas aan aT ean Sof tea AL
Myrick, Herbert, Paper by-.-.--.-.-...--
Minibtiplicitysot sa .os cose ee ae See eee cee eee eee ee ee eee a oe ee
National Viticultural Association
Native Surubbenyess sss ene ane
UL eV on BOY: Mes She Se ose ete Ree pe eB AE Me ora ine ce ere ee ee ee Oe
Nettle Sting
Nex Ola Pulishe-s. 5 sesso seen scene a4
IVeW SD aAnDeree Chan Pes asa eo) tes Be er se ee ee See Ae eS oe a
INOMENCALUITGt sec cee = ss as eee = eee
of Fruits
of Garden Plants-_-_-----
North Carolina Horticultural Society
SE eo FS tla a em wow el lo le
INIDIEN ON este el eh x eee se ee BO) SATE eae Ae Se a Sees Se Rees toe Se ee ee
INOteEsiongNeweAD plese sete caces sees cna a Aaa as ee ee Be eee ee ae ope oe
ENTE TSCTIOS PELOM G8 sees ease sk Ae ee re A poe See ee eS ae
Nursenymen Am ericanyAssoclatiomiOtss sass. cosas eee te pea ae eee a. en ee
The Position ofe---s=---=.-- seine sotese s wel Su tee Ses wesc ce a Been ee eee
INUTseryi Stock THOWw tO) BUly jseess asa eae ee cae ae Sr ee pe ele aot ee ee
INUT= GROWN e ose ee a ie eats
INmtmes (Melons. soo eae oe soc eee 3
Nut Shells, Thickness of_......._.-..-.
Nutritive Value of Fruits
Oakland Horticultural Society___.-._-
Observation Vaught. --s25--s ssa. eee
Officers of American Forestry Congress---....------------ acta eo Soe ee teers
MIOrISts A SSOCIAbION S22 Ae ok ee Ae eee eee
HorticulturalsSocie tye aiss 22 oe Sosa eae See ee ee eee eee
NursenymenASsoclation@s=.2-2 22224) 2oo5 Sie Saat = nee 2 eee ee eee
ColoradosorticulitiraliSocietyesescre ae see eee ee eee eee oe
District ColmmibiasH OLrtienil tural SOCAL yess sane eee
indianayHorticulturaliSocietycss= sores eee eee ee ee ee
Kansas Horticultural Societys ao een Bee ee ee re ee ee ee
Maine Pomological Society
Massachusetts ELorticul tural SOCIGbYy 22 soos en ee eee ae
Missouri HorticulturaliSocie tye ssr a ease ee ae ee a eS
North Carolina HorticulturalsSocletye-= secs se sean eae eee
Ohio Horticultural Society
Pennsylvania, Horticultural Associa plonesesss sessen eon se eee cesar nese eee eee eee
Statevair= = =e
StatetHorticultural Socletyecsas soe keen eae eee See sees ne ue Seer Remote oe ete ne eee
W.N. Y. Hort. Society-----
OhiorBlackca pease eee
Horticultural Society_........---
OHMErONe-pNOte Dyoeesesee— = eens eee
Onions Growing) 402-22 ee ee
PAGE,
Pore hat pile G1 Dp gh hate Vee eee 2 ee ee ee ee ee a ee ee a ae Se ee 21
ST ee ee ee we an eae eae ons Sena as aeca bose ans aoe See 430
Grip iis bOLH PE LO Le CEL Oat ao nena eases aeitee eae ae eee eens nec ae eee ee 67
Orns menba le Shire pss see esa co Slane oa ie 8 Se oe Sin nea nfam Sannin oS aS Sa poe ae aa ae aeeee Ee See 309
Trees! Training .-.-2- a hd a Re ee tay ara Ba a me Oe 208 cP APY S's 492
LOFEGCG GAA 0c: Eee ae ee a eS a ee 95
Ornamentine Citys WGissee cee = so ass sae ane = ia coe aaron oae sa eee Se see ee ae asaas saeeeeee B54
OntdoonmGard ening tOrwVOMmente ee oo caren. ope Seta a eee eee sees Se ee eee eee 547
hv enenVWiOO Clans: PTOPErG yr - =. eee se sen se oe eas nase cone aoe is pean o Sana ose ee See eee 15
PB:
JEAN DS THOT SRE a oo a eS ee a ee OSE See ee re ee ee 34, 53
12a ce anys) if ya) se ee ne ee oe ee ee BEE Ee SEE OME Oe er ear, ees a ee 438, 433, 485
Gr Se er ea ee ee a ae eS a See a Dae se Sone te eee 415
Paintinesiat Annual Meeting =. 255058 < 2st 2 Sh sibs Ses es sso eens beet ssc es tees hee eats 255
Palisnd ONC Olga ae an eae Be neo ae tad Bae eee aoe Sa S Cae ce fe code bop ecu ese eaeeee sem 40
PANSICS PTTO LOL SOWING cc ne oe ee Saco ne ea ee a teat Sums eee te pee e ee 450
DATS Ve CRT ENIE Ose ee ae te Bae eee ee ae ane re een eee Spee anes eee eee 456
PRneMmBbaretoriGraDeseere ees. nesses seen ee eens ata net eee OWLS ot ee Se eens ee eee 415
PEC COM VVC RU Vice INCL HID Yee re ee ee ee on See en ee eee ee 153
Parkas Pheer DliG see eae eae eee eee ie ee Ee ee Oe ee ae eee seein at ee eee 244
Gay eeeaperbp Yee oe ete oe eee ee Wome tees ass be aien! el ive’ eee 79
Par kaaNOLese AOU bese sere tt oeee oer ee a nt ane eee ee ene RE eee ae ees ae ee 499
OT yn ee Sees Be eee soe Lose bind: SS SSRR SURES ee Le SU ee aoa ko. oe 353
ast Wducators: 2c: Ses eee cath [oe sae see oe sses acetate Soe tas sae asa saesteat eS soo eee 246
Parnell He NGI Ye ac ets eee Poses Es eee setae Re esses Ses Se eee eee 449, 474
Parry, judee, Nobo ECOM = oes oo ns oe ae on one ete oa a re ae an toes ean eet nee ase 406
JECTS Abe) US ee gle eae, TS a ee See ee ee ee ee Eee Ree eee bal ei 102
POAC DMEM UMN ee tenn en ere ern ote oes eee Ne eh ete ee ee ene ewe eee Yoo eo eeee os eae eae 424
AU(SID FON tin tae es a ee i em in pe lear = el Saas 529
Sirorehas irate 1B Wri a ne cae oe Se Se Seed See SE eee ee See eR ee SESS 412, 530
CGC ee eee ee See Se eee ee wee eee Ree Some h ren UST ee a oe eee 424
Growing in Allegan County-.-.-..--------- SSE eee Scr Eee Nery See eee 370
Peaches invHneland: 22222) 2 os ees eee elas ee oe SRE See ae osase cose nt eases aos eseees 424
De DSHS (DN 1) ea Seer te te r= ee A ly Gee Cen pn EES ee i Fy ee EE a eee 242
PEPE om BAP pe eg a Sh pg a AR eR a SA ee ee ee 524
SRC eT ee ee en ree ee ae ete Bae eats ae ae 46
Rearsulor Wintel 2. setae aa oe eek aoe DERE ae fe ee aE eas coon es sb tcs eso et eec aes een se sete 423
LOTS TOSE IVAN Pe eet oe ee ee Se rere ee ne ones enon a Meee en eae eee ee een eee ae aoe ee 423
fom Init) UBG. a. cae sane aces ose se = See eo eee eas lon eted eeaeoceate eeecseens 419
Te bD TYG UTE) Sie i es oe A er ee eee Re Be an ee Eas Soe 420
AY aVSyd BYSS( ed DOV Ay Se | a a i re ee Ce EAE Or eae te aie 421
War koticsc ss eae eee ee eS a ae EE re eae seen moon Sones oe eme eel eee sees 422
GESTS a Tee Sea el et a ee ee ee BA ee ee ae ee ee ee ae 423
yh AeA SG MS = ee Se ee eee oe Rene ees Sop Sea esas Bessie Saree as Sistas Sets 254
eammoul, SIL Renan i725 oS ee see ne Se eee ee o Reed Seer ees ocsor eset sees Saeee= 192
TEGr a, Cay aba Se se es ee Se Se Si SS ee Seam ee EEE ee ae eee eEeee 480
(GHREGIN 5 ek set ee ee ee oh ee Se ee nee Ee eee pes ee Se Ste eS ace= 476
Resear aN TEASE SEV EAS ek Ae er Se ie ee See eae eas 234
Ey rip ye AC INO Le Vesa ee ee ee ee ee 76
Pemasylvanis MOrthicul GHral. SOCle tye ae oe ne eee es 287
oN ASSOCIATION! 2 Soeere: a2 =e cae ae sas oe asen sec m ae eee arse mao sae eee 284
EGragiannl Bes) TUNG ees oe ete eee een otek Lees Soest eA Se area ates ease see essacecsc
LEETESTANTT ON, TNS AOS. =e see oe e se See ce ssacee Gaede cones Seen ee caer est ebearessSascerentes 90
TEI ig he, ISO Neo se ee ee eee Sete nent See sree be Sener ede asseeec See eee $9
Philbrick, W. D., Note by....-.------------------ ------ ---------- 222222 22 22e ener rere cere 466
IRickersy Manacementior stra wWiDCIT yd sass ee a ae a ee ee 51
590 INDEX. ‘
PAGE
PICKINGS MS ELA WDOLTICS ae a2 eae ee ee ae ee eee er ae eae 50
Pickle.The amily: cee oss See Peed 6 ae oo ok seat lees oa Ses eek Eee See ee ree 47
Pickles Gro willeie 2c ese c Saree So ae Cae ee ee heee oa tas Sabo ec nee eee oe Eee 466
Pierce li Bi Note: Proms 22o.2 5 ed 2 ee See ek eee See ae ee eee 396
INGE Dy seen s oe eo Se 2 Ae ee ee ee eee eee 450, 455, 487, 492, 503
iPie-=planbewlturesa sc. ss aceaec ae ecb ets sees Boca cease ew ancee aco o eae oaks Soe Cee ran eee ae cones 466
Pines ang Nemperaturess. 2.7222 eat tlt kOe t 2 eee ee ee eh eae ee ee eS eee ae eee eee 521
Pilam time: 2 soe oe ea oe ee en ee ek ie se ene ee eae oe eee a ae eres 517
IPlant How, ton 3) ose eee a DOL EES eee eee a Ee ee oe eee eee 518
icercsss bE ae BA Ree eee ea Rape he wR gE at RP REM Se Epa de CM ae aN Ce ae 79
Plantations Artincials fo. 2. Selb ee Ae oo Reece oe nee eae ee Sate een Sia meee ee 514
Pian tine for fect seca ke ee 2 De a eb e DS een ee cae oe ee eee ee 487
GLOVES 22 232 = heat ose s Sein ak See a a is ok See ek ee ee ee ee 515
UCM OMG se te BF ene eee eee etl a ae eR a rm 514
PINGS ssc oo secs Khe aks Steet Bowen Sot seees Seek Sasso eee se ee ee 517
Raspberries!) 22 s<.4-2.22dsssenessocsn he de ok Hee edie obec geo an sae See we eee 402
FROSASIGGE feet oss re se ee ae cok se Soe, ee oe ork Sete eats meee ame Sere ene ee ee 514
Strawbervies=-=+. 22s. sue ses eee wes he ee cee Meee ee arane es ceesntacs tees eee 82, 396
Plants at Annual Meeting ---------- eijates see eeaceee eae Sesto bas eae eek man renee ana eee ee eee 255
andiSizesoL "Pots =e asc sano 2 Soe 8 Noe eS Joe ola ee UR Se ee ae 458
SGC Gi 2 ee See re hee IE Pn ee cae See ew ee ee Se ae ea eee eee 450:
Climipin ee eess ere nae e etek aS eee ean cere a ee ee ele OOM A Se ae ee 507
fomBHAdy WiInGOWS == -ca522 522225 Sense oe ee ede ke seo e a eiseasism cones ceases te eee ee 446
PHeSchooleis: sess oet ese as eee ee aes eae Oe ee oe Sk ree Saco eee hal eae a eee ae ee 540
Hardy. Herbaceous: 252-22. s-.15—--ss= 02 sa ao owe aie owe Selo ewes Sseoe eles shee See aoe ee 453
in GMOMHOUSGLs=2-— 22 ss-3 cena 22-5 Jas skeceee ooca eee see ean eS esee antes eh oae eee ewe eee ig
Wandow, trom Seed 22.22 pas22h e255 < 225 foe cen secs ee case cease sone sas sane e ee aen eae ee 447
Plum C@urenlio, Chews no eee oes tees c cate aesen seeee ee (saab lee cose ane Seeman teen eee 412
ONSRCACH SS ere sene os ka sc orca ct eacce sesad See e ee nae oa ee eee ehos aot cso es Deeee me cee seen eee eee 412, 530
iPlomsiiniGeneseé: County =.5- 2c25 52s cccsae sae Se cee ee ee ee eh pee ee ee Se sae ofa eee mE ea 381
Pollen wAtGrainiOf sco. 25 oon eee as Bee a a ee ee aaa a ease Siete Oe tne ey ee 45
AnflMeNnCe \s- == 5s 5sSso == ow Sse a ee css Sean See een aey io oen es oko aans eee eee ee oct ees eee 400
Pomologyain- Departmentiof Agriculture: 222-22 oa 2 cence ese ree ee eee eee eee 10, 25, 144
iRortfolio; The Secrotaryis2s 2,-1.2 sesskon (ste esecens ewan coat reese sees See eo eae eee eee eee 387
Portrait. COnCermingeseresident Livy Ons seee sea = ao ee oer ee eee eee 227
IPOLAtOIS CAD nies. S 2 es oece cece ie he es eee Sekt Bee ee a eee eae ae Pee a eee eee 525
Potatoes, Cookery: =. -22 2225525 2 Sree oe ease Sse seb eck ee eos ee Sa Sees Soe ee eee 480
SiN OB ae ats ate ate Os Pee sans NS ies Aes ES BENS ee a a ee 473
Powe lll, PE GR IBS Ey Byes aa at a ee I Isiah RL hc IT LN Or a a 421
iPresident’s:Annual Message: s-- 225282525. ee a2 es Hee stn cee s pee ee eee eee 185
Preserving sh ruits <= oe ee ee oe ee a ik Se les ooo 5 Wee eee ee te aee eee ec eee oe 362,441
IPTICOs OL rasa tvANN WAT DOR sacs. oars eee oe ee ee eee Baa tN Ry es ee 295
iProceedingsiof American Cranberry GrOweLses sees oaee meee ase ees a nee ee eee eee 122
American: Mlorists ASsSoCiatlon occas. sees ene ae ao eee ee ae oe ee eee 118
AmericanvHOrticwtUral SOCIOb = sere sae ee cee eee er ee ee 130
Annual) Meetin s seen S eee eee Rs SR et cee eee ee oe 183
Summer Meeting! so ses eso ee ee an ese eee eee eee 31
Winter Meeting: 2 ee Oy OS oe 8 Ee NL Saas Gea a ae ee 1
Ly Ley ey ne se) Otek bu rps) O f= pee Ree im ea Vest RUBEN RS = es tn De RE ae Oe ee etna sicinciss Sei seee 312
Programme of Annual Meeting: 222222 as Oe ek ay AOI eg ey eo ere ee 183
MuskeconsHorticultural:Societ yee cesses oa ee oe ee ee ees 304
Summer; Meoting 2s ese oases ao ea ae ae te eee ene ee eee mae a 31
Wee HorticulturaliSociety--ivs-<- os s2 sees Se eo see eee eee 273
Winter Meeting 23.488. se US oe ie UUbONS? ose see hee eee nee Coane See eee ee ee
Growing Ammateunem en =a ae ee eae eee
Gomimercialeeeaey sess e ere eee nee Nae ees
IPR CKAG OSE soos sees eee eee eee oes oe eee eae
IPACKOLS 22 seo ssee oe eee oe oe anes Se eee eee
Blamtsyebalc kines seesse = se eee oe ae ee eee ee eee ee
ihe Je welisess—= seen ae ae eee (aL a ae eee Sees
[BH@MVVAI SON: 22) ce eae ea. Ss See aeneee cen ee
Siructurevotweate=—- 2th Silat. eee ee Sees ete ee eee eee eae Le
Pollen 23 sa. seu teeees ee sae os ee we tes
Soecessionnot Vv esetables sa =) seen: n= oeo ne weet earn a eee eee
Strawherbiesss 2222s. eek 2 eee ee ee ce sees
SPATE USh nn Ole sees eer ee eas oan Santee ease ee eee See eae
Summer Meetine. Aiccountiolve s--- == ose saee eee eae eee eee eee
Sweet Corns Savini sees seen Ue ee ee orem we eee Cee eae eeee
Siyit DSya Mn Uilts aero s Oh ae RS oes 2 oh oe een eae es acess wee ve
Mallby dames bapembyer-ccocesoe ett ec enact nee pee aeeeeeneeeees
NamariKi70. Paper bVa sees ose-. eee sea eee ees Sete ean a see
PaplinWJamMess VAeWROl a2 So rok oo cee ae Bees clese Ea te 3 ear
[Barifl Ons UMpGi see a Sek che cece ae ee pn Be eer rene
MASty HOME SUrrOUNGIN est. os ae ae eee ee bee aioe oe eee eee eases
*VaylOrNGeO:, Paper DY2q = 2 seen = oeseaciae ceases eee atat ee eeuee
PREMEMIN GLO SCO aes cas los cose eas Se eee ses eae eee eee eee eesaeeee
Nelier, Gaiki;,ANOte Dy. 25-5 Seve Seat canes ak comes oa eos seceeeeeee ce
emperatureiand (Pines: 2222 yztece esse eease oe eee ees soe eeeesee ans
Templin iv ONObCY Dyes soisasee Se ee sae oe care eee ee ee ee eee
RRNICTS MEL GSP NOC) DY n= s- soe Senos ca as cp tae ecer eee aen ee eeeeeee
STLHOMAS Orn WNOLE DY Hoses =o a ee es eee eee
"Thorpe; John vAGdress) bys-. S22 hose se enon co are cses ee ee taneesseecees
EEHOLNS INALIVG Sacre aos Seo te- is Osan iecos ace eak alee ee ee ea eeeweee
SPileu DO ran Ales aa= fas cone ce ea Sees coe wee Ree Seale eee ease eee eee
‘Tile; "The! Chokingob: .-\222 a. 2. s = oatece coe sme steee oe see cee eee ae
Timber onavwaste Mandssseses eens eee ee Le pas eer ee eae) amen
iWihensto Outte 2. 2s bees. Cobos sis satan eens ccs wacesse meses ees
TNimetoiwlant/ Strawberries. 22... aecetas cen ensecceee esas eaceeeeae
5a passes aoe e tees She 20!
INDEX. 595
PAGE,
MIOOLEMVVIING FIN OUOID yomerarA aa Scones oceans tbe oes oy ated 2 ee eee coe SEL aw abe eee ae ane 450
Pomaror ul fure sesseerees see eae ae nee es ene ae uae eS Fk BS Joe eee ee 463
RMX DIDUitabis tater N alr veces. Bete renee) on Dee bee co eee 2s Shee 179
Womatoes nO anningeeteore ye soH ates cet oe kook eel cee eee soc cce nacelle ee So ee 481
TneOnon Groun dvs se Cees ees scee ee ceed peplce Soe sees coco tecac ccc nes o eee ene 478
Gull Furs Ol esee ase rt en abc 32 es one elas Soe A od SO Or ee ae ae ee 470
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