LIME LS W \ MAK \S YYZ tits EO GGG AQAN QQ BA Rn» q WH WA SSNS MNO V7 AN Rw < LOS SS NS SSS SSS SS SM \ QE WANs SS WH WY WY NRA SSS S \ ‘ 4, WN SS RWW MSW . ~~ WH WOO WAVY RWG Y “ wile 5 N SWNH Ss s, SS = ANION TS ‘ ~ “S AAMAS AAT AA ON IM Aha ery ria Aan ~ a N ee 4, eo 2. “A ” ! * :. SAM’L MILLER. FORTY-FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Spare Horricuurural Socrery OF MIssouRI ORGANIZED 1859 INCORPORATED 1893 MEETINGS AT NEW HAVEN, JUNE 4, 5 AND 6, ST. JOSEPH, DECEMBER 3, 4 AND 5, root. L. A GOODMAN, Secretary KANSAS CITY (WESTPORT), MISSOURI JEFFERSON OITY, MO.: TRIBUNE PRINTING COMPANY, STATE PRINTERS AND BINDERS, 1902. x MISSOURI STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. ‘To His Excellency, A. M. DocKERY, Governor: 2 _ 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 1901, is respectfully submitted. ae L. A. GOODMAN, Secretary, Kansas City (Westport), Mo. City of Jefferson, November 12, 1900. _- To the Commissioners of Publie Printing: 7 ABs I require for the use of my office Five Thousand copies of Missouri State Horti- - cultural Society Report for 1911I—Three Thousand to be bound in cloth and Two Thou - sand to be bound in paper—which I desire as per accompanying sample. oo Respectfully, = : : L. A. GOODMAN, Secretary, 2 Kansas City (Westport), Mo. = Approved: = : SAM B. COOK, Secretary of State. Ey ; ALBERT O. ALLEN, State Auditor. = = R. P. WILLIAMS, State Treasurer. ° IN MEMORIAM. SAMUEL MILLER, 2Npb vice PRES., BORN LANCASTER, PA., OCT. 4, 1820. DIED BLUFFTON, MO., OCT. 24, 1901.—AGE 81 YEARS. A. NELSON, TREAsS.. BORN ONEIDA CO.,N. Y., SEPT. 8, 1880. DIED LEBANON, MO., NOV. 10, 1901.—AGE_ 71 YEARS. . NELSON. ak, i j ie 1. AM . ws a "i i ete {eas Oy A ae it tpi re ra } stim! ah i : | an he e * _ ‘ OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR 1902. OMeENOT A. Ma DOCK RY... ctsvisscstaes « Ex-Officio Member of Executive Committee NAS EVO NUR Ee CE EE SIO OIE 5 Boss sons ones on aaa ee ORES Sie asl ee elotnlae wee alone wince ebericte Columbia eh hee Lae ViiCO—P Fes Ontos ssc awe oateclen cleicied dale accpioe Adeline are te eats wien dee ee aes Nichols CAF DUPCHR ERS “Sccond, Mice=-P residents: gaa. ete ae saa tiek ope cmitedes toavies baa Warrensburg i, A> GOODNEAIN 5 SCCLELALY< wclaccccc ans rata’ eieistersavsiols/ataieieis sicwe teeta cast Kansas City (Westport) Vo x cede IC eae OES D ODS aia tdietalets da eiaals witrea arg to isi ivioel oleic nw dome Cle na un oe aan Parkville CeaWeeNrer. bibs,» hind. Vice-President, LOR) Late sas. 2.5 oo «> sie ole «cle tells siete Kirkwood LIST OF HONORARY LIFE MEMBERS. Pb ohn Ee residents tate — UGUVOLSIEY.so.5 asco. coe as cine cwiae tacit oiclaae dene Columbia ETON eee are Ame Neer) WEED ER. cfatote ara cterenc are'emsie ociee's alone sie av alnina hye Wald bes nee ehnle oe ejelelee Kansas City Sp is EDS Seg ne a a SPO A Harlem i RSS ig yo) Et ea 01 2 eA Kirkwood OBIE, CE CELUI S ELIVPAUN eras te cten oeleere eet wee Cae a ee io wee = SSID ce ena slaie a eectelele Napa, Cal. ee VEE Fedo HUE Noy BP ee en 5 io cara wcicts aelsvele rate alates Siam reels np ois ice oman Sealine s Sane © seal elviete ce ele Kirkwood TEV CT SSR Af GIO rN Ns ee Sine Sic Ce eeerne OC SR OC CHEarnnncandeoo ner 7 St. Louis ENELAG Si TV ire @ ew INST ED Nine, Se styciorcle e = a aeicls Soe ew mac. Saute has Sleeiatlle Nae ewe eee eos St. Louis ERE prar ees a eh mess CLS ED eo la Soe steele wale wiate ian e site ate ec ki asa's. ncgclm clola rele ajeielé siete ereneieaiele Independence FEDER OR Sele Dee Ari ts C) WAC IIE ora rare on ohiw wre an oe acai Sia Sections we eal one Washington, D. C. INE CARCI ETUALER DT Au Hy Ps Lege sates Se aele dae atelv oie ace Satioisie sia slaisie beta eens bicivie el ewia.clalols Me aelemislatere St. Joseph TEISRO Tb: GSE A US DID RO eR iE ASE DRI CeC ee oe SSO CROCS nC rire rica Parksley, Va. TRERVO IDS “Aj SM SMS ISTO Is Geek oap oOsnr ner SOOUnUCCO oSodenae Fen ase one MOORE ECE Mountain Grove PH Eee aide 1G) Dey PRN cr Fin oe to'e oc eioleic, «cn se ciniatale aie afelnle oles natu ae eae Wir ole e-wlis'nis vinin «10 216 Rosedale, Kansas Vila TEE UB AUB el SASS en ee er A OD EPIC Oe De cei nee DE ECTRC ECO RED ECBOnnD Sar Topeka, Kansas LIST OF LIFE MEMBERS. EMS IV Uae iseeredere tote ete o amare ae ee eee ote ee tere cele ees ain cic Sereeitnsec cfae eine smiele Fox Creek eee One BV ZAIN So otecta.e vier RRO SOR AAO DCE DCACEIE RE Hot GED DIES AROE SA SAE er iterre tric leon Sond: Harlem eae OOD NAN ., soe ote So ee OE eee: Kansas City (Westport) TD ANE 1D IU). (by. SA einonies: nec bon oe Scosed =e), so dorms asoeamee ane cEsnt a nde opel qndoncce Fulton yee AMEN OES INGE Dy.) aioe casera oan S's F oles apatele TORINO ea Oe OEE aecine Sects Saree aoe ec Bete a yr aia Columbia (GIS sNSH 15 TOM 54 D024 eB pgoradpson Secseerne’ ce Bodebccreenc oro pared: aounepcor cbrpnmer apnetencaog= Seneca ‘Chel ©) IBN AOS SR panei Oee aRn ears she Boerisb rice os cede fe ere le aR me CT ee St. Louis eee ee CONS DOL ESPEN SSO) ING oso arava. 0 @ vig Shain is Duints,pleim,c'n/s wie eminem liaise = efele otoe mjoletw) ofa waakee Pr ee Pe Altenburg peer mem OUTS IOP SDL T 2, <2 ac cic sasiole s wt nio'alts o Setslelsieiawias slilee tela =m cae Pew ame must be picked off, because of their clinging habit, while the native varieties may be shaken off easily. The following is a list of varieties under each division: Ameri- can—Wild-goose, Miner, Wyant, Wayland. The Wild-goose plums ripen in about four weeks. There is sometimes danger of their not fertilizing themselves and some other variety had best-.be planted with them; for example the Miner: European—Damson, Lombard; Japa- nese—Abundance, Burbank, Red June, Wickson. Of these Aundance is the best, while Red June ripens first. The plum curculio and the fungus black knot attack the plum. For the former spray with the arsenites; for the latter the only remedy is to cut out the diseased portions. As soon as the orchard is planted, watch must be kept for injur- ious insects and fungus diseases; the two principle obstacles to be overcome in fruit growing. Such preventive measures as timely and persistent spraying, removing and destroying all diseased branches promptly, keeping the ground clean of weeds, litter or fallen fruit, encouraging and protectig the birds, and maintaining an active flock of poultry constantly about the orchard, will help us to be victorious in the battle. In conclusion it may be well to state that there are many other obstacles in the way of successful fruit growing, but the horticulturist with knowledge, alertness and perseverance clears the way and in due time reaches success. 70 State Horticultural Society. FORESTRY WORK. (By Proi, eG lth of Sti Louis ve:) In discussing this question, we will ask what is Forestry? One of the questions of today is how shall we manage our woods? Now this means a@ great deal more than we think at first. It means the planting and management of trees. Something must be done along this line. The management and tending of trees is something that will effect every community in a few years. It has its influence on the physical world. It is important to us from two points. First, the effect upon the physi- cal world, and second, is the timber question. It is not as it used to be a long time ago with this forestry ques- tion, we used to take no thought of our trees. But what was right and proper then need not be proper now in this day. We do not realize to what extent this destruction is going on. One of the most destructive agents we have is fire. The census report of 1880 tells that there were about 8 million of acres destroyed that year. Only a few years remain when our country will be bereft of its forests. But I want to dwell more particularly on the management of forests and to consider them from about three points. First, we want to plead for the protection of our forests, then the management, and third, that new ones be planted. Our Government has reserved several million of acres in the North- western states and is trying to protect them as best it can from fires and other things. Some states own forests, too, but most of them are owned by private men. The state of New York has several million of acres in forests. Pennsylvania has some, I don’t remember just how much, but not quite as much as New York. They are trying to enact national forest laws, and have these forests conducted on strictly forest principles. Now, what are these principles? I can tell you of some of them. In North Carolina, Mr. Vanderbilt has thousands of acres, and keeps adding to the tract. He is managing his forests on a paying basis of marketing the trees that are large and protecting the small ones and tending to them so they will, in a few years, be ready to remove and make room again for the next smaller ones. He also plants new trees in this way of managing he keeps almost a constant supply of timber en hand. He sells enough timber of course to pay all expenses and at the same time is carrying on quite a number of other experiments in connection. It is a profitable investment. New York is beginning to work along this line. And it seems to me that this principal should be Summer Meeting. rhe carried on still further than it is. Now we have large farms that are not good for anything very much, why not put these in forests? It seems to me that we might utilize them for this purpose. It is a question whether the Government should take up this work or leave it for the private individual. In most cases, of course the re- turns will be slow about coming in. It would be a long time before any income could be realized. Now the individual could not afford to wait that long. So in such cases it is the duty of the Government to take it up. It will of course cost the Government something to begin the work. But the Government cannot loose a cent on it, and in the end it will mean money gained. If individuals wish to take it up they will necessarily hhave to invest on a large scale as Vanderbuilt did. We need laws to be enacted along this line. It is indeed a pleasure to see what is being clone by some people and by some states. At present these forests are under the management ee the Depart- ment of Interior in connection with the Department of Agriculture and the only purpose is to start these principles and recommend them. It seems to me that this should be changed. The whole system should be put under one head. If these principles are ever carried out, I have no amore concern about the forests in this country of ours. INDIVIDUAL EXPRESSION IN FLORICULTURE. (By Mrs. Geo. E. Dugan, Sedalia, Mo.) Every living thing in creation seems to be struggling to express its individuality. It appears to be the plan of all life to struggle upward. Sometimes this plan is forsaken by individuals and the result is chaos, moral or physical; often it is both. It is a good thing to express oneself in floriculture and an individual may tell his disposition all unconsciously —in the very plan of his garden. The “garden spirit” is a good possession. No one knows except its possessor how much real joy comes of seeing things germinate and grow. Nor can any human being tell how very much he is affected by the still life about him. The perfume of a rose is something to remember; no one ever for- gets it. A violet may hide deep in the forest, but when we find it we know that it is a violet, and the recognition of this fact adds to our hap- piness. Before the snow leaves the earth the trailing arbutus é in blossom, anderneath its covering of leaves and frost; how delighted we are to 72 State Horticultural Society. find it, and how we wonder at its delicate beauty and its fine fragrance. There are many human lives like these flowers; to know how pure, how sweet, how beautiful they are, one must search them out and form their acquaintance. Why do little children always love flowers? I have seer miniature lords and ladies of American birth and culture radiate divinely under the influence of a handful of dandelion blossoms in the early spring; and when the spring beauties appear every meadow near any town is rife with the happiness of these small people intent on gathering” the treasures. i Men risk life and health, forsake home and forego the joy of every home tie to hunt for gold in the weird, wild places of the world, hut little children hunt for flowers. Which quest is the better one? A love for flowers always presupposes a desire to cultivate them. A mere wish to pull them, to wear them, to have them without care, is not love; it is. covetousness. There are persons who will declare with empnasis that they adore flowers, but who really care no more for them than did the character described by Wordsworth, of whom he said: “A primrose by the river’s brim, a yellow primrose was to him. And it was nothing ? more.” There are others who will say with Lee Parker Dean: “*God’s gentle breathings are the flowers: Each lily, rose and violet, Wooded by the sunshine and the showers, Is with His fragrant impress set.” We must always wonder at the mysteries of creation. Men in alt ages have delved, studied, grown gray, aye, gone mad, in futile attempts to fathom the mystery of life, yet each recurring spring time) brings the little blades of grass up from the brown sod, and the green leaves forth from the bare, naked boughs of the trees, and no man knows whence nor how they come. We are each forced to say with England’s late laureate : ‘*Mlowers, in the crannied wall, If 1 could understand you, root and all, Allin all, I should know what God and man is.”’ I have little patience with the floral faddist, the one who plants sweet peas and pansies because it is the fashion to do so, or else cultivates chrys- anthemums because his neighbor does, or because his florist advises him that they are to be “the flowers this year.’ There is no expression of individuality in this sort of imitation. Have you not observed flower plats on certain city or town streets. each so like the other that you have said, mentally, here is the soul mark of just one man; he is the only individual dwelling on this street ; he sets the fashion, the others imitate. . Be brave enough, oh, soul, to say your own say, have the flowers. Summer Meeting. 73- you most admire if they are only potato blooms, or bean blossoms. But you can have better things than these in your door yards, surely, whem there is such a vast and wonderful variety of Little seedlets, brown and bare, Waiting birth, Touch of earth, Little seedlets everywhere. Buds and blossoms rioting, On the air, Perfume rare, How the birds enjoy and sing. < My memory carries me back to a quaint old-fashioned house, an eastern country home, where the door yard always suggested some weird sweet ‘symphony. A stately soul untrammeled by fashion’s dictates here walked in glad freedom amidst the shrubs and flowers. When the first dawn of spring appeared the snowdrops that border the walk, in generous profusion, came forth to greet the passer by, and just a little later grape hyacinths, ixias, sparaxis and the crocus were in riotous bloom. Then came hyacinths, tulips and daffodils, so that the border was a ceaseless delight. After the bulbs had gone to sleep these borders were always set with pansies, later with petunias, so that there was not a time from March to October without brave show of blossoms along this walk. This yard seemed to be the home for every known variety of flow- ering shrub. There were clumps of syringas, clusters of spireas, lilacs, deutzias, snowballs and snowdrops, acacias, California yellow bells, while on porches and trellises were honeysuckles and the white, purple and lavender clematis. The old-fashioned flowers were not forgotten; there were hollyhocks, day lilies, peonies and every variety of the old-fashioned flags, which our grandmothers called “flower de Luce.” Great beds of gladioli—which are now called gladiola were in the garden; also a grand display of the best annuals, such as China asters, poppies, salvias, sweet peas, verbenas, cornflowers, salpiglosis, scabiosa, and there were blue bells, a hedge of rudbeckia, a long row of columbine, and much showing of cosmos as autumn came along. Nasturtiums, both the major and minor, were greatly in evidence, and there were roses of every kind and quality. Among the roses sweet alyssum was freely sown, and there were ever in early spring the forget-me-nots and johnny Jump-ups,” a small variety of pansies, which are perennial. I took my first lessons in flower growing in that dear old door yard and garden, and ascribe to its influence the strong taste in floriculture which seems to be my heritage, and which has ever defied all the set rules and bounds of ordinary planting. 74 State Horticultural Society. As cities came to usurp the freedom of country life, and ground be- ame too expensive for front yards, city people who loved flowers and whose front yards were only brick sidewalks, were obliged to put their plants and seeds in the rear, if they had any at all, and so grew the fashion of back door flower gardens. The silly country man who visited his city cousin observed the rear flower growing, went home, despoiled his front yard and did his utmost to conceal his shrubs and blossoms, as if they were things he was very much ashamed of, until the passer-by in the country no longer looked on beautiful flowering shrubs and cheerful annuals, but instead beheld stretches of bare green grass, like a meadow until the sun of summer came and scorched it brown, when it became a tangly, withered offense to the human vision. How prettily a bit of bright color might have relieved this somberness, but the eye sought for it in vain. Imitation is said to be complimentary, and may sometimes be for- given, but the floral faddist should not be encouraged. Put aside the catalog that tells you what flowers are to be fashionable this year, and give your order to the firm which simply advertises their wares and tells you how to grow seeds and to care for shrubs and plants. In reference to planting, the only rigid rule to be observed is in regard to time of planting and condition of soil. Most shrubs will do better if planted deep in good, rich, but not heavy soil. It is best to provide root drainage for most shrubs; for roses this is absolutely neces- sary unless the soil is of the deepest and richest loam. Deep planting does not do for such shrubs as have their rootlets near the top of the ground. A snowball will thrive best when not set too deeply. I find that roses do best when provided with leaf mould, a good substitute for which is well rotted chip dirt. It is well to mulch roses the first year with old straw or hay and they like extra feeding in the way of liquid applications, or of commercial fertilizers. Most small seeds require merely to be sown on top of the soil with no earth covering whatever. Such seeds as those of the popy, petunia, Kenilworth ivy and all others of similar size will sink into the porous soil, take root and grow best if not covered. Sweet peas must be planted very early and deep, five inches is not too deep, and March is not too early. Asters are as easily grown as lettuce, and in beds prepared quite the same; if the soil is good and the seeds sown in April, you may expect a fine display of flowers. Bulbs in this climate should be planted late in October or early in Novem- ber. I find that nearly all the hardy bulbs thrive best for me when not often disturbed. Some florists recommend frequent replanting for change of soil conditions, but my experience is that a good bulb will grow better if kept well enriched—for at least seven or eight years. Daffodils and the - Summer Meeting. (5 lily of the valley will multiply and grow better for a dozen years if they are not confined in too limited a space. I have a crocus bed that has not been disturbed for 12 years and it has grown to be a magnificent collec- tion, with colors ranging from purest white to deepest purple; some are striped, purple and white, while others are a deep rich yellow. I have a grand bed of the lily of the valley; it is on the north side of the house and for effect I have planted the blue flowered evergreen myrtle among the plants, the myrtle in no way seems to incommode the bulbs and it grows very luxuriantly. It is not difficult to grow flowers if one really cares to succeed. I -would advise the amateur to begin with those of easiest cultivation and not try to have a great many at first. Where a woman does her own housework and cares for a family the fewer flowers she has the better. I would recommend for the busy housewife nasturtiums for table vases and geraniums for yard display. Of all the hardy shrubs the finest in my estimation is the Spirea-Van Houtei. The hardy rambler roses are of the polyanthe class and very satisfactory. The crimson is a general favo- rite, but the white, the pink and the yellow are all good, and will pay well for planting and culture. In shrubs one should always have the white and the Persian lilac; they bloom early, grow easily and have pretty foliage. I would like to emphasize the fact that a few shrubs and plants well cultivated, properly pruned and cared for, will be far more pleasing than many which may suffer from lack of attention. I would also, in closing, once more say that individual taste or expression in floriculture should not be despised or discouraged. I have seen lovely hedges of hollyhocks and if my taste ran to peonies exclusively then I would be a peony specialist; but I would not grow things I did net care for because it happened to be a fad of my neighbor or the fashion of a day or year. Express thyself, oh, living soul, Thy right to think is not of man; God giveth thee a deathless role, Be faithful to His word and plan. The flowers bloom where’er they are, Each in its place smiles to the sun; Not one small plant the pages mar, Its mission o’er, its life is done. Not so is the immortal soul; It ends not here the task begun, But where eternal ages roll, Work here commenced shall there be done. 76 State Horticultural Society. FIFTH SESSION.~9 A. M. Thursday. The house was called to order by the President, and prayer offered by C. W. Murtfeldt. COMMISSIONER HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITS. Office of the Missouri Commissioners to the Pan-American and Charleston Exposition. No. 9 Inwood Place, Buffalo, N. Y., June 4, 1gor. Mr. L. A. GoopMANn, Secretary State Horticultural Society, New Haven, Missouri: My Dear Sir and Friend.—I regret very much that I cannot be with you at the summer meeting. It was fully my intention to be there, but on my arrival heie a few days ago bringng with me a car-load of. strawberries from Monett, Mo., which have just reached Buffalo, and must be unloaded tomorrow morning, and as I wish to put about one hundred cases on exhibit—of “24 qt. boxes to each case’—you will know that I shall be very hard at work, as I want to have them passed on at once. I will, however, thank you to remember me kindly to all of Missouri’s horticultural members and others who will attend your meeting. Tell them that Missouri is in the forefront on apples here, and I hope to keep her there throughout this exposition, and will also show what we can do with other fruit. ~ Hope to hear from you and other members of the State Horticultural Society, and wishing for you a well attended meeting, I am, Yours very truly, CHAS. GB Ein: Commissioner Horticultural Exhibits. N. B.—I have arranged to give all of the horticultural societies space in my fruit exhibits, and any fruit sent to me shall have my prompt and best attention, and any awards will go to the grower. BELL. LARGE BERRIES FROM MISSOURI. — A whole car-load of strawberries—delicious strawberries, the kind that is usually seen in pictures; fine, large, rich, ripe, red, juicy straw- berries, that make the mouth water—were placed on exhibition in the y “SP te; Be v by S . rE ~ ~ : f — MISSOURI FRUIT AT PARIS, 1900. ez 5 “o ems -& = Sane et a i ay wa a mt Summer Meeting. 77 Horticultural Building at the Pan-American Exposition yesterday. The pleasing odor of the lucious fruit permeated the whole building, and hundreds of visitors stood before the exhibit, breaking the tenth com- mandment and wishing that they could become possessors of at least a small part of the display. The berries were shipped by the Monett Berry Growers’ Association. In the display are 16,400 quarts, and they were shipped by freight, . leaving Missouri six days ago. The berries look as fresh as if they had been picked Monday. Every berry is perfect, and upon examining the baskets it will be found that each berry is large, whether found in the top, bottom or middle of the box. In this the display differs from the Eastern market berry, where, without fail, large berries remain on the top of a basket and small ones work to the bottom. BERRYLAND. The berries come from the gardens of Southern Missouri, and there are seventeen exhibitors. Commissioner Bell says: “The principal berry points are in Southwestern Missouri, at Monett, Sarcoxie, Peirce City, Neosho, Carthage, Springfield and Missouri. In the exhibit at the Ex- position are nine varieties—Gandy, Burbach No. 5, Aroma, Phillips, Seedling, Saunders, Star, Warfield, Haverland, Clyde—From Buffalo Courier. Mr. Erwin: I would like for Mr. Goodman, or some one who is familiar with the work, to tell us about the time and how to pack and all about it. a Mr. L. A. Goodman: Peahes must be ripe, not soft. Put in one- third bushel boxes or a four-basket crate, each holding about one-half a peck. Wrap in tissue paper, wrap good and pack in so that they can not move. That is the way we sent them to Chicago and Omaha and they carried there alright. Mr. Erwin: Suppose we should find a fine, big cluster of peaches, would you pick them off or could you pack them whole? Mr. Goodman: I do not think it is necessary to send them in clus- ters. You can’t ship them in cluster very well. You would have to be very careful in wrapping them in cotton batting and see that the stems were all wrapped, and then if they were not very careful in unwrapping them they would pull them off. Mr. Erwin: Would you pick the peaches from the stem or leave it with it? 78 State Horticultural Society. Mr. Goodman: The peach does not need the stem with it. It is not like the apple. You may cut the stem off with it, but it will come off anyway. All you need to be careful about is not to break the skin any~ way. That’s all. ae W. A. Gardner: I would suggest the California box for shipping peaches in. You can wrap them and put them in these boxes and they can be carried without the slightest injury. Mr. Murray.—We use the one-third bushel boxes. You can pack them in tight enough so they won’t shake. Mr. Nelson, Sr.—What little experience I have had, I like the 4 or 6-basket crates. The same as is used for shipping tomatoes. Wrap the fruit in paper and it will go through all right. W. A. Gardner.—I don’t suppose it makes any difference what kind of a box you use, so the fruit is well wrapped and put in well. Remarks from Mr. Goodman urging a good attendance at the meet- ing in Buffalo this fall, as representatives from nearly all the Europea: countries will be there. Said he would like to have a good delegation go from the Missouri Horticultural Society. i Mr. Murtfeldt—I would like to have about five minutes here. I would like to put in just a word or two. Now my friends, if you can’t see it, I will tell you that I am a very old man, and cannot meet with you very often after this. I congratulate myself on being a member of this meeting. Where I was born (in Germany) before it became an empire, we lived on the border line of Prussia, and they have salt mines over there, and they charge their own people more for their salt than others. And there was a difference in the salt, too. So much so, that the sub- jects would go across the line to buy their salt. They were in danger every time of being shut in, but they would risk it. Now I want to say a word about our own apples. I am acquainted more with them than anything else. Commission men of St. Louis often meet. I once went to them and asked for Missouri apples. They did not have a one. Have you the New York apples? Oh, yes, sir. I asked them if they had no Missouri Ben Davis and they told me that they could not get them. Now, why is it we cannot buy our own apples in our own State? I think we should see to it that we can. Your Committee on Fruits respectfully submit the following report: The show of fruit, though by no means large, was exceedingly fine. In the matter of strawberries there was not a single box shown but was worthy of attention and consideration. These exhibits are object lessons, and are of the highest importance to the horticulturist in determining Summer Meeting. (hs what to plant. Your committee has deviated slightly from their instruc- tions and awarded two premiums for the best two boxes of strawberries. on exhibition. Best was for Bubach, Fred Howe, $2.00; second best, Nick Ohmer. $1.00. To D. A. Robnett, for a collection of six varieties, viz.: Jesse Bubach, Haverland, Beederwood, Gandy and Clyde, $5.00. To Jacob Stocke, St. Louis, collection five varieties, viz.: Gandy, Marshall, Brandy Wine, Clyde and Bubach, $3.00. This collection had been carefully selected but had been picked so long that they did not show quite up to requirements. We beg to mention an exhibition by same of three magnificent heads of Cauli- flower. : To James Lugan of Canton for three varieties, vix.: Bubach, Clyde and Haverland, $2.00. To A. T. Nelson, Lebanon, four boxes Bubach, $1.00. H. W. Jenkins, Boonville, for Greenville, $1.00. A new strawberry by Geo. T. Tippin of Monett, grown by Wil- liam Bowers, was very large, but had been picked so long we could not determine its character, being quite sour and badly shaped. We regret this very much as the size was up to the first. There was on the table three varieties of apples by Mr. Von Buskirk of Oregon, viz.: Jonathan, Winesap and Ben Davis, for which we award $1.00. We would mention appliances on exhibition: A dust sprayer by Mr. J. J. Kiser, Stanberry, Mo. An evaporater by Thomas and Davis. of Jefferson, Oregon. FRANK HOLSINGER, D. A. ROBNETT, 1. FHOMPSOR: REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON OBITUARY. To Officers and Members of Missouri State Horticultural Society: Full two years have passed since we were called upon to devote a page of our minutes to the memory of a brother called from his labors of love dnd mercy. In this we have great cause for joy and thankfulness. But today we are asked to think lovingly and speak kindly as we mourn the loss of a most estimable man and brother, who has gone to enjoy the fruits of a well spent life beneath the shade of the trees. of eternal bliss. 80 State Horticultural Society. Last April, Captain Thomas W. Guant, at his home in Maryville, died of acute neuralgia of the heart, suddenly developed, no doubt, from sunstroke, la grippe and progressive paralysis from which he had suffered for some fourteen years. He was born in Kingston, Staffordshire, England, April 4, 1830, and was therefore only 71 years of age at the time of his death. But he was a busy man, a public spirited and enterprising citizen. He was a son of a florist and had received in his youth a good business education, and a practical knowledge of the nursery business. In 1856, in the 26th year of his age, he laid the foundation of a successful nursery at Maryville, thus becoming a pioneer fruit-grower in our great Northwest Missouri. Of course he lost no time in becoming a member of the Missouri Horticultural Society, and in this relation he was loved and honored by all who met him here and injoyed his wise councils and felt the magnetism of his enthusiasm. From his youth he was a consistant christian, and in his manhood days a staunch advocate of temperance reform. Into his church work he carried the same earnestness, determination and enthusiasm, tempered by the love of his great altruistic heart, that characterized him in all his business relations. He therefore not only helped his fellow man to produce the fruits of the orchard and the vine, but also the fruits of righteousness and of devotion to the good, the pure and the true. We do well to mourn the loss of such a man, and to resolve, that in his departure this Society has been deprived of a most useful mem- ber and our State of a most valuable citizen; that this Society deeply sympathizes with his bereaved family, and particularly with his two daughters, Misses Carrie and Gertie, now orphans indeed, who lov- ingly cared for the father in his declining years, and smoothed his ach- ing brow when he died; and that we request our Secretary to furnish them a copy of this notice, and spread the same upon the records of this Association. C. H. DUTCHER, H. C. IRISH, . J. W. GREENE. Summer Meeting. - 81 REPORT OF TREASURER, A. NELSON, JUNE 4-6, 1901. Receipts. ice. 2619008 Balance on: hand 73 22242 42 Ke 00 - Fee Han 30, 190n,-Cash from: State Treasuter,.. 2... <2. March 31,1908, Cash fromm State Treasurer. .......... cr GC COU ESey are shart. whe wrtle “cictoge ous eevee ae om a tola ao) BS ot or $1,500 57 Disbursements. ames. Fexpress p00, 57C. ROC, 75 Ce aa wic's as 3 e1nis ESeRESS) 4OC. 206) 250.2505 o-oo < ove Se oesions Wrapping paper, K. C. Paper House.... PAN Sill Me oliatia Diane 5% as learotoehe eats wie Bex PRESS ORUITII dad aia ia sess) one 2 21 eke mole eters | ENG OVSIts es, Old gh 64S 070) 9 ae eens Ao en or pa Se Ul VVCESE DOE Da rncte Sires laiore eo: © ores Salary of Secretary and Typewriter, Jan.. Wiaekamt ING: 470". sctactrie speak ath Sass etelmncteao = epee tas bs WeStepiiens 2M Labels. .ac ses 2 Ee e@le Bion Rep OriS. 3c -ei0'r pe cn inleke Sane Paedic: F xpress> Ot Reports Vi. sc ie/acins- _unerican, Express: on, Reports...) 2. << Wrapping paper, boxing and _ shipping Weportse ss ae = Seo sea set te toe le ee WNGimtanite: NOnAZ Lh Atta Sse cio tie be cietie gto denass ei oar Oe ith Coluiibia. ) oo. ace te cee. s One-half expense send Reports from Col- umbia ROR: $5.00; Boards$13:00. .32 memoir Packine -Co., Express.n4. 222%: - 12 CS) Sl Ss" | rie ee ek aD NtAg Maney ae ee ae Salary Typewriter and Secretary, Feb.... Whicl Ghat NOs 7ONe era ee eee he etn 8 ie March 26, N. F. Murray’s expense at Horticultural Institutes, Southeast Missouri...... PE ePLESSNOGC, AOC cr. 3 Joe. sc Sos eet sass EMOEO pL, AlISe CISMOL LY ws .2 to aidhn'ns One shoe RGetohii 2sbexUDGOKS «<6 ci: oh x hates aes Pretght. 2 Dox books. .8) a. 2 vate eine DEayaret ieee oe atee el Oe ae at Salary Secretary and Typewriter, March. VAG Wst ele [Caer Uy MN para eh Ace a iy Sean aaa H—-6 $94 54 757 90 648 13 $2 62 I 10 3 91 255 68 145 71 82 State Horticultural Society. Ppril’ 30; Hriit irade outtaloe com. peace a meor $I 00 BOF BilS Ai eee ore eee ee 20 00 EXpress.> 52.c..sc ee eee eee eee eee eS Hudson-Kimberly, 5M letter heads and ENVELOPES, = noes ates cic bow carter eee 20525 Salary Secretary and Typewriter, April. 86 66 Wiatrant NOPA7A nd ann) as ae eee Cone eee 148 25 April 20: VPrizeuissdys FW SAO lOSS ESE crc = $30 00 Ws: Traughber, second.. 20 00 Gal: Malone, third...... 10 00 Wantant sNOSA7 Seog so ee eeleee See one eiere 60 0° Meas. 27, SE XPress Mcte ce ous Ue eee Ree ‘ 60 P2.Gis IB 2 Re .8 a ree eee ae steerer neces $27 00 Scotford Stamp & S. Co., P. O. cards, etc. 6 25 AOOO SeLOSTANiS se: aaNet nas) ae ee ete ete I2 50 2,000 Fruit IREPOLrESe ti. ao cee om eres 475 Salary Secretary and Typewriter......... 86 66 Wyearrant. NO: S47 Os ve Stee ae nent note ine te ee eee 1377 si Was rN elon Aenea er Sete Ne at ie ne Bo cr his Sonn ii $994 15 May 27, Balance in Treasury.............-..0..-.+--.-- 506 42 We, your Finance Committee, have examined the accounts of the Treasurer and find them correct as reported, J). C EVANS; M: BUTTERFIELD: A. H. GILKESON. On motion the reports of the foregoing committee were received and adopted. Invitations were presented to the Society for the winter meeting from St. Joseph and Springfield; and from Eldon, Miller county, and Salem, Dent county, for the summer meeting. REPORT FROM ARKANSAS. The Benton County (Ark.) Horticultural Society is in its ninth year and has a larger membership and a better attendance than at any time since its organization. Its members study horticulture as a science and no publication is as highly prized as the Annual Reports of the State Horticultural Society of Missouri. The officers of this society are C. J. Eld, President; I. Henthorn, Vice-President; 1,’ B3 Lawton, Secretary, and Geo. Bill, Treasurer. Fruit prospect are excellent and the orchardists are spraying liberally. The cold storage facilities of Benton county will be largely increased this year. I. B. LAWTON: Sumner Meeting. 83 Reports of different counties regarding the prospect for fruit crop of this year. Mr. VanFleet of Salem, Mo.—We have a fine prospect for fruit this year. Our apples are fine. Red June and Ben Davis are fuil. I never saw a finer prospect for peach. I will have to thin my Elbertas down about half. — Question: Is not your fine prospect due to the fact that most of your orchards are young? VanFleet——It may be. We have a great many young orchards but some old ones. Mr. Nelson.—Our crop is not as good as it is sometimes. I do not think we have but about half a crop. But the young apple trees are all better, they have a fine crop on them. -Now our peach crop is all right. We haven’t many very large orchards but they are certainly fine. We will have to thin them and thin heavily. The varieties of apple are Ingram, Gano, and Winesap. These all are pretty full. But the crop of Ben Davis is very light indeed. Mr. Evans—In Clay county, our apple trees will all fail with the exception of Ben Davis. Our orchards are hurt by the Canker worm. What peach trees we have are all full. Would say our per cent. will be about 50. Mr. Goodman.—The young trees, with us, will be full, about 100 per cent. on them. But trees of about 15 years will not have more than one-half crop. Taking it on a whole Jackson coun‘y wili have about one-half crop. W. A. Gardner.—Our apple crop is about 125 per cent. Splendid’ crop. A full crop of both peach and apple. The varieties are Ben Davis, very full, and York Imperial, Romen Beauty, Jonathan, and the Clayton, well, nearly all varieties. Ben Davis is the main variety down there. _ Mr. Atwood of Springfield, Mo.—Our crop of apple is better than ever. Newton county has the best prospect they ever had in this world. Good crop nearly all through the southern part of Missouri. Mr. Haseltine of Greene county.—About three-fourths of a crop in Greene county. Some trees are very full and some a little shy. We have Ingram and Ben Davis mostly. J. J. Kiser of Gentry county.—Jonathan, Ben Davis, and Willow Twig bid fair to have about half a crop. Our peach are entirely killed. Mr. Waters of Canton, Mo.—The apples of Northeast Missouri were injured by the cold weather. The Ben Davis did not bloom out well. The Jonathan look pretty well, but did not blossom. I would give our apple crop at about 40 per cent. Our peaches are fine. 84 State Horticultural Society. Mr. Jacob Faith of Vernon county.—The apple crop, I would judge, is about 35 per cent. this year. Winesap about 15 per cent. of a crop. Jonathan about I5 per cent. and Ben Davis about 20 per cent. of a crop. Our peach trees are all loaded and should be thinned. Dr. Green, Livingston county.—Apple about 50 per cent. Ben Davis sometimes full and sometimes not. Wiailliow Twig, very full, Maidens Blush, full crop, Gano, full crop and Jonathan not very much. We have a very full peach crop. Plums a full crop. Peaches full. No pears, one-third crop of Raspberries, one-third crep of blackberries. J. R. Helfrich, Miller county.—Apple will be about 75 per cent. Ben Davis very full. Peaches loaded. Pears scarce, plums all right. . Mr. Murtfeldt of St. Louis county—Ben Davis very full, Red Astrachan never fails. Rawls Jennett never does anything for us. Pears full, Seckle never blights: Randolph county—Our Ben Davis have but very little fruit on them at all. Some young trees have some fruit. They are suffering from the Canker worm. Cherries good, pears doing very well and peaches loaded. J. T. English, Cole county.—Apples pretty good. Full crop of apple and peach. Our Apples are mostly Ben Davis. Moniteau county.—The orchards from 15 to 16 years up are pretty good. The young trees, especially Ben Davis, are very shy. But we will have about 75 per cent. of a crop any way. Never saw trees look- ing better. Peaches, a full crop—as full as they can be. Pears are shy. Cherries and plum full. Franklin county, St. Clair, Mo.—lIn our part of this county we will have about 40 per cent. Peaches full. Red Astrachan, Rambo, Willow Twig, Ben Davis and others full. Montgomery county.—I never saw such a peach crop as we have this year. Young trees and old trees, broken down trees and all kinds are loaded. I expect about one-third of an apple crop. G. W. Waters, Callaway county.—Our orchards look well. Our old trees are bearing. Old Ben Davis trees. Jonathan are on a strike this year. Rome Beauty full, two-thirds of a crop. Peaches, full. Pears doing very well. Cherries and plums, a good crop. S. Y. Thornton, Cooper county.—Ben Davis and Gano have a full crop. Jonathan small crop, about one-fourth crop. No Jenetons at all. N. F. Murray, Holt county.—We reported about three-fourths of a crop sometime ago. That report was too high. The varieties that are bearing mostly are Winesap and Jonathan. We have about one-half crop of apples. Peaches are full, cherries full, pears nothing, plums very full. ™ Summer Meeting. 85 Mr. Chubbuck.—What do you mean by half a crop? Some member.—Any one can answer that, about 50 per cent. | would say. ; Mr. Chubbuck.—How many bushels? Member.—That depends on the size of your tree. Secretary.—lf the tree would hold and ripen say 10 bushels ana from the appearance we should estimate there would not be more than five bushels, we should call it 50 per cent. No tree should hold more than a full crop, and this “full crop” should be our guide or what we would call 100 per cent. Our estimates should always keep this standard in mind. Per cent. of an “average crop” is an entirely ‘ different thing. We might have 300 per cent. of an average crop, but never of a “full crop.” Prof. Stedman of Columbia, Mo.—Ladies and gentlemen: I will try to be very brief. We have been talking so many years about insects. This year we have in our midst an insect, that as a rule, is not very common. It curls up the leaf and feasts upon it. This season it has not only fastened itself to the leaves but has united several leaves, and has been working on the fruit itself. They can be found in the apple, cherry and plum. And as far as I know, no fruit is exempt from them. They eat the seed and pulp and will eat it all. These little insects are hard to find from the fact that they keep them- selves rolled up in the leaf. But if we can reach them with any poison- ous spray, it will kill them. We can kill the most of them, but ! tell you, it will take time to do it. We want to instruct how to reach them with a spray. I will give you some idea of what these insects are doing. They have ruined some orchards entirely. In other orchards they have done about 90 per cent. damage. I-say some of our trees will not have any fruit on them at all on account of this little insect. Another insect is the Curculio that works on the peach. These little things can be detected now and can be for weeks to come. They come from the peach. If you will cut the peach open you wiil ' find inside the seed the little larva of this insect. Now we cannot spray for them. The only way is to jar the trees when the insects are laying their eggs and catch them on a sheet spread down for that purpose and kill them. Now these are the two insects that are doing the most harm for us this year. The Canker worm is with us always. This insect is so easy to fight and is so common that I will not need to say anything about that at all. No one need to be troubled with them. Question by Kiser.—Does this little insect that rolls up the leaves actually eat them? 86 State Horticultural Society. Stedman.—Yes, sir; it eats its way through. Dutcher, of Warrensburg.—When is the first time that we should spray for the Canker worm? ; Stedman.—Spray just as quick as you notice the insect there. When they are young they are easy to kill. If you spray for the Cod- ling Moth, you will not need to spray for the Canker worm. Put about one pound of poison to 150 pounds of water, one pound to 125, if you wish, but you are likely to burn the leaves if you are not care- ful. There is danger of hurting your fruit when it is in full bloom. Question by member.—W ould it not be well to put in some Bor- deaux for scab when you spray? Stedman.—Yes, you could do so. I don’t advise people to spray before the tree blossoms out, for insects that you think might be there. The only insect that you need to spray for is the Codling Moth. Yes, sir; you might put in a little Bordeaux for scab when you spray when the leaves are out. Now if you are going to put Paris Green in your mixture, it will do no good unless the leaves are all out, then it will do good. Question by a member.—How do you band your trees? You mean what to band your trees with? Take some wire net, cut it into bands about 4 inches, long enough to go around the tree, scrape the rough bark off the tree and put them on. Drive a tack in the tree to hold it at the top. Have it fit around the top and wide at the bottom. These will stay about two years. This is a pretty good thing for the Canker worm. I would put these bands on in the latter part of September. They will cost about one cent a tree. Leave them on till spring. There are two species of the Canker worm. One in the fall and one in the spring. They will try to go up the tree but cannot get through the net. Sometimes you can find them sticking in the cracks. Dr. Green.—Are there not instances when they are carried up the tree on the wings of their husbands? Could we not put something on the tree to burn their feet as they go through it and kill them? Prof. Stedman.—No ,not very well. That doesn’t happen very often. Member asked about cotton batting bands. They are alright, but the drawbacks is that when it rains, they are all beaten down. The wire ones will last about two years. Mr. Nelson.—I like the cotton batting fine for bands. They are profitable with us. The insect gets all tangled up in the folds of it. Mr. Edwin.—There is a question I would like to ask the Profes- sor. I want to know when we spray if we do not destroy our friends Summer Meeting. 87 as well as our enemies in the insect line? I would like to know about this. Prof. Stedman.—lIf we spray for the insects that eat parts of the plant there is no danger of killing any beneficial ones. The insects that eat part of the plants are harmful ones. The beneficial insects are those that eat other insects. If we spray with the intent to reach that insect, we will kill it. Take plants and experiment with them, you will find a number of good insects. When we spray for all insects, we will kill the good as well as the bad. D. A. Robnett——About leaving those’ bands on the trees. I find that you can leave them on too long. The trees that I tried I put the bands on and left them for about four years, and I found the tree had grown so rapidly that there was loose bark sticking out through the little cracks and the female could go right up the tree. These were young trees and I found that I had to go through and loosen the bands. Prof. Stedman.—Well, it may be in some cases where the trees are young. Mr. Erwin.—I want to ask another question. Do these bands do any good for the borers? My son put several bands around our trees for borers and on examination I thought that it proved an in- jury. The borers seemed to get there and then could not get out and bored little holes all around the tree. I thought they did more damage than the Canker worms were doing. Prof. Stedman.—As a rule they-do much ‘good. That might have been the pin hole beetle in your trees. Erwin.—It made a little hole that came to a nee and it was a black beetle. Prof. Stedman.—Well, I don’t think the bandage had anything to do with that at all. mLeT eR ROP OTHE -APPLE—WHAT AIF -IS,- HOW EE SRE DS. WEEAT TE LOOKS, EDGE: (By Prof. Herman Von Schrenk, St. Louis, Mo.) The bitter or ripe rot of apples is a disease which annually de- stroys thousands of dollars worth of apples, and it is on that account a trouble which is deserving of the most careful attention of all fruit- growers. Geographically, it is widely distributed, for it is common in all Southern states destroying apple crops from Virginia westward and from Central Illinois southward. It does not appear with the 88 ' State Horticultural Society. same virulence year after year, being very severe in years when the latter part of the summer is hot and wet, less so in dry, cooler sum- mers. ~ APPLES AFFECTED WITH BITTER ROT. The appearance of fruit affected with this disease is a familiar one to the orchardist of this state. In the last ten years, with the ever increasing acreage of apple orchards, there has been an apparent increase of bitter rot, but this is due, largely, I believe, to the great- er number of apple trees grown. -Late in the summer, usually the latter part, of August, when the apples are almost full grown, and ready to harvest, the fruit shows little brown spots. If the weather is warm, and in a damp atmosphere such as _ char- acterizes many sultry days in the southern parts of this State, these spots very rapidly increase in diameter, looking like al- most perfect circles. The spots, when almost as large as a five-cent piece, appear blacker toward the center than on the outside, and the whole area is somewhat depressed. At about this period small black knobs, about the.size of a pin head begin to appear near the middle of the diseased spot, and as the latter continues to grow these black elevations increase in number, new ones appearing farther from the center. (Note illustration shown herewith.) If but one decayed spot has started on a fruit, it grows until it touches the stem on one side and the calyx leaves on the other, then gradually circles around the fruit until the whole apple is a black mass. The fleshy portion of the fruit, under the decayed spots is solft and mushy, and has very little taste, hence the name “bitter rot.” Where there are two or more initial spots, the whole apple turns to the dark brown mass very much sooner. The little black spots in the center of the decayed areas by Summer Meetine. 89 this time show, when examined closely, little glistening knobs on the top of each elevation. These knobs consist of thousands of spores, which may be carried off from one fruit to another. To the average observer there is something uncanny in the rapidity with which a crop of fine apples is attacked and destroyed in the course of a few days, before one’s very eyes, and the consciousness that we appear to be powerless to stop the destruction does not add. to one’s comfort. The very important question in any matter of this kind is, What can de do to stop this disease? Before entering upon this phase of the subject, I wish to invite your attention for a little while to some facts we have been able to discover as to the cause of this disease. It is common practice, well known to all of you, that when we wish to con- quer an enemy, we do our best to discover his weak points: Where he spends his time and what he does, so that we may surprise him when he is not looking. Strange to say, many of us seem to forget that those things which go on about us in the fields and in the or- chards, our insect and fungus-enemies, afe in many respects like the enemy in the trench, always at hand, even when we do not see him. We become aware of the curculio, the borer, the scab, and the bitter rot at certain brief times, and when the enemy is upon us and has beaten us, then we bemoan our fate and speak of hard luck and poor land and what not. Let us, therefore, confront our enemy, the bitter rot, and ask, what is he like, where is he when we do not see him, how does he spend his time? and perhaps we can catch him unawares. . We have found that the diseases of plants are due to two main factors: unfavorable growth condition and attacks of insects or fungi. The bitter rot disease belongs to the second class. It is caused by a fungus, which grows in the ripened fruit and by so doing brings. about its decay. All fungi propagate by means of spores of one kind or another, small microscopic cells, which are carried about by the wind, by insects, birds, water and other agencies. If we were to examine one of those glistening drops on the top of one of the black knobs mentioned above, as occurring in the center 9 es of a rotted area, we would find that it consisted of a great mass of spores, such as you see before you (Figure 1). They are. eliptical bodies, which oS when brought into a drop of water, germinate or sprout very readily. At first one or two threads Dees come out from each spore. (Figure 2), which rapidly lengthen the branch. If sufficient food, for instance, sugar is given them these threads grow out in all directions with equal rapidity, and soon form a circle, which increases in diameter very quickly. If 90- State Horticultural Society. such a spore sprouts on an apple, the threads grow into the cells of the skin. They give off a peculiar substance, called a ferment, which dissolves the starch grains of the ap- ple; (these in the ripe fruit completely fill the cells). In figure 3 you see some starch grains from a healthy apple Gene. and in figure 4 similar starch grains after the bitter rot fungus has dis- solved away most of the starch. The threads attack the sugar in the cells, likewise the cell walls. These cells are at first united into one mass, but very soon after the fungus has begun to grow in them the cells fall apart. They have turned brown by this time. You will now readily understand why . it is that the little spot where the Fig. Q fungus started looks brown, and why - the flesh underneath is mushy and soft. All the starch and sugar has disappeared and this has left the cells empty. The starch and sugar serve as food for the fungus and cause it to giow more rapidly. Starting from a _ center the threads radiate out as described, and that explains why we find the black rotted spots increasing in such a very regular circular man- ner. When the spot is as large as a five cent piece, enough starch and sugar has been absorbed to allow of the formation of fruiting bodies. Certain of the threads near the point where growth began form dense, black masses, which consist of hollow more or less flask shaped bodies. In e. ( S Now, what is it that happens aiter this? Rain or dew may wash 21g 3 thousands of these spores from one diseased fruit to another, and that may account for the many infections. The spores may also spread through the air and thus affect otherwise sound fruits. We have their interior, the spores are formed, growing on short stalks. During the night when it is moist, these spores flow out thiough the openings of the little flasks, and there we see them the next morning as glistening drops. Such 1s & the manner in which the fungus grows. £. 1, a a ee a ee ee ee ea eS ee ee ee ee eee ee a ay Summer Meeting. G1] too little information as yet which would enable us to say positively as to whether most of the infection is carried from one fruit to another. However, that may be, and it is a point which we are now trying to solve, the rotted apple, when it falls from the tree has many thousands of these little fruiting bodies on it, each with countless thousands of spores. During the past six months we have carefully examined many of the shriveled mummies lying under apple trees, from this State and several others, and invariably we have found thousands of spores in these fruits; and what is more, these spores sprouted very readily in drops of water. During the winter and spring with every rain which soaks these old fruits, more and more spores escape. We do not as yet know where they all gv. Some certainly lodge in the branches and pud scales. We found several cases where spores had adhered to bud scales, but our investigations are not more than begun concernng this point. It can be said with safety, 4 however, that the last year’s spores are somewhere in the orchard where they get at the fruit in due time. We are ‘ Figt now directing our attention towards solving the all important question: Where are these spores during the time just before the rotting season? Next winter we may be able to tell you something more about this matter. In the meantime, we are safe in giving you this advice: Remove all the dead apples from your trees and from the ground under your trees before the buds open. Knowing now that this disease is propagated by spores, we may ask, ought it not to be easy to fight it by spraying? to which question Wwe may say with little fear: “Yes, we think so.’ The spores get into the fruit from the outside; we can destroy the spores which cause other diseases in this way, why not:the “bitter rot?” We are now trying, on a large scale, in a number of orchards extending from Vir- ginia to Oklahoma, to find out when it will prove most profitable to spray. As the disease attacks the fruit during its ripening period, I have much hope that late spraying will prove successful. I would accordingly recommend spraying trees once or twice in June, July and also in August. It may be objected that spraying so late will disfigure the fruit, or leave too ‘much of the Bordeaux mixture on the fruit. In the first place, I do not think enough would remain to make 92 State Horticultural Society. any material difference with the dark skinned apples grown in this State, and secondly, investigations have shown that the danger from Bordeaux mixture alone is infinitesimally small. The suggestions made here are to be considered as purely suggestions, and are not based on any experience. In a year or so I hope we may be able to give you some actual results. For spraying we are using Bordeaux mixture, using 6 lbs. of copper sulphate and 4 to 5 lbs. of lime. Right here I wish to say a word about spraying. I had better say repeat a word about spraying, for it has been said often before. Spraying, to be of any value, must, first of all, be done thoroughly. And secondly, it must be done with a mixture properly made. Poor mixtures and careless sprayings are money and labor wasted. I cannot here go into a discussion of the reasons why we use lime and copper sulphate in the proportions in- dicated; suffice it to say that these proportions are fixed by chemical laws. When we say lime, we mean-unslacked, fresh lime. Partially air-slacked lime is not fresh lime. If you use this partially slacked lime the amount of lime which will unite with the blue vitrol is too low, and you cannot correct it by guessing at it, and putting in a few chunks more of the lime. It cannot be said too often that the making of this mixture is a chemical process, which must be followed strictly according to directions. The blue vitriol, which may be kept as a stock solution, should be poured into one vat and diluted to the proper amount with water. The lime should be slacked in another vat and diluted to the proper amount. Then both solutions should be poured into a third vat or the spray tank simultaneously through a fine strainer, (20 wires to the inch), stirring the mixture constantly at the same time. When made according to these directions, a good mixture cannot fail to result. In these days when we are beginning to appreciate that to know what the laws are which operate on the farm and in the orchard, every farmer and fruit-grower ought to inform himself of some of the principles underlying his work. We are often asked where this information can be found. The journals give us a good deal, but con- cise hand books are of the greatest value. In connection with the spraying, I always like to recommend: “The Spraying of Plants,’ by E. G. Lodeman, published by the Macmillan Co., New York, price $1.00. It is a little book which every fruit-grower ought to have on his shelves. (The Western Fruit-Grower will send it, postpaid, at price named, $1.00.—Ed.) In the foregoing I have attempted to give you a brief outline of the facts now known about bitter rot. We really do not know very Summer Meeting. 93 much, but I believe that by studying the facts presented a little and following out the suggestions made as to spraying, apple-growers may find less bitter rot and more good apples this season than in years past. We will say in this connection that at the conclusion of the read- ing of Prof. von Schrenk’s paper, Professor Stedman was asked if an arsenite could not Be added to these later sprays and catch the later broods of the codling moth, and he replied that as many could be killed then as earlier in the season. The later ones are really the ones which do the greatest damage, for they are the ones which appear in the fruit at picking time. The only reason it has not been recom- mended to spray late for them is that the cost would be too great. But if the grower is going.to spray for the bitter rot anyway, as they will have to do in Southern Missouri and Illinois, then he can add the poison at very slight expense, and render his fruit more free from insects. He hoped many who spray for bitter rot would do this as an experiment. Question: Are some apples immune? Prof. Von Schrenk.—Yes, sir; I am sorry that I forgot to bring some photographs of this nature with me. We tried an experiment with some apples that were perfectly sound. We took Ben Davis ripe, per- fectly sound, and we sterilized those apples until there was nothing on them. Painted them over with bitter rot. We put them away for two weeks and they were perfectly sound. When an insect hurts the apple in any way, the bitter rot has that much more work to do. But there are some varieties that take the bitter rot easier than others. It may be that there will be some kinds of fruit that we will have to give up. But dont give up raising apples on account of bitter rot. Spray for it. Spray several times; at any rate I would not feel discouraged. Secretary Goodman.—How do you put in this blue vitriol and lime? Do you put the two together? Prof. Von Schrenk.—The manner in which I would do this would be to build a platform on posts. Have two divisions or steps to it. One a little higher than the other. I would have two vessels, one filled with the mixture of copper sulphate and the other with the other mixture. I would have two pipes and have a vat on this lower part large enough for the contents of the two vessels. Such a thing as this can be fixed up anywhere. Not much trouble. The only thing is to get the water to the top platform. Now, if I was building one I would have this kind of a platform: I would have two cases placed on the lowest. Lime in one and copper in the other. Then I would have two pipes to these and have it so that they could both be open at once and run the two out to- 94 State Horticultural Society. : gether. It is just as easy to run the two out at once as it is to run one out at a time. Question: You recommend the picking up of the rotten fruit; what would you advise us to do with it? Von Schrenk.—I would remove it from the orchard. Get it as far away as possible; bury it in some ditch; cover it up with dirt. About spraying. I would spray from now*on for the bitter rot. We used to always say to spray a little before the blossom. But I be- lieve that we will learn that the effective spraying will be in the latter part of the season and not the earlier. Yet we don’t do it now. We are experimenting. We began before the buds opened. Then we have some that we are going to spray a little later, and some others that we will spray quite late and will note the effect. Mr. Erwin.—Professor, did I understand you to say that this fungus could be in the shape of dust and could be blown about by the winds? Answer: Yes, sir. Mr. Erwin.—I noticed in a young orchard in the southwest corner the trees became affected first and all those that were in line of the pre- vailing wind. I wonder if it could be blown there from the timber. Von Schrenk—No; not very likely. It only affects apple trees. In fact, it only effects those fruits that have sugar in them and a good deal of starch. C, W. Wilmeroth, Chicago.—We would like to know something of the bitter rot, for it is making a great deal of trouble for us. Last year we had a shipment of 48 or 50 barrels of apples shipped from a point in Illinois to Chicago and in going there they took the bitter rot. When we opened them up they were covered with spots of the rot and were ruined. Worth nothing. This matter causes us to keep our eyes on the Illinois bitter rot. We don’t know whether it is a disease that is going to come up every year or not. We are in a quandary; we don’t know what to do about it. Von Schrenk.—I am so glad you spoke of that fact. So many cold storage men come to us and ask about that. These apples are bought and people are sent to gather them and perhaps are not very careful in picking them; at any rate, they have a chance of being bruised. When the fungus is in the best conditions, it only takes a very short time to develop. I can make them be of no account in 36 hours. Now, then, if you spray heavily several times, there comes up the question between the grower and the buyer. Now, how about the Bordeaux mixture? It will be either fruit with Bordeaux or no fruit. But are we going to send our apples to Chicago with the Bordeaux mixture? Secretary Goodman.—Now about packing. Could we use this Bor- deaux mixture inside of the barrels? Sunumer Meeting. 95: Von Schrenk.—Yes, of course, we could do that thing. But we are going to be a little slow about doing a thing of that kind. I would like to see that very thing tried. But I am not going to advise anyone to try it and then get into trouble and have him come on to me about it. Dr. Green.—I would like to tell you of a little experiment. I was going to soak some apples in the Bordeaux mixture, baptize them in it, and then cover them with soap suds. I got a box and a friend of mine and myself selected 20 apples which were perfectly sound, took our micro- scopes to see that there was no bitter rot on them. We washed them perfectly clean with water. We then put them in the Bordeaux mixt- ure and left them there ten minutes. We did all this in my cellar where there were no other apples. After we took them out of the mixture, we soaked them in soap suds. We then put them away in one end of the box and those that we had done nothing to in the other end and they ali rotted alike. We had the Ben Davis and Winesap. Question: How long did you keep them? Dr. Green.—I kept them until sometime this spring. Oh, well, it was their natural time to rot. Question by a member: How about freezing apples to ship them? C. W. Wilmeroth—We have tried that. Take an apple that is al- ready effected with rot and freeze it there was no signs that the rot had grown I-16 of an inch. Of course that will stop it. Ice cars might do, as 34 degrees will stop it. Judge Miller.—Apples can be frozen as hard as a bone and then put in a cellar and thawed out and come out all right. This is an import- ant question. g Mr. Waters of Canton.—We are going to hold Farmers’ Institutes in every county in this State this fall and I would like to meet and talk with some one from each county. I have seen a great many from a great many counties, but there are a few that I would like to meet yet. EXPERIENCE WITH CANKER WORM. (By G. P. Turner, Meadville, Mo.) The canker worm in this section has become an: established fact, and unless spraying or other means be resorted to, or some unforeseen agency come to our help, the years of profitable apple growing are few. This pest first appeared here in the spring of 1896 in a 40-acre orchard adjoining the town of Meadville. No doubt the insect had been increas- 96 State Horticultural Society. ing for several years before that time unnoticed, for that spring the worms completely defoliated a large section of the orchard as they also did the two following years. No preventive measures have been used except that the orchard was sprayed late in May of 1896. I was en- gaged to do that work and used London purple as recommended by Ex- periment Stations. Most of the worms had attained full size before treatment was begun and no beneficial results were noticed. The hard winter of 1898-99 seemed to check them, for they did but little damage the spring of 1899. They seem now to have fully recovered, for they have completely stripped the trees this season, and have a pretty good foot-hold in the surrounding orchards for several miles. I am quite sure this orchard was the starting point for the infestation of a large scope of country. There are, however, many infested orchards in this and adjoining counties that probably did not become infested by this orchard. My own orchard of 25 acres on the opposite side of town from the orchard in question has been showing increased signs of canker worms for several years. As the time had arrived when, in my judgment, some- thing had to be done, I made preparations to begin the application of poison on the first opening of the leaf buds. Four ounces Paris green was used in 50 gallons Bordeaux mixture, being applied by means of a barrel spray pump. This treatment was begun April 25th. We began the second spraying May toth, using this time 5 I-3 ounces green arsen- oid in 50 gallons Bordeaux mixture just as the blossoms dropped. The worms did considerable damage after the first spraying and I began to doubt the efficacy of the poison, but on closer examination I found some of the dried skins of the worms that had died. After the second spray- ing some of the worms still remained, but by May 25th it was only by very close searching that I could find a worm. I do not say they were all poisoned, because at the last date named many of them may have already entered the ground preparatory to emerging as a moth. While I am well satisfied with the results of spraying in this experiment, I do not think it would be best to depend on this means of combatting the canker worm. The weather this spring has been exceptionably favorable for spray- ing. With the exception of a few light showers there has been no rain to wash off the poison. With an excessively wet season the results might have been far different. Destroying the female moth that deposits the eggs on the tree, I believe to be a most effective way of combatting the pest. By the information sent out by our worthy State Entomologist I was enabled to identify the female moth, which is wingless, of a grayish color and varying in size between a house fly and a green fly. I discov- ered the insect while pruning the orchard during the mild weather of Summer Meeting. 97 March. I could never find more than two on any one tree, and usually only one. While removing the wooden wrappers from my young or- chard I found many of the moth in hiding under the wrappers. Of course I made sure to kill every one I found, and it was very noticable when the worms hatched that the part of the orchard where I killed the moth was comparatively free from worms. Therefore, I think it expedient to trap all the moth we can, and then if the worms appear we an resort to spraying. I hope a more servicable spray pump will soon be invented. Pumps with leather valves that come in contact with the liquid render but poor service. I am using such a pump made by Myers Bros., Ashland, Ohio, and have had to renew the valves three times already this season. This is a bother and an expense. I hope the spray pump question will be fully discussed at the summer meeting. Hoping that the meeting may be a source of enjoyment and profit to all. I re- main fraternally yours. “STINGERS” WILL BE AT THEIR WORK. (By Conrad Hartzell, St. Joseph, Mo.) When the ripening of the fruits is realized “stingers” will be wide awake and hungry; and unless their immediate wants are otherwise supplied they will light upon the ripening fruit and live upon it. They will not stop to consult with fruit owners. They will only accept the best; they are very choice and dainty in their selections and must have the best. Only sweet flowers will induce them to leave the ripe fruit.” All stinging insects are fruit eaters when there are no flowers, no rich bloom for them, and there is very limited bloom at that season. The. tipe fruit is seized upon by all the stingers. Even the valuable honey bee takes its share—wasps, hornets, bumble bees, sweat bees, jackets of all colors—all stingers go for ripe fruit when there is no bluom. Now, then, man must provide. One easy way is quite possibe and entirely inexpensive; in fact, when understood it is very profitable to provide enough rich sweet bloom to fully supply all stinging insects and cause them to leave the ripe fruit to the giver of the bloom. Buckwheat bloom in sufficient quantity and near the ripe fruit is sure protection against stinging insects and is very profitable on the farm. It is one of the best Jand cleansers, and does not impoverish the land, but prepares for other crops. There are several varieties of buckwheat. Silver hull is the preferable kind. The last few days of June and the first few days of H—~7 98 State Horticultural Society. July is the proper season for seeding the buckwheat. Eight quarts per acre is sufficient quantity in well-prepared land. It may be seeded in small lots to good advantage and may be made very valuable among corn where there is a too thin stand of corn for good crop. After wheat is harvested buckwheat may be grown to very good advantage. Every farmer can raise buckwheat to his very great advantage and especially to the advantage of the ripening fruits. Not simply theory, but ripe ex- perience. SIXTH SESSION—Thursday, 2 p. m. Questions were the first order of the session. What is the matter with our older Ben Davis trees? Are affected by root rot and other fungus diseases. Why do plums rot and fall off? Plum rot is fungus disease and Bordeaux spraying in time may pre- vent it. Cause of trees bleeding last spring? Remedy for root louse? Probably injured by cold winter of ’98-’99. ‘Tobacco dust. What will prevent pear blight? Nothing yet known. All the remedies so far have proved of no value. Varieties of peaches, hardiness, time of ripening, commercial value of each? Mt. Rose, Reeve’s Favorite, Family Favorite, Champion, Elberta, Old Mixon, Pickett’s Late, Salway, Heath Cling. Practical means of fighting insects and fungi in our orchards? Spraying or dusting is the only sure remedy. Grape rot? Use Bordeaux mixture. Who receives greatest profits, grower or shipper? Sometimes one and sometimes the other, but usually the railroads. Grape rot and apple black rot; remedies? Spraying is the best remedy we know. Should the family garden include berries and small fruits? Yes; by all means. Use the best varieties and success is sure. The planting of root grafts of apple and pear in orchard where they will remain? Is a great help and will give an orchard more quickly and better it you can give close enough attention to them to secure the best growth. Axle greese for preventing rabbits gnawing trees, what kind? Better not use it. Better wrap the trees. Summer Meeting. 99 Can peach trees be grafted? If not, why not? Yes, with tolerable success by experienced hands. Many use a bit of 2-year-old wood at the base of the scion to form the union. Peach scab? Prevent it? Spraying will help, but not sure. Danger of burning the foliage of peach. : Quince culture? Use low, rich, moist soil and the best of cultivation and mulching. How to remove the apple crop? ; Pick and pack at once in barrels. Selection of orchard sites. Good porous subsoil more important than all else besides. Way of knowing the value of apple crop before selling, say, Septem- ber 10?+ Cannot tell. All estimates and reports are only guesses as to what weather and demand will be. Average crop of apples more profitable than same of corn, wheat, oats, hay? Yes; much more so. Varieties of fruits recommended by the Society for profit, for table, for experiment and the locality of party recommending them? Society only gives individual experience. Will it pay to set strawberries in the fall? Yes, if weather is right and ground is in good shape. Mulch at once after planting. Is spraying profitable to a person when others fail to spray? Codling Moth, no. Canker Worm, yes. Dust versus Spray? Comparative value is not yet determined, but the prospect for good results are very favorable. Hardy evergreens for Southwest Missouri? Red cedar, Norway spruce, Scoth pine. Sun scald and Woolly Aphis kill more trees than all other troubles? The borer and root rot are equally as bad. Can the raspberry be successfully treated for Anthracnose? Not yet proven. Bordeaux is the best known. Spraying or the moth catcher, which is best? Spraying a hundred times more successful, because you can spray for diseases and canker worm at same time. Can apples be grown successfully on ridge land where hard pan is near surface? . No; they cannot. They will bear for a while and then die. 100 State Horticultural Society. Quality of Concord and Worden grape? Nearly the same; should plant them both. Why do not fruit trees live to the age they did 100 years ago? Insects and diseases are much more prevalent now than at that time. Cause of rot of apple trees starting below ground and working up? Root rot is a fungus and it is not known what is the,cause. Is green’ aphis injurious to the bud? Yes; often checks growth. How get rid of Canker Worm? Spray with 1 pound Paris green to 100 to 150 gallons of water. Cause of fruit falling at blossom time? ; Often because not, fertilized. Nature provides a hundred blossoms where one fruit is wanted. Fighting insects? Spraying or dusting is the best plan. Cause of all peaches dropping from 3-year-old trees? Probably the trees are growing so rapidly that they shed the fruit, or perhaps they were not well fertilized. Spraying? Is the best remedy for all diseases and insects that is known. Dust- ing may succeed also. . Does the original strawberry plant live’ after fruiting? Yes. It will bear for two and possibly three years. Moth traps? No value in the orchard. Will it pay to spray an orchard when crop will not pay, expenses? It may do so to clean the orchard of pests for the future years. How to fight the Scab and Codling Moth? Spray with Bordeaux mixture and arsenites. Spray before leaves start and three times after. If bi-cloride is so good to kill the germ on potato scab before we plant, why wouldn’t it be good for bitter rot spores? Has anyone tried it’. ” Prof. Von Schrenk.—Bi-chloride of mercury is too dangerous and poisonous and cannot be made to stay. Question: Does spraying pay the average farmer? Prof. Von Schrenk.—In answering that I would say yes, if is prop- erly done. The way it is done by most of our farmers does not pay, but certainly, if it is done in the right way, at the right time, it will pay and . does pay. Prof. Stedman.—Spraying will pay the farmer in this way: When the insects are numerous enough, then it pays. But I wouldn’t take the precaution to spray before he knows that he has harmful insects and Summer Meeting. 101 that they are numerous. I wouldn’t advise him to spray for insects as a means of prevention. I do not think it would pay to take the time and trouble and expense to guard against getting these insects. But when you have these insects, it certainly pays to spray. Question: Is spraying profitable when those all around you fail to spray ? Stedman.—Well, that depends entirely upon the insect.. . Mr. J. J. Kiser.—Ladies and Gentlemen: I am very glad to have the opportunity of speaking to you about my machine. But before I begin, let me say that this machine is only a secondary matter with me. I have been laboring for years to keep from spraying. If I can succeed in doing away with that work, I ought to be at least a welcome visitor to you. As a machine man, I want it understood that I am here for saving labor and doing the work better, if possible. I want to say to the professor that has worked so hard and faithfully that I may be of help to the fruit grower and the fruit buyer. Now I don’t write professor before my name. What I know I have got by experience. I want to help the farmers and ask for their attention to my machine. I began experi- menting with a common baking-powder can. I found that it was all right, but when the first dusting process came out it was too much work. The matter came up for convenience and effectiveness. Last summer— last May—the last week in May, I dusted my orchard with several diff- erent things; but all the things contained arsenic. I did not spray be- cause I did not think it was necessary; because I did not have anything to spray for. But last fall we were attacked with the Canker Worm. 1! expect several 100 trees were effected, but I believe the dusting saved them. I did not see a limb as large as my little finger that had been hurt. Now, that is a fact. Another thing is a fact. This dusting had been going on for several years. Now, if I may be permitted, I would like to say a few words about formulas. First, it is a very important matter to get this dust just the proper condition to apply. First, I] get a barrel and nail a couple of cletes along the sides; then I set a kind of a sieve down in it; then I measure out ten pounds of slacked lime; it wants to be the quick lime. I find that it takes about 3 quarts of water to make it into the proper dust. I pour the water in and turn it over several times and work it up and soon it is all right. I do not let it get all piled up on the sieve. The reason I said ten pounds of lime is that I can figure easier what I am to put in. I would get me half of Bordeaux mixture for the 3 quarts. Now I put this on and when it comes out it is like, this sample I have. You may look at it. This has not been ground. Now, as far as the arsenic is concerned, I have taken Mr. Goodman’s formula for that. In the ten pounds of lime, one quart of water, in which 4 ounces 102 7 State Horticultural Society. cf arsenic has been dissolved, poured in will be right. Stir it well. It does not dissolve; it gets mixed. I double the strength of the arsenic. I put 1 pound of arsenic to 20 pounds of water. | - Now I have dusted grape vines, strawberries, raspberries, black- berries, currants, gooseberries, plums, apples, quince and nearly all kinds of fruits. I cannot see that I hurt the foliage of anything whatever. One thing more. About the kerosene emulsion for the sucking insects I use 1-2 pound of concentrated lye to 3 quarts of water and that makes a preparation so caustic that when it touches an insect of this kind, it fairly sets it a fire. Sometimes I mix sulphur with it. It is a splendid thing for this kind of work. I guess you could put snuff in it, too. Road dust and ashes can be put in. Now, I am just waiting for results. But it has been practiced for quite a number of years and the results so far as I know have been good. As a matter of fact, I think it can be fixed a great deal easier than the liquid spray. My boys think nothing of going out and dusting our apple trees. It is not hard: work; just as fast as you drive along you can dust. You can dust three of four rows of trees at once. In fact, I feel a little bit like one of my boys when he told me that he would not spray all the orchards on the farm for them, Now this machine is not like working a pump handle. All you have to do is to turn the crank. It is certainly easy and effec- tive, and so far as I know, is as effective as a liquid spray. We are all interested in getting this work down to save all the labor that we can, and I believe we can do this if we will work hand in hand and heart to heart and accomplish the very best results. I am in for the very best that there is and as far as my machine and my interests in it are concerned, you may run over that if you like, but give me the very best methods you have for the insects and fungus. Discussion. Prof. Stedman, do you thing the dust spray as effective for in- sects as the liquid spray? Prof. Stedman:—In some cases it is and some it is not. I always advise people to get both machines. The dust is easier and quicker, and many will dust when you couldn’t get them to spray. But in some in- stances it is not as good as the liquid spray. For the Codling Moth, it is not as effective. Now, on small plants, it is better. The lime without anything else is good. Prof. Von Schrenk—As I have not tested the dusting machine, I dare not express myself on it. I would like for it to be tried on some trees for us. The answer that I would have to make now is somewhat like Prof. Stedman’s. It is good in some cases and others it is not. If Summer Meeting. 103 done under the proper conditions, at the proper time, why, I have no doubt but that it would do as well as the liquid spray. But it is differ- ent with the fungus than with the insect. The conditions of the leaf must be just right. Question: Do you think you could use the dust spray on an or- chard that had not been effected and use it year after year and thus prevent the disease? Prof. Von Schrenk—Well, I don’t know; I doubt it. Mr. Erwin.—Is there as much danger of injuring the fruit with the dust as with the liquid? ; Secretary Goodman.—No, sir; no, not as much. It is not as effective and yet I believe that there is enough value in it to use it. Last year we dusted 40 acres; seven men did the work. Dusted the 40 acres; some of it twice and some three times. I used Paris green. I believe I used 1 pound of Paris green, 1 pound of Bordeaux mixture and Io pounds of lime and used this thoroughly. Four men dusted 40 acres in 4 hours. I believe it was profitable. We have 2,000 acres in orchard and we must do something to prevent these insects and diseases. I have said but very little yet, because I do not know the results. I asked Prof. Whitten and Prof. Stedman about it and they answered about as they did today. I would rather dust my trees three times than to spray them once. The dust will go up and form a cloud, as it were, and then settle down and almost form a covering to the tree. Furthermore, I believe that lime is one of the best insecticides that we have. I believe that lime is good for fungus and that lime and Bordeaux mixture is good for the leaf curl. It is best to dust in the evening and morning. We used to begin at 7 and dust as long as we could see. Mr. Hazeltine—The Trap Lantern in the Orchard: Ladies and Gentlemen—Now, I want to state in beginning that I do not claim that this machine will catch everything. I do not say that spray- ing is useless in some instances. You do have to spray for some things ; the Canker Worm is one. Spraying is the only way for that, that you can’t catch them with this machine, but you can catch the moths. I do want to say this: I have grown orchards myself for 20 years. Prof. Sted- man says that I can’t catch a body or Flat-headed Borer. I do not claim that at all, but the body borer is not an orchard pest with us. Now, I want to say something about the root borer, the round headed borer. Mr. Har- rington tried the moth catcher, and he first said he was catching these striped insects that make tree borer or root borers. He was catching them in his traps. I looked through mine and found scarcely none at all. I had about 40 traps set in my orchard, and through them all found two. Prof. Chittenden, Assistant U. S. Entomologist, the highest au- 104 State Horticultural Society. thority, said: The borer beetles fly at night and can be attracted by lights and caught by them in June and July. We can catch them with this moth catcher. We put this trap in our orchards and tried it and know it will catch the striped bugs and the Codling Moth. The authority of Prof. Saunders says they are attracted by lights. We do catch them in our traps. I have a number of affidavits in my pocket now of those who swear that they do catch the Codling Moth. All moths. that you hatch out of worms in the apples look alike. When they are young they are bright with stripes, but fade when they get older. You catch mostly young ones in the moth catcher. I have a number of au- thorities on the subject of spraying; some of them admit that spraying is not sufficient for Codling Moth. They are attracted by the lights dur- ing the mating season. It is then that we catch them in the moth- catcher. You can set this trap in the orchard when the next crop of moths come and you can see that the insects are the same. You will know that you are catching the Codling Moth. Ii you make this experiment and then catch the same insect in your trap, you will know that I am right, won’t you? Just try it; hatch them from your wormy apples, then send me your statement, whether you really catch them or not. I know that I catch them; I don't euess or think anything I have hatched them and know them. J compared them with the ones that I hatched and they were the same. But the best proot is that when we can use these moth catchers in our orchard we get perfect apples. My brother used to be prejudiced against them, made all manner of fun of me for using them. . But we had orchards right along side by side. Now I don’t spray at all; never had a spray in the orchard, and I have his affidavit that the most perfect apples he had were on the- rows that stood next to mine. He did spray. This year he has been using the trap and not spraying at all and he has fine fruit. Dr. Green—Would the present be a good time to test this lantern? — Hazeltine—No, sir; it would not. I have authority that was dated the 5th day of last June, stating that at this time the Codling Moth is in its caterpillar state and that it would not be out until the middle of this month. The middle of May has been tried and caught numbers of them. They last from a week to ten days. One man gave me his testimony that he caught over 500 plum beetles, Curculio, in one nie Question: Would it be good to put it in corn fields? Hazeltine—Yes, sir; Prof. Stedman says so. a : Summer Meeting. 105 TRAP LANTERNS. Prof. Stedman.—Every few years some fellow comes along with a trap lantern that will catch everything under the sun. Thirteen years ago I made a test of trap lanterns—not this one. I ran these lanterns all summer long? I made this test in New York, and ran the traps in the orchards and gardens from early spring until late in the fall.” Then when I became entomologist of the Alabama station I ran an- other series in the same way, and finally, when I came to this State there was another trap lantern being advertised by a St. Louis party, and Mr. Hazeltine sent me one of his moth catchers. I selected a large orchard in which to set my trap, and one that had never been sprayed; the old gentleman did not believe in spraying; did nat even believe in picking up his rotten fruits. It was a regular hunting ground for an entomologist. You could find the codling moths there on every tree and by the dozens. I started my traps and kept a record of every days’. catch. I also had some traps in gardens and some in corn fields. 7 Now bear in mind that when I say the trap will not catch all the insects that it is claimed to, I am giving this on my own actual experi- ence. I want to read the following list that is given in the circular adver- tising these traps: Apple worm or Codling moth. This strange little moth is a great thing, but it is very hard to determine so not all of you know it. That is where so many people are fooled. Now I do not want you to take my word for this. Take a trap and run it for a week at the suitable time, and then send the little things you think are Codling Moths to some well known entomologist, and see what he says. Many say it catches the Codling Moth. -They believe it does. They may have some- thing that looks like a Codling Moth, when it is out of the trap, but you drop it in kerosene, and it will destroy all its characteristics, so you could not very well tell it. Now, in running five of these traps 100 nights in a badly infected orchard I caught just two Codling Moths. That is also the experience of other entomologists. } I sent out a circular letter to entomologists and got their reports. I have here a statement from one who says: “I tested the trap for Codling Moth last summer and did not catch any, nor did I catch any other well known orchard pests. Now, then, Mr. Hazeltine has kindly consented to give you a trap lantern. Next spring at any time when you know that the Codling Moths are out, you set it, and if you*catch any insects that you believe are Cod- 106 State Horticultural Society. ling Moths, you send them to some good entomologist. They will settle it for you. I have never caught a Plum Curculio. I have never seen anyone who has. You may catch something that you think is Curculio, but it may not be. You would be surprised if you could see the kinds that I have sent to me as Plum Curculio. You cannot catch them with the trap lantern. The Apple Borer—flat and round-headed—I have never caught one of them in a trap lan- tern. The Tip Borer—I have never caught one of them in the trap ‘lantern. Now and then one may possibly fall in. The Peach Borer —No one can catch a single one of these moths in the trap lantern. Fall Worm—I cannot catch any of those. Corn Worm—Catch plenty of them. Army Worm—You can catch some of these. The Giant Worm—I do not know what it is. Tomato Worm—If you mean a Boll Worm, you can. No Raspberry Slug can be caught in the trap. The Leaf Roller—You _ can’t catch that. Canker Worm—Now how in the world are you going to catch the canker worm when the female has no wings? You can’t get them in your trap. Canker Worm is out of the question. Further more the Canker Worm Moth does not come out until fall, and keeps coming out all winter. Cabbage Worm—You cannot catch the white butterfly which is the adult of the Cabbage Worms, and they are the ones that do about 99 per cent. of the damage. There are some insects that do not fly at all by night, and yet will get up and fly to a light, and, of course, you might catch some of them. Now in regard to the Stinging Fly—There is a puzzling question. Some little insect is stinging the skin of the apples and is doing a vast amount of harm. It has spoiled a large per cent. of what would have been first-class apples. I do not know the little insect that is doing that work. I wish I did. Now while we do not know what insect is doing this, we do know some that are not doing it. It may be you can catch these insects in your traps, but whether you do or not, test it for your- _ selves. But you will never get rid of them in that way. I set out a trap lantern last night and I was really surprised to get as many insects as I did on account of the wind and rain that stormy night. The orchard was not sprayed, and I got a good many things, among them a larva that dropped from the tree. I do not know whether there were any Codling Moth in the orchard or not, but I caught none. I have four Ichneumon Flies, all males. This insect is a beneficial one, I mean by that, that it destroys injurious ones. Beneficial insects are either parasitic or predaceous. I have several Crane Flies, six of them. They look something like an enormous mosquito, but are not injurious. Then three June Bugs or May Beetles, 27 Cock Roaches, and one House Fly which flies by day. Two Clover Hay Moths which are injurious. Two —— ss —— ee Summer Meeting. 107 Jassids ; five Reduvids, beneficial. Two Horse Flies that fly in the day time. Three Geometrids; one Dagger Moth. This completes the list _ that I caught last night in the trap. This is only a test of one trap one night. I wanted 100 traps for three nights and have the Department of Agriculture make the determination. So far as I can see these traps are a disadvantage in an orchard, but good for the places that I have mentioned. TheSe matters will not be settled here. We cannot prove anything by talking, we must make the test. Let us meet at Springfield when the Codling Moth is flying at its best (as determined by Mr. Hazeltine) and make the experiment there. Have some other uninterested entomologist come who knows the Codling Moth, and have it tested fairly. Do not think that I wish to run down any trap. I want to advise what is best for the agriculturists and the horticulturists, and when we see that the trap lantern is good for a cer- tain place let us put it there, and when we find that it is not only of no value, but an actual detriment in other places, let us say so. THE MOTH: TRAP: I have taken pains to get all the information possible on this subject so that there need be no further question as to its failure. Facts are what we want, and when our best scientists give us such an abundance of proof for their statements we should believe their conclusions. There seems to be no end to the proof here given that “for the orchardist or fruit grower, the moth traps are not only worthless, but really a detriment.” We ought to learn from the experience of others and profit by it, and not go to the expense of all these experiments ourselves. I have given the names and words of our best entomologists, and the refuta- tion of those who have either been misquoted_or only partially quoted. We are sure that “moth traps” will not catch Codling Moth, Cur- culios, Gougers, Flat or Round-headed Borers, Peach Borers, Canker Worm Moth, and that they can never take the place of spraying. It is a waste of money to buy these “traps,” and you should be con- vinced by the following list of names and experiments. L. A. GOODMAN. 108 State Horticultural S ociety. MISSOURI EXPERIMENT STATION. (From J. M. Stedman, Entomologist, Columbia, Mo.) I give facts as derived purely from scientifically conducted experi- ments and accurate determinations of the captured insects, and I now feel that I have done my duty in the matter. I pronounce, as all other competent entomologists do, that all and any trap lanterns of whatever pattern using lights as the attractive agent are “humbugs” when used in orchards and do more harm there than good, on account of the Ich- nuemon flies (“‘stinging fly or wasp-like insect”) which they kill. I had five trap lanterns (one of them being Haseltine’s Moth Catcher) in an orchard that was badly infested with codling moths, and kept them going for one hundred (100) consecutive nights, beginning when the trees bloomed out, and as a result of all this, I caught only two codling moths. Is not this a low number of accidents, even? Would not one hundred have been low? “To those trap-lantern agitators and-a few orchardists, who claim codling moths are attracted to light and caught in trap lanterns, I would ask: Is it not a little strange that they who are not entomologists catch these codling moths, while entomologists all fail? It seems to me the secret of the whole trouble lies in the mistaken identity of the codling moth, since there are a great number of similar looking but harmless moths that are caught by these traps. _ Our experiments prove that for the bulk of the injurious insects, especially in orchards, the traps are not only of no use, but are an actual detriment. We emphatically advise the public not to rely upon moth catchers to take the place of spraying. We wish now to impress upon the people the fact that these moth catchers absolutely will not catch—except now and then one by mere accident—the following common injurious insects, which the advocates of the moth catchers claim are caught: The Codling Moth; Colorado potato beetle; Plum Curculio; Gougers; Flat and Round-headeéd apple- tree borers; Peach-tree borers; Tomato-worm moth; Squash Bugs; Canker Worm moth; Cabbage butterfly, adult of the common cabbage worm; Bud-worm moth; “Grape vine moth;” “Current moth;” “Slug moth ;” Strawberry root-borer. In using the traps for the insects just named, and for thousands of other injurious insects that we have not named, one not only does no good, but actually does a great amount of harm; in the first place ee Summer Meeting. 1g by failing to catch the insects wanted, and in the second place, by kill- ing immense numbers of Ichneumon flies and other beneficial parasitic and predaceous insects. Hence, for the various reasons given, the in- discriminate and ready use of moth catchers renders them unsafe, and it is for these reasons that trap lanterns of all kinds have justly been called “humbugs.” In all our experiments in orchards with these moth catchers, we have captured only two Codling Moths and one Round- headed apple-tree borer; we have taken no Peach-tree borers, no Filat- headed borers, and, with the exception of the Tent-Caterpillar and Fruit Leaf Roller, none of the other common injurious orchard insects. We recommend the traps for what little they are useful for, and con- demn them for the harm they will do and for the danger connected with their use. We condemn the false and deceptive methods, statements and misquotations that are being used to further the sales of the moth catchers. We approve of the action of many agricultural and horticultural papers in refusing to advertise the moth catchers just so long as these errone- ous claims are made for them. Taken as a whole then, the use of moth catchers by the general public will do more harm than good. Miss M. E. Murtfeldt, Entomologist, Kirkwood, Mo. I have had numerous letters asking my opinion of the Haseltine Moth Catcher, its efficacy, especially for Codling Moth and Curculio, and was obliged to return what I felt would be very disappointing an- swers; but I could not conscientiously confirm the hopes of the writers that this trap would obviate the burden of spraying. I have not published anything concerning its destruction of valuable parasitic flies, but that is one of the chief objections to its use. The Rural World sent the collection of insects received from Mr. Denny to Miss Mary E. Murtfeldt, one of the best entomological au- thorities. She reports as follows: “There were not only not Codling Moths, but not even any of the small species usually so much attracted to light, and which by the un- initiated are so often mistaken for the Codling Moth. There were no Curculios of any species. The capture of the apple tree pruner and the cricket is somewhat unusual. The list is quite evenly balanced between the “good” and “bad” species. “MARY E. MURTFELDT.” 110 State Horticultural Socicty. From F. H. Speakman, Neosho, Mo. In our experiments last season we used nearly a barrel of kerosene oil and caught a wonderful variety of insects and large numbers of them; in short, I think we got almost everything but what we were after. I sent samples of insects caught to Miss Murtfeldt of Kirkwood, Mo., but she could not find a single Codling Moth or Curculio. Inasmuch as these two pests were the things that caused us to make the experiments, I for one pronounce insect catching by means of lights to save our apples, peaches and plums, a decidedly dismal failure. Even were it possible and practicable to catch the insects, every- thing in fact that the energetic moth catcher introducer can possibly claim, what is to be done with the spores of apple scab, and bitter rot fungus which are also present with us? Respectiully yours, F.H. SPEAKMAN. Professor E. P. Felt, State Entomologist of New York, says: “T wish to state that money invested in trap-lanterns of various forms, including those which have attractive sweets or other fluids, phosphor- escent paints and the like, apparently to make them more effective, is a good investment only in a very few special cases, and before buying them the advice of an entomologist should always be sought. “Expensive experiments conducted at Cornell University have shown that the trap-lantern can not be recommended as a practical means of controlling many insect pests. Beneficial as well as injurious insects are captured, and some pests, like the codling moth, are taken in very small numbers. Farmers are, therefore, advised to go very slow in buying trap-lanterns.” The following is from a letter dated May 2, 1901, received from Prof. Garman, State Entomologist of Kentucky and Professor of En- tomology in the Agricultural College and Experiment Stabiont seal tested the Haseltine trap last summer for codling moth, but did not catch one, or did I catch any of the well known pests.” Ithaca, Ni :Yaenpigls22:1G0i Dear Stedman—You will find in the Rural New Yorker an article I wrote about moth traps, especially Haseltine’s. JI condemn it as strongly as you. M. VSEINGERLAND; Assistant Professor of Econoime Entomology. eT Summer Meeting, Tit Professor Slingerland of the Cornell Experiment Station has done more work on the codling moth than any other living person, and naturally his results should attract first attention. He has published his results in Bulletin No. 142, entitled “The Codling Moth,” and on page 35 of this bulletin he says: ‘Unlike any other moths, the Cod- ling Moth 1s not attracted to lights. This has been demonstrated several times by careful experiments with trap lanterns in- orchards.” Prof. E. A. Popenoe, of Kansas, Entomologist, says: © “Moth traps” in orchards are entirely useless.” Prof. S. A. Hoover, Warrensburg Normal, says: “I have never recommended Mr. Haseltine’s trap lantern for any purpose whatever. I have tried it but little, and my trial was not favorable to the lantern for catching the Codling Moth. I do not endorse the lantern. Sas HOOVER Dee ro; 1001, I have had oné of these traps going in our orchard since the blos- soms fell, and while we have caught plenty of May beetles and noc- _ tuidae—mostly Cut Worms—I have failed to find a Plum Curculio or a Codling Moth. Very truly yours, PROF ]--fROOP: The Nebraska Entomologist, Mr. S. Bruner, says: “The moth traps have no value to the orchardist.” : Prof. Smith, of New Jersey Agricultural College, says of the New Jersey man: “He has been told better again and again, and if he will not learn except by experience, the best thing for him is to get that experience and get it over with.” Experiment, Ga., April 22, 1901. Prof. J. M. Stedman, Columbia, Mo.: Your letter of April 19th is at hand. I am very glad to learn of your position in regard to the Hasel- tine moth trap. It is unnecessary for me to say that I indorse entirely your sentiments about this affair. I would also state that Mr. Hasel- tine has used me in about the same way that he has you; that is, he has quoted only a part of the letter I wrote him, and has omitted to insert in his advertising matter my opinion of such traps in general. Yours very truly, A. L. QUAINTANCE. Prof. F. M. Webster, of Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station, says: “I have known all along that this thing was a fraud, and all the letters I have received relating to it have gone into the waste basket.” ) 112 State Horticultural Society. Prof. H. E. Summers, of Iowa Agricultural College, says: “I very much hope we can stop the use of the Haseltine moth trap for codling moth.” Newark, Del., January 2, 1902. Mr. L. A. Goodman: On August 5, about 9 p. m., I let out a Codling Moth in my sitting room. It flew to a large Rochester lamp as I let it out within four or five feet of the lamp, circled around the lamp once and flew to another part of the room. It did not return to the lamp that evening. Now a Cutworm moth, or any moth which is attracted to lights, as every one has observed, will not only be attracted by a light, but will come back to it again and again. On August 7 I let out twelve moths, fifty or sixty feet from the Haseltine trap light as on August 5, three plum trees intervening between the point and the light. I found but one Codling Moth in the pan the next morning, and that one I observed to fly to the light within a couple of minutes after it was released. On another evening I let out a half dozen moths about fifty feet from a light and failed to catch any. These experiments prove to my mind quite definitely that Codling Moths are only attracted to light at a distance of ten to twenty feet, that then attracted to it only when suddenly released and unused to the light, as those which I note flew to the light at once were -not subsequently attracted to it. Therefore, | am decidedly of the opinion that such trap lights would fail to catch any considerable number of Codling Moths unless placed so close together in an orchard as to make it entirely too ex- pensive. I am more convinced of the futility of the use of these lights by spraying. experiments conducted by me this season in which 90 per cent. of the whole seasons crop, and 96 per cent. of the picked fruit was perfect fruit. Surely trap lights can not give such results. Very truly yours, E. DWIGHT SANDERSON, Entomologist. Prof. Forbes, State Entomoligist of Illinois, and Entomologist of the Experiment Station, and Professor of Entomology in the Agri- cultural College, says: “I have received several inquiries concerning the Haseltine moth catcher, accompanied by their ludicrously ignorant and Prof. Slingerland, Entomologist to the Cornell Uni- versity Experiment Station, in his article on the moth catcher in the 5 circular ;’ Rural New Yorker for January 19th, says: “Most of the claims made for this new moth catcher or trap in the advertising circulars are pre- Summer Meeting. 113 posterous; and the use of such terms as ‘stinging fly,’ ‘borer fly,’ and others shows that the inventor is not familiar with the insects which infest orchards and other crops.” Dr. L. O. Howard, U. S. Entomologist, Washington, D. C., says: “T have no hesitation in saying that the trap lantern methods—Hasel- tine’s and all the rest—are failures as remedies for codling moth. I am very glad that you are giving the facts about the moth traps.” It would seem that the above statements made by the best in- formed men of our country should be enough to convince any person wanting to know the truth about this matter. I have brought this to your notice so that there could be no fur- ther controversy or question of the facts, and now the only thing to «lo is to let the people of our State know the facts in the case. LY Al GOODMAN; Secretary. SUGGESTIONS ON PEACH GROWING. (By W. R. Wilkinson, St. Louis, Mo., Pres. State Board of Agriculture.) The peach requires high, well drained, moderately fertile soil. My experience in growing this delicious fruit has been limited to Southeast Missouri, on high land on the west banks of the Mississippi river, and I consider this locality splendidly adapted, both as to soil and climate. This soil when first cleared, has few inches of rich loam, underlaid with yellow sub-soil, and containing enough iron to give splendid color to the fruit. The Mississippi river running near by equalizes the temperature and often keeps off the late frost that kills the swollen buds in less favored localities, and the valley that puts into the river at right angles gives splendid air drainage, which is of as much importance as soil drainage in the growing of this fruit; of course, there are many other places in Missouri where peaches can, and are grown to perfection; in fact, the whole southern part of the State is considered good peach land, but the section lying along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers is an ideal peach country. [ prefer Missouri grown trees one year old from bud, and know of no better nursery than the one situated right here in New Haven, Mo. I have bought thousands of trees from them, and have always found their output true to name,:and good trees in every respect. Without proceeding further, I would warn Missouri planters from buying trees from the East, and especially from some of the wholesale nurseries of Tennessee. I bought largely from one of these nurseries and have peaches in the same row, all supposed to be the same variety that H-S 114 State Horticultural Society. ripen their fruit from July to October. It is desirable in a commercial orchard to have same varieties planted together so as not to be compelled to go all over the orchard at gathering time. I began by planting the earliest on east side, rows running north and south clear across the orchard and finished on the west side with the latest ripening varieties. I prefer spring planting for the peach. If planted in the fall there is some danger of winter killing, which can be avoided if planted in early. spring. I have practiced planting on new cleared land and mostly be- tween apple rows, and I expect to cut out peach trees at ten or twelve years old. Before planting prepare land by a thorough plowing, and if ground is not too rough lay off both ways with a shovel or bull tongue plow in rows 16 1-2 feet apart both ways, or 160 trees to the acre and plant at the check same as corn or other crops are planted. If land is very rough and hilly stakes will have to be used, driving a stake where each tree is wanted. Dig hole with spade, making them large enough to accommo- date roots without cramping. Remove all side branches, cut the top back to thirty inches high, and cultivate at regular intervals until July first. Then drill cow peas in rows thirty inches apart, and cultivate cow peas at least twice during July and August with some implement or cultivator that will not ridge land too much. This will give a very strong growth the first year and leave a heavy cover of pea vines on land that will pre- vent washing off the soil during the winter months, and add both humus and fertility to the soil. Continue this cultivation right along for three seasons, and the fourth year trees should begin to bear liberally. I would then advise different culture; instead of cultivating until July and plant to peas, I would plant land, say, Ist to the 15th of May to New Era cow peas, among earlier and medium ripening tres, and would plant Whip- poorwill peas in among later ripening varieties, and hog all off when peas and peaches are both ripe. The New Era cow peas will mature by August, and the Whippoorwill by September. This will give an abun- dance of good feed for hogs, and destroy the insects that infest the orchard, and will secure a good profit.on both hogs and fruit, the peaches and peas both being splendid hog feed. I like peach trees headed about two feet high and form the head by letting five limbs grow from the main stalk, then do but little pruning afterward; these limbs should be equally distributed around the trunk of the tree and will form a well balanced open-topped tree. As to variety for family use, I would plant so as to have a succession from earliest to latest, and for such an orchard of 100 trees would plant the following varieties ripening in regular rotation from earliest to latest: Two Sneed, two Triumph, two Alexander, two St. John, two Mountain Rose, five Family Favorite, 10 Elberta, to O. M. Free, 10 Crawford ee a ee a a ee : Summer Meeting. 115 Late, 10 Piquett’s Late, 25 Heath Cling, and 10 Salway. Plant the earli- est ripening varieties on higest land, as they. ripen their fruit at a time when season is usually wet and don’t seem to rot and mildew so badly if planted on high land. For market would plant nothing earlier than Family Favorite, and would suggest eliminating Sneed, Triumph, Alex- ander, St. John and Mountain Rose, and plant such varieties as named above from Family Favorite to Salway, but would have at least 25 per cent of white Heath Cling. They are as standard as the Ben Davis apple, and ripen when weather is cool and will carry well to any market, and are always in demand at from $1 to $2 per bushel. It will be noticed that varieties named are both white and yellow fleshed, but mostly free-stones. The market demands these, there being but little call for clings, until late in the season, when the Heath will fill this demand. Should growers decide on more of the cling type, I would suggest O. M. cling and Lemon cling as among the best. I am now growing a trial or test orchard, and have Heath Cling and other late maturing varieties from nearly all the reliable nurseries, and expect to develop a superior Heath Cling that wjll exactly fill the wants of both grower and consumer. This variety is said to grow true to name from seed, and I suspect many of the nurseries are growing them in this way and filling their orders without budding, any way this variety has deteriorated both as to size and quality. There are also a great many varieties grown and advertised by nurseries as improved Heath, such as Miller Cling, Wilkins, Ringold, Mammoth Cling, etc., but none are equal to the old Heath Cling grown in Perry county thirty years ago, and known there as the English peach. There are also many so-called improved Crawfords, such as Susquehanna, Chair’s Choice, Wheatland, etc. None I know of are better than the old Crawford of thirty years ago. All are shy bearers and ripen at a time when the weather is very warm, and rot badly in transit when shipped. It is very important that peaches be thinned for best results, as most varieties over bear. Thin to four to six inches apart on the limbs. If you do not have time to go over carefully and thin by hand, as it should be done, take a pole and shake off; this will scar and bruise the limbs somewhat, but it is better than overloaded, broken down trees, with half grown peaches, that are not salable in any market. The pole should have a hook on the end and well padded with cloth or other soft material, to prevent scaring the limbs. The thinning should be done about the time the seed begins to harden. When fruit begins to ripen, the trees should be gone over about twice, gathering only nearly ripe, high colored fruit for market. I like the climax one-third bushel basket with wooden cover best for packing, and this should be carefully, neatly and honestly done. Pack nothing to sell to others, but such as you would have others pack and sell to you. 116 State Horticultural Society. PEACH PRUNING. Crystal City, April 24, 1901. Mr. L. A. Goodman, Kansas City, Mo.: As to peach trees, after the big freeze of winter ’98, both you and S. Miller said dehorn your peach trees. I had about 200 3-year-old Elberts, very nice trees. To do it was worse than pulling teeth, but I did it, and afterwards I thought that was a big mistake, for I left a few branches on each tree, and would have had some peaches last season; but the young shoots made such rapid growth they did not ripen the first buds, and my neighbors had a good crop and laughed at me for raising fruit by books; but today things look differently. I have the nicest trees any man would wish to see, whilst theirs look nearly dead. E,. WILLIAMS. VARIETIES OF -PEAGCELES: (By H. W. Jenkins, Boonville.) The writer makes no claims of being a peach expert, and his experience in peach-growing has been only confined to a limited number of varieties, so he will in this paper speak only of varieties of which he has personal knowledge, gained by actual experience. The selection of varieties of any kind of fruit to plant is an im- portant one that should be.carefully considered by all planters, either for the family orchard or the commercial one. This is true of peaches as well as apples or any other standard fruits. The varieties of peaches have so multiplied and increased in the last few years that it has become a perplexing question for the average planter. To make a satisfactory selection a safe rule to be guided by in selecting varieties, either for family use or the commercial orchard, is to stick to the old time tried varieties first, and experiment with the new ones in a small way. When you have a good variety do not cast it aside for something new; however, extraordinary the claims may be that the introducer may make for it. In regard to the hardiness of varieties my experience is this, that when the season suits, and we have a peach crop, nearly all varieties do well, and when the year of failure comes, whatever the cause may be, nearly all come down together Occasionally a tree or variety may prove slightly better than others, Summer Meeting. 117 yet the superiority is so small that you cannot depend upon it for a crop, and these so-called Iron Clads in bud generally prove no better ,than their brethren. The All-wise Creator, when He made man, gave him a variety of tastes, and He also, for to meet these different tastes and appetites, created also a variety of peaches—some white- fleshed, some yellow, some cling and some free stones, so that this matter of taste, or, rather, the peach which satisfies the appetite best, is one that can only be solved by the individual who consumes the fruit. In my list of varieties to plant I shall include some of the best known varieties, both -yellow and white, cling and free stones, and think they will be sufficient to meet the requirements of the ordinary planter. Plant very few very early peaches, either for home use or market; they are disappointments, both in quality and keeping, nearly all generally being easy to decay and rot—all watery and insipid at that. For family use I would plant a few trees only. For July ripening Sneed, Amsden and Alexander; for August ripening, Foster, Cham- pion, Crosby and Elberta; for September peaches plant O. M: Cling, Miller Cling, Stump the World, Heath Cling, and Smack; for October plant Salway. This list will give a succession of peaches from middle of July to middle of October, a period of three months, which about covers the peach season along the Missouri river. For a commercial orchard I would cut the list down to Champion, Elberta, Stump the World, Miller Cling, Heath Cling and Salway. Now some of my fellow fruit growers may ask, well how about the Dewey Cling? you have left it out of the list. Yes that is a fact and for this reason, I lost the original tree the summer of 99, either from the preceding hard winter or the severe dehorning that I gave it in the spring, it died any- way in August, and as yet I have never seen a matured peach grown on younger trees. But now have a number of young trees that have on their first crop, and at this writing look as promising as could be ex- pected under the*drougthy conditions of the weather, no rain having fallen since April 16th. If these mature and compare favorably with the fruit which grew on the original tree and I can succeed in winning a medal at Buffalo as I did at Omaha in ’98, then I shall not hesitate to place it where the Heath Cling now stands, as the most valuable white coming peach of the day, and my confidence in it to supercede that old variety, will not be shaken until it proves its self inferior by actual comparison. LIST OF VARIETIES OF PEACH. Major Holsinger of Rosedale, Kan.—“This is a list that I would suggest to take you through the entire season: Sneed, Triumph, Family Favorite, Salway and Champion.” 118 State Horticultural Society. President Murray of Oregon, Mo.—‘I would give Champion, EI- berta and Crosby.” W. A. Gardner of West Plains, Mo.—*Nothing better than the El- berta for early fruit. I should say the Elberta, Matthew Beauty, Crosby and Salway.” Mr. Erwin.—“I would suggest Heath Cling and Elberta in south- ern Callaway.” Judge Miller of Bluffton, Mo.— Crosby, Elberta and Heath Cling.” D. A. Robnett of Columbia, Mo.—‘I believe I would give Mountain Rose and Elberta.” Mr. Evans.— ‘The list to make money out of for almost every part of the State would be Mountain Rose, Stevens’ Late.” Prof. Dutcher of Warrensburg, Mo.—‘The Elberta is about the only thing we raise in our part of the State for market. But my trees are nearly all Crosby.” Delegate from Cole county, Mo.—‘I would give the Elberta, Salway and Crawford’s Late.” Delegate from Osage county, Mo.— ‘The Alexander, Heath Cling and the Champion and Salway.” Jacob Faith of Nevada, Mo.—Mountain Rose, Champion, Elberta and Salway.” Dr. Green of Chillicothe, Mo.—*Champion, Crosby and Chinese Cling. Chinese Cling is the only one that did not rot on the tree last year.” Mr. Nelson of Lebanon, Mo.—‘Mountain Rose, Salway.” Short Discussion on the Peach. Holsinger.—The Crosby did not do well at all with me. It is not good shaped and in fact I do not know what was the matter with it. Now the list of varieties that I gave are those that bear from the earliest to the latest.” W. A. Gardner.—I would like to just make a few observations re- garding the freeze of ’99. I did not cut back my trees. The reason [ did not was this: The bark was not frozen on the main branches. I believe there is force in the bark that is needed to develop sap for the ERee: Major Holsinger—I have had some experience along this line. After the freeze I did not know what was best to do, so I cut some back and some I did not. Now, I found that some varieties could stand the cutting back and others could not. The Champion all lived, but of the late October about one-half died; so with some others. It seems to me that there is considerable difference in regard to the varieties. Of the ce mit ie a te nae aa eas . Summer Meeting. : 119 Elbertas I cut back some are living and some are not. I noticed an- other thing. Those that were planted on low ground were killed, while those on high ground were not. But-I want to say that the Sneed stood it fine. have a fine stand of them, the finest I ever saw of any peach. Mr. Erwin.—lI believe that the ground has something to do with the life of the tree. I had 1,000 trees of 4 and 5 years of age. On the south slope, when you would cut in the limbs of the trees, you would find that they were dead; on the north slope the trees all lived and they were of the same varieties as those on the south slope. I also found that there was a great deal more damage done with trees that stood about 50 feet above the level of the river than those on a high ridge. I did not lose any trees at all there in trimming, however, I did not trim as much as I did on the low ground. Mr. Evans.—I want to say a word for the benefit of those who might intend to plant a commercial orchard. A great many varieties have been named here. Now, there are a great many people who do not know one variety from another. We never know anything until we learn. But 1 want to say there is not a peach that I have not tested that has been men- tioned here. Susquehanna, Wheatland, Matthew’s Beauty, Early Craw- ford and a number of others that I might name. All these are safe to plant in commercial orchards, but some are inclined to be shy bearers. The list that you want is the list to make money out of. We have been pleased when we have a list that runs from July to October. That list will also make a good family orchard. We have nearly all varieties; they are nice to have. We have some Susquehanna now and they are dooking nicely. Mr. Lamm of Sedalia——How do you trim your peach trees, Mr. Evans? Open head? My instructions have always been to keep them Dack. Now, what head is the best? Mr.Evans.—I did not rise to say a word about pruning. But I will say this: For three days after the snap of ’99, I was confined to my room, but I at once began to write out to agricultural and fruit papers and give the people instructions about their peach trees. I knew what had hap- pened. And I want to say right here that I will not take back a single word that I said then. I believe you should begin to trim your trees when you plant them. Make whips and not more than two feet high. Don’t plant too big. Cut them back to about 2 feet and make whips of them. Cut from 1-3 to 1-2 of the third year back. Whatever you do, keep them down. Head them back. Keep them so you can stand on the ground and pick your peaches from the trees. (Remarks from Dr. Green from Chillicothe about mulching and 120 State Horticultural Society. watering trees and even getting fine peaches from seedlings. Mr. Evans replied that it would not be profitable or possible to tend 500 acres in this way.) HOW TO START THE APPLE TREE. (By Jacob Faith of Montevallo, Vernon County, Mo.) Many years’ experience and observation have lead me to the con- clusion to start an apple orchard to grow and bear successfully, select apple seed from the large uniform, well matured fruit from long lived, hardy, vigorous growing varieties. For summer and fall sorts I pre- fer the seed from Red Astrachan, as this is a vigorous growing tree and long lived. For winter varieties also plant seed from large, vigor- ous growing trees such as Minkler, Red Romanite and other long lived, vigorous growers. I am sorry to see that the most apple seed- ling roots come from the cider mills—from knotty, immature, wormy, wind fallen culls. Much is printed about whole apple tree roots, and scions grafted on whole seedling roots. If the seedling root has such influence on the long life as is claimed, why not the seed have the same effect? Why propagate from poor seed? Another great mistake is to use scions from trees of poor, irregular bearing qualities. Often scions are cut from nursery trees and winter sprouts. Then we wonder what is the reason trees don’t bear and why trees are so short lived. Scions for grafting and budding should be selected from the best, most uniform bearing trees. This can be done by watching a few years’ fruiting. [ emphatically object to taking scions for grafting from nursery stock or winter sprouts. : In breeding raising stock we select the best. See the success and advancement made in hogs and other stock the past 30 or 40 Years. The same is true of the many new and better varieties of fruits, but are we not falling short in long lived, regular bearing trees? I claim the low prices have driven the nurserymen to grow short lived, un- productive trees. The low prices have driven me out of the business. A few years ago I walked through a nursery in which there was a row about six years old that looked like a wilderness. The proprietor said that he used this row to cut scions for grafting. I remarked that it was a poor way to propagate trees to bear. He agreed with me that it was, but said he grew trees to sell for the money there was in it, and that water sprouts and nursery trees made the straightest nursery Summer Meeting. 121 trees; that the buyer always picked out the straightest, nicest looking trees, and that the prices were so low he could not afford to select seed as it should be, or scions from good bearing trees, etc. All short lived, tender sorts should be either budded or grafted about three inches above the crown or collar of whole roots; roots: about six inches in length. These roots are more apt to throw up water sprouts than piece roots, and water sprouts must be pulled off. In case the scion or graft should fail to grow, let one sprout grow which can be budded or grafted next year. Vigorous growing varie- ties adapted for the soil and climate if grafted on piece roots will soon be supported by their own roots. It may seem a big job to get-seed, but one bushel of apples will make hundreds of seeds. Wash or separate seed from pomace, for if left in the pulp will mold; mix with alternating layers of sand in boxes. It is best to keep them in dark. When cold weather comes keep them where they will freeze and thaw until early spring, then sow; plant out in nursery beds in rich, well pulverized ground, well cultivated and kept clean of weeds they grow large enough the first season to graft, the following summer to bud. The above will also apply to stone fruit—peach, plum, cherry, etc. Age to Plant. I prefer planting 2-year-olds, which can be trimmed to grow as desired. I prefer low heads. If started right, very little pruning is required. Cultivated crops should be planted in a young orchard. I prefer first cow-peas, tobacco, castor beans; such act as fertilizers and benefit the trees, and neither need late cultivation. Potatoes often are dug when trees should have no more cultivation. Small grain—wheat, oats and millet—should not be sown in an orchard. Clover may be sown after trees are six or seven years old. Poultry has been ben- eficial in my orchard, especially to plum trees; pigs are also ben- eficial in an orchard, after the trees are seven years old, provided they are rung to keep them from rooting holes, and no water pond “in the orchard. Washing trees with a suitable wash made of about 5 gallons of soft water (old soapsuds, where clothes have been washed, are best), add about one-half gallon of soft soap, one pint of crude carbolic acid and two pounds of sulphur, in late spring is very ben- _eficial to keep back moth and insects. Fertilization. Some varieties are shy bearers if planted by themselves and | are benefited from the pollen from other varieties. I would not plant more than three or four rows deep. I would prefer planting 122 State Horticultural Society. in rows running north and south 32 feet, and east and west 16 feet. When trees five or six years old, I girdle and summer prune the middle trees, which causes them to form fruit buds, and in a few years exhaust themselves in heavy bearing, and then be cut out to give room for the standard trees 32 feet each way. Girdling means simply cutting out a strip of bark about one inch wide entirely around the trunk, about one foot above the ground, cutting down to the sap wood; the wound soon heals over. Do not understand that I recommend girdling; only trees that we aim.to be cut out in afew years. Girdling has to be done when the bark peals, as soon as the leaves are full grown. Young trees do best when planted close, but old trees need space. Varieties to be planted, as my paper is getting long, I will say look and see what varieties do best on soil like yours. DISTRIBUTION, OF APPLE CROP: (J. S. Atwood, Carrollton, Mo.) The greatest problem that faces the fruit grower of today lies not in the growing, but the final disposition of his crop. There was a time ~ when the buyer ranged the country in search of fruit and was glad to pay well for it, while the grower stayed at home and commanded, or at least, thought he commanded, his own price. But the last decade has ushered in a new order of things for the fruit grower in Missouri and the mid- dle west. A large acreage has been planted and is now in bearing; rapid — strides have been made in methods of cultivation, and the largely in- — creased output demands a revolution in the methods of disposal. These — facts are of especial inportance to the apple grower, and to him the © Situation is one of more than ordinary gravity. Some seasons the apple crop in the west is enormous and of good quality. Buyers take only the choicest orchards, prices are low, and then it is really a debatable ques- tion whether the grower, although he has mastered the art of cultiva- tion and brought his fruit to perfection, will realize the cost of picking, packing and placing on the market. Such a condition of affairs should never exist, and the only preven-— tive lies in a proper distribution of the crop. With our modern facilities © for cold storage, which practically allows a solid year for disposing of © the season’s crop, there is absolutely no reason why every apple should not be sold and that, too, at a remunerative price. In this great land of | ria K ours the consumption of fruit has become universal, and with the apple : ra ee Summer Meeting. - 123 a necessary food product, as it is now generally recognized, the demand on this continent alone is sufficient to satisfy the most exacting, and when — we look over the large export trade and consider the demands abroad for American apples the cry of “over-production,” so alarming at first, sounds faint when it is actually tried before the great law of supply and demand. The great difficulty does not lie in over-production, but in un- wise distribution. a It is in the field of distribution that the apple grower’s business r judgment is taxed to the utmost. Even after the crop sets and begins to show up well on the tree no man can say with absolute assurance whether he should sell on the tree in July, by the barrel in September or “pick, pack, place in cold storage and wait for better prices. i | . In this section the commonest way of disposing of the crop is to sell on the tree, either by the barrel or in the lump, a month or two before the “season of ripening. This method has some very evident advantages. It “packing, and offers ready pay for the season’s work. But in such sales the crop is nearly always underestimated and the prevailing prices at “picking time are usually much to the advantage of the buyer. At best tor his crop and is a rather crude way of trying to realize its worth. . A better way, if good business sagacity is exercised, is to hold the doubt the most profitable in the long run. The grower then receives full advantage of whatever rise in price the advancing season may bringy and he is not forced to place his entire crop on one market or dispose of the whole at one price. The first question that faces the man who “expects to hold and distribute his own crop relates to the matter of stor- ‘ing. As a rule, the ordinary grower has no storage of his own adequate to keeping apples through the entire selling season. In such a case the ‘only thing left for him to do is to place hig crop in the nearest reliable cold storage establishment. The following months are spent in closely observing the markets and carefully settling upon points of most profita- ble disposal. There are no localities that are always marked by a sur- Passing demand for apples; the strongest demand flits about from place to place with the scarcity of crop, and with our varied means of trans- | portation this demand is soon equalized so that a short crop in a certain Section does not necessarily mean a strong market. All the exigencies that attend the law of supply and demand must be met, and the great 124 State Horticultural Society. : requisite for success is sound business judgment. Unfortunately, this gift is not bestowed upon all men, nor is it always found’ in the same degree. Hence the individual efforts of the grower to distribute his crop profitably very often meet with failure. So much for the isolated attempt of the individual, and this leads us to touch upon some of the benefits that may accrue from honest co-opera- tion. We are living in an age of combination and united effort along all lines of production, and co-operation in the proper distribution of fruit is by no means a novel idea. With small and more perishable fruits the plan has been tried with some degree of success. Its entire success, of course, depends upon thorough organization and harmonious operation in- every detail. A method which is successful in the distribution of one kind of fruit may be successfully applied in its essential features to the distribution of all kinds of fruit, and there seems to be no good reason why the co-operative system cannot be carried out in the distribution of the apple crop. In many cases the expense of cold storage would be ob- viated by selling on the track at a remunerative price, and glutted markets, which inevitably follow random shipments, might be prevented to a large extent. The grower’s product is less likely to fall into the hands of unscrupulous commission men, and a higher shipping grade can be main- tained. Under the present conditions, however, the most profitable way for the grower to dispose of his apple crop is often a combination of several of the plans above suggested. For instance, prices for fancy grades some- times range high enough at picking time to justify a sale in the orchard or f. 0. b. at station. In this case the inferior grades and culls can be distributed by the grower in local markets. However, it more often occurs that prices even for fancy apples run. low in September, and the grower, rather than sacrifice his crop, prefers to place his best stock in cold storage and await later prices. After all from the grower’s stand- point the aim of distribution is to get the most out of the crop, and until some system of united effort is introduced the individual’s success must depend upon his energy and good judgment. ORCHARD ON THE CONTRACT PEAN. (By H. S. Wayman, Alvord, Mo.) Our usual plan for putting out orchards on what we term the con- tract plan is as follows: We, representing first party, furnish to second party the trees, in lots of not less than 1,000, and direct the planting, culture and care of the Pepe ee ee Seer Summer Meeting. — 125 orchard, which is done in a manner prescribed as customary with com- mercial orchardist, on contract to take one crop of fruit for pay, having our selection of crops, each of which is held at our option till gather- ing time until our selection is made. Second party plants, cultivates and cares for the orchard as above described and is liable for any loss resulting from his carelessness or neglect; said loss not to exceed our regular list price of such trees with 6 per cent. interest from date of contract. Second party may buy this contract at any time, if he so elects, by paying our list price for the trees at 6 per cent. interest, We have contracts on other plans, but thus far they have proved not so satisfactory or practical and I will not occupy your time here in their discussion. A favorite plan with some of the tree sellers who have visited this section of country is to furnish the trees, tell how to plant them and so on, on contract to take one-half the pay in cash and one crop of fruit for the other half; usually the second or third crop from time of setting the orchard, and then usually skip out and leave you to harvest the fruit and wonder why they left or to conjecture if they are impersonating that veteran philanthropist, “Uncle Johnnie Appleseed,” whose honored name [ love. Such philanthropy I admire, but my inquisitive nature will not permit it in me; I want the whole thing and am patiently waiting for that “star of hope’”—a harvest of big red apples. CHERRIES—VARIETIES AND PLANTING. (By W. H. Skinner, Bethany, Mo.) The selection of varieties of cherries for planting must depend largely on the location, and perhaps somewhat on the particular soil in which they are to grow. I shall therefore confine my remarks to the varieties suitable to North Missouri, as my limited experience in growing them is confined to this region. There are many varieties of what are termed the sour or pie cherry well adapted to this soil and climate; in fact, I have tried but few of them that have made an entire failure, but there are many varieties that I have never tried. Some of these are no doubt good and would stand high up in the list if once tried. I know of one variety that I have not tried, for the reason that every time I have ordered it some other variety has been substituted; but it is yielding good crops to those who are grow- ing it here and giving good satisfaction. It has every appearance of having come to stay. This is the Wrage. 126 State Horticultural Society. ee For commercial purposes the Early Richmond stands at the head of the class. It is a sure bearer, hardy and productive, and being both early and of good quality, when thoroughly ripe, it occupies the same position in the cherry orchard as the Ben Davis in the apple orchard, or the Concord grape in the vineyard. Next in order comes the Dyehouse, about five days earlier than the Early Richmond, equal in quality, not quite so large, and with me not quite so productive, but on account of its earliness and hardiness should always be largely planted in a commercial-orchard. I would rate as third the Montmorency, a few days later than the Early Richmond; tree a healthy and vigorous grower and productive, fruit medium in size and good in quality, and being intermediate between the early and late it fills the gap; which makes it valuable, both'as an orchard tree and for home use. | For the late varieties perhaps the English Morello should be given ~ first place. It is thrifty, hardy and productive and the fruit rich and : good. The Ostheimer is a very productive and valuable cherry. I do not know whether or not there is any difference between the Ostheimer and the Ostheim, but there is said to be, both in the fruit and the origin of the tree. I have what is called the Ostheimer, and have never grown that called the Ostheim. The trees bear very young. The fruit is large, black and very rich and meaty, tree a somewhat dwarfish grower, but very hardy and thrifty, and from my very limited experience with it con- sider it among the very best, if not the best, of the late cherries of its class. The late Richmond and Louis Phillipe are both doing well here— have borne young and the fruit is large, rich and good. I consider them both promising, but from the limited number of trees I have of these 4 varieties I cannot speak as surely as of the others, yet I would not hesi- — tate to plant them here in quantity. Sklanka, Lutovka, Cerise de Os- — theim and Suda Hardy, all Russian cherries, are very promising—trees hardy and thrifty, have fruited while young and small, and the fruit is late and fine, and I believe all will prove valuable varieties for this cli- mate, but would not like to endorse fully until further trial. All of these that I have mentioned stood the ordeal of the winter of 1898-9 without the loss of a tree, and many of them bore fruit in 1899, although the trees were quite young. The varieties of the sweet cherry, so far as tested here, have not been a success. The Governor Wood has succeeded in a few cases. It is about as hardy in tree and bud as the average peach, and is worth planting for home use on account of the excellent quality of its fruit, but could not be recommended for a commercial orchard, on account of — its liability to winter-kill. It is the hardiest here of the tested varieties Ee Te tS ie i ee ta ele ghee Summer Meeting. 127 and appears to do best on very poor gravelly clay land, as on such land it makes a slower growth and seems to be more hardy and productive than when grown on a rich soil. I have been looking for years for a sweet cherry that would stand our climate, and believe that I have at last found it. About 1896 I read in one of the bulletins of the lowa Experiment Station of a sweet cherry, the Vilne Sweet, that was said to have withstood the cold of northern Iowa since 1882, and in the spring of 1897 procured two small trees one year old from bud. They both lived and have made good growth, and in 1900 one of them matured some fruit, which was very large and fine. These trees stood the winter of 1898-9 without losing even a tip bud, although other varieties of sweet cherries, peaches and native, domestic and Japan plums went down all around them. I have so much faith in this cherry and am so well pleased with its hardiness and the quality of its fruit that I shall plant it largely, as soon as I can succeed in raising the trees. On the subject of planting cherries, I have learned but little, if any- thing, since writing on that subject for the Princeton meeting in 1899, and it is useless to take up the time of the Society in listening to a rehash of what I know on that subject, so will say that any one wishing to read what I know about planting cherries are referred to the 42nd annual report of the Missouri*State Horticultural Society at page 211. Discussion on Cherries. J. J. Kiser.—I have a lot of wrecks of cherries. The winter made a wreck of my English Morello. I haven’t any on the place now. I like the Dyehouse and Early Richmond. I think I will let the other varie- ties go. Prof. Dutcher of Warrensburg.—Have any of you had experience with the Magnum or Governor Wood? Judge Miller of Bluffton, Mo.—Yes; I have and think it is the best cherry in the United States. I have had trees four or five years to bear 7 bushels on them. Is an annual bearer. I have one Governor Wood, too, but the birds got most of them. Member.—I have traveled ee a good deal, but I have never found anything that will beat the Wrag W.A. pS eet cies of Bets —I have had but very little experience with the distribution of the apple. Those who have been the most successful are the Californians. Now, there is an advantage in selling on the track, if we can get the prices. When we are selling on the track, are we not confining ourselves to the buyers proposition? We must have our own proposition. Our California people found that out 128 State Horticultural Society. and they have a regular business system. The Southern California Fruit Exchange started out in a small way at first. It is a matter of political economy that the fastest means of distribution is the best. You can’t afford to wait for a buyer to come to you to buy from you. We want to reach the different systems of the country simultaneously. We want to be able to market our peaches and apples at once and we can from the fact that the railroads are willing to join such an organization that will! ship the fastest and safest. We could sell through agents, as the Cali- fornia Fruit Exchange does. They found that they did not always get their returns. Sometimes a car would be turned down. Now they pre- vent this by having the agent to be there and receive the fruit. We could reach the small towns through the agent plan. We would want to make as many car load towns as possible. The only way we could manage this right is to have agents to receive the fruit all along the line. They could leave a part of a car here and then take some more on to the next place, and so on. You would thus increase your car load towns three fold. What we want is to get markets. And I am sure they can be reached in this way. Of course we must have our system work hand in hand with the railroad people. Mr. Evans.—Mr. Gardner’s system of fruit distribution is a very nice one.- But we want to go higher than that. I don’t think there is a member of this Society or any fruit association but what can sell on the track at their own station. They may say we are subject to the buyer’s proposition, but I don’t agree with you there. Experience doesn’t teach me so. Now we have had experience with strawberries and I know we got our prices for them. They came to us for them. We have a sec- retary who is in constant correspondence and who is posted as to the best prices every morning. He tells us what the market will bear and we sell for that. It used to be thought silly to think of selling fruit on the track. So did they used to think it not wise to sell cattle or hogs or sheep on the track. But we do it. We can make them come to it and make them give our price. I say let’s sell on the track. Mr. Wilmeroth.—I agree with Mr. Evans. I am a buyer, too. I think the California Fruit Exchange can sell on the track, too. One thing we need is better packing. We haven't very good packing now. Secretary Goodman.—Yes, that is a fact. We need better packing among our fruit growers. Mr. Nelson.—Packing apples in Missouri is a little neglected. I have been buying apples for the last 14 or 15 years and have only one or two first-class crops of packing done by the grower. But I can say that today we have some good trained packers. It has been hard work to educate those men to it. We don’t have to send to New York to get ee beaches 6 ae Sunumer Meeting. 129 trained men to pick and pack the apples now. Wher a firm buys in Chicago, we don’t have to have them send their trained men to pack for us. The farmers could do it as well as any one. And some of them can. _ I have seen it done. PLUM OBSERVATIONS. (G. E. Adams, Darlington.) When I moved upon my place there were 4 trees of the Chickasaw variety which bore a few plums, and but a few of them ever matured right. Thinking I would have some fine ones, I set out 3 or 4 kinds of ‘the Japanese variety, but the cold winter of ’98 and ’99 knocked them out, not caring to invest any more at that time in what seemed to be an expensive luxury (as several of my neighbors were caught heavier than I—one, about 300 trees and three years’ care). So I turned’ attention to my other trees which was not hurt at all. But allow me to say here that the right thing to have done was to set out more trees, for they may not be killed again for years. Well I took some instructions from the Hor- ticulture reports and went after the bugs first by scraping off the rough bark and banding them with leather bands. Then I sprayed them three times—once before blooming with Bordeaux mixture. Now I thought ! would give them a good dose; I used my sprayer, but gave them a ‘good washing every time. It did not seem to injure the trees or the fruit the least bit. I was laughed at a good deal by people passing and { heard one woman say as she passed by “Now what kind of a foolish business has he got on them trees;’ but when I told her what it was for she said she guessed she would try it. Well, foolish or not it was the best crop I ever raised, about 90 per cent. being smooth and sound. T will treat all of my trees the same way if weather will permit and set out some more of my native sprouts this spring. 130 State Horticultural Society. Thursday, 8 p. m. The program of the evening was varied by piano and vocal numbers. HORTICULIURE: (By G. H. Malone, Columbia.) Third Prize Essay from Short Course Student. There are but few people of Missouri that realize the possibilities of Horticulture in this great State, provided the samé care is used in the selection of seeds, plants, varieties, location and soil, and provided the same management is used that a successful farmer or business mam employs; that is, if a person has some knowledge of Horticulture. And there is no place in the world where one can obtain that knowledge in se short a time and at so little cost, as in the Horticultural department of the Missouri State University. Care should be taken in the selection of seed or plants in Horticul- ture, as in the selection of any other seeds. A great many apple seeds. are imported from France, and are also procured in America, in like manner; that is, they are saved from rotten, and knotty vinegar apples, and are more or less diseased. How can any one expect to get good, strong, healthy plants from small and inferior seeds. To get the best results, you should be as particular to select the best seeds possible as you would in selecting seed wheat; so it is better to devise some plan to get seeds from the very best, healthy fruit, or send to some reliable firm in that business. Take these seeds and drill thickly, in rows 4 feet apart, and cover about 2 inches deep. The soil should be a deep, rich loam, well drained, with good subsoil, and in a year they will make good, healthy stocks; so the next thing to consider is the selection of scions. Stock breeders, in selecting animals to breed, select those of the very best type and quality they can procure; so it is reasonable to suppose that in order to obtain the best results in fruit culture, you must select scions and buds from trees that have been fruited, and from trees with fruit of the best type, color, quality and quantity, instead of from those you know nothing of. In fact, this is proven to be true from the im- proved varieties coming from well selected seeds and scions, with good cultivation. Take these one-year-old seediing rots, and scions of one year old wood, cut scions 6 inches long and graft on 3 or 4 inches of root, then plant in rows 4 feet apart, with 6 or 8 inches between the plants, after dipping in thin mud; and press the dirt firmly around each plant. See . ge ee Summer Meeting. 131 The time to head is in the spring of the second year, when the twigs are tender, so the bark will not peal off. Strip the lower twigs as high up as the head should be. The nurserymen will have to head trees from 18 inches to 3 1-2 feet high, to please their customers, but the best height te head is 18 or 20 inches from the ground. Don’t be deceived about whole root grafts, for nurserymen do not sell such trees. From 75 to 95° per cent. of these grafts, if planted in good, rich loam, well drained, and with good care and cultivation, should make a growth of from 3 to 4 feet the first year. In selecting varieties of fruit for an orchard, you must consider the commercial, canning and evaporating values, or whether they are wanted for family use or home market. It will probably be better, after these few general remarks, to take each fruit separately, so we will first take up the apple. Only first-class, well-rooted, and evenly-headed 2-year-old plants should be used. In selecting a site for a commercial orchard, you should consider the location in regard to market, to land and air drainage, and also soil and subsoil; for the first-class orchard lands of the United States are somewhat limited. The best soil is a black, sandy loam, red soil, or loess. The best subsoil is gravelly, loess, clay shale, or red lime- stone. Land should be high in regard to the surrounding country, so cold air will drain off; and it should be somewhat rolling, so the water will drain well. The orchard should be close to a railroad, with direct transit to market, and varieties should be selected to suit the market. In preparing land, new land should be plowed in the fall or winter, and well pulverized; old land should be plowed with a subsoiler and sowed to peas the year before planting. But I think, rather than wait a year to enrich the land, it would be better to plant the trees and then fertilize with peas. On hill land plant them 25 feet apart each way, and on valley land, 27 feet apart, then fill in with “Missouri Pippins,” cat- ~ ting the “Pippins” out when the trees get too large. As you set out the trees, prune them to match the roots, and have the tops as near the shape of a cone as possible. Plant the trees about one inch deeper than they stood in the nursery, throw some loose dirt around the roots, and move the trees so the dirt will settle around them well, then tramp firmly. In pruning your apple trees, always leave some young wood and cut out all interfering limbs; “have a reason for every cut you make.” Do not cut half of the limbs from a tree, for there have been about as many young orchards ruined by pruning as the insects have destroyed. Prune old trees to produce new growth, and new groth will produce more fruit and better quality. Prune large limbs 3 or 4 years old, but prune only one-half the first year, taking 2 years, so it won't be too severe on the tree. 132 State Horticultural Society. Cultivate your trees as you would a corn crop, only better, and all summer. Plant corn or small fruit or potatoes between the rows, or anything to keep the weeds down, so all kinds of insects and fungus will not have a place to breed and thrive. The wooden wrapper is a good thing to put around the tree to pro- tect it from the sun, from borers and rabbits. There are many insects tc fight ; the Round and Flat-headed Borer, Codling Moth, Gouger, Tree- hopper, Leaf Folder, Woolly Aphis, San Jose scale, and others too num- erous to mention. For the Woolly Aphis, insert carbon-bi-sulphide into the ground, within I 1-2 to 2 feet of the tree, or dig the dirt away from the roots about 2 feet from the tree, and dust powdered tobacco around the roots. For the: other insects and fungus diseases, use arsenical poi- sons and kerosene emulsion; keep the orchard clear of weeds, and wash the trees with lime mixed with coal oil and lye. The Bordeaux spray is made in several different ways, in order partly to suit the plant or insect, but all should have arsenic added. The arsenical poisons are arsenate of soda, arsenate of lead, Paris green and blue vitriol. Kerosene emulsion has been mentioned, but raw kerosene can be used with the spray pump with kerosene attachment. In gathering fruit, roll the apple so the stem will stay on it. In sort- ing apples for market, have three grades; extra fine, No. 1 and No. 2: No. 1 must be nice, large, smooth apples and No. 2 must be sound, smooth apples, but not so large. In packing, take the bottom out of the barrel and put two layers in with the stems down, and then fill with the same grade of apples. If apples are low on the market, send them to a cold storage butid- ing, or make a cellar with double walls and doors; have it well ventilated, keep it clean, disinfect with whitewash and carbolic acid, and fumigate ~ with sulphur, if necessary. Keep the cellar as near 40 degrees as possi- ble, and have the fruit in tight bins or barrels and boxes. Ship large specked apples to a canning factory or evaporator, or get a cheap plan of an evaporator, and evaporate at home. Use all the rotten and little, knotty apples for vinegar. Clear all the rotten fruit and trash out of the orchard. For peaches, the land should be about the same as for apples, only the soil need not be so rich if the subsoil is good and deep. A north hill slope is best, as the buds are not so apt to put forth so early that the frost will kill them. Peaches should be budded in August; tie with raffia, and leave 10 or 15 days, then cut the string. In the spring cut the tree off just above the bud, and graft those that fail to grow. Use a piece of 2-year-old wood at the bottom of the scion. Strip off the sprouts below the bud when about 3 inches long. Ray ee . See ig ean Sap ppc 9) A Mee Summer Meeting. 133 It is best to plant one-year-old trees, or two-year-old trees it extra care is taken with the roots. More care should be taken in heeling peaches than apples when they are taken from the nursery row. The best time to plant is in the spring. Make holes large enough so the roots will not be crowded, and put loose dirt around them and tramp it in firmly. Plant 16 1-2 feet apart each way. The first year’s pruning cut all branches off, but not too close; leave the bud under each branch. After the first year, in pruning, leave about half of the one-year-old wood and keep the tree in good shape, as near conical as possible. When the trees get old and large, it is well to cut back into 3 or 4-year-old wood to renew the growth. In spraying for insects and fungus diseases, on tree and fruit be careful, as peach trees are very tender in regard to poison. Do not use arsenate of soda, but use arsenate of lead or Paris green, and inake a weak solution. , ! Do not let the tree have more fruit than it can hold up; the peaches should not be closer than four inches. Gather as soon as the fruit parts easily from the stem. It is better to make from 3 to 5 pickings. In ship- ping, pack fancy in 4 to 6 basket crates, 1-3 bushel boxes for No. I peaches and 1-4 bushel baskets for soft ones. The great trouble in raising pears is the blight. It is a kind of fungus disease that affects the tender twigs, and then spreads. The Standards blight the worst, so it is better to plant on poor, high, heavy clay soil, as the growth will not be so rapid, and it is not so apt to blight. The Half-Standards are not so easy to blight, for they are grafted on quince root, with part of the scion put underground, so it will take root and the quince root seems to check the growth of the tree, so it does not blight so badly. Sonje varieties will not do any good, only as a dwarf, so they are grafted on a quince root, with the scion above ground. Plant 12 1-2 feet apart, and dig the holes deep and large, so you can get plenty of loose dirt around them, but tramp in firm. Head pears low, and prune back a year’s growth about half. Cul- tivate for three years, then sow to grass. Gather as soon as the stem of the fruit will part from the tree, and put in boxes and barrels in some dark place to ripen. Propagate the quince by grafting on apple root one inch long, and also by cuttings. The best soil ts heavy, limestone, clay land, with good top soil, well manured. Cultivate for about two years, then muich. Graft the cherry on “Mahaleb” root, or “Morello” and “Mazzard” in South Missouri. In grafting at the crown, use the whole root. Bud in July while the stocks are growing rapidly. Plant on good, rich soil, high and dry, with good subsoil. Plant in the spring, and dig large 134 State Horticultural Society. holes, placing the dirt well around the roots. Prune as little as pos- sible; only shaping, and cut out the dead wood. Cut back old trees to renew them and take two years’ to renew. Cultivate well for at least five years. Pick with stem on and pack in 24-quart crates, using dry measure. It is well to plant Russian mulberries with cherries for birds to eat. Graft the plum on “ ‘Myrabalan’ bs or “Marianna’’ root in winter, and bud in July. Never graft on a peach root. The American varieties are about the only ones that are hardy in this country, but they are inferior in quality to some of the other varieties. The “Wild Goose” is the stand- ard variety in this country, but it would be well to plant a few of the hardiest foreign varieties. Plant in clusters, and prune about the same as the peach, cutting out the surplus in European varieties, and if you have the “Wild Goose,” have some other variety to fertilize it. The plum and cherry have in- sects and fungus diseases to fight, so begin in time and keep them in check as much as possible. Pick plums before they get too ripe, and put in 24-box crates and 1-3 bushel baskets for market. The strawberry is probably the finest berry that grows. There are two kinds of strawberries, the Staminate and Pistilate, and if you have a variety of Pistilate, some variety of Staminate is needed to fertilize it. Fairly rich soil should be used for strawberries. Set one-year-old plants in rows 4 feet apart and 2 feet apart in the row, and put the crown just at the top of the ground. The runners root readily, so the plants multiply rapidly. Pick berries with the stem on, and after they are gathered, plow the rows so they are not over 9 inches wide. Mulch about an inch deep in winter. There are several insects and fungus diseases to fight with different sprays. The Black Cap raspberry is the most profitable, but others may be grown for family use or home market. Plant in rows 8 feet apart and 3 or 4 feet apart in the row. Pinch at 18 inches high the first year and 2 1-2 feet high the second year; the best fruit grow on laterals, so prune them in the early spring from 6 to 12 inches long. The laterals take root readily so you can easily propagate. Ship in 24-quart crates. Treat blackberries similarly to raspberries, only you need not pinch; and grow them from young sprouts, and from root cuttings. Put the crown 3 or 4 inches under the ground, and raspberries only one inch. Cultivate both well. Currants and gooseberries propagate from cuttings, and should be planted in good rich soil on the north side of a fence or building. Use two-year-old plants to set out, cultivate two years, and then mulch heavily. Keep the old wood cut out of the old plants, and also sprouts, if they get too thick. Cultivate well and often. Summer Meeting. 135 The grape is probably one of the oldest cultivated fruits, and has an extensive history. The settlers of America could not grow the Euro- pean varieties, so they had to graft them on the wild grapevine root of America. This gave an inferior quality to the American grapes, and they have never reached the fine quality of many of the European varieties. The grape needs a good, rich, well drained soil. They can be propo- gated by grafting, layering and cuttings. Make cuttings 12 to 18 inches long and put all of the cutting in the ground, except the top bud. There are many ways to prune the grapevine; the Kniffin, Fan, Renewal and other systems. The Renewal is probably the best of all, as it keeps most of the vine young and vigorous. The vine and grape are preyed upon by many insects and fungus diseases, the most of which are overcome by spraying with arsenical poison. Some of the nut fruits are quite profitable, and desirable for home use. The pecan nut should be bedded in the fall, and planted out in the nursery row as soon as they burst open in the spring. Leave them for two years, then transplant, after cutting the tap root, into the nursery row, for another year. Then plant in the orchard 20 feet apart each way. A rich, well drained bottom land is the best place for them. Put the chestnut in a box of sand and keep moist, where it will feeze, and plant in the spring the same as the pecan. Land for the orchard should be high and dry. It is about as cheap to buy pecan and chestnut trees as to grow them yourself, unless you make a business of it. If I were growing a nut orchard of my own, I think I would grow some hazelnuts. And I think I would have some persimmon trees in my fruit orchard. Let me emphasize the fact that there is no use to plant any of these things if you do not care to cultivate them. Nearly all the varieties of evergreens are grown in France, and it is cheaper to import them than to grow them here. More care must be taken in planting evergreens than deciduous trees. The roots should be put in water as soon as taken from the ground, or kept moist in some way till they are planted again. They are more sure to live if they are transplanted every year or two while young, as they get a better, more compact root system to feed the plant. The is one great enemy that the fruit grower and nursery man have to contend with, and which is not thoroughly understood; and that is the fungi. Fungus was not known fifty years ago, but shortly after this time M. A. Curtis collected fungi in the Carolinas, and sent them to Burkley, an English nobleman. Forty years ago Peck took up the general study. 136 State Horticultural Society. Early in the seventies Dr. Burell of Illinois University began the study of smaller fungus diseases, and made considerable progress, ané brought several interesting facts to light. About twenty years ago Dr. Farlow began to give all of his time to the study of fungi. Then came Arthur, Trelease, Shaw, Earle, Smith and others who did considerable work on grape-rot, smut, apple-scab, apple-leaf rust, pear blight, etc. In 1885, the Department of Agriculture took up this work. About this time, the Bordeaux mixture was discovered by an ingenious. fellow near Bordeaux, France, in trying to duplicate verdigris, a poison to keep grape thieves out. It is a mixture of blue stone and lime. In 1887, the Government placed Galloway, of the Missouri State University, at the head of the department on fungi, and he issued an instructive bulletin on the subject. The State Experiment Stations were established in 1887, and they have done considerable work along this line. Science is making rapid strides in solving these problems of fungus diseases, and also the insect question, so people can go into the fruit busi- ness with more certainty of success. Then fruit will cease to be a luxury that only the rich can afford, and the common workman and his children can enjoy fruit of the finest quality. Fruit will be the mortgage lifter of the land, and prosper ty and peace will reign supreme in this section of the great west. TEACHING THE ELEMENTARY. PRINCIPLES AND THE WHYS, WHATS AND HOWS OF AGRICULTURE IN THE COMMON SCHOOLS. (By G. B. Lamm, Sedalia, Mo.) In the beginning of this paper it is best to state that the teacher who tries to teach too many of the hows of Agriculture will have some dif- ficulty in reaching satisfactory results. For this reason, that the hows om one farm and under one condition will differ a little from the hows om another farm and under another condition. Also if a teacher wishes to instruct pupils in the hows, she will have to be supplied with experi- mental grounds, seeds and tools and be well versed in the practical arts: of agriculture. Even this is not impossible under many circumstances and in many places. But teaching the whys of agriculture to the boys and girls is far different. There are no insurmountable difficulties in teaching the whys Summer Meeting. 137 of elementary agriculture in our common schools—absolutely none. Why the maple-seed has a wing, the grass color, or the nut a shell; why plants need moisture, warmth and light in order to grow; why the flower has beauty and fragrance; why the leaves wilt in warm, dry weather ; the roots grow in proportion to the tops, and the trunks round and strong; why grow shade-trees and flowers ; why do some plants need rich soils; why fruits rot, seeds mould; why prune, cultivate, trellis; why do plants deteriorate; why graft, bud, protect; why are green fruits sour and ripe fruits palatable; the whys—the many whys can be taught and understood in every district school. So can many of the whats be taught. The teacher can teach what the seeds, bulbs, tubers, leaves, rootlets, fruits, insects, soils, plants and their uses are. She can explain and pupils can learn by observing, touching and tasting, what multitudes oi useful things are, and what their habits and diseases are. This enables pupils to be familiar with things around them, and they know and can talk about what other peo- ple know and speak, and they feel at home wherever their feet press the soil. Children delight in this kind of knowledge. They like to study in this practical way the insects, birds, soils, fruits, seeds, plants and kind- red subjects—object lessons all around them of life and growth. Let us give them a chance. Let us bring them into touch with nature and nature’s lessons. Why not teach the needs of the age in which we live instead of ancient geography, the dead languages, mythologies and re- ligions of the long ago? They are the old worn-out working clothes of the race and don’t fit now and are out of style: Why not bring the objects - we see around us and with which we have to do, into closer fellowship by becoming familiar with their habits, diseases, growth and materials? This is the best of knowledge. The children know but comparatively few of these things even at the time they leave the common schools, and they should not go out into the world without this knowledge. ; Our school rooms are not in touch with the living present—the year 1901. Why not know the useful things—things that can be put into practice in every day life? The agricultural world is the world in which we live and work. It feeds us. it clothes us. Through it we get our temporal blessings and, when it fails, we starve, we die. We read how thousands die annually because they do not know those things which unfold a knowledge of nature’s resources. How very different from one, who does not know, will a man or woman who is familiar with the best varieties of tree, flowers and fruits, who knows about the best locations and modes of cultivation, who is ac- quainted with the terms used in agriculture, horticulture and floricul- ture, who can point eut the fungus growths and injurious insects—I- 138 State Horticultural Society. say in what a different manner will he go about developing the hidden resources of his state or beautifying his own grounds or feeding his own body. What a lost world the whole subject of agriculture, horticulture, floriculture and gardening is to a soul that knows nothing of it. What a source of constant blessing it is to him who lives among its uses and beauties and intelligently holds converse with the charming life and util- ities with which nature has clothed the plant, flower, fruit and field. Heaven is not so far away when we fit the living for the earth and the earth for the living. Let us allow the dead past to rest. We don’t live in the past but in the present. We live in the twentieth century and want to be in touch with it, and not the dead centuries gone by. It most certainly is evident that the teachers of the near future will have to teach the fundamental principles—the whys, whats and hows of agriculture in our common schools. The best friends of the children favor it. The age demands it. The knowledge of it will fill a want that nothing else can fill. If objections are.made that there is not time to do these things, then cut out the worthless and useless from the readers, geographies, grammar and arithmetics, and put this in their place. It will be a blessing to all who will have to solve the problems of the future, to lose those and find these. If you will take the children into these new fields of agricultural, horticuitural and floricultural knowledge, and let them study the flowers, grasses, fruits, grains, birds, useful and destructive insects and fungus growths and teach them the whys, whats and hows of such things, you will be able to get enthusiasm into your classes and inspiration into your school work. These things have voices that appeal to childhood. Such languages as these living, growing, useful, things can speak, our youth can learn, and remember and use. They will never forget what these things say, because every part of speech is a living, breathing thing. Na- ture teaches lessons of growth and life, lessons of perseverance, lessons of industry and economy, lessons of purity and thrift. While a child is learning one Greek or Latin werd and its endings, it could learn hun- dreds of these useful things, and when once learned they would bless the child every day it lived, while the Greek or Latin is soon forgotten, and drops out of the every day life. The elements of agriculture are introductory to the study of the deeper sciences of botany, zoology and chemistry. It serves to develop the child’s powers of observation and retention. It will awaken sensa- tions and stimulate the reasoning faculties. Boys and girls will not want to run away from this kind of school work. They will be charmed with it. Summer Meeting. 139 Then, too, the teacher will have a subject to teach that has a heart init. It will be a living subject with many channels for original thought and investigation. It leads on from school life into a real life of useful- ness and duty and happiness. Great changes have taken place in the last decade in the minds of parents about what they want their children to learn. People now pat- ronize business colleges, industrial schools, kindergartens, cooking schools; and just a little later on, let us hope, they will demand that the fundamental principles, the whys, whats and hows of agriculture, shall be taught also, for man cannot attain to nor enjoy the higher intellectual, social, and aesthetical life unless the earth be correspondingly fitted to - suit the wants of his more refined nature. LEACHERS OF NATURE STUDY: (By Prof. Whitten of Columbia. ) Ladies and Gentlemen: A few years ago I made the acquaintance of a young gentlemen who was bent on going to school and getting an education. He finished the high school course but was not satisfied and so went to the State University and went through with his class and all supposed he would go out in the activities of life with his class, but he did not see it that way, so he stayed at school and took a degree. Then he decided he would stay and take the degree of Bachelor of Arts and so he did. But he had higher aims so he stayed and took the degree of B. S. Finally, he decided he would take a professional course, so he went on till he had the M. D. to his name. But still he was not satisfied and so went on and had Ph. D. After working very hard in the school for about 12 years he decided he would try teaching for a while. So he be- gan to look about for a school, but couldn’t find one to suit him. After trying for some time, he finally settled down to a little country school of a few months at $35 per month. Then when his term was out they didn’t want him again. Yet this fellow was an educated man. After this he thought that he was not complete, so he went to Germany to finish his education. I ask what is the cause of all this? Why, it is because the poor fellow never learned to apply what he had acquired. He was so busy with storing his mind with facts that he did not have time for any- thing else. He was just full of dry facts and theories and did not know how to apply them. He did not understand the walks of life any better than he did before he stored his mind. He was a book worm. instead of thinking of life and its realities, he kept reading, reading, the facts, 140 State Horticultural Society. innumerable facts. I am perfectly satisfied that you can just cram and cram facts into your minds and then really know no more than wher you started. So far as we are storing up facts and not understanding all about them and the nature of things, we are failing. When we learn to reason and use these facts, we are, of course, very useful. I think you will agree with me that the education of today is becoming more prac- tical. We are not just spending our time in reading and reading and get- ting dates and dates, but we are beginning to look at the problems of life and try to understand them for ourselves. Think how to apply what we learn. We are beginning to teach our little people something about nature study. In some cases, we call it horticultural work. We like te study live things instead of reading nothing but plain dry facts. I be- lieve that this is a very good thing. A good thing that is coming about. To make our children study about the things areund us as the horticul- tural people are becoming interested in our education in our public schools, we have hopes of doing much along this line. I will mention a few things along this line. About five years ago we began teaching horticultural work in our summer schools. We had it in the summer schools, because that is the time to take it. At first, we enrolled 11 in that course. We did not do a great work at first, but we noticed the plants around us. We studied how a plant propagated itself, how the little seed was changed into the little plant. We took up the study of plants all the way through. Many of our teachers are now taking up this method in their schools. The Carthage schools have. They begun with the window- box studies. They put them in the window in the school rooms in the winter so that they might get interested and study them. They finally planted things in their yard and you have no idea of the work they did and how much it added to the beauty of the yard and it caused others alk over town to become interested and beautify their own homes. The school gave prizes for this kind of work. They gave prizes for the best kept front yards, prizes for the best kept beds of different kinds of plants. ifad regular contests and awarded prizes. That was the way the city began to beautify the walks and lawns and drive-ways. It is wonderful how such an influence will spread. How it makes the town more beau- tiful, how it could make the streets prettier. It teaches us the nature of things and at the same time causes the young to learn to love work and at the same time teaches many a lesson in horticultural work. They learn to think and then to apply what they do know. One school that I re- member, and that is the Columbia high school. The teacher began the work there. He took up the work by putting up window plants. He ° Summer Meeting. 141 was afraid to say much about it. He did not want to tell any one that he was going to have a window garden in the school room. He had his room just as pretty as could be. Fixed up the old laboratory as nice as tie could with flowers and plants. Swept up things nice and clean. Had everything as pretty as it could be. While he was doing all this work, the children were very anxious to know what he was doing, so they would peep in under his arm and were awful curious to know what was going on. Ina few weeks they wanted to know all about it. Finally he told them what he was doing. Pretty soon they wanted to do something in this work, too. He told them, yes, they might get some boxes and fix them if they wanted to. As a result he said one day, well next Monday is a holiday, how many of you would like to take that day and fix up a nice little school garden. They were all in for it. They put up some good benches on the west side of the room. They then went to the woods, in February, and scraped the dry leaves and sticks all off and got all kinds of things. They began to sort them out. One part of the stand for this curious thing and another part for another curiosity. He said for them to watch these things. They had a collection of onion-like bulbs. He had them to set them. After a few weeks they had a very pretty garden there. The onion-like bulbs became the pretty little spring beauties that we all know. They had the Columbine and Lillies and all sorts of things. These children had never seen anything like this be- fore. When the seeds began to germinate they watched them and thev began to try to find out all about how the plants started. When they had done all this, he began to teach them about outdoor gardening, too. Vhe little fellows began to be interested and wanted to plant tomato plants. Now this is just what he wanted them to do. So they took their February bench and put sand and good soil on it and soon had jittle plants to take out to their beds. He gave little prizes for the best kept flower beds and the best kept garden beds. All this work did not require a single lesson to be learned. He did not ask them to do this but just let them do it themselves. And they lost no time at all from their lessons. The influence did not stop there. Eveybody came there to eat their lunch. The other teachers saw this and began to think whether they ‘ccouldn’t get something like this to interest their pupils, too. That caused them all to take it up. Now the next year, we had 15 in the course and the next year 25, and last year, we had 75. Last Monday when I left, we had a large number and-they were still enrolling. That was one reason I was not with you at first of the meeting. J felt that I could not leave them. I don’t see why this work shouldn’t be taken up in our country schools, too, as well as anywhere else. Why should not a better knowledge of 142 State Horticultural S ociety. plants make a better farmer. He can study while pulling up weeds. I believe we need to work up some method for this kind of work in all our schools. One year I tried an experiment. I tried a class of little boys and girls to see if I could make the work interesting to them. I began to study how to do this. One thing of importance is to have something for the little ones that is full of life; something that they can see that is growing and moving and that they can work with. At first when there were no changes in the seeds they did not seem to care much about it. But when the seed began to swell and send its little roots down and send its little leaves up, their interest became great. They wanted to look at them every little while. If you want the attention of a child, you must get something active. Must have life in it. Now I hope that the teachers will take up this work all over this State. I hope their work will prove a prominent feature for good for the children. But I have used as much time as I should for this thing. I thank you for your kind attention. HORTICULTURE AS AN EDUCATIONAL FACTOR. (By C. H, Dutcher, Warretisburg, Mo.) My subject affirms that horticulture possesses educational value. No man who has worked at the business very long will demand proof. Indeed one might say that horticulture considered not only as vegetable and fruit raising, but as floral and landscape gardening as well, is an - education in itself. But will horticulture studied and practiced educate our boys and girls? If we consider education as the discipline of intellect and the reg- ulation of the heart, I answer, yes. If we consider it a means of devel- oping the physical, mental and moral powers of the individual, I return the same answer. If we consider education as the training of the indi- vidual—to train his hand, eye, ear or muscle; to train him to careful ob- servation, and to be careful of his assertions; to make him generous, and love his neighbor as himself, I still say, yes; horticulture is a great educational factor. But to be more specific. Science is said to be classified knowledge. The whole range of education as once considered, even in our own day, consisted in getting a knowledge of facts, classifying this knowledge, and then investigating the causes, the effects, the whys and the wherefores. This process led us into the fields of philosophy. Its tendencies were to- | Summer Meeting. 143. ward the higher education, the education of the professions. It was both literary and classical, and was for the benefit of the few, while the masses were ignored. Today new principles obtain. We believe in an education that will enable each one “‘to support himself.’ This is the education of the com- mon schools. It should be practical and for the masses. We believe in an education in all “that a man can utilize.” This in- cludes the higher, even the professional education, is both literary and classical, and of necessity for the few. Yes, we go further. We believe in a fuller American education, in an industrial education for all who “have an aptitude to receive it, and will use it when they get it.” As such an education will assist a greater number to the education that will enable each one to support himself, industrial, and perforce. Horticultural education should begin in and be a part of the common school education. This may involve some changes in our present methods, but let it not be forgotten that the education of the past was, and even yet is, doubtless, ‘‘too exclusively literary, and should pay.more Ie 66 , attention to the manual and industrial training too exclusively intel- _lectual,”” and should pay more attention to moral training. In any education, however, just three classes of facts concern the educator: viz., facts of God, facts of nature, and facts of man. The facts of nature and the facts of man concern us most in this discussion ; but do not think we ignore the facts of God. Few horticulturalists are godless. men. I know not one infidel in our ranks—nor do I see how one can fail to see God in every leaf and blossom and fruit. If we study nature we find only three kingdoms—the crystal king- dom, the plant kingdom and the animal kingdom. The horticulturist must study the nature, composition and condition of his soil. Everything he raises belongs to the plant kingdom, and while he finds many enemies in the animal kingdom, he also finds many friends there. All three of these kingdoms of nature, then, become at once his domain and he must study them. If we teach the facts of man, we must consider him as body, soul, spirit, or body and mind. Horticulture trains and develops the bodv as only few other callings can do. He must use his eyes closely and con- stantly. He must train himself to close observation. He must train his hearing for by this sense as well as by sight, he will recognize both his ' friends and his foes in the orchard. In fact, not a sense do we possess that does not find full scope for its activities in horticulture. Would you develop a healthy body? The horticulturist is particu- larly blessed. He breathes the purest air, and on our western prairies 144 State Horticultural Society. an abundance of it. The health-giving properties of the freshly upturned earth are his to enjoy to their full fruition. Not a muscle that develops a strong and healthy body is neglected. Reaching after dead or broken limbs, or limbs on which the cankerworm is hatching, or after the beau- tiful, well-ripened fruit, develops his reaching muscles. If his trees are large, and he gathers his crop himself, he will necessarily develop his climbing muscles. In running his spray pump, all the muscles of arms, back and breast are exercised; and if he digs out the apple tree and peach tree borers himself, he will develop his kneeling muscles in a way not known to the churches since the days of the old fashion camp meeting. Education, however, is generally understood to apply to the mind. Does horticulture educate the mind? While mind is one, we may speak of it as consisting of intellect, the power to know, sensibility, the power to feel, and will, the power to determine. Knowing, feeling, willing, constitute the whole of mind’s action. The intellect idealizes, thinks, reasons. It can do nothing else. In other words, we get ideas, think them into thoughts, thus forming judgments, and use our thoughts as premises in syllogistic reasoning. Our ideas are primary and secondary. The primary ideas are ob- tained through sense perception, conscious perception and intuitive perception, and in each case close and careful observation is necessary. Now, do you know of any occupation that requires closer study, more careful observation, more painstaking methods than the proper care of trees, plants and shrubs? I donot. In my younger days I was a close student of books. In later years I studied more carefully in field, in garden, and in forest; but I have often been surprised by the close ob- servation and consequent knowledge of the men and women with whom I have associated in this Society, men and women whom | knew had not had the advantages and facilities I had enjoyed. Having thus carefully observed the facts, obtained our primary ideas, we use them in reasoning, the most common methods of which are reasoning by induction and by deduction. In inductive reasoning Wwe pass from particuiars to generals. These particulars are obtained by observation and by experience. If we have made faulty observa- tions, or too few of them, and attempt to draw therefrom our general conclusion, that conclusion will most likely be proved wrong the very next season, and we shall be compelled to retract. So also it may be, should our experiences prove too limited, or had under too many acci- dental circumstances. This mode of reasoning requires great caution. It is the one most frequently employed by us. It makes one modest and careful of his / Summer Meeting. 145 asserfions. With this I was much impressed at Carthage in Decem- ber, 1895, the first meeting of this association I ever attended. The best informed men and women spoke cautiously when answering ques- tions, or presenting papers for discussion. The whole meeting was remarkable for the absence of any thing like dogmatism; and such is the case very largely today. Many things are’ to be considered before we can venture a dogmatic statement. To illustrate this necessity, I quote from our reports of 1899 and 1900. Our Secretary takes great pains to give us full reports of all that is said here likely to be helpful to our absent members or others inter- ested in this great work. But suppose some one should read our re- ports as carelessly as some of us read other books, that is, make “texts” of single sentences, and often of parts of a sentence, and thus fail to consider the location of the writer or speaker, the kind of soil, the character of the cultivation given and required, the effects of frost, and many other things of equal importance, would he learn anything? Let the illustration answer. In speaking of the York Imperial apple one man said, “No other apple seems so tender.” Others said, “I do not think you will find the York more tender than anything else.’ “T do not thing the York is a tender tree.” “York Imperial stands ordinary winters as well as any.” One said, “In one orchard 91 per cent. was entirely killed.” An- other, “After a winter of 30 degrees below zero, we had a fine crop of York Imperials.” One nurseryman said, “Our customers complain of blight on York Imperial.” An orchardist replied, “I have no blight.” And another said, “I have 500 York Imperials, and am not losing any—they don’t blight.” In speaking of the Missouri Pippin, one man said, “It is subject to leaf curl, and some growers have discarded it for this reason.” An- other replied, “I have seen no fungus which causes leaf curl.” One said, “The Missouri Pippin is more subject to aphis than other varieties.” While others said, “I would use Missouri Pippin for temporary trees.” “In the near future I am going to plant Io acres of Missouri Pippin.” In the further discussion of varieties we find the following inter- esting contrasts: 1. “I would not give the Ben Davis too much prominence.” “The xen Davis is the all-purpose apple.” 2. “The orchard of the future will have but few Ben Davis trees.” “The Ben Davis has beén and is today a money maker.” H—10 146 State Horticultural Society. 3. “We find that the Rome Beauty beats the Ben Davis on the home stretch—1I5 or 20 years.” “The Ben Davis apple, like Grant’s Generalship, is often criticised, but always triumphant.” What conclusion would a careless reader draw from such pas- sages? They are all verbatim quotations save one. I imagine he would say, those bug hunters and worm catchers down there can give each other the lie in the politest way I ever saw. But let him read it as we try to tell it, consider the things we are careful to consider, and he would see that we do not dogmatise. Possibly the members of no profession are more ready to learn from the experience of others than we are. This is no easy thing in many cases, and even here we must be careful. I think Prof. Stanley, in the winter meeting at Princeton, belittled experience too much. Still he was right in contending “that the first essential to successful orcharding is a knowledge of nature’s methods in the economy of plant life, and the conditions favorable to health, growth and fruitage, that we may assist nature by operating upon conditions when they are found to be at fault.” The experience of such a man told on this floor _ or printed in our many excellent journals is of great value; and bi- goted—short sighted, at least—must be the man who persistently re- fuses to attend these meetings or take one of our journals when offered to him at 20 cents a year. The expression, “Experience is a hard teacher, and fools wilt learn by no other,” is very applicable to such fellows as I was when I employed a brag to prune my young orchard. He had had great experience. What he knew he had learned by experience. Mr. So and So over there or down here don’t know anything about apple trees. I can fix them just right. And he fixed them. -I was wiser. I learned from his experience. In fact, had some of my own, and learned later that my tree doctor had never attended our association or read a journal. About that time I learned another lesson. Let me give it to you by way of advice. Never employ a widower over 45 years old to dig the borers from your trees. He can’t see well enough, and should he want to marry—and most of them do—he won't wear glasses. As a result, the next year you can dig out your own worms and carry a few trees out on your back. Thus we see all our intellectual faculties are trained in the pursuit of horticulture ; and if we include floriculture and landscape gardening, as I have done, the aesthetic faculties will certainly be trained, and thus the whole man educated. Summer Meeting. 147 Here, perhaps, I should close, but I wish to ask what can be done to secure a larger recognition of this education in our schools? We have already seen that horticultural as well as industrial education be- longs to the common school. The report of the Committee on Horti- cultural Education at Peirce City is very valuable. If any of you were not there, you should read it and study it carefully. Some of the recommendations there set forth seem to be bearing fruit. I notice that in the course of study for teachers’ institutes this summer nearly one-fourth of it is devoted to practical agriculture. I am sure that if the teachers will qualify themselves to do what the State Board has sent out for their institute work, the pupils in all the schools will make more rapid progress in all their other studies next year. Such teaching sharpens the intellect, develops observation. The pupils soon learn to see things—not to look at them, or necessarily for them, but see them almost without looking. The mind thus aroused, quickened, sharpened, grasps all the lessons more readily, and hence learns faster. : We may not get horticulture recognized by name in the curriculum of the public schools, but the youths in these schools will soon get much of that “something under it to start with” in order to get that “intel- ligent experience” Prof. Stanley talked about at Princeton. They will have the foundation laid for that “knowledge of nature’s methods in the economy of plant life and of the conditions of health, growth and fruitage,”’ that will enable the horticulturist of the future to “assist nature by operating upon conditions when they are found to be at fault,” far more intelligently and successfully than we have done. Mr. Lamm of Sedalia, Mo.—I just want to say a word about this kind of education. You can go through a great many of our schools and not take Greek or Latin at all. I believe this is a good thing. I believe it is because we are becoming more practical in our views of education. I want to say to the people of this town that I believe it is your highest privilege to ask that your teachers take up this work in your schools here. Have them give the pupils some little lessons in nature study. And in time to come it will develop into something that will surprise you. They are doing this in other places. If you will.try it here, I know you will be pleased with the results. 148 State Horticultural Society. REPORT, OF-COMITTEE-ON PINAL RESOLU LIONS. To the officers and members of the Society: The Missouri State Horticultural Society, as an association and as individual members, congratulate themselves on being invited to hold their meeting at New Haven, and in their accepting the same. Words would be hard to find to express a more cordial welcome than that extended by Mr. Dougherty when he “delivered the keys of the city” to us. The address was eloquent. We extend our thanks to the people of New Haven for not only their welcome and their entertainment, but for their attendance and help at our sessions. A thing well done and in the right spirit carries with it its own reward. We hope that our visit has been instrumental in leaving some impression that will be remembered by the citizens here, and that still greater efforts will be made locally to promote all the interests of horticulture. We thank the citizens, especially Mr. Bagby, for their drive about the country and other courtesies. We thank the railroads for their reduced rates and other cour- tesies; the newspapers throughout the State for their kindly mention of our meetings, and other favors, and all others who have helped us to forward the horticultural interests of the great State of Missouri. C. W. MURTFELD, W. A. GARDNER, JAMES M. IRVINE, Committee. REMARKS. Mr. Goodman.—I want to say that for my part there is not a meet- ing that I remember of for 20 years that we ever had a better meeting than we have had here. I want to say that I have enjoyed your hos- pitality and your real enthusiasm. ‘Mr. Ewin.—I move the adoption of these resolutions by this Society. But first let me say that this has been the most pleasant gathering of its kind that I have ever attended. Especially in the feeling that has been extended toward the members of this Society on the part of these people here. I am glad to see so many boys and girls and young men and women at these meetings. It pleases me. It shows that you have an interest in things of this kind. Summer Meeting. 149 President Murray.—Ladies and gentlemen, I will make my speech short, but can’t go away without thanking you people for the pleasant entertainment that you have given us, and those who have attended with us. I have been a member of this Society for more than 20 years, and I have never attended a meeting where the attendance at all meet- ings was so good as we have had here. It shows a growing interest, and I want to speak of this for a short time. We hope to have this interest all over the State. We want to enlarge our membership of this Society. We want county organizations. Take up Agriculture and Horticulture and study them. Have our boys take a course in the Horticultural work. It is a benefit to any one. Lets try to make a better showing than ever. Now I wish to thank you again for your kindness. Mr, Evans.—I have missed but one meeting in 40 years. I don’t know when I ever appreciated a thing as I have this meeting here. I never attended a meeting of this Society or any other where the house was crowded as it has been, and had such good order as we have had tonight. I say this not to flatter you, but I mean it. I want to thank you. Judge Miller—I can endorse every word that has been said about thanking you people. If there is any one that has enjoyed themselves amore than I did, they must have had an awful good time. I do want to express my thanks for meeting here with you and being with old friends. At the suggestion of Mr. Barnes, the audience joined in singing “America,” after which the meeting was adjourned. PN Pile MEE TING APS): JOSEE RE December 3564, 55, 190%. SOME BEAUTIFUL FOREST TREES PROPERLY THINNED OUT AGRICUL- TURAL COLLEGE, COLUMBIA. Winter Meeting. 153 WINTER MEETING. FORTY-FOURTH ANNUAL SESSION, St. Joseph, December 3, 4, 5, 1902. Tuesday, December 3, 1901, 8 p. m. Call to order by President Murray. Invocation—Reyv. A, D. Reiter. ADDRESS OF WELCOME. (By Major John Combs.) Ladies and Gentlemen, members of the Missouri Horticultural Society: It is a pleasant privilege for me to extend a welcome to you. This meeting will be a help to us and to all the State. Missouri is second only to Califorinia and this northwestern part is worthy of a meeting for it is the natural home of fruit. In the ’60’s there were few orchards here. My father was a farmer and depended for his supply on wild fruits; for this part was well favored in them. We could gather plums, grapes, strawberries and others as plentifully as in the present orchards. This organization ought to receive more liberal help from the State to spend in distributing information. Through the Secretary and papers wé can make the the industry larger. I bid you a hearty welcome to the city and if from what you learn you think this part worthy; come to live here and plant your — fruits. RESPONSE President Murray responded and after thanking Mayor Combe and the people of St. Joseph for the hearty welcome extended, told of some of the possibilities of fruit growing in Missouri. Referring in a 154 State Horticultural Society. fitting eulogy to the two vacant chairs of the society, he spoke of the works, left behind by those now gone. Orchards all over the State give voiceless but eloquent testimony of their work and energy. ‘Not dead,” said President Murray, “but called up higher to receive the reward of their labor.” The president said that during the forty-four years of the society’s existence, fruit culture has become a great in- dustry. Then there was no such thing as commercial fruit growing in the State, and only $20,000,000 worth of fruit produced annually in the United States; now Missouri alone produces ten to twenty-five million dollars’ worth of fruit annually. We have been called the second state in quantity of fruit production; we deny taking second place in quality of our fruit, which is unexcelled. As high as $1,200 has been made on a single acre of strawberries. In southwestern part of the State 20 acres of berries made a net profit of $6,020.00. Orchards sold at from fifty to three hundred dollars per acre for the fruit in one season. : Some of us are willing to lay back and buy our fruit from the old worn out land in the East, or from Colorado, where they raise fruit on land costing $150 to $200 per acre and irrigate, and after packing and hauling thirty to forty miles to railroad then must pay five hun- dred dollars per car to Missouri river points; and yet those growers are making money. If they can make profit with all the expense they must have, why can’t we make a fortune with cheap land and natural advantages of Missouri? Our land is unsurpassed for fruit growing. The red land of the Ozarks is unexcelled. Best of all, our cheap land is the best fruit land we have. There can be no overproduction of good fruit. Vhe world must be supplied by a comparatively small area. PLOW ERING BGEBS: (By Mrs. T. Lee Adams, Kansas City, Mo.) Those attending the Flower Show of Kansas City were deeply impressed with the deportment of the great crowds. As you passed in you felt the silence. The beautiful flowers, bright children of the sun seemed to be preaching cheerful, happy sermons. They seemed to say “God weaves the robe of inimitable beauty for us who perish in a day and the people’s faces seemed to respond with the thought” when the deathless soul is sent forth from its Winter Meeting. 155 perishable habitation, it shall be transplanted to those everlasting gardens. They received the homage of the admiring crowd with- out vanity and they won all hearts with the unstudied grace of sim- plicity, bestowing smiles of equal warmth upon all. Thus: flowers seem appointed to be our comforters in all the changing scenes of life. It is a great pleasure to be able to attend these meetings where we may compare notes, and learn to grow these silent teachers. Nothing has so retarded human happiness as the inability of man to appreciate this world. Every great poet, every great thinker, every great moralist has urged humanity to unveil more moral beauty and to dig out of the fertile ground more mental happiness. Lord Bacon said “why do you not develop your world? . The poets all say “why do you not walk upon greener grass and among sweeter flowers?” Do your feet prefer thorns? The musicians say “why do you not weave out of life a better song?” So let us keep up the study. Botanically speaking, a bulb is an underground stem, and though generally considered a root, partakes more of the nature of a seed. When planted, it sends forth roots into the earth, and an ascend- ing shoot to the upper air, as a seed does in vegetation; and as in the case of a seed, the young plant is nourished by the starchy matter contained in the bulb, in the same manner as by that stored in the seed. The period required to perfect this process, or, in gardeners. language, to make the bulb “strong enough to bloom,” is widely dif- ferent in different species, and even varies much in the same species according to mode of growth and favorable or unfavorable circum- stances.- In all bulbs, tubers, and fleshy root-stalks, this nutriment is laid up in the earth, and the leaves mostly die annually, or take a season of rest; hence we see the pertinence and force of the old gar- deners adage, “fine flowers, large leaves,’ as, without a full development of foliage, it is useless to expect a perfection of bloom. Were the leaves of a bulb to be cut off as fast as they appear, the bulb would perish; therefore if we would allow them their full action for the per- fection of the bulb, they should never be cut off until they begin to turn brown and wither, which is a sure sign the circulation of the sap has ceased and then they will readily come away from the bulb. Bulbs which flowers in early spring, such as crocus, Persian iris, snowdrop, tulip and hyacinth, rest from June or July until October, when their roots begin to grow; but the leaves do not appear until ~the next spring. Lilies go to rest immediately after flowering and 156 State Horticultural Society. seldom grow until late in the spring, except the white lily and its varieties, which make their growth in the autumn preparatory to blooming in early spring. As we have seen that each bulb has its season of rest, it would follow that all bulbs should, during that season, have nothing to excite their dormant powers and to urge them to growth. With most bulbs, this is afforded by taking them out of the earth, and preserving them in a perfectly dry place, or with many bulbs grown in pots by with- holding water, and “drying them off.” Some hardy bulbs do better if taken from the ground as soon as they have matured their growth, and wrapped in dry paper, thus kept until the season for replanting; this, indeed, is the general prac- tice with “Holland bulbs.” Others again do better if left in the ground undisturbed for years. Bulbs grown in water should be planted in soil as soon as the bloom fades. As a class, bulbs are most interesting, whether we regard the facility with which they can be cultivated, or the variety, profusion and brilliancy of their flowers. A bulb-bed can be gay every month, from early April to Novem- ber, and the brilliancy of their bloom is unrivalled in the floral king- dom. Their name is Legion, and many of the rarer species are no less curious than beautiful. A bulb case in a south window and a bulb-bed under it, will give us flowers from January to December, as we begin the year with fragrant hyacinths, and enjoy, in turn the ever welcome snowdrop, the gay crocus, the delicate iris, the gaudy tulip, scented hyacinth, brilliant narcissus, stately lilies, gladiolus, till the double Roman narcissus once again bids us a merry Christmas and a happy New Year. The primary rule in bulb culture is, grow the foliage well. The stronger and more vigorous the leaves are, the stronger will be the bulb, and consequently, the larger and finer the bloom. ‘The present great mart for the more common bulbs is Holland, where bulb cul- ture is the business of many principal horticulturists, by whom the foreign market is supplied. This business has been carried on so extensively for many years that certain exotic bulbs such as tulips, hyacinths, and crocus, are generally known as “Dutch or Holland bulbs.” These bulbs are raised in such quantities, and are so cheap, that in this country it is easier to import bulbs than to raise them, so that bulbs which have flowered are usually thrown away. As a general Winter Meeting. Le: rule, the bulbs should be planted in October, that the roots may make a good growth before the cold weather sets in. . Bulbs should never be mixed. Let each kind be planted in a mass by itself if the full effect of each be desired. The bulbs being planted (say about the middle of October) there is nothing more to be done until the ground begins to freeze. But the bulbs are by no means idle! no sooner are they planted than they begin to grow. A crocus or hyacinth will in a few days throw out a root an inch long, if in a moist soil. As soon as the ground begins to freeze at night, the bed should be covered with three or four inches of course litter, which will prevent the earth from freezing very deep, and thus allow the roots to grow all winter. When the covering is removed, which should be about the middle of March, the bulbs will be found to have sprouts an inch or more in length. _ These, of course, will be yellow, from not having been exposed to the light; but they will soon turn green. If the spring is dry, the bed should be occasionally watered to prevent the premature ripening of the foliage, and to encourage its. growth. Fs As a general rule, a soil with a proportion of sand is best suited to the growth of bulbs, some even thrive in pure sand; and there are very few which will succeed in heavy close soil. A good compost for the growth of common bulbs is one part clean sand, one part leaf mold or rich garden loam, and one part well rolled manure. They should be in a sunny situation, for they are natives of countries where the sun is far hotter than ours. Regarding ribbons, Charles Dickens sagely remarks in the Christ- mas Carol that they are so cheap you can make a brave show for six pence. The same thing may be said nowadays of tulips. So easily may they be procured and with such little difficulty cultivated in our gardens, that one can hardly understand how the bulb from which these gorgeous flowers spring could ever have commanded the price of precious stones, yet such was the case in the land of the Dutch in the first third of the 17th century. The tulip, so named, it is said, from a Turkish word signifying a turban, was introduced into western Europe about the middle of the 16th century. Conrad Gesner, who claims the merit of having brought it into repute, little dreaming of the extra ordinary commo- _ tion it was to make in the world, says he first saw it in the year 1559, in a garden at Augsburg, belonging to the learned Counsellor Her- wart, a man very famous in his day for his collection of rare exotics. The bulbs were sent to this gentleman by a friend at Constant- 158 State Horticultural Society. inople, where the flowers had long been a favorite. In the course of 10 or It years after this period, tulips were much sought after by the wealthy, especially in Holland and Germany. Rich people at Amsterdam sent for the bulbs direct to Constantinople and paid the most extravagant prices. The first roots planted in England were brought from Vienna in 1600. Until the year 1634 the tulips annually increased in reputation, until it was deemed a proof of bad taste in any man of fortune to be without a collection. One would suppose that there must have been some great virtue in this flower to have made it so valuable in the eyes of so prudent a people as the Dutch; but it has neither the beauty nor the perfume of the rose, hardly the beauty of the sweet pea; neither is it as enduring as either. Many persons grow insensibly attached to that which gives them a great deal of trouble, as a mother often loves her sick and ever-failing child better than the more healthy, upon the same principle we must account for the unmerited encomia lavished upon these fragile blos- soms. In 1634, the rage among the Dutch to possess them was so great that the ordinary industry of the country was neglected, and the population, even to the lowest dregs, embarked in the tulip trade. As the mania increased, prices augmented, until in the year 1635, many persons were known to invest a fortune of 100,000 florist in the pur- chase of forty roots. People who had been absent from Holland, and whose chance it was to return when this folly was at its maximum, were sometimes led into awkward dilemmas by their ignorance. There is an amusing instance of this kind related. A wealthy merchant, who prided himself not a little on his rare tulips, received upon one occasion a very valuable consignment of merchandise from the Levant. Intelligence of its arrivalswas brought him by a sailor, who pre- sented himself for that purpose at the counting house, among bales of goods of every description. The merchant, to reward him for his news, munificently made him a present of a fine red herring for his breakfast. The sailor had, it appears, a great partiality for onions, and seeing a bulb very like an onion lying upon the counter of this liberal trader, and thinking it no doubt, very much out of its place among silks and velvets, he slyly seized an opportunity and slipped it into his pocket, as a relish for his breakfast. He proceded to the quay to eat his breakfast. Hardly was his back turned when the merchant missed his valuable Semper Augustus, worth 3,000 florins, or about 280 pounds sterling. The whole establishment was instantly in an uproar; search was everywhere made for the precious root, but it was not to be found. ee Winter Meeting. 159 Great was the merchant’s distress of mind. The search was resumed but again without success. At last some one thought of the sailor. The unhappy. merchant sprang into the street at the bare suggestion. His alarmed household followed. The sailor, simple soul, had not thought of concealment. He was found quitely sitting on a coil of ropes masticating the last morsel of “onion.” Little did he dream that he had been eating a breakfast whose cost might have regaled a whole ships crew for a twelve month. An- thony caused pearls to be dissolved in wine to drink the health of Cleopatra; Sir Richard Whittington was as foolishly magnificent in an entertainment to King Henry V; Sir Thomas Gresham drank a dia- mond dissolved in wine to the health of Queen Elizabeth when she opened the Royal Exchange; but the breakfast of the roguish Dutch- man was as splendid as either. He had an advantage, too, over his wasteful predecessors; their gems did not improve the taste or the wholesomeness of their wine, while his tulip was quit delicious with his red herring. The most unfortunate part of his business for him was that he remained in prison for some months, on a charge of felony, preferred against him by the merchant. Another story is told of an English traveller, which is scarcely Jess ludicrous. This gentleman, an amateur botanist, happened to see a tulip root lying in the conservatory of a wealthy Dutchman. Being ignorant of its quality, he took out his pen knife, and peeled off its coat, with the view of making experiments upon it, When it was by this means reduced to half its original size, he cut it into two equal sections, making all the time many learned remarks on the singular appearances of the unknown bulb. Suddenly the owner pounced upon him, and with fury in his eyes, asked him if he knew what he had been doing? Peeling a most extraordinary onion, replied the philosopher. Its an Admiral van der Eyck, said the Dutchman. Thank you, replied the traveller, taking out his note book to make a memorandum of the same. Are these admirals common in your country? Death and the devil, said the Dutchman, seizing the astonished man of science by the collar; come before the syndic, and you shall see. In spite of his remonstrances, the traveller was led through the street, followed by a mob. When brought into the presence of the magistrate, he learned, to his consternation, that the root upon which he had been experi- menting was worth 4,000 florins; and, notwithstanding all he could urge in extenuation, he was lodged in prison until he found securities for the payment of this sum. The demands for tulips of a rare species increases so much in the year 1636, that regular marts for their sale were established on the stock exchange of the cities. Symptoms of 160 State Horticultural Society. gambling now became for the first time apparent. Many individuals grew suddenly rich. Everyone imagined that the passion for tulips would last forever and that the wealthy from every part of the world would send to Holland, and pay whatever prices were asked. People of all grades converted their property into cash, and invested it in flowers. At last the more prudent began to see that this folly could not last forever. Many who, for a brief season, had emerged from the humbler walks of life, were cast back into their original obscurity. Substantial merchants were reduced almost to beggary, and many a representative of a noble line saw the fortunes of his house ruined beyond redemption. The matter was finally referred to the Provincial Council at the Hague, and it was confidently expected that the wisdom of this body would invent some measures by which credit should be restored. The question was raised in Amsterdam, but the judges unanimously re- fused to interfere, on the ground that debts contracted in gambling were no debts in law. To find a remedy was beyond the power of the government. , Those who were unlucky enough to have had stores of tulips on hands at the time of the sudden reaction were left to bear their ruin as philosophically as they could; those who had made profits were allowed to keep them; but the commerce of the country suffered a severe shock, from which it was many years ere it recovered. The example of the Dutch was imitated to some extent in Eng- land. In the year 1636 tulips were publicly sold in the exchange of London, and the jobbers exercised themselves to the utmost to raise them to the fictitious value they had acquired in Amsterdam. In Paris also the jobbers strove to creat a tulipomania. In both cities they only partally succeeded. However, the force of example brought the flowers into great favor and amongst a certain class of people, tulips have ever since becn prized more highly than any other flowers. The Dutch are still notor- ious for their partiality to them, and continue to pay higher prices for them than any other people. As the rich Englishman boasts of his fine race horses or his old pictures, so does the wealthy Dutchman him of his tulips. We would not cultivate flowers for the profit solely but for the reason we feel they have their missions and preach wonderful ser- mons of trust and confidence. : When the way seems dark and the promises obscure lets turn to a ee ee a re i Winter Meeting. : 161 the flowers and as they open their buds to welcome the sun so let us pray Divine Providence to teach us to rejoice in the light of God’s countenance. Feelings of discouragement steal over us in spite of all our resolu- tions to resist and shake them off. They cast a shadow upon every prospect and make us dissatisfied with everything we have done and persuade us to believe we shall never do any better in the future. All I presume know what it is to wrestle with despondency. Flowers are given us to instill hope. In naught do we see so much quiet grace and simplicity, and it should inspire us to seek, cherish and cultivate a peaceful and contented disposition. Nothing is so jike heaven as to live, amid all the discord of the world, in the divine harmony of truth and love. Then let us consider flowers; ~ “Emblems of our own great resurrection, Emblems of the bright and better land; We feel sure the world is better for. The garden walks where the children ran, To smell the flowers and learn their names; The children thought since the world began Were never such garden walks for games. There were tulips and asters in regular lines, Sweet Williams and marigolds on their stalks, Bachelor’s buttons and sweet pea vines, And box that bordered the narrow walks. Pure white lilies stood corner-wise From sunflowers yellow and poppies red, And the summer pinks looked up in surprise At the kingly hollyhocks overhead. Morning glories and larkspur stood Close to the neighborly daffodil; Cabbage roses and southern wood Roamed through the beds at their own sweet will. Many a year has passed since then; Grandmother’s house is empty and still. Grandmother’s babies have grown to men; And the roses grow wild o’er the window sill. Never again shall the children meet Under the poplars, gray and tall; Never again shall the careless feet Dance through the rose-leaf scented hall. Grandmother’s welcome is heard no more, And the children are scattered far and wide; And the world is a larger place than of yore, But hallowed memories still abide. And the children are better men today For the cakes and rose leaves and garden walks, And grandmother’s welcome so far away, And the old Sweet Williams on their stalks. 162 2 State Horticultural Society. THE KITCHEN GARDEN.” ‘(By R. A. Brown, St. Joseph, Mo.) R. A. Brown of this city made an address on “The Kitchen Gar- den.” Mr. Brown is an attorney by profession, but is also one of the best posted of men on gardening and intensive farming. He said that everyone should have an asparagus bed and a straw- berry bed. To grow asparagus successfully he said that one must fertilize threefold what would seem necessary. In raising strawberries he said that one should, in the city, have new plants every year, as this method gave the best results. He said a patch of berries 40 by 80 feet’ in size would furnish enough berries for a common sized family. He would grow tomatoes on a trellis and keep them growing as high as possible, new cluster of fruit forming higher as the vines grow upward. He would advocate plenty of grapes and a few peach and pear trees in the town garden. Mr. Brown states that he has kept hothouse roses out of doors all winter in this climate by properly covering then with mulch.—St. Joseph Daily News. MODEL ORCHARD AND HOW 10. PRODUCE a: (By W. T. Flournoy, Marionville, Mo.) Not many men are in the orchard business for their health, but be- cause in many cases it proves to be a very lucrative calling. According to my idea a model or ideal orchard is one that in a reasonable length of time, by good care and management, yields to the owner a handsome profit. How to produce the model orchard or the orchard that yields the most dollars is the question that is absorbing our attention. After the trees have been carefully selected with due regard to variety and quality and well planted, a model orchard can be produced only by proper cultivation, spraying» and pruning. I cannot tell now with as much confidence as I could a few years ago, just how this work should be done, but I am more and more convinced that well directed work pays. Winter Meeting. So Oo A line of reasoning and work that holds good one year may not be entirely right for another. We can only do the best we can to fit the cir- cumstances; to stand still and do nothing will not do. Some one has said that “pruning is a process of thinning.” I think it well expressed, for it appears to be a way we have of partly correcting the error we make in setting the trees too closely together. It seems that when a limb and its foliage become shaded that it fails to bear good fruit, and finally dies if it is not cut off before. Again when the whole area of ground is cov- ered with trees and the branches are very thick there is not enough sun- light and plant food on area allotted to each tree. Therefore the tree must be mutilated more, so that there is not too much hungry plant there to feed. Pruning too heavily produces as bad effects at times as does pruning too little. Just the right medium is hard to find. To set further apart and prune less is my ideal way now, but less pruning cannot be carried out with trees set too closely. Pruning should be done to correct unbalanced or ill-shapen trees sometimes caused by the prevailing winds. Trees out of balance must be corrected as soon as observed or wait until the next dormant season, which time we believe to be the best for this work. The lower branches must be kept up out of the way so that cultiva- tion may be continued until late in the season. These lower limbs that get in the way of our process of cultivation are the ones that most often drop back in vigor of growth and also produce the poorest quality of fruit. They are the ones that nature usually lets die first. Branches that rub each other must be cut out, also those branches that are over crowded, together with those commonly called water sprouts that may come out in undesirable places. The great accumulation of small limbs with foliage inside the tree should be taken out. It is sometimes said that an old orchard outlives its usefulness. Its branches die but it continues to live and grow wood. The top branches are in the light and sunshine and live, the lower ones are shaded and die. The tree grows taller, producing more wood each year. In fact all energy is expended in growing more wood to reach more sunshine. While it’s neighbor trees are doing likewise. To do this each tree has absorbed all the plant food and moisture allotted to it. Sometimes an old tree gets its extremities very thickly covered by small and sprangled twigs that furnish a very great over-abundance of fruit buds, blooms and fruit. We have practiced cutting out with clip-. pers small and interlacing branches, thereby thinning the tree of a great number of its terminal twigs, in that way lessening the amount of fruit to be pulled off. 164 State Horticultural Society. We have seen trees stunted and injured by too much pruning even while they were yet young; have seen old trees die from the cutting off of large limbs. Often the declining line in the life of an orchard commences with some too heavy pruning that has been done ith good intentions. On the other hand with more space around there is more room for expansion of branches and foliage. There is more room in the soil for the proper amount of moisture to be used or let alone as nature may demand in the proper maintenance of the tree and fruit. There is also room between the trees for handling toois and growing plants that assist nature in supplying plant food to these wide apart trees. Another point that must not be lost sight of in the water or moisture supply in the earth in an extreme drouth, is that the greater part of the ground penetrated by the apple tree roots is often occupied by rocks, large and small, that cannot hold moisture in amount sufficient for the maintenance of plants in time of drouth and great need. Clay or loose earth being more porous is better fitted for this purpose. Some very rocky lands may grow trees as well or better than they grow other things, yet trees would likely do better in localities where there was more dirt. Some of our best fruit lands contain a great deai of rock, vet too much rock is certainly injurious, as above stated. By spraying with fungicides during the early part of the season we have controlled or very much lessened the bad effects of the apple scab. In years of greater rainfall than this, the scab fungus appears to: destroy and render so nearly useless the foliage of the trees that it falls off and the fruit is prematurely ripened and rendered more susceptible to the attack of bitter rot and other diseases, which might attack fruit that is prematurely ripened in warm weather. We find that continually weak- ening the amount of blue-stone used in Bordeaux mixture in dry weather where a second, third or fourth spraying may come between rains, 1s necessary in order to keep from burning or rusticoating the young and tender fruit in the early part of the spraying season. However, a season like the one Just past has not occurred many times in the memory of fruit growers, and it is to be hoped that it will not be repeated in point of dryness. During the dry season Leaf-rollers and Canker Worms were more numerous and the continuous use of the full amount of Paris Green was adhered to for each spraying. We had no Codling Moth during the early part of ie season, but very late in July and early in August they increased apparently very rap- idly until they did great damage to the finest crop of apples we had ever seen on our trees. Winter Meeting. 165 This damage continued until harvest time and caused many tons of what might have been first-class apples fall to the ground. In our go-acre orchard during this year of great damages and high prices, this crop, shortened as it was by insects, had a good value. More than could have possibly been produced in the drouth, at the same cost, by any other crop known to us. The difference in its value without dam- age by these late developed insects would have been enough to represent the savings of a life time of one who lives by daily wages even under the most favorable circumstances. These insect conditions usually occurred in orchards that had heavy crops of fruit last season and were not altogether free from worms then. “When continuous shallow cultivation is practiced without breaking — up the lower strata by deeper plowing, the ground underneath the shallow cultivation often gets very hard, apparently making a good conductor for heat downward through its compact condition, while its perpendicular pores give egress to the heated moisture below. With deeper plowing more horizontal air spaces are made, thus making a non-conductor for heat and checking the up-flow of moisture. We have been led to believe that a good plan to resist drouth is by deeper plowing or stirring, followed by rolling or dragging the ground down, followed by continuous shallow cultivation. When the ground becomes thoroughly wet and packed again, it is run tight together and may once more need deeper stirring. Deep plowing must necessarily do more damage to tree root system where trees are planted too closely. Plowing very deep near a tree and damaging roots then must be avoided.” 166 ; State Horticultural S ociety. WEDNESDAY, DEC. 4TH, 1901,.9 A. M. ~ Meeting called to order by N. F. Murray, President. Invocation by Rev. M. Hunt. Appointment of various committees by President. Fruits—F. Holsinger, Kansas; E. J. Baxter, Illinois; Silas Wilson, Towa. Finance—G. T. Tippin, H. S. Wayman, F. H. Speakman. Obituary—G,. A. Atwood, J. C. Evans, F. Wellhouse. ‘ Final Resolutions—C. H. Dutcher, G. W. Hopkins, J. M. Irvine. Recognition of Visiting Delegates—Silas Wilson, lowa; G. V. Fowler, Iowa; H. Augustine, Illinois; E. J. Baxter, Illinois; F. Hol- singer, Kansas; W. H. Barnes, Kansas; Geo. Holsinger, Kansas; W. Perkins, Kansas; F. Wellhouse, Kansas; Prof. Emerson, Nebraska; Mr. Walker, Kansas; Mr. Wheeler, Kansas; Mr. Brazelton, Walthena, Kansas; G. F. Espenlaub, Kansas; G. A. Marshall, Nebraska. Princeton, Ill., Nov. 30, I9ot. To the Officers and Members of the Missouri State Horticultural Society : Gentlemen :—This will introduce to you, Mr. H. Augustine, of Nor- mal, Ill., a duly authorized delegate from the Illinois State Horticultural Society, to your annual meeting for 1901. Mr. Augustine is probably well known to the most of your members as an old-and valued member of our society, and connected officially with it for many years, and I trust that his attendance at your meeting will be mutually profitable. Yours truly, 1. R. BRYANG, Sectetaiy. To all to Whom These Presents May Come, Greeting: Know ye, that reposing special confidence in Hon. Silas Wilson, of Atlantic, I, M. J. Wragg, by virtue of the authority in me vested, do hereby appoint and commission him a delegate to represent the Iowa State Horticultural Society at a meeting of the Missouri State Horticul- tural Society convened at St. Joseph, on December 3-5, 1901. Dated this eleventh day of November, 1901. M. J. WRAGG, President, Attest : Des Moines, Iowa. WESLEY GREENE, Secretary. Winter Meeting. 167 WHAT I HAVE ACCOMPLISHED ON FIVE ACRES. (By C. W. Halliburton, Moberly, Mo.) Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen: On the 15th of November I received a letter from our worthy sec- retary asking me to prepare for this meeting a paper on the apple orchard, and I most respectfully declined. My reasons for so doing are, that I had never grown a commercial apple orchard to bearing size and I did not feel equal to the occasion. However, I promised a short paper on the subject as indicated above. Two years ago I prepared a paper on the above subject and read it before our county society. What suggested this subject to my mind was that in my travels through our and adjoining counties my calling (that of a-nurseryman) brought me in contact with men that owned small farms or tracts of land and they frequently said, “Tf I had more land would plant an orchard,” and as I said and do say, “Those are the men to plant trees,” for, what will bring the returns that five acres planted in fruit will? My home place consists of five acres located in the corporate limits of east Moberly. I commenced seven years ago to plant fruit and will give you a brief outline of what I _ have accomplished. I have planted about 80 apples, 250 pears, 200 cherries, 200 peach, 100 plum, 500 raspberries, 400 gooseberries, 100 cur- rants, 200 grapes, and about 2 acres in strawberries, besides various other vines and shrubs. I have still a small space of ground yet un- planted, and have ample lawn and barn lot. My wife says she thinks when I plant the remaining ground that I will “jack up” the house and plant where it now stands. You may wonder how I have succeeded in planting so much fruit on so small an acreage. I plant my rasp- berries and gooseberries in my tree rows and the spaces between I place strawberries. I have grown strawberries successfully for five years in this manner among my cherries, plum and apple trees. Of course a great deal of fertilizer must be used. I have pianted Standard Keifer pears on my poorest ground and have never put a knife to them except to remove water sprouts. My first plantings are now in bearing and have borne four succes- Sive crops. The one of 1900 was sold for an amount equal to the cost of the ground, which was $140 per acre, and this year’s was equally as good in revenue, but not in quality. The money makers for me have Deen the Early Richmond and Late Duke in cherries, Keifer and Duchess AGS State Horticultural Society. in pears, Wild Goose in plum, Cresent Seedling in strawberries, Down— in in gooseberries, Mamoth Cluster in raspberries and Fay’s Prolific im currants. Now in conclusion I will say to those that are not “possessed of broad acres” and must be content with from 5 to 40 acres, by all means. plant a part in fruit, and if anyone is looking for a regular job lasting the year around plant 5 acres in small fruit. SUCCESS AND FAILURE IN APPLE GROWING. (By Wm. P. Keith, Mayview, Mo.) Mr. Chairman and Members of the Missouri State Horticultural Society = In trying to discuss the subject of “Success and Failure in Apple Growing” I do not for a moment think that I can present anything new to you men who have grown old in the profession of horticuture, nor do I hope to be able to point a way to a certain success, for I am fully aware that the most successful growers have often met with sore dis- appointment and failure; for without failure we cannot rightly appre- ciate success. But if I can be able to show some beginner a sure way to failure, and he may be thereby induced to steer clear of the shoals where so many have stranded, and where others are struggling in the breakers of financial disappointment, my end will be attained. It is of the first importance that the man who plants an orchard should know something about the necessary kind of soil required by an apple tree of the kind he wants to plant and whether or not the particular kind of apple he fancies will do well, and produce a good crop. These preliminaries satisfactorily settled, he will decide how far apart he will put the trees in the row; and the number of rows in the ground he wants to plant being ascertained, multiplying one by the other will give the number of trees required; go to some reliable nur- seryman and buy his best trees, if you have to pay a good deal more for them than you would for inferior stock. The excess will be money well spent. The majority of people prefer planting two-year-old trees, but my experience, and that of several of my neighbors who have planted large orchards in the strong prairie soil of Lafayette county, Missouri, is that a three-year-old tree starts off better, is more apt to live through a drouth, and will come in bearing before the two-year-olds. The soil may have something to do with it, or the tree being larger and stronger may be able to stand the transplanting better. Which is it, or have both causes something to do with it? Winter Meeting. - 169 What is the best soil for an orchard? I would answer: The soil that will grow good corn, wheat, oats,. hemp, potatoes, etc., will grow good apples if the trees are properly planted and cared for; but do not plant “spouty” or wet land to trees, even if it is tile drained. Your trees may grow all right for a few years, but when they get to bearing age they are apt to die or produce worth- less fruit. Young trees should not be planted much deeper in the orchard than they grew in the nursery row. Spread the roots out well, jolting the tree lightly up and down while covering the roots; leave no hol- low place under the tree; tramp the earth well over the roots; thin out all cross limbs; cut the head back a little if you prefer; wash the body oi the tree with strong soap-suds; put on a wooden wrapper and you will have but little else to do but keep the ground clean the first year. The second year you must get the head in proper shape. I don't believe in using the pruning knife very much. If the trees are gone over in May and June and the buds rubbed off where you don’t want a limb to grow, very little pruning will be required. Keep that up for five years, and your orchard will need little more attention so far as pruning is concerned, and if you have kept the borers out, you can reasonably expect to be soon rewarded with a crop of fine fruit. But I think I hear someone say: “What about the bugs?’ You have not said a word about them. No, I did not think it necessary to say anything about them to a man who cares for his trees as above indicated. You will find him up to date in the bug and fungus line. He will take no chances, and will apply the different solutions at the proper time, and be rewarded with a full crop of fruit which will sell at a good price. If I am not wearying you, let us look for a while at the orchard that is a sure failure. Mr. C., who has been in the cattle business, has met with some heavy losses. He has just heard that Mr. A. has sold the apples on that young orchard of his for over one hundred dollars per acre, con- cludes it must be a good thing, orders a car load of trees, has his ground plowed and harrowed, runs a deep furrow with a lister both ways, employs a force of hands who in all probability never planted a tree before; starts them planting where the furrows cross; two men working together and probably racing to see who can get to the end of the row first; some of the trees with a good portion of the roots uncovered, and others put in the ground six or eight inches too deep. The result is, of course, that a great many trees die the first year. The cultivation they receive is on a par with the planting, and the care 170 State Horticultural Society. given them is no better than the cultivation; the borers attack a great many which soon grow weak and die; some replanting is done about the second or third year, which receives little or no attention, and about the fourth spring from the first planting the whole orchard is sown in clover; it may or may not be mowed. Hogs and cattle, in all probability, are turned in to eat the clover and do all the future cultiva- tion and pruning. The shade under the best trees affords an inviting place for the hogs to root great holes to sleep in during the hot - weather. The hogs in rooting expose and peel the bark off a great many of the principal tree roots. When fall and winter come these hog beds get full of water which freezes around the exposed roots, and the next spring those trees will show signs of decay, and will soon be dead. Thus he struggles along until the orchard is eight, ten or twelve years old. Mr. C. has been looking for thousands of barrels of apples every year, but finds nothing but wormy stuff that no one will buy. All the apple buyers advise him to spray his trees, and he would have better fruit, but he won’t do it, for “no one but a crank will spray,” and he says, “There may be no Codling Moth next year.” But the Cod- ling Moth continues to increase, reinforced by the bud Aphis or small green louse. Canker worm, bud worm, Bombycid caterpillars of vari- ous kinds, Black Rot or Bitter Rot, Apple Scab and scores of other insect pests and fungus diseases, until his orchard is a veritable hatch- ery for every species of insect and fungus pest, to the almost total destruction of his own fruit and of great injury to his neighbors. He concludes there may be something in spraying, and he goes to one of his neighbors who is crank enough to spray every year, and begs “a one gallon can full of spray solution” to thoroughly test the bene- fits of spraying in a ten thousand tree orchard. He empties the can on one tree and declares the apples were as wormy on that tree as on the others, and is now thoroughly convinced that there is no merit in spraying. Thus many orchards are growing today, without any care, the owners looking in vain for large returns they have no right to expect, for if an apple tree does not get proper care at the proper time, we have no more right to expect a good crop of sound merchantable fruit, than | we would have to expect a good crop of corn by planting the seed and giving it no further attention or cultivation. Thus we see by neglect- ing to take proper care of our trees at the proper time, failure is ab- solutely sure. I hope this meeting will not adjourn until some action has been taken looking to the control of insect pests through legislative enact- Winter Mectines. Pah ment, and the requirement, by law, of a guaranteed strength or purity ofall insecticides offered for sale in the market. Discussion. President Murray.—Now ladies and gentlemen these two papers are before the house for discussion, and we want to include in this discussion the excellent paper read last night by Mrs. Flournoy, on the model orchard. Professor Howard.—Referring to the paper that was read last night, I believe the reader gave it as her opinion that it was best to plow deeply in the spring and then cultivate shallow all summer. I should like to hear expressions from the members regarding that “opinion. Mr. Baxter of Illinois——There is only one time that I have ad- vised plowing deep and that was before you planted your trees. I advise sub-soiling thoroughly in the fall and after that I would not plow deep in the orchard. I think the proper time to plow deep is before the orchard is planted; sub-soil well and let that be enough. After that keep the surface of the soil continually soft, and you will not be troubled. President Murray.—There is one point that I want to be brought out clear and distinct, whether or not it is a good thing to break the roots of apple trees. We have had some reports about this, and this matter is now before you and let us hear from you. You have all had your experiences and this is an experience meeting. Mr. Jones.—I can relate an experience of some deep plowing in an old orchard. An orchard that was 29 years of age and had been neg- lected. It had been cultivated like one of the parties spoke of by sow- ing it to clover and timothy and the trees greatly neglected; most of the trees were Rome Beauty apples and some other varieties; probably twenty-five or thirty other varieties of one or two trees of a kind, and it was thought that this orchard was of no further use and they broke up that sod with one of these big plows that they use in Illinois for plowing under sod, not a regular Kansas sod plow, but a large plow ' with a rolling coulter and it seemed that the first year those trees would almost die; a great many roots were cut, and they seemed to make scarcely any growth. The next year that orchard was well cul- tivated with a harrow and disc harrow and such a growth as it put on was a marvel, and the third year such a crop of fruit as it had was a wonder. ‘Those old trees seemed as though thgy had retained all their early vigor. and there were plenty of those trees that would yield from 20 to 30 bushels to the tree, because they had the size and the age; they were then 29 years of age, and while I would not advise 172 State Horticultural Society. that—that simply came under my observation and I saw all the parti- culars of the work. -I am satisfied that there were roots that were cut in that orchard when it was first plowed under, of an inch and a half in diameter, and whether it would be a good thing to advise that I could not say, but that is simply an actual observation. President Murray. I would like to hear from the men who sell their orchards for from ten to twenty-five and thirty-five thousand dollars. Judge Wellhouse, the apple king of Kansas is before us. - If he is willing ta let us know the secret of his wonderful success, we would like to hear from him, and we would like to know whether he cuts the roots of the apple trees or not. Judge Wellhouse—Mr. Chairman: I don’t know that my opinion upon deep plowing is any good for J have never done any of it. When we plant our trees we plant them in trenches, and when we plant them we use a lister disc with four horses hitched to it, and we run that lister with the sub-soil attachment to it, and that is about all we have done. We have done some deep plowing on a small scale and sub-soiling, but we have seen-no benefits derived from it, and I have come to the con- clusion that it depends almost entirely on the character of the soil. I believe that is the secret of the success and failure of deep plowing and the other plowing. It depends almost exclusively on the character of the soil. Now Mr. Munger of Greenwood county, Kansas, has a 400-acre orchard and has done more experimenting in sub-soiling than any mam — that I know of in Kansas, and he says that our theorists are talking all the time about sub-soiling and have- been advocating its use for years (and the Kansas City implement houses have sub-soil plows there and have had them there for years)—he says it takes about a two- horse wagon to haul all the sub-soil plows used in Kansas today, and that we have got enough results from our mode of doing, and that he doesn’t pay any attention to it. If you want to get thorough informa- tion on sub-soiling, you will have to go to men who have benefited by it. We make our living by growing apples. Some of you, perhaps, have heard some glowing accounts about our success. Now if we have had any success it is largely owing to our failures. It is often claimed that the man who has never had any failures is no good, and when a failure does come it upsets him, but the prudent man that has had continual failures, if he stands through those failures he will even- tually succeed. a Well, now there is Mr. Murtfeldt. He has been in the horti- cultural business for a long number of years, and he is anxious to - Summer Meeting. 173 know something about my success. Now I will tell you that I have theard men talking since I came here that have had five times the suc- cess | have had. We have been planting trees and planting trees, and we have got a large number of trees, and of course grow a good many apples, but when we come to count the number of trees per acre, it doesn’t amount to half as much as what some of you grow. I will venture to say there are a dozen men in this audience that have had better ‘success than we have, and nobody says a word about it. Now in counting up our fruit, of course we have to keep count for every cent we pay out and every cent we take in, and every bushel we grow, and [I find, in looking over our books, that our first crop we grew on an eighty, and we have been growing apples ever since, and have had one total failure in twenty-five years. And yet, I find that our trees have averaged a little over 50 bushels per acre. In twenty- three years we have grown some 451,000 bushels, I think, or about that, and in counting right up with the number of acres, I find it has averaged about 50 bushels an acre. Some of you perhaps know a good deal about deep plowing. We hhave succeeded in making a living in the last twenty-years we have grown apples, and we are satisfied with that, but we have not come up to as many bushels per acre as some of these other men. I was just talking last evening here with a gentleman from Wathena that beats me all to pieces. He had his apples out there on the corner of that table, and you just ought to look at them and talk to him. He can tell you more about growing apples profitably than I can, and I have no doubt that Major Holsinger has got some equally as good. and that there are others present here who can tell you more about it and who have had more experience in all kinds of fruit than I have had. I started out with the theory that a man ought to measure his own abilities and to confine himself to about that means. If he thinks he is capable of doing a whole lot of things he is not always able to do it. I started out thinking that I ought to to be able to raise Ben Davis apples, and I went at it, and I have made a good living, and ssome of these other men—these young fellows—have raised dozens and dozens of varieties and all kinds of fruit, and I could not do it. I am giving all of my attention to growing apples and only three or four varieties of them, and I haven't a bit of doubt that I have had more failures—I could tell you more about our failures than I could our successes—a good deal moré. This last year has been a remarkable year. I have learned more lessons in the last year, than I have in any other one year since I have 174 ‘State FPorticultural Society. been growing fruit. If I remember, last spring the soil was full of moisture. Our trees bloomed out in fine shape, and the fruit set well, and then all at once it commenced to get dry, and it got drier and drier, and the first of August we began to get some rain, and by that time, I think I am safe in asserting that our winter varieties of apples were not over one-half, possibly three-fourths, of an inch in diameter. I question whether they would average that. I think you Missourians will bear me out in the statement that our winter varieties of apples would not average three-quarters of an inch in diameter on the first day of August. Then they commenced to grow and they grew and grew, and look at the fruit here now! Such a collection of fruit I have never seen at any horticultural meeting since I remember. Now what made those apples grow so rapidly after the first of ‘the month? We have often had seasons when we had more rain than we have had since the first of August and the fruit didn’t grow half so well. Peaches on the first day of August were shriveled up. It was so in our state and I think so in Missouri. They were shriveled up and looked as though they would not be worth picking. In Sep- tember, I never saw such specimens as there were on the market. In your State here, I have heard there was a remarkable yield of peaches in the Ozarks. We have had the finest peaches in our market that we had for a number of years. Now why was that? There is some cause for it. There is some cause for the wonderful growth of these apples. There is some cause for the immense yield of peaches. Have we all considered what that was, after having such a drouth as we had this summer, that we had such a remarkable growth from August up te October? Now my opinion is that it was all owing to that drouth. My opinion is, that drouths are a benefit. That seems like an absurd assertion, but my opinion is that drouths not only help, but they are a necessity. But why? Why is a drouth necessary? For this reason. All plants require a certain amount of mineral. All plants I say. I don’t ‘know of an exception. The ground is full of these minerals, but they are not all in solution, and if they are in solution they are not near enough the surface to be affected. But when we have an abundance of rain those minerals that are in a solid condition are carried beneath the earth. Water, as we discovered last summer, is a very essential thing. We fruit growers as well as every one else know that. If you will examine it closely you will find that water is nothing but a carrier, at least its mission is to carry material needed for plant growth. Now, when we have pleasant, warm weather the scientists say that the evapo- ration, where there is water available, will average one-half of that ae Winter Meeting. 175 substance in the water. That the water is carried in the atmosphere and is held in suspension in the atmosphere until precipitated by our rains, and when it does rain we understand that the vegetable growth that is decayed, and all over the surface of the earth where vegetables grow there is a constant decay of vegetation, and the gases arising from that vegetation return into the air and are held there as gases. When we have a rain, the rain having more attraction for those gases than the air does, it gathers them up and they are carried into the earth, and when carried into the earth, the earth having a greater at- traction for these gases than the water has, it takes them up. Then when the water seeps into the earth, the gases immediately begin to load up with minerals. That is, the minerals in the earth that are in solid condition are attracted by the water and carried down into the earth by that water. Now, that brings this application that I tell you of the moisture; the rain has absorbed all the minerals that it can hold, or as much of them as it can reach, and they are held in the earth at different depths ; sometimes near the surface and sometimes a way down. Well, now, while we have plenty of minerals at the surface, they are not affected, because they are-not in soluble condition. They are not in condition to be used by plants, but here is this moisture way down in the earth that is loaded with these minerals that are necessary for plant growth, and when we have the dry weather that we had this summer the heat begins to have an attraction, and that moisture is drawn from an immense depth below the surface to the surface, and when that water is brought to the surface and evaporates, there is not one particle of that mineral element that is carried off by this evapo- ration. It is all left at the suriace of the earth, and hence, when we get a shower of rain after the drouth, the remarkable growth of vege- tation. Now we know the results of this on this year’s growth, and my _ opinion is, that it is largely owing to this fact that the moisture has drawn these minerals to the surface and made them available. Did you ever see a season after a severe drouth that we didn’t have good crops? I don’t remember of a time after we have had a severe drouth, but what we have had especially good years in the succeeding years for good crop growth. Now am I right in this? ‘hese are my rea- sons why I think drouths are necessary. Mr. Murray.—I am one of those that have had failures and suc- cesses both. I was very much interested in that paper read by Mrs. Flournoy last night, and I am inclined very much to the idea that plow- ing an orchard is all right, and not being so awfully afraid to break-the roots, too. The first orchard_I planted is 20 miles above this city. That 176 State Horticultural Society. ‘was in 1870. I cultivated it continually and have only missed two years in twenty. I never had a failure. My sons who are present here and I, at the present time, have apple orchards showing a better growth than that old apple orchard, that have not been cultivated so much— been in clover of late years, and they have not borne half so much. I will state there is something in the root pruning, but just how much and when to do it and where to stop are questions to be con- ‘sidered, but I think you are safe in breaking the roots of the orchards more or less. Of course it would be owing to the location and the soil and all those things. Mr. Tippin—Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen: I do want a word and that is simply to impress one point that was brought out in the discussion by Mr. Wellhouse and the paper read by Mrs. Flournoy, and I wish to state that, inasmuch as a good many of you didn’t hear that paper distinctly, that in that paper they strike the key note, which brings us down to this point, that successful orchard growing depends on good common sense, applied to the conditions as we find them. In that paper they stated that each year brought us face to face with new conditions, with which we had to contend-as they presented themselves. ‘That is a fact that we should not forget. And that the treament of an orchard depended entirely upon the soil and conditions in which it was planted, and I want to impress on you that the most important thing to know in successful apple growing is to know your soil and the con- ditions with which you are surrounded, and you cannot apply the stic- cesses of one individual or one part of the State to some other part of the State every time with perfect success, and the only way ior you to succeed, and I think I speak advisedly, having been in close contact with the majority of the orchards of Southern Missouri fcr the past four years and especially this year of drouth, that you wiil have to study thoroughly for yourself and take for example those successes the nearest to you. Starting from that, studying your business. closely, you will succeed. Now as to the cultivation. This year has been one of varied con- ditions and varied experiences, and many times during the last three imonths we have seen a statement of that matter by our friend, Major Holsinger. I remember of hearing him say that a good many years ago he thought he knew all about horticulture and fruit growing, and that last year he stated he didn’t think he knew anything about it. And this year of varied experiences we found by close study of the conditions, that this season, the preponderance of testimony was largely in favor of cultivation. I have found that the greatest trouble is for our people to arrive at what we mean by cultivation. One man wishes Winter Meeting. STE to sell his apples and we enquire the condition of his apples and if he thas cultivated it and so on, and he says, thoroughly, and we go and -examine it and what do we find? We find that he has turned it with a turning plow in the spring, and we find that is what he calls cultivation, and | believe more people are in error on this point than any other one. ‘They don’t really comprehend what is meant by cultivation. If I was going to explain it myself, I would say thorcugh culti- vation. The best orchard we packed this year was one that was thor- oughly cultivated, and is nearly always cultivated with shallow culti- vation; that is with cultivators or disc harrows or something of that ‘kind. I agree with Mrs. Flournoy in her paper, on deep cultivation, if we run up against a season like this, in the middle of the row. Mr. Wellhouse agrees with that proposition because he gave you the key ‘note when he said that these minerals were brought up by the evapora- tion of moisture from below. This brings us to the comprehension of the fact, that everything we can do to husband moisture we ought to «lo, if we expect to succeed, and I am quite proud of the facts that have deen brought out by those who have read the papers and discussed them on this line, because to my mind this is the key note to success. Professor Smith, of Chillicothe —I want to know how to cultivate, I want to know whether to cultivate the orchard with a disc cultivator, or to cultivate it only with a disc harrow, or whether to plow it up with a breaking plow. I will tell you what I did last year. I had ‘sixty acres in one orchard and we plowed it diagonally a year ago; we had been plowing it north and south, and east and west and con- ew. + SY =a. oe 238 State Horticultural Society. 5 cover the ground with 3 inches of any kind of manure, which is to be coveted with lawn clippings, to hide the bad appearance of same. Always plant while the ground is dry, and loosen it up again before mulching. The mulch serves better than working the ground. It keeps the sun from burning and baking the beds, and at the same time furnishes feed. A few years ago I was in Chicago, laughed at when I toid we take off the dead flowers on Cannas. But as soon as the first crop of flowers is over and the seed starts to develop, the flowers become weak and small, or stop blooming, and also make a poor appearance. You will also find the same with other plants. Taking off the dead flowers, watering and’ manuring are the chief points for successful Canna culture. If this is followed right, the beds will be in bloom soon after planting time, until fall, when the frost cuts every thing down. In fall we dig up the bulbs with all the soil, which will stay with them, and winter them in a warm place, where they receive a watering about every three weeks, to keep the buibs from drying wb. For our section is it best to plow the mulch on the beds under in fall. Cannas will do better in large beds than in small ones, or in narrow borders. Nearly all Cannas, with a few exceptions, grow tall, and about the same size, under a first-class cultivation. The selection of varieties has about as much to do with having nice Canna beds as the culture; and some of the best kinds we know of are following ones: About the best one is Mad. Crozy,_the oldest of the large flowering Cannas, which I was the first to grow in the city. The color is bright scarlet with gilt edge. Some brighter is Paolo Radelli, which is a weak grower. Queen Charlotte has a broader gilt edge. Florence Vaughan still holds its own. It is a good yellow with scarlet spots. Golden Bedder is a dwarf, pure yellow with small flowers. For deep carmin we use Alphonse Bouviers, and discarded Chas. Henderson for its blooming so late. President Mc- Kinley and President Cleveland have a good color, but sunburn some. For bronze leafed ones we grow America, La France, Egendale and Eassets Red. The last one has poor flowers but the best bronze foliage. We discarded all the orchid flowering Cannas but Suavia, which has the largest flowers of all, on account of sunburning. The new hybrids Pennsylvania and Kate Gray are a little improvement on the old orchid flowering ones, but sunburn some also. Other good new ones are Rosemary, a prolific bloomer of a beautiful pink. Striped Beauty, Mot- tled Queen, West Grove, a magnificent scarlet dwarf, Mdm. A. Blaue a good orange, Golden Standard, Betsey Ross of a fine orange, Leopart, and Niagara.: Besides them we tested some more new varieties, of which we will discard more than half after the second year’s trial. Winter Meeting. . : - 25D CEPYS PORES ERY. (By L. A. Goodman, Kansas City, Mo.) : _ Who plows a field or trains a flower, Or plants a tree is more than all. Kind hearts are the gardens, Kind thoughts are the roots, Kind words are the blossoms, Kind deeds are the fruits. He who plants a tree, Plants a hope, Canst thou prophesy, thou little tree, What the glories of thy boughs shall be? A quarter of a century ago it would have been easy to have settled. this matter in many parts of the city and especially so on these rocky hills and deep ravines. All these hills and valleys were covered with some of the most beautiful forests known to this western land. The elms and oaks, in a dozen varieties, the walnut, and hickory as fruit. producers, the linden and willows giving honey to the wild bees, the maples hard, soft, sugar, and white, growing beautifully everywhere, the sycamore, ash, wild cherry, cottonwood, hackberry, coffee bean, the thorn and crab apple with their beautiful flowers and delightful, pungent fruit, the box elder, and in some places the tulip tree. All these magnificent trees interspersed with an endless variety of shrubs and vines and plants and wild flowers would have made it easy for one to settle this matter of City Forestry with the greatest of satisfaction. It does seem a pity that these western Americans have so little regard for the trees in-and about our large cities. Beyond this, it is still more deplorable to see how quick our city fathers have been to destroy every tree that stood anywhere near a street or side walk no matter if it be a forest tree planted by nature and grown for hun- dreds of years, or if it be one planted by the owner of the lot and cared for until it becomes like one of the family, if it only stands one foot in the way of a street or sidewalk, out it must come. So I plead with you to use all your influence and power and authority to pre- vent the further destruction of these few grand and noble trees of the forest, or those trees that have been planted by the hand of the tree lover. We must keep in mind the fact that we have the same right to prevent cruelty to trees as we have cruelty to animals. Woodman, spare that tree, Touch not a single bough; In youth it sheltered me te And J’ll protect it now.” 240 State Horticultural Society. What has been done cannot be helped now but what we may do by carefully guarding our treasures, “the priceless trees,’ and by pre- serving religiously every one of them is a matter in which we are all ceeply interested. There are many of these beautiful hillsides and valleys and creek bottoms in and about our city, which are still worthy of our attention and preservation. Trees as old as this nation, yes trees which were in these valleys when the Pilgrim Fathers landed at Plymouth Rock, or perhaps when the foot of the first white man stepped upon this land, are of such wonderful beauty and size that we must surely revere and protect them. There are elms in the Brush Creek valley which measure twelve to fifteen feet in circumference and the spread of the branches over one hundred feet. There are beautiful dells and vales, rocky knolls and steep hillsides, high bluffs and glorious hills, grand springs and lovely creeks which are still covered with the native forests that are of untold value for future beauty and they must be preserved. Thus says the poet concerning the old hemlock on the eastern hills. But I! For six hundred rolling years I have stood like a watch tower, I— T have counted the slow procession of centuries circling by! I have looked at the sun unblenching, I have numbered the midnight stars, Nor quailed when the fiery serpent leaped from its cloudy bars! “Or, ere ye were a nation or your Commonwealth was born, T stood on this breezy hilltop, fronting the hills of morn, In the strength of my prime uplifting my head above meaner things, Till only the strong winds reached it, or the wild birds’ sweeping wings. He builded his towns and cities, and his mansions fine and fair, And slowly his fertile meadows grew wide in the tranquil air, He stretched his iron pathways from the mountains to the sea, But little cared I for his handiwork! ’Twas the One Great God made me. I have but to point you to the beautiful Fairmount Park, and the Wissahickon river out of Philadelphia, where you may revel in the beauty of nature’s forests in which has never been the ax of the wood- man. Within a few miles of the capitol of our nation there are hun- dreds of acres of the native woods in all of their wild beauty, and these places are being preserved with a religious zeal and determination. How much more should we reserve and preserve some of the ‘grandest spots about our new city. Then there are noted trees on some of these old homesteads and on some of these hills which should always be cherished for their age and beauty. To awaken your en- thusiasm I wish to refer you to a book of plates “Some of the Noted Trees about Boston,” giving the age, size and spread of branches of the wonders of tree growth. Winter Meeting. 9d If I only could write the color Of the lilac’s tossing plumes, ‘And make you feel, in a sentence, The spell of its sweet perfumes; If my pen could paint the glory Of the blue and tender sky, And the peace that crowns the mountains, ‘My poem would never die! A society for the preservation and improvement of our natural beauty spots and waste places is something to be desired right here in this city. But the probability that this will hardly be accomplished soon shows the greater necessity of something being done now, ere we lose more of our natural beauty, and so I appeal to this large and influencial club to help create a sentiment in this matter. There is nothing more delightful than this study of tree growth and natures beauty and nothing so productive of good for the future. I plead with you therefore, for your assistance, for your influence, for your authority, to help create a love for trees and awaken such an enthusiasm for the preservation of what we have and the planting of more; that no one will dare to deface, injure or destroy any of them in the future. Forestry in its true sense nieans to get the most trees in num- ber per acre that the land can grow, with the idea of getting body growth and as few branches as possible. But City Forestry means to get all the leaf growth, all the shade, all the broad branches all the spreading top that we can secure on the ground with the least number of trees. Twenty-five years ago the greatest landscape gardener of the West, M. G. Kern, who laid out Lafayette Park and Forest Park in St. Louis, went with me over these hills in and about Kansas City, and then outlined a most beautiful landscape and park effect. Such a plan might then be put in working order and the preservation of these grand monarchs of the forest be accomplished. Let us then at this late day begin to protect every tree we can and plant every tree we can, with this idea in view, the covering of our city with a leafy growth of trees. What do we plant when we plant the trees? We plant the houses for you and me, We plant the rafters, the floors, We plant the studding, the laths, the doors, The beams, the siding, all parts that be, We plant the house when we plant the tree. City forestry, meaning therefore, the beautifying of our streets and lawns, and waste places with a leafy covering, you see will give too much for this one paper, and I will only discuss ornamental and forest tree growth. What then can we make our city by planting? H—16 242 State Horticultural Society. We know that it takes years to develop these forest trees and we must always keep in mind, therefore, what the trees will be in twenty, forty, or one hundred years hence. We must remember also that we do not want tall bodies as the trees get old, with the leafy surface forty feet from the ground, as in real forests, but we want this leaf protec- tion as close to the ground as possible, so we can walk or drive under. First. By street planting. All street planting should be of one variety on the street, for permanent trees. Some other varieties may be planted between with the idea of removing as soon as they get too ciose or the branches interfere. The permanent trees should not be planted closer than fifty or sixty feet. Of course this will necessitate one between them for at least ten or fifteen years, especially if the perma- nent tree is to be a hard or soft maple. These extra trees are to be used — as fillers only, and are to be cut out as soon as they begin to crowd the others. The only danger lies in the failure of the party to thin out. If you can cut out when the time comes, then so plant. Second. Planting in the waste places, hollows, ravines, corners, or nooks. Many of these may be secured by the city for the asking. Some of them have had the taxes accrue against them and they have been forfeited to the city. In some of our cities these waste places are planted with a clump of forest trees simply for the covering or hiding of undesirable objects and the giving of leaf surface instead of the barren spots. On many of our waste places nature soon plants a young forest of her own if you will just let her alone and protect the young seedling as they come up. Note an instance of this on the east side of Grand avenue, south of 24th street, in the old quarry, where is a wonderful growth of young elms which make us think of the words of the poet: The elm a lovely lady is, In shimmering robes of gold, They catch the sunlight when she moves, And glisten fold on fold. These trees in a few years, if protected, will entirely cover the old barren, unsightly places with a young forest that will be a thing of beauty. Third. Plan will be to do a lot of group planting at corners or in large lawns or back yards so that it may break the monotony of the regular lines of street trees. In the city of Washington we find this plan utilized to its best advantage. Whenever there is a little three cornered plot at the intersection of streets it is covered with a group of forest or ornamental trees, and it becomes a wonderful relief to the long rows of street trees. We have many large lawns or back Winter Meeting. Sg was or side yards where such grouping can be most profitably and advant- ageously done without a dollar of expense to the city, if we will but call the attention of the owner to its beauty and value. 1 What do we plant when we plant the tree? A thousand things that we daily see: We plant the staff of our country’s flag, We plant the shade from the hot sun free— We plant all these when we plant the tree.’’ In this planting, therefore, we want to understand the nature of the tree. What it is, how it grows, what are its working parts, how it eats and drink and sleeps. First of all then we must ever remember that the tree is alive. It is alive, and because it cannot move, like our dumb animals, and cannot talk like our children, yet it is none the less alive, and it will bend in obedience like our dogs and respond in answer- ing our questions like our children if we can only understand its tall. “The breeze-like music wandering o’er the boughs, Each tree a natural harp—each different leaf A different note, blent in one vast thanksgiving.’’ The working parts of the tree, and the talking parts also, are the roots, branches and leaves, and if we follow nature in the treatment of these, listen to the pleadings of these trees, and answer them, then we will see the result in vigorous, thrifty growth and abundant health- ful shade. But if we injure or abuse them, they suffer as does our horse under mistreatment. If they could, most of our trees would spend a large share of their time in weeping over their injuries as does the child when abused. . “Little flowers, if I could understand What you are, root and all, all in all, I would understand what God and man is.” Do you think this an idle tale, then go to the various sensitive plants and see how quickly they will shrink from the slightest touch, or examine the weeping trees of Australia and see the tears they shed from abuse or neglect. So I say in a mild way do all our trees suffer from neglect, from carelessness, from ignorance, from abuse, from injuries. If we will but always remember this we will have less dead and dying trees on our streets. “But, lest some of you doubt them, I’ll whisper the secret, now, seeing it is you— I’ve tried them and know all about them.’’ The roots need to be in the ground and the tree needs all of its roots, and so when we take up a tree we must take up all the roots we can get, and we must keep them in as near the condition they are while in the ground as can possibly be done. You might just as well expect a fish to live out of water as a tree to live with its roots lying cae State Horticultural Society. in the full sunlight on a hot day or out of the eround during a frosty night, The tree’ begins to suffer, in fact it begins to die just as soon as the roots are out of the ground and it is only a question of how long it will be before it is dead. More than nine-tenths of our trees are lost by this exposure of the roots, and the trees are really dead before planting, although they may not show it until months after. It is not like Rome, which took 700 years to die, but it does sometimes take the tree seven months to show it cannot live. The tops, body and branches begin to suffer in just the same way, but not so quickly. The branches are evaporating moisture all the time and if the roots are not able to supply it they at once begin to shrivel up and it is only a question of how long before the tree will be ruined. Again in the handling of these trees the bark is often raised and broken from the bodies and branches and if the trees could cry out they would do so just as quickly as you would when the skin is torn from your hand or arm or face. Then in order to cover these various injuries the “tree butcher” will cut off all of the tops of the trees and leave nothing but the poles. The trees need good roots and branches and young twigs to begin the foundation of the other work- ing part, the leaves which are the pumping force of the tree, the trans- former of the sap from the roots into twig growth and the producer of a layer of wood on the outside of the tree. j How can the tree do this if there are no leaves until midsummer as is too often the case when there are nothing but poles, instead of tree tops. These branches and leaves are like you, they have pure ir; trees cannot thrive well otherwise. The scraggy appearance of so many of our trees in this city is due to the soft coal smoke, and you may as well expect to keep healthy and rosy cheeked in a dungeon, as a tree to be healthy and vigorous with soft coal smoke in the air. You would die also if your feet were planted like the tree so you could not move and get pure air part of the time at least. Trees love society, they do better in groups, grow more vigorous when they protect each other from the hot winds of the summer, and colds of the winter. They love attention and respond in their own to every care and attention given them. Do you love trees? then they will grow for you, they will live better if you plant them, they will answer you with increased loveliness for every particle of food you give them, for every drop of water you give them to drink, and every washing or cleansing you give their bodies, just as much and just as certainly and just as intelligently as does any horse or dog or cat. Winter Meeting. 245 Do you love trees? then try them and see and you will get a thousand times the pleasure out of them, you can talk with them more intelligently and receive a hundred times more reward for the love expended upon them in return, than you or any living man or woman can get from a pet poodle dog, fox hound, or pug dog in a thousand _years, and those who live after you will call you blessed. “Set some trees on the commons, Ashes, linden, poplars, birch, Set them out around the school house, Plant them thick about the church. Have the children’s play ground shaded, And the public walks as well, And the joys from these arising Coming ages glad will tell. a This tree planting means much more to all of us than the pleas- ure we get out of them or those who come after us will get. These trees are a plan of nature to modify the heat of summer and the cold oi winter. Our delight on a hot summer day is under the shade of the trees and the modifying of the winter blasts by the forests is just as perceptible to you if you seek their shelter. The trees help to regulate our rainfalls and our moisture and every city and town and village should be a city forest just so far as it is possible. We should have leaf growth of any and every and all kinds for our pleasure and profit and health, and for its influence on the climate and rainfall. Without these forests we should have the desert wastes described by the poet. “The forest trees that in the olden times, The peoples glory and the poets pride Tempered the air and guarded well the earth, And under spreading boughs for ages kept Great reservoirs to hold the snow and rain, From which the moisture through the teeming years Flowed equally but freely — all were gone, Their priceless leaves exchanged for petty cash; The cash has melted and had left no sign, ; The logger and the lumberman are dead, The ax has rusted out for lack of use, But all the endless evil they had done Was manifest upon the desert waste. The home of the birds. I was at Marshall, Mo., the other day in the campus of the college grounds among the beautiful trees and the president said to me that the trees were becoming a birds paradise and his whole trouble during the summer was to keep the boys and men from killing the birds and destroying the nests. Not the least, there- fore, of the many benefits of the tree planting is the place we give the birds for their homes, plenty of beautiful forest trees in which to make their nests, after having destroyed their native habitat, the natural forests. 246 State Horticultural Society. The farmers and fruit growers realize more and more each day the need of birds as assistants in keeping the insects in check. This tree planting in all of our cities will thus be of untold value tv the agriculturist. Birds are one.of the plans of nature to give us sweet songs and also protect us from our enemies. [ plead, therefore, in this matter for protection to our birds. They are beautiful in our trees, but not on hats. They are valuable in our forests, but not on our tables. They are happy when on their nests, but not when the nests are in the boys hats. Think of your woods and orchards without birds! Of empty nests that cling to boughs and beams, As in an idiots brain remembered words Hang empty mid the cobwebs of his dreams! What bleat of flocks or bellowing of herds Make up for the lost music, when your teams Drag home the stingy harvest, and no more The feathered gleaners follow to your door? What would you rather see the incessant stir Of insects in the windrows of the hay, And hear the locust and the grasshopper Their melancholy hurdy-gurdies play? Is this more pleasant to you than the whir Of meadow lark, and her sweet roundelay, Of twitter of little field-fares, as you take Your nooning in the shade of bush and brake? “They are industrious after insects if we give them the trees for homes, but they flee far away when there are no forests or city trees to protect them. They are our best friends in the woods and fields but not when murdered by the ruthless hand of the man with the gun. Let us plant trees for the birds. Nature sutdy has no more delightful phase of pleasure or profit or investigation than has this same tree planting or “City forestry.” First. It creates a love for the trees so that we can talk or com- mune with them to our hearts content. You know how much more you enjoy society when you are well acquainted with every person present, do you not? Well just so do I plead for a knowledge of our trees. Know them, get acquainted with them, see their characteristics in summer, in winter, know the leaves, the twigs, the bark, the roots, know them by name just as you know your friends by name and call them such. “Our friends the trees.” “The book for every one to read is the open book of nature. There Was none ever written that contains one-half of the information, none other half so fascinating, none so perfect and so pure. “Nature teaches us to dwell as much as possible upon the beautiful and good, and to ignore at all times the evil and the false. Let us take a single tree for an object lesson, and see what it will teach us. Winter Meeting. 247 Time will not permit of our discussing the phenomena of plant life, we will only say that vegetable and animal lives in no way differ in principle, there is a perfect analogy between the two. But in order to show you the pleasure that is to be derived from the study of the tree, we would say that all the plants possess a real life, they eat, drink, feed and think, they sleep, breathe and secrete, in short perform all the functions of supply, repair, development and reproduction.” Can you go into the woods and name one-half ‘the varieties of forest trees? Then is it any wonder that you do not love the trees? Can you love people and not know them? Know the different mem- bers of one family not one member only. Such, for instance, as the family of oaks, black, white, red, brown, spanish, and so on or the family of elms. If you do not know them thus then you loose half, if not all, the pleasure of the study of our forests. ‘Nature study in this direction is a delight, a recreation, as well as a good lesson to all of us if we will but make use of it. We can see beauty in every leaf and bud and branch and variety and when the leaves have fallen then in the twigs and branches and bark and lichens that grow thereon. Nature in and among our trees and the growth of these trees is a valuable, delightful, interesting and profitable study as is any science. - He who plants a tree, He plants love. Tents of coolness spreading out Above wayfarers he may not live to see. Gifts that grow, are best; Hands that bless, are blest; Plant! life does the rest. \ Heaven and earth helps him who plants a tree, And his work its own reward shall see.” What is science? I know not what you think, but in my humble opinion science is “seeing things that you Jook at and drawing con- clusions from what you see.” Can you apply this to our trees and tree planting? Then you will become a scientific forester. If you thus love nature-study and follow it you will always be ready to protect the trees, young and old, planted or being planted, protect them: First. From our city authorities, shame to them be it said. Second. From our tree butchers, who cut them to pieces. Third. From our telephone and electric light companies, when - they want to run a wire over or among them. Fourth. From the man who hitches horses to them and lets the bark be pealed off. Fifth. From the careless boys. 248 State Horticultural Society. Sixth. From the ignorant owner. Seventh. From the horses and cattle that run at large. A few practical thoughts in the line of growing and planting and handling trees. First. The best trees are grown in the nursery from seeds, and there well cared for, headed at the proper heighth and, where neces- sary, transplanted once or twice or thrice before planting out in its permanent home. All trees are much more valuable when thus trans- planted. ‘ Second. Trees must be taken up with plenty of roots, about one foot in diameter for every inch the tree is in diameter at the crown of the roots. Third. Handle so that they will not be exposed to the air any longer then absolutely necessary, cover all roots with wet straw or wet sacks as soon as dug. Do not bruise root or top. Fourth. Pruning, trim so that there will always be some of the one- year-old wood left on the tree. Cut back tops so that it will compensate for the roots cut off. Fifth. In lawn planting always plant in clumps or groups. The beauties of the tree are much more prominent when broad patches of green grass intervene between the clumps of trees. It makes a setting for the trees a frame work for the picture. This is always a safe, sure, and satisfactory plan. Another great mistake is in thinking that trees are not beautiful until they become large. There is just as much beauty and sometimes I think more too, in small shapely, thrifty, vigorous growing trees, be it apple, pear, peach, maple, elm, evergreen or shrub, than there is in the full grown specimens. To a lover of trees, the beauty and pleas- ure they give is a continual one, the first of spring, the middle of summer, the autumn or the winter, all have their attraction. Sixth. The plan of pruning is to have an ideal tree always in mind. What is an ideal? I think it is one with a center trunk with all the branches coming out of the main trunk at as near right angles as possible and scattered all along the entire trunk. Keep the main center stem longer than any of the others and prune in a rather pyramidal form. All trees thus pruned will make a symmetrical-growth and you will hardly have forks to split or break downs by heavy winds or snow or ice. Something in the shape of a Norway spruce is near the plant I like to carry in my mind. I know it is hard to realize this ideal in many of our trees, but if we will have it in mind all the time we will gradually bring the tree to its ideal in a few years. I have a soft maple in my back yard that is Winter Meeting. 249 thirty years old. Trunk six feet around, fifty feet high, branches and spread seventy feet, and has never been injured by snow or storm. And sugar maples that at one-third of a century are perfect marvels of beauty. _ Seventh. Plant thickly so as to get immediate effect and then chop out when they are too thick, and do not be afraid to do it in time. I fear to recommend this rule because so many will fail to do the cutting out in time. 8th. In street trees plant them so that they will occupy the middle of the grass plot between the sidewalk and the curb. These granatoid men will come and cut down the roots from a lot of trees that have been planted twenty years, to within one foot-of the tree, taking off all the roots for a depth of twelve to fifteen inches. A perfect outrage and a barbarous practice sanctioned by our city fathers, it should be prohibited by every person with the least bit of sense. Ninth. Planting should be made in holes large enough and deep enough to hold the roots in a natural position. Do not plant any deeper than the tree stood in the nursery. Put well pulverized soil around the roots so that every root will be in contact with the soil and then tramp the soil down well. When shall we plant? Whenever we can find the ground in good condition, spring or fall. Some say to plant trees in the spring, And some say in the fall, But the worst are those who compromise, And plant on trees at all. Eleventh. The care during the first and second years is to hoe the trees well and often or mulch them well with rotten straw or old manure. Pruning with the ideal tree in mind, taking off only such twigs or branches as are getting out of the way and destroying the symmetry on tree. Twelfth. Protect the bodies of the trees, especially of large trees, by wrapping them with old gunny sacking or hay rope. This will prevent sunscald and keep out the flat-headed borer, and insure a good growth the first year. Thirteenth. Pruning in after years needs be only such as will pre- serve the beauty and the symmetry of the tree, keeping the same ideal in mind and cutting back about one-half of the year’s growth in the case of soft maple and elm and that class of tree. For a lawn tree of peculiar beauty it is often desirable to have the tree branch at the ground like the spruces. This is true of some birches and beeches and it makes a very striking feature in the landscape. Fourteenth. It is always desirable to preserve the individuality 250 State Horticultural Society — of our trees. - It is just as distinct as is the individuality of each per- son in this room, and we lose one-half of our attractiveness when we lose this characteristic. Just so with the trees, no two are just alike and it is always well to preserve these distinctions and so it is neces- sary often to cut out surplus trees in order that we may retain this individuality of each variety. Our tree well shaped and covering 50 or 100 feet of ground with its branches, is much more grand than the same space covered by a clump of a half dozen. On my home place I have cut out more than three times as many trees as I have left and have thus retained the individuality of the trees. The elm, for instance, varies greatly from the tall, upright to the low, crooked, scraggly, drooping branches and it is absurd to try and modify them by a variety of treatment, but treat them so as to induce this peculiarity in each. VARIETIES FOR DIVERSE USES. I. For street trees—Elm, sugar maple, Norway maple, Tulip, linden, white ash, box elder, soft maple, sycamore, poplar, oaks. 2. For lawns.—The same as above and birch, beach, larch, alder, cypress, coffee tree, magnolia, oak, willow, sweet gum, sassafras, weep- ing trees, elm, birch, beach, teas mulberry, Mt. ash, willow. 3. For small places——Mt. ash, thorn, beech, horse chesnut, mul- berry, magnolia, Japan maples, maiden hair tree.. 4. For color of foliage—Purple leaved beech, birch, plum, elm, white leaf linden, scarlet maple, Japan maples, yellow and red leaved oak. 5. For flowers—Double thorn and crab apple, double cherry, acacia, magnolia, honey locust, catalpa, horse chestnut, dogwood, large white and pink. 6. For resistance to smoke.—Sycamore, ash, mulberry, coffee tree, hackberry. 7. For fruiting—Crab apple; red hawthorn, wild cherry, Mt. ash, persimmons, Russian olive, hop tree. — 8. For birds——Russian mulberry, black cherry, Downing mul- berry. 9. For nut trees—Chestnut, walnut, hickory, pecan, beech, chin- quapin, burr oak, butternut. “How interesting it is to watch the plant industries as they are carried on side by side, each doing its own work wisely and well, and without exciting in the least the envy of its neighbor, and without contention or strife. We see the maple collecting saccharine juices, Winter Meeting. 251 . the pine rosin, the poppy, opium, the oak, tannin, and so on through the list. In our gardens the aconite collects a deadly poison which _ it stores up in its tubers, and by its side the potato gathers in starch for the sustenance of man. The plant’s adaption to the soil and climate in which it is to grow is one of the most beautiful and useful studies for the old as well as the young. “As the leaves of the trees are said to absorb all noxious qualities of the air, and to breathe forth a purer atmosphere, so it seems to me as if they draw from us all sordid and angry passions and breathe forth peace and philanthropy.” The trees may outlive the memory of more than one of those in whose honor they are planted. I have written many verses, but the best poems I have produced are the trees I have planted on the hill side. Nature finds rhymes for them in the recurring measures of the seasons, says Oliver Wendell Holmes. In conclusion many a man would find a most healthful and delight- ful recreation if he will but give some of his spare time from his office or his business, to the planting of some ornamental or fruit trees and to the care of them. He would lose every thought of business care, and would enjoy the most complete rest and relief that any occupation could possibly bring him, add years to his life and take wrinkles from his brow. Love trees, protect trees, care for them plant them, water them, train them, feed them, talk with them, and you may be sure they will repay you a thousand fold. THURSDAY, “Deceniber (5; Oy a.m: Invocation by Rev. S. B. Campbell. Reports of Local Societies. REPORT OF RANDOLPH COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCI- EAR. The past year has been fraught with many drawbacks and disap- pointments and few successes to the fruit grower of this locality. How- ever, we have not lost courage, but will profit by the lessons of the past season. We were very much elated* with the prospect in early spring. Such a profusion of bloom has seldom been seen. Every one said, “We are sure to have a fruit crop this year that will be a record-breaker,” but all our bright hopes were dashed to the ground in disappointment. Still nothing is so bad but that it might be worse. 252 State Horticultural Society. The apple crop in this section was practically a failure; what few remained on the trees were very inferior. The peach crop was very good, being cut though on account of extreme drouth in quality. Pears did very well considering the season, quality being very good, especially Keifer and Duchess. Strawberries were badly effected by the drouth, but prices were good for home grown berries, being from $1.25 to $2.50 per crate. Blackberries were almost a total failure as the fruit dried on the vines before maturing. Reports from fruit growers of the county are to the effect that the trees are in better condition than they have been since they bore the big crop in ’97, and that the outlook is good for a full crop in 1902, espe- cially with apples. However, peaches that bore a full crop the past season have set very little fruit. This Society was pained to learn of the death of Bros. Miller and Nelson, two of the most valuable members of the State Society. Two of the brightest lights have passed from us and we extend our heartfelt sympathy to the bereaved families in this their hour of trial. We trust that the meeting at St. Joseph will be a profitable one and that much good will be derived from it, and when I say that we would welcome you back to Moberly again I only voice the sentiments of every fruit grower of this county. C. W. HALLIBURTON, Secretary Randolph County Horticultural Society. WRIGHT COUNTY. Mountain Grove Horticultural Society holds regular monthly meet- ings. Has had 30 new members the past year. Our people have a fruit union and shipped peaches in carload lots for first time the past season. Those who went into the association are very well satisfied with the results, and carload shipments will be the rule hereafter. Strawberries were only 25 per cent. of a crop. Kansas raspberries and Early Harvest blackberries gave few pickings only; peaches and apples were good crops and apples especially brought good prices. The size of both peaches and apples was cut down by extreme drouth, but the fruit was highly colored and made a-handsome package. Largest crop of both fruits ever known in our vicinity, and was about the only crop grown. MRS. A. Z: MOORE, Sec’y. Winter Meetin g. 353 ANOTHER WORD FOR THOROUGH CULTURE. Barring, Knox County, November 22nd, Igot. Hon. L. A. Goodman: = My Dear Sir—Your notice and program for the meeting of the State Horticultural Society received. Thanks. I am sorry that I am not able to attend, but will be with you in spirit, and the best wishes for a pleasant and cheerful meeting. I was pained recently to read of the death of Treasurer A. Nelson; he has gone to his reward. He will live in the history of coming generations as a man worthy of immitation by all good men, especially of the horticultural profession. | This has been an unfavorable year for horticulture, and agriculture as well. This season puts me in memory of the year of 1854, which was . similar in regard to drouth and extreme heat and very short crops. We had about a half crop of strawberries ; other kinds of berries mostly dried up on the bushes, except gooseberries and currants. We had a fair crop of cherries and about a half crop of plums and peaches. Grapes, where properly cultivated, were a good crop without rot or mildew, but the young wood on many vines remained green until frost, so there will not be the usual amount of ripe bearing wood for the next crop. This season has fully convinced me of the utility of cultivating trees and vines of all kinds. I have about thirty pear trees in my gar- den, mostly of bearing age, which I cultivated with hoe and rake, keeping a dust mulch several inches deep around them, which perfected a fine crop of pears, while I have a row of Kiefer trees at the west end of our door yard, around which I spaded a space about eight feet square, but gave them no more attention. This row looked hard, the leaves dropped during the hot spell and I was afraid they would perish, but they man- aged to live, but the pears did not get much bigger than crab apples. Those trees in the garden never flinched during the hot spell. Several observing visitors were struck with the difference between the two lots of trees, and remarked that it was a lesson worthy to be remembered. I have come to the conclusion that it would be best for all intending to plant an orchard to never plant more trees than they could or would take the best care of. It has often pained me that within the point of my observation orchards are so badly neglected, the old orchards are going down hill at a rapid rate, and the young orchards are sadly neg- lected. I know of very few that get half proper attention. To sum it all up in a nutshell, there is room for some specialist to plant orchards 254 State Horticultural Society. here in the county of Knox and make a success, as trees properly cared for do well here, as there are trees within my knowledge that are over thirty-five to forty years old that are still alive and bear some fruit occa- sionally, which would seem to indicate that if good trees are planted and properly cared for that fruit growing would be as profitable right here as anywhere else. The apple crop is rather a short crop this séa- son and they are not keeping well; it is perhaps fortunate for the trees that they had a light crop on account of the great drouth and hot spell, which had they had a heavy crop of fruit, would have caused the death of many trees. They have gone into winter quarters in good condition. With best wishes ‘for a good meeting, and for a more prosperous season next year, 1 am yours truly, PETER - DAILING Mr. Robnett, Columbia, Mo.—Boone County Society is inactive in the way of a society, but we have some very active men in our county, and we meet on the streets and in the stores and we talk in regard to. horticulture ; and this year’s crop, while it has not been what we would like to have had, in the number of barrels, the price has been good and brought us more money than we ever got any year in our county, and I believe that there has been more carloads of apples shipped from our county than ever were shipped out before. We can sell good apples for $5 a barrel in Columbia. I sold some Jonathans for $5 a barrel; had them in cold storage. There is going to be a demand for apple trees in our county next spring that has never been there before, and while I say we don’t meet regularly in our society, we still have a society and the members meet and talk here and there, and I think if we should have a good season and a good crop at the same time that we would come to- gether and meet and do better. Mr. Wilson of Buchanan County.—Our organization in this county is in better shape than it has been for years. We meet regularly and have a fair attendance. As to crops in this county. There was some fine crops and there were some total failures... In regard to apples. My friend over there, Mr. Maxwell, who read his paper yesterday, had fine success, and some others had total failures. The strawberry crop was cut short by dry weather, and blackberries and raspberries were almost a total failure on account of the dry weather. Mr. Hopkins of Springfield, Mo.—The Greene County Horticultural Society is in fine shape. I went down there from Kansas City 15 years ago, and the very next week I became a member of that society, and from that day to this that society has never failed to meet upon it regular day of meeting the first Saturday in each month. We are taking in new Winter Meeting. 255 members all the time and some members are dropping out, but there seems to be an interest all the time, and one thing that I believe that induces so many to come, we keep up our regular picnic dinners the year around. Perhaps there is no other society in the State of Missouri that does that. In the winter months we meet in a hall and pay for it, and have our regular dinners and it is no trouble to get them to come in. In the summer we got out to the houses on the invitation of the fruit growers. I went from a live society—I started in a live society, the Old Missouri Valley—and I am glad that I got into one that has come up pretty close to it, if not at present in the lead. So far as the fruit prospects and the fruit crop that we have had, we have no reason to complain particularly. While we have had a very severe drouth our strawberry crop was about the best we have had in a ‘number of years, and we got pretty good prices, as compared with the prices in former years. We had a good peach crop. I never saw finer peaches in my life and the prices were good. We have had a good apple crop and got good prices. While the strawberry prospects are not the most flattering we will still have some strawberries. Those that have been properly cultivated and taken care of, and will be properly mulched through the winter will have some berries yet. My plants that are left are looking well, and I had a good stand from the young setting of last spring. While they didn’t make so many runners, I think they will make a fine crop, and I think they will be fine berries. Mr. Gano, Platte County.—We have no big tales to tell about our crops of fruit. The only thing we work for and look to is the next year’s prospects. I believe that our society is the parent, not only of the Missouri State Society, but the Kansas State Society. Mr. Evans.—I desire to report not for a society, not for a county, but I want to make a report for the southern slope of the Ozark moun- tains, not that I live there either, but I am there some. The rain ceased and the drouth set in the 17th day of April and you cannot expect much of a crop in an average kind of a country, where it had not rained a drop since that; not enough to lay the’dust. The strawberry crop was more than a half crop; all other fruits were cut almost entirely off. The best peaches we found in any of the orchards were where the ground was com- pletely covered with stone, and in that case there was no surface soil, but the red land comes up to the rocks ; the rocks lie right on the surface. The roots of these peach trees penetrate that red land, which never gets dry, and the finest specimens of peaches grew on the rockiest land in that whole country. The best corn grown in that whole country, and it was not much corn—nubbins—grew on those rocky points. The fruit 256 State Horticultural Society, crop has been sold and I expect there are not enough apples in there for the children this winter in that whole section. Buyers came in there and paid enormous prices any way they could get apples—in the barrel, in the wagon, on the trees or any other way, and they paid big prices for them; peaches the same way. They bought all the peaches and took them off. We have not had to consign anything from that country through any commission men; the people are happy; they have got plenty of money. Prof. Smith of Chillicothe—I wish to make a short verbal report. T think we live exactly in the center of the drouth district. Our corn will average on the uplands from five to ten bushels an acre, and in other places won’t make that. As to fruit, we have in Livingston county some very good orchards; most of the orchards are family orchards.. We have a few orchards of from forty up to two hundred acres, but there are but a few orchards in the county that will run over ten acres; and yet we have, in ordinary years, a good deal of fruit there. _In that section trees that were over ten years of age had absolutely no apples on them, in almost every in- stance, and on the prairie land I didn’t see a barrel of apples. The best crop that we had there that I know anything about was about one- third of a crop on the young trees. Those apples, when they ought to have been half to two-thirds grown, were about one-fourth grown. The drouth was finally broken by a little shower of rain, possibly two or three showers after the corn was ruined, and the apples started to grow and they split open in all manner of shapes, and when we came to bar- rel the apples from those young trees, about twenty-five per cent. of them went to culls. In other places fifty per cent. went to culls, and I picked some off of my. orchard of eight-year-old trees this year that went eighty per cent to culls; about the other twenty per cent. of them were number two. If I had picked them ten days earlier, possibly I would have gotten fifty per cent. number twos and possibly a little more than that. This is an apple, however, that you say nothing about here. That is the Willow Twig. It keeps badly, but it has made us more money throughout that section than any other apple, barring the Ben Davis, and this year had twice the amount of apples grown than the Ben Davis. Now, as to the peaches. We had some very good specimens. We had some as fine as I saw that came from the southern slopes of the Ozarks. We didn’t have a very great many, for we have not so many trees through that section. And the strawberries, we raised ‘a good many and got a good price until the drouth cut them short. We had a quar- ter of a crop of strawberries, and will possibly have a fourth of a crop next year, if we have a good season. Raspberries don’t do well in our country. However, Mr. R. T. Smith, and he is not a relative of mine, Winter Meeting. 257 by the way, who lives at Utica, raises some very fine raspberries, and he says that he makes more on raspberries than anything else. As to our Horticultural Society, we have usually about 12 to 15 at our meetings, but the same ones on an average. We think the fruit prospects for Livingston county are good. Mr. Atwood, Springfield, Mo.—It seems to me it ts proper to say - that we have about 30 societies west of Springfield on the ’Frisco line, co-operative, and they are all in fine shape, with a few exceptions. Our strawberry season ‘last year was the finest we ever had; not the largest crop, but we made more money. Our growers made more money last season than ever before. The average was at least $1.40 on track, and most of the berries were sold on track. We shipped at least two hundred carloads. Mr. Butler—I believe I am the only representative from DeKalb county. I report very favorably for our county. A few orchards bore perhaps one-half to two-thirds of a crop of apples. My orchard seemed to be one of the poor ones. I packed a few of my apples that I thought good enough for cold storage for later use. I found the home market good for the rest that I had, and the most of my fruit I sold to farmers that ought to have grown their own fruit. DeKalb county is behind in this line. We can grow our own fruit, but the trouble is to make the people believe it. There are not many strawberries grown in our county, not because they are not a success, but because they don’t take much interest in them. I had about a half of a crop, but they brought me as much as a whole crop would ordinarily. Raspberries and blackberries, I didn’t need an evaporator, for they dried on the vines. I don’t know what this meeting says about gooseberries, but with me they proved a failure; currants also. As to a society, I wish we had one so we could interest our people in horticulture. I have enjoyed this meeting very much. I take the lib- erty of mentioning that as I go away today. Mr. McNallie of Sarcoxie, Jasper County.—I will start out with our small fruit. Some people had good crops of strawberries, while others _ had nearly a failure, and not being more than two or three miles apart. The blackberries and gooseberries and raspberries were nearly a total failure. The apple and peach crops were good. The best, I expect, on an average that there has been for years. The apples were not as large as in some of the orchards, but there was a heavy crop, and they were more perfect this year than they have been for a great many years. The insects seemed to die; I think that they died on account of the drouth or some other cause. H-17 258 . State Horticultural Society. We have a very lively society there at our place. Most of the mem- bers here have taken credit for meeting once a month; we generally meet two or three times every month, and we have a very lively time, and I don’t know that it is of any great benefit to our society. It is largely in quarreling. I believe when I go back home I will advise that we have something to eat for our society. I would judge from the reports of these other gentlemen that it keeps them in good humor; I think we need a change of some kind; I don’t know what it is. Mr. Nelson, Laclede County.—Laclede county doesn’t grow anything but apples and peaches. We packed about twenty-five thousand bar- rels in our county. Our peach crop was very fine. We organized a local society two weeks ago and we expect to work from now on. Mr. Schnell of Howard County.—I am sorry to say we have no - horticultural society. While I don’t want to say we were in the center of the drouth district, I believe we had a Jittle special district. We had practically no rains during the summer. We had a little better than a half crop of strawberries; comparing it with 1897 we had about one- sixth of acrop. In places the apples were good, but the Canker Worm is getting a firm hold in Howard county, and the people have done very little there. The peach crop was excellent. We had fine peaches and got good prices for them. They were sold at home and the nearby towns. Raspberries we got a few pickings at the start, and the latter part of the crop all dried up. Blackberries were well cultivated, but outside of the Early Harvest we didn’t get anything. The Early Harvest fur- nished a fair picking, and the prospect for strawberries for another year is doubtful. With the very best of weather we can’t expect over one- fourth of a crop. There are few plants; the plants made a very few runners. Mr. Butterfield of St. Francois County——We have a local society there. We had a fair crop of strawberries and sold them at good prices, and got from $1.50 to $2 a crate, and we had a partial crop of raspberries and some blackberries. We had a full crop of grapes. We realized from four to five cents a pound for our grapes, and they averaged about ten pounds to the vine—on two-year-old vines. .We had a good peach crop, but, of course, nearly all through that section they are growing the seed- lings altogether. Apples, I am sorry to say, that nearly all of the orchards are ruined by the Canker Worm. Our crop was a failure. You can see some samples there on the table; of course, I brought the best. I sup- posed that we were in the center of the great drouth district, but I don't know whether we were or not. We had a rain on the 17th day of April, Winter Meeting. 259 and we had a quarter of an inch of rain on the 4th of July, and a quarter on the fifth, and we had no more rain then until the 15th of September. Mr. Speakman of Neosho, Mo.—We have no county society. We have an association for the shipment of small fruits, which I think is in very fair working order. The past season was fairly good for small fruits. That is, for the strawberries; the strawberries’ with us brought an average yield and the quality was surely better for the most part than the ordinary season. The apple crop for the most part was quite good. Some orchards that were cultivated properly, and I don’t know that any of them were cultivated properly, but those that received the best treatment, and the most cultivation, the most spraying and attention gen- erally yielded very good crops of good fruit, while the others as com- pared with them, were failures. The peach crop was something immense. The biggest crop that was ever known there. Now as to prospects I will say that we have had more rain evidently than many of these localities from which re- ports come, and our trees are in good condition; much better than the average after a severe drouth, and we have prospects for more than a -half a crop of fruit from our strawberries. Mr. Dix of Jefferson City, Mo—In our county we had a good crop of strawberries, and the other berries were a light crop. Where it was cultivated we had a fine crop of tree fruit, and those that didn’t cultivate had hardly any. ‘ President Murray, Holt County.—We have no local society in ex- istence now, but we are still raising fruit. There was no general crop of apples. I will state in regard to strawberries they were good, but there is no large quantity grown; there are no large growers in Holt county. There are some small growers and they find a ready market for what they grow at home. As for the blackberries and raspberries, they were a half crop. I netted $200 from my blackberry patch, which was about a half crop. The peaches were exceptionally fine, although we don’t have large peach orchards. We have some fine peach orchards, and the fruit sold readily and at good prices bringing in from one to two hundred dollars an acre net money. The apples were a failure to a large extent, although there were some orchards that had a good many apples. The apples sold from about $25 to $200 an acre. ‘he trees that are over six years old are in fine condition. We did not suffer as much from the drouth as we did from the extreme heat, although we had a drouth. I think the prospects for another year, generally speaking, are good, and the fruit growers are of good heart, and we now feel more like taking an interest in cultivating and caring for the orchards, I think, than we have 260 State Horticultural Society. for the last ten years. Now we have delegates visiting us from other states that we would like to hear from, and what the condition of things is. Mr. Barnes, Secretary Kansas State Horticultural Society—Kan- sas has had an extraordinary fruit year, and I congratulate Missouri because it lays so close to Kansas this year. Our strawberries in the south part of the state were excellent and a very profitable crop. In the north part of the state they started in all right, and wound off rather poor. The plants set last spring, some of them were killed, but the plants that did live through are excellent. The patches are all green and thrifty and ready for a crop next year, with the exception of where some of them were killed. Our blackberries and raspberries were almost a total failure. The pear crop has been fair. We never had as many peaches in the State before as we had this year, and the growers got good prices. A num- ber of our new peach orchards were overloaded. There were apples everywhere where apples were planted in our state. In fact we never had such reports from apples before since the orchards were planted, and in places where we didn’t know that there were any orchards, we found large orchards. In fact the buyers were surprised. They came in with a rush to buy from the old orchards, whose names they had on their books, and they found out that there were a lot of new orchards. Our trouble has been in getting rid of the crop. In Wabaunsee county and down through there they didn’t antici- pate such a crop. Our apples during the drouth, as here in Missouri, were very small; when the rain came they were not to exceed three- quarters of an inch—the winter apples—and after the rains came we were surprised at the development. They seemed to be freer from in- sects and diseases than usual, and they grew so rapidly that we were surprised. We were overtaken with a shortage of barrels and a shortage of facilities to take care of them. I do not say that individuals have not grown more apples, for Judge Wellhouse has grown more apples in years before than he did this year, but the state taken as a whole and the young trees that came into bearing for the first or second time— the first good crop—they have succeeded better than ever before, and the prices have been exceedingly good in near to the cities. We find that out in the counties where there were no men there buying the apples that the prices were not what they ought to have been in those cases. Advantage may have been taken of them in buying their crop as a whole or in buying them in a certain condition. I would like to add, though, that our people are enthusiastic and are still planting trees. The nursery men know more about that than I Winter Meetin g. 261 do. They will tell wou that the Kansas people do plant trees and plant a great many of them, and to show you that the enthusiasm never stops, President Wellhouse, who is older probably than any other man in the house, with one or two exceptions, is still planting orchards. He is now negotiating for another tract of land to plant another orchard on. We can plant trees no matter what our age is; if we don’t get the good of them somebody else will. . I was up at Tonganoxie to an orchard he planted seven years ago and the trees were just one mass of Gano apples of fine quality. They were packing them in barrels at that time. I want to say that the Kansas State Horticultural Society will hold their meeting the day following Christmas, the 26th, 27th and 28th of De- cember, and you are all invited to be present. If you want to see another display of good fruit come over to the state house at Topeka and stay with us during the three days. Mr. Augustine of Illinois—I am certainly pleased to be with you, and I am very much pleased with the enthusiasm and interest that your society is manifesting. I am really surprised to find such a large at- tendancé. I have been in the habit of attending one society and one sister state society every year, but for some reason or other I never got down into Missouri, but I find that your attendance is larger, I believe, than almost any other state that I have visited, unless it may be Michigan, and Iowa will come pretty close to it. I have to say Iowa, because friend Wilson is right by my side here. I have been very much pleased with my visit here. So far as the fruit interests of my own state are concerned, I am free to say we have not been so enthusiastic this year. We have had a moderate crop of apples; not by any means a full crop; not more than a half of a crop in the apple regions, and I am sorry to say that we have been troubled with the Codling Moth worse than perhaps any year in many years past. In fact, I never knew it to be so bad. Some very fine appearing apples were just completely riddled, and were almost unfit for the market, because of the damage done by the Codling Moth. We are having a growing interest in our state in the way of the Kieffer pear. Our people are planting very largely, and we are having annual crops. The pears sell very well, and they are coming into bear- ing, and our people are very enthusiastic over the Kieffer, and I might say they are planting the Garber along with it, and they are coming along to plant the Leconte also, but the Kieffer is the one most favored with us, and it is more regular in its bearing than most any other fruit. This is more particularly so, because we can’t grow the common varieties in our state. 262 State Horticultural Society. So far as the small fruits were concerned we had a very light crop of blackberries and raspberries. The small fruits seemed to suffer more from the drouth than our field crops did. Our corn and oat crop was very good; and yet in that land a little loose, the berries will very often suffer when the other crops don’t. They can’t stand the drouth. Our strawberry prospects for the coming year are nothing to boast of at all. In fact, in some places they are almost worthless. I have seen acres of them that have not made any new plants whatever, and the plants from last spring are not in real good shape; they didn’t start well and they have not made many runners and the old beds, I think, unless they come out wonderfully in the spring, as they sometimes do (but which we don’t expect), are a failure. On the whole, we are quite enthusiastic yet. We think Illinois is still along in the ranks of the fruit growing states, especially the apple inter- ests from the south half of our state. We meet next week, and I want to say the : same as my Kansas friend, we would like to see you all there. We have a new agricultural building now at Champagne, and I expect it is the largest known in the world, and perhaps the finest; it covers three acres of ground, and I think we could accommodate all of you, and my friends from Kansas, and Bro. Wilson might bring a few of them from Iowa, and we would still have room; I bid you a hearty welcome if you visit us. Mr. Marshall of Nebraska, President State Horticultural Society of Nebraska—Mr. Chairman: ,We have a delegate here in Mr. Emer- son, and I wish to say for fear I forget it, that I want you to appoint a delegate to the Nebraska meeting. The other brothers gave their in- vitation last, and I am going to give mine first. Our meeting will be in Lincoln. The annual meeting is always in Lincoln. It will be the 14th, 15th and 16th of January, and we promise you a good time and an interesting time, if you will come over during those three days. Now in taking up the past year’s work, I will say that the drouth cut our strawberry plants down considerably. We don’t have large plantations there like you do in parts of your state here, but we have some men there who are growing quite extensively since there is a good home market. They are not run as they should be and the result is there are aps in the rows, and we cannot expect more than a half of a crop next ear. The plants are in good shape and we look for a good quality of fruit. The raspberries and blackberries bore a poor crop, hardly a third of a crop. Blackberries would have been a good crop with us if it had not been for the drouth. The drouth cut them down. The cherries were a moderate crop of very good fruit. The cherry is something that grows all over our state; they grow way up in the sand hills in the western OF" Soe by Winter Meeting. ; 263 part of our state. It is the first fruit they plant. The plums were a good crop and of good quality. The peaches were good. You understand that we don’t grow a great many peaches there, only in the south half of the state, but they have a few scattered all over the state, and where- ever there were trees they were full of fruit. The apples, I judge, were about a half crop, and the quality was good, especially the quality of the late fall and winter apples. We had the same experience that I have heard related here during the drouthin the sum- * mer and that extreme hot weather, and we thought we would not have any apples. Winter apples were not an inch in diameter; little bit of things, but when we had a rain they began to grow and they grew and colored up, and they seem to be free from all diseases, and are in good shape, except Codling Moth. We have some Codling Moth—I believe a little more than you have here. Now, in going back to our meeting, I extend you all a hearty wel- come to come over there.and we hope that some of you will come. We live a good ways west and there are some of us that are wild and woolly, but no difference. If you will come and labor with us as missionaries it will do us good, and if we can be of any service to you, will be glad to do it. Mr. Wilson of lowa.—Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Society: It affords me a great deal of pleasure to be present at your meeting. This is the first meeting I have had the pleasure of attending of the Missouri State Horticultural Society. Of course, I have known for a good many years that you have a good many live fruit men in this region, but I am surprised to see the large attendance and the interest manifested. I think as my friend Captain Augustine said, it is the largest attendance of any State Society that I have attended for a number of years. Of course, you have a great deal here to interest your people. You have been a little more fortunate in being blessed with a better climate than we are further north, and you have some advantages in growing fruit that we do not have. We have got to “hustle” more, as we call it over in Iowa, to grow fruit than you have here in Missouri. The question of varieties suitable to our climate has been a great problem with us, but I am glad to say that we have been making great strides in that direction. We have enthusiastic people along those lines, and they have been liberally treated by the legislature in the way of appropriating moneys to carry on our work. We have not failed to get all the money that we have asked for, and could use economically along those lines, and we are not afraid of the future, and we have a number of experimental stations that have developed a great many new valuable fruits. * Our people are very enthusiastic over the plum, the native Ameri- - 264 State Horticultural Society. can plum, and we have a number of what we call plum cranks in Iowa and they are a pretty good thing to have. They are-a very useful class of men. Whenever you find a plum crank or cherry crank or apple crank or grape crank or any other kind of fruit cranks, they are the best kind of cranks I know of. In regard to the apple crop in Iowa it has not been really a full crop. Early summer and fall apples were a fair crop of very good quality, but winter apples are rather a short crop, perhaps from thirty to fifty per cent. Some very good orchards where men have sprayed their orchards and given them good care. It goes to show that we can’t get something for nothing in the fruit business. We have got to hustle and we have got to work for all the good fruits we get. A few days ago a gentleman from Oregon, who used to live in Iowa, called on me and paid me a lit- tle visit, and he is in the apple region in Northeastern Oregon at an elevation of five thousand feet above sea level, and I asked him about his fruit crop and he said that it was really a good apple country, and when he told me what altitude they were growing apples in, of course, I could agree with him, and he said that they could not grow apples at all, if they didn’t spray—the Codling Moth was so numerous that they had to fight for every apple they got, but they got good apples notwith- standing the attacks of these insects. Now we have come to a stage of fruit growing in this country that we have to give our trees careful attention. ‘We have got to spray. I ama great believer in spraying, because I have seen good results from careful men who have practiced it; that is certainly substantial evidence to us all when men have gone into it scientifically and persistently and have succeeded; that is evidence that there is something in spraying. We can destroy insects to a great extent and we can preserve our fruits by spraying. Now, over in Iowa, we grow cherries to a very high degree of perfection. I am glad to hear our friend, Mr. Marshall, from Nebraska, claim that they grow cherries all over the state. I guess that is true. Nebraska is a good cherry state, but I don’t believe it is any ahead of Iowa. We grow great crops of cherries in Iowa. This year we had a magnificent crop. But three years ago this winter (it will be three years in February) when we had such excessive cold, and combination of very peculiar climatic conditions, it destroyed many of our cherry trees and plum trees and almost wiped the peach orchards out, and fully eighty per cent. of the vineyards were destroyed and only a small locality left where any were raised to any considerable extent. But the peach crop this year was a good one wherever there were trees, even up to the center of Iowa and north of the center up as far as Boone county there were fine specimens of peaches grown and _ exhibited Winter Meeting. 265 at our state fair. We had good peaches wherever there were trees, and there were quite a number of the trees that did pull through the hard winter of two or three years ago. Our people are very enthusiastic in planting peaches and cherries, and now they are beginning to replant their vineyards; they are beginning to realize the fact that we can’t de- pend upon New York grapes when we can produce them at home just as cheaply as they can in New York and just as good quality, and our people are keeping pace with the adjoining states on all these lines, and we are quite enthusiastic, although we are not so favorably located as you are in Missouri and Kansas in regard to climate. Our State Horticultural Society convenes in Des Moines on next Tuesday and I wish to extend a cordial invitation and an urgent invita- tion to you all to come up and join us and help us out. We will try to make you feel at home. We will treat you kindly, and we will give you a chance to be questioned, as you have questioned me here, and we will put some hard questions to you doubtless, and we would be glad to have © you come up there and help us out, and answer those questions. President Murray.—Now !adies and gentlemen, we have a gentle- man present here who was sent to Europe to look over their fruits from a scientific standpoint. I am going to call on him, too. I wish to call on Prof. Von Schrenk, who has just returned from Europe, and he will tell us briefly what he saw of the fruits of Europe and their prospects. Prof. H. von Schrenk.—One thing that I was impressed with most, in going around through the various European countries, was the uni- versal saying, whenever I spoke of fruits or anything of that sort, “We understand that you have apples and things of that kind on your table once every day, how is that?” It always provoked a sort of smile when I came to look around and saw that apples and fruits of that character to them were rather considered a great luxury. I wanted to buy a pine- apple in one of the larger cities, and I could not find one, until I finally found one in a florist’s shop. That ought to be a good deal of encour- agement, and more cannot be said to the apple growers and fruit growers of this country, than that is a field that has been practically untouched as yet. ® I didn’t have much time to look into the question of apples particu- larly, but what time I did have, I went around through the markets of London and Berlin and St. Petersburg, and the very largest cities of Europe, and I was surprised at the general absence of fruits of the char- acter, which we know in our small towns. The only place where I did find a great many apples, strange to say, was in St. Petersburg. The Russians are very fond of apples; they grow a great many of them, and they bring them down in vast boat loads—down their rivers, and dump 266 State Horticultural Society. them out on their wharves in great piles, seven or eight feet high. In Moscow they had a pile seven or eight feet high, and they sell them to the peasants for a small copper coin. In Central Europe the fruit is considered a great deal of a luxury, and when I went around through their farms, a farmer thought he had quite an orchard when he had twelve American trees. You can tell their apples all the time, and the only ones I saw were in Western Europe, they were striking affairs as compared with ours. Those that grow there are generally pale, and they are small and the character of apples 1 don’t think any of us would eat. The chief competitors of the Amer- ican apple in the English market, are those from New Zealand, and there a great lesson could be learned by apple growers, viz.: How to ship them and to pack them. I don’t think it is the province of the farmer and fruit grower to learn how to ship them and make costly experiments. I think that is the province of those who deal in fruits. I think that is one of the great problems that we can settle in the future, and one thing that ought to be encouraged by those engaged in the growing of fruits. People ought to determine what should be done with these fruits in order to get them into the open market. The apples come from New Zealand, and cer- tainly they ought to come from the United States, which is not half the distance that it is from New Zealand to London, and they should go to Berlin, where they will pay high prices. The mere fact that they have not got them, and that they might be there if we took the opportunity, is a thing that is rather encouraging and I can’t put it strong enough. I say I can’t put it strong enough the fact that it ought to be encouraged, and ought to echo what Mr. Barnes has said, that nobody ought to be afraid to grow more apples. They may not be able to sell a great many of them here, but the chances seem very, very good to sell them across the water, provided they are good apples. Now if the packing is done, as I have seen it done, without mentioning any names, in several states surrounding this one this fall, it would not raise the reputation of the fruit at all. I was present when a lot of fruit was opened in New York from the Missouri market in the early part of Octobef, and there was about ten barrels of Missouri apples, and every one of those barrels was rejected by prospective buyers on account of the poor quality in the cen- ter of the barrel and the good fruit on the top. One man said, that any- one that would pack them that way, that he would not have anything to do with, and that is what we have to guard against in shipping them to other countries ; and that is a problem that I don’t think the fruit farmer is justified in going into, but instead the one that ships a great many apples. . Winter Meeting. 267 Now the apples I see here remind me of the pleasure I had when 1 did see an American apple. I have forgotten whether it was a Ben Davis or what it was; anyway a red apple, instead of the pale affair, such as they grow over there. So, let me say again, as I said before, very strongly, that the chances of apple growing in the future in this country are very vast and anybody who has an ee to do so ought to go into it head and soul. Mr. Wilson of Iowa.—Now in regard to the Russian apples, did you taste them over there? Prof. Von Schrenk.—Yes, sir; I brought a great many of the seeds of those Russian apples with me, particularly on account of the question that was raised by, you in respect to Iowa and Dakota. Those apples were acid apples, most of them, and they were apples that were not as large as our Ben Davis or Gano, but they were apples of a very fine flavor; they were of a pale color and like the majority of the Russian apples we know here of a hardier grade, but they were apples that stood the temperature over there, but none of them, of course, were equal in body or flavor to any of these we have here at the present time; but the chances are that if we are careful enough in selecting the right variety, and perhaps grafting with some of them, we may be able to get them te grow through the winter without root rotting. 268 State Horticultural Society. REPORT OF TREASURER A. NEESON, LEBANON, MO., Dec: 93=5.7. 1001, Receipts. tine 25 1901, balance on “hands fn .ses ets te $506.42 Membership 135A: (Nelsons snot ae eee 13.00 Membership 20;-L. A: ‘Goodmans <-7iaan2: - 20.00 ily 1, sReceived \State.) reastiter: aces .ou.¥e. te 583.95 Motalereceipes Sse ce. see ser EEA a AE ESAs 2 rds iat $1,123.07 Disbursements. June 10, 1901, N. F. Murray, expenses to New Haven $12.30 D. A. Robnett, expenses to New Haven... 5-30 Sam’l Miller, expenses to New Haven..... 2.00 L. A. Goodman and assistant, expenses to New itan ena, gett encore. cetera nates 13.50 A. Nelson and assistant, expenses to New Havel aire et ee eae ene nee 20.10 Joa. “vans Mexpenses nce. ote ere 6.59 Go Bis damm: expensesre., soar cae eeice 7.00 Warrant NO“A77 ses Senne ts Sams ae ae eee $66.70 June 10, Expenses of June meeting: Prenat =O tie tit ib stcree wekonen tects ein exe eect $16.00 Plotelisbillag cys vated arate caress cee eens 17.10 ‘habletss and. pencils. c0ne ie cee eee 1.35 ‘Releoras ans s oar eee ee ee eee .26 Stenosraplerns sya es rome aan oie 15.00 Pscpress spillseycstr,. we cuncuns etree mae ae 1.38 Nelson, expenlsemaccount.. <= -seeran-ae es 4.76 \Wartattte INO: a7... va itaae ede see See een $58.85 itiniseeres Mn cleor atin so woke eee re eee eee 2 EULESS Mito eine ead alee ten Se ere, oie 35 Comell bulletins secon ot ae ea ee ere ee 1.00 Hudson & Kimberly, letter-heads, envelopes 23.25 Salarymorssectctaty 10r eUne eee es 66.66 Salary- of bypewriter. for pine ae se 20.00 Wrartrant INO. °479) ir oa ace win see wee a ey vom eee $122.08 July +20,.American- Forestry Association. 4.2... +21 < $2.00 100 labels SScOtGnds sce castatnc es eateai ore tens 75 Salary ot secretary tor wjuly s2-.) ee 66.66 Salary; oi-typewtiter tor July. 7... .-4. sen 20.00 PO) bill ee eek oe eee ee ee 37 scotford, “postal cards’ and. slips=7.-4-4. 5-75 Warrant INO: A802 fe eciteicie css caclace Se ree notte lees ina $107.53 Winter Meeting. July 29, Expenses of A. Nelson for Buffalo Expo- sition from July 9, 1900, to Sept. 30, as 269 per bills: P Rh amr boNG AGdio cas eee oa. nin ar ate aad. ay orks. Coy ee ha olets $187.70 Aug. 10, 250 glass jars, part with fruit, for exposition purposes: Wyitiratit® Nosy AS oa nar Sree iy ie cot at aos ah nei bo 8k 1) ha sheatre eee $50.00 muse20, Collecting trinity cepothe- se e.chs oe Besse Le $3.75 eudin's Que LUE -TEPOrt 2 i Lercare te ete e 5.50 WeGa Gang; account: 2: <<. esa. se eee ee 10.00 Salary of secretary for August............ 66.66 Salary of typewriter for August.......... 20.00 WNiaeranit NOs AS,.056% cn dat yas o4 24,54 2a eee eee $105.91 Sept. 30, N. F. Murray, expenses to American Pom. SOGIEL YA eraser 3 cikiate Costehala ora .e srahcheyayats $56.65 Salary of secretary for September......./. 66.66 Salary of typewriter for September........ 20.00 IN GRETNA GA cees evn erecta ty Secret eet eee ia Me hwo 143.31 Och 38, scotiord:S,&-S:, Cog 500, P.O: cardsien Je. $6.2 Merchants’ Transfer Co., 30 boxes for pack- I OASS AT S4/oceno or ekry victeke metas at 9.00 Sdlany Of secretary for ‘October: .e Lone, Amoret, 5 varieties apples. -...% ~. J. H. Karnes, St. Joseph, 18 varieties apples.... Ca VWVesseeiiiam, altos: I< variety. + cnc eoseee es oes I 00 OldenvE ruth Cong varieties applesy our. «cso mies eine eterno 2 50 D. A. Robnett, Columbia, 31 varieties named apples; 1 variety unnamed’ 2. varieties pears; L variety peaches... aa. seer ‘7 00 Pe Nelson ar SOR} Al VanleLies ap plese arcs stts fects ashes ree 9 00 St. Joe Horticultural Society, 46 varieties apples; 2 varieties pears; 2 varieties peaches; 5 varieties crab apples; 5 varie- PICSVS APES! Jc iden orlasse Stas Welt aie ea ae eninge ete ete ay rere IO OO ita cariiian, Crosby, No, 21 vanietiesrapples-a..: a -eeeae 4 00 Me birtterneld: farmington: 1G varieties apples (52-2 e- 62 tore 4 00 eWWierGlarks wAimazonian se + 2 Seu ato ae Wiesivieas one Guten lene 50 Eek. Wayman, Princeton 12 warietiesvapplese; 2. ao -- ee 3 00 feb, opeaksmat, Neosho, 7) vanleHes appleSmcmja2s peso 2 00 G. T. Tippen, Springfield, 11 varieties apples D. Loo Miller, Parkville, 15 varieties apples; I variety peaches. 4 00 W. G. Gano, Parkville, Mo., 19 varieties apples; 1 variety peaches 72 Varieties Aartiactal jy An rn ve os eects tee eee enncree oe 5 50 Ozark, Orchard ‘Coy 11 vatietiessapples-. jc nee ee ee 6 00 NMismA: 4--Mioore,-Mountain- Grove: tocvanieties: 1c eee 5 00 Prof. Stinson, Mountain Grove, collection seedling apples..... 4 00 Seedling apples from Experiment Station, by Prof. Stinson. Beach—of fine color, size and good quality. Cherokee—Good size and color, but poor quality. One good color and fair size; good quality. Highfield—Good size, good color; only fair quality. Gibbon—One of a beautiful apple, but of poor quality. Higes—A fair apple; good size color and fine quality. J. HW. Jenkins, Spring Garden—Seedlings. We, you committee, report that we find the tables covered with a splendid show of fruits that is a revelation to horticulturists. The show of apples surpasses anything we have ever seen at a State meeting wherescever attending. For size, color and beauty they are unexcelled. As for quantity they were lavish, there being more than 1,000 plates of apples. Winter Meeting. | 291 Of pears, peaches, grapes, persimmons, evaporated and canned fruits there was a good supply and a creditable showing. The amount of money to repay for so good a display is really inadequate and your committee regret their inability to give something conimensurate to the fine exhibition. F. HOLSINGER, E. J. BAXTER, F. J. STINSON, | G. F. ESPENLAUB. Your committee find on exhibition some very fine named and some unnamed seedling apples from South Missouri and North Arkansas ex- hibited by Mr. Stinson of the South Missouri Experiment Station at Mountain Grove. We have duly sampled them and we find some of them of most excellent quality, and we would suggest that they be given a thorough trial to determine their value in commercial and family orchards. We also find several seedling apples exhibited by Mr. A. Nelson of Lebanon, which have attracted our favorable con- sideration, also one by Mr. Butterfield of Farmington, Mo. We also find two apples exhibited as new seedlings by Mr. J. H. G. Jenkins of Spring Garden, but your committee can arrive at no conclusion as to the same. All of which is respectfully submitted. Your committee also’find a seedling apple exhibited by Mr. Tom- kins of Warrensburg’ This apple is red striped, of large size and fine appearance, but deficient in quality, perhaps due to being kept too long, and we can make no recommendations. Likewise one from Wm. Howell, Wappapello, but do not consider it of enough value so far as known to name or advise for propogation: We mention also an exhibit of fruits from Conrad Hartzell kept by his method. Signed by committee. Spring Garden, Mo., Dec. 2, 1901. Secretary L. A. Goodman: I regret that I cannot be present at December term of State meeting, but send you samples of a new seedling apple with which I captured the first prize on “Best Plate of New Seedling Apple” at the “Queen City Fair,” Springfield, Mo., in the fall of 1808. Awarding committee were all experts, with such men as Judge Hopkins of that city in the lead. The tree is identical in appearance with “Yellow Bell,” but the fruit is regarded here as larger and finer flavored than Grimes Golden and a genuine winter apple. It is certainly a cross between Golden Pippin and Bell Flower, with possibly a slight infusion of the blood of White Winter Pearmain. It bears every year; 292 State Horticultural Society. yielded 6 or 7 bushels this year; and if anybody wants to know how it is esteemed here, address W. 8. Allee, physician and surgeon; Jas. Hite, cruggist; H. A. Weinake, merchant. Respectfully yours, }; HJ EMEINS; Olean, Missouri. Spring Garden, Mo. Dec. 3, 1901. Hon. L. A. Goodman, Secretary Mo. State Hort. Society: Dear Sir—I sent you yesterday by express two average samples of my new seedling apple and want your opinion, and that of the So- ciety concerning it. I trust it will prove a valuable acqmisition, as it has borne a full crop every year since it came into bearing. Believing it a genuine cross between Golden Pippin and Bell Flower, I named it “Golden Bell.” Samples sent were medium size—not the the largest—and the award given at the “Queen City Fair,’ with the commendation of many good people here, ought to render it worthy of a passing notice, at least. Yours for horticultural progress. J. H. G JENKINS. The Committee on Obituary made their report as follows: Mr. Murtfeldt: I think, perhaps, the whole audience is in sym- pathy with the words expressed in these obituary notices, and if that be the case, I will ask our worthy President to call this assembly to rise for a moment in an instant silent prayer. I make that as a mo- tion. Caried. The audience then arose for an instant in prayer. IN MEMORIAM. The Missouri State Horticultural Society meets this year under the shadow of grief; two of our most honored members, both officers, have passed away. Both these brothers were strong men of marked per- sonality. We all miss the genial presence of Judge Samuel Miller, the energetic, masterful A. Nelson. Both found their greatest happiness, excepting at their own firesides, in the meetings of this Society. We sorrow at missing our brothers today. Judge Samuel Miller was born in Pa., October 4, 1820, and came to a ripe old age, dying Oct. 24, four score and one years old. He was honestly personified, “the noblest work of God,’ and could not tolerate duplicity in any form. Early in life he was elected a justice of the peace, but never tried a case; he was all that such an officer should be, a peace man. As a Horticulturist he was a real. von. Munz, trying, experimenting, and hard to move when he considered his conclusions * correct, but ready also to acknowledge a mistake. He was very unseifish ; Winter Meeting. 293 when he saw or realized a good point in any fruit he gave it to the public through the press, as a regular staff correspondent of the Rural World. His Christian faith was most striking and pure; he was a good man whose works do follow him. This State Horticultural Society appreciated his labors, and, perhaps, he laid down his life in its service. His pure unselfish life preaches an eloquent sermon to our Society, and may God give us grace to follow his beautiful, ever enriching life and example. The Agricultural and Hor- ticultural papers and the Secretary’s report have each laid a laurel wreath upon his bier; may this be added to the same and be evergreen in our hearts and memories. A. Nelson was born in Oneida county, N. Y., September 8, 1830. In 1858 he moved to Buffalo, where he engaged in the grain and coal busi- ness, and for 25 years was a resident of that city. His first years were spent on a farm, and he always took great interest in Horticulture. Being an earnest man, he naturally took part in politics, was a candidate on the State ticket the year the opposing party won. In 1883 he moved to Lebanon, this State, coming as agent for the Ozark Plateau Land Co., a Buffalo corporation, and for 19 years he acted as resident manager. Tor many years he was Treasurer of the Missouri State Horticultural Society, and he contributed to all the great fruit exhibits that the Society made during his lifetime here. He also made many personal collections at fairs, thus contributing greatly to bring honor and reputation to the Ozark apples and peaches. In Horticultural work he was untiring, and his en- thusiasm was contagious. A few months ago Mr. Nelson was appointed a member of the State Board of Agriculture. He took part in the Far- mers’ Institute meetings the week before he was taken sick, and spoke with enthusiasm of apple prospects. He was taken suddenly ill, and after a week’s suffering, passed on to rest, sustained by his faith, at peace with all, and with loved ones at his side. The funeral on the 12th. was largely attended. The floral offerings from home and distant friends were beau- tiful. Having been so conspicuous a champion of the apple it was fitting that a pyramid of this fruit should stand by the side of the casket. Mrs. Nelson, his companion of 44 years, and his four sons and a daughter, who will carry on his work, have the deepest sympathy of all. Resolved, That the foregoing be entered upon the minutes of this Society, and that the Secretary be instructed to transmit a copy of these testimonials to the family of these departed comrades. GAG ATWOOD; Co WaMURTP EE DAs a GENGENE: F, WELLHOUSE. 294 State Horticultural Society. Secretary Goodman—I want to make a motion that the next report ef our Society include the pictures of friends Nelson and Miller, a half tone page for each of them. Carried. President Murray—We are on the question of Bitter Rot. We will hear from Prof. Von Schrenk on Bitter Rot. Prof. Von Schrenk—Mr. President, I just wish to take a moment or two to pass around some photographs of this Bitter Rot, and some photographs of those potato apples that we raised from those plats that Prof. Stinson spoke of. I simply want to add a word to what Prof. Stinson said about this experiment we made in connection with this Bitter Rot. Some of you will remember that we outlined a plan to get at the trouble—how this Bitter Rot spreads and how it works. In want to echo a sentiment spoken of by Mr. Goodman in his re- port, in which he said that you want to wait thirty years before you come to a conclusion, and I want to warn every one that the results that you can get in a year are not in any sense conclusive. I do this; and some of you may feel as some of us did that with the poor results of this year it might be regarded as an argument against spraying. There is nothing that we do that we can’t get some lesson from. These photographs that I have here show in all seven or eight stages of the Bitter Rot. Some of them are the tracings from those that we keep in our culture chamber, and show the development from the very earliest stages to the very last stages. I will pass them around first, so that we won’t get them mixed. 4 The second series are what we have called potato apples, because they look more like potatoes than apples. They are the result of our spraying experiments. These are the result of our spraying experiment, and will show you very nicely, and better than any talk I could make, the peculiar effect the Bordeaux mixture had upon the apples this year. I have three or four photographs of them, and a good plat that I am passing’ around, it is the controlled plat, the one we didn’t spray, and will show you the result of the two. Now, as to the question as to what made that, of course, that is what we are all interested in. We were very careful this year in saying to every one who sprayed to use a certain formula, which had been used in the past; a formula that has been used for a great many years. Five pounds of blue vitrol, five pounds of lime and fifty gallons of water, and I believe that in every respect that formula was carried out strictly. In June I said something about the care which should be used in making Bordeaux mixture. Now some of these sprayings I know were not made with that care. Some of them dumped in some lime—one of Winter Meeting. 295 the men dumped in some lime when I could not be there—simply dumped in enough lime to make what he thought ought to be there. Now, of course, that is a thing that cannot be condemned too strongly. If you are going to make the mixture you have got to do it according to the formula, or not at all, and if a man attempts to do spraying without measuring the _ different ingredients, and who will say that this barrel holds 35 gal- lons, when it might hold 40 gallons, will not make a success of the spraying operation. What happened here is something we could not foretell. I want to say those apples I am passing around were sprayed about ten times. They were sprayed about every three or four weeks, from the very first appearance of the apple until the end of the sason; and during the summer, during that tremendous heat, something came, which we could not have foretold, namely, the chemical action which was introduced in that fruit on account of that extreme heat. The chemical action which takes place upon blue stone or anything, was entirely too hard on fruits this summer, and the lesson we can learn from that is to take into consideration the seasons in which we are working. Nothing can be made absolutely ac- cording to a formula. You can’t harvest the apples on the 15th of Sep- tember every year. You have to harvest them when the apples are ripe, and the same way you can’t apply a cast-iron rule to the spraying or cultivating of anything. You have got to use a little independent judg- ment in the use of the process. The same will be true with the spraying, and the only trouble with us we didn’t know what the relation between heat and spraying was so as to handle it, and the chances are that we will not have a summer like this for many years, and the next year we will spray with the same formula, and I have no doubt the results will be as good in spraying for Bitter Rot and the Scab. For the sake of those that do spray each year, I will say that Mis- souri is not the only State. We conducted our experiments in six differ- ent states ; we tried it in Hlinois, in West Virginia, in Virginia and Mary- land, but in every one of those states we got potato apples. As to the variety of fruits attacked, we found that almost without exception the Ben Davis apple was one that was burned the worst, and the Jonathans were burned very little, and the Willow Twig practically not at all, in Illinois, and the same thing held true in Virginia. Now, that indicated evidently something in the nature of the fruit, which I do not believe has anything to do with the thickness or thinness of the skin. The Ben Davis is a thick skinned apple. There is some- thing evidently in the susceptibility of the Ben Davis that made it more susceptible to this. It is in the variety and the nature of the fruit, conse- quently you can’t blame the Ben Davis apple for it, and you can’t blame ~ 296 State Horticultural Society. yourself for spraying, but simply it was a conjunction of atmospheric con- ditions and circumstances which brought that about. Now about the way in which these-spores propagate. We have in operation a good many cultures, as I call them, to find out what that Bitter Rot fungus does with itself in the winter time, and we have tried a particular experiment which I hope to report on next June. We built a great glass platform in an orchard over some of the apples lying on the ground, as in this photograph. I want to pass this around to show to what extent the Bitter Rot hurt the apples. We put a glass platform over those about three feet from the ground, and we have sterilized the bottom of that glass, and we are going to examine that every week during the winter time, and we are going to investigate to see if any of these spores fly up in the trees during the winter time. There can be no doubt that those spores do get up in the trees, and the rains help them, too. I have a photograph which shows the infection after it once gets upon the tree; it starts from one affected apple. We have a record which was taken upon trees in Virginia, where the rain drops, fell on a defective apple, and one could almost trace the direc- tion of the spray of that rain three days later. It showed how those spores had been scattered from that affected specimen over the tree. The practical orchardist will go. around during the summer and remove them. Of course, this is a tremendous piece of work, but as far as the work goes it will pay to do it, even if you only take two apples off of atree. You are always walking through the orchard, and it is just as easy to take off one or two apples here and there. I don’t want to give any advice about spraying, for I don’t feel that I can say anything about it this year. We are going to begin and do the spraying next spring, and we are going to use the same formula, and in one or two orchards use a different formula, simply to demonstrate if there is any difference in it. And we firmly believe that the spray that we used, if it had not been for the circumstances that happened this summer, would have been different. Of course, one thing Mr. Stinson mentioned, that didn’t make the experiment successful was on account of the lack of moisture. The spores didn’t spread, and in some orchards, I think, there was not ten Bitter Rot apples. And in particular one orchard in Illinois, where the owner came to me in July and said the spray was going to be a howling succes, and his prophecy really was true, for in the first place there was not any Bitter Rot, and in the second place no apples in the orchard. But, nevertheless, the disease is so widely scat- tered that it deserves the attention of everybody, and everybody must do something. You don’t want to wake up in the middle of the night and say, I have not done this right, and I will have to do it over again, and Winter Meeting. 297 try some other method. The best way is to go over your orchard in the beginning of the year and determine what you want to do, and think about it. | have seen some iarmers spray with three or four different solu- tions, and spend a pile of money, and in the latter part of the year, when there was no Bitter Rot, they feel mad because there was no Bitter Rot. I didn’t tell them to use three or four different solutions. If you keep on spraying, and if you have the heat like we did this summer, you might get burned apples; but I claim that burned apples are better than Bitter Rot any time. Mr. Baxter of Illinois—Now, I believe that you will find that the Bitter Rot in apples is very similar to the Black Rot in grapes. It begins in a small way by a small speck appearing on the fruit and enlarging by circles. It is the same with the Black Rot in grapes. We have been studying it since 1864, and we have studied it all the time, and at last we found that the Bordeaux mixture would control it, and we have con- trolled the rot completely. We are not afraid of it at all, and I am satis- fied it will be the same way with the Bitter Rot in the apples. Now re- member, this is only a preventive. It is not a cure, and if you want to save your apples, just as we save our grapes, you must not wait until the Bitter Rot appears there, but you have got to spray in the beginning. And when is the best to do this? Immediately after your apples or formed. Then it is not necessary to spray again unless the weather con- ditions are such—if you have heavy rains, such as to wash this off your apples, you want to spray again and keep it up. Why were these apples scorched this year? Was it because the mixture was too strongly made? No. I know why it was. It was on ac- count of the long dry spell. We have had the same experience with the peach, plum and with the grapes. If you have noticed, when there is a long dry spell and no washing rains afterwards, simply moisture in the shape of dews, why you find this rust. I have noticed it for a number cf years. Now, then, I contend that this Bitter Rot cannot develop unless you have moisture. The Black Rot in grapes cannot develop without moisture. Now, the question is, what kind of moisture? It certainly will not develop if you have heavy sweeping rains. The only moisture that will develop it in connection with heat is dew or sprinkles, very light rains, so as to not wash the spores thoroughly. If you have a beating rain it will wash the spores to the ground, and there they remain, and will remain, if the weather comes free of winds; but if the weather afterwards becomes foggy and hot, why these spores will rise again, and will be certain to infect the apple. It will the grapes; it will the plums, or any- thing else. Now I will venture to stake my reputation on it, that you can’t produce Bitter Rot, nor Black Rot, with any amount of heat, provided that 298 State Horticultural Society. heat is dry, perfectly dry. You have got to have moisture in connection with it, and this moisture must be in the shape of steam, such as fogs or very light dews. | Prof. Johnson of Columbia then described the work they were pur- suing in the station and School of Horticulture, and the different courses taught there. Prof. J. M. Stedman then spoke on legislation against insect pests. REPORT OF PROF, STEDMAN. A general meeting of Official Horticultural Inspectors for the United States and Canada was called to order at the Ebbitt House, Washington, iD: @, November 11th) "001, at.7.:30 p. m.,.by the chairman, Mra S.A- Forbes, of Illinois. Mr. Fernald, of Massachusetts, was chosen secretary. Those present during the sessions were: Connecticut, W. E. Britton; Delaware, W. Webb; Georgia, W. M. Scott, W. Fiske; Illinois, S. A. Forbes; Indiana, J. Troop;,lowa,, HH. Ee Summers; Maryland; Anak: Quintance; , Norton; , Blodgett; Massachusetts, H. T. Fernald; Missouri, J. M. Stedman; New Jersey, J. B. Smith; New York, G. G. Atwood; North Carolina, F. Sherman; Ohio, F. M. Webster; Pennsylvania, J. Hamilton, E. B. Engle; Virginia, W. B. Alwood, J. L, Phillips; Wisconsin, W. A. Henry. W. G. Johnson and E. D. Sander- son were also present at a part of the meetings as visitors. On the motion of Mr. Alwood, of Virginia, it was voted that a com- mittee of three be appointed by the chair to report as soon as possible on the advisability of forming a permanent organization. The president ap- pointed Messrs. Smith, Webster and Summers. On the motion of Mr. Smith, of New Jersey, the question, within what limits of time may nurseries properly be inspected, and what period should the annual certificate be made to cover? was taken up. After much discussion, it was voted on the motion of Mr. Smith, of New Jersey, that the resolution adopted by the meeting of Horticultural Inspectors in Chicago on January 4th, 1901, bearing on this point be adopted by the Society, as follows: “That the period of inspection should be determined in each state at the discretion of the inspector, but it was agreed that all peach stock should be inspected as late in the season as practicable, particularly where the surroundings were such as to cause suspicion of the occurrence of the San Jose scale, or where the origin of the buds was either suspicious or unknown. In such cases, if the nursery was inspected early, a late supplemental inspection of the peach stock should be made.” Winter Meeting. 299 On the motion of Mr. Alwood, of Virginia, it was voted to be the sense of this conference that a certificate ought not to extend beyond the commencement of the breeding period of the San Jose scale. On the motion of Mr. Webster, of Ohio, the question was taken up and dis- cussed, and was still under consideration when the meeting adjourned till November 12th, at 9 a. m. November 12,9 a.m. The meeting was called to order by the chair- man. The reading of the minutes was omitted. Mr. Hamilton, of Penn- sylvania, offered the following resolution, which was adopted: “In order to arrive at a common understanding as to the best insecticides to use for the destruction of the San Jose scale in the orchards and nurseries of this country, and in order to secure definite directions for their ap- plication, a committee, consisting of Messrs. Smith, of New Jersey; Webster, of Ohio; Fernald, of Massachusetts; Alwood, of Virginia, and Atwood, of New York, is hereby appointed to prepare a recom- mendation to be submitted to this Association for its consideration.” On the motion of Mr. Fernald, of Massachusetts, the question, what nursery pests should be regarded as dangerous enough to influence or prevent the granting of a certificate? was taken up. After considerable discussion, it was voted on the motion of Mr. Alwood, of Virginia, “that each official inspector submit a list of those insects and diseases which he thinks should always bar nursery stock from receiving an official cer- tificate, and a secondary list of insects and diseases of less importance with terse statements of how he deals with them.” It was voted-on the motion of Mr. Alwood, of Virginia, that when this meeting adjourns, it adjourn to meet in joint session with the entomo- logical section of the general Association at 2 o’clock this afternoon, and that a farther session be held at 7 p. m. The question of the legal right of inspectors to enter private property and enforce treatment against the wishes of the owners was then discussed. The tendency of the discussion participated in by Messrs. Atwood, of New York; Smith, of New Jersey; Alwood, of Virginia, and Hamil- ton, of Pennsylvania, was to the conclusion that in those states at least it would be illegal to force entry and destroy property without due process of law; and law giving such power to any individual would be unconstitutional. The topic “what should be the common policy of State inspectors with reference to stock officially inspected and certified in other states? was taken up and was under discussion when the Association adjourned. November 12, 7:15 p. m. Meeting called to order by the chairman. Committee on Advisability of Permanent Organization reported a recom- 300 : State Horticultural Society. mendation that a permanent organization be not formed, but that an- other meeting be held in connection with the next meeting of the A. A. A. C. E. S., and this report was adopted. On the motion of Mr. Summers, of Iowa, it was voted that when -this meeting adjourns, it adjourn till 9 a. m., November 13th, and that the first order of business be the selection of a chairman for the next year. The report of the committee on the resolution offered by Mr. _ Hamilton, of Pennsylvania, was made as follows: “The committee, after due consideration, finds itself able to agree upon the following recom- mendations for treatment: 1. For Nurseries—Proper fumigation with hydrocyanic acid gas after inspection. 2. For Orchards—Late summer and fall treatment with dilute solu- tions of insecticide soaps, oils or other effective insecticides, to kill young scales. Winter treatment with insecticide soaps, or oils suffi- ciently strong to kill the scale, and which have been proven safe to trees of all kinds in the region where the application is to be made. (Signed) JOHN B: SMITE, Chairman. FY A WEBSTER, Ae) FERNALD: WM. B. ALWOOD, GEO. T. ATWOOD. The report of the committee was adopted. Farther discussion of the 4th topic was laid upon the table till the next session. : On the motion of Mr. Smith, of New Jersey, the topic, “What should be the procedure, or form of certificate, in case some part of a nursery is affected by a dangerous fungous or insect pest not of a kind to in- volve other parts not so effected?” was taken up for consideration. It was voted on the motion of Mr. Summers, of Iowa, that it is the sense of this body that but one form of certificate be used as a rule, so worded as to be applicable to stock sold from nurseries after some portions have been thrown out as not included in the certificate. The topic, What should be the usual form of the certificate?’ was then considered at length. On the motion of Mr. Smith, of New Jersey, it was voted that it is the sense of this meeting that every certificate should specify the date of the completion of the inspection. On the motion of Mr. Summers, it was voted that it is the sense of this meeting that the certificate should be worded in the impersonal form. On the motion of Mr. Smith, of New Jersey, it was voted as the sense of the meeting that no insect or fungous should be ‘Winter Meeting. | 301 specifically named in the certificate, but that that portion should read “free from dangerously injurious insects and diseases, etc. The Secretary stated that he would prepare and send copies of the record of these meetings to all of those present who desired to receive them. The meeting then adjourned. November 13, 1901. The meeting was called to order by the chair- man. The minutes of the previous meeting were read, corrected and ap- proved. On the motion of Mr. Summers, of Iowa, Dr. S. A. Forbes, of IIli- nois, was unanimously chosen as chairman of this body for the next meet- ing, to be held in the fall of 1902. The topic, “Is national legislation covering nursery inspection desir- able and practicable?” was then discussed. On the motion of Mr. Alwood, of Virginia, it was “resolved that it is the sense of this body that the bill for providing for national control of inter-state commerce in nursery stock which has been frequently endorsed by entomologists, nurserymen and orchardists and favorably reported in both branches of Congress, should be enacted into a law.” “May provision be made for the publication of a practical article on the principal nursery pests of the country, available for all Horticultural inspectors and distributed to all nurserymen and others immediately in- terested?” was next taken up. It was voted on the motion of Mr. Smith, of New Jersey, that the United States Department of Agriculture be asked to publish such a document. The topic, “How wide an application should be given to the term nursery stock? Should it include herbaceous plants grown out of doors? Should it ever cover greenhouse stock?’ was next considered. On the motion of Mr. Summers, of Iowa, it was voted that it is the sense of this body that strawbery plants should be regarded as nursery stock and in- cluded. It was also voted that grape cuttings be included as a part of stock-necessary to inspect. On the motion of Mr. Scott, of Georgia, it was voted that general ornamental stock grown out of doors be included in all inspections. The topic, “What measures should be taken by Horticultural in- spectors for the regulation of the business of dealers, not owners of nur- sery premises, nor growing their own stock for sale?” was then discussed and the present practice in a number of states was explained, but no action was taken on the matter. It was voted on the motion of Mr. Scott, of Georgia, that when the meeting adjourns, it adjourns to meet not as Horticultural inspectors, but 302 State Horticultural Society. with the Entomological Division of the American Association of Agricul- tural Colleges and Experiment Stations. The topic, “What is a sound public policy with respect to the division between the State and the property owner of the costs of a practical operation for the control of Horticultural pests?” was then discussed. On the motion of Mr. Scott, of Georgia, it was voted that it is the sense of this body that in all cases where the state makes any provision for the inspection of nurseries these inspections should be conducted absolutely without cost to the nurserymen. The meeting then finally adjourned. Hod. FERNAERD; Secretary. PEACHES lh (SOMA MissSOURE (By, G. W. Hopkins, Springfield, Mo.) I have not prepared any paper om this subject. In my younger days I sometimes liked to indulge in these things, in these affairs on paper, but as I get older I try to be more particular. I am going to give you a little talk now, and if anybody wants to ask questions I will answer them if I can, and if not, perhaps somebody else will be able to do so. You all know that after the severe winter of 1898 and 1899 the peach trees in South Missouri, as well as in other - places, were very badly injured. They were sick, and the question arose, what shall we do with them. Several plans were proposed, and the most of them were adopted, although they were different. One plan was to cut down the trees from eight to twelve inches from the ground, or to the snow line, whatever that might be. A great many trees were cut down— whole orchards of them. Those trees, I believe, so far as I have been able to find out, have never done any good. ‘The most of them died. Some put out a little sickly growth and died afterwards. Another plan was to cut back the main limbs, from two and one-half to three feet. A great many adopted that plan. I did so, although I am not growing peaches to any great extent, and so far as I know from my observa- tions and what I have learned that plan was pretty successful. They made a good growth of young wood, and this year, so far as I know, in our own section of country, those trees produced the best fruit we had. Now, there was another class that didn’t do anything with the trees. They just let them go, and they made a very weak, sickly growth. Winter Meeting. 303 They made no new wood hardly at all, and that class of trees, a great majority of them, died. The limbs broke off—a great majority of them did, but there are exceptions here. I know of one orchard that was let grow in that shape. There was never anything done with it. There had not been a plow in it for two years be- fore, nor there has never been anything since. It had grown up in weeds and briars and bushes, and I must say that the largest and finest and the most highly colored peaches I saw in Greene county came out of that orchard. But there is another side to it. That orchard is now dead. I would not give twenty-five cents for it to produce peaches another year. It has exhausted itself in maturing the crop of fruit that was set this season. It will never produce anything more. If it was mine, I would cut it down. Now, this has been a remarkable year in many respects along that line. There are many such things have occurred, both in peaches and in apples, and so we are left somewhat in doubt as to what course is best to pursue in regard to cultivation. Now, there have been peach orchards that were thoroughly cultivated. I know of one, a young orchard, about two miles from mine. The trees were only four years old. It was planted in pop corn, and cultivated just the same as if you were raising a crop of corn or any other field crop. The trees made a fine growth, and they kept grow- ing and growing, and the peaches kept growing, and they liked to have never ripened. They didn’t get ripe in time to go off in the cars for ship- ment. That is one point against this continuous late cultivation. Now we have the extremes. There was fine fruit in that orchard, even if it didn’t get ripe in time, and we have those old orchards that did get ripe in time and had fine fruit, but now the trees are gone. This other orchard is in fine condition for another crop. Now on this subject of cultivation. I believe that there is danger of running to the other extreme. You talk too much about your intense ‘cultivation. Mr. President, I believe in cultivation, but I believe there is a limit to it. I do not believe a peach orchard should be cultivated to any extent after the first of June. You want to give your peaches time to ripen, and if you keep cultivating, you keep up a growth of wood, and your peaches are long in getting ripe, and you never’get the color to them. I do not believe it is necessary in a peach orchard to keep up the cultivation so late. I think there are some mistakes being made along that line. I suppose the peach crop in South Missouri the present year is the largest that was ever grown. Now, of course, some of the old orchards may have had just as many on them before, but then the average is so much larger, that I will state that it was the largest crop that was ever 304 State Horticultural Society. erown in South Missouri. I do not know much about the prices that were realized in the district below me where they grow them more exten- - sively. I do not know whether in all sections there they realized good prices or not. I know that in Greene county, where we are not growing them to any. great extent, we only shipped four carloads, but the home market was good. There were no good peaches sold for less than a dollar a bushel. At least I sold none. There was no necessity for selling them for a less price. There was a prominent grower of Howell county that made a statement before our Society that they were growing too many Elbertas south; that there was a time when all of the prominent markets were glutted with Elbertas. Now, I don’t know whether that was true or not, because we didn’t ship any off in the direction that they did, but I am one that does believe that there can be an overproduction of perish- able fruit. The time was when they said you could not get too many strawberries ; the more you planted, the better. Some of you have seen to your sorrow that that was something that was not true, and the peach is but little better than a strawberry. Men are running wild, because they have had a good crop and good prices. Every man says: I am going to set out so many peach trees if I can get the stock. They are just going to crowd every acre into peaches; but just as sure as they do it, and keep setting out one variety, the Elberta, they are going tc have the markets glutted, just the same as you did with straw- berries. You may call me an over-production crank, but that is all right. Now with apples it is entirely different. That is something you can hold. You can hold them until you get a market. It does not make any difference how much of a crop you raise. Now, Mr. President, I am not goifig to take up any more of your time. I have spread this thing out before you, and there are men from further south in Missouri. There is Mr. Speakman and others engaged in it more extensively than I am, and know more about it, and can tell you more about it than I can. PEACH DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT. (By Wm. B. Hoag, Columbia, Mo.) To be called upon to talk on a subject that embraces as much as this does, makes one feel at a loss to know where to begin and end. As culture is intensified, factors before unknown are brought to the front. The trite observation that there is scarcely a limit to the number of new diseases has some foundation in experience. New Winter Meeting. 305 diseases appear from time to time in addition to the old diseases that have been known in different parts of the United States ever since peach culture was begun. With simple gathering of the fruit crop and no further attention until the next is ready to pick, the diseases, like the crops, are a matter, of course. They express na- ture’s supposed method of growing these things. But man is an active agent in the procedure. He introduces other conditions than the natural ones, and by importation of stocks, etc., scatters the diseases or insects found in centers of older culture to the newest and remotest portions of the earth. Man has learned likewise to be a factor of another sort. He has devised methods of prevention, which are very much needed to maintain an equilibrium of forces. PEACH YELLOWS: The yellows is an American disease, which has been known for about one hundred years. It attacks almond, apricot and nectarine trees as well as the peach, and has been recorded upon Japanese plum trees. In the United States, Yellows is found in all the states east of the Mississippi and north of the northern boundaries of Tennessee and North Carolina, excepting Wisconsin and possibly some of the northern New England states. It has not been found in the southern states. As yet, the specific cause of Yellows is unknown. The symptoms are: First, premature ripening of the fruit, which is highly colored and spotted, and has the flesh marbled with red; second, premature opening of winter buds. This may extend to fruit buds as well as leaf buds, and has been observed as early as June and as late as No- vember; third, new buds develop on the trunk and branches and grow into sickly looking shoots. The fruit may ripen as much as six weeks earlier than the normal period, and oblique slices from the colored side will show the red marbling of the flesh. The quality of the fruit is affected, being in- sipid or mawkish. The symptoms may occur upon a single branch, but when only a small portion of a tree shows the symptoms, the whole tree is hopelessly diseased, and should be treated as any other tree that shows further development. Free blooming of yellows trees may occur as late as November, though it is less frequent than the unfolding of leaf buds in autumn. The branches from prematurely developed buds show many charac- teristic forms of growth. The primary shoots may branch again and again, to produce a broom growth of slender wiry twigs. A general yellow color of the leaves is not a characteristic symptom of yellows, but indicates more commonly some lack of vigor in the tree, In sandy soils H—20 306 State Horticultural Society. especially trees transplanted two or three years old often make very slight growth and develop very slender branches. The leaves, however, are more nearly normal, and there is no premature growth. With trees showing these characteristics it is well to examine the roots for Root Aphis, or other troubles. Yellows is supposed to be contagious. Dr. E. F. Smith thinks that it is a physiological disease, somewhat analogous to varigation in plants. While no specific germ of the disease has been discovered, it is unquestion- ably spread by means of bud inoculation and by proximity of affected trees. While the cause is yet undetermined, the manner of spreading is for practical purposes demonstrated. If yellows trees are permitted to re- main in a district the disease spreads to other trees, though not neces- sarily to the adjacent ones first. In many instances the secondary cases are scattered irregularly about in the orchard. Not only is there danger from the living trees, but also from those cut down. Cases are cited where Yellows was spread by dragging uprooted diseased trees through the orchard. Safety is therefore not attained by merely cutting and piling the vellows trees. As yet no cure has ever been discovered for Yellows. Experiments with fertilizers to cure Yellows have proven of no avail. The only known remedy is the immediate complete destruction of all affected trees by burning. ROSETTE. Rosette occurs in Georgia, and in parts of South Carolina, Missouri and Kansas. This disease is similar in certain respects to Yellows, but unlike it has a shorter course and somewhat different symptoms. Like Yellows, the symptoms may appear first on part of the tree, when the whole tree is diseased. The symptoms generally appear in the spring, and the trees always die the following fall or winter. In trees affected with Rosette, the leaf buds all grow into compact tufts or Rosettes, and these Rosettes, although only two or three inches long, often contain several hundred leaves. The older leaves at the base of the tufts are often quite long, but have long inrolled margins and a peculiar stiff appearance. They turn yellow and drop in early summer, while the inner leaves are yet green. As in Yellows, the only remedy found is the complete destruc- tion of all affected trees by burning. TWIG DISEASE WITH GUM FLOW. Within the last few years another new disease has made its appear- ance, commonly known as “Twig Disease,” “Gum Flow,” “Gummosis,” etc. Briefly, the symptoms of this disease may be stated as the exuda- Winter Meeting. 307 tion of gum upon the twigs, branches, and even upon the trunks of the trees. There are no perforations of the bark as are made by the Bark Beetle. The gum hardens and becomes conspicuous. The dis- ease appears at all seasons of the year, but is most manifest when the leaves are off the trees. In general, the exudation occurs near the leaf scars of the previous year. Following the continued exudation of gum, enlargements form at many of the affected points. These en- largements are often great enough to be mistaken for Black Knot. Sectional examination of the diseased branches generally shows a dead or injured area. In the region of the dead or injured area we find gum pockets, and they continue apparently while growth lasts. The real cause has not been discovered. When a tree is badly affected by this disease, it is probably best to destroy it by burning. Where or- chards are slightly affected, it may be worth the while to try close pruning, drainage, if necessary, and thorough cultivation. TWIG SPOT—BROWNING OF GREEN BARK. In uncultivated orchards spotting of the twigs is frequent. Many specimens show definite spots in which the epidermis has turned down, re- sembling Anthracnose spots on the raspberry. Such spotting is very general. No fungus or other organism has been found to occur con- stantly in the spots, and the practice of cultivation and good care causes much of it to disappear. A normal cork growth, however, should not be mistaken for fungus or for a diseased condition. CROWN GALL, This disease manifests itself in enlargements upon the roots and stems of the tree, but with a decided tendency to occur at the crown of the tree. These galls are usually soft, corky or spongy growth upon the various parts of the tree. Below ground the galls are renewed with each season’s growth, the old galls falling away and decaying while new ones are formed. When new, the galls are externally of the same color as healthy roots. This formation of galls continues until the death of the tree, which usually occurs in from one to three years. Excision of these galls seems to have no influence whatever in the way of eradicating the trouble. No matter whether but a single gall appears upon a small root, or large ones upon the main stem, the whole tree seems to be in a diseased condition, and as the old galls are taken off, new ones appear. The disease appears to be communicable over short distances in the soil, and the soil will remain infected for some time after the removal of the diseased trees. 308 State Horticultural Society. It is somewhat difficult to study the cause of this disease, due to the fact that the trouble is all beneath the soil. As yet, nothing definite has been discovered in regard to it. Dr. Smith thinks that it is due to some external parasite, while Halsted suggests a fungus origin. Trees affected by this disease at transplanting age, seldom, if ever, come to successful fruiting, and by far the greater number of them may be expected to die before they have attained bearing size and age. So far, all experiments to cure the disease have failed. Ffavorable results from injecting Bordeaux mixture into the galls have been re- ported in California, but practical measures must be chiefly preventive, and the most important of these will be the rejection of affected nursery stock. PEACE GROm: While the fungus diseases of the peach do not rank with those of the plum in destructiveness, several of them are quite damaging. The belief that peaches rot solely because of the weather is often ex- pressed; but while, to be sure, the weather influences the amount of rot, it is only a condition and not a cause of peach rot. This is truly a fungus disease, due to the rot fungus» (Monilia frustigena Pers.) The weather simply influences the amount of rot by offering favorable or unfavorable conditions of heat and moisture. This rot fungus, as most fungi, has its growth favored by warm weather and abundant moisture, so that if these conditions come together near ripening time, we may expect serious loss of fruit. It is no unusual thing to see a large number of brown rotten peaches on the trees, with a great abun- dance of ash-colored spores produced upon the surfaces. These pow- dery masses of spores are easily scattered by the wind and rain and will cause any amount of mischief where they find a suitable place. Favorable places are numerous, such as in a dense cluster of fruit, or where the fruit is densely shaded by leaves; and, in case of warm, showery weather at times of blossoming, the spores may enter through the blossoms and cause serious damage in the form of twig blight. It may be a matter of surprise to some to hear that this rot fungus de- stroys the twigs and blossoms as well as the fruit. We are accus- tomed to see much rot among the early varieties, like Hale, Alexander and others, and are consequently apt to call these susceptible varie- ties. However, a large amount of rot in any variety may be expected during warm, wet weather at ripening time, and there seems no rea- son to regard early varieties, on the whole, as more susceptible than late varieties. Winter Meeting. 309 The rot fungus survives the winter in the mummy peaches, also in mummy plums and cherries, as the same fungus is found in all stone fruits. To what extent it may survive in the twigs can not be stated. All that is needed to induce its growth is a period of warm, rainy weather. All rotted peaches therefore should be removed as soon as they appear, and especially before the warm spring rains. The rot may be checked in great measure by judicious spraying with Bordeaux mixture. Of course it should be remembered that peach foliage is peculiarly sensitive to fungicides and great care should be used in spraying. The first spraying should be given during late winter just before the fruit buds begin to swell, using a mixture of normal strength. When the fruit is about the size of a hazelnut, the second spraying may be given, diluting the formula one-half, and that may be followed by a third spraying two weeks later, using 125 gallons of water to four pounds of copper sulphate and five pounds of lime. PEACH SCAB. In peach scab we’ have a disease that is sometimes mistaken for a peculiarity of certain varieties of peaches. The dark spotting and cracking of the fruit is really a disease caused by a parasitic plant, the scab fungus, (Cladosporium carpophilum, Thm). It is much worse during rainy seasons than in dry seasons, moisture seeming to be the chief requirement. Certain varieties seem to be more susceptible than others. The scab produces a hardening of the fruit beneath the scabby areas, and in severe cases of scab, the affected side cracks open. The fungus is found on the branches where it passes the winter, and oc- curs continuously upon the same tree. From this we know where to CRPECE it. Experiments seem to show that persistent spraying with weak Bordeaux mixture will greatly reduce the amount of scab. BROWN OR PUSTULAR SPOT. This is comparatively a new disease. Prof. Taft says it is caused by the fungus (Helm in thasporium carpophilum, Lev.) It first ap- pears as small rusty brown spots upon the upper or exposed side of the peaches as early as June Ist. After the fruit droops, the spots are usually turned towards the observer. They increase in size and de- velop light-brown centers, but are not otherwise conspicuous until the fruit begins to ripen. From ripening time forward, there is quite a variation in the development of the disease on different varieties of peaches. The fungus of this disease is superficial in its development and 310 State Horticultural Society. therefore easily reached by spraying. There is no other disease that seems to yield more readily to fungicides than this. LEAF CURL, It is well known that the leaves do an important work for the plant. Any disease, therefore, that seriously interferes with the func- tional activity of the leaves, will prove detrimental to the health of the plant. Such a disease is caused by the leaf-curl fungus, (£-voas- cus deformanus, Fuckel) which attacks both leaves and young shoots. This disease is too well known to require any description. The masses of hyphae pass the late summer, fall, and winter, in the tissues of the leaf buds, that is, the mycelium is perennial in the buds. With the beginning of spring growth in the tree there is growth of the fungus as well, the new leaves and shoots being affected as they are put forth. The amount of the infection determines the extent of the subsequent distortion. It is evident that the fungicide can not reach the leaves before emergence from the bud, and except in cases of treatment year after year, we can not expect that the first leaves upon treated and untreated trees will show any great difference in the proportions affected by the fungus. But we may rightfully expect treatment during a given season to reduce the amount of surviving fungus mycelium in the leaf buds. This effect will not be manifest until the following year. The more immediate results to be expected from spraying are much of the same nature; they can not be expected upon the earliest leaves, but the spraying may, and does, prevent the infection of the succeeding leaves and shoots. By this we see that thorough spraying the preceding year is even more effective in the prevention of leaf-curl than during the season of its occurrence. The first spraying should be given of full,strength Bordeaux mix- ture just before the blossoms open, or even earlier ; and the second one of half strength mixture, just after the calyx drops from the fruit. : Columbia, Mo., Nov. 8, 1901. Prof. Whitten is now in the University at Halle, Germany. He describes a visit to one of the largest commercial orchards and nur- series in Germany. “The proprietor was not at home, but the head gardener took us around and when we came to the peaches he ex- plained that they could not grow many peaches there except trained to walls and covered in winter for the buds often winterkill. But now, he said with great gusto, we have discovered a method of winter protection which enables us to carry this big, young orchard out here in the open through the winter without injury. He then explained how Winter Meeting. 311 it was necessary to hold the buds dormant, and said they simply whitened the trees by spraying with a thick chalk solution, which re- mained frozen on all winter and kept the buds dormant all the time, so that for two winters they had brought them through safe when unicov- ered trees failed. He said Prof. Muller of the University suggested the work to them and that it not only held the buds dormant on warm days but that it prevented leaf curl, which is a universal scourge here. He also remarked that he had heard that this method was being adopted in America for the same purposes with good results. He knew much more than I did about the practical results of it being so widespread, so I simply listened attentively to what he had to say of its practical utility and didn’t tell I had ever heard of it befere. He also added one thing I was greatly interested in, and that was the statement that they had found all of their lighter twigged sorts came safely through the winters oftener, while the purple ones were tender- est of all; that they did not understand this till the principle resulting in the whitening was discovered by them.” Prof. Whitten remarked that the work done on whitening here was before they began its use there, so that I have no doubt but what they got the idea trom his bulletin on the subject. Very truly yours, W. L. HOWAKD. Discussion. A Question: I would like to inquire what is the latest peach that we have? Sec. Goodman: I think that I can answer that question. Billue’s Late October or Henrietta. Mr. Hopkins: The Bonanza was later with me this year. A Question: Does the peach yellow ever show itself in the year old trees, or in the nursery, or is it not a disease that requires age to produce? Prof. Johnson: No, sir; usually shows in trees after they become of some size. A Question: I want to know whether it pays to spray for this rot? . Prof. Howard: Since I have been connected with the Station we have not conducted any experiments in spraying peach trees, that is scientific experiments, but we have no doubt that those rots can be largely controlled by judicious use of Bordeaux mixture. The am- moniacal of carbonate solution is best for fruit trees because it does not injure the foliage. 312 State Horticultural Society. Mr. Baxter: I have tried it and used it for a number of years and it paid. A Question: I should like to ask the gentleman what his formula was for that spray: Mr. Baxter: Two pounds of sulphate of copper, and four pounds of stone lime and fifty gallons of water. You have got to be very careful not to scorch the leaves. A Question: Has the peach yellow over been known to exist in the State of Missouri? Prof. Hoag: I believe it has; I have heard of it, but I have never Seen it. Mr. Dix: I can say I have had it for ten years. I control it by cutting it out. Major Holsinger: I sometimes think we confuse the two dis- eases, the Yellows with the rust. I have seen some diseases that have been pronounced, Yellows which I am satisfied was not the Yellows. Prof. Howard: I wish to know if any one is familiar with the Dwarf Japan Peach? Sec. Goodman: What use is it in Missouri? Prof. Howard: We have one tree, and if it keeps up every year as it has this year, I think it is going to be very valuable. Mr. Augustine: Can the Yellows be disseminated by the planting of pits from infected trees? Major Holsinger: It is an impossibility, I say. President Murray: Some one asked for five varieties of peaches. Sec. Goodman: First, Mountain Rose; second, Crawford; third, Champion; fourth, Elberta; fifth, Salway. Pres. Murray: Give us five peaches for North Missouri. Sec. Goodman: I would take, first, Champion; second, Elberta and third, Crosby; fourth, Mountain Rose, and fifth, Salway. A Question: On what ground does Prof. Evans say there is no such peach as the Elberta Cling? Mr. Evans: I have never seen an Elberta Cling, and I never have heard of one until I came here. Mr. Wilson of Buchanan Countv: I would say that Stark’s has advertised the Elberta Cling; it is on their list this year. Mr. Tippin: I think that is pretty good evidence there is no such peach. A Question: I would like to have a peach earlier than the EI- berta, and one later. Pres. Murray: Mr. Goodman gave the Mountain Rose, that is earlier, and the Salway that is later. Winter Meeting. 313 Mr. Tippin: I will answer the question. For three peaches I would say the Champion, Elberta and Emma. Mr. Evans: I have been asked orally and by letter a number of times within the last few months a question, and if that question is answered it will probably satisfy other people. I have been asked the question, what is a nectarine? Judge Wellhouse: A smooth peach. Mr. Evans: What is the origin of a nectarine, or is there any such thing as a nectarine originating from anything else but a peach seed? Mr. Murray: I have known the nectarine to originate in our county from peach pits, but I never knew nectarine to originate from anything else. Mr. Jenkins: I wish to say I have a peach on the table that ripens at the same time identically with the Salway, and looks exactly like it, but a cling. I want to know what it is. It is a yellow peach. Major Holsinger: I have 49 seedling Salways growing from pure Salway seed on the Olden farm. Nine of these Salways are clings, and I presume that is what yours is. Question: Would you advise pruning Dewberries, and what length? F. H. Speakman: Dewberries for best results should be cut back to 2% feet on very strong canes and 1% feet on weak ones. This pruning should be done late in winter or very early in spring—before growth starts. Question: What is the leading commercial winter apple today in Missouri? Answer: Ben Davis. Question: What should be done with water-sprouts, where they are very thick in an apple orchard that has been neglected for two or three years? Secretary: If the trees are old it is best to leave most of the water-sprouts to help the tree renew. ORCHARD LANDS OF THE STATE. (By Edw. S. Butt, Mayview, Mo.) It can hardly be expected of a general and stay-at-home farmer and orchard man to treat this subject exhaustively. In fact, it seems to me it ought to be discussed by representatives from all parts‘of the 314 State Horticultural Society. State and thus secure in one report a collection of the known facts upon this primary or fundamental step in orcharding. The book would furnish to the inquirer the knowiedge of where he could obtain the foundation upon which to erect his Horticultural structure. In all lines of husbandry we often plant in wrong kind of soil for best stc- cess. If there are sections of the State especially good for apple growing we ought to know where they are and also be willing for the balance of mankind to know it. Hence the.need of some one report containing all the facts. This State, great in many lines of production, will be in a few years the banner apple State of the Union. Centrally located in the Mississippi valley, with the alluvial soils of her great rivers, and the semi-mountainous lands of the south, the State cannot be surpassed for her acres of apple lands. We read of the apple belt of Eastern Kansas, of Southern Iowa, Southern Illinois, and North- ern Arkansas. Men talk and write of the great fruit belt of Michigan and the apple district of New York, but we grow apples from Arkansas to Iowa and from Kansas to Illinois. The area of commercial growing is constantly enlarging. A year or two ago, one of our number goes ‘into the southeast and discovers a garden spot, the possibilities of which no one can foretell. Some of the high prairie lands are not the best for apples, yet the home without an orchard is an exception, and where apples can be grown for family use they can be grown for mar- ket. We have some spots too wet for orchards and some too rich for fruitage, yet the State from boundary to boundary certainly cannot be excelled for her available orchard lands. Remember, the Father of Waters washes the eastern border, the Big Muddy the northwest and cuts the State into halves, thus furnish- ing acres of alluvial soil, dry, deep and rich, and the strong clay lands of the timbered sections all over the State will place Missouri at the head of the list of all commercial growing states. Having written of orchard lands of the State in a general way, I wish in closing, to call your attention to some of the advantages of my own county. No special effort has ever been made to herald abroad the adaptability of our soil and climate for orcharding. No railroads carry prospectors at half rates or no rates, neither have they or landed companies flooded the country with hand-bills telling of her wonderful resources as an apple country, yet we are planting trees by the thou- sands and producing apples by the train loads. Situated on the Mis- souri river, forty miles from the cellars of Kansas City, with her high, dry, melloy soil that characterizes hemp lands wherever found, Lafay- ette is destined to become one of the first counties in the State in the growing of apples. Winter Meeting. 315 If tuere is one here who contemplates embarking in commercial orcharding I invite you to investigate this county. Visit us in May and we will ascend the mounds upon and around which our village is builded, and view the landscape for miles and miles and you will not wonder that we called our town “Mayview.” The man in the north- west will talk to you, perhaps for hours, about the wonderful forma- tion of his soil—no rock, no hardpan—roots of the trees go down and down, and water comes.up and up, yet in this year 1901, while we wished and waited for rain, and would have rejoiced to have had more moisture from either up or down, the few sprinkles we had matured as fine apples as ever went into barrels. Let the Ozark man use the stoneboat ax and grubbing hue, let him work half the year to conserve moisture, the other half growing cowpeas and scattering train loads of fertilizer, let him rack his brains and lose his sleep over Root Rot, Woolly Aphis and Bitter Rot, you come to the hemp lands around Mayview. Plant your trees, and while they grow, raise big crops of corn to feed to pigs, sow to clover and fatten calves, and then fill the barrels with as fine Bens as were ever reddened by October frosts. SUCCESSFUL PLUM GROWING. (By E. L. Mason, Trenton, Mo.) There are so many important points, connected with successful plum growing, that it will be impossible to treat the subject thorough- ly,in a short paper. Besides, plum growing on a large scale, is com- paratively a new industry, in North Missouri, especially in Grundy county. Still more, the great interest taken by Luther Burbank and others in creating new varieties, has made a large list of new plums, of which many are very promising, and when fully tested may prove superior to the leading varieties of the present time. So just what will be planted in plum orchards in the near future is an unsettled question. The experience concerning the hardiness of plums the winter of 98 and ’99 has made us somewhat cautious about what we plant. So in planting a plum orchard for the best results, it seems best not to place too much dependence on kinds that are not entirely hardy. The Japan and Domestic varieties have not shown sufficient hardiness in many cases for severe winters, especially the winter of ’98 and ’99. So it would seem a safer plan to plant a good proportion of the best na- tive varieties along with choice Japan and domestic kinds, and thereby partially insure the orchard against a total failure from severe cold or 316 State Horticultural Socicty. late frosts. Another point to be considered is, that native plums are not subject to rot, while Japan and Domestic plums require more or less attention in this respect. In the vicinity of Grundy county more native and Japan varicties are planted, though Domestic kinds are grown and make a fair yield of perfect fruit. Green Gage, Lombard, Niagara, Ship- per’s Pride and Damsons, have done very well the past two sea- sons. Of this number, the Ni- agara seems to be the most pro- lific.. Abundance, Burbank and Wickson at present make up the Japan list. Burbank is the fa- vorite on account of early and abundant bearing and _ large handsome fruit. The native kinds are largely Wild Goose, and Poole’s Pride, .and” (probably, Poole’s Pride produces as many bushels of plums as all the others combined. Pollination.—Successful plum growing is largely dependent upon the mixing of varieties that will pollinate each other. The subject is of much importance and should receive more attention than space will permit in this paper. I will take the liberty to quote two essen- tial points from Prof. F. A. Waugh’s able work on “Plums, and Plum Culture.” “Plums should always be planted on the assumption that they will require cross polhnation.”’ Again, “If two varieties do not blossom at the same time they can not pollinate one another.” The work con- tains a pollenizing chart, giving names of varieties, the group they be- long to, and the kinds recommended as polier‘zers. Thus giving the planter valuable aid towards arranging the orchard for successful plum bearing. Cultivation.—Prof. Waugh says, “The plum orchard should have the same cultivation as the apple orchard. Horticulturists are thor~ oughly agreed cn this point. They are practically agreed also that this means a general plowing in the spring with a clean surface culture till the middle of July, or the first of August, and a cover crop for fall. Winter Meeting. 317 The spring plowing should be given as scon as the ground can be worked to advantage and though it need not be deep, should be as thorough as the conditions will permit.” Experience with plums dur- ing the past hot dry weather showed very clearly the advantage of cultivation. Cultivated trees made a fair growth and plums were near- ly the usual size of more favorable seasons, while uncultivated ‘trees made very little growth and often the plums were shriveled, and lar:ze- ly worthless. Successful plum growing is largely dependent upon the thoroughness of the orchardist in destroying various insect pests that attack the plums. Spraying and what poultry has done, so far, have secured me a good yield of perfect plums. Perhaps I should add that I have practiced picking up fallen plums before the larva made its escape into the ground and put them in a box where the poultry could destroy the larva. This no doubt checks the work of the curculio consid- erably, but in growing plums on a large scale, jaring the trees, and the curculio catcher will become a necessity. i POOLES PRIDE. Japan and Domestic varieties that I am growing have not yet been attacked to any great extent with plum rot. I am inclined to be- lieve that much can be done towards holding the disease in check by removing all diseased plums soon as discovered and burning them; but a more certain remedy would be to spray thoroughly before the buds start in the spring with a strong Bordeaux mixture, or a pure vitrol solution. The distance to plant plum trees is perhaps an unsettled question. Strong spreading kinds seem to require more room than those of a more upright growth. I am planting strong growing native varieties 16x16 feet, and Japan and Domestic kinds 12x16 feet. This will not give any more room than required for spraying and the use of the cur- culio catcher. Thinning fruit of varieties inclined to overbear certain- ly comes under the head of successful plum growing and is the part that is much neglected. I quote again from Prof. Waugh’s able work, Plums and Plum Culture. “Thinning is important with many kinds 318 : State Horticultural Society. of fruit, but with none more than with plums. Many varieties, par- ticularly of the Japan and American classes, have a great tendency to overbear. They will set twice or ten times as much fruit as they ought to mature, and do it year after year. Burbank, De Soto and Lombard may be mentioned as examples. The overbearing tends to weaken the trees. In fact, hundreds of trees are killed by it. At the same time it makes the current crops small of fruit and less valuable on the market. One bushel of fine large fruit is worth three bushels of sour, undersized plums, and it is much easier for the tree to produce it. Thinning is a well recognized practice among the best growers.” “Plums should be thinned immediately after the June drop.” With proper attention, it is a settled question that plums can be grown in North Missouri, and while native varieties show more hard- iness, with better treatment choice Japan and Domestic varieties can be successfully grown. They will require good soil, good natural drainage, good cultivation, and especially a cover crop of rye or oats to check late growth and for winter protection. There should be thor- oughness in spraying against rot and insect pests. In short, thorough- ness in everything that pertains to plum growing and making it a suc- cess. Trenton, Mo., Dec. 31st, 1901. L. A. Goodman, Kansas City, Mo.: . Dear Sir—After reading a report of the St. Joseph meeting it struck me that I ought to send some photographs of plums to back up statements made in my paper. I can not understand why the Wild Goose should be put to the front when Poole’s Pride or Kroh is far superior both in yield and quality of fruit. The tree is a good grower, bears early and enormously. The fruit is not as large as the Wild Goose but the seed is very small and the fruit has none of the astrin- gency that the Wild Goose has and is excellent for canning. It is all nonsense that we can not grow anything successfully better than Wild Goose or Damson. With the right kind of treatment we can grow any of the Japan or Domestic varieties, at least we are doing so, but of course it would be a total failure if we failed to give proper at- tention to the essential things to be done. Possibly this particular lo- cality is better suited to plum-growing than some other parts of the State, but be it so or not, if we are not too lazy we can grow choice kinds of plums. Yours truly, E. L. MASON. Winter Meeting. 319 Mik "KARNES ON TEE PLUM.” I am going to say something about the varieties of plums that are profitable to grow, and I will say to begin with, that there is only one kind of plum that is safe to plant for money in this western coun- try, and that is the true American plum. Any man that goes to fool- ing with Japanese or European varieties, unless he happens to catch an extraordinary dry season, like this one is, will have his pains for his trouble only, for I don’t think there is any profit in them. Of course, there are some specimens that have grown to be very fine, but they are exceptions however. The most profitable varieties I have ever grown has been the Wild Goose, supposed: to have originated in Tennessee a little over fifty years ago, and like the Ben Davis apple, it has been the standard plum aimost everywhere it has been planted. It commences to ripen from the first of June, and by the first of July you begin to pick Wild Goose, and it lasts for just about one month. It will come as near ripening every plum that sets as any plum in existence. I have known as many as eighteen perfect plums of the Wild Goose variety to ripen upon a single stem. After the Wild Goose, for succession of plums, there are two varieties that with me have been of equal value. One I have condemned until this year. I condemned it on its size and on its quality, but this year the exceptionably dry weather seems to have been the making of it, and that is the Pottawatomie. Previous to that I have always had for my second choice the Wolf Plum, but it has some drawbacks to it. It is better in quality than the Wild Goose, not as heavy a bearer, and the worst fault it has, it won’t stand ship- ping. It will rot over one night. It is subject to the rot any way, but I find the Pottawatomie this year is exceptionally fine. I never saw them so large before, and never saw them of such good quality. They area plum that will stand shipping os far as you want to ship them. I have shipped the Wild Goose and Pottawatomie over three hundred miles, and they arrived in good shape. For succession after the Pottawatomie there are two other varie- ties that are of about equal value for late plums. They are the Minor and the Forest Rose. I think I like the Forest Rose a little better than I do the Minor. Either one of them are excellent fertilizers for the Wild Goose. It must be borne in mind.that the Wild Goose is not a self-fertile plum, but must be planted in connection with some other varieties. The Forest Rose and the Minor are both large and of good 320 State Horticultural Society. quality, good shippers and good sellers. I like the Forest Rose the best. There is one fault with the Minor Plum stock as it sprouts ex- ceedingly bad. About every other year you have got to go through the orchard with an ax or grubbing hoe and do some grubbing on ac- count of its sprouting. Another one that I will mention, that is a great favorite with us, is the Hawkeye. It is good in quality, but I don’t believe it will ever be profitable as a market plum. It is one of the slowest growers of anything I have ever tried. One of the most profitable plums I plant, one of the easiest handled and most in demand of the late plums, is the Blue Damson. I would say plant Blue Damson plums for profit. Sometimes the winter will kill them, but as a rule, they are the most profitable that we can grow. It is good for several reasons. First: You don’t have to pick it the day it ripens. It will stay on the tree for a month and keep after picked almost as long. It is in demand and always brings a good price and one of the best for preserving in the catalogue of plums. A Question: How much do you sell off of the trees? I will answer that question by saying I sold last year off of three trees, I turned over $8.60 worth off of three trees. This year I turned over to the same party between seven and eight dollars worth. I don’t know the exact amount this year. I could bring a number of witnesses to testify as to the profitableness of the Blue Damson plum. They are not present, but live in the vicinity of St. Joseph. I sold them last year at the rate of sixty cents for one of these eight-pound grade baskets. They average about one-sixth of a bushel. That is about $4.80 a bushel. I sold Wild Goose plums this year for two dollars and a half a bushel, which is a pretty good price. A Question: I desire to ask Mr. Karnes what variety of Damsons he raises? There are two kinds of these trees. One is more thorny than the other. The thorny tree always does the best for me. One is a smooth tree and a rather upright grower, and the other is a thorny tree, and runs up as hoot, but not straight like the smooth bark variety, and the thorniest tree produces the best fruit. I would say plant the Shrop- shire Damson. I think it is equally as good as the Blue Damson. A Question: Where is your market for Damson? We ship to Nebraska and Kansas. Mr. Hopkins: For $4.80 a bushel? Mr Karnes Ves, sim Mr. Hopkins: I just asked it because they have been quoted in the St. Louis market as low as a dojJar a bushel. Winter Meeting. - 321 I will say right here that the man that raises plums don’t want to plant too many of them. You can’t handle a large orchard of plums like a large orchard of apples. Mr. Robnett: My trees are so thick I can’t climb up in them. Do you ever prune your Damsons’? Mr. Karnes: No, sir; not much. It does not do well to prune them. I never tried pruning them much. The Wild Goose is a tree that I prune for the first four or five years by cutting it back. Unless you do, your limbs get so long and the foliage so heavy that they will break off, and I practice cutting back, and get better fruit. I practice the same thing on peach trees. A Question: When do you do that? Generally in the spring; February or March or April—any time along there before they bloom. Now the package I market in. The only package that I market in, and the best I have found, is the common berry crate. I can get not quite two crates out of a bushel of plums. They run about fifteen crates to eight bushels. I have raised Japanese plums that 12 is as many as you could get ina box. I have not used anything but twenty-four quart crates, and they carry better and sell better. For the local trade I use nothing but the eight-pound grape baskets. Time is getting short and I am going to pass on and notice a few of the Japanese plums. I have tried Willard, Wickson, Red June, Bur- bank and Abundance. The Willard, Wickson and Red June went dur- ing the winter of 1898, and I never tried to replace them. They were all winter killed. Abundance I have tried for 12 years, and have never succeeded in getting anything like a satisfactory crop until last year. A mild winter and the remarkably dry summer, seemed to be the kind of weather that suits them and they did remarkably well. Many of the perfect specimens were two inches in diameter. Burbank the same way ; but I would not advise anybody to raise Japanese plums, in order to get any money out of them. If you get any specimens they are re- markably fine, and they are pleasing to the eye, but they are not prof- itable to raise in this country. Most of them are early bearers, and they are very tender and they rot very easily. Mr. Augustine: Is that your experience outside of that hard, se- vere winter? Mr Katnes Yes; sir. Mr. Augustine: In the same latitude still further north, where H- 322 State Horticultural Society. I live, we are growing the Red June, Abundance and Burbank with wonderful success. Mr. Karnes: As far as I know in this western country, Friend Augustine, the Japanese plums are not a success, although there are some still planting them. Now, just a short talk on European varieties. They are like the Japanese, too much subject to rot. We have one plum in this coun- try that has given a few crops of remarkably fine plums. They are of good quality and good sellers, and all right in every respect, if you could ripen them, but they rot. If there is any way of spraying them to prevent their rotting, or any way to prevent them rotting, they are all right. I refer to the Lombard plum. There is another thing I can’t see any difference in, in the fruit. It is the Bradshaw and the Lombard, and also one labeled New York State Prune by the nurseries. I can see no difference in them. They may be the same thing. As far as the fruit is concerned, I defy any expert to tell the difference. A Queston: Have you had any experience with the German Prune plum? Mr. Karnes: It is not a success in this country. I have seen some grown, but not very many. This year there are three trees of Green Gage plums in this city, and they had as fine a crop of plums as a man would care to look at. They were large, and the trees were well filled, and of as fine quality as a man could desire, but they are not a success here ordinarily. It was a warm season, and we had dry weather. Californians want dry weather during their fruit ripening season, and if we could have California weather here we could raise California plums. I have tried a number of the European varieties, but none of them have ever succeeded. Now, just a word or two about one or two other things. I have a small plum orchard, a few hundred trees along the side of the chicken range. I never spray plum trees for plum curculio, or for any other purpose. Early in the spring I sow a little millet and a little rye along through the plum trees, and let the chickens do the scratching, and I have never been troubled with plum curculio. Another thing, I think is the best scavenger we have, is the pig during the fruiting season. There are always a few bruised plums, and a few not fit to put in the basket for marketing, and a few pigs that can be turned in and let run for an hour or two will pick up everything in the way of a wasted plum in the orchard. A Question: Do you ever cultivate a Damson plum orchard? Winter Meeting. 323 Mr. Karnes: No; I never cultivate a Damson plum orchard. Feed it as much wood ashes as you can and put it as close to the chicken house as you can. STRAWBERRY PLANTING—RAISING AND HANDLING THE CROP: (By F. H. Speakman, Neosho, Mo.) The subject assigned to me by our secretary seems to cover about the whole ground, and I realize that one to do justice to it, must, if he meets the requirements along the lines of extensive production, be a master of the situation from the selection of the ground and its preparation to the placing of the product in the market. This is a wide range, and I hesitate to undertake so complicated a task and the remarks that will follow, will of necessity have more or less of a local application being based upon my experience at Neosho. In the outset, permit me to say, that of all horticultural work the growing of the strawberry is my favorite. No doubt this par- tiality is due to the degree of perfection attained by this fruit in South- west Missouri, which can truly be said to be the home of the straw- berry, but I would not say the same for the peach. Of all produc- tions of this region, and they are many and varied, none flourish better, if so well, as the strawberry, and none yield a surer return for labor rightly expended. As our natural markets are the cities and towns north and north- west of us, most of them being too far away to reach safely by ex- press, our efforts are directed to the production of sufficient quantities of fruit to make daily car lot shipments, and of this degree of produc- tion my paper will treat. Of soils I prefer good timber upland, which has been cleared and cultivated thoroughly one year. This is in a condition to supply all the needs of the strawberry and contains sufficient humus to work easily and resist drouth well. My next choice is naturally good old land, which has produced a crop or two of stock peas. Neither of these soils will be benefited by the application of any kind of fertilizer, and I now avoid their use in every case. Plow the ground early in the spring as thoroughly and deeply as possible, following in the furrows with the subsoiler that will loosen up the largest amount of clay or whatever happens to be present un- derneath. Do not fear bad results from this treatment. Such will never appear, | assure you, 324 State Horticultural Society. Now, harrow enough to smooth the surface, but leave the ground somewhat loose. About March 2oth it is generally safe to begin setting the plants, and it is important in planting a large acreage that no time be lost. Mark the ground out both ways, the wide way three feet ten inches and the other three to three and one-half feet, according to varieties ‘to be set. : In planting, get, if possible, experienced help, and allow them to use nothing but dibbles for the work. This tool should be about three inches wide and eight inches long, and is the only suitable one for the purpose. Plants, of course, should be the best obtainable, and will be surer to grow and make a stand if they were dug in the winter. Plants taken up after the first sharp freeze, which usually comes in Novem- ber, carefully cleaned of all runners and leaves and closely root- trimmed, then packed in shallow boxes, or kept in cool, moist cel- lars until needed, are much better than those dug as wanted in the spring. The greatest advantage these plants have is that they will keep much later than it is practicable to use the spring dug ones. An- other advantage of winter digging is the having of that much work out of the way before the rush that is sure to come with the spring. The planting operations being well under way the cultivators should be started and kept following closely. If the land is not too stumpy use a good two-horse cultivator that is provided with some kind of a scratcher attachment io level the surface and kill weeds that have been loosened by the narrow, deep running shovels, which should for the most part be used in the cultivation of the strawberry. Keep buds and blossoms picked off and cultivate thoroughly both ways until runners come out freely; then, instead of destroying these runners until July, as recommended by some planters, train them carefully along the rows as they will be needed and cultivate but one way. Hoe when necessary, but do not attempt to do it after every rain. ; Much of the labor expended by the average strawberry raiser in trying to cultivate and hoe his plants as often as it rains is worse than lost. As the season advances and runners come out freely, assist them, if necessary, to fill in the spaces evenly, cultivating a little farther from the center of the row each time, and carefully avoiding the windrowing of the runners along the edges of the rows. By the 1st to the 15th of August the rows, if the weather has been : Winter Meeting. 325 seasonable, and the proper treatment has been given will be 20 to 24 inches in width. Now, instead of putting the rolling coulters on the cultivator and treating your plants as you would an Osage hedge that was getting too high, stop_the cultivator and watch conditions closely. Do not concern yourself about the plants that form in the spaces. There is. something more important for you to do just now. This is the time that the average grower makes a vital mistake. This is the time that the writer in the early days of his strawberry experience care- fully cultivated between the rows and watched for every little weed to appear, but failed to note that his plants were getting thicker and thicker, now two inches, now an inch, now half an inch apart, now two, no three plants in depth all over those rows. They were beautiful to look upon, but, alas, yielded a very large crop of disap- pointment only. I was partly excusable for this mistake as in my search for in- formation on the subject of strawberry growing I think all writings consulted emphasized the importance of watching the weeds to de- stroy them as they appeared. Let me emphasize the necessity of watching the plants that they do not pile up too high during the months of September and October. My plan is to watch the plants closely, and as soon as I find a sufficient number of them firmly rooted, go over the rows with light four or five tined potato diggers, scratching across the rows and tearing out all weak plants that are running in profusion in every direction. It will be necessary to pull many of them off with the hand after draw- ing them out into the spaces. Men, to do this, should have good judgment, and to be valuable, must keep their minds on the work. One thorough treatment may be enough, but if the weather is very wet, two will be needed. This brings us along to, say November Ist. Now get the cul- trvator again and destroy the plants between those rows, cutting them down to the width we left them when cultivation ceased. Fin- ish the treatment of the season by following with hoes carefully, re- moving all mutilated plants and all of those innocent-looking weeds which come up in the fall, grow all winter and blossom and produce seed at the time the strawberry ripens its crop. Their name is legion, and they sometimes do great injury if not removed. Now you can leave the strawberry fields for a few months unless ” you linger to put up the sheds that will be needed in the spring. Mulching for best results should be done in the spring to avoid the strong growth of wheat, cheat, etc., which invariably follows the ap- 326 State Horticultural Society. plications of straw, the only available material for the purpose which we have in any quantity. A very thin covering on the ground around and through the plants is all that will be beneficial, and this is needed simply to keep fruit clean. So much for the raising. Now, the handling will be a compara- tively simple matter. Much thought should be given to the rules govy- erning the picking and other work. Clearly define the duties of the record keepers, field bosses and pickers. Give a premium for satis- factory season work. This will do wonders to hold pickers in line when most needed. The addition of the premium to make the amount . per box which you intend to pay. Pay pickers only at the end of the season. I never did, and have no intention of ever using tickets with which to pay pickers. The record system is far better. Provide a cheap but commodious shed (that can be moved with- out injury when needed in another place) for every ten or fifteen acres. The best record keepers will be found to be those persons who are the greatest success in the school room. Give each one the direc- tion of the work in the shed. A field or row boss should not be given over fifty pickers and should be instructed to work in close harmony with the record keeper in seeing that every picker does his work properly. It is possible for the extensive planter to pick, pack and place in cars for shipment 1,000, 2,000, or even many more crates per day of strawberries that have been more carefully handled than the average grower handles the product of his one, two or five-acre patch. It is a business, however, and one to succeed in it must begin ina small way. The idea that strawberries cannot be grown on a large scale is an unbusinesslike and foolish one. Fifty acres can be grown and cultivated and the product marketed at a much less ex- pense per acre than the patch of two acres. The proper system will do it. No one without a strong love for the work should attempt ex- tensive production, however, as he will surely fail in many of the almost numberless little details which all come in for a share of atten- tion. The following were appointed delegates to various State Horti- cultural meetings: Arkansas—G. A. Atwood. Iowa—W. H. Maxwell. Tlinois—M. Butterfield. Kansas—W. G. Gano. Nebraska—L. A. Goodman. Winter Meeting. 327 THURSDAY—December 5, 8 p. m. The programme of the evening was varied by songs and recita- tions, and a very pretty flag drill executed by twelve young ladies of the Todd school. VARIETIES OF PEARS AND PLUMS. (By W. L. Howard, Assistant Horticulturist, Columbia, Mo.} VARIETIES OF ' PEARS. In selecting varieties of pears for planting, some important points must be kept in view. One must consider the relative time of ripen- ing of the fruit in order that it may be marketed with reasonable con- venience with the facilities at hand, and also questions of pollination, so as to have mutually fertile varieties which bloom at the same time, planted close together. It is impossible to name any certain number cf varieties which will succeed in this State, because, apparently, their success or failure is purely a matter of local conditions. The pear growing industry for the United States has been developed fully, only in the Eastern and New England States. There the list of suc- cessful varieties is not long, as compared with some of the other fruits like Apples and Plums. All told, but 28 varieties have proved to be reliable, as reported by practical growers, and there are instances where some of this number did not do well in some sections. For Missouri conditions, the following 13 varieties are recommended by growers as being the most reliable for the State at large, although some failures may be expected in some localities from causes not yet understood. Anjou, (called also, Buerre de Anjou) ; rather large, fine grained, excellent flavor; ripens in late fall, but keeps till far in the winter. Angouleme, (known also as Duchess de Angouleme) ; very large, buttery, juicy and very good when well grown, but poor and worthless when small; ripens in midautumn. Bartlett; large, flesh nearly white, tender and buttery, and with a moderately rich flavor; the best summer variety. Buffum; size medium, skin yellow, with a broad, reddish-brown cheek, somewhat russeted ; flesh sweet, very good but slightly variable; is a good producer; ripens in fall. Clairgeau, (also known as Buerre Clairgeau) ; large, often with a crimson shade 328 State Horticultural Society. . toward the sun, and numerous brown dots; flesh buttery. and melting and with a rich flavor, but frequently poor; ripens in winter. Howell; rather large, light yellow, frequently with a handsome cheek; moder- ately rich flavor and somewhat variable in quality; ripens in early fall. Kieffer; everybody knows the Kieffer and all have condemned it at one time or another, but, like the old Ben Davis Apple, it con- tinues to turn up in the markets to a larger extent than any other sort. Lawrence; size medium, lemon-yellow, with numerous small dots; very good flavor; ripens in early winter. Louise Bonne, (also called Louise Bonne de Jersey); large, flesh yellowish-white, juicy and fine; hardly of the best quality, but very productive; a fall variety. Mt. Vernon; medium, dull brownish russet, with a red cheek; rich flavor; ripens in fall and keeps well. Seckel; small skin brownish- green, becoming rich yellowish-brown, with red cheek; the richest and highest flavored pear known; a summer and fall variety. Seldon; medium, or large, flesh coarse, but juicy and brisk flavored; ripens in fall. Winter Nelis; size small or medium, sweetly aromatic, with ex- cellent flavor; a winter variety. New varieties not generally tested are, Krull, Koonce, Lincoln and Sudduth. Kieffer and Bartlett are usually classed as self-sterile, but the de- gree of sterility varies in different places and under different condi- tions. Probably any variety will fertilize any other variety in case the two bloom at the same time. The safest plan in setting a pear orchard is to plant not more than two rows of one variety together, and to alternate with one or two rows of another variety. The most popular variety in the eastern Pear district is the Bartlett, with the Kieffer holding second place. With these growers the Seckel is a prominent variety, and is the standard of quality. The Duchess is the best dwarf. It sells on account of its size, for it is of indifferent quality. Other popular dwarfs are, Louise Bonne, Anjou, Clairgeau, Manning Elizabeth, and, to a less extent, Bartlett and Seckel. VARIETIES OF PLUMS. At the Station we have 15 varieties of plums that are fruiting. The most of this number are European sorts, but there are a goodly number of American varieties and some of the leading varieties of Japan. This is only a rough way of classifying Plums. The botani- cal arrangement as adopted by the American Pomological Society is to divide the principal members of the Plum family into five sections as follows :—Prunus Americana,—or those derived from our common wild Plum; Prunus angustifolia,—of American origin, but including Winter Meeting. o20 only those of the Chicasaw type; Prunus cerasifera, sometimes classed as European, but rightly contains only those like Marianna and De Caradeuc; Prunus domestica, which includes all of those known as Europeans; Prunus hortulana, commonly known as American of the wild Goose type, but also embraces the Miner and Wayland groups; and, Prunus triflora, the Japanese sorts. Taking them alphabetically, some of the varieties will be dis- cussed. The American Golden and the Golden Beauty are very much alike, flower and fruiting on about the same dates; both are small, round, yellow and hard, ripen late, and too well known to need further mention. Abundance and Botan—names used synonymously, repre- sent the Japanese type at its best. Burbank, Wickson, Yellow Japan and others of this type have their respective merits, but none of them are of finer quality, and certainly none are so sure to set a crop of fruit aud ripen it as the Abundance; they are usually large, fine-textured, juicy and of delicious flavor. Chas. Downing makes a fine tree, usu- ally produces a medium crop of average sized fruit which somewhat resembles the Miner in appearance, but is not of so good a quality, and, as these two ripen at about the same time, it would be un- wise to use it instead of the Miner. Coe’s Golden Drop; this is men- tioned because in the East it is reported to be a desirable variety, but I have not seen it amount to anything; a rampant grower, blooms abundantly every season, sets a big crop of fruit, but never holds it; a fine, late, exceedingly large Plum when it ripens—which is so sel- dom that we have it only in the form of a beautiful memory. Cum- munia, is a dark colored Plum, which rots pretty badly, but the tree sets such an enormous crop of fruit that there is a respectable. yield left after half have rotted; a desirable European sort. De Caradeuc often has a big crop of very pretty fruit, but is chiefly valuable on ac- count of its earliness, ripening as it does about the 20th of July. De Soto is one of the old standard varieties, yellow in color, prolific bearer and a sure fruiter, but shorter lived than many of the others. Forest Garden can always be relied on to have a crop that will make the housewife smile; size above medium, yellowish, and free from rot. Forest Rose is good for home use, but is too tender to ship well; a de- sirable American variety. Garfield; along with this might also be classed Moreman, World Beater, Wayland and Missouri Apricot—all of which would make good buck shot, they are so small and hard; however, these have their uses; they are especially desirable for shipping long distances, preserving and spicing. Gold has not done much with us yet, being too young, but is said to be promising. Gol- den Mammoth has not fruited with us yet, but is given a good ‘ 330 State Horticultural Society. reputation by those who have seen it. Goliath; this is rather a weak grower and does not fruit every season, but when it does “hit,” it will make you glad; very large, firm of flesh, and does not rot badly. Grand Duke; here is one that has special uses and should have a bril- liant future before it; tree vigorous and healthy, of European type; fruit fine large, dark in color, pear-shaped and covered with a heavy grayish bloom and seldom or never rots; it has firm flesh and would make a good shipper. The special use to which Grand Duke could be applied is to place it on the market as a substitute for the expensive California sorts. This is not theory, for we have sold this Plum to retail dealers at fancy prices and I know for a certainty that fastidious customers took them and were well pleased. The fruit is at its best about the second or third week in September. If picked and care- fully placed in shallow boxes, about a dozen in each, there is no reason why a few trees of this variety should not yield as good an income as a whole orchard of the kinds that have to be sold for ten cents per gallon. Jefferson, is rather a weak grower, but has fine large fruit; it is somewhat subject to rots, but is promising. Lafayette, is an- other European, somewhat like Communia, in that it produces very large crops and about half of the fruit rots, but leaving enough for a good harvest. Magnum Bonum; here is a variety that is among the largest of Plums and in some localities appears to do well, but with us it has fruited but scantily; it was a favorite with the late Judge Miller. McLaughlin is fine, delicate and large, but from some cause does not set but a few fruits to the tree. Merunka; this an European variety, which, in its manner of growth and productiveness, resem- bles the Damsons, but it is not so purplish in color and rather smal- ler in size; it is valuable for cooking purposes and is liked by some for eating from the tree, when well ripe; the seed is free. This var- iety is well worth cultivating. Middleburg is an American sort that produces well some seasons, but has too many off years. Milton ripens about the first week in July, and is a desirable sort on that ac- count only, as its quality is not of the best. Miner is too well known to require any description; Moore Arctic is a European sort, probably . originated in this country, that is worthy of a place in the orchard: it is very dark in color (almost blue), covered with a heavy grayish bloom, is a little above medium size, and sets a heavy crop almost every year; its principal drawback is its tendency to rot. Newman; probably worth more as a pollinator for the Wild Goose than for any- thing else. Prince Englebert; one of the largest Plums but does not bear enough. Quaker; here is a native Plum of good size tha: for delicious eating is hard to beat; valuable for culinary purposes, too. *@ Tide iat - “hel F ~~ i, " 4 ? 7 i: : ‘ » 7s v h,’ : ™. 7 a as : 4 . Sse Bonita Neasip ite are Meet © ee = oe dats hae os t coed soi ale) sank te A SPECIMEN WHITE SPRUCE. Winter Meeting. 331 Reine Claude de Bavay; this one should be included in planting, al- though it does not fruit heavily every year; ripens mfddle of Septem- ber when others are scarce; gets sugary and delicious; it is a white or greenish, European. Robinson; an American and a sure fruiter being loaded down annually; fruit not first class in quality, but fair. Rollingstone, Wyant and Wolf each have their merits. Stanton is an excellent late European variety. Union Purple is fine and large, but nearly always rots. Victoria is a beautiful thing when it chances to ripen, but it is a shining mark for rot. Wald Goose is a leading commercial variety, but needs a pollinator; Newman answers the purpose. Yellow Gage is susceptible to rot, but when it escapes 1s Tae. Many varieties possessing some merits have been omitted for fear of making this report too long. Ina test this season to determine what varieties were able to fertilize themselves, it was found that one- third of the total number were more or less self-sterile. This was de- termined by placing paper bags over several of the twigs on each tree before the flowers open and afterwards noting how many set fruit in the sacks. It has not yet been satisfactorily worked out just what varieties are incapable of fertilizing themselves nor the best trees to plant for pollinators, but it is conceded by all who have investigated the subject, that there should be a mixture of varieties in the plum orchard. ORNAMENTATION OF HOME GROUNDS. (By Ruth Jackson, Columbia, Mo.) There are two destinct types of landscape gardening—the geome- trical and the naturalistic. To these Edward Andre adds still another, the composite style, which is a blending of the other two. According to the geometrical style of landscape gardening, the grounds are laid out in squares, circles or other geometrical designs: the trees are planted in straight rows, the shrubs trained to regular patterns, the walks and drives from definite, and sharp angles. On the other hand the naturalistic style attemps to follow the plans sug- gested by nature. It cannot be wholly natural, for there must be walks, drives, fences and buildings, but these may be so arranged as to harmonize with the natural features about them. As to the relative value of these two styles of landscape art, we may say they are of equal merit under certain conditions. The geome- 332 State Horticultural Society. trical style may be followed with pleasing effect along public boute- vards, around large buildings with steeples and spires and particular- ily a large building on a small area. It heightens the outline of the building and emphasizes its importance. Many other places might be mentioned where the formal style of gardening would be effective and desirable. But over large estates in rural places and suburban homes where the character of the surrounding landscape retains much of its natural beauty. A formal system would be entirely out of place. The fault, therefore, in much of our home gardening lies not in the system, but in the wrong use of that system. It is true that there are many pretences toward either a formal or informal system, which are complete failures. But again it is not the fault of the system, but the inability of the gardener himself, who is merely a grower of plants and who has not the keen perception of a natural artist. If we would succeed then in landscape art, we must, first of all, have a special love for the beautiful in nature. We should be famil- lar with our nature trees, flowers and shrubs and varying effects of form, size and color. We should then begin, first with a careful study of the natural resources of any given place from a landscape point of view. There is no spot either among mountains at the seashore or on the rolling prairies which does not have its own original beauty. There may be massive trees that are impressive from their size and age, which man, by one foolish act, could destroy—thus undoing what it has taken nature years to develop. There will always be some- thing in the contour of the land, in the plant growth or the general outlook of the grounds that will be worthy of our serious considera- tion. To make or to mar this lies in the province of man. He who succeeds in preserving the natural charms of a place, its spirit, and sentiment, though he does not attain the highest perfection, is far in advance of the one whose first attempt is to obliterate every thing natural in order that he may substitute some stilted and artifi- cial plan. Tho the landscape artist has given due respect and reverence to nature, that is not all that remains for him to do. It is only a right beginning. He has not the artificial features—walks, drives, fences, etc., to blend and harmonize in his landscape. The walks and drives should be as few as convenience will permit; “they should neither be so straight as to lack beauty, nor so meandering as to lack good sense.” There should be a legitimate reason for a curve in a drive. Some- times there will exist naturally a small hill, a clump of brushes, or a tree that will offer sufficient reason for turning aside. Otherwise Winter Meeting. 333 one can make the curve seem natural by planting shrubs or a tree in those places. Whatever may be his device, it should be something that is permanent and real. Something that could not be destroyed or easily removed. For instance, a flower bed would not be a perma- nent obstruction. It would offer no resistance to passing wheels. Not only would it be unsuitable on account of its trivial transitory nature, but on grounds which are large enough to require a road, a flower bed would be entirely out of place. The same principal holds true in the construction of paths as in the construction of drives. Paths and drives are for utility and not for beauty. Then with that aim—and only that in view, should they be built. We have still a more difficult problem to meet than that of walks and drives, and that is what to plant and how to plant it. These are questions that ought to be raised by nearly every one, for there are few places but what could be improved by a judicious planting of or- namental plants. In the words of Mrs. Rensselaer, “two trees and six shrubs, a scrap of lawn and a dozen plants may form either a beau- tiful little picture or a huddled disarray of forms and colors.” Too often instead of a beautiful picture we have a “huddled disarray.” But even that is better than no attempt at all. It shows a slight ap- preciation of the beauiful. But to return to our ideal garden. In this we would have shade trees, shrubs, hardy climber, annuals, perenials and a well-kept lawn. There must be harmony throughout not only with the individual de- tails, but with the landscape beyond. There must be harmony of color, form and structure. How to obtain these is the work of the artist. The most valuable plantings from a standpoint of beauty and utility, are the shade trees. Their artistic value is embodied in the three qualities, form, texture, and color. The form of a tree is deter- mined by its outline as described against the sky or other trees. In this it may be eliptical, oval, pearshape or of various other outlines. Structure is another important factor in determining the form of a tree. This includes the manner of branching, which may vary all the way from the drooping habit of the willow to the aspiring branches of the poplar. We can, thus, readily see the inharmonious effect in miassing trees of these two extremes as the willow and the poplar. The texture of a tree is determined largely by the form and density of its foliage. Let us compare, if you please, the leaves of the arbor vitae and those of the pine, the great trembling leaves of the cottonwood with those of the weeping willow, the catalpa and cedar—the extreme difference is apparent. dd4 State Horticultural Society. Again the color of the bark and foliage is quite as important an element from an artistic point of view as form and texture. All shades of green, blue, white, red and orange are represented. In this we have equally as great a variation as in form and texture. Then what is the gardener to do with such diversities of color, texture and form. He must know his trees. He must know them as they change with the seasons and with the years. If he is not able nor willing to do this he ‘must take the results of chance. As time is limited let us pass on to other features of landscape art that deserve our attention. There are multitudes of hardy climbers and annuals that may be employed over porches, trellises, arbors and against the bare masonry of buildings. Climbing roses and honeysuckles, for example, wis- teria, Virginia creeper, clematis, trumpet vine, cypress, maderia, the wild grape and the hop vine must not be forgotten. Not all will look well together nor be suited for all places. Each has a special charm and beauty of its own determined by its habits of growth and the character of its flowers and foliage. Hardy climbers are more effec- tive in uniting the lawn and walls of the house than annuals, which are present for a season and then gone, leaving not only the junction of the soil and walls bare, but the work to be done over again the next year. Flowering shrubs is another necessary element in the ornamenta- tion of home grounds. Like the climbers there name is legion. We have all gradations, from the little deutzia on the one hand with its low. spreading top to the upright honeysuckle, barberry and flower- ing crab. It is in this profusion of species the danger lies in select- ing the proper forms for the proper places. Here again the gardener should know his plants. He should know those that first put forth their leaves in spring, the time of blooming, the character of the flowers and fruit. In general mass those shrubs with the darker restful colors in the back ground, and those of lighter shades in the foreground. Select those forms that blossom successively, for it is in this con- stant change we have one of the principal charms of the garden. If we attempt the naturalistic style of gardening, let it appear natural. Don’t destroy the lawn and the whole effects by dotting here and there pattern beds with bright and variegated foliage that stare at us the summer long like a painted sign. Pattern beds are not the only monstrosities that appear on our lawns. Equally as bad are the camp kettles, vases, fountains, paint buckets and even sewer tiles are seen promiscously scattered about on Winter Meeting. | 335 the lawn. What could be more unnatural and out of place? Schil- ler tells us that, “If the art of gardening is at last to turn back from her extravagance and rest with her other sisters, it is, above every- thing, necessary to have clearly before us what we require. It is cer- tainly tasteless and inconsistent to desire to incompass the world with a garden wall, but very practicable and reasonable to make a garden into a characteristic whole to the eye, heart, and understanding alike.” PEACHES IN’ NORTH. MISSOURI. (By A. W. Bloomfield, St. Joseph, Mo.) The origin of the peach is hidden together with the prehistoric life cf the Aryan tribes of Central Asia. The primeval home of these early tribes was on or near the 4oth degree of north latitude. In fact the Turko-Siberian city of Bokara, for which a well known variety of peaches has been named, is located exactly on the parallel mentioned above. This 4oth parallel north separates our neighboring states of Kansas and Nebraska and running thence east bisects Andrew county this State and the other counties in the second tier from the north line. I have shown that North Missouri is in latitude with the native home of the peach. Next let us see if other physical environments are similar. The altitude of Central Asia in general is high and the surface is drained by several large rivers running in all directions. The soil must be somewhat sandy and the air dry, as the country is dotted with arid deserts. The altitude of North Missouri ranges from 1,000 to 1,200 feet and the nearness to the more arid regions between us and the Rocky Moun- tains insures us the proper aridity of atmosphere. Our upland soil formerly covered with timber, is much of it of loess formation and contains sufficient sand to make it well adapted to the growth of the peach eae My effort to prove North Missouri an ideal peach district would be futile, unless substantiated by facts gathered from recent crop re- sults. In the last ten years eight full crops of peaches have been raised in Northwest Missouri. Can any other section of our State make a better showing? This year the writer sold the crop from one acre, consisting of Elberta, Champion, Crawford, and Summer Snow peaches, for $352. Twelve years ago Mr. Hopkins of Springfield in a paper read before this Society at Lebanon, said: “I cannot advise our friends in the 336 State Horticultural Society. morthern part of this State to set peaches extensively for commercial purposes. They will not pay.’ Does eight full crops in ten years of any fruit pay? It surely does. Especially of peaches. Was not Mr. Hopkins surely wrong in his conclusions ? With thé proper kind of soil in which the peach does best, the right altitude, and a latitude similar to its indiginous home, we can, we do and we will grow big peaches, not only for home consumption but for commercial purposes also. All the common commercial varieties fruit well here. The Elberta, Champion and Crosby, leading as favorite varieties. Our loess soil does not require cultivation throughout the entire life of the peach tree. I cultivate until the fifth year when I sow to red clover—mowing off the first crop and allowing the second to fall to the ground to reseed and make a winter cover. The only en- emies the peach has in North Missouri are an occasional borer and the leaf-curl, neither of which does serious damage. All hail to the luscious peach. If the apple is the “king of fruits,” then has Pomona surely crowned the peach as the “queen of fruits.” It vies with the strawberry in delicacy and flavor and defies the art of man to counterfeit it in color. A PLEA FOR A MORE NATURAL COURSE, OF INSERUCHON IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS: (By John R. Kirk, State Normal, Kirksville, Mo.) The typical school falls short of its possibilities hecause it ignores the nature of the children and bends their energies to the acquirement of conventionalities. It represses the natural impulses of childhood in- stead of directing and utilizing them. It inhibits habits of action and tends to destroy the power of initiative instead of developing that power. It withdraws the child’s consciousness from visible and tangible things among which he lives and must live. It fills him with facts remote from his unavoidable sphere of action. It receives children who are fond ot serving others, full of willing energy and, by both nature and habit, industrious. It sends them back with distorted ideals and a distaste for doing the world’s work. Let us survey our field of action and get our bearings: Reformers too often magnify their isolated specialties and fail to see things in their relations. We need practical science in elementary schools. This can not come without the contemporaneous organization of several related subjects. Winter Meeting. 337 We live in a world which can be known in one way only. That way is through the senses; but the typical school ignores sense training. It sometimes does worst by inflicting irreparable damage to the senses of its victims. School education should start right and keep right. The school- master fails because he does not recognize the foundation on which ed- ucation is based. We hear him harping on the “fundamentals.” He believes the three “r’s” to be the “fundamentals.” The truth is that these supposed fundamentals are mere coiwventionalities. They are necessary but they are not fundamental. They are both conventional and changeable. Back of them the truly fundamental, the absolutely preliminary, is the consciousness of visible and tangible realities brought into the soul through the senses. No poet or scientist ever made great contributions to human progress who had not large opportunities to build up the truly fundamental conceptions in consciousness through the use of the senses. Dr. Karl Lange says: The knowledge which a well trained child of six has acquired surpasses in value the acquisitions of any student during his university period.” Dr. Krohn cites other author- ities to the effect that the acquisitions of the first six years surpass in value all later acquirements including those of the university period. The typical school ignores the motor activities and treats the child as a bundle of receptive faculties. It crams him with verbal expressions for things; but the child wants to know things at first hand and how io do things. In doing he learns and thus increases his power. This 1s nature’s way. How long do the children retain the systematic and cyclopedic knowledge which we gorge them with? You know how long. They retain it until the annual examinations are over. Then they unload it from their memory as fast as they can and get back into their own precious ways of living among their interests and among what they can assimilate. The natural child lives in a world of sense and of imagery. All his myth. making is related to the product of his sensations and built upon them. Dr. Halleck, speaking of how Shakespeare’s senses were trained, says: “In his sensory experience is to be found the foundation of all those imperishable structures given to humanity by his heaven-climbing genius.” Dr. Halleck further says: “On account of his father’s pecu- niary difficulties, Shakespeare probably left school shortly after passing his fourteenth birthday. This was extremely fortunate. Had he not left school at that age we might today be without the greatest dramas of all time.’ In Williams’ “Homes and Haunts of Shakespeare” we find: “His mind became a vast reservoir of facts and fancies, but the H—22 338 State Horticultural Society. facts were not acquired nor were the fancies stimulated within the dingy walls of King Edward’s Grammar School. The Stratford meadows, gay and bright with flowers from early springtime till late autumn; the Wier Brake, where the earliest primroses come and ‘where the nightingales sing the night long ;’ the noble forest or Arden which stretched away through Northwestern Warwickshire, with its hunting scenes and woodland idyls ; the Whitsuntide celebrations, the May-pole dances, the sheep shearing festivals, and the mystery plays; and on the banks of the Avon, less than a dozen miles away, the noble castles of Warwick and Kenilworth, these are some of the places where Shakespeare acquired his education.” I cite another illustration: In 1867 the talented Dean Farrar began a crusade in England for Elementary Science. He says: “I was of course howled at as a hopeless Philistine by all who were stereotyped in the old classical system.’ He gives some letters from Charles Darwin, one of them written March 5th, 1867, wherein Darwin says: “I admire your candor. Had I been a great classical scholar I could not have. judged fairly on the subject. I am one of the root and branch men. I would have classics to be learnt by those who have sufficient zeal and the high taste requisite for their appreciation.” Then Darwin further says: “I was at school at Shrewsbury under a great scholar, Dr. Butler. I learnt absolutely nothing except by amus- ing myself by reading and experimenting in chemistry. Dr. Butler found this out and publicly sneered at me before the whole school for such gross waste of time.” Dean Farrar says, “This letter of Darwin is some- thing of historical interest in the annals of English education.” He also says: ‘‘Now there is no large school in England that does not offer its pupils some practical and experimental knowledge in science.” Bungling mediaevalism in many city schools makes school unat- tractive, drives children prematurely into the street and shop, then by the clumsy patchwork of night schools seeks to reclaim the children froin the condition of “arrested development” into which it has driven them. Conservatism, now as always, cries “Let good enough alone. Don’t dis- turb us with new ways. Don’t force us to open the old channels in our brains. Let us run in the old grooves and avoid friction.” This is the voice of conservatism which is ever camping on the abandoned trail. No enlightened, progressive man is worried about the over-crowded curriculum. The curriculum is crowded only where plodding medioc- rity and sleeping inertia refuse to discriminate, select and utilize such material as is adapted to the children who are furnished them for ex- ploitation. Where the scientific spirit and the laboratory method per- meate the school work there we find the best work mi literature, grammat and arithmetic, and in all that is good in the old timne curriculum. Then, Winter Meeting. 309 by the use of elementary science and the opening of the avenues to the souls of the children the real fundamentals are used as a basis for the conventional and favorable results are obtained. I can cite schools ex- emplifying the new education whose second grade children do as difficult work in arithmetic as the fifth grade children do under the old regime ; where the children are not hurt by such work and do no home studying ; where the sixth grade children do as difficult work in literature as we find high school students doing under the old regime. The new educa- tion reserves in large part the enormous energy hitherto consumed in conducting examinations and grading papers and it devotes this energy to preparation for the labor of real teaching. I think the battle for science in elementary schools, i. e., for organized Nature Study, is almost won. There will doubtless be mismanagement. Foolish people will make a sorry mess of Nature Study. Ignorant people will butcher it. People unused to the Biological and Agricultural laboratories had better let Nature Study alone. Greek is in good repute because reckless novices seldom get at it. Nature Study may need to be protected from its friends but it will not die with them. Dr. Woodward of Washington University says: “Well equipped laboratories and well planned courses of laboratory work in physics for secondary schools are scarcely twenty years old, but they form a most striking feature in secondary school work at the present time. Still more recent than either chemical or physical laboratories are laboratories for the study of botany and zoology in secondary schools.’ He says, “It was felt that many boys have such a dislike for grammars and dic- tionaries involving great memory work and such a strong taste for physical activity which calls into play both mental and physical functions that they prefer to be called stupid, dull and ignorant rather than endure the restraints and ennui of the ordinary school.’ Hence Manual Train- ing came for the relief of the boys. He further says: “It was feared that such mean and vulgar matters as carpentry, forging, metal fitting, etc., would lower the pupils’ tastes and make them sordid. Parents gave utterance to a suspicion that Manual Training would lead a boy to seek associates among carpenters and blacksmiths. These fears, suspicions and predictions provoke a smile today, for every teacher of experience knows that the fears were groundles and the predictions false. Nowhere does one find young men of higher character, of nobler aims, of more refined tastes than he finds among those who have taken a thorough course of Manual Training as part of their educational work.’ Speak- ing further Dr. Woodward says, “Domestic Science as well as Manual Training has secured permanent footing in grammar grades. No longer will any city school system be considered complete which does not fur- 340 State [Horticultural Society. nish to its boys elementary tool work during the seventh and eighth years of their school life and to every girl of the same grade either the same as the boys get or the elements of needle work, plain sewing and tidy house- keeping.” He further says: “It is scarcely sixty years since Froebe! organized his little children’s garden, yet the kindergarten is now well established in every progressive community. The watchwords of the kindergarten, unity, continuity, self-activity, freedom, characterize the new education from first to last. They really cover all that has been done in Nature Study, Sloyd, Manual Training and in the laboratory methods of higher education.” The late lamented Dr. Hinsdale of the Michigan University said a short time before his death, “Nature lessons and literature are pre- sented to the child while his faculties of observation and imagination are quick and active and his curiosity is alert. Lessons of a more abstract character as grammar and theoretical arithmetic are held in reserve until his powers of reflection are more fully developed, i. e., te the seventh and eighth grades.” The studious and scholarly Dr. John Dewey of the Chicago Univer- sity, speaking of these subjects, says, “We learn from books only as they are related to experience; but the ordinary school has been so set apart, so isolated from the ordinary conditions and motives of life that the place where the children are sent for discipline is the one place in the world where it is most difficult to get experience, the mother of al! discipline worth the name. The occupations supply the child with a gen- uine motive. They give him experience at first hand. They bring him into contact with realities. Plato speaks of the slave as one who in his actions does not express his own ideas but those of some other man. The introduction of active occupations, of Nature Study, of Elementary Science, of Art, of History, the relegation of the merely formal to a sec- ondary position, the introduction of more active experimentation and seif- directing factors, all these are not mere accidents. They are necessities of the larger social organization. The child comes to the traditional school with a healthy body and a more or less unwilling mind. He does not bring both his body and his mind with him. He has to leave his mind behind because there is no way to use it in the school. If he had a purely abstract mind he could bring it to school with him; but his is a concrete mind, interested in concrete things and unless these things get over into school life he can not keep his mind with him.” My friends, these witnesses can not be ignored. These are men who are living for the highest purposes. They are living where the din of combat is most intense. They are practical men. They are scholarly ‘Winter Meeting. 341 men. They are not speaking to hear themselves. They are great leaders. We should ponder long and well the things they say. The voices of these men summon us from our lethargy. They point us in the direction of the new sociological organization. They point us to the electric car, the arc light, manufactured ice, filtered water, vaccin~ ation, insecticides, disinfectants, pure food—to all the products of receni scientific advancement. Is it not, therefore, evident that the school-mas- ter should open wide his eyes and seek so to organize education as to contribute to the comprehension and mastery of these forces? Rational school education is inseparably inter-woven with these agencies of our industrial and social life. It is a product of them. It reacts upon them. It stimulates their increase, improvement and use. But mark you, this rational new education means not less of the beautiful old classical culture and art, not less of mathematics, not less of serviceable knowledge of any kind; but it does mean a clearer, quicker comprehension of all knowledge by starting with the building upon an‘ living in what is really fundamental, i. e., the world of sense around us. Our vast industrial system calls constantly for young men who cai use the mechanical forces furnished the world by science. The old fel- lows will not do. They can not learn. Their time of plasticity is past. Our boys! They are the ones with capabilities. They are the ones in the critical stage of susceptibility. We must give them the instruments of science that they may learn to handle such instruments while they are boys. A little later their curiosity flags and their constructive and crea- tive imagination has gone from them forever. One enormous obstacle nearly everywhere retards progress. It is the examination machine. One year ago at an Association in this city it was announced with exultation by a devotee of the mechanical scheme of education that children coming to his school from schools using or attempting to follow the new education failed in the examinations. To this I add: Such is always the case. My friends, remember this: Children crammed with verbal lore and trained to reproduce it in specific form can so reproduce it. Others can not; but the reproduction of such verbiage is not evidence of thinking power. Success in passing such examinations is not a part of the child’s self-expression. Such tests make of the children mere sounding boards to reflect the things hurled at them by mechanical teachers. The children taught in the spirit of the laboratory and the shop think in visual images or other forms of their own. They speak from pictures in their minds. Where the examination machine predominates, the image in the child’s mind is the image of words and of the paragraphs of pages. 342 State Horticultural Society. In conclusion, I may ask, how far are we? Really we have ad- vanced but a little way. It is only ten years since the first actual labora- tory for natural science in a high school was equipped in Missouri. I mean a laboratory conforming to existing ideals of science teaching. It is but nine years since your present speaker, directed and supported by the Secretary of this Association, fitted up in a simple way the second one of such laboratories for a high school in the State of Missouri. The three great cities wield a powerful influence. Two of them are probably friendly to organized science in elementary schools. One of them has made some advancement in the direction of such science. It has aban- doned part of the cyclopedic geographies ; it takes the children to the hill- sides and fields; it opens their eyes to the things that are to be seen and heard and understood; it takes classes into the blacksmith shop and into the big factories where children record their observations and for weeks thereafter work into organized form their observations and the inform- ation which they get from books. Unfortunately, as I see it, one of our large cities is rather lethargic though friendly to real science and one of them is not merely lethargic but actually unfriendly to every movement which goes outside the traditional, mechanical and conventional text- book regime. At least four State institutions are unequivocally and heartily work- ing for this wholesome movement which is to open the avenues to the consciousness of our sons and daughters. The State University and the State Normal schools are doing what they can in behalt of this great movement. Many scholarly and courageous men and women of our State who see the right are struggling to do the right. Mediaevalism, conservatism and the examination machine, inch by inch, are yielding. In the State Normal school at Kirksville there is an Agricultural laboratory for nine months of observation, experimentation and general- ization by students. The course is elective. The department is crowded to its full capacity. Men and women from eighteen to forty years of age take this course of instruction that they may go out into the schools of Missouri and give it again to Missouri children. I am pleased to re- port that the demand for such teachers is greater than we can supply. But you ask: What can the elementary schools do with science by lab- oratory methods? Last year the seventh and eighth grade children of our Training School were given in our Agricultural laboratory nearly the same course as the grown up men and women. They performed nearly the same experiments as were given the men and women. We obtained from them nearly as good generalizations as from the full grown students. Moreover, the children were delighted with the experiments and with the work. Winter Meeting. 343 4 Really our greatest drawback is the lack of teachers who have learned science in the laboratory, the only place where it can be learned so as to be thereafter serviceable. Unscholarly and unscientific novices can not do the needed work. We want teachers who have not only science but scholarly attainments in language, literature, history and art, indeed in all things. And above all we want teachers who will teach the children rather than the text-books, who think more about the children than about the mechanical curriculum, who realize that the school is for the children and not the children for the school. LAESMESSOuURT-AUDUBON: SOCLIE EY: A SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF BIRDS. (By O. Widmann, Old Orchard, Mo.) After twenty-two states of the Union had established their Audubon Societies during the last five years, a few St. Louis men came together in June of the present year to organize such a society for our State. On November 18 the first annual meeting was held at St. Louis, in which it was stated by the Secretary, Mr. A. Reese, that forty-five members, ten life members and two patrons, Miss Julietta A. Owen of St. Joseph and Mrs. Wm. S. Haven of St. Louis, had been enrolled. This is a fair- ly good start, but considering the importance of the scope for our State, we must have ten times that number to do some good. What is the aim of the society and how can it be attained? The aim is the protection of birds from unnecessary slaughter by hunters and shootists, many of whom think birds are created for them to give them the pleasure of killing. It is unfortunate enough that at this epoch of so-called advanced civilization there are still so many who find pleasure in taking life. The advocates of the hunt say that it is manly sport; that it makes man strong in body and mind and quick with the eye and hand. It was much more of such manly sport when the redskins whom we cail savages went after their prey with bow and arrow, but with our modern weapons it is in most cases murder, pure and simple; and as for the strengthening qualities of a hunting trip I am sure that a man will get more health out of a stroll through fields and woods when he leaves his gun dt home; and if he will only try, he will also get much more pleasure and instruction out of it, because his attention will not be absorbed by his eagerness to find something to kill, he will have leisure to enjoy the beauties of nature and will as an observer and friend become much more intimately acquainted with animal life than as a disturber and destroyer. 344 State Horticultural S ociety. As it took generations to make people see the wrong in slavery, so will it take generations to induce all people to look at hunting from this point of view, but it is undoubtedly one of the aims of higher culture and will finally prevail in spite of all that is done and said by the defenders of the hunt, though their disciples are found in all walks of life, even in the highest. . In condemning hunting as a popular sport it is not meant that we should not kill those wild animals which damage our crops or are in any way injurious to our property or incompatible with our well-being and enjoyment of life. On the contrary the law of self-preservation makes it our duty to use all means to reduce their number or even extermin- _ ate them. The extermination of the rabbit would be almost as great a boon for the horticulturist as it would be to the world at large to get rid of the mice, rats, gophers, squirrels and prairie dogs. The damage all these rodents do far outweighs the benefit we derive from the little poor meat we find on them, and it would be foolish to de- mand their preservation simply for the fun of killing them. It will only be a question of a few years when deer and wild turkey have disappeared from our State; this will be the inevitable result of the deforestation and cultivation of the country; they will go the way the buffalo, the puma, the bear and the wolf went. With the extermination of the smaller predatory mamals, such as fox, racoon, opossum, mink, skunk and weasel, it will require many years yet, but their entire re- moval from the State at the present time would not even be desirable in- asmuch as we need their good services in checking the increase of ro- dents, which without them would become a real danger to husbandry. Quails are still considered legitimate game, but, if farmers did un- derstand what is good for them, they would long ago have stopped the killing of this useful bird, a large part of whose feed consists in such insects as do most injury to the growing crops, while the vegetable part of their diet comprises all kinds of seeds of obnoxious weeds and stray kernels of grain of no value to the farmer. Plovers and snipes are also of great benefit as insect destroyers, as anybody can convince himself by opening the stomach of one killed on his field or meadow. All these birds should in the future be taken from the list of game birds, especially since it becomes more and more apparent that some species of plovers are already reduced to a stage where annihilation is threatened. Of ail the birds ordinarily hunted there are only the ducks and geese which could be recommended as legitimate game, and if the hunters would confine their efforts to these birds in the season set apart for their execution it would not do any particular harm as they are with us only a Winter Meeting. 345 short time of the year. But continued slaughter has reduced their num- bers to such an extent that many a duck hunter does not even get the sight of a duck on his hunting expedition and, though exceptionally some true sportsman may in such a case go home without discharging his gun, the majority who go out not so much for the sake of obtaining food as for the fun of killing, will console themselves for lack of game by shoot- ing at most any bird that comes within range of their guns. And even in the presence of game very few hunters can resist the temptation to shoot at any large bird or flock of small birds that comes within range. It is for such reasons that bird protectionists have to regard all hunting as more or less incompatible with their cause and landowners will do well to curtail the privilege of shooting on their property as much as possible. This will be an efficient way of checking wanton destruction of bird life, but as long as hunting without license is permitted in our State, it should be the special task of the Audubon Society to see that the present laws are obeyed. On page 182 of the Laws of 1895 it says in section 1: “It is further declared unlawful to kill any wild song bird or insectivorous bird at any season of the year, or to disturb, rob or destroy’the nest of such birds, or take therefrom any egg or eggs. And any person offending against any of the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and subject to a fine of not less than ten dollars nor more than fifty dollars.” Approved April 8, 1895. This law protects a good many birds, but the trouble with it is that it does not provide means for enforcing it. Some states have paid game wardens to look after the en- forcement of the law, but Missouri has not, and it should be the business of the Audubon Society to call the attention of our Legislature to this want. But the worst is that not one in a thousand Missourians knows of the existence of this law, not even the officers of the law themselves. One of our first tasks would therefore be to make this law known throughout the State. Newspaper publicity would be very desirable, but the past apathy among many editors in regard to promulgation and enforcement of this law does not promise the best results. A simple and not very ex- pensive method would be the distribution of cardboard posters bearing an abstract of the law and nailed up in every postoffice, every court house, every railroad station and possibly every school house of the State. After this first step the next would be to enforce the law in the neighbor- hood of cities through deputy sheriffs employed for this particular pur- pose. A few cases successfully carried through the courts and the guiliy parties properly fined would have a most wholesome effect, since the newspapers would not fail to bring the interesting news, just the kind of publicity we want. Should the State laws concerning game and bird pro- 346 State Horticultural Society. ‘tection be changed, and they certainly need improvement, it would be best to adopt the most modern views in conformity with the latest results of food investigations by the United States Department of Agriculture, namely, to extend protection to all species and individuals of birds, except- ing only ducks and geese, for which an open season from September 1 to April 1 may be provided, and of other species only such individuals as are found in the act of doing damage. A man must be allowed to protect his fruit or cornfield from the ravages of birds, if he so chooses, but it should not be allowed to kill such birds at other times in other places where they do no damage. For instance some crows and some black- birds rob the farmer sometimes of corn, while at all other times they are the farmers best help in keeping down the insect pests. Would it be right or reasonable to kill every individual of these species at sight? Cer- tainly not. We raise in this glorious country over 2,000 million bushels of corn in ordinary seasons; suppose all corn-eating birds together eat 1,000 bushels, surely a high estimate, the loss would amount to one bushei in two millions, hardly worth considering and certainly only a small quantity compared with what is destroyed by the rodents in field and barn. This loss will increase continually, if we do not soon give the hawks and owls the protection which they need so badly. At present everybody kills hawks and owls, the farmer’s best friends; this should be stopped. There is one species of hawk in Missouri who does nearly all the damage in the chicken yard and for his misdeeds all hawks are called chickenhawks and killed at sight without discrimination; nineteen times out of twenty it is the innocent, or rather the useful species that are killed, because the real robber, the Cooper's Hawk, comes and goes like lightning and seldom gives the gunner a chance to shoot. The same is the case with the owls. All our common owls, which are so unmercifully slaughtered by farmer and hunter alike are the greatest mice destroyers known and deserve our best protection. And why should we continue to slay all the large birds, even if they should not be of any real pecuniary benefit? Is there, besides their eco- nomic value, no other reason why we need the birds? Does their aesthetic, their poetic, their artistic value count for naught until it will be too late for repair? Already most of the larger birds of beauty, the egrets, the cranes, the swans and pelicans are deplorably rare, and those of less strik- ing appearance, the different kinds of herons and bitterns, the gulls and terns, the loons and cormorants, the plovers and waders, the larger wood- peckers and the kingfishers, in short all the conspicuous birds which form- erly lent so much charm to the lanscape, are getting scarcer and scarcet every year. Life in the country will be robbed of much of its pleasure Winter Meeting. 347 when all these birds are gone; and how monotonous it will be when one has to travel over miles and miles of land, through field and forest, without hearing or seeing any sign of life anywhere. Small mam- mals, may they be ever so plentiful, contribute nothing to the anima- tion of a scenery; it is the bird that brings life into it, that delights the ear with its variety of notes and sweet songs, and pleases the eye with its beautiful plumage, elegant form, with its sprightliness and spirited activity, with its marvelous power of flight and the manifold and curious ways of feeding, courting, nesting, roosting and social gathering. If we were selfish and mean, we would say, there are enough birds here as long as we live; what do we care’ for the future; if it gives us pleasure to kill them, why should we not doit? Are not all creatures created for man, or as the small boy puts it: What are birds here for, anyhow, but to kill them; a few more or less won't make any difference. Here is where a great mistake is made. Birds have their naturai enemies and adversities and have had them all the time and they kept them from unnatural increase. Reproduction is slow; with few excep- tions birds rear only enough offspring to preserve their numbers, replac- ing in summer those that die during the year. Every interference on the part of man reduces this number and, if continued, the inevitable result must be at first scarcity and finally extermination. That this is not a theory, but a fact is proven by the experience of European countries, es- pecially England, where birds formerly common are not to be found at all any more; and when we look over the latest lists of birds of the New England States, for instance Massachusetts, we find repeatedly the melan- choly annotation, ‘““once common, now rare.” We owe it, therefore, to our children, to future generations, to pos- terity, to do all we can in protecting the birds as we find them now in our State; it is not too late yet, but it must be begun soon, and all must work together, all who have sympathy for our fellow creatures ; all who are not entirely callous to humane feeling; all who would wish to hand down to posterity our country as beautiful as she is today; all who understand that love of nature makes better people, better citizens, happier beings. A true love of the beautiful in nature is an attribute of a higher civiliza- tion and should not only be fostered in the school room, but also in church and Sunday school. The clergy of every denomination should partict- pate in this warfare against vandalism of thoughtless boys and heartless men; they should teach that taking of life is a serious thing and only ex- cusable when necessity demands it. We know that somebody has to kill the domestic animals needed for food, but we have never heard that it is a very joyous task or made an object of sport and amusement. 348 State Horticultural Society. The aim of the Audubon Society must therefore be to unite with the teachers in the school and in the pulpit in the endeavor to change the pre- vailing indifference, disregard and contempt for our feathered fellow- creatures into a sentiment of sympathetic interest and consequent friend- ship. With the children this effort will undoubtedly be successful, and future generations will not need Audubon Societies, but the present, I am afraid, can not be converted so easily and their education must in many instances go through the court room. In a few states Bird days like Arbor days, and in connection with them, have been established or are advocated by Audubon Societies, but school days set apart for such a purpose easily degenerate into holidays without doing much good to the cause for which they are intended. I would recommend that the teachers say a good word for the birds as often as opportunity offers, and in this way have a bird day every day of school. Last but not least, there is one more field of labor open for the Audu- bon Society. It is on the battlefield against the foolish fashion of women to adorn their hats with the dead bodies of birds. No laws can be enforced which forbids the wearing of birds or feathers; the only wav to stop it is to prohibit their importation. State laws are effective enough to see that no American birds are used for this purpose, and if none can be imported, the dear creatures must ornament their sweet hats with something that can be obtained with less savagery and cruelty than the dead bodies of birds, which as a rule have not only laid down their own lives at the altar of fashion, but also that of their offspring, since nine-tenths are killed at the breeding period, leaving young to starve in the nest. The reason for this is that at the time of reproduction birds wear their best dress, the nuptial dress, which has the brightest colors and most resplendent lustre, and also because the birds which at all other times are too wary to allow approach, may easily be shot from the nest, since birds never desert their young ones, even in the face of danger. Both importation and exportation of birdskins should be prohibited by Federal laws. Exportation, because, unable to sell their birdskins on this side of the ocean, the slaughterers would send them to foreign mar- kets and nobody would be any wiser for it. We have already a law pro- hibiting the importation of live birds without special permission of the Department of Agriculture, and it is difficult to see why such a prohibition could not be made possible with dead bodies of birds or parts thereof. It is to be hoped that our enlightened Congress will soon take steps in this direction, and if our country takes the lead, other countries will follow the example, and millions of bird lives will be saved thereby. Winter Meeting. 349 BIRDS AND AGRICULTURE. (By August Reese, Secretary Audubon Society, 2516 N. Fourteenth Street, St. Louis, Mo.) The important part that birds play in nature’s economies, their re~ lation to the Agricultural interests and the benefit mankind derives from their unremitting industry, has never received any manifest consideration from the. public until within the past few years. That branch of the United States Department of Agriculture, the Biological Survey, which deals with this subject has accomplished great achievements for the en- lightenment of the people on this all-important question, and is publish- ing pamphlets free for distribution, containing a wealth of information which ought to receive close attention, at least from those interested in Agricultural pursuits. Statistics prove that bird life has decreased at the alarming rate of nearly 50 per cent. within the past fifteen years. The increase in noxious insects and its fatal effect on Agriculture has been in proportion to the decrease of birds. Dr. L. O. Howard, Chief Entomologit of the United States Department of Agriculture, estimates that we pay annually $300,- 000,000 tribute to the insects and bugs, or one-tenth of all Agriculturai products. Reports from all part of the country of the ravages of the Gypsy moth, grasshoppers, army worms, etc., are becoming more fre- quent and more appalling as years roll by. The inestimable value of bird life to Agriculturalists can not be bet- ter illustrated than by the following report from the “Food of Nestling Birds,” issued by the Department of Agriculture: “Prof. Sam Aughey saw a marsh wren carry 30 locusts to her young in an hour. At this rate for seven hours a day, a brood would consume 210 locust per day, and the passerine birds of the eastern half of Nebras- ka, allowing only 20 broods to the square mile, would destroy daily 162,- 771,000 of the pests. The average locust weights about 15 grains, and is capable each day of consuming its own weight of standing forage crops, corn and wheat. This case may serve as an illustration of the vast good that is done every year by the destruction of insect pests fed to nestling birds. And it should be remembered that the nesting season is also that when the destruction of injurious insects is most needed, that is, at the period of greatest Agricultural activity. The encouragement of birds to nest on the farm is therefore more than mere matters of sentiment, they return 390 State Horticultural Society. an actual cash equivalent, and have a definite bearing on the success or failure of the crops.” To the loss of three hundred millions of dollars a year by noxious 1n- sects must be added the expenditure of millions of dollars for-chemical compounds used in spraying, for sprayers, the cost of labor to apply these compounds, and very often heavy losses ensue from their improper ap- plications ; the consequent losses of all combined agencies, almost stagger human intelligence. Nature has decreed that birds shall check the ravages of insects. Silently and unbidden do they perform their task from early morn till late at night, in orchard, field and garden for the benefit of all mankind. Instead of being encouraged, they are persecuted and driven from their field of activity. The war of extermination against our feathered friends is raging with more determination than ever. In some sections of this country, and Missouri is no exception; where birds at one time were marvelously abundant there is now only a vague impres- sion of their former multitude. What remedy is at our disposal to check this indiscriminate slaughter of birds? The fundamental principles of practical bird protection are effective bird laws and their enforcement. To obtain these results, the Audubon Society of Missouri was incorpo- rated August 13, 1901. We appeal to all public spirited citizens to assist us in our efforts by becoming members. Only by united and concerted action can we succeed. The officers of the Audubon Society devote their time and services gratuitously. Wholesale milliners, bird and game deal- ers and others financially benefitted by bird destruction have so far been successful in defeating practical bird legislation. This outrage must not occur again. The Audubon Society will present to the next Legislature comprehensive and effective bird laws and we trust that the Agricultural industries will insist upon their Representatives and Senators to support and vote for such a bill. Zinksgarten Str. 14, Halle of Saale, Nov. 3, Igor. Hon. L. A. Goodman, Secretary State Horticultural Society, Kansas City, Mo.: Dear Mr. Goodman—Aiter a two months’ trip through the fruit districts of Europe I have located here at Halle for a year’s study in the University. I have chosen this place for several reasons. The University has one of the best Agricultural Departments in Europe, being weli manned and well equipped. It is also centrally located, in one of the rich- est agricultural regions of the continent, and is for that reason a con- venient place from which to make excursions into the various fruit, vege- table and flower growing districts to study practical operations, markets, CuG: Winter Meeting. 351 I regard these excursions as being of even greater importance than the University study itself. It is, however, highly desirable to make the University a base and to get acquainted with the University and Experiment Station men, so as to secure the benefit of their knowledge and experience in planning excursions and in securing access to the places and things that one most wishes to see. However, the Univer- sity work is itself most excellent. In many respects they excell us in America. In addition to getting better acquainted with the language and the Horticultural literature of the country it is of great value to become acquainted with their laboratory methods, methods of con- ducting experiments and to study their Agricultural and Horticultural instruction in comparison with. our own. So far as fruit growing goes, it is everywhere evident that the Ger- mans greatly fear American competition. They admit that they cannot produce canned, preserved, dried and evaporated fruits that can compete with the low priced American product. The only opportunity left to them in this field is to produce a very superior article, regardless of ex- pense, and to sell it for a big price. It is eventually consumed by those who are willing to pay a big price for thé best article. They also find it more profitable to grow varieties of the highest quality than to plant for largest yield, as they can get fancy prices for the best fruit, wrapped and shipped in small baskets. They laugh at the low grade of American fruit, whether green or preserved, and fraudulent practices in American fruit dealing are a standing joke in Horticultural circles. When a thing is small in the middle and big at both ends, or fine looking outside and bad within, it is likened to the American apple barrel. It seems to me we ought to make a point of supplying only a first- class, honest product for the European trade and if we do it, it will go farther than any other one thing toward enlarging our fruit trade abroad. I never before realized how much I would miss meeting with the Horticultural Society. If every fruit grower in Missouri could realize what a good thing those Horticultural meetings really are, as thoroughly as one can when the ocean separates him from them, they would be packed to overflowing until a special pavilion would have to be constructed to hold the crowd. I have attended numerous fairs and horticultural exhibits over here, and while the fairs themselves were good, I continually found myself getting a trifle homesick through failure to see a single face that reminded me of the Missouri Horticultural Society. I would have given more to see a single plate of Ben Davis, with Evans, Goodman, Murray, Miller, Robnett or Nelson sampling it, than I 352 Stale Horticultural Society. ® would to have been the proud possessor of the fruit belt of the Rhein. eg hope this has been a prosperous year for the Missouri fruit growers, and that the Winter meeting will be the best one in its history. Very sincerely, jJ.2C. WHITTEN: Mr. Atwood: Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen: You know that Prof. Whitten has been thinking of you today. Now let us send him a greeting. “Letter read as follows: To Prof. J. C. Whitten, Halle on the Saale, Germany: The members of the State Horticultural Society in convention assembled send friendly greetings and best wishes to you and yours, in your temporary sojourning place, in a distant land. Accept our heartfelt wishes for your success in gleaning from the rich German stores of experimental and scientific horticulture. We feel that your gain will be Missouri’s gain; knowing you to be with us and for us. A welcome home awaits you at our next annual meeting. Presented and passed unanimously at St. Joseph, Mo., Decem- ber 5, 1901. N. F. MURRAY, President. LA: GOODMAN, Secretanys Motion made and carried that the above letter be signed by the President and Secretary and forwarded. Mr. Evans then offered the following resolution: Said resolution was adopted: E “Whereas, The Missouri State Horticultural Society will be ex- pected to take an active part in the coming Louisiana Purchase Ex- position, to be held at St. Louis in 1903; and, “Whereas, The time is now at hand that steps should be taken Icoking to the making of a complete and grand exhibition of the horticultural products of our State on that occasion; therefore, “Resolved, That the Executive Committee of this Society are hereby instructed and empowered to take such steps as will in their Opinion insure successful results. Prof. Dutcher: I want to offer a resolution for the birds. “Said resolution as follows was adopted: “Resolved, That the Missouri State Horticultural Society, believ- ing in the aims and purposes of the Aububon Society of Missouri in its work for the protection of the birds and game of this State, endorses that society and pledges it its earnest sympathy and moral support.” Winter Meeting. 353 St; Louis: Déc:, 10; Igor. Mr. L. A. Goodman, Kansas City, Mo.: Dear Sir—lIt affords us great pleasure to learn that the Missouri State Horticultural Society endorsed the work of the Audubon So- ciety, and pledges its support. Heroic measures must be adopted to have laws enacted that will positively prevent the extermination of wild bird and animal life. Those opposed to it, milliners, game deal- ers, market and plume hunters have been successful so far, by the use of money to prevent effective bird legislation. Enclosed please find membership card. Accept our sincere thanks for your active interest in our cause. Yours to command, AUGUST REESE, Secretary. COMMITTEE ON FINAL RESOLUTIONS. - To the Officers and Members of the Society: Your Committee on Final Resolutions would report as follows: The Missouri State Horticultural Society, in session at St. Joseph, express their hearty thanks to the people of the city for the cordial welcome tendered them through their mayor, Mr. John Combs; to the young ladies and gentlemen of the city and vicinity for the literary and musical numbers so much enjoyed by us; to the visiting members of other State Societies for their presence, and very helpful part they have taken in our program; to the St. Joseph Horticultural and Agri- cultural Society for decorations and elaborate furnishings of this spacious hall which have tended so much to our comfoft and pleasure and to the newspapers of the State at large for the interest taken in our society, and to the papers of the city, in particular, for the gen- erous notices of the daily meetings of the present session; to each and all of the railroads of the.State that so readily granted a fare and a third for the round trip, and assure them that we patiently await the time when their increased interest in fruit-growing along their lines will induce them to as readily grant one fare for the round trip from every station in the State; when they shall realize, as we do, that a more general planting of fruit trees throughout the State will _conduce to a greater consequent improvement in the condition of the farmers, and this in turn add much to the business of the roads them- selves. G. W. HOPKINS. J. Mc IRVINE, ¢ He DUECHER: H—23 304 State Horticultural Society. - Mr. Jones: I feel as if I must speak a word at this time. I have been attending Horticultural meetings and visiting fruit lands from Winnebago to the Gulf of Mexico, and I feel that it will be nothing more than proper, to say a word in regard to this magnificent fruit display. I think I never saw anything, not even the exhibit at the World’s Fair, that seemed to fill me with so much enthusiasm for fruit growing. I have heard it said in many places that Missouri could raise good Ben Davis apples, but that was all. I wish that every man who ever made that remark could witness this magnificent fruit display, and taste these most excellent apples. I believe Mis- souri has wonderful possibilities. I attended your State meeting last year and this year, and I feel like the old lady who said that she had attended over one hundred 4th of July celebrations, and the last one was the best. I feel like I could attend one more. Mr. Hopkins: I move a vote of thanks be tendered to our retir- ing President for the faithful discharge of his duties during his term of office. Carried, unanimously. President Murray: Ladies and Gentlemen—I certainly appreciate the vote that you have given me. I have simply tried to do my duty as President of the Society, and to the best of my knowledge I have - done everything in my power to promote the interests of pomology throughout the State of Missouri. I think it is only right and proper that I should say here, that I had the pleasure of attending, as a delegate of your Society, the meeting of the American Pomological Society that convened at Buf- falo, New York, in September, and while it was a pleasure (because it was a trip toa part of the country that I had not seen) it was some- thing of a disappointment. We had delegates there from thirty dif- ferent States and from Alaska, but I would rather spend three hours . here, or one session here, than all the sessions or two days at the great Pomological Society of Buffalo, New York. If you had been there you would have said the same thing, that you could learn more here and see more than we did at that meeting. : At that meeting the Ex-Commissioner of Pomology of Washing- ton City, Mr. Van Deman, gave it as his unsolicited verdict that the State Horticultural Society of “Missouri, (and I believe he is a gen- tleman quite well acquainted with all tthe State Societies throughout the Union) was the best and most practical working State Horticul- tural Society there was in the United States. 3 Now, ladies and gentlemen, I have no time to make a speech. [ want to say this in conclusion. We have been doing well in the past, Winter Meeting. 395 we are doing well now. I have been attending these meetings for some twenty years, and while they sometimes laugh at us for saying the last meeting was the best, I am sure that never in the history of the Society, since I have known it have we had so large a display of fine fruit as we have here now, although it was a dry and unfavor- able season. I am sure we have never had all parts of the State repre- sented by practical and intelligent and enthusiastic fruit growers as at this meeting, nor ever have we had so many intelligent fruit growers visit us from the surrounding States. -I thank you for the attendance and the attention given, and while we have done so well, and while we are doing well, let us not be con- tent with present attainments, but let us unite our forces and march onward and upward to a higher plane for greater usefulness, until we shall obtain for the State of Missouri, as a fruit growing State, the very highest pinnacle in the American Union. Major Holsinger: I attended the fruit exhibit at Buffalo and I must say that this beats that display. I have examined all of this fruit, having been Chairman of the Committee on Fruit. These Apples are perfect. There is hardly a plate on the table that isn’t in perfect condition, smooth, free of fungus and free of insects. Mr. Evans: I think enough has been said and enough time taken up, but I will just say, as well as I remember, I think this is the 43rd annual meeting of this Society that I have attended, and I want to say this is as good as any. * Mr. Irvine of St. Joseph: We have been 43 years, according to Col. Evans, in getting up to this place. The last time when the So- ciety met here a gentleman made the prediction that the price of grapes would not go below ten cents a pound. We now consider our- selves lucky if we get ten cents a basket. But now since we have liad such a good meeting here let us have it every winter. Mr. Baxter of Ilinois: I would like to remind all the ladies and gentlemen present that our Society meets next week. I have been a member of this Society for several years. I like to come here and I learn something, but at the same time I wish to say we have a very progressive Society over there in Illinois. I believe you can learn just as much over there as I can here. Now you havea magnificent display of fruits. We have a magnificent display of fruits over there. Now then we will meet you in friendly competition in St. Louis in 1903, as we did in Paris last year, and we will not take a back. seat either. Mr. Marshall, President of the Nebraska State Horticultural So- ciety: I wish to say a word. I would say this is the best display 356 State Horticultural Society. I ever saw, but Wilson is so close here I don’t dare say it, because they had one up there that I heard him say was better than this; but I will say that this is one of the best displays. That one was a good one at Council Bluffs, but if that one was better than this one, I have forgotten it. I believe that this is, in my memory now, the finest show I ever saw. Now I don’t live in Missouri. If I did I would say it was the best country on earth, but I don’t live here. I came down here to be shown, and gentlemen, I have been shown. I have been entertained and pleased, and I don’t know but what I will attend your meeting at Springfield next year. I invite you, one and all, to come and see us, and to attend our meeting, and we will try and make you comfortable. Mr. Wilson of Iowa: Mr. Marshall, my friend from Nebraska, really made my speech, with the exception of his reference to our dis- play of apples that we had at Council Bluffs in the Horticulturai meet- ing. Mr. Marshall didn’t understand me, I guess to-day. I said we had more apples—I think we had 160 bushels of apples on the tables there. I must say, gentlemen, in all candor and fairness, that it has been a great pleasure for me to meet with you people and see what you are doing. Your display of fruit here is highly creditable to any State. I don’t blame any Missourian for being enthusiastic. It is your duty to be enthusiastic, and you have a good fruit country, and you have an active and live Society, and as our friend, Mr. Murray, said awhile ago, I believe you can improve this condition here very much in*my judgment. You have had more experience. You are more fortu- nate in climate, and all those things and you ought to be enthusiastic. I can say I never was at a meeting where there was more prac- tical and interesting discussion than you have had here, and that is the life of any Horticultural Society. I thank you very much for this cordial greeting. Mr. Butterfield: I will say I am very glad to come and glad to hear the last talks, but there is one thing that has not been said, that is very important, and I see that there is no one else going to say it, and I don’t want to miss it, and that is, we have two of the best papers in the world published in Missouri. I speak now of the West- ern Fruit Grower of St. Joseph and the Practical Fruit Grower of Springfield, and I want every one in this house—I don’t care whether he is a farmer or fruit grower or merchant, to subscribe for these papers. I am satisfied that there are fruit growers near St. Joseph, that are not taking these papers and they should take them. I thank you. Winter Meeting. 357 Mr. Tippin: I just want to speak a word to the citizens of St. Joseph. In anticipation of the winter meeting being at Springfield next winter, | want to urge every citizen of St. Joseph, that possibly can, to attend that meeting, whether as a delegate or not, for we want an opportunity to return the cordial reception that you have given ‘us, and assure you if you will come down to South Missouri, that you will come back feeling happy that this great State has a southern side. Thereupon the convention adjourned. Pad S: AND. CULTURE Fruits and Culture. 361 SOME REOUISITES OF SUCCESSFUL APPLE CULTURE: (George T. Powell, New York.) One of the most promising industries for the future is that of apple culture, when we consider the subject of specialties in produc- tion. While there has been an enormous increase in the planting of apple orchards, yet the demand for this most excellent and standard fruit has kept fully apace with the supply. | IMPORTANT REQUIREMENTS FOR SUCCESS. First of all is the selection of good and suitable soil. The heavier loams are most desirable, and if some clay enters into their composi- tion it is quite valuable for the keeping quality of the fruit. Avoid the sandy loams for they are better for peaches and cherries. Choose well elevated positions for orchard sites rather than low bottom land. These afford better natural drainage, while the circulation of air is also better and there is less danger from frost when trees are in or just out of bloom. The cold air on frosty nights will roll down from the hills into the valleys, the same as water will seek the lower levels. There is also an advantage in the highest elevations from the fact that the winter temperature does not fall so low. The soil should be under cultivation to corn or potatoes one year previous to setting the trees. This gives the best possible condi- tion of the soil before planting. Give ample space, 35 or 40 feet dis- tance between rows, according to the variety. Double plant with early bearing kinds for fillers in the spaces which will bear for several years, adding largely to the profits of the business, and when these begin to crowd upon the permanent trees they should be cut out. This advice is given cautiously, and the plan is recommended only to those who have backbone enough to cut out these fillers when it is necessary to do so. Good trees having been selected, the management, after planting, becomes highly important. In a large majority of instances, clean cultivation of the soil will prove better. To the want of cultivation more than any other cause may be traced the great amount of inferior fruit that is found in our markets. In most uncultivated orchards seldom above 20 per cent of strictly fine No. 1 apples can be barreled; 60 per cent will run No. 2, while 20 per cent will be unmarketable. Where cultivation is given, it should be done by plowing very lightly 362 State Horticultural Society. at the earliest opportunity in the spring, then ‘keep the ground fre- quently harrowed up to July Io or 15, when a cover crop should be sown for the good of the soil and of the trees during the winter months. | MARKED RESULTS WITH CRIMSON CLOVER. I have used with great success crimson clover for this purpose. This is an annual plant, grows quickly and will make a better cover than the common red clover when sown as late as the middle of July. When crimson clover will not thrive, Canada peas will do well and be of value. The renovation or improvement of the soil through the use of clover or peas may be obtained very ecomomically. I he- lieve it is possible to continue and to increase the productions of the soil for generations to come, and by the aid of the clover and other leguminous plants to add more nitrogen than will be taken from the soil by the crop grown. The following analysis was made of the soil in one of my pear orchards after three crops of crimson clover had been grown and plowed in, the orchard producing at the same time three successive crops of pears, without other fertilizer being applied. One sample of the soil was taken six inches deep, in the or- chard, and one from the same kind of soil near by and adjoining, where no clover had been grown for three years: INFLUENCE OF CLOVER ON FERTILITY. Three crops No. clover, per clover, per S cent. cent. Witter) i. Gs 20.5 2:4 cheek see eaecanens tenes 15.00 O75 INGEEOD EM 672). ee bis case's kee Sie cee SE eee eae 21 a2 MACHT LIS oye seis cocks = seis ne ne Oke ents cnats 2.94 1.QI Phosphoric! acid, “available. swiss as fe .O15 8.75 The water content was determined after the soil samples had dried for three days in a shallow dish in a warm room. The difference in water of 6.25 per cent makes 46.875 tons per acre, in nitrogen of .og per cent makes 1,350 pounds more per acre, and in phosphoric acid of .007 per cent makes 105 pounds more per acre. It would have cost tu purchase 1,350 pounds nitrogen at 15 cents per pound, $202.50 per acre, yet the clover seed for the three years cost but $3 per acre. The seed was sown when the cultivation of the orchard ceased, about July 5 to 10, and was lightly covered with a smoothing harrow. There is a limit to the extent to which it is wise to use clover or peas as a cover crop, as too much nitrogen will affect the keeping qual- ity and the color of the fruit, the effect being to prolong the maturity of the fruit and cause red apples to take on a lighter color. After a Frwts and Culture. 363 few years of the use of these cover crops rye can be substituted in their place. I firmly believe that by an intelligent use of these cover crops that all long cultivated soil may not only be economically restored and improved, but that greater production can be obtained than ever in its history. CONDITIONS AFFECTING FRUITFULNESS. (*By Prof.-E. S. Goff, University of Wisconsin.) In pruning we have most to learn, and here I must introduce two principles, to which I have not before alluded, viz.: that plenty of light is absolutely necessary to the formation of flower buds, and that the more a branch tends to the horizontal the more likely it is to form flower buds. We should, therefore, favor horizontal branches, and discourage vertical ones, with the exception of the leader. We should insist on the growth being distributed over a large number of branches and should promptly pinch, in early summer, all shoots that incline to grow more than a foot long. We should promptly rub off all superfluous shoots. This means that we must do much summer pruning, and in some cases, we must do less early spring pruning. BUD THE UNIT OF PRODUCTION. To make this subject clearer, I will introduce in conclusion what will be to most of us a new conception of the cultivated fruit tree. We have been accustomed to regard the fruit tree as the unit of pro- duction in the orchard. But the tree is a composite and intricate organism. It is more just and tends to simplify our conception of the proper methods of treating the orchard to consider the bud as the unit of production. The buds of a fruit tree are in a sense dis- tinct organisms. They are separately borm. Each has a definite and distinct life history. Its mission is to grow for a time, to produce other buds by division of itself for the perpetuation of the trees, and _ finally to flower, to fruit and then to perish. From this point of view the fruit tree represents a crop of buds, or, more accurately, two or more crops of different ages. Each sea- son one of these crops of buds finishes its course by flowering and fruiting, and another crop is brought into existence to take the place in due time of the crop that has fulfilled its mission. Now the fruit grower’s problem is easily stated. It is to so treat his trees as to have the largest number of buds in condition to fruit to their best capacity each season, and at the same time to bring on other healthy 364 State Horticulturel Society. buds to perpetuate the life of the tree, and to fruit the next and suc- ceeding years. If his tree is not yet fully grown, it is imperative that the crop of young buds that he brings forth shall be larger than the crop of buds that he permits to fruit. Barring only the question of winterkilling, if his methods of culture are correct, there would seem to be no more reason why he should fail in having his crop of flower buds ready to open each spring than that the nurseryman should fail to have a crop of salable trees ready to supply his patrons. Let us carry the comparison between the fruit tree and the nur- sery farther. We should at once condemn any system of nursery practice that permitted a few of the strongest trees to crowd the majority of the weaker ones out of existence. But is not such a system going on in most American orchards today? The majority of the buds in many, if not most fruit trees are starved or smothered out of existence by their stronger neighbors, while the weaker buds, in turn, harass their stronger neighbors to an extent that largely in- terferes with their fruiting capacity. . The conception of the bud as the unit of production is not wholly new, though it will be new to many American fruit growers. In Europe the fruit tree has long been cultivated more or less from the standpoint of the bud. But the pottering methods of training and tying fiuit trees practiced in European gardens are impracticable in our land of high-priced. labor and extensive culture. And yet the bud standpoint is unquestionably the correct one. What, then, can we do? We must make an economical compromise between their slow and tedious methods and our happy-go-lucky no-system. We must find a way of pruning our trees so as to better control the growth and to place the buds more on an equal footing as regards light and space. Then, with our improved spraying methods, we should be able to place our fruit crops on a much surer basis, and to grow fruit of much higher average quality. *Concluding installment of paper read before Wisconsin State Horticultural Society. HINTS TO TREE-PLANTERS. (By Jonas H. Priest, Middlesex County, Mass.) Editors Country Gentleman—As the tree-planting season draws near, all persons who intend to plant shade or fruit trees should in- form themselves what varieties of trees to plant, and how to do the Fruits and Culture. 365 work, so as to make it a success. All varieties of trees are not well adapted to the same soil or location. All winter-keeping varieties of apples, for instance, need a moister soil and a cooler location than the summer or early fall varieties. Now, many persons are not aware how much depends on the way trees are planted. It is not, unusual to see men plant trees very much as they do a cabbage plant, making a hole in the ground just about large enough to take in the roots, without straightening them out or placing them so as to make the tree strong when it has grown up and come to fruit-bearing. Three years since, one of my best- appearing Baldwin trees was blown over by a heavy wind, and when I came to examine the cause of it, I found that all the large roots were cn one side of the tree, proving very clearly that when it was planted the large roots were not equally spread out, so as to support the tree on all its sides. The tree had grown to about a foot in diameter, with scarcely any wind protection on one side. One person alone cannot very well plant a tree, for some one should hold the tree in place while the more experienced person places the roots and fills in around them the fine loam. No manure or fer- tilizer of any kind should ever be used around the roots when planted. - If trees are properly planted, they should make some growth the first year; but they will not do so if the hole dug is so small that the roots cannot be properly placed, and find some soft, fine loam to feed upon. Then the holes should be dug deeper at the outer edge than in the center, so that in placing the roots, the ends will point down ward rather than upward. When trees are properly planted, the land can be cultivated with the plow or harrow without disturbing the roots, and the trees will make a much more rapid growth than if planted in ground not cultivated. A friend of mine at Sandwich, N. H., about twenty years ago planted an orchard of about fifty Baldwin trees. He cultivated the land for a few years, and then seeded it down to grass. The same year, one of my friend’s neighbors planted a much larger orchard, of cne thousand trees—five hundred of Baldwin and five hundred of Tal- man Sweets; but he did not cultivate the land, and the trees made a very slow growth, and many of them were killed by the borers. Two years ago, my friend wrote me that he had more good fruit on his small orchard of fifty trees than his neighbor had on his much larger orchard of nearly twenty times the size. Now, if there is any truth in the adage that “as the twig is bent, the tree’s inclined,” then there is equal or more truth in the statement that on the way the tree is planted, cared for and pruned for the first 366 State Horticultural Society. ten or more years after planting, will its beauty and fruitfulness in latef years depend. Young trees usually need some pruning as soon as the second year after planting, but all that is needed to do that work is a strong, sharp pocket-knife, and if that is properly used, more or less, as the trees need it every year onward for a few years, there will seldom, if ever, be any need of such severe pruning as has been advised by one or more of your correspondents during the past few weeks. No man should ever attempt to grow fruit of any kind who is not willing to take as good care of his trees as he does of any other crop he grows. If he is ignorant of such work, he should in some way try to inform himself, as there is usually some way to learn the best methods of doing all kinds of work. INFERIOR TREES EXPENSIVE. (By Albert Brownwell, Northwest Horticulturist.) It costs more to produce a good article than a poor one, and in ‘ buying, the first question should be, not how cheap, but how good it is. Many people understand this well enough, and yet how few ever stop to apply the rule to nursery stock. In no other kind of purchase is the quality of the article of such vital importance as in nursery stock. The price of a tree is the smallest part of its cost by the time it has come into bearing. If a man buys cheap trees to save a few cents on each, by the time the trees come into bearing the expense of tlie land, labor, etc,, has amounted to several times the original cost of - the trees, and consequently if his cheap stock turns out as it uni- formly does, to be of inferior and worthless varieties, then it is a serious loss to him, and he has to begin all over again. Now, is it not plain to all that it is rank folly for anyone to risk this dead loss of trees, use of land for years, expense of cultivating, etc., to save a few cents on the tree, when for a trifling increase in price he can get the very best warranted stock? . As a mere matter of insurance a man cannot afford to buy any- thing but the best, warranted nursery stock. It is a general rule, which can be relied on that “cheap” stoc}x is worthless stock, and therefore dear at any price. If a man won’t pay for good stock, but buys cheap stock in order to save money, he is very sure to lose all he puts into it. Most of the worthless stock way Fruits and Culture. | 367 is worked off by strange agents, who sell on their own account, and are not authorized by any responsible firm to take orders for them. Such men buy up refuse stock from large nurseries for almost noth- ing, and fill their orders with it, claiming it to be good. They also frequently warrant the stock, but as they are unknown or irrespon- sible, their waranty is absolutely worthless. If people would buy only from agents who can show a certificate authorizing them to represent a responsible firm, there would be no danger of being cheated. WE CANNOT GET SOMETHING FOR NOTHING. This is not a world where we can get something for nothing, ana where an article is offered at an extraordinarily low price, there must be some good reason for it. The very simple reason is that as the article is of bad quality it cannot be sold in competition with first-class goods, and is therefore necessarily worked off on the public at a low rate to catch those people who will bite at anything cheap, without regard to quality. Such’ people never get ahead, because they waste their money on poor trash that gives them no “value received” for their outlay. FALL PLANTING OF FRUIT TREES. (By A. T. Erwin, Iowa.) The dormant season of plant growth is now coming on, and the farmer who is planning to add to his fruit plantation is likely to be confronted with the question of fall or spring planting. It is well known among gardeners that a soil temperature some degrees above that of the atmosphere stimulates root growth, hence we have the practice of bottom heat for the rooting and establishment of cuttings and repotted plants. In fall we have natural conditions which are essentially those of a bottom heat. Throughout the summer the earth is cooler than the atmosphere. In fall the conditions are reversed and the earth is the warmer. Hence, in this respect, we have an ideal condition for transplanting work, and a factor, which does not exist in our favor at spring time. Again, in fall there is more leisure for such work, there are not apt to be delays on account of wet weather as in the spring. If the work is done sufficiently early in the fall, the tree becomes partially established before winter, and hence has an earlier start for its work the following season. So much, then, in favor of fall planting. 368 State Horticultural Society. One of the serious drawbacks to orcharding in the northwest is the fact that the trees are root tender. Subject to the intense cold accompanied by the drying winds of the prairies the tree gives away at the weakest point, and that point is often in the root system. Varieties which seem hardy in trunk and bud are root killed. Now it is evident if we are confronted with the problem of root killing, and we-certainly are in the northwest, the plant that has been disturbed just before the opening of winter is the one most likely to suffer. In this connection it is interesting to note that within the past few years the practice of storing stock in cellars has become very general among the nurserymen of this territory. One important advantage of this plan is the guarding against loss by winter protection. In the memor- able winter of ’98-’99 the nurserymen of Iowa lost thousands of dol- lars worth of nursery stock through the lack of these facilities. So if you are above the 41st degree of latitude and in the north- west territory, I should in general certainly advise spring planting.” Even if the planting is delayed until spring there may be advantages in receiving your stock in fall. In spring the nurserymen are always rushed, and frequently it is late in the planting season when some of the orders receive their turn for filling, while if your stock has been delivered in fall and buried in some convenient spot, it is there and convenient at the opening of spring. Fall delivered stock should be buried in a trench on some sloping ground, placing a layer of trees and then one of soil, and a final mounding over of both root and top with earth. Thus stored, your trees are protected from the drying winds, sudden changes of temperature, rabbits, and will pass through the winter in good condition. If you do not care to take this extra trouble of storage, leave them with your nurseryman until spring—he should have proper facilities for their keeping, and is responsible for their delivery to you in the spring in good condition. Briefly recapitulating, south of the 41st degree of latitude, and east, in a favorable season, fall transplanting can be recommended, but in the northwest bury your trees until spring or do not receive them until that time. Exceptions should be made to this statement in the case of evergreens. These do not store well in trenches, and should never-be received in fall—Orange Judd Farmer. Fruits and Culture. 369 HOW ko -GROW. APPLE AND PEACH TREES. Prof. W. L. Howard, of the Missouri State Agricultural College, one of the Greene county young men who has won honors at Colum- bia, has been doing good service as one of the lecturers at the Farm- ers’ Institutes in this State. At the recent institute at Chapin he explained “How to Grow Budded Apples and Peaches With no Out- fay. 2 He said in part: “Plant the seed in’a box in a layer of sand about one inch deep, then cover about one inch and set on the north side of a building, where the rain will keep the moisture. This, with the action of freez- ing, helps germinate the seed. This should be done in the fall. -In planting in spring put the seed in a rich garden soil, deeply plowed and well prepared. Seeds should be one to two inches apart. Thor- oughly cultivate through the season, dig in the fall, before the ground freezes and keep in green sawdust, oak being the best. The root in which the graft is put is called the stock, the graft is the scion. Stock should be put in bunches and packed in sand until February. Select from desirable trees the different varieties you want and cut the graft or scion at the ring of last season’s growth. In the process of grafting use only a sharp knife and in cutting stock or root make a smooth cut of about an inch slant. Where you have just cut split the root down and with scion repeat. Both root and scion must be even on one side, as there is where the union takes place. Bind with light string four or five times. This is what is called root graft. Do it in February and store in sawdust in bunches of about fifty where they will not be shaken or disturbed. Take up carefully and plant in well prepared ground about garden time and plow deep and possibly subsoil. Harrow well, line up rows with a string and mark with a sharp stick. Put them in straight rows six to eight inches apart and cultivate well. When one or two years old, two years old preferred, set out in rows about 25 feet apart. Cut roots to six inches in length, all but tap root. Cut top one year old trees back. On trees two years old leave a leader, for it will have branches. Head tree to suit anywhere from twelve to eighteen inches from the ground and trim branches from within two inches from the trunk. If it should fork cut out one fork, as when older and heavy with fruit it will split, After planting cultivate as you would farm . Hm 370 State Horticultural Society. crops. Prof. Howard says that corn, potatoes, berries and cowpeas can be grown in an orchard, these being preferable to all. Bud peach trees late in summer along in August, or when the bark peels well. Put the bud in as low as possible, two or three inches from the ground and cut high enough so the bud will not be affected by the part dying. Select budding sticks from trees that are known to be healthy. Plant after one year’s growth. Cut off all side branches to about one inch, and cut top back. The best varieties of peaches and apples for a commercial orchard are those in demand by buyers. Ben Davis, Gano and Jonathan. For a home orchard York Imperial, Red June, Early Harvest, Huntsman, Grimes’ Golden and White Winter Pearman are the best varieties. For commercial peaches Elberta, Champion, Heath Cling and Salway are the mest sought, while for home use the Family Favorite, Moun- tain Rose and Early Alexander are the best peaches to grow. Diseases and insects that often attack peach and apple trees can be overcome by spraying with the Bordeaux mixture. Borers may be prevented by putting shingles around the tree or wire screen. here are two kinds of borers, the flat head and the round head, the one above the ground is called flat head. Experiments conducted by the government fruit stations after experience with four years’ growth conclude there is no difference © in the growth and vitality of a tree, whether grown from whole root or piece root graft and that whether nursery stock is called whole root or piece root.”—Practical Fruit Grower. CROWDING APPLE TREES. GOGH THE ike (By Edwin Hoyt, Connecticut.) You will find it very difficult to gather statistics of an orchard, at the present day, that will give anything near what we may expect from one that is properly cultivated, fertilized and sprayed. 1 think, however, that in a few years there will be typical orchards bearing when statistics may be had that will startle many of our farmers by the large yields and profits obtained from them. From what I have seen and learned, I am satisfied that apple trees of many varieties may be brought into full bearing at four years after being set into the orchard. I have seen apple trees the fourth year after planting out, bear one- half bushels of apples per tree. I once saw an orchard here in which “ninety trees bore, the eighth season after being set into the orchard, 206 barrels of picked apples. These ninety trees were composed of Baldwin, Rhode Island Greening and Roxbury, and were set eighteen Fruits and Culture. 371 feet part. I am not an advocate of large apple trees with tops spread- ing thirty to thirty-five feet, and going up into the air twenty-five to thirty-five feet, requiring a thirty-foot ladder to gather the fruit, but prefer to set my trees eighteen feet apart, using 135 trees per acre, and when the trees are four years old and come into bearing, stop all other cropping and let the trees have all the ground to grow and ma- ture their tituit. 1 would, however, fertilize and cultivate the or- chards as I would for any crop. By setting the trees eighteen feet apart I have 100 trees more to the acre to bear from the time they are four years old and on This makes the orchard itself pay a good profit for the land, and there is less reason or desire to crop the land with some other crop, as would be done with only thirty-five trees to the acre. These trees would bear for fiifteen years before crowding, when the top of every other tree should be cut back to as near the body of the tree as could be done, and not leave the limbs too large; the same as would be done if the tree were to be top-grafted. A new top of young thrifty growth would start out, which, of course, would need to be thinned out prop- erly, and in three years, the trees would be in full bearing again, when the tops of those not cut back may be served in like manner. By this method of treatment the top would be kept young; the fruit be grown on young and thrifty wood, and the apples easily picked and trees easily sprayed over those low heads. When the trees crowd again, let the tops be cut back as before, or take out every other tree entirely. As money from the orchard is the object, thus planting the trees 135 to the acre and keeping the tops within a radius of abouf sixteen feet, more apples will be taken from the orchard in twenty or twenty- five years, and at less expense per tree, than would be from the same ground with trees set thirty-five trees to the acre, in fifty years, for there are 100 more trees per acre to bear fruit, and on thrifty, vigor- ous, young trees— Rural New Yorker. GROWING TREES TO WITHSTAND DROUTH. (Charles E. Richards.) It has long been noticed how much better deep-rooted trees and growing plants stand a drought than those which are shallow rooted. The tendency to root in any particular way is largely an inherited characteristic in the various varieties of trees or plants, but partly a matter over which man has some control. There are conditions in which moisture is so frequently supplied by rain, or where the 372 State Horticultural Society. water from below comes so near the surface of the ground, that it is im- pessible and unnecessary to try to make the trees root deep. There. are no fruit trees so far as I know, and but a few kinds of nut-bearing trees, which do well if their roots extend to a perpetual water strata. But on ordinary soils, and under usual conditions, trees may be so pruned and trained that they will send their roots deep down, and the ‘deeper rooted the trees become the healthier, the longer lived and the more productive they will average. The trees from the same nursery, on the same kind of root, if planted in California will stand a drought which would kill its fellow planted in New Jersey, with its ordinary root system. This fact leads me to inquire if there is not some way by which trees may be induced to root more deeply. The chief cause of the difference is that in Cali- fornia the soil about the orchard trees is kept well cultivated, and each wet season the ground is deeply plowed, thus all the surface roots and rootlets are cut off. The moisture during the growing months is sup- plied by a deep furrow system of irrigation, so the water is sent well down.into the ground and the roots have no need to come to the surface for water. Indeed the top soil is kept so well cultivated that there is always a dry layer of earth of several inches in thickness, which prevents the radiation of moisture. From experiments which have been made in the East it is pos- sible to force the roots to go deeper than were nature let alone, and always, so far as I have investigated, has the experiment been atten- ded with satisfactory results. If the main roots of a young nursery tree are pruned square across a number of small rootlets immediately start near the point of amputation, and their growth is usually at right angles to the root from which they originate. Now if in place of a square cut, a fresh very oblique cut be made, the tendency is for a single main sprout to grow, and in the samé direction with the root from which it started. It is evident if this rule holds true, that a deeper rooted tree can be obtained by pruning the top root or roots in this manner. The side roots should be similarly pruned and the oblique face of the cut turned downward. Then if in addition to the proper initial root pruning, the orchard be plowed and cultivated, if not as frequently as is the custom in California, at least once in a while, so as to cut off the surface feeders, then the tree will depend more and more upon its deep roots. It would not be well to allow too long an interval to elapse between these root prunings for the removing of a considerable quantity would be a severe shock to the tree. Better do it often. Fruits and Culture. 373 Deep rooted trees do not respond as quickly to fertilizers, but on the other hand they do not make known a want as quickly. There are always a sufficient number of small roots to take in the food or water, and the fact that there are none of these upon which the tree largely depends will be a guarantee that year in and year out the deep root system is best. The experiment is well worth trying.—Orange Judd Farmer. ORCHARD METHODS. Prof. John Craig of Cornell University told of his observations on orcharding in western New York. Quality of fruit should be sought rather than quantity. If the grower.has only Ben Davis apples and Kieffer pears he may not be successful. Orchards in west- ern New York are paying in just such proportion as the grower puts energy and intelligence into his work. The great problems to be carefully studied out by fruit-growers are pruning, spraying and tillage. A mistake is made in pruning heavily at long intervals. The grower waits until the foliage is dense and limbs intertwining; then he goes at it vigorously, with result that the tree is thrown out of its normal balance. The whole system of constitution has been so dis- arranged that it takes several years to bring the tree back to normal condition. Annual or biennial pruning is to be recommended. Spray- ing trees while in bloom is dangerous and entirely unnecessary. When the tree is bearing heavily it might not prove disasterous, but the bees working on the blossoms are likely to be killed. Eleven years ago, the tilled orchard was an exception in western New York; to-day, it is the untilled one. Cultivate the orchard part of season, and then sow a crop that will return some of the fertility taken from the soil. During a dry season, tillage should go on much Icnger. Ina wet season, trees do not need so much moisture.—Coun- try Gentleman. RENOVATING OLD APPLE TREES. (By Professor L. R. Taft, President of Horticultural Department Mich- igan State Agricultural College.) The work needed for the renovating of most of these orchards can be grouped under four heads, cultivation, pruning, manuring and spray- ing. 374 State Horticultural Society. As most of these orchards are in sod, the first work is the plowing of the land which should be done as early in the spring as possible, taking care not to injure the roots. From this time until the first of August a harrow should be used once a week or ten days, so as to keep down the weeds and grass and produce a dust mulch to preserve the moisture. At the last harrowing two bushels of oats per acre should be shown, to afford a cover crop for the winter. The following spring this can be worked into the soil with a disc harrow, and no plowing will be needed. This treatment of the soil will give the best results under average conditions, but it may be modified to suit the circum- stances. Thus if the trees are far enough apart to make it desirable, some such crop as pumpkins, squash or cucumbers may be grown be- tween the trees, but a grain crop should never be sown in the spring. If the soil is rich and. sufficiently moist not to suffer in dry summers, the orchard may be seeded to red clover in July or early August and this can be grown until the second spring, when it should be turned under and the land kept in cultivation until August. No general rule for pruning can be given except that all dead branches should be removed, water sprouts should be cut out, and ii the heads are too thick the branches that cross or crowd can be taken out. It often happens that in the old orchards that the growth has become stunted, and if such is the case it is a good plan to severely cut back the branches. When the branches are so low as to make culti- vation beneath the trees difficult, the trouble can often be corrected without cutting off any of the main branches, by removing the entls that hang down towards the ground. There are few old orchards that will not be benefited by manuring and when it is possible to apply fifteen to twenty two-horse loads oi partially decomposed manure per acre very marked results can usually be seen. When a heavy sod has been turned under, this will go far towards furnishing food for the growth of the tree during the following season, and perhaps for one crop of fruit, but for the best results manute must be used and with no sparing hand. Unleached wood ashes wilt also be beneficial, and, if manure cannot be secured in abundance, it can often be supplemented to advantage with potash salts, acid phosphate and nitrate of soda. For the spraying of the trees, Bordeaux mixture and Paris green, or arsenic, are all that will be required under ordinary circumstances. Three or four applications will generally be found profitable. The first should be made just before the blossoms open and the others at intervais of two or three weeks. Thoroughness in making the applications is Fruits and Culture. 375 the first requirement for success, as unless every leaf and fruit are covered with the spraying material perfect results cannot be expected. SHOULD TRESS BE TOP-WORKED? The ordinary nursery tree has been propagated by grafting or budding upon seedling stocks, the union being at or near the surface of the ground. If suitable stocks have been used, first-class trees caii generally be grown in this way, but there are a considerable number of varieties that, when propagated in this way, do not make a satis- factory growth, and, for all such, top-working is advisable. By this is meant grafting or budding upon the branches, or well up on the trunks of trees that are two or more years old. Many nurserymen make a practice of growing certain varieties in this way, but as the tops are easily broken it is better for the fruit grower, who wishes to erow these varieties, to top-work them upon trees that are already growing in the orchard. In addition to being able to increase the vigor and improve the form of weak-growing varieties, the hardiness and longevity of many of our most valuable, but somewhat tender, varieties can be increased to a marked degree by top-working them upon some vigorous growing and hardy stock. Such common sorts as the Baldwin, King and Canada Red apple, and the Bosc pear are among those that are greatly bene~ fited by top-working. Each year millions of trees come into bearing that prove to be un- true to name and in many cases absolutely worthless. The owners have not only lost the first cost of the trees, but, what is many times more, the use of the land and the labor of caring for the trees for from five to ten years. Had the owners planted some standard varieties as stocks, and after one or two years, top-worked them with scions of the desired sorts, taken from bearing trees, they would not only have made sure of the kinds they wished to grow, but would in most cases secure better trees by the top-working. This method of starting an orchard makes it possible to secure what are often spoken of as “a pedigree” trees, as the scions used for top-working can be selected from trees that are known to be regular bearers and that produce large and perfect fruit. Here and there trees can be found that produce more and bette fruit than any others in the vicinity, even though they are growing under conditions that are apparently similar, and if the scions are cut from such trees the chances are that the improvement will show in the new orchard. The adoption of this method of starting an orchard will both lessen the expense of the trees, when new sorts are desired, and reduce the danger of loss from the planting of untested sorts. The new sorts are 376 State Horticultural Society. generally high priced, selling at from five to ten times as much as the older sorts. By first planting the land with standard sorts, and at the same time putting out a few trees of each of the new kinds, it will be possible, within a year or two, to obtain enough scions to top- work all of the trees with the new varieties if desired, and at a cost much less than had trees of the new varieties been purchased in sufli- cient numbers to plant the entire orchard. It is seldom advisable to risk the extensive planting of new and un- tried sorts, but if the course recommended above is followed it will be possible, in most cases, to fruit the new sorts in two or three years, by grafting them upon bearing trees, and those that give the most promise of value can be used for top-working the trees in the young orchard. In selecting varieties to plant out as stocks for top-working, care should be taken to obtain such as are of vigorous growth, hardy, and “ have strong, straight trunks, free from injury from: “sun-burn.” For special purposes they may be either one or three years from budding or grafting, but twosyear old trees will ordinarily give the best results. The top-working may be done the year after the trees are planted, or may be delayed for one or more years longer. Excellent results can be ob- tained on young trees if the scions are whip grafted upon the small branches about six inches from the trunk. In case any of the grafts fail to grow, there will be a chance to bud the branches a little lower down the following summer. If trees more than two years old are to be top- grafted it is well to extend the work over two or three seasons. When the heads have been started too high, the grafting can be performed upon the trunk below the branches, using the whip-graft for small trees and the cleft graft for larger ones up to an inch in diameter. Very good results can be obtained in starting orchards in this way with apples, pears and plums, and under proper conditions with cherries, but it should not be used with peaches. TOP-WORKING LARGE TREES. The grafting of alder trees has been much more commonly prac- ticed, and when performed for the purpose of changing the variety, usually gives good results. On the other hand, failure generally results when an attempt is made to rejuvenate an old and exhausted tree by grafting. Some varieties have thin and delicate leaves that are seri- ously injured by fungi, and such trees can generally be benefited if top-worked with a variety having healthy foliage. When it is not desir- able to change the variety to improve either the fruit or foliage, no bene- fit can be obtained by top-grafting the trees, as equally good results Fruits and Culture. — 377 can be secured by cutting back and thinning out the branches, thus throwing the whole vigor of the trees into those that remain and giving them thorough cultivation and plenty of manure. For the top-working of large trees, the use of the cleft graft is ad- visable, cutting the branches back to stubs from one inch to one and one- half inches in diameter, and inserting two scions in each stub. All out- door grafting is done in the spring just before the buds open, but, if for any reason is delayed after this time, the scions should be kept dormant by placing them in an ice-house or cool cellar. THE APPLE CROP. AT END OF THE SEASON. (By G. T. Tippin, Nichols, Mo.) As we have just completed harvesting a remarkable fruit crop in South Missouri, considering the unfavorable circumstances under which it has been grown, a review of some observations made while in constant contact with a great many orchards, both peach and apple, in this section during the past three months, may be of interest to some of the readers of your valuable paper. At the time of our last communication to the Fruit-Grower the peach crop was very promising, and while an abundant crop was _ harvested, there was a time during July and August when the grower lost hope ana: his courage yielded to what he then thought inevitable disappointment. As the drouth became more severe, the peaches seemed to stop growing, and we all conceded that the crop was ruined. It was a time when a se- vere test was being made; one under which the advantages and disad- vantages of cultivation or non-cultivation were fully tried. A great con- flict was on. Would nature fail in her part, or would she yield a bounti- ful crop to the keeper of her fields? was the question in every mind. The drouth continued, but when the peaches began to mature the hope of vic- tory began to rise in the minds of those who had faithfully performed their part in the care of their orchards. While our peaches were not large as usual, the quality was the best, both as to flavor and carrying qualities. We do not mean to say that there were no good peaches on uncultivated orchards, but as a rule the orchards that were well cultivated, with well pulverized surface, were: much more satisfactory and the yield went beyond the expectation of the- most sanguine. There was but one query. How was it possible for a: 378 State Horticultural Society. peach crop to mature during such a drouth? The fact that it did has demonstrated fully that it does not require much rain to make a fruit crop if we husband the moisture below by clean and thorough culture. One man, a fellow-nurseryman, visited us in July, who has forty acres of peach orchard, with apples planted between in about one-haif of it. His apple grafts had all died, his peaches were small and he said could not make anything. He was very much disheartened and felt that he must give up, but he had cultivated and cared for his trees, had done his part well and his reward was nearly $3,000 worth of fruit marketed. ; Passing to the apple crop, we will say that while the rainfall was very light all through the season in which our apples were growing and maturing, yet we have had a good apple crop in the south section of the State. The fruit was not large as usual, due to extreme dry weather, which decreased the quantity fully one-third, yet the quality, as a rule, was very good, and the fruit has brought very good prices. While our loss from failure of corn and hay crop is quite heavy, we believe it is fully made up by the fruit harvest in this section and will result in more extensive planting and better care of orchards. We have made the following observations which hold good as a rule in successful orchard growing: First—The selection of soil adapted to the kind of fruit that is to be planted, is most important. This was a season in which we could learn how much assistance we could render nature in doing her work, by cultivation, and where the sanie help on a plat of orchard failed while it was a success with an adjoining plat is pretty good evidence that the plat failing was not adapted to the growth of the trees planed on it. Second—While cultivation is always best, in our opinion, this year was one that thorough surface culture brought an especial reward. Third—As a rule, sprayed orchards were freer from Codling Moth than unsprayed orchards. Fourth—While there was but little Bitter Rot we found it worse in crowded orchards, where trees were grown together, the lower limbs lying on the ground, the orchard grown up with weeds and grass, or sur- rounded with thick brush, or any condition that would hinder the free circulation of air and sunlight necessary to dispel the dampness from dews during the night or early in the morning before the sun became hot: We only packed one orchard affected with bitter rot that was sprayed for this disease. This orchard was sprayed only once, and that after the rot had developed. It was sprayed under the super- Fruits and Culture. . 379 vision of Prof. Stinson of the Experimental Station. He left one plat unsprayed, and this gave up only about one-half as many bar- reling apples as the same number of affected treés that were sprayed. As we have been asked so often for our opinion of trap lanterns for destroying injurious insects in orchards, perhaps in justice to everybody concerned we should give our observation along this line. While we desire to see every good thing succeed and do not want to do any one an injustice, we are frank to say that the trap lanterns have been failures this year. Orchards that were well lighted with them, bore fruit as baaly stung and as wormy as those that had no attention in this direction, either by use of lantern or spray. We trust that we may profit by the season’s lessons, and that our already progressive horticulture in Missouri will take on greater energy.—Western Fruit Grower. CEE AP Pie EEA ik, “Chicago is the greatest apple market in the world. More kinds of apples, red, green, yellow, mottled, sweet, and sour, are displayed on South Water street than the apple eater among our fathers ever dreamed of. But some one has: said recently that we ship more apples than we eat and the decided preference of our people for red apples and big ones, indicates that we prize the fruit more for its appearance than for its taste and texture. “Some of the New York newspapers have gone so far as to intimate that we treat apples very much as we treat flowers—put them on our tables, pile them up on our fruit stands, choosing colors and sizes simply to make a show—and that, therefore, we miss the great opportunity of being benefited as were our New England and New York ancestors by the eating of apples in season and out. “An old Scandinavian tradition represents the apple as the food of the gods.. The story was to the effect that when they felt themselves growing old and feeble and infirm, the gods resorted to the apple for re- newing their powers of mind and body. Trained in such a tradition the Scandinavians like a good apple when they see it, and they like it better when they taste it. “We have among us a fair sprinkling of New England people. They come to us with traditions not so old as those of the Scandinavians, but stronger in promoting attachment to the apple. There are among us, too, thousand of New Yorkers, Pennsylvania, Buckeyes and Hoo- 380 Winter Meeting. siers, whose ancestors were all great apple eaters, and it would be strange, indeed, if their decendants did not keep up the habit. “There may have been at one time a little prejudice against the apple among people who are naturally inclined to turn up their noses at any- thing within the reach of commoners, but the scientists came to the res- cue, and showed that the apple, chemically, is one of the most wholesome of fruits. “The German scientists have pointed out that the apple contains a larger percentage of phosporus than any other fruit or vegetable, and that this phosporus is admirably adapted for renewing the essential nery- ous matter, lethicin of the brain and spinal chord. Our own scientists have pointed out that the acids of the apple are of signal use for men ot sedentary habits; that these acids eliminate from the body noxious mat- ters which, if retained, would make the brain heavy or dull or bring about jaundice, skin eruptions and other allied troubles. “Now everyone knows that Chicago brains are not heavy or dull, and the plain inference is that our people eat a great many apples. Some New York man has discovered that the malic acid of ripe apples, either raw or cooked, will neutralize any excess of chalky matter engendered by eating too much meat. It is also contended that the apple, when taken ripe, and in large doses without sugar, diminishes the acid in the stomach rather than provokes it. We may like big, red apples, as the New Yorkers say, but we like them because they are good apples, and we eat them at home.”—Fruit Trade Journal. BEPECGI OF GAS ONCNURSER YS LOG (By Prof. W. G. Johnson.) During the past few months, I have had many inquiries regarding the physiological effect of hydrocyanic acid gas upon various grades and kinds of nursery stock. After several years’ experience handling this gas, both experimentally and in a practical way, I can give definite in- formation on this question. In April, ’99, I began a series of experi- ments with a view of determining the exact amount of gas nursery stock would stand when exposed one hour. These experiments confirmed previous tests Hae by me that the gas, when used as recommended (0.25 gramme per cubic foot of space in- closed) does not injure any kind of well-matured, thoroughly dormant nursery stock. Even the tender terminals of first-class peach were ex- Fruits and Culture. : 381 posed an hour, double the time usually allowed. A peach tree fumigated — April 26, ’99, with 0.25 gramme for one hour, showed no injury. I found, however, that when 0.45 gramme per cubic foot was used, nearly double the ordinary amount and exposed one hour, first grade peach was slightly injured on the terminal growth. The injury, however, was so very slight that it was not considered harmful to the tree. When about three times the normal charge was used, exposed one hour, I found the trees were more or less seriously injurd. Under no circumstances have I recommended this gas stronger than 0.25 gramme per cubic foot. It is not necessary to use it stronger than this on any grade of stock, and there need be no fear of injury, if the proper precaution is taken. Similar tests were made also upon apple and | found that even where six times the normal was used, well-matured apple trees were not injured at all. Plum was not injured until nearly three times the normal was used, while pear stood from three to four times the usual dose. All ex- posures were for one hour April 26, ’99, and the trees were set out care- fully the same day. They were watchd and cared for during the sum- mer. June buds and low-grade peach, known usually as whips, were quite seriously injured when exposed with the 0.25 gramme for one hour. I reduced the cyanide to 0.18 gramme, with which amount I found no re- sulting injury. It is now a well known fact that any wood not well ma- tured will not withstand a heavy charge of this gas. I recommend its use for June buds, peach, plum and cherry stock of low grade from 0.16 to 0.18 gramme per cubic foot, exposed one-half hour and no longer. In previous experiments I found that the scale under ordinary circumstances is destroyed when fumigated with 0.12 to 0.14 gramme, therefore the 0.16 to 0.18 formula given can be used with perfect safety. Some nurserymen do not care to fumigate buds, grafts and scions with the strong formulas. I suggest that the same amount recommended for the June buds be used for stock of this kind. Any box can be made perfectly tight by papering and painting it. An ordinary box can be con- verted into a gas chamber very easily. I do not recommend the use of very small boxes, as it is difficult to estimate and handle the exceedingly small amounts of chemicals necessary to generate gas in an inclosure of less than 15 cubic feet. A box amout 4 feet square and 1% to 2 feet deep can be used to good advantage. The gas can be easily handled in a box of this size by the average grower. It is not necessary to fumigate such plants as cedar, pine, etc. I do 382 State Horticultural Society. not advise the general fumigation of roses and other supplies usually handled by florists, with the stronger formulas. It is necessary to re- duce the amount to 0.10 to 0.15 gramme when fumigating stock of this character. I will give further details for the fumigation of greenhouses in future issues if desirable. I will also give an illustrated article soon on orchard fumigation, in answer to several inquiries. Although one of the most dangerous poisons known to chemical science, hydrocyanic acid gas will be used more and more each year. The conditions are such that no other treatment known can be substituted for it. It is cheap, easily generated and safe when applied intelligently. It is invaluable, but there is danger of getting too much of a.good thing. Follow directions with explicit exactness and all will go well. Do not apply under any circumstances the old negro’s philosophy, who said: “If a quarter pound Paris green will kill dem ‘tater bugs dead, a half pound will kill ’em deader.” I have known intelligent nur- serymen, who have applied too much gas for too long a time, and then wonder why they had injured their stock. The negro’s philosophy will not work in either case. If 0.16 to 0.25 gramme cyanide per cubic foot kills the scale, and all other live insects, let that suffice and give them a decent burial—Orange Judd Farmer. COLD STORAGE. Mr. Simms: Cold storage has been successful for the past season and it seems as though we need it in our business. Mr. McGill introduced the following resolution: Resolved, This this Horticultural Society believes that a cold stor- age plant should be established in Bentonville, and that we believe it would be a paying investment. Mr. Green: If I had 1,000 barrels of apples I would put them all in cold storage before I would take a dollar a barrel. Mr. Eld: My-apples had Bitter Rot so bad last year that I only put 70 barrels in cold storage at Rogers. Put in good and sound ap- ples, but felt doubtful whether cold storage would save them. They came out in good shape, and it is safe to say Bitter Rot will not de- velop in cold storage. If a barrel costs 35 cents, cold storage 50 cents, the apples are worth $1.00 and the labor 15 cents, it brings the cost of a barrel of apples at $2.00 and they have sold readily at $3.00. Mr. Davis: I put a mixed lot of apples in storage at Rogers that Fruits and Cultures 383 would have been dull sale at picking time. This spring they brought me $3.00 and $3.50 a barrel. Mr. Gipple: Every year those who use cold storage are making money. A neighbor sold his apples from cold storage and guaranteed them. He did not lose by the guarantee. He gave me a barrel and | believe they came out of storage better than they went in. He made $2.25 a barrel. Mr. McGill: Capital wants a safe and profitable investment and it looks as if cold storage is both. Mr. Henthorn: I never lost an apple in cold storage at Rogers. Whether cold storage is in Bentonville or not we must use it. Mr. Gipple: Rogers can not store half our apples, even if Mr. King doubles his capacity. The resolution was adopted by unanimous vote—Benton County, Arkansas, Horticultural Society. HOME MARKET FOR FRUITS. To secure a home market for fruits, which, by the way, is the very best market that can be had, we must grow the best fruit, of the best varieties that can be had, pick and handle the same with the greatest care, grade and pack honestly in new, clean baskets or packages and place it on the market. while it is fresh. In making a “home” market for our fruits it will be found that looks will go a very long way toward success. For instance, let us suppose a case which, I can assure you, is not overdrawn in any particular: A and B own fruit farms near a thriving city. Both grow good fruit, and both seek a home market. A being a man who takes pride in himself, as also in his busi- ness, secures a good team; has his name and that of his farm neatly painted on his wagon; buys new baskets; carefully and honestly assorts and grades his fruits; plainly stamps on each package his name and the grade of fruit the basket contains; makes himself clean and tidy, and presents his goods in a gentlemanly and business-like manner to his cus- tomers. He shows them as nearly as possible the difference in the grades of fruits, and asks them to kindly report to him the next time he calls if they do not find the fruit just as represented. This man has created a favorable impression, and even if his prices seem a little high he will have no trouble in selling his goods. B, whose fruit is just as good as A’s, but could not spend the time 384 State Horticultural Society. to grade it, and who thinks “anything will do,” gathers up all the old mouldy, dirty boxes, baskets and barrels, dumps in the fruit without as- sorting, loads them into an old rattletrap wagon, hitches up his old rattle- bones of a horse with harness tied up with strings and pieces of rope, himself wearing the same clothes he has worn while milking his cows and feeding his pigs, with trousers’ legs tucked into his boots—he is ready to look for customers. He arrives in town, himself and his fruit, covered with dust, one about as inviting to look at as the other, and few people are found who would want either the man or his fruits; he gets rid of a small quantity to the poorest people and at the poorest prices, he is disgusted and discouraged, and says there is no money in growing fruits, Now, kind friends, this picture is not a fancy one. I could show you dozens of just such fruit growers as B, and if you were to talk with them they would tell you the fruit business does not pay, and that the market is glutted with fruit. The demand for A’s fruit will increase from year to year, while B will become discouraged and give up fruit growing as a bad job. More than twenty years ago, when I began furnishing plums for our home market, there were many people who had never seen a good plum; but since that time, notwithstanding the fact that many others have gone into the growing of them, I have never been able to supply the demand for them. I now have many young trees just come into bearing, and shall con- tinue planting each year. I hope in time to be able to meet all demands for them. It will be many years before there will be an overproduction of strictly first fruit for “home markets.’ Growers must strive to pro- duce larger quantities of No. 1 fruits and a much less quantity of in- ferior fruits. This can only be done by a more thorough knowledge of the best methods of pruning, thinning, fertilizing, cultivating and spraying the orchards. The growing of better fruit will in a great measure solve the prob- lem of overproduction; the better the fruit the greater will be the quan- tities consumed. The best fruits, fresh from the trees and vines, will in- crease our appetite in about the same ratio that poor, half-ripened fruit will decrease it. To convince you that people do appreciate good fruit and are will- ing to pay for it, I will give you my own experience in marketing straw- berries. For the past three years I have sold my berries to our leading marketman, because he was willing to pay me a price that I considered better than to peddle them myself, I use for my strawberries and rasp- re Fruits and Culture. 385 berries only new baskets (standard size quarts) and Kevitts patent dis- play crate. All my strawberries are assorted after they come from the field, the baskets are filled “heaping full” and the top layer is faced up with hulls down, being very careful that the top berries are no larger or better than those in the rest of the basket. I have pickers enough, so they get through by twelve or one o'clock each day. Thus every basket reaches the consumer the same day it is picked, and it is always understood with my marketman that should any customer complain of any basket of my berries being other than as repre- sented, he is to give him another box and charge the same to me. (I have never had a box charged back yet.) The first season I paid my marketman 3c per box for selling, and since then I have made a contract with him each season to take all my berries (strawberries and raspberries) at 15c per basket. They are de jivered to him twice a day—at 11 a. m. and at 4 to 5 p. m.; thus, he has fresh berries to deliver to his customers for dinner and tea. (1 live but one mile from the market.) The season of 1898 was without doubt the greatest strawberry sea- son ever known. Good berries from local growers were brought to this market and sold six boxes for 25c and toc per basket was considered a good price. The first few hundred baskets of my berries brought 25¢ per basket, then dropped to 20c, then to 18c, and at last a few sold at 15¢, the heft of the crop bringing 18c to 20c—and all the raspberries brought 2oc. And still you must understand the market was flooded with good berries. Occasionally a customer would try a cheap lot, but invariably came back to my berries, claiming they weré cheapest in the end. Even the few seconds I had brought as much as other berries were selling for. People knew that my berries were fresh and clean, and they had learned that they could depend on getting the same grade of fruit every time, and it was no uncommon thing when our noon load was delivered at the mar- ket to find a dozen or more people, and many times teams from neighbor- ing towns, waiting to secure a supply of my berries. And these teams had driven past other fruit farms and come five or six miles to get these berries, which were really no better than mine while they were on the vines, but were fresh picked, clean, honestly assorted and the baskets were full—and the people had learned these facts. Now, I have no pat- ent on these methods or no monopoly of a “home market.” If you grow fruit and have no home market for it, make one; I had to make mine. Of course, people who grow five to ten acres of strawberries cannot always dispose of them in their home markets, but there is more money in “smaller fields and better fruit.” | H—25 386 State Horticultural Society. What is true of the smaller is also true of the larger fruits. There will always be a demand at paying prices for the best, but only by the proper pruning of the tree and thinning of the fruit can we grow the best. AA; HALREADAY;, IMPORTANCE OF PROPER PACKAGES. Some of the most serious problems that confront the fruit grower are those connected with the questions of harvesting, packing and mar- keting the product. This has been found especially true in relation to the export trade in fresh fruits. In numerous instances efforts to increase the sale and use of American fresh fruits in foreign markets have failed through the imperfect understanding that exists among growers, pack- ers and shippers, as well as transportation companies and their employes, in regard to the requirements of the markets to be supplied and the methods of harvesting, packing, storing and shipping necessary to meet those requirements. The development, of that steady demand which is necessary to build up trade is in many cases retarded by the variability in condition of consignments on arrival. A shipment which arrives per- fectly sound and in every respect satisfactory is frequently followed by one or more that arrive in bad condition. The result is loss of confi- dence in the reliability of American fruit as a staple article of trade and a disastrous lowering of prices. For these reasons it seems highly im- portant that provisions be made for a careful study of methods of har- vesting, packing, storing and transporting fresh fruits, both*at home and abroad, with special reference to the development of the export trade in them. Authority to make experimental shipments should also be pro- vided for in this connection. In addition to the immediate beneficial ef- fect resulting from such an investigation, it would have a direct bearing on the selection of varieties for the commercial orchards now being plant- ed in many sections of the country, and thus exercise an important influ- ence on the character of the commercial fruit supply of the next two de- cades. It is therefore strongly urged that provision be made for the pros- ecution of this work during the fiscal year—W. A. Taylor, Assistant Pomologist, U. S. Department of Agriculture—Colman’s Rural World. i Fruits and Culture. 387 KEEPING QUALITIES OF APPLES. Cold storage for apples is as necessary as for meat or other products. Many excellent experiments have been made in regard to the keeping qualities of apples. Therefore the following condensed report collected by Ice and Refrigerator will be of interest to apple merchants: ; In recent bulletin issued by the United States Department of Ag- riculture, the results of various experiments on the keeping qualities of different varieties of apples made at the Canada Experiment Farms, stored in cellar, only one variety, the Ben Davis, came out at the end of May with all the fruit sound, the Newell being next with 93 per cent. sound, the Wagener third, 88 per cent., and the Ralls‘Genet and Wine- sap 82 per cent. The temperature ranged from 35 to 4o degrees F. for three months, while during the cold snap the temperature fell to 26 de- grees. The apples were undoubtedly frozen, but were in the dark and thawed out gradually.” : The relative keeping qualities of varieties under cold storage condi- tions was tested by the Nebraska Horticultural Society. The fruit there tested went into cold storage in the fall of 1897 and was taken out at in- tervals during the summer of 1898, and at that time examined, and each variety marked according to the condition in which it was found. Thirty- four varieties were tested, and of these seven varieties came out Novemn- ber 1, 1898, practically in perfect condition, viz., the Ben Davis, Wine-_ sap, Ralls Genet, Limbertwig, Willow Twig, Gilpin and Lansingburg. The White Pearman kept till June and the Russet till July. The Wag- ener, which ranked third in the cellar test, ranked the poorest of the thir- ty-four varieties in the cold storage test. One of the most interesting parts of the report is the account of the behavior of the different varieties in cold storage. Some retained all of their good qualities up to the close of the exposition, November 1, 1898. These were Ben Davis, Winesap, Ralls Genet, Limbertwig, Willow Twig, Gilpin and Lansingburg. Although the Salome lost a little in quality, it kept well in storage and on the table. Fruit taken from the storage June I retained color and firmness for nearly five week. Some retained good outward appearance, but lost in some other quality, as, for instance, the Iowa Blush, the skin of which became so bitter as to render it unfit for use. On the other hand, some varieties retained their eating qualities, but lost in outward appearance. ‘Such was the Milam, which kept well but lost in color. There was also numerous other kinds of deterioration; Minkler lost flavor and began to decay; the English 388 — State Horticultural Society. Golden Russet and Fulton shriveled; the Roman Stem became mealy and lost flavor; Sheriff and Walbridge discolored so badly as to render them unfit for show or market, and they deteriorated rapidly; Fameuse re- tain color, but many burst, and after a few days became mealy; the Yellow Bellflower went down suddenly. Moreover, the behavior of varieties having a certain characteristic in common was not always the same in respect to it. The Missouri Pip- pin, a dark apple, faded in storage, but the Walbridge and Sheriff, also dark apples, came out almost black; nor did the lighter colored apples fade more than did the dark red ones, for Grimes Golden and Yellow Bellflower, both yellow apples, held their color unchanged, while Mis- souri Pippin, a red apple, as has been said, faded—American Fruit ant Vegetable Journal. THE PEACHAIN MIssOURL= (By Hon. N. F. Murray, President. Missouri State Horticultural Society. } This, the most delicious of all fruits when properly grown, may, by a careful selection of the most hardy varieties and a suitable location and a thorough knowledge of the business, be grown successfully from Maine to California and as far north as Central Iowa, yet there is not one-fourth enough grown to supply the demand. In a few of the celebrated peach centers, such as are found along the shore of Lake Michigan, the Chesa- peake and Delaware peninsulas and some sections of Missouri, Arkansas, Georgia, Texas and California, it may occur in a year of an abundant crop and for lack of proper methods of distribution, or want of due prep- aration upon the part of growers to care for and handle the crop by ship- ping only the finest, and canning and evaporating the balance, some may go to waste and thus an impression goes abroad that there ts an over- production, which is not true. The fine looking peaches usually found in the large city markets of the Mississippi Valley come from some of the peach centers referred to and sell at prices that bar their use by the com- mon people, while the smaller cities and towns and the great majority of the farmers of the West seldom if ever have a sufficient supply of this lucious, life-giving fruit. There is no good reason why the millions of people living in the Mississippi Valley should go with such a meagre sup- ply or be dependent upon a few great peach centers a great distance away, the older of which are more or less affected with the peach yellows, a disease as much dreaded and as fatal to their trees as hog cholera is dreaded and is fatal to the swine of the Western farmer. It often occurs that much. of the fruit Fruits and Culture. 389 ‘ - on trees affected with the yellow ripens prematurely and_ par- takes of the disagreeable bitter found in the bark of the tree, and al- though looking nice and very tempting it is unfit for use. This disease is rarely found in the Western States, and we have every reason to be- lieve that most of the peach orchards on the virgin soil of this section wili prove immune to this much dreaded disease for a generation to come. We meet the objection in the West that the trees are occasionally damaged and sometimes killed by the winter, but we must remember that the peach tree is of a very quick erowth and comparatively short dura- tion in all countries, and as they can be grown so very cheaply, quickly and easily, bear so young and so abundantly, that we should not be de- terred in the least from planting them on account of shortness of life, but rather plant them more liberally and constantly from year to year, that we may have young orchards coming into bearing as old ones pass away, the wood of which makes good fuel and will pay well for clearing the land. It is rarely that we ever have a winter that does serious dam- age to any great number of peach trees in the West. The winter of 1898-9 was the worst, perhaps, in the history of the country and may not occur again in fifty years. Millions of trees were damaged and many killed outright, even in some of the noted peach centers, but the growers (be it said to their credit) went to work at once to repair the damage done by cutting back those that were damaged and grubbing up those that were killed and replanting, or by planting new orchards on new clean land. Some object to growing peaches extensively for the reason, as they say, that, we have’ not a sufficient market near by to quickly use up a large quantity of such tender and perishable fruit, but let us remember that in the Mississippi Valley is just where we have the large cities, thrifty towns, a dense farm population all over the country, and last, but not least, the wealth to make the best market in the world. On a tour to California last fall we spent two days at Grand Junc- tion, Colo., which has become quite a fruit center, having, as we were in- formed, shipped 75 car loads of peaches last year. In conversation with one of the growers we were informed that they grew them on land that cost $200 an acre and had to be irrigated, that they picked them careful- ly, wrapped in tissue paper, packed in 20-pound boxes, hauled them 30 to 40 miles to railroad, and paid $500 freight per car to Missourt1 river points! This gentleman further stated that they did not get a crop every year, that their trees were badly damaged with the winter of 1898-9, and that some years after paying the charges they had but little left, but on the average they found it a paying business. Permit me to ask, apout how many Missourians could be found that would engage in peach grow- 390 State Horticultural Society. ing under similar conditions? We venture, not one. We don’t have to, for we have a better country—one where the conditions are most favor- able—one where we have cheap land that needs no irrigation and where we have fine markets at our very door for a large amount of our peaches, and railroads at our very orchards that give us quick transportation for our surplus. With all of these advantages in our favor why should our people be dependent upon the inferior fruit of the remote and irrigated regions of the Great American desert for their supply? Growing fine peaches in Missouri is no longer an experiment. In 1870 we planted 500 trees in Northwest Missouri. The varieties were Hale’s Early, Troth’s Early, Stump, George the Fourth, Crawford Late and Early, Smock, Susquehana, Heath Cling and Late Delaware, in addition to fifty seedlings. All were cultivated for three years in corn and potatoes, after which they were cultivated thoroughly for fruit alone. The Crawfords and Susquehanna proved to be very shy bearers, but the fourth year from planting they netted $400. They continued to bear three years out of five, and one year the three acres netted $900. The Hale proved the hardiest and bore four crops in five years. The seed- lings were the least profitable and were first to die. One remarkable - thing was that we had one crop after 21 degrees below zero. This state- ment may be called n question by the Eastern growers, where the peach buds are killed at Io to 15 degrees below zero. It must be re- membered that the amount of cold the buds can endure without kill- ing depends upon the variety, location, soil, climate, care, cultivation, condition of buds when the cold strikes them, duration of storm, ete. . The varieties named have been superceded by newer introductions and by varieties to meet the demand of the market, many of which are very hardy and reliable. Those best and most profitable to plant will depend upon the locality in which you live and the purpose for which you design them. This is a matter of great importance and one that should be studied. closely. All the peaches we have grown in Holt county, Missouri, have netted us $1.50 per bushel, and to show that we still have faith in the business will say that we have in the last two years planted 6,000 trees and will plant more. We know of men here and there in all the states of the Mississippi Valley making good money growing peaches, and we believe there is room for many more to engage in this pleasant and prof- itable industry, not only for the purpose of supplying the home demand with fresh fruit, but large quantities should be grown for canning and evaporating, nor need the people of Missouri stop at this, but may with courage and safety plant large commercial orchards and enter the mar- kets of the world as a bold competitor—Practical Fruit Grower. Fruits and Culture. 391 COMMERCIAL VALUE OF PEACHES. (By Prof. R. H. Price, Texas Agricultural College.) At present it seems to me that the peach is the most important fruit grown in Texas-when considered from a commercial standpoint. To get a clear idea of the commercial value of the peach, we must consider the cost of growing and marketing. I will begin with the cost of setting the orchard. Good trees can be purchased at five cents apiece, and when set 20 feet apart each way, it will take 108 trees to the acre. These 108 trees will cost $5.40 to start with. It will cost about $2 to plow the land and put it in shape for setting. To set them out, it will cost about 2% cents per tree. This makes the acre cost $10.20, set to peach trees ready for growing the orchards. If good varieties are used, the orchard will bear a fair crop the third year. The cost of cultivating and pruning this acre each year will be about $5. The cost of the acre, then, will be about $15.10 until the first crop comes in. However, such crops as potatoes, cantaloupes and even cotton are grown on the soil while the trees aie young, and frequently fully pay for the cost of cultivating. These crops should not be grown on the soil unless it is fairly rich, since they check the growing trees, especially so if a drouth should come on late in sum- mer. No crops should be grown close to the trees, as they take too much moisture away from the young trees and do not leave enough room for good cultivation. I have seen many young orchards ruined by growing crops in them and not giving good cultivation. In canning our Mamie Ross peaches we found that one bushel of this fruit filled 22 of three-pound cans, which at 1634 cents per can amounted to $3.68 per bushel. From this amount should be deducted, of course, the cost of growing the peaches and the cost of canning, which was $2.20. This leaves a net profit of $1.48 per bushel for the fruit, be- side the peach stones that are used for planting, and the peach paring that makes a most excellent jelly. I am informed that in the peach sec- tions of East Texas the growers frequently sell the fruit on the trees at 40 cents per bushel. They average about $100 net profit on an acre of peaches. While I consider the commercial value of peaches quite satis- factory, it must be understood that it requires skilled labor to handle the crop all along from the setting of the orchard to marketing the crop. There are times when some spraying for insects and diseases is necessary, sometimes fertilizers should be used, careful pruning should be done to produce the finest product, and the successful grower will be satisfied with nothing short of this——Orange Judd Farmer. 392 State Horticultural Society. BUDDING THE PEACH: HANDLING THE PEACH ORCHARDS. When the principles which underlie the successful handling of the peach in orchards are well understood our farmers will grow an ample supply of this choice fruit. Many people suppose that budding is a diffi- cult art, and therefore plant peach pits and grow and plant in orchards seedlings instead of budded trees. Many of them likely are not aware of the fact that the hardiest varieties of budded peach, selected partly be- cause of their known hardihood as well as of quality, size and suitable time of ripening, are much hardier than seedlings, just as the hardiest known varieties of apples are very much hardier than the seedling apples. A moment’s reflection will show that all varieties were at one time seed- lings and that only such as show superior merit, hardihood, quality, productiveness, are taken up by our Horticultural bodies or by nur- serymen and propagated. AN EASY TREE TO BUD. The peach is perhaps one of the easiest of all trees to bud and a few suggestions will enable any bright boy or girl to grow the most desirable and hardiest budded varieties. Pits of the peach are saved in August and September from ripening fruit and ought to be stratified in moist soil, or should be allowed to lie a considerable time and become dry it is considered wise to let them stand in very moist soil or stratified earth for some little time before planting. Then they should be planted in soil that has been so carefully prepared that it is not likely to dry out dur- ing a succeeding dry winter. The kernel of the pit should be plump enough with moisture so that the frosts of winter expanding the moisture of the pit should rupture the shell and allow germination the following spring. These pits should be planted three inches apart in nursery rows three and one-half feet apart. With good cultivation they will attain the first season a height of from two to five feet, depending on the character and quality of the soil and the amount of rainfall and cultivation. SUGGESTIONS FOR BUDDING. From the toth to the end of August these little trees should be budded at the surface of the ground with matured leaf buds, not fruit buds, from other trees of desirable varieties. Uusing a very thin and sharp knife, a cross cut is made just through the bark, a slit an inch or more in Fruits and Culture. 343 length below it, allowing the insertion of the bud cut from the twig in such manner that there is the slightest possible film of wood and bark one- half to three-quarters of an inch in length. This bud is tucked in this open slit of bark and then tied up, using three or four wraps below the bud and as many above, tying with raffia, cotton twine or woolen yarn, the object being to keep the bark closed to exclude air and water. This should knit in a few days and within two weeks it is usually necessary to cut the string on the opposite side of the tree from the bud to allow for the expanding size of the growing stock. Otherwise the expansion oi the growing stock would cause the string to girdle the tree and choke the bud. Early the succeeding spring before sap starts three-eights of an inch above the bud cut away the seedling stock and be careful to al- low only the bud desired to grow. Rub off suckers. These young trees the first summer will, with suitable care, attain a height of from three to seven feet, depending on the character of the soil, amount of cultivation and the rainfall. QUESTION OF HARDIHOOD. They should be dug about the Ist of November and buried in earth to winter, for the reason that such trees are apt to make a rank growth and do not ripen up as completely the first two or three years as they wiil with increasing age and the growth thrown into more branches. The writer is in the habit of sowing oats at the rate of three bushels per acre in the nursery rows about the 1st of August, which shall so draw upon the surplus moisture as to compel the ripening of the trees and thus being mature when the first blasts of winter come. The question of hardihood of most varieties of fruit trees is very largely a question of the condition of ripening or maturity. Fruit trees that are perfectly ripe and mature can stand without harm a low range of temperature. It is the trees which from unwise, too late cultivation or warm and moist autumns are tempted to grow too late that are unripe, and which suffer severely with succeeding winters. The heavy destruction and loss of trees in the win- ter of 1898-9 was not so much due to the temperature of 30 or 40 degrees below zero as to the fact that the autumn had been warm and moist and that trees were not as well matured and as completely at rest as is usual in our State—Twentieth Century Farmer. 394 7 _ State Horticultural Society. GRADING AND PACKING PEACHES FOR MARKET. (By Prof. W. G. Johnson.) It is surprising how few fruit growers make necessary preparations in advance for handling their crops in the best possible way. Last June, when visiting the peach orchards of the Blue Ridge and Alleghany moun- tains, I estimated that a certain company would have between 60,000 and 70,000 bushels peaches. So far as could be seen no special prepara- — tions were being made to take care of this crop, which was an unusually large one. When the same orchard was visited again the latter part of August the packers were at work. There was no special organization. Some of the packers were sitting on the floor, while others were more comfortably seated on basket or box. The picture tells the whole story, and is well worth careful study. Several thousand bushels of as fine ~ peaches as I ever saw were lost in this orchard owing to lack of syste- matic organization. In striking contract with this system, I saw some well-organized packing sheds in the same neighborhood where every bushel of fruit was saved. In Georgia and Michigan the same careless indifference Was seen in many orchards. On the other hand, in some orchards the fruit was handled in the most careful manner. In the orchards of J. H. Hale, the fruit is sorted into three grades and placed in long canvas trays arranged in compartments in front of the worker, about one foot above the center of the table, with the packers on the opposite side. The peaches are classified into three grades and then packed into car- riers Of six baskets each. About 100 peaches of extra large size are ~ packed in a carrier. The No. 1 size usually requires from 120 to 150, while No. 2 takes from 190 to 210. Peaches below this size are as a rule not placed in carriers. The fruit is carefully graded by experts, many of them being orange ~ packers from Florida. Every peach must be up to standard size, with- out blemish and in perfect stage of ripeness before being placed in a basket. The general foreman of the packing shed keeps a very careful watch over all the fruit packed, and before the lid is nailed on a crate an expert makes a final inspection, being sure that every peach is up to standard. If a single peach is found containing a bruise or blemish of any kind, the entire crate is returned to the packer and as a_ penalty must be repacked. The fruit is handled mostly by white men and wo- men, and expert packers can put up from 80 to 100 carriers per day, the dont ‘ Wa oe eee ek eee, ee eee Oe Fruits and Culture. 395 number depending largely upon the variety and amount of fruit being packed. Some experts pack from 175 to 200 carriers a day, each person handling from 20,000 to 30,000 pieces of fruit, in addition to removing the baskets and middle tray of each carrier. Some fruit growers, throughout the north particularly, say~it is impossible to thoroughly round up a basket of fruit, especially where several different sizes are handled. The filling of a basket will depend largely upon the man or woman doing the packing. There are several standards which must be followed in order to fill a basket with peaches or fruit of any kind. In the Hale orchards all the fruit is graded by hand. Many large growers use graders, several kinds of which are upon the market. The work is greatly facilitated where these machines are used, and from 1,000 to 2,000 bushels can be run through them in a day if the fruit is avail- able—Orange Judd Farmer. HOW; MUCE- COED WIL -KILL PEACHES®* This question is hard to answer. I have watched many years; as a rule 18 below zero will kill peach buds, but I have seen them endure 28 below when not far advanced or swollen, and killed at 10 when buds were swollen. The same is true of blooms. I have watched the blooming of peach and other trees under various con- ditions of temperature. Much depends on the condition of the at- mosphere. When it is dry the trees will hold their bloom much longer at the same temperature than if wet. Also, if the buds have not been injured they look red and healthy; if injured in the bud and are pale red, they will not endure much cold. In fact some are killed in the bud and still bloom. Cold rains are very fatal during the season of pollenation. When the flower petals are open, and the deli- cate organs of fructification are fully exposed, damp weather with a low temperature causes them to drop off. This unfavorable weather causes fruit to drop off when the fruit is quite a good size. Again after a freezing, gradual thawing is much better than sudden thawing. JACOER FALEEL 396 State Horticultural Society. eo jp Hl HALE ONS PEAC Rie wid U RES We know of no one who has had a larger experience along this line than our friend Hale. Mr. Hale has recently written a long ar- ticle on this subject for the Rural New Yorker, and we condense this artice for Green’s Fruit Grower as follows: I find my views of peach culture changing, therefore rules which I have laid down need revis- ing. The first essential to successful peach culture is a love for trees, plants and other living things. In order to be successful in peach culture you must take a pleasure in the growth and in the develop- ment of your trees and orchards. You must love peaches because they are so beautiful and good. You must have horse-sense and good judgment generally. . The soil for a peach orchard is a warm, loamy soil, yet any land except a strong clay will give good results. I used to apply com- mercial fertilizers freely, but have learned that they are not necessary in many instances, providing sufficient culture is given to the orchard. Tam reclaiming abandoned farms; clearing up tracts of land covered with brush and other rubbish, and am planting them to peach or- chards, clearing up the rocks, etc., at considerable expense. It will pay to use a sub-soil plow before planting peach trees except where lands have sandy or gravelly sub-soil. Do not plant the trees until your land is well subdued. Plant big trees. I used to think that small sized trees were just as good as big ones, but I have changed my mind. I do not care anything about the shape of the top of peach trees since I cut off the top. I want a good root and a strong cane from fifteen to eigh- teen inches high with the top cut off. I have planted peach trees in~ large orchards thirteen feet apart or closer each way, but generally _ speaking plant peach trees eighteen to twenty feet apart, since if planted closer together it necessitates much pruning. Give this en- tire field up to the peach trees, planting no other crops in the orchard, and give the orchard thorough cultivation. Harrow and cultivate at least once a week for the three best growing months, June, July and August, during the first two years. After a month or six weeks of good culture sow cow peas over two-thirds of the space between the rows of trees, leaving space for single horse culture up and down each side of the trees for two months more. Leave the pea vines on the ground during the winter months. Fifteen or twenty pounds of ‘. / Small Fruits. 397 clover seed per acre is little enough. A clover carpet over the ground through the fall and winter is a great protection to peach roots. Seed down in the fall with clover seed, at the last cultivation, plowing the clover under early the next spring. The growth of all trees is most vigorous in the early spring. Therefore, give early cultivation. Prune so as to leave a partially open head. Do not shorten branches too much the first year. The second year shorten liberally all the longer branches. Promptly dig out and burn all trees af- fected with the yellows. Thinning the fruit is very important. Pick- ing, packing and marketing are the next important matters to be con- sidered.—Greens Fruit Grower. GRADING WPoSTRAW BERRIES BY .SELECEION. (R. M. Kellogg, Michigan.) Variation in plants is an important factor in fruit growing. Plants grown from seeds have a father and mother the same as an animal. When-+we propagate by buds and runners we have only a “mother” in a figurative sense. It is really a division of the nodes in its own body which contain the protoplasm, yet they are new crea- tions just as much as the plants grown from seeds. Being a division they contain the vigor or weakness of the parent plant. They us- ually closely resemble and bear fruit the same as the plant from which they are taken and yet under changed conditions they often make remarkable variations; sometimes so much as to constitute a distinct° variety. Now we may take advantage of these variations and fix in our mind the kind of plant and berry we want to produce and continuously select plants which we find here and there in the field approaching most nearly to the ideal we want and propagate from these, keeping them under restriction to prevent pollen exhaustion and greatly im- prove them. Sixteen years ago I adopted the following plan: I always set my plants in spring and then keep sharp watch during the summer when hoeing and cultivating for plants which show qualities superior to follow and set a numbered stake by them. A record is kept in a field book on a.scale of one to ten. Careful examination is made at stated periods during the season. Foliage, disposition to make strong fruit buds and few runners are carefully noted. The next spring when buds begin to show many of the plants staked are 398 State Horticultural Soctety. discarded and from the remainder, one-half the buds are removed to prevent pollen exhaustion. It should be remembered that these plants are grown in stools or hills and all runners removed as fast as they appear to encourage the habit of forming seed buds instead of runners. Since such plant is really many plants consolidated, the fruit stems must be treated as individuals. When the fruit is set it is thinned to three or four ber- ries to the stem. Since strength is developed by exercise they must be allowed to bear some fruit. I am firmly convinced that if the blos- — som buds are removed every year, they will lose the habit of forming fruit buds and throw their strength into the formation of runners the same as a pollen exhausted plant. When berries are ripe their size, color, firmness and flavor are carefully noted in the scale book and footings made, and the plant showing the most points of excellence is then taken as the “mother” of all the future plantings of that variety. It is given high tillage and irrigation and runners are potted as fast as they appear and trans- ferred to the special propagating bed where they are allowed to make runners for next season, when the search for new and better varia- tions is continued as before. Thus year after year we are throwing out the weaklings and accumulating the good qualities in the plants upon which we are to bestow our labor and use of land.—Orange Judd Farmer. FIRST PRIZE ARTICLE ON STRAW BERRY PATE Soil—I_ prefer a two-years’ clover sod to anything else, with barnyard manure applied just before seeding to clover. The me- chanical condition of such soil is superior to land that has been culti- — vated two or three years that is a pleasure to work it. I have tried the cultivate-two-or-three-year plan to my sorrow. Rain will pack such land and make it very hard, while a freshly turned clover sod will be friable and mellow. While white grub has never destroyed ~ any plant for me I have had them injured by mice, also by the ap- plication of coarse manure just before setting. Time for Setting—Spring is the best time to set the plants. The fellow who waits till August to save work will also save himself the trouble of picking very many berries. Soil Preparation—After plowing, work the ground with harrow and float till it is thoroughly fined and firmed, finishing with the — float. Mark with a light hand marker made hand-sled fashion, with VA runners 3% or 4 feet apart. We iw bein 84 Small Fruits. 399 Setting the Patch—Take plants from a new bed that has never been allowed to fruit. Trim the top to two or three leaves and the roots to five inches length. The spade is the most satisfactory tool I have yet found for setting plants; it should never be pushed straight down, thus making a large hole, the bottom of which cannot be closed. The best way is to set the spade square across the mark, face _down; push it into the ground on a sharp angle, push handle forward far enough to insert plant under spade, withdraw spade and press the earth firmly against the plant. There can, be no cavity under plants thus set. Set plants 15 inches to 3 feet apart in the row, ac- cording to variety. Free runners like Warfield or Brandywine can be set even four feet apart on strong soil, and the runners trained in be- tween to make one continuous row. Care of Patch—Cultivate immediately after setting, with very nar- row teeth on cultivator running close to plants; cut off all buds the first year. When runners appear cut them off. Repeat this once then let them grow. My great desire now is to get them to root. The best way to do this is to cover them with soil. This is accom- plished by adjusting the cultivator so the front tooth will make a little furrow for them to fall into and the rear tooth will fill it, and so cover them. They will easily grow through two inches of soil. When the row is of the desired width I chop runners off with a knife made of thin saw blade. By this method of getting the plants _ rooted early in the season they will make a very strong growth by the following spring, and be able to bear a large crop of berries. Neither will they set so thick as they would if cut a number of times before allowing them to run. For early berries a southern slope is best. Cultivate until after blooming, then mulch between rows. Frost will strike much quicker on straw than on cultivated land. To prolong the season, set late va- rieties on a northern incline. Mulch very heavy and leave it on late. To every boy and girl intending to set a strawberry patch I wish to add a word of warning. If you plant anything but staminate or perfect-flowering kinds, be sure to set staminate varieties every third row at least, to cross-fertilize. .A mistake on this point is the worst you can make; your labor will be lost—G. H. Marshall, Mich., in Ohio Farmer. foe BE PER THE LAND THE. BETTER THE BERRIES: The better the. land, the better I like it, says R. M. Kellogg. The growing of all small fruits is enormously profitable when grown 400 State Horticultural Society. under favorable conditions. It does involve considerable thought and what some people call labor, but the returns are ample. Indeed it is about the only thing in the way of farming that will enable a man to pay the present high wages with a certainty of coming out ahead, but this cannot be done on poor land. I have picked many crops of berries that paid the entire expense of growing them, and the purchase price of the land besides, and so, if I did not have the best land I know of, I would not use the poor land I happen to have, but I would buy another or rent, with the privilege of buying later on. I would locate it as near the city manure piles as possible, but would go further away to get extra good land, and then depend on rotating crops and ploughing under leguminous plants to get nitrogen and humus, and supplement this with ground bone, wood ashes, or what is nearly as good, sulphate of potash. I would plan my work two or three years ahead, and employ enough help to do every thing well and at the*right time to secure the best results. Every thing done in this way yields a profit and a great deal of pleasure. I put a great deal of time on fitting the land. I want the oxygen of the air to come in contact with every soil grain to render the plant foods soluble and immediately available for the use of the plants so they shall never get hungry. I usually set the strawberry plants on a cone, or if there be too much rubbish, I use a dibble, always exercising the greatest care to have the top of the crown just above the surface, and roots all separated and imbeded firmly in soft, mellow earth. My favorite way is to grow them in the hedge row, that is a modified hill culture. The rows are from thirty to thirty-five inches apart, and then each is allowed to make enough plants so they will stand di- rectly in line, and from six to ten inches apart, after which the run- ners are all clipped off with the rolling runner cutter which does the work very fast and effectually. The advantage of this is that the plants are consolidated and arranged so that every leaf comes in di- rect contact with the sun’s rays, so that the assimilation of the plant’s food is perfect, and each plant has its own root pasturage be- tween the rows, and is not making war on other plants to get food. The plants being set in a straight row, only occupy a strip at first of scarce two inches wide, and even here the cultivator teeth will break the surface so as to destroy capillary passages, and the whole surface is kept covered with the loose earth mulch, so the moisture cannot get away.—Prairie Farmer, A Page EEO TERE GE POLAMOM) cruiser a fet hoe wk alo ides gals coos wet OO w lew, os Coanetebe ri excdtess. ot .Weleome-—summer- Meeting. 2... 0... le ees 17 Address of -Welcome—Winter Meeting. 7... 2.2... 0. ec wes eens wre's 153 Address, Response to Welcome—Pres. Murray..............-45- 19 Address, Response to Welcome—Pres. Murray...............06- 153 Agriculture in the Common Schools—G,. B. Larum.............. 136 Emetican Apples. “broad=—F rot. — Whitten<...>. 22d oS. os gets 351 RMLs Te AIS CR ees ic As aad cine e tte aie. Gad oa bad sae SUB ob ee arena 44, 48 Apple and Peach Trees, How to Grow—W. L. Howard.......... 369 mole: Crop. Distribution, Of—J.S, Atwood.e... 28 55 Sines pe 122 Pemole Otop hme oe Le Tippin air. oie «4,1 ie ole < oe oll ane aus A Apple Culture, Some Requisites of Successful—G. T. Powell...... 361 Apple.Growing in. Kurope—H. von Schrenk.. 0.0. 5..0. 06.00. 265 Pe ee eed byt y= ECR Fao mee att ate scum etdyd a faie- ois. coon s\ese we Oe Spee ee 379 Pepelemmnsects-—)=- Me— Stedinan... ists fase. occ eis cgi aE ws eares 223 Ruplestec,-Liow 46 Start the-—Jacob Faith... x... A)... 0) ses 2 ee 120 Eeepue: trees “Closer Together, ‘Crowding ae..:...2 os... case cea 370 Apple Trees, Renovating Old—Prof. L. = Watt Scams s. 2 a eee 373 Apples, Growing INOW or intec stn ae PERL ee a eh: Se eA ee 196 erepres. pwecepine Qualities Os. os... cre wets ssa $s eacWe atime cae eee 387 Apples Profitable for North Mo.—J. A. Durkes...............0.. 186 PrarMeMeR STIIICT OS. 1s Laks one heen o's 500 8 tes EEA PT 194 Pires atietics; O1-—-G.. Po -Tumers ooo. fob o2 ee ae. 183 Apples, Varieties of, for South Mo.—L. B. Woodside............. 188 PPO MEME RIEL VP ISEUISSION: 55... cos cece ee ees ce es ow Phe ae hi tGO one MRT CTSA. “iClear eset otis ok a ce eee ayes SA ee 230 Pope ommaent of Commmnttees 2. aces oe oe ss oa oe oe Si 42, 166 areMier Society or. Mo.— ©, “Widmann. . 2... P02 faded beeen eee 343 Ppeeeeta Wo Hort ixbipite oak. ok. es cree 272 B Berries, The Better the Land, | eh al BSL Woke dn a nS eta oat NT 309 Prien tanger ene ret. SL Se at ee: BE ee 345, 250 mirdsmatid: Aprieminre—“Aucust Reesées. .. 22. .32i- ei desde cccen 349 Birds, Resolution for Protection (Cha Pat a HOAs gn REE i. 252 Birds, pee tor OteChiom Of) i) ski. ie. ities. fas hoe, ghee coker 343 Bitter Rot in Pepples oie, |s Baxter yen: o.5 tantak caraucuenn. hla 297 Bitter Rot of the Apple—Prof. H. von Schrenk................ 87, 204 Bitter Rot or Ripe Rot of Apples—Prof J. T. Stinson.:.......... 283 H—26 402 State Horticultural Society. ; Page Blackberries as:4: Money Crop—Ji*H. Marion: ...,..7...52 Ge 225 50 Blackberry .and“Dewbetrys_M. “Ey. Bophtand ey. ics... be os apes ton 49 Blackberry—Discussion ............... to igs Bel ie Roe eto a 52 ack ber fys—V APICES os suis ala te cs we es, he I eT See re TRO E 53 islack: Rot’ snesGrapesh Sic ties oy se: an tabog ck on eee ce en en, oo 207 Hilples Stone WoOMtiOMes. cas
  • .Peaches—-Wm.< Bs Hoae iy, ... ay cera: «ble eee 304 Distribution of Apples—-W.s AG-Gardener, sr. eos... Se 127, Discribution of Fruit—G. V.cRowler:. Sie vn. Sen ees Index. 403 Page Wrraie tle NVV CUIOHISG Ate 8c cress oth alee ot ye wpe pd meets o ager Sa egaie es eye, « 174 Wieatrestia:- A tneh- Suter OO EL 88 os 5B es jst ha tos Sistepetin eM Sen G+ ie vn oe 208 MPA E = PPISCISE SPCR CT. 2p el s¥ecare e ovnts oe sin, aa ge Sw Ra ail tee ahem 6 a no 210 Pitas Bioko ine— Ly. A. Robnett...0 522.05 ak. wv ew ae we alt 204 Peenuth, ichtine; the-—K <3. Walkerson 3... ne ee es 205 Peau Growme ~Ltees to Withstand... 'r...aes. 5. a os ose 371 BaniesrOt “O7sand TOOI— J.-C. -Evanse 2. ais oe a ins Peels oes 201 RISE PAY — PI SCHSSIONU Mois otis 10 Gio oor edcje es Oke ens os eee aie 102, 217-222 ST STE ce SE! a een ESS aE aa Oe eh IOT Dist Ica vile =— WA De Maxwelhoe orcs. . eciet stig wats + oe ee are es 213 E PCE Oty Ot OEIC EES 4 oi) Stalrite: 550 pie, o aes Sieetene leat ga Ot 0 ete toa ae 280 Myeroreen and its: Usefulness——F. C. Meyer. 2-25 i200) fe.sme- ce 2 Beemibitsnm, Horticulture at Buffalo. 2. ..3.2..5 aos >: os ote oo 7 F Pateriagiine ofr tiait-Trees—=A- “Po Erwin’. :2-.2 0s)... 2:,:.¢.0¢2080% 367 et MUiatOIT OF INP PNCS sisi. oc haat ates sais whe See 0 Ss Se TY Floriculture, Individual Expression in—Mrs. G. E. Dugan........ 3 Mawerns Bulbs——Mes. Pi Ieee Adatis: 2.50. 0. canes ade eee 154 Rameerny mG lEy ie Ao (GOOdMAMS ct. 1 Siaste cacao soe eee 239 Botestty Question—Miss Enima ]. ‘Park. 2... os. 28. se ae 60 UcesEL yey Gk tor, 41,00. Lrish' O85. 3 eas ceees. ee Eee 70 eee LOO pee OMAN. hee Rs te 4 sche te ht bee Sais Se 201 »>Fruitiulness, Conditions Affectine—Prof.-E. S. Goff. .520....00.5 363 pout Andusity- Report—D-: "As Robnett.. 022, oo 222 ee Be Le 201 Beuit Industry-Report—W..T?-Flournoy?2-..~..2 <0. eee 200 Fruit Interests and Difficulties in Miller Co. as Ro Erelirich >, a= 59 eMIMCMIREAS MEIN! OF Set. 1S ry ces 25 | OLR recite MOC ode | Cte 135 G TEST SE aR i IR np ay Ne ies Se Same emptor es Sncdiey. Osremine ons 193 Srrdcn ache Katchen-—R.@A-Browits a 205 458s ee ee ee eee 162 Rreapece— | AeObe KOMmMel yo. 6A A tis Gok ed ome eee. 57 USEESD TS 01S ay pane ee ZAM cae © 90 Fe ee a §2 200, 2222 LHIDIDS' A a0 2 CS iy See Ont age, ae ie mR mca Fae: Bia icr'be = ae Growins Strawberries—D: A. Tamer co.0. fst Bsn ee eee 29 Scowine the-Grape Vine=Hd: Kemper. 232. .23.0 oon. vei A pee 54 Es iene, pple: k fees. ap tik glee hs bie atte eRe SR re 64, 131 fipeseniinraloindy in) Geriian yes! 2% (ao. ts os as eee eee ee 351 onmealtare=-G_ Fie” Malone. .5;. sii stcaebt aed, ee ee 130 Horticulture As An Educational Factor—C. H. Dutcher.......... 142 I In Memoriam Beier Pa Meee ee LON cs te tae a tok hy oe SER ee 85 404 State Horticultural Society. Page fnspectors;- Official Horticultural ace ee Ge oe bo ee ee 298 Instruction in Elementary Schools—Prof. J. R. Kirk.............. 330 Invitations for Mectinos 4°55. Ao) eee ae oes eee 82, 282 K KSErOsene. EeniilSiOn Sim cares 8 os'a ose ele eee eet oe eee 102, -1ge Ig geamdscape. GaLdenine rte tieecs ange ee BFE EM eh ag eI 5. 338 iE Senge Gi ole Relies teers te Si gtr Sgn ose ink Renn IAC cin ony i df 310 eat 2 oller—Prot, Stedman-<... S320. <<< ceeielos a ae oe ee ae 223 Berislation -Arainst.. Insect Pests: 235.250 deine occas ee ee 298 M MEitket Tors riits® -ome.cr. >... vce St eich eae ere ee <3) Sees MissouriePippin——-Distussion 4. sa . see OR. ee te Mee Vee 197, 198 Miller, Sam b-- Death of Vs eo os. 0's 5 cipherss o's: wkthste eke € dba wee we «One 353 PpMetatAG eee IPOS toy 5.8. No.5 5 ays ote aca aoelsie we sere «a Aieranacs Sa ae 230 penta OLR NUNES ties stn o oc ate oy stan ee eats eS Cae 370 Peamiceen Orchards.< WCEP. ss 2 acus tearh vo oe whe Sn a ow oe TOS; FFL Ere PRM LMA eke op Ses oe oS orb sence Se Gee. wre CMe eee oS OS 69 Egeeripemertieinaa son tthe SA Ple: ts ots ace feelers bes a's ore OR Kae 2 ees 223 Pin. Growing. Successful—E. LL. Mason... ¢:,. 2. see de en oe 315 mivisieOwservations GH. Adams i city occu a aa eve oes ae oe wens 129 pee SUAtS OS ed EM enn. Sie he Wales ohh elegste ot oie Fa SERB EIE oe 98 arias Ed AIG IRTSES le ys ace aio Seen Sa as, 3 ES ee ee oe 319 Plums Worth Growing, Are—Sam’l Miller...............2..--2- 22 LD TULEAESIS OTHE Sa Sa See Ape SRI le oe hee eh eee aN ae [2¥, 103-316 Rae ADS Og orate ae i nk Soak cease ot sigh ee 294 Peeotitinis cibe bt alo.:s.0 ose ss eels es tya. eves aioe be ee clears De 271 Preparation of the Land and Beds for Strawberries—W. H. Litson.. 28 Beene ile WOrCaAt Ges coe cit Sac ne niaaiie cic teen kee Cea Ae oEe 163 Q 2 RTS RET 1 Seo eng a oe TCA et GINO ere Mile, eas ap png Sir Oe Se gee 68 R ipsepuecmes.Prining. the). -F > Wilcox. s.,.0 65 8.6 Ui, CT ee one 78, 289 Eport-or. Committee on Obituaty ..;., (ssc. nee eee nse 79, 292 Report of Secretary L. A. Goodman...........-.-0 500s ee cee 275 iepHOrt OL Lredstter... chose deh comne ote aia eae ok eee 81, 268, 270 Reports, Frome Gourities-) thie. sc gen sais ee deme lp eke ete oe ee 83 Reports, rom local; Societtes.....c pee eistee Soaks - io ~ reeee 251, 259 Response to: Welcoine Address! : Anica pi oc een & eee 4... .19, 153 Root. Knot, An Investigation—R: J. Bagby... ..¢ cs aes gee ee 226 POO CEPT ITO iets Yocthede See Les. Se ee edt oa ee OnE 170; 1784237 HROSEEL Ee CAC peat, piievceerstsh see ccdavoce eeSPe Rv Oke Ack] ae Ceo ren ea 306 Lp Ya (poral od cre ¢ Ne Pe ees ae tan cet meiner ee REEL Mer rare g terror olay SL enn 308 es state Ap plesics focus aebep le oe alee aad sone haces ie eta 4 deta ae 207 ROSE nom “Sprays. Lick oar nc see eats areal eto tokens area ee 287, 204 seistronmAlaCk bert y, 2x15) aie nolan SR at es EB oy ede ee 53 5 CAO ND DLC Cees actutants olan? tcc s at te ahel oAaeter etn haere es ee 86, 100, 217 SySAly Olas ACH. eo... . oases eaeaks Reman ies ec ae eee Eis, see 309 Sciotis laiiMence. Of. 3... e 2 ston emia ees cere ae ae 120, 236;).277% Seer aC aN W pated 585 Bans hee Soe boat hae tee ee Re Pa es 291 Seediines, | Selected: 62452 otc.s...00. 5 eile = Gaattee SERN aliene Me ee 196, 277 IG EUS SC LECHE Ri ras fs wre o Seer coe e ate wee aa ae om eae ie eae 64, 120 SRD Sys ices Fa eto eee 6. Ne HiT SAR at ka vn ye ep eS oa 334 Siamal eas < | 24 so eka ees cca tee 5 cn Sheena «iek See Pee ee 134, 397 SNM AY ATO ice B aig wise cates Rec esdertca BIE w aRe gman cates aor Ya eee rs 86, 92, 99, IOT Spraying Dust—W. D. Maxwells ii fs.2 saeco ata eke eee 258 Sprayins, iquid—F. He Speakman: 4... 3k ore eee 216 scediian: Prof; J...M.; Talk-on “Insects: 4.42 hee eee 85 “Stingers” Will be at Their Work—C. Hartzell.............00 00. 97 Stimeing -THsects ) oii so gece oe eee so ee See eee Sanit eee 233 St SeOUuls’ EX POSiLIOM oat. he ol eae ola teers | dares ee tae 276, 280 Strawberries by Selection, Grading Up—R. M. Kellogg.......... 397 Sita wuertiess Discussion: «OM os. .4 0 eons | ae Se etal oe a eae ee 33 Siramherries trom Missouri .s.44. baie hace oak ome teat ae ce 76 Sirawbetries, (Growine—D: Aci iurmers cs Sori: coset com «eee 29 Strawberries, Preparation of the Land and Beds for—W. H. Litson. 28 Strawberries—Reported NVarieties——|. 2B Maye. can aeeaacucrees 32 Sirawherry.beds, Mail chines. ta saga tacets tiaerciereke mecnee eee 25 Strawberry Growing on the Ozarks G1, Sesselt sa oe 33 Strawberry: atcha sae it. Ts, cate ce coun ee wy Mees ate ue en heme. ea 308 strawberry Planting—F.- Hs Speakman 7... 24) a. ey ee 323 Strawberry,” Plants; Moisttite fore: tno ee an tee ln ee 34: Strawberry, The, Growing, Preparing and Setting the Plants—F. H. Speakiman~.isx So 2 Gea lycga ce eee eee, pert ta ee ae 31 sirawber ty - Varieties: :ris tome bio lor y ach hinis a aa eng ame a ee 26 SUMS OTS Pago a iccw his Wik doen aR caches ae ae gm eel gai ea Se ae 180 Li Teachers of Nature Study—Prof. J. C. Whitten. ............2.... 130 Teaching the Elementary Principles of Agriculture—G. B- Lamm,.. 136 Thinning——Gis Te Od re 75.23, iarceetetale ste 4 Saal cork tela) 2s ee ae 209 Index. 407 Page Pern OTe a2. hare ee a oes ws ween se ele Benes oP eens spree =o 275 prmeiicinic = Reecs coca or aie. | = Sant o's See eae oe ah las = sale Pela 375 Wrap Lantern inthe Orchard .:... 20 ¥. 222. peek ee te 103-113 Cer bamiaese os Litts $0 A org tae eee «a, cee uses 5.2 Sehe se) Leites, 364 Muecsetepensive, Lilerigh ss Piso acy oss ea dale» oe PR ee ee 306 Bite sree ANMEII a ooad oo a che Faint adios o, lake Oe male epee Sake he gel - 248 Peieens StF OLCEL UNO a.cdeyere a Spe Ye place RE Es 2 Foote ciptece. + seine = hoger ap a Seeks 247 eer MICE CONE 2 Bro io cee eis ole ota Song hee Tees be See 333 jerecsata vVithstand- Drouwth, Growing, v0. = 2 Sey 2 on i Breen 275 Meteor, Ot PedCict, w5. 507 tu ae oe loerae ene = os gs a tee 307 Bitclies.Of Jupplese ¢ 0 hack 2 vitae Ae oe es, 183, 186, 188, 190 Biemeies cor Iaciherty as. mises Stee Se ere Sous cigs tye eens 52 Besrictiedgot -Gherty ety oe tacs os ee Re Ne OE Be eSB iy 127 eermCHIC SOL atapey sets. icrs fs Sie es Po Spe ae aes eat ees Fakes 58 SAS aiES BL bed Be) 1 oa ob einee, Sines a he mm ve Se he 118, 311 DE MpECEEMG CRE San prints coats gat + ae SE ie wise Fem ee sles 261, 327 (OSL SE SNS il 2 (oir a a Oe a ae ee tens ee a a 318, 321, 328 Beteteiies, OF easibet ign. ose pe ttt tad Ax Sotho Oe. Mew Ree 46 ieeites OLE Sea WHELEY ding cc eng 2 oie SW EG et ee nt eee 33 W Riise SO DIC eA TEES fo vac P. as) Sk sage: gcgin ee Oe een eee See 121 Reicher ep Pe Ay sts cade oy Toe ns ene Pe eats eg ae ee 195 What I Have Accomplished on Five Acres—C, W. Halliburton.... 167 Peomibemast. of Pease. “ieees- = ice e ak. oe ews sae eee 311 Me ticsheot Oi Alps TOR OK © 645 a2acg st. ces tiation Ee-y Shee alske eS 370 SL ETN ITS 81 Paes AR Agee REC Seam i ee TORO a RO 153-357 Wcadieths WV Tap PeEsc. toes cms: tus. ameertiaeer ats eens. Stn 66, 132, 169 M Rta EACH ouisrc ts Lo aid sbi Hage Seated? a vats Sis Re 305 SM 2 uae ~ ‘et tal 21%! fr NUL AOU 5 00259 0543 A nuHNR?+ \\\ \ WX S \ SS SRN SN XN NSN Wy \ RAG SVQ \ az VEDIO. YY Y Yn Ze GT 2 we A, Le Zo GE, QQ22IE——————_—__—__T™_ ty, OEE: ty CML WYHttftt; EP? Oe i he IIT CE POND OP Oa EID oy, Y EI g ty PPP Fs tiie Y Ya he Uy g g y wy Wir y fad) LLL Z Ys YY ty ayy Yj Veh eof typos ya Oe he Mon OU 0H: Wi: €Z ty SS SS SEA ty Uy a ty ty % tj egy: ti tty y Oe ED SELLE Zi; wy iy Ltd o 4 Y y ‘7 tj ee “yr Ys Hy Y YY Yes ty YY ZY “ EEE. MELEE CLE QPL PLETE Tae? We ALT YWMEE@ MYX H7|[ #peotwpvwiniviv#.ifvi WH WH: SY EEL. Y a ty tH Wee Le, ti yy . NY tj iy 3 ty YZ Qi CLEP I Ep Yi Yi 7, N \ WS \\ SS SA ENS \N \N \S \ \ AMX WAS CAC AN VS DY A KE