Lage We ties if BW SOTO he a be CLM WMA Wl Lill YATE : CEE a Ne pte: } Bs 7 aM tite ute oe oF 7 . - ao iy sti : : . oo fey ad x) oy MOS HIDE it : a GD, 7 Hh} ah ahs ity Hits a Ba 13} pt is fe BOT Hs ey as . i So ane ar SATE . BY ue me. * A 33 BY) ry OR EERUANE RM he ie fs te a . _ co ns ne ye a) OY by, Ne ts ee ae a : ), pit . ae Fe $5 Ree a ies R GIN ti +6 a FE AUB yet RY: a as Ms oe ae Neha Ra C i. . ; : o Ha Hy oS BM) i 3 ae a ANTES ADEN Aa INES ance y ae s ee ete idee MAP AEH Gacy Rett ‘ yy ay oy j A Sei DA Gz 904, ASA 1) 4 aS NB : AiArwiite), eat YATE =)\_ We SSeS ————————— 7 Z Ane ‘ny A — ines he 7 ” 35TH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI 1892, MEETINGS AT CHILLICOTHE, J UNE 7, 8,9, AND CaRTHAGE, DEc. 6, 7, 8, 9, 1892. L. A. GOODMAN, Secretary, Westport, Mo. JEFFERSON CITY, MO.: TRIBUNE PRINTING COMPANY, STATE PRINTERS AND BINDERS. 1893. MISSOURI STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY: To His Excellency, Daviy R. FRANCIS: This report of our society work, of the meetings held, of the moneys expended, and of the local societies and counties reporting for the year 1892, is respectfully submitted. L. A. GoopMAN, Secretary, Westport, Mo., 1893. Westvrort, Mo., March 30, 1893. To the Commissioners of Public Printing : IT require for use of the Horticultural Society 3500 copies of report of State Horticultural Society, 2000 copies bound in cloth, 1500 bound in paper, which I desire printed as per accompanying sample. Respectfully, L. A. GOODMAN, State Secretary. Approved (to be limited to 400 pages ): A.A. Lusuxrur, Secretary of State, J. M. SEIBERT, State Auditor, Commissioners of Public Printing. OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR 1893. iim di 3 PRESIDENT, NEW | J.C. EVANS, North Kansas City. BOT VICE-PRESIDENT, ; = N. F. MURRAY, Oregon. SECOND VICE-PRESIDENT, SAMUEL MILLER, Bluffton. SECRETARY, L. A. GOODMAN, Westport. TREASURER, A. NELSON, Lebanon. LIST OF HONORARY MEMBERS. IVS Spd we Ree NAIL RISC UAT) 1 yas reve roycvese13 nieve 0/o/aze ejefayaveisioiolsje.e © sferelets .e/sisvetrslarelslecaisfela sreseisieisareinys Kirkwood, Mo....... CL HIG EEG Hy MEMUIN S MCA IN = coyefecraisicvetclsiete ete syoistersiacels lores: w.n; Prof. CHas. A. PEFFrEeR, Columbia. Botany. Prof. G. C. BRoADHEAD, Columbia; B. F. Busy, Independence; J. KircuaraBer, Springfield. Nomenclature. J.B. Witp, Sarecoxie; Raupu SmitH, Laclede; A. AMBROSE, Nevada. New Fruits. F. LIONBERGER, Hugo; A. H. GinKEsSON, Warrensburg; W. P. Starx, Louisiana. Ornithology. Prof. L. T. Kir«, Sedalia; C. W. Murtrretpt, Kirkwood; W.H. Tuomas, La Grange. Injurious Fungi. B. T. GattowaAy, Washington, D. C.; Prof. W. TRELEASE, St. Louis. Packing and Marketing Fruits. E. T. Houuistuer, St. Louis; C. C. BELL, Boonville; C. THorp, Weston. Transportation. C. C. Bret, Boonville; J. M. Ricr, Sarcoxie; L. A. GoopMAN, Westport. CONSTITUTION — OF THE MISSOURI STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. ArTICcLE I. This association shall be known as the Missouri State Horticul- tural Society. Its object shall be the promotion of horticulture in all its branches. Art. II. Any person may become a member of this soclety upon the payment of one dollar, and membership shall continue upon the payment of one dollar annu- ally. The payment of ten dollars at any one time shall constitute a person a life member, and honorary members may be elected at any regular meeting of the society, And any lady may become a member by giving her name to the secretary. Art. III. The officers of this society shall consist of a president, vice-presi- ident, second vice-president, a secretary and a treasurer, who shall be elected by ballot at each regular annual meeting, and whose terms of oflice shall begin on the first day of June following their election. ArT. 1V. The elective officers of this society shall constitute an executive committee, at any meeting of which a majority of the members shall have power to transact business. The other duties of the officers shall be such as usually per- tain to the same officers of similar organizations. Art. V. The regular meetings of this society shall be held annually on the first Tuesday in December and June, except when otherwise ordered by the exec- utive committee. Special meetings of the society may be called by the executive committee, and meetings of the committee by the president and secretary. Art. VI. As soon after each regular annual meeting as possible, the presi- dent shall appoint the following standing committees, and they shall be required to give a report in writing, under their respective heads, at the annual and semi- annual meetings of the society, of what transpires during the year of interest to the society : Orchards, Vineyards, Stone Fruits, Small Fruits, Vegetables, Flowers, Ornamentals, Entomology, Ornithology, Botany, Nomenclature, New Fruits, Inju- rious Fungi, Packing and Marketing Fruit, and Transportation. ArT. VIL. The treasurcr shall give a bond in twice the sum he is expected to handle, executed in trust to the president of this society (forfeiture to be made to the society ), with two or more sureties, qulifying before a notary public, of their qualifications as bondsmen, as is provided by the statute concerning securities. Art. VIII. This constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the members present at any regular meeting. LIST OF COUNTY SOCIETIES. Adair County Horticultural Society— R.M. Brashier, Pres’t, Kirksville. E. A. Patterson, See’y, Kirksville. Atchison County Horticultural Society— C. W. Coe, Pres’t, Tarkio. R. Lynn, Sec’y, Tarkio. Barry County Horticultural Society— M. H. Roberts, Pres’t, Golden. G. G. James, Sec’y, Exeter. Bates County Horticultural Society— C.I. Robards, Pres’t, Butler. Henry Speer, Sec’y, Butler. Barton County Horticultural Society— C. H. Fink, Pres’t, Lamar. D. B. Hayes, See’y, Lamar. Buchanan Cou ty Horticultural Society— D. A. Turner, Pres’t, St. Joseph. C. McKann, Sec’y, St. Joseph. Butler County Horticultural Society— D.C. Kitteridge, Pres’t, Poplar Bluff. E. R. Lentz, See’y, Poplar Bluff. Camden County Horticultural Society— J. W. Burhans, Pres’t, Stoutland. J.D. Reagan, Sec’y, Stoutland. Central Missouri Horticultural Society— H. W. Jenkins, Pres’t, Boonville. C. C. Bell, Sece’y, Boonville. Greene County Horticultural Society— J. Kirchgraber, Pres’t, Springfield. G. W Hopkins, See’y, Springfield. Republic Horticultural Society— T. W. Wade, Pres’t, Republic. R. C. Villes, See’y, Republic. Henry County Horticultural Society— M. L. Bonham, Pres’t, Clinton. J.M. Pretzinger, Sec’y, Clinton. Holt County Horticultural Society— N. F. Murray, Pres’t, Gregon. S. Blanchard, Sec’y, Oregon. Mound City Horticultural Society— D. B. Browning, Pres’t, Mound City. J. M. Hasness, Sec’y, Mound City. Howell County Horticultural Society— W.G. Gano, Pres’t, Olden. Will. George, Sec’y, Olden. Jasper County Horticultural Society— B. Hall, Pres’t, Carthage. Z. 'T. Russell, Sec’y, Carthage. Tri-county Horticultural Society— S.M. Hood, Pres’t, Sarcoxie. J. Carnahan, Sec’y, Sarcoxie. Lafayette County Horticultural Society— Dr. W. A. Gordon, Pres’t, Lexington. C. Teubner, Sec’y, Lexington. Laclede County Horticultural Society— A. Nelson, Pres’t, Lebanon. E. B. Kellerman, Sec’y, Lebanon. Conway Horticultural Society— W.H. Getty, Pres’t, Conway. R. O. Hardy, Rec. Sec , Conway. S. H. Schmolhorst, Cor. Sec., Conway. Lawrence County Horticultural Society— J. B. Logan, Pres’t, Marionville. B. Logan, Sec’y, Marionville. Linn County Horticultural Society— Ralph Smith, Pres’t, Brookfield. G. W. Martin, Sec’y, Brookfield. Livingston County Horticultural Society— G. W. Weatherby, Pres’t, Chillicothe. M. L. Brooks, Sec’y, Cavendish. Mercer County Horticultural Society— H.R. Wayman, Pres’t, Princeton. J. A. Kennedy, Sec’y, Ravenna. Montgomery County Horticultural Society— F. Gutman, Pres’t, Hugo. C. Hausser, See’y, Hugo. Pettis County Horticultural Society— G. B. Lamm, Pres’t, Sedalia. L. T. Kirk, Sec’y, Sedalia. Polk County Horticultural Society— G. W. Williams, Pres’t, Humansville. J. L. Strader, Sec’y, Humansville. Phelps County Horticultural Society— Robert Merriwether, Pres’t, Rolla. W. W. Southgate, Sec’y, Rolla. Tri-county Horticultural Society— J. H. Holloway, Pres’t, Richland. S. Kellar, Sec’y, Richland. Ripley County Horticultural Society— J.G. Hancock, Pres’t, Doniphan. T. W. Mabrey, Sec’y, Doniphan. Saline County Horticultural Society— J.T. Stewart, Pres’t, Blackburn. Thos. Adams, Sec’y, Marshail. Vernon County Horticultural Society— A. Ambrose, Pres’t, Nevada. J.G. Kinder, Sece’y, Nevada. Miesouri Valley Horticultural Society— J.C. Evans, Pres’t, Harlem, Mo. G. E. Rose, Sec’y, Rosedale, Kas. SEMI-ANNUAL MEETING HELD IN CHILLICOTHE, JUNE 7, 8,9, 1802. A large collection of fruit-growers were seen in the court-house before the opening of the sessions. A fine lot of berries were spread upon the tables, and in spite of the excessive rains the berries were in fine condition. A large collec- tion of seedlings were sent from Columbia, and among them were some very fine ones. After a mutual hand-shaking and a renewing of oldacquaintance, as well as forming new ones, the Society was called to order by the Presi- dent, J. C. Evans, at 8 p. m. June 7. Rev. Mr. Sapp gave the opening prayer, after which a bit of music was well given by the local society. The welcome address by the Mayor, Fred Hoppe, gave the Society a new hope for the success of fruit-growing. The response by the President stated that this meeting was of special importance to all Missourians, because of the part the horti- culturists were to take in the World’s Fair. Missouri has taken 26 premiums at New Orleans, and a number of medals at other places, and has yet to take the second place in an award. It shall be so at Columbian Exposition, and all we ask of our fruit men is to give their aid in whatever they are called upon to do. Ten thousand dollars have been set aside for the horticultural dis- play, and if every one will assist, a good showing can be made with that amount. HORTICULTURE IN MISSOURI. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN—AS the representative of and on behalf of the State Horticultural Society of Missouri, I take great pleasure on this occasion in thank- ing you most heartily for the invitation to hold this our semi-annual meeting in your beautiful and enterprising city, and for the warm and enthusiastic welcome which you have given us to the freedom of your city and the hospitality of your homes ‘8 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. As members of the State Horticultural Society, we have come from our homes in distant parts of the State, to meet with you and receive as wel! as to impart information, to improve our store of knowledge, and thus prepare for more eflicient work in the field of horticu‘ture by an exchange of ideas gathered from our varied experiences, our successes and our failures in the pursuit of an art instituted by God Himself, who, immediately after the work of creation, planted a garden east- ward in Eden, in which he made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life in the midst of it, and a river went out of Eden to water the garden. When all was perfected, man was placed in charge and commanded to dress and keep it. We are not told how long our first parents were left in possession of this beautiful garden with all its wondrous fruits and enchant- ing flora. But we are told that after the fall they were driven out and the tree of life ever after guarded with a flaming sword lest man should return and eat of its fruit and live forever. Ever since the fall it has been a constant struggle for the human race to pre- serve and improve the grain, fruit and vegetables upon which we subsist. ‘True, in tropical countries there are many vegetable and fruit productions in a state of nature suitable for human food, and others that with little care yield incredible quantities of food, among which we find the bannana turning off forty to sixty tons of ripe, luscious, healthy, life-sustaining fruit from a single acre. Yet strange but true it is that in all those highly favored countries, so richly endowed by the gifts of nature, where it would seem the horticulturist would bave nothing to do but stretch out his hand and pluck the golden fruit, we find the very lowest and most worthless strata of the human race; while in temperate regions of the globe, where it requires the greatest thought, ingenuity and effort of man to produce his daily food, where the horticulturist must ever be on the alert and up early and late to combat and overcome the adverse conditions of nature, our race has made the most wonderful development, and reached the highest point yet attained in all that is great, good and noble. Here we find our fruits and veget- ables as well as menand women of high culture. In the early history of our race, while men were nomadic and wandered from place to place, but little attention was paid to agriculture and much less to horti- culture, and in fact under such conditions, we would scarcely expect either to be found in a flourishing condition any more than they are now found among the untutored tribes of Africa, or the wandering tribes of our own North American Indians. But whenever and wherever advancing civilization has taken possession of the earth by a more permanent tenure, man has been obliged to improve the art of horticulture in order to keep pace with the increased number of consumers. High civilization demands high and scientific culture of soil, and the most improved methods of food production to feed the teeming millions of the world’s rapidly increasing population. Fortunate for us, and mankind in general, that itis within the scope of horticultural research and labor to increase the yield, improve the quality and produce new varieties ; the result of our labor in this art stands next to creation itself. ‘There seems to be absolutely no limit to improvement and new achievements. And for a field in which to operate there, is no place of equal size on the face of the earth better adapted to the highest perfection of horticulture than this magnificent State of Missouri, centrally located. in the sisterhood of the great commonwealth, that form the strongest and most brilliant galaxy of United States that the world has ever beheld—containing as it does the most wonderful combination of soil, climate, mineral, fruits, vegetables, flowers, birds, animals, SUMMER MEETING AT CHILLICOTHE. 9 and every description of the choicest building material, and great rivers to water our gardens if need be, and bear our rich products on their deep swift currents onward to the markets of the world—just the very place where we may work with a laudable ambition to regain the lost Eden. We have now in our possession more than forty medals and awards of merit on Missouri fruits, which we are proud to say have always borne off the highest prize when in competition with fruit from other States. On the south slope of the Ozarks we find a country fast becoming famous for the production of tine peaches, where we find the Olden orchard of niae hundred acres, mostly peach, and the largest in the United States. With all our great natural resources, and our favored market location, with our two hundred and twenty-five thousand farms, our twenty-five thousand fruit-growers, with over fifty million fruit trees already planted in orchard, and an annuel income of fifteen million dollars over home con- sumption, with a strong State horticultural society to lead, backed by scores of earnest and enthusiastic local societies and fostere@ by our State, who wil! dare to place a limit on what we may accomplish in the future? Kew persons realize the importance and the value of the products of our orchards, and the rapid growth of horticulture in the United States. ‘i wenty-tive years ago the estimated income from the sale of fruit in the United States was twenty million dollars. And we had plenty of croakers at that time, howling too much fruit. Now the estimated income is one hundred and twenty million dollars, and we have newly settled States, territories, towns, cities and communities, both at home and in foreign countries, calling for more and better fruit. Shallthey haveit? Thisis a question for the people of Missouri to answer, in a great measure. It always has been and will still be the aim and ambition of our State Horti- cultural Society to supply the growing demand for fruit with a succession of the best, put up in new clean packages of full standard size; to reduce the cost of pro- duction by improved methods of care and culture, and transportation by increased quantities, so our railroads can afford to run special fast fruit trains; to educate and induce our people to give their orchards better care and culture, to pay more attention to floriculture and the ornamentation of their homes, public parks, ceme- teries, pleasure grounds, college and common school grounds, all of which will have a tendency to develop our dormant wealth, educate, refiue and make our people happy. The great Columbian Exposition, to open in Chicago next year, will doubtless be the largest and grandest that the world bas ever beheld. As the representative horticulturists of the best fruit State in the Union, it will be our pride and our ambition to show the fruits and flora of Missouri in aJl their glory and perfection. When the spies that Moses sent to view the land of Canaan returned after forty days’ search, they reported the land as flowing with milk and honey, and this is the fruit of it, calling attention to the specimens of figs, pomegranates, and the mammoth cluster of grapes that was borne on a staff by two of them; but we are not able to take it, for it is inhabited by men of great stature, Now we do not wonder that such a country produced giants, or that the spies carried back speci- men fruit to show their countrymen; they knew very well it would be useless to tell of such wonderful fruit without making a show of it, for no one would believe them. So with Missouri. It will be folly for Missourians to write and talk about their resources, their fruit and other products in the future. The question will be, where were Missouri and her boasted products at the World’s Fair? In anticipation of this question and for our answer, we want to go up to Chicago with the finest specimens of all that 10 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. we possess that is great and good. Such an exhibit will cost time, work and money, but if properly done will return to our people ten-fold what it will cost, and send our State along the great highway to wealth and prosperity, and win from the world the welcome verdict, that of all the State exhibits at the great. Columbian Kxposition, Missouri has the greatest and the best. N. F. Murray, Oregon, Mo. After the rendering of a beautiful selection of music by the chorus—“ Flow softly, sweet breezes, from over the vale”—a talk was given by Prof. J. C. Duffey on “ Injurious Fungi.” The black-rot, scab, bitter-rot, may all be prevented by the use of the Bordeaux mixture. Later in the season add Paris-green for the codlin moth. Be careful with the use of arsenic on the peach-trees. It burns the foliage easily. A very weak solution must be used. There are many edible fungi which are often supposed to be poi- sonous. Toad stools are poisonous, but most all the mushrooms are edible; even the common “ puff-ball” is edible while fresh and young; gather and fry like beef-steak. We may eat almost any of them with impunity. Question—Are we to understand that there is no use applying the fungicide after the scab appears ? Answer—The Bordeaux mixture is a preventive, and not a cure. It will only prevent a further spread, but not cure that already on the fruit. Prof. Duffey has eaten all varieties, and finds that they contain more nutriment than fish and nearly as much as beef-steak. One variety ( Henderson’s) is superior, and he thinks they should be grown much more extensively. Question—What causes twig blight ? A. Nelson thinks it is caused by a beetle boring into the twig. Prof. Duffey: Bordeaux mixture is a preventive. THE ROSE. [A paper read at Hantsvill3, Mo., at Farmer s’ Institute. ] Who first named the flowers? Who gave them, not their Latin titles, but the old, familiar, poetic, rustic ones that run so curiously alike in ali the different tongues? Who was it first called the lilies of the valley the “ Madona’s tears ?’” Wko first called the rich red clusters of the oleander ‘' St. Joseph’s nosegay ? ”’ Who first called the hyacinth the plant of sadness, and the starry passiflora the ‘+ Passion of Christ?’ Who first named them in the old forgotten days? ‘These sweet and simple names are known the world over, or at least whereever Euro- pean languages are spoken. The German maiden in her pine woods, the Tuscan in her vineyards, the Spanish child amid her forests, the farm girl in the purple English meadows, and the meek-eyed peasant girl driving her milch cow throug h the sunny fields of France—all these gathering flower or blossom from the wayside or garden wall, give these flowers the same name with the same pathetic sweet- ness. Who gave these flowers their names filled with such sweet meanings ? SUMMER MEETING AT CHILLICOTHE. 11 My subject, the rose, I find first mentioned in the Song of Solomon, the sec- ond chapter and first verse, where he calls the church the *‘ Rose of Sharon,” the * Lily of the Valley.’? Next in mythology I find that at first there were no colored roses, all being pure white, untilina fearful battle the blood ran like water, and on that field where nothing but white ones bloomed there sprung up red ones. But so much for mythology. But coming on down to the 16th century, we find in English history what is called the ‘‘War of Roses’’ between the Duke of York and the Duke of Lancaster. They even went into battle with their roses pinned on their coats, they being their ensign. Sometimes the White Rose party was victorious, and then the red; and woe to the party that was defeated, forno quarters were shown them. Even a boy, the handsome son of the Duke of York, was stabbed to death for wearing the white rose which should have been anemblem of peace. At last the White Kose party gained the victory and proclaimed Edward of York king, and from that time until now the rose, and especially the white ones, are emblems of peace, joy and gladness. They have been woven into love tokens and into garlands of honor; they have been offered as a solace in the hours of grief, and reverent hands have placed them above the dead. They have beautified the home, they have graced the mar- riage feast, the altar and the grave. We now have not only the red and white roses, but the cream, apricot, yel- low, pink, and even the green rose; and they are divided into many classes—such as the Hardy Ever-blooming, Monthly Rose, the Hardy Monthly, Hybrid Tea, Polyanthea, Noisette and Ever-blooming, Climbers, Hardy Climbers, Hybrid Per- petual, Tree Rose, and last the Moss. In cultivating the rose, the first thing to be considered is the soil. Any good mellow ground will grow them, but we prefer a rather stiff loam. Always avoid low, wet ground. Well-rotted manure, chip dirt and barnyard scrapings deeply spaded in make healthy vigorous plants. After the soil bas been carefully prepared, the after-culture is light. Stir the soil once a week, if possible; do not let the weeds grow; prune all the dead branches; keep the roots moist, and away from drying winds. Green-fly is easily subdued by dusting the moist leaves with powdered tobacco. The rose-slug is quickly killed by dusting the insects, the whole plant, in fact, with road dust on a sunny day. Mildew, which affects the leaves in early spring and fall, can be gotten rid of by dusting with powdered sulphur. Last summer, when my roses were so large that the stems could not hold them without a support, so many people would exclaim, ‘‘how do you make your flowers bloom so beautifully?” Itistoldina few words: I weed them, work them, and water them for very love of them; and last, but no means least, I treat them most generously to copious draughts of liquid fertilizer. I hope the day is not far distant when every lady in the land will under- Stand the cultivation of this lovely flower—this queen of flowers. Because one woman wrought such ruin in the first garden, it devolves on her daughters asa matter of retribution to make their gardens all over the world as fair and bright as possible. ‘Iheodore Parker says: ‘‘Every rose is an autograph from the hand of Almighty God on this world of ours.” He has inscribed his thoughts in these mar- velous flowers, which sense and science have been so many thousands of years seek- ing to understand. Our own Longfellow speaks of flowers as emblems of our owr great resurrection—emblems of the better land. ANON. 12 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. ORNAMENTATION OF OUR COUNTRY HOMES. The distinctive difference in our country homes I can no more plainly show to you than to cite you to the wide difference that exists, not only in our portion of the country, but which I see everywhere here and in every community, and that isin the homes of our stock men, and peculiarly our agricultural portion on one hand and those of our horticulturists on the other hand. A man whose whole time and interest are devoted to the breeding and raising of cattle, horses, mules or sheep can scarcely find time to spend a day or a dollar on his yards and gardens in the way of ornamentation, whereas the horticulturist never fails to find time and means to beautify his yards. But it is something prac- tical that my subject calls for, in helping to awaken an interest in beautifying our homes and how to doit. What I have to say will not be new to many of you, and yet it is the same old story of ‘‘ line upon line.” Our country home varies from that planted in the native forests surrounded by many old trees, perhaps evergreens, a large yard in grass where the horses are often turned to graze, or the chickens and hogs are allowed to roam at will, to that of the pioneer on the prairies without a fence or a tree about the home, where oftentimes not even grass is to be found, and horses, mules, cattle, sheep, hogs and chickens can ‘go as you please.”” Between these two we have all grades of houses and yards, some pleasant, some agreeable, some tasty, and some even handsome and picturesque. I do not wish so much to instruct the horticuiturist, or to induce him to plant, as I do to awaken an interest in the minds of many of our country home- Keepers that much taste can be displayed in the planting of our new and old places, and that it can be done so easily. First, then, if it is necessary, and | am sorry to say it is, we will have a fence —not a heavy fence, but one just as light and low as the circumstances will permit. So many of our yards are spoiled with their fences ; in fact, if it could be possible, I would like to see the fences abolished entirely, but as this cannot be done, do the next best thing and make them as light and airy as possible. Next, let us have a green lawn. A good set of blue-grass forms the most beautiful of all yard fronts. Sloping or rolling, as the case may be, it matters not if we only have it well covered with a good grass sward. The position of the home from the road is a very important matter, for if we have our house too far from the road we will have more lawn than we will take care of, and it will cost too much to plant it properly, and hence we find so many places £o sadly neglected. [ have found that the greatest drawback to the pleasant planting of our coun- try homes and their ornamentation is a want of knowledge of what to do and how to do it easily. ‘The farmer is so busy that he has but little time to give, and little knowledge, and no thought on the subject, so that it is no wonder he lets the mat- ter run at looseends. IL have found in many instances where I have met such a friend and such a place, that after a half hour’s talk with him on how to beautify his place with but little trouble and less expense, invariably he was induced to do it. But, above all this, if we can get a love of out-door life and the beauties of our trees, we have a lever to work with that will move the hills, rocks and stumps and make ayard. Then, if we can suggest some easy means of reaching the desired end, we may be sure that there are many who will adopt it. A house standing about 100 feet to 150 feet from the road, and, if on a corner, about the same distance from each road, will give any farmer all the room he will need for the front yard. SUMMER MEETING AT CHILLICOTHE. 13 Do not plant in regular order, but by all means plant in clumps or groups, leaving a bare spot of lawn anda clear view from the house to the road, especially from the principal windows of the kitchen and sitting-room. Plant a clump of evergreens here, a clump of shrubs there, a clump of one kind of deciduous trees here, another kind there ; a bunch of a variety of hardy herbaceous plants in one bed and a bed of roses in another. These, being of common varieties, cost but little and are soon planted. But what | want to warn you against is indiscriminate planting. If you have not enough time and money to plant allat once, do not, I pray you, donot by any means plant a tree, or bush, or rose, or shrub, just as the notion happens to take you, orjust because you see that there is room between two otheritrees to put it. Such planting will make your yard a mixed medley, and will be a tangled mags of trees, shrubs and vines in the years to come. If you cannot plant your yard at once, and wish to keep planting as you find things which suit you, or as they are given you, plant judiciously and with system; have a plan and follow it. Have your clumps of evergreens, deciduous trees, shrubs and roses, and when you do plant any of each of these, plant it in its proper place with its proper kind, and in after years you will be glad. Another mistake, and a very ‘great one, is in thinking that there is no beauty except in a large tree or trees and shrubs. Now the beauty of them is in seeing them grow and caring for them until we come to love them as we do our children. Plant, then, small and young trees, and plenty of them, so that the growth may gladden your eyes and hearts every time you return to your homes. Does your heart go out in love to your home and your children when away from them? do you love to have them about you, on your back, maybe loving and caressing you? Well, if so, you can realize how much a true lover of trees and plants thinks of the ornamentals of his yard. These trees and shrubs will grow in your affections and the affections of your children until they come to love every tree and shrub in your yard. Don’t you believe it? Well, just try and cut down a half dozen of them because they are too thick or are spoiling one another, and have your wife and children, as I have had, pitch onto you, and scold and beg for the lives of the trees, because you are cutting down their friends. I wellremember an instance where a large old white oak had been for years, and the American ivy covered it toa height of sixty feet (where it had been sawed off), untilit was one solid column of green in summer and scarlet in autumn, how every one in the whole country admired the beautiful column, until 1t seemed as if it were a part of the beauty of our village. One day a heavy storm came, and it was laid flat on the ground. The people in passing could not be kept out of the yard, but would come in and express their sympathy for the old tree, as for a lost friend. Pardon the digression. [am anxious to show that the best invest- ment we can make is toplant a few trees in our yards and let them grow with our children, and our love with them. Inmy own home,I think more of my trees than I do of my house, and I have a good one too. TO PLANT CHEAPLY. Plant a clump of elm, a clump of sugar maple, a clump of soft maple, a clump of white pine, a clump of Norway spruce, a clump of red cedar, a clump of shrubs, Althea, Weigelia, snow-ball, a clump of lilacs, a clump of spirea, a bed of roses, hybrids and June, a bed of peonias, phlox and hardy perennials, and, if you can afford it, a bed of house plants. These, put out in proper places, so as not to interfere with the view from the house, will, with very little expense, give a very 14 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. pleasant yard. Small evergreens can be had one foot high for ten to fifteen cents , trees two years old, of the varieties given, at abuut the same price; shrubs, two years old, at five to ten cents; roses at fifteen to twenty cents, herbaceous plants at five to twenty cents. The total expense of such planting of such a place need not exceed $10 to $15, and will prove the best investment a man ever made ona farm The roads and paths should be as few and simple as are needed only, because they take more time to keep them well than any other thing on the place. Adrive from the gate, circling or straight, to the side of the house, and thence to the barn, with a path from the front gate to the front and side of the house, is all that is needed. This path if angling or curved will be much the better, but never somuch 0 as to cause a person to turn out of the way in going from the house to the gate. The back yard may be used for indiscriminate planting, and many things not proper to go into the front yard can be used in the rear,and without so much system. In fact, it may be a mixed mass or a conglomeration if you chose to have it. Plant thickly, and if some die you do not miss them, and as soon as they begin to crowd, © take them out by transplanting er cutting down. Donot be afraid to cut down when necessary, any more than you are to plant where necessary. On my own place I have cut down twice as many trees as I have left, and will have to do more of it. The planting of larger places, or ornamentation of city homes, is not in the province of my paper, and yet [ cannot help but notice the great mistake that the city people are making of letting their places be so much crowded as to spoil their beauty. I tind that to be the case much more so in California than even in our own State. One fine, well-perfected tree, with plenty of green lawn, makes a prettier show than a dozen planted too closely, and one well-grouped clump of trees is much more beautiful ina lawn than would a dozen scattered here and there. If you do plant thickly or indiscriminately, be sure in after years to begin your thinning in time. Ornamenting our country homes can be very much assisted by roadside plant- ing. Not by any means planting in single lines of trees about the reads, but if the road is straight, then, by all means, plant the trees in groups along the road; and at every corner, especially, make a clump of trees. If the road is irregular or is very winding, then one, or still better, two or three rows of trees along the line, lends much beauty to the drive. But one straight line of trees along a straight road is too much of a sameness, and especially so if the land is very level and the road very long. Such planting adds very much to the beauty of our country homes,and its tendency is to build up and elevate the tone and character of our people. A road- side planted in groups gives a very pleasing effect to the traveler. And then you all know that trees do so much better when growing together than in single rows. A road with a clump of elms here, a clump of maple there, one of white ash, one of pine, one of larch, one of syeamore, one of spruce and one of cedar, will give such a delightful sense of relief to the passer-by that he invariably falls in love with the surroundings. I wish that | might arrange a plan of planting and have a cut made, with the number and varieties of each kind of tree, which would be of some assistance to those who would learn; but it is with this matter as with many others with which the horticulturist has to deal. He is a teacher and a preacher to every one whom he meets, both by example and precept. I believe that he is the most liberal- minded of all our public men, and is able and willing to give advice without money and without price, and yet the people will not always follow. SUMMER MEETING AT CHILLICOTHE. 15 I have given directions for the most simple manner of improvement for our country homes, because in my own practical work I have found such advice to be most generally followed, and have never yet failed when talking to a farmer in convineing him of the real money value of such an investment, and have invariably had him follow it. A word or two about forming our lawns and lam through. I have always had the farmer plow up the whole yard in the fall, leve] and harrow well, as he would for a flower-bed. Sow wheat*and then timothy—if in spring, sow oats—and then blue-grass, two bushels per acre, and in the spring two bushels more per acre. I do this that we may at once get a green yard, and then when the wheat is cut we will still have a green surface, and that long before the blue-grass forms a sod. By the second or third year the blue-grass runs out the timothy, and we get a good sod by mowing only two or three times a year, which is about as much as I find the farmer willing to do. Do not understand that this plan of forming a lawn or planting trees can be applicable to our towns or cities, or even many of our larger farmers, but it is the only practical way of improvement of our country homes, and we may be sure if thus once started, the love for it will grow and grow until it has found something better. Every one who visited San Rafael will remember with delight the long wind- ing road up to the top of the hill where we got the view of the ocean and bay, and there on the top what a delightful view lay before us in thevaliey, and how judi- ciously the planting had been done in clumps and clusters all over the whole hill. Hon. W. T. Coleman planted better than he knew when that was done, and the 375,000 trees which he planted have been so beautifully arranged in clusters and groups that they add an hundred-fold to the beauty of that beautiful landscape which lay before us on that beautiful morning. I called on those near me at the time to be careful to notice the beauty of the planting while they were admiring other things. Well, this was just the object-lesson 1 wanted to give, and the one I wanted to illustrate in my paper. Planticg of Forest Park at St. Louis, you can better appreciate if you have ever driven over it as I have done with the man who so beautifully laid out those grounds. L. A. Goopman, Westport, Mo. After another selection of music, the Society took a recess until 9a. m. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8—9 A. M. Society called to order by the President. The following commit- tees were announced : On Fruits—N. F. Murray, Z. T. Russell and Powell Jackson. On Flowers—Prof. J. C. Duffey, Mrs. A. Nelson and Mrs. L. A. Goodman. On Finance—S. W. Gilbert, E. L. Pollard and D. A. Robinett. On obitury—C. Hartzell, J. N. Menifee and W. W. Knoop. Final Resolutions—L. Chubbuck, C. W. Gregg and A. L. Zimmerman. The following paper on ‘‘pruning’”’ is by Wm. Saunders, horticulturalist and and gardener, United States degartment of agriculture: 16 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. “Pruning is an operation of vast importance in the managment of trees, and the principles upon which it is founded must be clearly understood before complete success in fruit culture can be attained. The time of pruning, whether during the fummer or during the winter, will depend upon the object to be attained. A brief consideration of plant growth will assist us in determining this question. When a seed is deposited in a suitable ger- minating medium, ita first effort is to senda root downward in the eafth, and then push a shoot upward into the air. The seed contains within itself all the nutri- ment necessary for this purpose, but as soon as the young plant is so far formed its. mode of existence is changed, and it becomes dependent upon the soil and atmos- phere for future support. The elementary substances absorbed by the roots undergo decomposition through the influence of the leaves, and the material is thus prepared for further root growth and extension, but is dependent upon the health and actiou of the foliage; and, although in germination the roots are first formed, their growth is due to the action of the foliage of the plant that produced the seed from which they emitted. It is therefore apparent that the increase in the size of the plant, the quality and quantity of its secretions, and the extension of its roots, are all dependent upon the healthy action of the leaves. When it is considered how essential the foliage is to the healthy development of the plant we may well pause before infringing upon the reciprocal action nature has established between the roots and branches, for it is evident that every branch or leaf removed has an effect either for good or for evil upon the plant. The correlative action between the leaves and roots being so intimately connected, it follows that any diminution of leaf growth during the period of active vegetation must retard root development. Hence it is an axiom, now becoming recognized, that summer pruning weakens growth, while winter pruning produces a contrary effect. Sum- mer pruning can be useful where wood growti isto be checked, and it will be repressed in proportion to the severity of the removal of the foliage. ‘“¢ Fruit-trees when planted in a generous soil frequently attain a luxuriance incompatible with a fruitful habit, and their flowering may be somewhat hastened by judicious pruning or pinching, so as to retard wood growth, but care must be exercised, and much observation and experience are requisite before the object can be safely attained. Winter pruning invigorates wood growth. Whena portion of the branches of a tree is removed, after the fallof the leaves, the balance of growth is destroyed and the roots have the preponderance. The remaining buds will now shoot forth with increased vigor, an important consideration with trees or vines that have become weakened from over-bearing or other cause, imparting new vigor to weak and sickly plants. ‘The time for winter pruning may be regu- lated by the condition of the plant. If pruned immediately after the fall of the leaves, the shoots will be stronger the succeeding season than they would beif the operation had been delayed till spring. ‘This arises from the fact that during the winter the plant still continues to absorb food by the roots, which is distributed over its branches. And,as the principal flow of sap is always directed to the extreme points or shoots, the high buds are most fully developed. ‘If, therefore, pruning is delayed till spring this accumalation is cut and thrown away, and tothat extent the plant is weakened. Early winter pruning is eminently advantageous to native grapes. Asthe retained buds become charged with sap during the winter, they start and advance rapidly—a matter of much moment where the summers are rather short for ripening the fruit and wood of tnese plants. There is a tendency in many varieties of trees to form strong central growth at the expense of the side branches, more especially while the plants are SUMMER MEETING AT CHILLICOTHE, 17 young. Pruning these strong shoots in winter only increases the evil, unless summer pruning is attended to by pinching out the end of every shoot before it gains sufficient headway to injure the growth of the lower branches. Strong growths should be pruned in summer and weak ones in winter. In the manage- ment of hedges, where uniformity of growth is important, this rule should con- stantly be kept in view. ‘*When the size of a tree is the only object sought, summer pruning should not be practiced. But it may be said that pruning of any kind is a negative operation, and probably it is within the limits of possibility that trees may be trained to any form and maintained in a fruitful ecndition without any instrumental pruning whatever, unless to remedy diseases and casualties. It is much easier, for in- stance, to rub off a bud in May than it is to ent out a branch in December. and ifa judicious system of disbudding and pinching was strictly followed there would be no occasion for winter pruning. Or were it possible to place a tree in such soil and under such conditions that it would only make a moderate growth of well-ma- tured wood, little, if any, pruning would be required. ** But as all these conditions are difficult to realize in the bappy ccmbinationr, we have to resort to pruning, and a knowledge of the principles involved will we= terially assist the operation.” The above paper is well worthy of the most extensive circulation, as it is not for one locality only. The same will do for any state in this Union, if not for all the world. It is not only for apple trees, but for all fruit-trees and hedges, and, in fact, in all kinds of timber or shrubs and vines, provided we understand what we are trimming for—fruit, flowers or wood. I think every fruit-grower should be in possession of the above valuable paper, as it is exhaustive in its consideration of the subject. When we give the carpenter the plan for a building, he can see before he begins work how it will look when finished. The man who can make an engine can see every rod, every bolt that is required before he begins work, and see just how it will look and run when done. Now, are there any of our professional pruners who can go into an orchard of two or three-year-old trees and see how the trees should look when fifteen or twenty years old, and train them to that, so as to throw the fruit to the center and strength of the tree, and never cut any larger limbs than a good-sized pipe-stem? The man that can do this must have the prac- tice and be educated to this business the tame as the carpenter or engineer to his trade. I have been trying the above plan for eight or ten years, and find that my eyes can’t see ahead far enough, so I have to cut larger limbs than 1 would like to. But by pruning every fall and winter we can get them in shape without cutting any very large limbs. Formerly [ trimmed my old orchard in June, but have long since been satisfied that June pruning will not do for all trees. Mr. Saunders tells us that when a tree is exhausted by fruiting, or otherwise not healthy, it should be pruned in the fall for eight or ten years. I have pruned in spring. Mr. Saunders says to make a vigorous growth fa!l pruning is best. Iam fully satisfied that this is true. Ihave noticed a little fall pruning, and the trees have done exceedingly well. Wm. BrRopBEcK. APPLE ORCHARDING Should claim the attention of every Missouri farmer that has high, dry land, for there is nothing connected with farming that will pay him half as well as apple- growing, if he goes into it wisely, and one need not go into it otherwise at this day and age of horticulture. As evidence of this fact, let me call your attention to the H—2 18 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. following estimates and figures: A few years ago the legislature of Illinois passed an act to protect the purchaser of tax-title land in hisimprovements. In estimat- ing the value of orchards, they estimated apple trees at $1 each with one year’s growth; $1 was added for each year’s growth for five years. This same estimate was made by a jury in our circuit court in Grundy county in a case of Dickerson against Hard, for the non-compliance of the terms in a lease in which Hard was to grow an apple orchard of 100 trees. Dickerson got judgment for $500; the time of the case was five years—the orchard should have been five years old. Remember, these estimates were made under oath. Now what I want to show is that the profits of an apple orchard begin with the planting of the trees, for many hesitate to plant orchards, because they think the profits are too far off. You can see by these estimates, which we are bound to accept as facts, that we can advance the valua- tion of our land to $500 per acre in five years, for 100 apple trees is about the right number to an acre. But the valuation of your orchard depends very largely upon how your trees have been propagated, and the main object of this paper is to show liow a tree should be propagated to cause it to come into quick and profitable bearing. Hear: If you would have your orchard do you good, You must grow your trees from bearing wood. Toexplain: The cions for your trees should be taken from healthy, vigorous trees in full bearing. Remember, nature produces her like in everything. These grafts should be made so that they can be planted deep enough to cause the cions to emit roots; then you will have a domesticated tree, root and branch. If a Ben Davis it is Ken Davis, root and branch—a tree that will come into bearing as soon as itis large enough to support an apple. Yes, I have seen apples as large as quails’ eggs on these grafts the first year, grafts not more than t i1ree inches high. ‘These young trees matured apples at four years old in the nursery rows, and some of the trees bore one barrel of fruit at six years in the orchard, eight years from grafts. This orchard has been very profitable to me. ‘The first ten-acre orchard that I planted the trees had been propagated from water-sprouts. ‘This orchard is 17 years oJd, and has never produced fruit enough to pay for the growing of the trees. The twigs or terminal branches still retain the characteristic of water- sprouts. Last winter I sold 20,000 water-sprouts from this orchard to a wholesale nurseryman. He ordered them tobe one to three feet long. I made the bundles average three feet. This ten-acre orchard has been very productive in this respect. The balance of my forty-acre orchard was grown from bearing wood, and I failed to get one thousand water-sprouts from this thirty-acre orchard, ‘Trees grown from nursery trimmings are too late coming iato bearing to make a profita- ble orchard. To make a success of your orchard, you must know that your trees hdve been propagated from bearing wood; then if you have planted the right vari- eties on the right location, and are proud of your occupation, your success is certain. Now in conclusion, let me give a few reasons why I would be a fruit-grower: First, apple money is the easiest money that a farmer can make, because the work of the orchard can and should be done during the summer and fall months. The harvesting and marketing of our apples must be done in October and November, during our beautiful Indian summer, when the roads are always good. ‘Then our money all comes in together, which makes ue feel good. We can then go into winter quarters and read and post ourselves on the topics of the day and sympa- thize with the live-stock farmer, who has to expose himself to the inclemency of the winter weather in feeding and caring for his stock, and finally beat out of bis profits SUMMER MEETING AT CHILLICOTHE. 19 by his more successful competitor in our southwestern grazing country. I would plant an apple orchard in Missouri, because it is the best apple State in the Union. If every farmer in Missouri who has high, dry land would plant a commercial orchard, in ten years Missouri would be the richest State in the Union. ’ Tuos. LuKE. REPORT ON ORCHARDS. Burier, Mo., June 6, 1892. To the Officers and Members of the Missouri State Horticultural Society : Business engagements preventing my attendance at the meeting, I send my best wishes, and as a member of the Committee on Orchards, submit the following report : ¢ The condition of orchards ina general sense in this part of the State is very good, but the fruit crop will be light. The trees almost universally showed a full, strong healthy bloom and gave promise of a large crop, but the excessive cold rains and high winds, with unseasonable cool weather, so interfered with fertiliza- tion that most of the fruit has dropped. A very hard and long-continued wind from the northwest, while the leaves were young and tender, so bruised and battered the foliage on the northwest side of the trees that they yet look as though a fire had been through that side of the tree: and as the north side of the apple tree in this climate is usually the most fruitful, that alone cuts quite a figure in the crop. Seab has appeared to scme extent, but not serious; the present prospect is for from athirdto a half crop of good apples. Peaches will be scarce—mostly seed- lings. Pears scarce, Plums part of acrop. Onthe whole the fruit prospect is anything but flattering. There was not as much tree-planting done last spring as was done last year, on account of the continued wet weather, but I do not know ofany branch of agriculture but has suffered, and perhaps we horticulturists are as well off as others, if some of our bright hopes have failed of fruition. Respectfully submitted. HeENRY SPEER. PRUNING THE APPLE TREE. Mr. President and Members of the Missouri State Horticultural Society : I cheerfully comply with our secretary’s request to write this paper. Though 80 much has been written year after year, to get complete information of when and how to prune, it has long puzzled fruit-growers more than any other one thing connected with horticulture, because of the tendency of horticulturists to go to extremes. One of these is the idea that nature knows how to prune, and will do all that is necessary and at the right time.. As well say that our fathers ought to have been satisfied with the first seedling apple, and that we should let our trees grow in grass and weeds and let nature care for them altogether. Others neglect to prune an orchard for some years, and then pruning severely is very injurious. If trees are properly trained while young and sprouts or suckers rubbed off once or twice each summer, it will obviate a great deal of after-pruning. Some of you may wish to know if I put my ideas and advice into practice, and if my orchard gives evidence. All trees planted, cultivated and pruned as described for the past ten years, [I am pleased to show the visitor, both trees and fruit. But lam ashamed to show my old orchard, which was sadly neglected, and has not paid me for the little care I gave it. : 20 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. The best time to prune is about the last of September, or immediately after the apples are gathered. One advantage in pruning before the leaves have fallen is, We can more readily observe the limbs which nature is about to throw off, and assist in the operation. Prune any time during the winter months when the wood is not frozen; but if the object in pruning is fruit, regardless of the health or long life of the tree, watch the progress of the season and prune when the trees are iu full leaf, leaves fullgrown. At that time the wound heals rapidly, and the tree is less likely to throw out sprouts. ‘The pressure of sap under the process of growth has a tendency to check the rapid growth of the tree, causing it to form fruit-buds ; but the stumps of the limbs taken off at this season of the year will be more sub- ject to decay—often to the heart. Again, if the object in pruning is to forma compact, well-rounded head, then prune or shorten about the time the buds begin to swell. Cutting off limbs at this season of the year causes it to throw out two- or more branches. But for general pruning, early spring is the most unfavorable season in the year. Ihave seen pruning done at that time when the sap is the thinnest, and it would then run out and blacken the bark. If the lower limbs bend too close to the ground, they should be cut off, and it is sometimes necessary in this case to cut off some large limbs. For this purpose I use a double-edged prun- ing saw. Never forget to paint all wounds an inch and over-in size; this is an important point. I use a mixture of tar and wood ashes. When planting, select well-shaped, thrifty trees; [ prefer two-year-olds. Cut out all the cross limbs and see that the head is evenly balanced, with, however, the heavy side to the southwest, as that side needs more shade to protect the trunk and main limbs from the hot afternoon sun, leaving a center stem to avoid forks. Don’t forget the nature of the different varieties, such as the Ben Davis and many others, which are inclined to a low spreading top. Start the top about four feet from the ground; while to such as make a more upright growth, give not over three feet of trunk. No intelligent orchardist would give the same shaped top to a High Top Sweet as toa Winesap. The extremes of being either too compact or too open should be avoided. Have the top sufficiently compact to shade the trunk, yet open enough to admit the air and light freely. if we want large ears of corn, we cultivate; if too many stalksin a hill, we thin out; then if we want large, well- matured and richly colored fruit, we must prune. This should be done while the trees are small. The pruning can be done with the fingers and knife. If this has been neglected large limbs must be cut off, and this destroys the natural equilibrium between the top and the root, and to restore this suckers or sprouts must be thrown out. If pruning has been neglected, care should be taken and not all be done in one season; asa rule, only small living limbs should be cut off (those of the inside which interfere with others and shut out the sun and hinder the pickers in gather- ing the fruit), and ail water-sprouts, unless it be those you want to grow into limbs. The loss of small limbs is not felt severely, as the wound heals quickly. All dead and diseased limbs should be removed. No detinite rule can be given for pruning, as no two trees are alike. One must notice the tree and then let judgment. and good sense be the guide. DISCUSSION. Mr. Murray would like to have a discussion on this subject. He differs from the writer; says we make a mistake in trying to make all trees have a uniform appearance. Differs also as to the height of head. Sees bad results from high-top trees, on account of sun-seald, ete. An ounce of preventive is worth a ton of cure. SUMMER MEETING AT CHILLICOTHE. 21 Mr. Gilbert thinks it would be a good plan to have plates of ideal trees of various varieties as guides in pruning. Mr. Lowe—An orchard planted on rich lands needs more pruning than on light soils. Wants the bodies three feet high, and thinks dif- ferent varieties need different pruning. Never buy a tree with a fork. Prune in February and March. Mr. Menifee would like to have all kinds of trees and conditions, and have a number of expert pruners give an example of their work in order to get practical suggestions from actual operations, and discus - sion of the same. Mr. Ralph Smith: Willow Twig must be pruned closely while young. Take off with a pen-knife and finger-nail. Watch the trees two or three times each season, and take off all branches not needed. Keep out the professional tree pruner. Winesap is hard to manage, and itis best to have afew water-sprouts left on the trees (for what reason he does not say). Levi Chubbuck tells of an example of pruning given before one of the Farmers’ Institutes by the Secretary, Mr. Goodman, where a Jarge peach tree about ten feet high was given him to prune. He thinks the eye better than the ear for this purpose. He indorses the plan of illustrating pruning with actual practice in the orchard. Mr. J. W. Green: No one will deny that a tree should have a center stem. We should never have forks, and branches should be thinned out. His trees are so pruned. Thinks we should give rules not to prune instead of trying to teach how to prune. Mr. Evans thinks not to prune at all better than too much prun- ing. Mr. Finn has tried the no-pruning process and finds the apples Keep much longer if grown on unpruned trees, and he thinks they keep longer because they are not properly matured. Prof. Duffey condemns the idea of trying to make all trees like a sample or an ideal. Cut off the branches when you have to do so, and no sooner. Mr. Murray agrees that no man can make his trees conform to an ideal. It is sheer folly. His orchard is pruned but little; pruned about one-sixth of the trees, and his trees not pruned gave four bush- els to one on those pruned. Apples will color well on trees not pruned, and there will be more of them too. Prune judiciously, andif you have a doubt about a branch, let it alone. Mr. Menifee—I am still in doubt about the best plan. Heads the trees three anda half to four feet. 22 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. Mr. Murray—tTrees will fill up in the center if they are thinned out, and he does not see why we should cut out in order to have them fill up with water-sprouts. Mr. James—I am still in the fog, and think we must use our own common sense. I sell trees; customers leave the selection to me and follow my directions. Finds the best apples on dark heavy soils. Mr. Russell recommends one-year trees; pruning is not needed if never begun. Mr. Nelson indorses the same plan. At four or five years the trees will be larger and better than if three-year trees had been used. Heads the trees at about three feet. Mr. Turner thinks it necessary to take out center stem and check terminal bud in the nursery. Mr. Humphrey sets out one-year trees. Nature will start the leader. Mr. Hartzell thinks we can learn from one another. Thinks that uature is the best guide, and that we should not interfere any more than is absolutely necessary. Mr. Nelson thinks we should plant for the future and not expect too much ourselves. An orchard 40 < 40 feet in the east was called the premium orchard and yielded immensely. Would plant thickly, and then thin out as the trees demanded the room. Would plant orchards for our children. Mr. Murray gives an example of an orchard in Northwest Missouri. Mr. Woods planted twenty years ago a large orchard, and was ridicuied by his neighbors. One year he sold the apples for $8000. Got the benefits in his life, and his sons after him have sold 812,000 from the same orchard. It has done its duty,and is dying now. Should be cut. down. Mr. Goodman—In planting apple trees, plant large one-year trees or medium two-year trees. The trees should havé a center stem and be pruned very little when set out. Get all the growth possible, and never cut off a branch during the growing season for at least three years. Get all the leaf growth you can. You cannot get rapid growth if you keep taking off the leaf buds during the first three years. Always keep a center stem and get the branches to come out at nearly right angles as possible. ; If you should have a fork, cut one of the branches back severely and leave the other for the leader. In time the one cut off will form a branch. Never cut the fork off closely to the tree, it leaves too large a scar. Never cut off the leader. Cultivate well and take nothing off the ground after the third or fourth year, but continue the cultivation SUMMER MEETING AT CHILLICOTHS. 23 every year the same as you would acrop of corn. Prune very little and get all the leaf growth you possibly cau, thus urging the trees into bearing at five years of age. Cultivate the trees well, feed them well, care for them well, and take all you can get from them well; and if at 18 or 20 years they show signs of decay and are profitable no longer, cut them down and have another orchard coming along to fill up the loss of these. Never plant a young orchard in an old orchard, but cut the old one down and clover the land for two years, when you may again plant if necessary. Mr. Hartzell—I gave four $20 bills for the apples on one tree 40 years old. Believes in planting for the future as well as the present. The tree occupied 80 feet square of ground, 640 square feet. Mr. Goodman—I can see no advantage at all in this. We cannot expect to have our orchards live to be 40 years and give us $80 each, but we can expect trees lO years to give us $10 or $20 each, and I prefer four of such trees to one of the other. Besides, in the one case it costs five cents per bushel to pick them, and in the other about one cent per bushel, for we have our men pick 100 bushels each per day. Dr. Green—Saw a prize orchard 1616 feet. Apples were close to the ground, so that ever apple nearly could be picked from the ground. It was a sight to behold. Prefer planting 1616 feet and then cutting out. Mr. Goodman—lIf you have the nerve to cut out in time you may so plant, but if you have the least doubt of yourself do not attempt it, but plant 2525 feet. If you cut out in time the trees cut out will pay all expenses of the orchard before it is time to cut out if you use proper varicties. Let us now take up the subject of varieties: Mr. Ralph Smith, Linn county—Ben Davis, Willow Twig, Wine- sap, Jonathan. Mr. Murray, Holt county, says Willow Twig is worthless in his locality. It fails on high, light loam. Winesap is good. Ben Davis is adapted to more soils and locations than any other variety. Best ship- per, and will carry to Europe easily. Would not plant any one variety in large blocks, but would mix other varieties with them to assist in fertilizing the bloom. Ben Davis and Jonathan are our best. We can- not raise too many Jonathan; they can be sold in car lots at high prices Our oak lands give the best color to the fruit. Well-colored fruit sells for more than poorly colored of the same variety. Grimes’ Golden also sells well, but is not so profitable. Mr. Hartzell, Buchanan county—Would plant Jonathan for a per- manent orchard, and Ben Davis between them. Our children will want something better than Ben Davis. 24 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. Dr. Green, Livingston county—Jonathan has not paid on our lands, and would not plant it. Mr. Smith, Linn county—Ben Davis will pay better at $1 per bar- rel than Jonathan at $1.50. He finds that woodland soil soon wears out. Willow Twig pays him well. Ben Davis is growing in popularity, and is not likely to be superseded. Stark is good if it did not drop so badly. Mr. Lowe, Livingston county, names Red Margaret for early, Penn. Red-streak, Maiden’s Blush, Ben Davis, Willow Twig, Jonathan, Wine- sap. Winesap must be grown on rich, heavy soil, and then they are fine enough for any one. Mr. Goodman— Where Jonathan succeeds so well, would not plant Ben Davis at all. Itis of the Spitzenberg family, and one of the very best apples in the whole list, and there is no use of anything else‘for money where it does so well and keeps so well as in Northwest Mis- souri. Where they will not keep, we now have buyers who will take them to cold storage and hold them until the holidays, when they bring good prices. : Question—Is there more than one variety of Janet ? Answer—Yes, two; the Rawles Janet is the one which should be planted always. A. Nelson, Laclede county, saw a man who had an apple called King William, and he found it to be Minkler; speaks well of Minkler; says it is better than Ben Davis, good as Jonoathan, and is planting it largely. York Imperial is very fine also; large and handsome; thinks it profitable, and is planting it largely. Clayton also is a handsome apple, of good quality, and thinks will prove profitable. Babbitt has not fruited yet, but is planting it. Question—Is York uniform enough for commercial purposes ? Answer—It is rather rough and irregular. Finds the Minkier bears as much as the Ben Davis, and is a good keeper also. Evans says it does well in South Missouri, but the York is too uneven in size. Mr. Murray says Babbitt is a seedling of Baldwin, but is larger and brighter color. Does well in Holt county yellow soil. In Iowa, in an orchard of a number of varieties the Babbitt pays more than any other variety. It is of uniform size; tree open head, strong, erect grower, extra good tree; good keeper. SUMMER MEETING AT CHILLICOTHE. 2 Cr N. F. Murray then read the following excellent paper on MISTAKES IN HORTICULTURE AND HOW TO AVOID THEM. We trust that no one will, for a moment, catch the idea from the caption of this paper that we design it to be a panacea for all the mistakes in our profession, but, after thirty years’ experience in the open field of horticulture, in which we have made many mistakes, we humbly trust that we may be pardoned for attempt- ing to point out some of our mistakes, and show by the light of our costly experi- ence how others may avoid them. Mistakes, although defined as unintentional errors, are always unpleasant to ponder over by those who make them. Yet we have much greater admiration for that class who have the push and energy to always dare to do something, even if they do make some mistakes, than for those who stand idly looking on, with hands folded over their doleless souls, and ever Teady at the discovery of the least mistake by their fellow-men to shout, ‘‘ There, i told you so!’ Mistakes are frequent in all professions of life; they are made by the wisest and best of men, and some of them, although at first sight seem trivial’ have turned the course of nations. As adewdrop on the tender plant Has warped the giant oak forever, And a pebble in the streamlet sc int Has, turned the course of many a river, So with our mistakes: our little unintentional errors often change the whole enurse of life for good or evil, and more often for the latter. There is an idea too common to many people that most any one who takes a notion that there is money in fruit-growing can, without study or practice, plunge into the pursuit of horti- culture and ina short time make a success. “This is a great mistake at the all- important point of starting ,and should be corrected soon as possible, for 1 know of no profession in which it is more necessary to havea thorough knowledge to insure success than horticulture. The horticulturist is from the very nature of his profession compelled to deal largely in futures. He plants an orchard not for thisor next year, but ten or twenty years hence. He may carefully consult the public taste for fruit at the present time and cast his eye over the markets in which he expects to sell, and may deter- mine with some degree of accuracy what and how much the market will now take, but to determine what the market will demand in ten or twenty years from now is quite a different thing. In this we have but one lamp by which we are guided, and that is the lamp of past experience. And just as far as we can cause this lamp to cast its rays into the dark and uncertain future, we may follow with a feel- ing of safety. Beyond this we go at a venture—must walk by faith, not by sight. Twenty-one years ago we pianted 500 budded peach trees in Holt county. Some good friends warned us that it was a mistake because they would never bear. Others said it was a mistake because peaches would be so plenty that they would not sell at a paying price. But in spiteof all predictions, the fifth summer from planting brought our first crop, which netted $175. So we concluded that peach- growing in Northwest Missouri was a success and no mistake, and planted 2500 more trees. The first orchard continued to pay well for a few years. One year it netted us $900. but a series of hard winters set in and damaged our new orchard so that it never more than paid expenses. Some said it wa3 a mistake to have pianted so many, but with our success on the first and the impossibility of knowing what our future winters may prove to peach orchards, we felt excusable. One thing however, we learned by the experience is that it is a mistake because peaches pay 26 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. well for a few years in one locality, to conclude that they will always continue to doso. The 3ame is true ina great measure of other products of all countries. Some of our eastern States, once famous for the production of an abundant supply of apples for home use and to export, are now looking to the west (the apple garden of the world) for their supply. As our peach orchard failed, we enlarged our apple orchard, largely Ben Davis, which have paid us well—better than we expected, and the only two mistakes we are willing to plead guilty to on the apple orchard is. that we did not plant more and take better care of them. A few were allowed to be destroyed with gophers and borers. One can more fully realize what a mistake and loss this is in after years when looking along a fine row loaded with fruit. worth $10 per tree; said row has 20 trees and five vacancies where trees were destroyed. This mistake cost us $50 in one year, to say nothing of the loss in the bearing life-time of each tree. Fifty cents spent at the right time would have pre- vented the loss. One of the great mistakes of horticulturists in former years was planting too many varieties, but one extreme follows another; this is human nature in all countries, and for the last few years the tendency is to plant too few varieties. Especially is this true as to the early summer and autumn apples, the planting of which for market is being almost wholly neglected. There should be enough of the very best and leading varieties planted to give a supply of fruit in succession throughout the season. This the coming market will demand, and it will be a mis- take on our part not to prepare to meet it. ; Another point where it requires all possible knowledge and sagacity to avoid mistakes is in the selling of fruit, and the only advice we can venture on is to always pick, grade and carefully handle your fruit, pack it well in new, clean packages of standard siz>, brand your name and place on each package. Don’t forget the state you live in and brand them California, and don’t be afraid to ask and expect a good, fair paying price for all such fruit, and don’t imagine that we have all the fruit in the world and expect fabulous prices. . We remember, with a feeling of pity, one good old neighbor who, years ago, had 500 bushels of Janet apples for which he was offered $2 a bushel at picking time. He decided to sell and pay off the mortgage on his farm (a wise conclusion), but Mrs. —— advised him to put them into the cellar and hold for a higher price. The apples were stored; did not keep well and were peddled out at $1 per bushel. The old man was mych grieved at his misfortune. Ina few years both the old folks died ; the mortgage took the farm and left nothing for the family. We note one case showing the other extreme, where the fruit of an orchard was sold last year for less than $400 and 1000 barrels were gathered, worth in the orchard at. picking time at least $1800. And we should not wonder if the mortgage is still on the farm. All such mistakes hurt those who make them and work an injury to the eause. How can and shall we ever learn to avoid all mistakes in horticulture ? No, we can’t and never will. We must not expect perfection in thislife. It is human to err, and yet we are a firm believer in the progress of the human race and in our calling. When horticulture is recognized a profession as it should be, and when young men are thoroughly educated and prepared to fill this noble calling and engage in the pursuits of horticulture with a determination to honor their pro-. fession and make the most of it, then will mistakes in horticulture grow less fre- quent and harmful, as surely as darkness recedes before the sunlight of heaven. The subject of “ fertilization” was discussed for some time, and it was thought best to mix varieties in order to secure better fertiliza- tion. SUMMER MEETING AT CHILLICOTHE. 27 WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8—2 P. M. An invitation was presented by Mr. P. Finn of Carthage, strongly urging the Society to hold its annual meeting at Carthage, Mo., Decem- ber 6, 7, 8 and 9, 1892. ' Herman Yeager, of Neosho, sends word that we need not fear to plant grapes any more. They can be easily protected from the rot by spraying with ammoviacal carbonate of copper or the Bordeaux mix- ture. We can grow grapes as easily a8 gooseberries. Mr. Smith named what he considered the best grapes: Concord, Worden, Moore’s Early, Niagara, Pocklington. Prof. J. C. Duffey uses the Galloway sprayer and it gives entire satisfaction. Stahl’s sprayer is on the same plan but not so good. Uses the knapsack sprayer and cyclone nozzle. Commence before the leaves come out, and continue every week or two, and we need have no fear of rot. Mr. Murray thinks grapes will pay at a very low price in our home market. Likes Coleraine grape; it is white and a delicious grape. Ca- tawba is the best to his taste. Of course the Concord is the grape for the million. . Mr. Gilbert urges caution in this spraying business. Be sure you have a perfect spray and not a stream. THE UNSUCCESSFUL HORTICULTURIST. One class of horticulturists that are unsuccessful are those that are going to set a big orchard some time, but never get toit; it is alwaysas far off as next spring or another year, but when the time comes itis just as far off as ever. Another kind are those that wait till a fellow comes around setting trees with a nice pic- ture book ; he has some new kinds that are going to do a great deal better than any of the old kinds. As he hasn’t read the horticultural reports and doesn’t know which are best, he takes what the picture-book fellow wants to sell, and the conse- quence is a large proportion are unprofitable trees. His trees are very often shipped a long distance, and are often half dead when received. He could have gotten good trees in his own neighborhood—fresh dug—for a good deal less money, but the picture-book fellow told him that his neighbor nurseryman was all sold out of trees that were any account. He did not go to see whether it was so or not, but thinks it surely must be so, and takes the trees because he is afraid he will never get another chance to get any. Well, spring comes and he gets his trees; he is in a hurry and can’t spend much time setting them out; perhaps the ground is too wet, and the roots are crowded into a very small hole, the dirt tramped down, and he hurries off to sow his oats and plant his corn; don’t think about the trees, unless he happens to go that way, and then he doesn’t notice that the ground is cracked open down to the roots, but if the tree looks sickly, he notices that and says to himself: “show that fellow lied to me.”’ 28 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. Well, the weather gets hot and ‘the weeds and grass begin to grow and steal the moisture from the trees’ roots, but there is no time to cultivate and hoe them, for the corn and potatoes must be plowed and harvest and haying are coming on. So the poor trees have to take their chances, and a pool chance it is, if our unsuc- cessful friend gets them. Many of them yield up the ghost before the summer is Over; perhaps our friend goes by after harvest and sees how it is, and thinks he will help matters some and digs around the trees some, and kills some of the weeds; but the ground is so hard and lumpy that he thinks it is too much work to make it fine. Perhaps he hauls a few loads of manure and piles it around the trees so as to make the borer eggs hatch the better. He finds out some day during the fall, that the rabbits have been taking the bark off some of the trees as high as they can reach conveniently ; and he declares he must tie those trees up right away, or they wiil all be ruined. He goes by a neighbor’s orchard of young trees that have been properly cared for, and whose trees have grown four or five times as much as his, and he says it beats all what good luck some folks have with trees. When our friend gets his corn out, his oreliard isn’t fenced, the ground is frozen so he can’t drive posts. He says he don’t think the cattle will burt the trees much, so he turns them in; but the cattle think the end of the limbs taste better than the corn-shucks, and some old cow will be very likely to imagine that the trees are some enemy she must annihilate if possible, and she generally succeeds. Well,a few of our friend’s trees do manage to live through it all, but he tells his neighbors that an orchard don’t pay ; that those stories about them bringing in $200 to $300 a year per acre sound fishy; his trees go untrimmed, until they are altogether too thick, and then they get an over- dose of it; he lets half his apples fall off before he goes to picking because he had to get his wheat sowed first; when he takes a load to market he puts them in the wagon loose,and allows his team to trot part of the way, and when the shipper sorts out about two-thirds of them, he gives him a good rounding up for being so particular. After all, is it any wonder that our friend is unsuccessful ? M. L. Brooks, CaVENDISH. THE FUTURE OF BERRY-GROWING IN MISSOURI FOR THE PUBLIC, Isee by the program just received, is the subject that has been given to me to write upon. A great deal might be said on this subject; however, just now, I am so very busy with my berries that I can only use spare moments to writea little at a time, and so cannot dothe matter justice. But I think the ones that expect to grow berries in the future for the public would do well by trying to build up a good local trade in the towns within easy distance, rather than to depend upon a shipping trade; by doing so they will soon find out what kind of fruit the public prefers. Size isnot always the quality most sought for by the con- sumers, For church festivals, for instance, a berry of a more medium size gives better satisfaction. Mr. Llewellyn, a merchant in Mexico (who handles my fruit at that place), wrote to me recently: ‘ While on the berry subject I will say that size of fruit is not first question; some other points are often more important.” The most important points I find is to be prompt, always on time, never disap- point customers, evenif you have to put yourself to alittle extra trouble; and above all send good fruit. By so doing you will create confidence ; your customers soon learn that they can depend upon you to get whatever they want, and when wanted; and the one that builds up a trade of that kind in a town is very apt to have a chance to supply it in the future. Respectfully, F. LIONBERGER, Hugo, Mo. SUMMER MEETING AT OHILLICOTHE. 29 MY TRIP TO CHILLICOTHE. Aftera month’s hard work taking care of my strawberries, I dropped my work and started June 2d to see my neighbors and friends—see what they were doing and how they did it. At Olden I found cultivation had been delayed by wet weather. Apples be a short crop, owing either to extreme cold weather, high winds and electricity, or excessive rains, ora combination of all. Peaches, good crop on all high ground. The Michel Early, a failure. Blackberries, full crop. Raspberries, less than half a crop. Beg pardon, Mr. President and Secretary, for alluding to the style of berry package at Olden; they were ‘‘ wine quarts.”’ At Springtield I saw the biggest clover of the season in one patch. No ber- Ties. Another field that received good care produced a fine lot of Bubach. Cum- berland and Crescent, Michel Early and Jessie a failure. Did not even pick a case of them. I never have seen apple trees injured so badly by the winds. On the west and northwest sides the leaves have appearance of having been scorched by a fire. Poor show for apples. Kittatinny blackberry rusting badly, and will be plowed up. Knox and Snyder looking fine. Raspberries less than half a crop. At Lamar found our esteemed friend, C. H. Fink, very sick ; says he has 10,000 peach-trees, and won’t have ten peaches; apple crop very light. At Carthage I found one field of strawberries ; raspberries and blackberries had been rented last season; berries very inferior, and few of them. If thisis a fair sample of work we are to expect from renters, I hope I willnever be compelled to rent mine. Another field received good care, and the result very satisfactory, getting nice large Speece Perfection and Boyden. This grower assorts his berries as they are picked, and gets $3 per case for best, while common stock goes at $1.25 to $1.75. Raspberries haif a crop; blackberries looking fairly well; few apples. At Nevada I found all strawberry beds with too many plants in the rows for large berries, which has been the case with nearly every field I have seen. One grower has about 100 acres in small fruits, vegetables and orchard, all in high state of cultivation except the strawberries, and, of course, were shipping very ordinary berries; raspberries short half crop; blackberries fu!l crop; apples very short. At Schell City I found an elegant crop of the Jessie. Berries very large and fine. This grower allows no runners to form on his plants. At Clinton | could find no berries that were nice, although there might have been some, At North Kansas City I found a small patch in a garden that had received thorough cultivation. The plants four years old, and loaded with fruit. Among other varieties were the Jessie and Cumberland, Warfield and Bubach. These plants have not been allowed to make any runners since being planted, and they show well the care they have received. From what I have seen, I have come to the conclusion that the berry-growers of Missouri as a class have too many acres, and that if they would reduce their acreage three-fourths and give the one-fourth double or treble the amount of work they now give the whole, they would raise more crates of berries and receive more money than they do for what they are growing now. A berry-grower of Chillicothe told me to-day he could make more money out of an acre of sugar cane than he could off of the same amount of straw- berries. Surely there is something wrong here. The Flint Hill Fruit Farm is still in the race, and we yet hope to to make our mark, especially if we follow up the spraying which was so profitable a year ago. 50 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. Of course every year we find something new. This year it comes to us in the form of an iron-clad tree-wash, guaranteed to destroy all scale insects, bark louse, ete., and will give the trees a bright, clean, healthy appearance, and will drive out all borers that may be in the trees, and the moth will not deposit eggs on or about the trees during the season the wash is used. All who grow apple, peach, dwarf pears, quince, ash and other trees should not fail to use it, as it is not patented and sold ata high price. Surely this is a bonanza. This is the receipt: Take lime, slake and prepare as for ordinary whitewash in a barrel or box. Take enough at atime to make a bucket two-thirds full—pro- per consistency for ordinary whitewashing. Now add one pint of gas tar, one pound of whale-oil soap; dissolve one pound potash, or one pint of strong lye from wood ashes, or box of concentrated lye. Then add clay or loam enough to make the bucket full of wash of proper thickness, to be applied with a whitewash brush. If the trees have had the earth ridged up around them, take the earth away from around the collar and apply to the body of the trees from the limbs down to the ground, or down to the roots. Now, [I did not want to go into this blindfolded or make any more experiments on my peach-trees, as the spraying last season was about all they could stand, and for this reason I sent the receipt to our Secretary and asked him what he thought of it. In reply he said he thought the wash a good one, but would suggest the use of carbolic acid in place of the gas tar, and use a handfal of sulphur to each pail of wash. Of course [ puta man at work with a new, all-bristle whitewash brush. In less than two hours he came inand wanted a new brush, the wash hay- ing eaten the new brushup. I told him we better wait until 1 returned from this meeting, and now I beg of you to give me something that is a dead shot on the borers that won’t kill the trees or eat up our brushes in less than three or four hours, at any rate. Since writing the above [I have a letter from my foreman that says our trees are safe, but he thinks it gave the borers fits. 5. W. Griipert, Thayer, Mo. Secretary Goodman says that he had enough concentrated lye and enough carbolie acid to make a half barrel of the wash instead of a bucketful; otherwise it will do harm to the trees; but you may be sure that all eggs or insects have gone to the happy land if the wash touched them. He had used the strongest of lye directly on the trees and found no evil effects, but it is a waste of material as well as brushes to use it so strong. Mr. Hartzell says that hot lye will cure the yellows. Gave an instance of a woman who tried to kill a peach tree with boiling lye because it was affected with the yellows and she could not get it eut down: After putting all the boiling hot lye she could get for a week from her ashes, she gave it up and supposed she had succeeded. Be- hold, she found that the tree put on young growth and entirely recov- ered. SUMMER MEETING AT CHILLICOTHE. 31 The following letter was read: Cotumsi4, Mo., June 7, 1892. Hon. L. A. Goopman, Secretary Missouri State Horticultural Society : , My Dear Sir—Greatly tomy regret [ am unable to attend the meeting at Chillicothe, and must ask you to explain my absence. Thanks to the intelligent work of my friend and predecessor, Professor Clark, we have at the Station over 3000 seedling strawberries that are now in bearing, and itis the midst of their season. I regard it of the first importance that the fruiting of these plants be carefully watched and daily notes made. I am endeavor- ing to keep track of them, and hope by careful selection to get from the great number something worthy of more extended trial. {shall select the best, and let them make plants, and set enough to get a small bed of each in bearing next season. Then I want your Society to name men in different parts of the State to test our seedlings. I send you by express this evening 48 varieties of seedlings, each box labeled with name of parent and number of plant. These are not necessarily the best of- the collection, as a threatening storm has made it necessary to select them hastily. In their selection the principal points have been productiveness, size, vigor of plant. The very wet season makes it impossible to judge much of texture, and the constant rains have undoubtedly impaired the quality. I trust they may interest your members. They will serve as an example of our work. I have sent Jeaf and fruiting stem of each, so that you could better judge their habit. Having explained at length the condition of our work, I am sure your Society will agree with me in saying that [am best serving the interest of horticulture at this time by remaining at home. I shall hope to be with you at your next meeting. Permit me to extend to all your members who may pass through Centralia en route home, and to all others who can do so, a cordial invitation to come to Columbia and examine our seedlings and sample beds. The plantation is grassy, but thére is much besides grassinit. I should be pleased if at least a committee could come here and look over the work. Regretting exceedingly my inability to be with you, and assuring you of a hearty desire to co-operate with your Society in every possible way, L am, dearsir, Yours very truly, CuHaRLES A. KEFFER. Dr. Green answers Mr. Gilbert about strawberries. He must have 10 cents per box to make it pay. Blue-grass takes hold the first year and clover the second year, and it costs more to keep the grass out than the fruit will bring. Competition has put the prices so low that he cannot raise them profitably. Mr. Gilbert—If I lived where blue-grass grew as easily as it does here, I should be glad enough. We need better care and cultivation, and we can grow them for less than 10 cents. People north will pay for them, and they should average us $2.00 to $2.40 per crate through the season. Mr. Blake was in “Egypt” last week and found home-grown straw- berries in the market in abundance, and prices were very low. Some 32 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. shippers got $2.50 per crate, but others only $1.00, but people will pay more than that, and itis a question of transportation facilities. Mr. Gilbert—Onur first ripe strawberries were the first of May, and I found places to ship them to long before that time, so that they paid us well. REPORT ON SMALL FRUITS. Asamember of your Committee on Small Fruits, l submit the following for June, 1892: The strawberry made a very poor growth last fall owing to the drouth, and that means a short crop this season. However, the abundance of rain put such vigor into the plants this spring that we expect better results than we could other- wise have hoped for. Racster (Bederwood), Bubach No. 5 and Warfield No. 2 still head the list of old, and Parker Karl, Lovett’s Karly and Enhance that of the newer kinds. Weexpect about ove-half crop. Another season’s experience convinces ‘us more fully that no stereotyped plan of culture or limited list of kinds will prove satisfactory to all, especially when the seasons differ so widely as of late years. Our raspberry wood was never in a worse condition than now —all sun- burned and winter-killed, and some say otherwise diseased; but I have no doubt anew plantation on fresh land and all, would be right in ordinary seasons. ‘The Shaeffer’s Colossal comes out in flying colors, although a little blue. The Kansas, Lovett’s Early, Winona, Progress, Palmer and others, with their young wood, are all hopeful rivals. Time alone will test them and prove which are gems and which are bubbles. I put the raspberry crop of Holt county at one-fourth of a crop. The blackberry, too, suffered badly; even Snyder looks terribly sick. Many kinds are killed to the ground. Minnewaska, which has withstood the past four winters uninjured, is looking quite ill, especially on low, rich lands. It is about as hardy as the Taylor. We expect about one-third of a crop of blackberries, while currants and gooseberries are a failure. We never had so much dead grape-wood here before. Many kinds are killed to the ground. Moore’s Early and Diamond prove valuable grapes here. With no further trouble, we expect one-third of a crop of grapes. While we are always glad to see a full crop of all these good things, having a large surplus from last season, a light crop will suftice, and the prices will rule higher, and a light crop bring about as good returns as a full one, with very much less work and worry. So we thank the Gracious Giver for what we have and will be content. J. N. Menires, Oregon, Mo. NOTES ON HORTICULTURE. To grow strawberries successfully, it is necessary te give clean culture, and if left in a matted bed, should be thinned out so that the plants stand at least six inches apart. I have quite recently gone over some beds, and took out all the weeds, white clover and the weakest plants. This will make picking more easy, and the fruit will be finer. It is too early to report on the berries for this season, but will state that with me Hoffman, Van Diman and Michel ripened their first berries at the same time. A score of my new ones have been overflowed by the Missouri river, and are lost. Also a good-sized patch was covered with mud and sand. SUMMER MEETING AT CHILLICOTHE. oo A new berry, the Columbus,is among the promising ones left. This season will decide whether it will ever be offered to the public. Bubach, Warfield and Haverland, all are doing well. Old Capt. Jack and Cumberland are holding their own, Raspberries and blackberries I have but little to say about, as the new railroad runs through the main patches and destroys all. It will take some years to get even with this loss. ‘he new Wine berry frrm Japan is not hardy here, as they are winter-killed to the ground, so there will be no fruit. [ don’t think this oddity is worth its room unless it bears some fruit. Lovett’s 1000 raspberry is among the ones not in the line of the railroad, and is showing a fine crop of bloom. So is Minnewaska and Erie blackberry. Young peach trees will be found under trees that bore fruit last season, and can be taken up and set in rows to be budded next August or September. Any- one can bud if he is shown how, and many a man could raise his own trees and know what he has. There are two new ones that have come out that are said to bear every year. The Champion and Crosby are both said to be hardy in bud. I purchased a few of each—small trees—but fear there is but one going to grow. But as usual, I cut the tops off and used some of the buds ia strong stocks, and now see that both are growing, so that in this way they are secure. I mention this for others to profit by. These buds may grow enough to bear fruit next year, while the trees are dead, except one, and even if they grow would not bear fruit for three years. There are now half a dozen new plums bearing on large trees, the grafts of which were taken from small trees a few years ago, which trees may not bear for two or three years more. The curculio and I have a fight, but think the Turk will be defeated. The excessive and constant rains might have kept the eggs from hatching, as some think, but it is a mistake, for many are stung. A sprayer has been at work twice, but each time it rained the same or the nextday. it israining now to wash off what I put on yesterday. But it will be fought out on this line if it takes all summer. Six Wild Goose trees are loaded with sound fruit, so far, and will have to be thinned out to have them develop properly. The apple crop is very promising just now, and the Codling moth has not been doing much, yet the sprayer has been at work. About this spraying, I find that the foliage of apricot trees is most suscepti- ble to damage from the decoction that don’t hurt the plum. To those who have but a few trees that are small, any one can make a little sprayer with a thick elder stem, just as almost every boy knows what a water-squirt is. But instead of one large hole in the front stopper, there should be four little notches cut in the outside of the stopper. Some half dozen little trees on a hill some 150 feet elevation, to which it seemed extra labor to take up my big sprayer, were treated with such an one. Carried two buckets of water up, mixed it up there with the poison. To get at the right measure, it is so weighed in little packets marked for five gallons or ten gallons. When we go into the orchard with the barrel and sprayer, the dose is in proportion. One pound London purple or Paris green to 200 gallons of water is what I use in spraying apple trees, just double the strength as used on ‘the peach and plum, Next year will be the great exhibition at Chicago, and now is the time to pre- pare for it. 9 3o4 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. Where fruit is intended to be shown, the trees bearing too heavy a crop now should be thinned severely, or they will not come up to the mark next season. [I am now preparing the present crop of apples, to put up on Hertzler’s plan, and hope to show fifty varieties of this fruit at the exhibition next July or August of this year. Although we always have apples until the first strawberries come in (we had them this year), but this keeping them on into the next summer is of much greater importance than is generally known. ‘The only reason that this plan is not more generally bought and used, is that there are so many humbugs palmed off on the people that they are suspicious. ‘The only successful swindlers now seem to be unscrupulous tree agents, and the people seem to like being humbugged. Some half dozen fine roses are already in bloom here, and many more will soon be out. This makes summer bright. But the moving of my house to make room for the railroad causes us considerable trouble and inconvenience. From latest accounts our sister Mrs. Dugan is still very ill, so her presence at the meeting will be greatly missed. Owing to our unsettied home, and my not being quite well, it is not t likely that Il will be there. Wishing you all a pleasant and profitable meeting, . I subseribe myself, Yours truly, S. MILER. Question—Mr. Gilbert recommends hill planting: would he muich the whole of the ground ? Answer— Yes; and would cultivate and hoe the vines six or eight. or ten times, as found necessary. We must have no muddy berries. Mow the vines afcver the crop, and cultivate with a double shovel. Handle the straw over arail-pen to get all the cheat out of it. Hasno white grub to bother the plants. Mr. Menifee—Plants three rows 16 inches apart instead of matted row, and likes it much better. President Evans—Allows no runners in his patch. Has one bed foar years old, and it is perfectly clean. Mr. Gilbert—Prepared his ground as follows: Used land that had been used for garden truck two years. Put 40 loads of manure from an old hot-bed on three-fourths of an acre, and plowed it 18 inches deep, and after planting, cultivated it once a week. Mr. Murray—Prepares the ground one or two years before plant- ing, and fertilizes with wood ashes. Finds the raspberry crop will be short; many patches have been plowed up. Blackberries pay well, and will ship a thousand miles. Dr. Green—Gregg is good, hardy; Ohio is better; Souhegan can’t be depended upon. Plants up and down hill. Plows a deep ditch and then fills it up and plants over it; plants do much better that way. Hopkins good. Cuthbert pays as well as any berry he has. Turner no good. Black Caps are best; Ohio best. SUMMER MEETING AT CHILLICOTHE. 35 Mr. —. Hopkins is the most profitable raspberry with him. Kittatinny the best blackberry, and in fact the most profitable berry of all kinds he grows. Never cultivates at all, but mulches heavily between the rows. Dr. Green asks if the berries become too low, will it pay to make cordial, or can’t they be put in cans? Mr. Goodman says that it pays to can raspberries and black- berries at 5¢ per box, and a canning factory could afford to pay that for them for canning purposes. For mulching the majority preferred prairie hay first, wheat-straw second, corn-stalks third. HARDINESS OF PEACH TREES. To the Officers and Members of the Missouri State Horticultural Society : The subject assigned to me is one that I believe to be of great importance to the fruit-grower, but it is one on which I do not feel qualified to write with authority, from the fact that my observations in this line have been somewhat limited. Enough is known, however, tojustify the conclusion that there is a field here from which important results may come. It is a well-known fact that trees of the different varieties of apples vary greatly in their ability to withstand the rigors of the winter’s cold, and the same is true of the canes of the various varieties of blackberries, and it is notoriously true of the grape vine, the fig, the orange, and many other things. Then why does not the same law hold good with the peach? I affirm that it does, though perhaps less so than with some of the other things named. Seedling peaches will, and often do, bear crops when most budded varieties fail, and some varieties of budded trees will be loaded with fruit, while others have none. This has often occurred and continues to occur constantly and all the time ; hence the conclusion is reached that the peach, like other kinds of fruit- trees, varies, among its members, in its ability to resist cold. Why this is so may be more than [I ean tell, but it may be accounted for in part by the fact that in nature, asarule, high quality is obtained at the expense of hardihood, and this applies to the peach as well as to other things. The peaches now in cultivation have nearly all been selected for their fine quality and appearance without regard to hardiness of tree or bud, and, consequently, they are mostly more susceptible to cold than seedlings, which have been allowed to follow, to a much greater extent, the law of the survival of the fittest, by being propagated over and over again from seed of the hardier sorts which bear the oftenest. Thus, in a general way, there has come to be quite a difference between the budded and the seedling trees in point of hardiness. Another reason is that there is much variation in the size of the blossom, and in the amount of covering the embryo fruit has in its winter quarters. The blos- soms of some trees are fully twice the size of those of some others, and this, to some extent, makes a difference in the amount of cold they can stand. I have not a large collection of varieties, but among those I have, the Early York is, [believe, the hardiest, surpassing in this respect some of the seedlings which grow near it. It often bears a small crop when other budded varieties fail entirely. ‘The Sylphide cling has also borne a full crop when others had a very 36 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. light one. The Amsden and Waterloo are also quite hardy, while Stump-the-World is exceedingly tender. It failed to bear but a very light crop, even in the fairly favorable season of last year. But it may be asked by some, what does it signify ? supposing that some vari- eties are hardier than others, what difference does that make? Simply this: What has been done with the apple, the grape and other fruits, can with proper skill be done with the peach. They have been bred for hardiness, for quality, and for other desirable attributes, and success has crowned the efforts in these various directions; then the same may be done with the peach. By propagating from the best and hardiest, a race of hardier peach-trees may be produced that will stand several degrees of cold more than those now in cultivation. And when it is remembered that often the crop is destroyed by a cold snap that only sends the mereury a little below the danger point to the peach, it can readily be seen that any improvement in this direction might mean a great deal, and would certainly be hailed with delight by all lovers of this fine fruit. If its ability to stand cold could be increased by five degrees, it would enable us to have a crop quite ofen, when as it is, we have none. It would alsorender peach-growing a safe venture much farther north than at present. If only one full crop over the country could be secured by this means, it would be worth millions of dollars, and that would pay for a great deal of experimenting on this line and still have some left. But the origination, testing and propagation of new fruits is an expensive business, and, asa rule, cannot be done by private individuals. It takes too long and too much time, and consequently too much money—for “time is money’’—and the chances of success and of sufficient remuneration in the end are too great ; hence, but few persons care to begin an undertaking of this kind. This, it seems to me, might properly be takenin hand by our Agricultural Experiment Station, and be carried on by the authorities there on scientific principles through the necessary years of experimentation and to final and triumphant success. They have the means and the ability; will they do it ? Z. T. RusseLu, Carthage, Mo. Question—Which is the most hardy peach ? Mr. Goodman—Early York. Some varieties are very much more hardy than others, and there is no reason, to my mind, why we cannot and should not have a hardy race of peach trees, sufficiently so as to be able to stand 20° or 25° below zero and giveusa crop. This is one of the best fields open to our Experiment Stations, and it seems to me that it should be taken up ina systematic manner. A race of hardy people are found in the cold countries; a race of hardy cattle are in possession of the cold lands; a race of hardy ponies and dogs are found there: why not breed a race or rather family of peaches which will stand our climate and produce every year? Yellow-fleshed varieties are tenderer than white-fleshed. Cham- pion seems hardy. High grounds are the only locations fit for peaches. Never plant on the low lands. Trees may be covered or buried for amateur work, but it can’t be done on a large scale. Mr. Blake thinks that our Experiment Station has accomplished no good, nor will it until it gets into the hands of this Society, and SUMMER MEETING AT CHILLICOTHE. Si practical men take hold of it. Contrast the work of our Experiment Station and that of Illinois, where the horticultural work is done in unison with the Horticultural Society, and they have ten Horticultural Stations about the State, carrying on the experiments with the Experi- ment Station, accomplishing a thousand-fold more for the State than our Station has done or ever will do with the management now in control. Mr. Murray thinks if we want to grow peaches, we should go to the lands of South Missouri, where is the finest peach belt in the world, and there is room for thousands of people and millions of trees. PROTECTION OR NO PROTECTION Should be for an intelligent orchardist or farmer no question at all. We ought to protect our crops against the ravages of hail, storms, etc., ag much as possible. There is no doubt that the climatic conditions in our State underwent a very great change since the last forty years. Hail-storms, as well as cyclones or torna- does, were then hardly known, or at least very seldom. Now they are getting from year to year more frequent, and consequently its damages are representing immense sums. Where forty years ago was one acre of clear land there are now hundreds, and where you may easy find in our empire State for apples 1000 orchards for commercial purposes, you wouldn’t have found in those days a single one, even if you had hunted for itin bright day-light and a lantern in each hand. Now, every intelligent farmer or orchardist knows how we are protected. If I had to give the figures [ would say zero, and if it was not for Mr. McKinley it would, if possible, be less than that. I think it a good plan not to wait for Mr. McKinley, and try to help ourselves. In Kurope they have in many countries insurance against hail, storms, ete. Especially in Germany the mutual insurance in that regard is flourishing. You will hardly find a farmer, even one who owns but a small tract, who is not insured. That is in that country the general rule, as well as here the rule is not to be insured. Now, as nothing is sure in this world, and as the poor, hard-working farmers are the least protected, and as heaven plays very often havoe with those who should be in every respect the most protected, I think it very advisable to establish a mutual insurance company against hail and storms. if we consider what a value at this day is in fruit-raising, in wheat and so on, and how fast this value is increasing from year to year, and also the population, it looks very strange to me that the thousands of intelligent farmers and orchardists have not formed such an insurance company long ago. Let us therefore have one, and for the whole State. It will be as great a benefit for the single man as for the entire State. A single hail-storm may cause a loss of hundreds of thousands, and therefore it is better to pay afew dollars every year than to lose thousands in a few minutes. I remember they have it in Germany in mutual insurance companies that way: in case of loss the company appoints one man, the damaged owner one, and those two together one, and ail three appraise then the percentage of loss. Finally, let me thank Prof. Clark of Columbia for his excellent article ‘*Spray- ing Fruits.” Very respectfully, FERDINAND FLEISCHER. 38 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8—8. P. M. Music by the choir. After which an address was made by J. K. Gwynn on the World’s Fair matters, and a pledge that the Society could count on $10,000 for the Department of Horticulture. The Society pledged itself as willing to do everything in her power to help the matter along, and they would prepare to put up a large quantity of fruit in the glass jars for exhibition purposes. AGRICULTURE AND HORTICULTURE IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. ‘‘In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread,’ was the dictum of the Almighty early in man’s career. It still prevails and will so long as man inhabits the earth. This means that the bread we eat will only be obtained by effort. True, there are many in the world who seem only to have to open their mouths, and they are filled ; but still the fact remains that the vast majority of mankind have to put forth their best efforts throughout their careers to get enough toeat. This absorbs by far the large part of human energy,and promises to do so for agestocome. All effort then to advance the race must take these facts into consideration. Hence it is, believing as I do that mankind is to be elevated and advanced very materially through the intellectual development of our agricultural classes, and that a result of education should be to strengthen us for the battle for bread, that I take the position that the principles of agriculture and horticulture should be a part of our public school instruction, particularly in those attended largely by children of far- mers, the large majority of whom will be the future farmers and farmers’ wives. Something like 400,000 children are attending the country schools of Missouri, very few of whom but will be obliged to literally eat bread in the sweat of their faces, and that too in connection with agriculture. Should they not be taught as children those things which will enable them to most successfully earn bread to eat? ‘ Why, certainly,’ says every one, ‘‘and is not this a result of education as given?” Let us see. Among the things usually taught in our common schools are abil- ity to read from the printed page, to spell, to write with a pen, to analyze, parse and construct sentences, to name the capitals of states, the rivers that empty into the Atlantic ocean, to recite the multiplication table, and possibly extract square root. All of these accomplishments are very desirable, and by no means should be neglected; but are they not made, in the manner and connection in which they are taught, to contribute too much to the aims and purpose in life foreign to those which fate has set before the most of the 400,000 children of Missouri farmers ? To the child who is, as a man, to earn his living by farming, which is the more valuable accomplishment—to be able to read glibly from the printed page, and thus commune with the wise and great of this and other ages? or to be able to read from the pages of the book of nature, to read in the forests changing from brown to green, inthe coming and departing of birds, the flying clouds, the rain and rainbow, in the blooming of flowers and the ripening of fruit, and the myriad phases of life as seen in the plants, insects and animals with which the farmer has to do, the thoughts, purposes, laws and principles of the Creator? Surely the man who is on familiar speaking terms with nature is ina far better position to SUMMER MEETING AT CHILLICOTHE. 39 get bread, meat and honey to eat than is the one who cannot commune with her, even though the printed songs and wisdom of all nations be at bis command. He who knows the component parts of stock, foods, soils and fertilizers is infinitely better equipped for bread-winning as a farmer, than if he knows not these things but does know how to analyze and parge sentences in a dozen different languages. To know what is capillarity as affecting the rise and fall of soil-water is of far more value to a farmer than to b2 able to solve problems by the use of algebraic symbols; and to know thoroughly the root system of a corn or clover plant will make better farmers of the possessor of the knowledge than to be able to extract the mathematical square root. Itis not to be understood for a moment that I decry the need of instruction in the subjects usually taught in our country schools. There must be thorough instruction in these, but before agriculturists shall be- come an educated class, educated in the technical part of their business, this work mu:t be made a means to that desired end and not an end in itself, simply as that much done toward making lawyers, ministers, teachers, merchants, etc., worthy and needful as these callings are. But for the farm homes from which to draw fresh blood and brains in the bright boys and girls that gofrom them to add luster to the so called learned pro- fessions and commercial ranks, and make good the losses resulting from the debilitating influences of the city, degeneracy would soon appear; but is it not unfair that the system of instruction followed most generally in our country scbools should be such that whenever the ambition to succeed, to win wealth or fame, is aroused in our country boys and girls, it is in the direction of some calling other than that of their parents? In the majority of cases the teachers in our country schools are young men and women who are teaching as a means to an end entirely distinct from their present employment, and from that of their school parents. Particularly is this true of the male teachers. Many of them are embryo lawyers, doctors or ministers, and naturally are looking forward to the time when without question they will stand at the top of their chosen profession. Looking as they do through glasses of a particular color, and in one direction, it is impossible that they should not cause the young minds under their direction and control to imbibe some of their views. So that, as year after year these different specia! advocates bring their influence to bear on the children during their most impressionable age, the inevitable result is the awakening of a strong desire in the breasts of most of the pupils to get away from the farm homes, that too often is a cheerless one, to the cities, where as their teachers tell them fame and fortune are to be won. While a comparatively few of the brightest and most indomitable of our country boys do get away and follow to success the awakened ambition, and possibly are personally benefited thereby, another consequence is a strong dislike to farm- ing and country life developed in the minds of the vastly larger number whom cir- cumstances compel to remain on the farm. Submitting to what seems tothem an unkind fate, never having been shown how happiness may be secured on the farm, they settle into discontent, and consequently, failure. So long as the world must be fed and clothed, so long must there be a vast number of our people engaged in agriculture. The prosperity and comfort of Other classes require that the farmers be also intelligent, prosperous and contented, There is peace and plenty to be had in following agricultural pursuits, but a chief requisite in securing these is to get the mind and heart of the child set right during the moulding age. LrEvI CHUBBUCK. 40 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. WHAT TO PLANT, AND WHY PLANT IT. In canvassing this and adjoining neighborhoods in search of specimen fruits for exhibition, we have noticed in nearly avery orchard a very large per cent of trees that have never paid forthe room they occupy. If they produce fruit at all, it is so inferior as to pay neither the buyer nor seller, and yet tends to gorge and spoil the market for good fruit. The profitable fruits of the East often prove the unprofitable fruits of the West, hence so many worthless kinds in the old orchards. and no blame to the planters, who had to plant just what they could get, and take chances on their adaptability to our soil and climate, and we should profit by their costly experimenting. But there are still thousands of dollars lost annually around us as the result of bad selection when planting; therefore, we feel the importance of urging all to be more careful, and would be pleased to assist any in making a judicious selection for this spring’s planting, but in attempting to do so, several things must be considered: Are you planting for market? What have you already planted ? APPLES. Were [ planting a commercial orchard, [ would plant 50 Yellow Transparent. as the best early apple; 50 Duchess, 50 Chenango, 50 Maiden’s Blush, 50 Grimes’ Golden, 250 Jonathan, 150 Rome Beauty, 1000 Black Twig, an improved Winesap. ( this is not the Mammoth Black Twig, but the Black Twig of Tennessee, or Para- gon); 100 Smith’s Cider, 100 Willow Twig, 100 Minkler, 25 Milan, 25 White Winter Pearmain, and 500 Ben Davis. I plant summer and fall apples because everbody else is planting winter apples exclusively, and by the time a new orchard comes into bearing there will be a good demand for summer and fall apples. PEARS. Standard, 200; Kieffer, 200; Garber, 200; Anjou, 200 ;—Wilder’s Early and 50 Comet ; of dwarf, 500 Seckel, 500 Duchesse. Kieffer, Garberand Comet are hybrids, and nearly exempt from blight; vigorous growers, productive, fruit large, attrac- tive, and like the Ben Davis apple, willsell, though inferior in size. PEACHES. In peaches I would plant Alexander, Stump, Old Mixon Free and Health Cling, just as many as would cleverly fill up my fence corners. CHERRIES. My cherries would be 25 Dyehouse, 50 Montmorency, ordinary, and 50 Wray. PLUMS. Of plums, 500 Abundance, tree vigorous grower, exceedingly productive, fruit purple, very large, delicious, and ripens early; 200 Forest Rose, 25 Spalding, 24 Wolf, 25 Pottawatomie. APRICOTS, PRUNES, ETC. Having tried apricots, prunes, quinces and nectarines, and failed, I would plant very few if any of them. GOOSEBERRIES, Of gooseberries, 1000 Champion, 500 Downing. CURRANTS. Of currants, 2000 Fay’s Prolific, 1000 Crandal. SUMMER MEETING AT CHILLICOTHE. 4h GRAPES. Of grapes, 4000 Moore’s Early, 4000 Diamond, 2000 Worden, 2000 Pocklington, 1000 Woodruff Red, 1000 Goethe—aiming to strike a bare market with Moore’s Early and Diamond, and when the Concord glut is over, to follow with Pockling- ton and Goethe. BLACKBERRIES. Of blackberries, 10,000 Erie, or Minnewaska, which are very simuar, hardy, productive and largest size, early, and sell well on a full market; 10,000 Snyder, and 5000 ‘Taylor. RASPBERRIES. Raspberries (black ), 10,000 Palmer, 8000 Hopkins, 8000 Ohio and 5000 Shaffer (red). STRAWBERRIES. Of the whole catalogue of from 150 to 200 kinds, tested on my farm, I would now plant the following as the best six varieties, all things considered: 10,000 Bubach No. 5, 5000 Racster, 5000 Michel’s Early, 2000 Warfield No. 2, 1000 Lady Rusk, 1000 Crawford. Michel, Racster and Crawford are staminates, the rest pis- tillates. Having so long ago turned my attention from the vegetable to the fruit gar- den, I feel incompetent to advise as to the best vegetables to plant, but I must here condemn the habit so common of gathering up the surplus of the neighborhood to plant, simply because it may be had for the asking or hinting for. As such a selection is a curse to any planter, it would be far cheaper, in the end, to buy of the seed-grower or nurseryman at high prices for the best, than to plant such stuff as a gift. Plant celery, parsnips, Everitte potatoes; sow sorghum, plant Caffrey corn ; it yields two full crops of excellent fodder the same season, wet or dry. Plant plenty of mangels, turnips and squashes. All yield an abundance of nutritious, wholesome food. THE FLOWER GARDEN, Not necessarily a separate garden, but the ornamental phase of the garden. Is there a spot on earth where the adorable Creator does not teach us by the beauties of nature to plant and cultivate the ornamental? What shallwe plant there? The greatest variety of bloom through the whole seasonat the least expense may be had from planting asters, petunias, phlox, pansies and verbenas, geraniums, gladiolus and dahlias. Of hardy kinds: Pinks, tulips, lilies, peonias, and the following roses: General Washington, Madame Charle3 Wood, Ulrich Brunner, Paul Neyron, Madam Plantier and General Jacqueminot. Nothing is more desirable thana group of Erianthus revenne and Hulalie zebrina, two hardy ornamental grasses, growing 12 feet high, with beautiful pampas-like plumes. ‘These, with ricinus (oil bean), Cannas, centaureas and coleus, make the grandest display in the yard or lawn. Of ornamental or deciduous trees, such as drop their leaves in the fall, the cut-leaf weeping birch, Kilmarnock weeping willow, mountain ash and Teas’ weeping mulberry, cannot be excelled in grace and beauty. In shrubs of this class the hydrangea, P. G., Japan quince, Weigelia rose and calicanthus (sweet shrub). Of climbers, wisteria, Japan and coral honeysuckles are the best. Of evergreens, tall growing trees, the picae pungens (silver tree), balsam and Nord- man silver fir are superb. Of low-growing trees and shrubs, plumosa, [rish and Eaoglish junipers, Siberian globosa and pyramidal arbor vitae are elegant in groups about the home, the public school grounds, the church-yard, and beside the public highways, are very ornamental. 42 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.: An inherent duty binds us to ‘‘replenish the earth.’? The avaricious miy be satisfied with planting that which bringsin the largest returns in gold; the glut- ton, beast-like, may be content to plant what produces the most food, but more is expected of the intelligent horticulturist. In all the realms of nature, from the tiniest plant to the giant oak; from the worm beneath our feet to the elephant ; the birds, fishes, everything teaches us that beauty as well as utility and adapta- bility was in the desiga of the All-wise Creator; and we too should not be satisfied with convenience and comfort, but strive to beautify our country homes. If there is so much importance connected with the temporal, how much greater it must be in the spiritual planting ; temporal mistakes may often be cor- rected, the worthless tree or plant may be replaced by a good one, and if we are so ready and free to contribute the knowledge acquired by great pains and expense to assist each other to avoid mistakes in our temporal planting, can we consistently be indifferent to the sad mistakes we see made in the spiritual planting? The in- fluences we put in motion by the interest we manifest, or the side we take on every important question, can never be stopped. ‘‘ Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.’”’ Now, as requested, I have tried to tell you what will nay best to plant of temporal things, and I must try to stick to my text: ‘‘What shall we plant, and why plant it??? What have we been planting? What are we now plant- ing ? and what are we going to plant of the spiritual as well as the temporal? for plant we must. The seeds of unconscious influence are constantly dropping, and our reaping must surely correspond with our planting. Soils differ, seasons change, new kinds coming out, old reliable kinds degenerating, the tastes and de- mands of the markets vary; therefore, our lists of what to plant of temporal things must keep changing; but not sothe list for our spirifual planting: it never changes. If we are so anxious to succeed in the spiritual, as in the temporal, we will find the path to success fully as plain in the spiritual asin the temporal. Indolence and indifference mean failure in both; therefore, let us fall into line and act our part wisely and well. J.N. Menirzz, Oregon, Mo. REPORT ON NEW FRUITS. As a member of the Committee on New Fruits, I beg leave to report as fol- lows as to the newer fruits which I had long enough to fruit them: Of strawberries I find the Michel’s Early a very fine early berry, a berry that paid me well last season. The present season, however, it went back on me alto- gether; we got no berries to speak of. I find the plants quite subject to leaf-blight, but as they are such fast growers, little harm is done by the disease mentioned. Bu- bach No. 5 and Haverland I find among the best of the newer sorts; also Warfield No. 2, Jessie and a number of others I have discarded as unprofitable. Gandy is a very fine late variety. I have no new raspberries nor biackberries to report upon, but may by another year. Of the newer cherries I find Christbauer ahead of any cherry that I have seen yet in this country. It ripened this year six days before Early Richmond. It and Reine Hortense, with Large Montmorency for an acid sort, fill the bill for me. Iam watching Esel very closely, as it was introduced through the same channel as Christbauer; it also may prove valuable. Of the newer pears, I have been compelled to discard LeConte and Kieffer. The latter [ have found to be too tender in the bud. Fortwo seasons the first buds were killed here, when peaches bave come through all right. My conclusion was that the peach was uncertain enough here, and could not see that there was any use to waste time with what was still more so. Garber is very promising. SUMMER MEETING AT CHILLICOTHE. 43 Smith’s Hybrid, if a Hybrid it is, which I doubt, I take but little stock in; it has not yet fruited. I have only one tree, and one-half of it is grafted over, so that it will not take me long to change it to something else if it does not fill the bill. Vicar is doing fine. Idaho was added to my list last year. A two-year-old Kieffer was top-worked with it; it grew fine, but yesterday I had to remove one-third of the top on account of blight. This will cause me to go slow with it at present. Vermont Beauty was added to my list this spring, but I can say nothing about it yet. Of apples, I expect to fruit a number of new ones this year, on which I will report later. I have one, a crab, that the cions were sent to me from St. Louis county, which seems to be quite valuable ; to further describe it, I will quote Prof. Van Deman, to whom specimens were sent: ‘“ Your letter and crab-apples were received yesterday. The specimen is one of the largest of that class of apples that I have ever seen; it evidently is a variety of the wild crab-apples which grow in the Central states. Soulard isa variety of the same character also, and the fruit is flat in shape instead of elongated, as the specimens which you sent. These apples make excellent preserves or sauce, and I think are fully as good for this pur- pose as the quince. I should like to have a full history of the variety, and suggest that the name ‘ Hugo’ be given it.” This crab is very large for a crab, very fragrant, and has a very decided quince flavor ; in fact, folks go for miles to the original tree to get a few specimens (if more can’t be got) to flavor other fruits with. Another variety of apples, which seems to be rare if not new in thiscountry, I fruited last season. It is a variety of which I had received cions from Switzer- land afew years ago. I get itunder the name of Annanas Reinette. The fruit, how- ever, does not at all agree with the description givenin our leading work of Pomol- ogy forthat variety. Prof. Van Deman speaks of it as follows: ‘‘* * * i agree with you that the name Annanas under which you received it, is not correct, if we take as authority the description given in Downing’s Fruit Trees of America. The apple which you sent is medium in size, greenish yellow in color, and seems to be of very good quality, the flesh being solid and heavy, and the flavor rich and pleasant. It might be well to have the variety tested in different parts of the country, andif possible, we should determine its true name.”’ Respectfully submitted, F,. LIONBERGER. LOOKING BOTH WAYS. The following able paper is from the pen of Mr. W. R. Laughlin, formerly of this county, but now of College Springs, Ia. It was read before a meeting of the Holt County Horticultural Society, held in this city March 19th: Backward for thirty-nine years, forward toward all the future. My first acquaintance with this 1egion was in April and May, 1853. Kansas City was Independence landing. Leavenworth was fort and village. St. Joseph Wasa small town, but a very lively outfitting place for a large share of the hordes that swarmed across the plains and over the mountains to Oregon and California. Des Moines was the fort, the old trading post, and some scattered new houses. Kanesville, now Council Bluffs, had the garrison and an irregular huddle of tem- porary houses in and on either side of a narrow creek bottom. ‘The first shanty had not been built where now is Omaha. 44 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. Here and there, miles apart, beside the streams, sheltered among the timber, was one of the very first settlers. A few had just stopped at some one of the groves that nature had scattered with a sparing hand, mere dots in the prairie sea, between the narrow skirts of timber where the trees held their footing along the streams. The wild game was scarcely disturbed, and that spring the wilderness rang with the shrieking of thousands of wolves and the strange booming noise of mil- lious of prairie chickens. Along the lines of travel were well-worn roads, with a few small bridges, a few ferries, and many fords. The foundation was here, but the building of civiliza- tion was scarcely dreamed of. ‘he advance guard, the first only of the pioneers, were viewing the land. It was discovered but only partly explored. To-day, 1892, no better, no really higher state of human existence can be found in any region of all our grand and proud Republic, than is in adjacent parts of four states, two of them west of the Missouri river, one east of it, and one through which it runs. In all that has made the present better than it was thirty-nine years ago, the trees planted by the hand of man have been a very significant factor. They surround and protect the country homes, and the farm animals go under them to find shade in summer and shelter in winter. Some of the villages have become groves where the winter gales lose much of their dreaded power, and where the fierceness of the summer heat is tempered by the leaves that shield us. from the sun. ‘There nestle the gardens, the shrubbery and the flowers. The fruits of the latitude are plenty in nearly every house,and the beauty is over all. We have now the experience from the first with the native trees, and with evergreens for thirty-three years. let us put each variety on trial and hear the evidence: shelter, shade, timber and beauty; let us to the record of already more than the lifetime of a generation, and learn much as to what we and our children should plant hereafter. It is a present question. Another gpring will soon be here. In the spring of 1859 my father brought down the Illinois river and up the Missouri a large lot of fruit trees, a choice selection of ornamental trees and shrubbery and an extensive venture in evergreens. The handling of evergreens was then an experiment. They were costly. Many lacked faith in their success on the prairie, but other many with eyes for beauty and with hope of their useful- ness, willing to pay the price, to do the work and to wait for results, bought and planted. ‘That importation of 1859 was distributed to the homes of men of taste and carefulness, here a few and there a few, fifty miles around our nursery place. We ourselves planted on our own places groves of them. These groves and the evergreens that are by and around hundreds of homes are object-lessons that may be seen afar off and carefully studied near at hand. He that passes may read, he that feels their protection when the blizzard is abroad will ponder, and he that enjoys their shade in the summer will mentally digest. Many farmers here have for fifteen or even twenty years taken their whole supply of fuel from their own places. Ask some man who has a hundred hogs, fifty head of cattle and a dozen or twenty horses, what he would take for his grove of soft maples, burr-oaks, elms, or of varieties mixed. Or, better still, if he hasa goodly lot of evergreens where his stock can run under them, ask him to set a price on that. Ask his neighbor who has that wind-break, planted a dozen years ago, what he will take to let you cut it down. / SUMMER MEETING AT CHILLICOTHE. 45 There stands a snug, comfortable farm-house. Around it are 100 evergreens ; 75 of them stand guard between that home and the northwest gales; 25 are on the lawn where they are oftenest seen. Knockat that door, ax in hard, and ask the woman, and the children, too, for how much or for what they will allow you to make their evergreens into Christmas trees. When all these answers are in you will understand why, and how much, people in this region value their trees. S. G. Laughlin & Sons brought here and tested 123 varieties of apples. If they were planting a family orchard this year, not more than 20 varieties would find place init. If planting a commercial orchard it would be of not more than half a dozen. Not one variety of evergreens in five that we or our neighbors have proved is it worth while to plant. There is much of experimenting yet to be done with some of the evergreens that have lately been found; but my advice to the farmer is to let nurserymen and amateursdo that. It is their trade, and years will tell the story. They can and will make it pay, and the people can well afford to pay them for doing it. As is the Ben Davis among apples, and the Concord among grapes, so is the WHITE PINE Among the evergreens. It is everybody’s tree; it flourishes anywhere in this lati- tude; it isa good tree for every purpose for which evergreens are wanted. It grows fast while it is young, and keeps on growing fast for a long time, even for centuries. If not crowded or trimmed up its limbs grow long and branching near the ground, and are healthy and full of leaves. Its body is straight and keeps its size wellup. Its limbs come from the body in just the shape to make it one of the best for the small boy or girl toclimb. Sleet never hurts it. None of the ever- greens keep their color better in the winter, and when the lovel-ight of the spring- time comes, and they are leafing and preparing for the seeds that are to be, no variety puts on a more attractive flush. Plant it for shade, for shelter, for timber, and for the higher use of beauty. Specimens on the old nursery place, set in 1859, range from 15 to 20 inches in diameter two feet from the ground, and are about 70 feet high. It may be planted for timber six feet apart each way. If for shelter, 12 or 15. RED PINE. I know of but two. These were planted by my brother 14 yearsago. The larger of the two measures, one foot from the ground, 13 inches in diameter. It is at least 25 feet high. They are straight-bodied and seem to have no faults. RED CEDAR Has done very best here. Its growth in timber is not the largest, but perhaps the most valuable. It is quite a beauty in summer, though it is of a dingy color in winter. For wind-breaks it is one of the best. It is long-lived, and it is pleasantly fragrant. For timber it may be planted five feet apart each way. If for shelter, 10 or 12 feet. Be very careful of whom you buy trees of the red cedar. Trees from seed grown at ail east of here, or from 200 miles south, or from as far north, will not do well here. ‘The very best trees are from seed gathered on the Upper Platte, and even there can be found two varieties, one very much better than the other. Only an expert is able to make sure work of gathering seed of the red cedar. 46 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. NORWAY SPRUCE. In form of tree, shaping of the branches and the leaves, and in color, winter and summer, one of the best. An upright grower, tall, and all looking alike. Very good for a wind-break. Never split or broken by sleet. When 12 or 15 years old it takes on a drooping habit, which adds to its peculiar beauty and makes one of the best high wind-breaks. Should be planted 15 feet apart each way. The Norway spruces now look as if they might be good for a century or more. AUSTRIAN PINE Grows very strong for 20 years. After that it isa scraggy nuisance. SCOTCH PINE. Makes a large growth for 25 years, and then becomes a scrag. AMERICAN ARBOR VITZ. A few for lasting ornaments. Of the other var'eties of this species, a few on the lawn. IRISH JUNIPER [gs a beauty for, say 15 years, and then should be removed. BALSAM FIR, A very good evergreen, but not to be long-lived here. Trees 33 years old look as if they were of age. Of NATIVE TREES The burr-oak starts slow, but soon becomes a good grower. Handsome, a good shade tree and best for timber. Plant it and wait; it will reward you and it will pay you, and be here for the coming generations. RED ELM. There are some fine and large. One of the best natives for shade, and has much of its own style and beauty. It also is a tree for the generations. SYCAMORE. We have 30 years old, 70 feet high and 15 inches in diameter; sound, healthy and quite handsome the year round. #vidently they are here to stay. BLACK AND WHITE WALNUT Are for timber a failure here. Not gocd for shade or shelter. Both bear plenty of nuts. The ASH Is doing well. A good, neat, clean tree. THE SOFT MAPLE Grows very fast. Shade, shelter, beauty and summer fire wood. Evidently not to be very long-lived, though trees 33 years old are still vigorous. Splits too easy. HARD MAPLE, A part of the importation of 1859 was a few very small hard maples. To-day they are 12 to 15 inches in diameter, 60 feet high, and look as if they might last a SUMMER MEETING AT CHILLICOTHE. 47 thousand years. Nothing injures them. They never let go their grip of the ground, and never lose an inch from their upward or outward growing limbs. At- tractive even in their nakedness in winter, graceful among the trees in spring, very beautiful in their fullness in summer, and grand in their fall-time glory of colors. Pretty babies, lovely in their youth,and magnificent in the pride of their maturity. But they grow slowly, oh, how slow. Plant them for your own sake. Plant them that your children may be the better for their planting, and that your great-grand- children may rest under their shade when both they and the maples are old. Cottonwood, box elder, honey locust, black locust and some others are wiped from the slate. If [ were planting timber for the money only, and were confined to one variety, the OSAGE ORANGE Would be my first choice. There is too much to be said for the Osage orange to allow it room in this paper. RUSSIAN MULBERRY. Selected varieties, multiplied by grafting, to raise feed for the birds, and so protect other fruits. Who will carefully and honestly do tnat selecting and propa- gating? Of EVERGREENS Plant only trees that have been raised in the nursery from seed. Forest seedlings may live when carefully handled and the season is very favorable, but nursery seedlings, well raised and in good condition, are ten times more sure. They will make larger growths for the first years, and be bigger, better trees ever after. The proof of this is all around me. If you deal with the right kind of nurgserymen your trees will come to you safe and sound, and the varieties true to name. The fewer minutes by the watch that you allow the roots to be exposed to the air the better. If you are to take them from the nursery in a wagon, be sure to puddle the roots in a rather thick lob- lolly, and sprinkle over that a coating of fine, dry dust, and then cover them well. Have your holes deep and wide enough to hold the roots when in a natural posi- tion. Get down on your knees and with your hands place and pack the soil among the roots, and when filled two inches above roots, tramp very tightly if the soil be at alldry. The wetter, the less tramping. If the soil is in good order or wetter, do not throw in any water. Over all, throw loose soil so that the surface will be two or three inches above the level. Cultivate evergreens as carefully as you do anything in the garden, and keep itup for years. Do not cultivate more than three inches deep, or you will injure the roots and damage the trees. In a few years the fallen leaves will form just the proper mulch. Then mow down the weeds and all volunteer stuff. In 10 or 12 years evergreens so treated will have such a good hold on the ground that they will continue to do well, if the plot is sown with grasa, even with biue-grass. Evidently with some of our nurserymen there is a good deal of confusion of varieties of some of the species, the firs and the spruces especially. There are nurserymen who know enough and are honest enough to send you just what you order. ‘The most cautious and clearest headed of the old settlers here agree that the climate is very much milder than it was 30 years ago, and if you ask them as to the, cause they answer, ‘the trees.’? If a few gallons of oil will control the waves of the ocean, as seamen, ship owners and insurance companies have come to believe 48 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. it will, why may we not believe the groves and the hedges have much to do with restraining the winds and lessening the severity of the climate. This middle time of February the deciduous trees are naked and bare. Count- less limbs and twigs on each one of uncounted thousands of trees are helping in their way to break into smaller and antagonizing currents the great stream that is this day pouring from the northwest. Myriads of myriads of sleeping, waiting buds are swinging on the swaying branches. They bide their time, and the cold, the sleet nor the gale can destroy them, for they are well wrapped and are safely connected with the snow-robed earth. They are the promise of leaves and blossoms and fruit for another summer. ‘These leafless trees give much of shelter to-day. For that purpose they are far better than no trees. But we will go among the evergreen groves. Ah, here itis almost still. The gale that pours and roars among the tree-tops is stayed by the pines, the cedars and the spruces, till it only reaches us in slight and fitful puffs. Plant trees. Plant all manner of trees for summer, but for winter plant ever- greens. W.. R. Lavesin. THURSDAY, JUNE 8—2 P. M. The following letters were read: Kirkwoop, Mo., June 6, 1892. Mr. L. A. GoopMman, Secretary State Horticultural Society ; DrEa4R Sir—I very much regret that it is not possible for me to attend the meeting of the Society at Chillicothe this week. i see that my name is down on the program for some notes on the Woolly Aphis, but my studies of the habits of this insect and experiments in its extermi- nation are not yet concluded, and [ shall have to defer a report untila future meet- ing of the Society. I am inclined to think that the excessive rainfall of the present season would in great measure drown it out. With us it has this year appeared mainly above ground around the base of suckers and small branches, and especially on any abrasion of the bark. In these positions it does not, however, do nearly so much damage as when it attacks the roots, and is, moreover, easily dislodged by drenching with dilute kerosene emulsions or washes of soft soap or soda. If [might base a prediction on my observations in Kirkwood and vicinity, I should say that the damage to fruit by codling moth and curculio will be much less than usual the present season. ‘lhe heavy rains seem to have beaten the insects from the trees and kept the young fruit so drenched that oviposition was not suc- cessful. In our own orchard none of the few apples, peaches and cherries that are on the ground show insect punctures, but seem to have been brought down by the winds and rain. Will you please ask the fruit-growers present how far their ex- perience in this matter coincides with mine? In conclusion, please accept for yourself, and present to the members of the Horticultural Society, my most sincere thanks for the compliment of honorary membership conferred upon me at the Sedalia meeting. Itis only one of many kind tokens of appreciation of the little that [ have done in entomology that the Society has bestowed. Wishing you a pleasant and profitable meeting, I am, yours sincerely, Mary E. MuRTFELDT. SUMMER MEETING AT CHILLICOTHE. 49 Mr. Evans has examined the fruit and found the first brood, but after a while could find no trace of second brood. It is simply impos- sible to tell from the first brood what the second will be. We must watch the effect of this spraying closely, for we have much to learn. Mr. Murray—aAs there will not be many apples this year, we may be sure the moth will not be bad next year. He is in favor of a close watch being kept, and spraying done systematically. Dr. Goslin, of his place, sprayed thoroughly and he found a difference of over 75% of wormy apples. We are just creeping in our knowedge, but will continue to gain each year. Our Experiment Station should give us some facts, but we have to look to other states for results. We have some members who are carrying on more systematic and thorough experiments in this direction than the $15,000 yearly given to our Ex- periment Station. Prof. Duffey—In Michigan I hunted for wormy apples where they were sprayed thoroughly and found none, while where they were not sprayed, you could hardly find a sound one. TREATMENT OF NURSERY STOCK FOR LEAF-BLIGHT AND POWDERY MILDEW. INTRODUCTORY. Nurserymen need not be told of the vast amount of injury occasioned every year by leaf-blight and powdery mildew. For the past two years aseries of experi- ments has been carried on by this Department witha view of obtaining some light on the treatment of these maladies. The experiments have proved conelu- sively that powdery mildew of the apple, leaf-blight of the pear, plum, cherry and quince can readily be controlled at comparatively little expense. What is stated in this circular is based upon the work referred to above. Fu- ture experiments will no doubt necessitate changes in these statements, but it is hoped that the information here given willbeof value. In concluding these intro- ductory remarks, it may not be out of place to say that no possible injury to stock ean follow the use of the remedies, providing, of course, that the directions are earefully followed. No less than ten million young trees of apple, pear, plum, cherry and quince will be treated the coming season in accordance with the direc- tions herein set forth. This in itself is suflicient evidencc of the value of the treat- ments, which are briefiy described in this circular. FUNGICIDES USED IN THE WORK. Bordeaux mixture and the ammoniacal solution are the only fungicides now used in this work. In the nursery our usual plan of making these fungicides is as follows: Bordeaux mixture.—Dissolve 12 pounds of powdered sulphate of copper or blue- Stone in 15 or 20 gallons of water, using a half barrel or tub for the purpose. In another similar vessel make a milk of lime by stirring up S pounds of either H—4 50 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. unslaked or air-slaked lime in 10 or 12 gallons of water. When the milk of lime is ready, mix it with the copper solution in the following manner: First pour the copper solutioninto a barrel having a capacity of at least 45 gallons; then slowly add the whitewash, pouring tnis through a piece of coarse sacking, in order to remove bits of stone, wood, ete. Finally fill the barrel with water, stir thoroughly and apply as directed below. Ammoniacal solutton.—In an ordinary water-pail dissolve five ounces of carbon- ate of copper in three pints of aqua ammonia having a strength of 26 per cent. When completely dissolved, pour the fluid into a barrel holding 45 gallons, and fill the latter with water. If desirable the concentrated solution may be prepared in advanceand taken into the field inthis form. When this plan is followed the liquid should be kept in tightly corked jugs. Ip using the solution prepared in this way it wili only be necessary to measure out three pints, pour this into a barrel, and fill the latter with water. TREATMENTS. Apple powdery mildew.—The most serious injury to the seedling, caused by this disease, is the loss of its foliage. ‘To prevent this, and thereby insure good work- ing stocks for buds, spray the seedlings with the ammoniacal solution, first when the leaves are about half grown, and thereafter at intervals of 12 days. Following this plan, three sprayings will usually be made before budding and at least two after this operation, making five in all. It is seldom that powdery mildew proves serious to budded or grafted stock, with the exception of certain particular'y sus- ceptible varieties. In such cases practically the same line of treatment recom- mended for the seedlings may be followed. Pear Jeaf-blight.—Nearly all varieties of the pear are subject to this disease, which attacks the young and tender seedlings as well as old fruit-bearing trees. In the nursery the seedlings must be protected, otherwise the leaves will drop by the first of July, and it will be next to impossible to work the stocks. Beginning then with the seedlings, we would recominend that they be sprayed with the Bordeaux mixture, first when the foliage is half grown, and thereafter as recom- mended for apple powdery mildew, excepting an additional treatment after the buds are inserted, making six in all. The next season, as soon as growth starts, begin the spraying again, making six applications during the growing period. This should be kept up as long as the tree stands in the nursery, after which the orchardist, if he wishes to succeed with it, must follow a similar plan. It may oceur to some that so much additional labor upon a tree willnot pay. Careful estimates show, however, that it does pay. But this side of the question will be more fully discussed under cost of treatment. Plum, cherry and quince leaf-blight.—The directions for treating pear leaf-blight are applicable to all: of these diseases. While, however, the Bordeaux mixture has certainly given the best results in treating the last-named disease in the nursery, it is questionable whether for the plum, cherry and quince the ammonical solution will not answer as well. We have never been able to see any material difference, so far as effectiveness is concerned, between these preparations. The ammoniacal solu- tion is cheaper and more easily prepared andapplied. Such being the case, it would probably be best to use it. APPLYING THE REMEDIES. Much of the success or failure of the work will depend on the manner in which the fungicides are applied. With suitable spraying pumps and nozzles, the work is mot tedious nor difficult. In nearly all of our work the Knapsack sprayers have ya SUMMER MEETING AT CHILLICOTHE. BL been used, and, while we are satisfied that the treatments can be carried on ina paying manner with these, we believe that machines can be devised that will do the work much more rapidly, if not quite as effectively. The Knapsack pumps are now being manufactured and sold by numerous firms throughout the country who make a specialty of fungicide and insecticide machinery. In all cases where a Knapsack pump isused, or any pump for that matter, the improved Vermorel noz- zie will be found one of the most effective instruments for making the spray. One of the special advantages of this nozzle is that it does not clog. Knapsack pumps provided with Vermorel nozzles complete, and of the best quality, are now on the market at $l4each. For spraying seedling and yearling apples it is safe to esti- mate one Knapsack pump for every 500,000 trees: that is, working every day it wil take one man, on an average, 12 days to get over a block, or several blocks, of seed- lings or yearlings, aggregatiug a half million trees. From these figures it is pos- sible to get a fair idea of the number of men and machines required to do a certain amount of work. The amount of work, of course, will vary directly as the amount of leaf surface, so that if 1000 or 10,000 pears, cherries or other trees have twice the leaf surface of an ordinary seedling or yearling apple, it will require twice the work to spray them. Last year we devised a machine which, with two men and a horse, did the work of four Knapsack pumps. It consists of the following parts: Oae Nixon Climax pump, No. 2, 20 feet of 4-iaoch hose, 1 sled, 1 half barrel, and 1 improved Vermorel nozzle. The figure shows how these are put together, so that nothing further need be ‘said on this point. We would,in this connection, however, call attention to the Style of machine we shali use the coming season for this work. The pump in this ease is also a Nixon, and is designed especially for mounting on a barrel. It is provided with two discharge hose, making it possible to spray four rows at a time. In case both hose are used, it will be an easy matter torig up an arm to carry one hose over the tops of the trees into the row adjacent to the one in which the ma- ehine isrunning. Loenable each man to spray two rows conveniently, and without loss of time and flaid, it would probably be well to use four nozzles. This may be arranged by means of a Y having the perpendicular arm provided with a 43-inch female screw-thread for attaching tothe hose. Two pieces of }-inch cloth insertion hose, each three feet long, can be fastened to the short arms of the Y by simply wiring them on, thus effectually dividing the stream. The nozzles being attached to the free ends of the }-inch hose enables the operator to spray two rows without difficulty, whether they be 23, 3, 4, or even 5 feet apart. In using this apparatus three men will be required, one to drive and pump and two to manage the nozzles. The machine operated in this way will certainly do the work of five Knapsack pumps. We have found it very difficult todo good work in this way if the horse is kept constantly on the move. For this reason we have adopted the following plan: Each piece of hose is 25 feet long, which gives the operator full control over at least 20 feet resting upon the ground. In beginning work, the horse is driven into the row 20 feet and stopped. The pump is then worked and the spraying im- mediately begins. When the sprayers have traversed 16 or 18 feet, spraying two Tows as they advance, the horse is started again and stopped once more after cov- ering 20 feet. Inthe meantime the pump has not stopped, except for a moment, and _ ho break at all has occurred in the spray. A horse or mule soon learns to stop at the proper time, so the driver can give practically all of his attention to the pump. 52 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. Working in this way, the spray is applied rapidly and thoroughly, and what is more important, without waste of time and fluid. The cost of sucha machine is approximately as follows: 1 Nixonibarrelipamp and 50! feet/Of Ose se «cic crtes sscieistsitefhctars oie ails ohessloeieporores oreteteietsta Ce (teeters $20 00 Avi al Pat arrest fess soe etelsiercecio ceert evslote cieleseieiasiatctorec oteleeietefaistebe alokedavaye orsreteta overs iavelelenels elele/=ieteiareta (islet aeiens 1 00 ils PIKE Ben han coteonodotodadsonde BnocTes ano SA bosacoensadou ooo canauacpenbos mnbumornoteeoD tact otesc - 2 50 DaViexMOreleNOZZAES. Abt Gl OO (CRCM nie crerelsicisls evecetelsraistcleie/eye eteleres stay cictole ciel spe teici cunt tohore isha e\s) srevelaleretetetet siete 3 00 AN ike he pad aoa aodedouooadddsse odo odenqueodécudd codebdaadbuoubobarntuneAdtedosmaoangoodocooccs "26 50 COST OF THE TREATMENTS. Careful estimates show that the total cost of treating apple seedlings five times with the ammoniacal solution, as already discussed, need not exceed eight cents per thousand. These figures{are not based upon a small experiment; on the contrary, they were obtained by treating at one time and in one nursery, 400,000 trees. Pear, plum, cherry and quince stocks can be treated six times the first season with the Bordeaux mixture for 55 cents per thousand. If the ammoniacal solution is used the cost of treating the plum, cherry and quince need not exceed 12 cents per thousand trees. What has already been said in regard to the amount of fluid necessary is applicable here: that is, the amount of fluid required and the labor necessary will be directly in proportion to the amount of foliage. The foregoing estimates are in all cases based op the fact that the chemicals and labor cost as follows: Coppersulphate, powdered Pers POUNG «2 sejcilecteis elsi-tm 1c clo vicjeetsinie cricle eleaelereieicieroierte Sir ath.) 8 cents TAME PEL DUSHEM so suse sieve aise ce acas sone ncel es aincieisielole = shiaie ei Stats anise Tac ieeaes ae eohaee ee 30 cents Coppericarbonates Per POUNG Ty. oki cictaje nie sou siecle ar ayelsioisisleveiererbes vol sfarafone lols jiavsietei lola eee Cee 40 cents IAGUALAIMMONIA,ZEs POM POUMC 5 15) .0 - (oseye, whet stere/otejn/a1ats) ias]al«)«/elofo of leloletersredsGeleyaje iets se orale eteiee ees 8 cents MFA DOL HO CTH OUT ph ab aroses ake ope state) si ie (ov ese!ssejshoftisvazose) one fey oke ini 61 fol atesors¥e lols eke 2, clesajo,6)aisiels Sie aisis fe eee 10 cents. FINAL SUGGESTIONS. Work of this kind to be successsul must, like everything else, be done in a thorough manner. In no case should the first treatment be delayed beyond the period mentioned, namely, when the leaves are half grown. If delayed until the diseases have appeared to a damaging extent, there will be little benefit derived from any applications that may be made. LHarly treatments, careful application of the fungicides so as to reach every leaf, and vigilance in the matter of repeating the treatments at least every 12 days, are the most important points to keep in mind. B. T. GaLLoway. KEPT HIS APPLES. Kine City, June 7. L.A. Goodman: Desk Srr—Thinking I would be with you till this morning, find I can’t on account of sickness. Will send you box of apples. These apples were kept in open crates in cellar—crates made of common laths tacked in old barrel-hoops, hold- ing about seven bushels. Cost of crate won’t exceed five cents. Prospect of apple crop poor; all falling off. Berries good. Keep my name on your list and send me a report. Yours truly, R. W. Grunpy, King City, Mo- The apples were in a fine state of preservation. SUMMER MEETING AT CHILLICOTHE. 53 BIRDS. Sr. Louris, Mo., May 31, 1892. Mr. L. A. Goodman : Drak Sin—Your letter was received Monday. Enclosed find complete list of names of the birds. ‘There are thirty-nine in all. Hoping all is satisfactory, I remain, Reapectfully, Mrs. GRACE SPECKING. The above letter was received from Mrs. Specking with a case of birds put up in fine shape for the use of the Society. This arrange- ment was made with Prof. Specking a year or more ago, and his wife has filled his contract as far as possible. Soon after this meeting of the Society came the sad news of the death of Mrs. Specking, who really put up all the birds herself. Following is the list of birds: No. 1. Melanerpes aryphro cephalus (Lin.), Red-headed Woodpecker; male. No. 2. Dendroica estira (Gmel), Summer Yellow-bird; male. No. 3. Passerina Cyanea (Lin.), Indigo Bunting ; male. No. 4. ‘Teterus Spurius ( Lin.), Orchard Oriole ; male. No. 5. Teterus Spurius (Lin.), Orchard Oriole; female, No. 6. Sciurus Aurocapillus (Lin.), Oren-bird. No. 7. Sciurus Motacilla (Vieile), Louisiana Water-thrush ; male. No. 8. Merula Migratoria (Lin.), Am. Robin; male. No. 9. Teteria Virens (Lin.), Yellow-breasted Chat. male. No. 10. Piranga Rubra (Lin.), Summer Tanayer; male. No. 11. Pipila erythrophthalmus (Lin.), Towhee; male and female. No. 12. Piranga erythromelas (Vieile), Scarlet Tanager; male. No. 13. Cardinalis cardinalis (Lin.), Red-bird: male and female. No. 14. Ampelis cedrorum (Vieile), Cedar bird. No. 15. Myiarchus crinitus (Lin.), Crested or Wax-wing ;"fly-catcher. No. 16. Agelaius Phoeniceus (Lin.), Red-wing black-bird ; male. No. 17. Colaptes auratus (Lin.), flicker; male. No. 18. Cyanocilta Cristata (Lin.), Blue Jay. No. 19. Quisecalus quiscula (Lin.), Purple Crackle; Black-bird. No. 20. Coeecyrus americanus (Lin.), Yellow-billed Cuckoo. No. 21. Fitta carolinensis (Lath.), White-breasted Nut-hatch. No. 22. Sialia Sialis (Lin.), Blue-bird ; female. No. 23. Harpar Nyncbus, rufus (Lin.), Brown Thrush; male. No. 24. Spbyrapicus Varius (Lin.), Yellow-bellied Sap. No. 25. Trenco hyemalis (Lin.), [ron bird sucker. No. 26. Ceeple aleyon (Lin.), Belted Kingfisher. No. 27. Dryobates Villosus (Lin.), Hairy Woodpecker. No. 28. Melanerpes Carolinns (Lin.), Red-bellied Woodpecker. No. 29. Chalture felagica (Lin.), Chimney Swift. No. 30. Tyrannus Tyrannus (Lin.), King-bird. No. 31. Octocoris Alpestris (Lin.), Horned Lark. No. 32. Caphloeus piteatus (Lin.), Pileated Woodpecker. 54 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. No. 33. Tarus bicolor (Lin.), Tufted Titmouse. No. 34, Passer montanns (Lin.), European Tree Sparrow. No. 35. \ Spizella Monticola (Gmel.), Tree Sparrow. No. 37. Passer domesticus (Lin.), English Sparrow. No. 37. Dryobates pubescens (Lim.), Downy Woodpecker. REMEDY FOR WOOLLY APHIS. The following letter may open up a line of thought: AUCKLAND, N. Z., Jan. 30, 1892. L. A. Goodman, Esq., Sec’y State Horticultural Society, Westport, Mo.: Sir—I beg to acknowledge the receipt of a copy of your 33d annual report, for which I thank you. | notice at pages 207 and 249 report of difficulties from root attacks of Woolly Aphis. Here we have experienced the same trouble and have overcome it. A cutting of Northern Spy, or other variety which resists the Aphis, eight or nine inches long, is root-grafted under a bud about midway of its length, the whole planted in fine soil, leaving one bud above ground. The result is a vigorous growth of fibrous roots and a sturdy shoot from the exposed bud. ‘This in due course is. budded, or if it misses, grafted ir later season about nine inches from the ground, to prevent the cion forming its own roots. Aphis attacks are then limited to the exposed growth, and can easily be seen and treated. ‘This plan is worth universak aduption where whole-root grafts are not considered absolutely necessary. Always at your service. Yours truly, A. WoopRoFFE. ABOUT OLD REPORTS AND NEW ENTERPRISE. Srpauia, Mo. May 22 1892. L. A.Goopman, Esq., Westport Mo.: Dear Str—Please pardon me for not sooner thanking you for the Horticultural reports you sent me last February. You cannot imagine the pleasure a thorough study of those volumes has afforded me. I have read and re-read each and every one of them, and more than that, nave persistently hunted up and gathered together, until now I have the following reports, viz.: 6.7, 8,9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, —, 16, 17, 18, —, —, 21, 22, —, —, —, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33. This gives. me the full proceedings of 22 annual meetings of your Society, and 1am now on a still hunt for the balance, and if you can help me to find any of them, I will be under still greater obligations to you. I also have ( in connection with the Horticultural reports ) a complete set of Agricultural reports except the 9th and 16th. 1am making’a thorough analytical and And scientific study of the apple‘orchard for profit in Missouri; hence need a full set of the reports. I find quite a number of very valuable letters, essays etc., on this. subject in the early reports—some quite learned, and would well bear republica- tion, and of course many worthless in all these reports for the reason that they were not explicit enough. For instance. the writer would say that a certain apple ‘*would do best on the right kind of soil; now suca an article is worse than ‘nothing, for it costs money to print it and takes up the time of thousands of anxious readers, and gives only disappointment in the end, all because he failed to designate the character, quality and kiud of soil that was the “right kind” for that particular apple, and give his reasons for it. Such articles I would refuse to publish until they had so completed their papers. I would suggest a Ladies’ department in your reports, to be filled with recipes. of best ways of preparing fruits of all kinds for the table, and have all the good SUMMER MEETING AT CHILLICOTHE. 55 housewives in Missouri studying up and reporting new ways of serving fruits, so as to induce a greater consumption of fruit, and hence, improve the market. f know that if all the ladies in Missouri knew how to make the fine apple-sauce out of the ‘* Maiden’s Blush” that Mrs. Judge J. P. Strother, of Marshall, Missouri, makes, the Maiden’s Blush apple would be in great demand, and hence, bring gooa prices and furnish the money to pay for gathering and marketing the winter apples. This good lady begins making her splendid apple-sauce from green apples in June, and continues until all their winter apples are gone, but she says the Maiden’s Blush makes much the best sauce. It is inexpensive, and can be eaten with or without cream. She makes many other nice dishes from this apple. I have just learned that there are some pear-trees in northern part of this eounty that have borne good crops each year for 50 years, and of one Seckel pear- tree near Blue Lick, Saline county, that has borne a good crop each year for the past 15 years. The apples from five Ben Davis trees at Biue Lick sold in 1890 for $55, and in 1891 for $40; these trees are now eight years old. I have made arrangements with Dr. Britt, of Clinton, O. A. Crandall, R. A. Blair and F. A. Sampson of this place, and C. C. Bell, of Boonville, to all go with me to Blue Lick Springs in latter part of June or early July, and spend a day or two examining the geological formation, etc. Iam very anxious to have you in the party. Four of these men are geologists, and you and Mr. Beil are certainly at the top in your respective lines. We expect to make a general survey of that locality and have a good time. . I desire to become a member of your Society, and to that end enclose you $1. which I believe is the annual dues. Please call on me whenever you come to Sedalia. Yours truly, H. STrRoTHER. THEN AND NOW. Eps. Democrat—KEight years ago last December the writer moved onto what we have since named the Gem City Fruit Farm, and now I will endeavor to give your readers some of my experience as a fruit-grower: I purchased 40 acres of land one mile west of the city of Nevada. The land had been covered with timber, and about half of it had been cleared and cultivated; the balance had quite a thick young growth of timber and brush, and all the ad- joining land was covered with timber until you reached the city. I came from Nebraska to Missouri, and had never been in the woods as a farmer, so your read- ers may imagine how it would naturally appear to me. The place had a small box house, log stable and about 200 apple and peach-trees. There was nothing that presented a very inviting appearance except its beautiful location on a high eleva- tion on a main traveled road to the the city, and a number of fine apple-trees that had been loaded with Ben Davis apples. I moved from Nebraska witb a team, and arrived at our destination about the middle of December, 1883, drove up to our future home a little after dark; the last half hour had been traveled after dark, and most all of the way through timber. Now, Mr. Editor, I had come to Nevada the previous September and made the purchase and returned to Nebraska for my family. I was much elated over my purchase, and gave glowing descriptions of it to my family and others; told them of the beautiful Gem City of the Southwest, of the fine home I had bought, of the nice beautiful location, the shade-trees surrounding it, the mansion. Now what 56 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. do you suppose my wife and sons thought of it, arriving on a winter’s night in the center of a patch of brush, an open house and no fire? I will never forget the sad and forlorn looks. ‘‘Why, father, whatever possessed you to come away down here after passing through so much beautiful country and landing right here in a dense forest ?”’ Well, I had to get out of it the best way I could. I told them to withhold their verdict until morning came, I’d show them the apple-trees that had been full.of apples, and the nice high location on a road that was just lined with teams all the time. ‘*And,’’ said I, ‘‘you have no idea what a beautiful city we came through.” (The evening before was Sunday and everything was quiet, and a very dim gas-light then lighted our city.) I had visited the Vernon county fair in September, and had selected several hundred of the finest specimens of fruit that I could get, and shipped them to my family; told them that was the kind of fruit Missouri produced, and that we would soon have plenty of it; told them of the coal-fields all over the county. Then, just think of the timber: no freezing to death like we were used to in Nebraska. I told them to think back a little, to think of the water freezing in the tea-kettle with a hot fire in the stove. We couldn’t have those big logs like them in the fire-place, for the mansion was sup- plied with an old-fashioned fire-place and rock chimney. Then soft werds had their effect, and all went to bed happy and contented. When the morning came a general look wastaken. The day was beautiful, but when we came to the brushy part of the farm, ‘‘Well, do you think we will ever get all them brush and ail them, big stumps off?’ Well, I tried to console them by telling them that it had been done. I said it looked pretty tough to a tenderfoot from Nebraska, but I said I think we have some nerve left yet; besides it was a ground-hog case with us. We could sell the wood for groceries while we were doing the work. Soinafew days the boys concluded to make the attack, and with axes in hand they began to slay the saplings right and left. If you had heard the licks you would have been reminded of the cannonading of Ft. Sumter: They worked fora day or two cutting off the small trees about three feet above the ground. Presently a neighbor, an old Kentuckian, came along from Grubtown. ‘ What are you doing here, boys?”’ ‘‘O, we’re grubbing out this timber,’’ was the prompt answer. ‘‘Wel!, I reckon you don’t call that grubbing?” ‘‘Yes, sir, that is what we call it.”’ ‘*Well, let me go to the house and bring out the grubben hoe and 1711 give you a lesson in grubben. Didn’t you ever see any grubben done?’ ‘‘I’d like to know how you see grubbing done in Nebraska? Why, it’s a $30 fine there for cutting down a sapling. Probably you have heard of the thousand mile tree ?— out on the overland route to California that passes through Nebraska? Well, thousands of people have gone to see that tree.’’ This set the old gentleman to thinking, and off he went and soon returned with the implement. The boys braced themselves against a tree, for they did not know what was coming, but after a few strokes from the old gent they began to get some light on the fine art. After a dozen or two small black-jacks and pesky run-oaks were extracted the Kentuckian said: ‘‘Now, boys, there is a sample. Of course this is very light grubbing; these grubs are not thick, not more than a grub to a square foot.” ‘*A grub toa square foot! ’’ exclaimed the boys, ‘‘ well, there are over 40,000 square feet to the acre.” You see the boys understood arithmetic if they didn’t grubbing. ‘‘ Well, now, do you think this ground has ali got to be torn to pieces like that? Why. it will all be worn out before the first crop is planted.”’ ‘‘ Well, Vil say this, young man, if you ever expect to raise anything you have got to grub it, that’s certain.” Next day the boys procured the necessary implements and commenced work. SUMMER MEETING AT CHILLICOTHE. 57 My wife and myself went along to pile the brush and burn them and see that tbe boys did not injure themselves. We cautioned them not to work so fast ; said to them, ‘we have plenty of time; there are only twenty acres to grub and we have nearly four months to doitin.’ They would at times let up in their haste, but they progressed finely. At the end of two weeks nearly an acre was grubbed. This was encouraging, and by the middle of April about four acres had been liter- ally demolished. [lf they had cut all the grubs off close to the ground and used four good mules to break it up they could have had forty acres instead of only four.— Secretary.] You would have thought a Kansas cyclone had struck and concen- trated its whole force on that four acres. In early spring we began preparing a small plat of ground, nearly one and one-half acres, for strawberries. ‘The ground was put in good order and the work of setting out the plants commenced with great care. Wehad been studying the outlines of strawberry culture during the winter evenings, and knew that it was the work of an expert. We used along butcher-knife for making the holes forthe plants. The roots were straightened out in the shape of a fan, every root to a certain angle, and then placed in the ground ; then one of the boys would stand off and take sight at the plant to see if it was right. Sometimes we would take up a plant four or five times before the proper set could be got. Many of the plants were completely worn out before we could. get them properly set. In the course of time the plants were finished and Started out to grow finely. Our next work was the setting out one-half acre of raspberries with the same care. We also the same spring put out one thousand apple, peach, cherry and plum-trees. ‘The apple-trees were one year old, and I well remember hearing many say ‘‘ Well, that man will be gray-headed before he’ll ever see an apple on those trees.’’ They seemed to think an apple-tree had to make nearly all of its growth while it was in the nursery, but they have got out of that ideanow. Those trees bore fine apples five years after setting. Now, Mr. Editgr, to be brief, I will say that we kept on increasing our small fruit planting (with not quite so much science), and the fourth season we gathered berries from 17 acres, 5} acres in strawberries and nearly 12 acres in raspberries, the gross sales amounting to $3480 ; which after paying out $900 dollars for box ma- terial and picking, left us $2500 for the crop. Besides this, the same ground was all set to fruit-trees, and the sixth year 35 acres were set to small fruit and nearly 4000 fruit-trees, and the seventh year another 40-acre tract was added to the farm and all set out in Jess than three weeks to apple trees, and the entire tract set in Strawberries, raspberries and blackberries. This tract had to be partially cleared up. Our plantation now covers 80 acres, 75 acres of this being planted in fruit- trees, nearly 6000, and the same ground all set in berries, and from 50 to 225 hands were employed in the berry field last season, 1891; $2600 was paid out for labor and over $500 for box material. This amount of money was paid mostly to boys, girls and women that otherwise would have been idle, and these productions from land that was considered to be of very little value when we purchased the land. We were told by several that quite a number of former owners had starved out trying to make a living on it. The express charges for carrying this fruit to market for 1891 would reach near $3000 from this plantation. ‘The enterprise carried on at the Gem City Fruit Farm has been the means of having cleared up hundreds of acres adjoining and all set to fruit, beautiful homes of four, five and ten acres and good buildings, now occupying land that was almost considered worthless before the fruit industry was started, Since our first purchase was bought and cleared up, over 100 acres of other land has been cleared, and nearly all of it been set to fruit and again subdivided into small tracts and built upon. From our farm to the 58 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. city, that was but a few years ago a rough, narrow road with timber and brush al? of the way on both sides, now is dotted with as fine homes as can be found in the state, admired by all who see them, and kept up by an enterprising class of people. Thousands of dollars are now paid out for labor annually, and tens of thousands. of dollars of foreign money brought here from markets a thousand miles away, and this is from land that did not formerly add one dollar’s worth of revenue to the owner. Many acres of these lands have been sold for from $100 to $225 per acre since the fruit industry was started. Our first purchase of 40 acres at $30 per acre would be cheap now at $500 per acre. We have been offered that for it, but it. could not be made for that amount of money. Now, Mr. Editor, this work has been done by persistent labor, for labor was our chief capitai stock, paid in by installments of from twelve to sixteen hours daily for twelve months in the year. Six thousand tons of manure have beeen put on this plantation alone. Our cash capital in March, 1884, amounted to $60, besides. having paid $500 on our purchase, one team and wagon, two sons, myself and wife. Now, this has been no small undertaking, L assure you. During this time we have met with many reverses, but our labor in genera! has been crowned with success. Our work bas been a work of pleasure; it has always been seasoned with hope, for we know that our hopes are the mainsprings of our greatest endeavors. We feel thankful to know that our work has aided many others in affording employment to the unemployed. We also take great pleasure in expressing our thanks to the citi- | zens of our beautiful city, to the business men for their patronage, to the press of our city for their aid in advertising this great enterprise. I speak of it as a great enterprise, for it has added thousands of increased wealth to the property of our county.* Our fruits are spoken of as being of a superior quality. I would here say to the reader that should this article come to the notice of any who desire to locate ina bean- tifal country, and where we have the soil and climate for the most successful growing of fruits in our land, [ speak from a knowledge gained from experience, and gained by traveling over ten thousand miles of country since locating in our present. home, after visiting hundreds of fruit farms in other parts of our country, I take pride in saying that we have one of the best fruit farms, if not the best, in the State. The time will soon come when train loads of fruit will be carried from Southwest Missouri and Vernon county will produce her quota. I will mention the increase of material used for boxing small fruit in our city. I think in 1884 5000 boxes would have heldall the strawberries grown in our county. 1n 1891 seven car loads and about 700,000 boxes were sold at Nevada, and these all have to be made upon the different fruit farms. We often make 6000 boxes per day on our own, sewing them together with a wire thread. Any one visiting our county that may be interested in fruit-growing is invited to visit our plantation. Should you like to visit it in strawberry season, come in May, about the middle of May. Three or four hundred hands are employed within half a mile of the Gem City Farm. This. fruit is all crated and labeled before it leaves the plantation. Yours truly, J. H. Logan, Nevada, Mo. At the evening session an illustrated lecture was given by Prof. Purinton, of Columbia (Mo.) University, on Entomology. This lecture was well received and appreciated by the audience, and many thanks were tendered to Prof. Purinton and the Board of Curators for the s evening’s lecture. SUMMER MEETING AT CHILLICOTHE, 59 SOME OTHER ROADS. Following is an interesting and able paper from the pen of Mrs Helen Laughlin, of College Springs, Iowa, read before the Farmers’ Institute, held in Oregon, February 18 and 19, 1892: Not many years ago, people who lived in cities and towns supposed them- selves to be the sole representatives of all the education, refinement, general intel- ligence and wit of the universe. Individuals even thought that if they were called upon to ‘shufile off this mortal coil,’ ‘“‘wisdom would die with them.’ They could not realize that occasionally the rural districts nurtured men and women who. were in every respect the equals and sometimes the superiors of anything a city could produce, and they looked with supreme and lofty contempt and spoke with scornful indifference of a!l who lived on farms, delved in the soil, plantea@ orchards and dwelt, literally as well as figuratively, under their own sweet-potato vines. and cucumber trees. ‘ Strange to say, the oddities, the ignorance and the general uncouthness of the lower class of country folks—who are not and never have been farmers—were in the past taken as a sample of what all farmers and farmeresses were; and those who lived in the country, no matter how refined or intelligent, received their share. and a little more of derisive remarks, which passed for wit among people who did not seem to know any better. It is a noticeable fact that there do not seem to be any new jokes current in the ‘* funny column” of our prominent newspapers about country people. ‘The best periodicals have outgrown all such foolish attempts to be witty at the expense ofa class of people who really are the heart and soul of the nation, and those poor little weeklies that do keep it up only bring out some old ‘chestnut,’ and try to make it appear new by an attempt to change, which deceives nobody but them- selves. Nowadays, no one looks upon such things as typical of the farming popu- lation, and the tide of public opinion sets in a very different direction. It is actually becoming fashionable to be a farmer, and still more so—indeed rather «sthetic—to dabble in the profession of horticuiture. There has been a great cry made in certain quarters about the number of farmers supposed to be members of Congress from the various states. During the session of that body in 1890-91 a prominent agricultural journal instituted an inquiry as to how many farmers there were in the United States Senate. The astonishing discovery was made that there was not a single simon-pure farmer in either branch of Congress. There were men there who owned farms, and men who lived on farms during the hot weather, but none who held the plow or who personally did any of the rough work always to be done ona farm. Still, it is something to even bave them claim to be farmers, and is an indication of the direction in which public opinion is drifting ; and not many years hence all the main traveled roads leading to the best positions in the gift of the people will be filled with farmers traveling toward the United States capital, and it will be the wide-awake, progressive, thoughtful and educated farmer who will ‘‘get there.’’ None other need apply. Whenever I[ read the political papers, and I read all sides, from the bottom of my heart I rejoice that I am debarred, just yet, from the privilege (?) of being an unprincipled politician, and I rejoice still more that a man (or a woman either) may be a politician and still retain his conscience, his honor and his patriotism. The time wil! come, and many of us will live to see it, when only those men who are in every way worthy of it will be elected to offices of trust and honor. 60 é STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. The newspapers generally recognize a good thing when they see it, and they know that when they take up the subject of farms, farmers and farming, they are pursuing a fruitful topic. It would be hard to tell what some of them would do to fill their columns if they were debarred from discussing the farmer and his ways and means. There is no subject that I know of that is more valuable to help some of them to tell what they don’t know. It might strike back, but seldom does so, and so they feel perfectly safe in saying what they please. Of course there are many praiseworthy exceptions, and their number is yearly growing larger. The world-renowned Horace Greeley once wrote a book which he named ‘*What I Know About Farming.’’ If he had written one more and labeled it **What I Don’t Know About Farming,’ it would have been necessary to publish it in encyclopedia style, twenty volumes, half calf. There is no one man who can tell everything necessary to be known about farming or any other subject, and it is only by learning the pactice and failures, as well as the successes, of.the many, that we can arrive at any practical conclusion. One branch of the newspaper paragraph business is another of the main traveled roads which center inthe farm. We can read all sorts of views and many queer practices which are ascribed to farmers, and no one can be more surprised than the farmers themselves to know they entertain such views or conduct business in such ways as are ascribed tothem. While for a time this may furnish reporters employment and their readers with considerable amusement, there is no harm done to the farmer, as he is really benefited and can well afford to receive a little free advertising, while he is abundantly able to stand all the abuse he may receive. Another way, long traveled by many farmers, is their neglect to provide the family with good and usefulreading matter. Ten, flfteen or twenty dollars invested yearly in books, newspapers and magazines is a far more profitable method of spending the ‘‘ dollar of our daddies’’ than it would be to invest it in land, bank stock or even government securities. ‘ihe compound interest of happiness, gen- eral intelligence and increased usefulness of every member of the family by reason of this is beyond price. The fact is they cannot afford not to. It is the very poorest kind of economy to starve the brain and stint the growing curiosity of the youtbfal mind. It is said that ‘‘a child will ask more questions than ten wise men can answer,’’ and many of the questions they ask are answered in the columns of the weekly newspaper. If I had a growing family of children to educate, and had to choose between the ordinary district school, “as she is usually taught,”’ and a good supply of newspapers and magazines at home, the weekly visits of the printed page would be my choice every time. Let us make our district schools better, make them what they ought to be and help raise the standard of the country newspaper, and we may safely trust the farmers’ interests in the hands of our sons and daughters. ‘Another peculiar way of some farmers is to buy trees, plant an orchard, neg- lect them entirely, and then wonder why ‘‘trees wont grow” for him. There are numerous methods to keep from having a fine, thrifty lot of fruit-trees growing on every farm. Some buy poor trees because they can be bought cheap; others expose the roots to the blazing sun before planting; still others stick the tender roots into a hole, jam the earth around them, and then leave them to the tender mercies of hogs, sheep, cattle, and the ever-present and all-devouring rabbit. These amateur horticulturists expect to become millionaires out of the profits of their first ventures in that business, and when failure looms up in the near future they immediately begin to abuse every nurseryman within reach, and the man who runs the home nursery catches it more than the others. Of course the neighbor SUMMER MEETING AT CHILLICOTHE. 61 hear their side of the question, and are more or less influenced by it. We hear repeated in the usual doleful whine that ‘‘ 1 wanted to raise an orchard the very worst way, but it seems like I can’t,’? and we are reminded of the time when Abra- ham Lincoln attended a dancing party, and approaching Miss Todd, who afterward became Mrs. Lincoln, said in his peculiar idiom: ‘ Miss Todd,I should like to dance with you the worst way.’ The young lady accepted, and he hobbled around the room with her. Onreturning to her seat she was jokingly asked by oue of her young friends: ‘‘ Well, Mary. did he dance with you the worst way ?’’ ** Yes,’’ she replied, ‘‘the very worst.”? Not being on the witness stand, I cannot affirm to the actual truth of this story, but whether true or not, it serves my pur- pose as an illustration. When fruit-trees are planted ‘‘in the very worst way,’ and then left ‘‘ in the very worst way ’’ to shirk for themselves ‘‘in the very worst way,’ nothing else but utter failure need be expected; and this slip-shod way of doing things, which many so-called farmera for so many years have followed, is another of the uneven roads that lead away from the farm. It is surprising, indeed, that all who let things run themselves in this shiftless manner do not finally bring up at the front door of that institution known as the poor farm. It would be easy to multiply instances of the queer performances of men who cut wonderful capers under the name of ‘‘business.’”? ‘‘The Kingdom of Queer *’ must be surprisingly well populated if we may judge by the number of lunatics who escape and settle—or, more correctly, unsettle—in the United States. Learn to wait persistently and work bravely, and never say ‘‘die,” nor write the word ‘* failure’ on your banner. There is one road which is open to all who live on the farm, and which in- cludes in its foundation the principles of all true progress. It is broad enough to include all human wisdom, and he who travels along this flower-gemmed highway may achieve the grandest and noblest results of which a well-balanced character is capable. The world’s typical great men are those who have lived nobly and truly while they worked for others. Not he who is the most talked of by the public press or by the world, but he who has done most to inspire in others a nobler manhood and womanhood. Not he who has the largest bank account, but he whose bank account has done the most helpful deeds for others. Character is more than achievement, and he truly lives, who, putting wealth of some sort into his life, brings out of it for himself richness of character. To do,.and be, and dare all for humanity and the world is a noble privilege, and beginning on the farm, our influence may widen and deepen ‘until the effect of our character is felt to the ends of the earth. This is now and will ever be the privilege of the farmer and his famiiy; and in the evolution of character which gives life to a great nation, our farmers’ boys and girls will yet occupy the most brilliant positions in the world’s history. 62 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. SECRETARY’S REPORT. Each year seems to bring new trials and new experiences. A very dry and exhaustive fall, seeming to sap the life out of our trees, vines and plants, a very sudden fall of the temperature during the winter to 18° to 24° below zero, a series of very severe winds and storms from the southwest, blowing for days, then the cold, blasting east winds, and a freezing norther from the north and northwest, has seemingly blighted the very good prospect for our fruits, which we had been so happy to see—not such a surplus, but enough to bring good prices. We are sure of nothing until the season is through, and it is no use to worry over what has passed, or to count too strongly on what is to come. A blasting simoon, not hot like Africa’s, but a cold blast which seems to be just as blighting, passed over our State from the north- west a couple of weeks since, and death is in its track wherever its influence was felt. In all my experience of twenty-five years here, watching closely the changes and influence of the weather, I have never seen the like before. Not only our fruit-trees, but the forest- trees, the shade-trees, the evergreens and shrubs have all shown the effects, and they are serious indeed. I have evergreens in my yard forty feet high, which seem to have been frosted on the entire north- west side 80 badly that the young shoots are all entirely black. Trees have suffered so severely that the fair prospect for apples of a month ago has been all but blighted, and we may look for good prices for every bit of fruit we may have. All of our fruits will be in demand this year, and no one need lose money on any kind of fruit he may have to sell. I warn all in time, so that they may not let it go to waste nor sell too cheaply. The work of the Society continues to grow on all sides; where we used to have one interested we now have ten; where there used to be one orchard there are now ten; where there used to be one thou- sand trees planted there are now ten, until our whole State, nearly, seems to be under the influence of the fruit-grower or the horticul- turist—something like it is in California. Our State is being covered from one end to the other with progressive horticulturists, enthusiastic, determined to make a success of every department of our profession, to study and learn in the different lines of thought, and to take up SUMMER MEETING AT CHILLICOTHE. 63 specialties, knowing full well that there is enough for one to do, and do it well, in any department of horticulture. The fruit-grower knows full well that he has enough to attend to in his line of work, be it either small fruits or large fruits. The nurseryman realizes that if he follows his business strictly he will have his hands full to keep up with the trade. The florist understands that he has to watch his green-houses as closely as does the merchant, and the cut-flower trade is today becom- ing a mercantile business by itself; there are wholsale cut-flower mer- chants and retail dealers, so that even now it is becoming a business by itself. The entomologist has a specialty which they will tell you takes a life study, and the bugs will keep them busy for years to come. The ornithologist has birds to think about until he is in love with them. The pathologist has the rusts and mildews, and all sorts of fungus growth about him, so that he can use his microscope to his heart’s content. The botanist has the grandest of all the sciences to learn from. The geologist can study the rocks and soils until he finds the works of untold ages. The landscape gardener has his hands full with the beautifying of our homes, parks, roads, public squares and cemeteries. The chemist has enough to do to study the constituents of our soils, manures and plants, and the results to be had from their use. Now, then, the horticulturist needs to know something of all these, and do you then ask what is there to learn in horticulture? But when you come to add the duties of the business man and the merchant to these also, you at once realize that there is more room for a full life of activity than in any other profession you can follow. Thus the work grows and spreads over our land, until we are now having a band of live, wide-awake, intelligent, enthusiastic, energetic, well-informed, studious, earnest horticulturists all over our land, and the results will be seen in every line of our work and every depart- ment of study. Our report is but just leaving the hands of the binder and printer, and I hope soon to have them in the hands of all our members. We have had the number of copies increased, and the number of bound copies also, so that I shall be able to supply all members and local societies with bound copies. The demand for the volumes keeps pace with the increase of our ‘work, and we are having calls for them from every state and territory, 64 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. ' Europe, Asia and Australia. Our colleges are asking for them for the boys who are following this line of study and investigation, or for those who expect to take up the work ina practical way. Our old bank account at Nevada has not been settled, and we have only received about $75 as the firstinstallment. The thieves who: so boldly and wantonly robbed us of that fund are in a likely way of getting into the penitentiary, and we can only hope they may be com- pelled to refund the money and spend their lives there. Mr. Logan writes that every effort is being made to bring them to time in their robbery. Our finances and the condition of the same will be presented to you by our worthy Treasurer. The work is growing and the expense is increasing, and it is neces- 8 ry now to spend most of one’s time either on the state work travel- ing about the country, or in the offlce answering questions or helping locate some one in the State. Never a day passes but that I have to answer some questions per- taining to fruit-growing or locating a fruit farm. Over 1500 letters have been sent out in answer to such questions and inquiries, and in the business matters of the Society. Six thousand circulars and report cards have been sent out and collected. Reports have been made of these to the Secretary of the State Board of Agriculture and sent out with his reports. Each year the work is growing and increasing and improving. The work of the State Society in its connection with the World’s Fair will be an important one the next two years. J. C. Evans, our President, has been appointed to take charge of the matter for the State, and $10,000 has been set aside for the work. It behooves us to take the utmost care and pains with all our fruits this year, and to put up in jars some 1200 or 1500 varieties. We will need, also to put in cold storage, something ‘like 300 barrels of choice apples to use for display before our fruits begin to ripen in the year 1893. Places of deposit will be had in three or four . of our towns for such deposit, and all our apples from about Maiden’s. Blush time until the end of the season will have to be put into storage as well as into jars. You therefore see that an immense quantity of fruit will have to be collected and cared for. It is our part to take this work upon us, and we are sure the fruit nen of the state will not fail. The work of the Experiment Station has been very unsatisfactory indeed to the fruit-grower. First we had a good earnest man, Prof. Taft, who now is in the lead at the Michigan Agricultural College, and SUMMER MEETING AT CHILLICOTHE. 65 before he had the matter well in hand, his head was cut off, and another put in his place. Scarcely had we become acquainted with Prof. Clark, and he with us and with the work of the State, ere his head, too, was taken off. Prof. Clark had instituted a series of experiments which no one could carry out so well as be; and it does seem to me that not the least grain of common sense is used in the management of matters at the Station, especially in horticulture. Prof. Clark, as we all know, was an earnest worker and a compe- tent man, and why a change should be made without reason, we have aright to know. No series of experiments can be so well carried out by another as by the one who has them in mind, and so we have never had any results whatever from the werk there, and never will until the horticultural department is put upon its proper footing, and a line of work is laid out to follow for a series of years. Today we have men in our Society who have done more in this line of study than the whole _ Experiment Station, and our Station costs $15,000 per year. Untila fund is set apart for the work and a line of work laid out to be followed, there will be no successful work accomplished. No live energetic man will undertake the work without a murmur, if he is to be hedged about on all sides by other views and other men. If he is the man for the place, then give him his share of money and let him lay out his work accordingly, and then follow it. It is because Prof. Clark did this that he was relieved of his position. No man of spirit would have done less, and no one could do more than he with his hands tied, or with the means at his disposal. I say now as I[ have said time and again, that we will never have a successful Agricultural College or Experiment Station while the Col- lege is connected with the University, oris located at Columbia. There seems to be the idea, and it is true, that the Agricultural College is a good thing for the University, and they will keep it there for that pur- pose as long as the people will consent. It is a disgrace to our State and will always be a disgrace as long as it is in its present shape. We should as horticulturists call loudly and long, in season and out, for the removal, and then we will see suc- cess. Our Society is one of continual growth and increased power. In Spite of the small delegation we have present; we know well the reason and it is easily excused. But I must say to all of you that we have had no more earnest work, or any of more practical value, than has H—}b 66 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. been done here. We will fo satisfied with the result, and be better pleased when we return to our homes. Our Stateis growing so rapidly that we must continually push ahead with our labors or be left behind. And so it is our pleasure and desire to ever keepin advance of our cause and be leaders rather than followers. Missouri will take no backward step in spite of the discourage- ments, while we have the good honest men all over the State working hand in hand.